Chapter 24

Exion was not something that originated from Earth.

When the world changed, it came over along with other races.

However, no one understood its purpose, so it was treated as nothing more than an ordinary hourglass.

Passed from one owner to another without a second thought, the hourglass eventually, as if by fate, found its way into Zeon's hands.

Exion could be stored within the pores of the body and drawn out when needed.

It was the ultimate weapon—one that perfectly compensated for the greatest weakness of a sand mage, who otherwise couldn't use their power without sand.

From the moment Exion was absorbed into his body, Zeon felt an overwhelming heat surge within him.

Exion hadn't properly fused yet and was putting a massive strain on his body.

It was a classic case of overload.

Because it hadn't been absorbed through a proper process, it was running wild.

Thanks to that, his body had been restored in an instant—but if left unchecked, it could just as easily collapse.

There was only one way to stabilize the overflowing energy.

Release it.

Zeon raised his control.

At once, the Exion that had been absorbed into his pores began to flow back out.

It shimmered around his body like a cloud.

Each individual particle felt vividly connected to his nerves, as if they were an extension of himself.

At that moment, sensing something unusual, Gigraine attacked.

Flash!

Chain Lightning erupted again.

A web of electricity spread across the entire chamber.

Even in the face of the blinding torrent of energy, Zeon remained calm.

He moved Exion, shaping it into a small dome around his body.

Crackle!

The Chain Lightning struck the Exion.

But Zeon, inside it, felt nothing.

Sand does not conduct electricity.

And Exion, the specialized weapon of a sand mage, possessed far greater resistance.

As the electric web dissipated, Zeon released the dome.

"Whew… incredible."

He couldn't help but admire Exion's power.

To protect him so perfectly from such a violent surge of electricity—

depending on how it was used, it could become an immensely powerful weapon.

Thud! Thud!

With Chain Lightning rendered useless, Gigraine charged directly at him.

Already massive, its body became even more terrifying as it picked up speed.

But Zeon did not falter.

Even without Exion, he had faced Gigraine head-on.

Now that he possessed it, shrinking back in fear wasn't even a consideration.

Step!

Zeon kicked off the ground and charged.

Exion wrapped around him, trailing like a comet's tail.

His body surged with exhilaration and vitality.

"Hyaaah!"

He threw a punch.

Exion followed his fist, spinning violently like a drill as it slammed into Gigraine.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion far greater than before erupted, shaking Gigraine's massive frame.

A deep gash appeared on its hardened body.

But it wasn't enough to stop it.

The greatest advantage of a golem—

it feels no pain.

And without fear, it ignores most injuries.

Zeon knew that well.

He had learned it by fighting countless golems on his way here.

'Its weakness is the joints. Especially the knees.'

Focusing his mind, Zeon controlled Exion.

He pictured it—

compressing Exion into something as thin as a thread.

Now, he needed to make it infiltrate Gigraine's joints.

But there was still one obstacle.

The black force field covering Gigraine's entire body.

It acted as a protective barrier, reducing or blocking both physical and magical attacks.

To someone like Deioden, it might as well be paper—

but to a low-rank awakened like Zeon, it was an almost insurmountable wall.

Still, Zeon had a plan.

'Focus everything into a single point… and rotate it to maximize destructive power.'

He poured all his mana into Exion.

Vrrrr—

The thread-like Exion spun violently, boring into Gigraine's barrier.

Like a thread-serpent, it struggled through—

and finally pierced into Gigraine's knee joint.

Joints—whether mechanical or golem-based—are vulnerable to sand.

Grrrrrk!

A grinding sound echoed from the golem's knee.

Ordinary sand wouldn't have mattered.

But Exion was no ordinary sand.

It could change form freely according to Zeon's will.

Inside the joint, Exion gathered and transformed into coarse particles.

Zeon envisioned it spinning within the joint.

"High-speed rotation!"

GRAAANG!

Instantly, Exion spun at extreme speed.

The rough grains began grinding down the joint from within.

Just like how high-pressure sand is used to erode even hardened metal—

a principle similar to sandblasting.

At high speeds, sand becomes the perfect counter to joints.

Stone fragments burst from the joint.

Gigraine tried to ignore the damage and continue moving.

Crack!

At that moment, with a sharp breaking sound, its massive body twisted unnaturally.

The knee joint, unable to withstand the strain, finally gave way.

Boom!

Gigraine dropped to one knee.

The giant golem struggled to rise, but supporting its enormous weight on one leg was no easy feat.

If it had even a little intelligence, it might have chosen another method.

But unfortunately, Gigraine was an artificial lifeform that only acted according to preset instructions.

When faced with an unexpected situation, it lacked the intelligence to adapt.

So it continued to act as programmed.

Zeon exploited that flaw.

He sent Exion into the other knee joint.

Just like before, once he set it into high-speed rotation, it didn't take long for Gigraine's other knee joint to be completely destroyed.

Boom!

Gigraine's massive body collapsed to the ground.

Even so, Zeon didn't let his guard down.

High-grade golems like Gigraine possessed self-repair abilities.

Though it had been shattered by the impact, given time, it would surely restore itself and attack again.

He had to destroy it completely before that happened.

'I need to find the core—fast.'

Destroy the core, and the golem stops moving.

The problem was figuring out where it was hidden inside that enormous body.

There was only one way to find out.

Exion.

Zeon guided Exion through Gigraine's knee joint and into its interior.

Though made of stone, the golem needed mana from its core to function.

That meant there were channels through which mana flowed—

so-called "mana circuits."

They were incredibly fine, almost impossible to detect through normal means.

But Exion was even finer, more delicate than the circuits themselves.

It swept through Gigraine's interior at high speed, and eventually, it located the mana circuit.

Focusing his mind, Zeon infiltrated the circuit with Exion.

At that moment—

Grrrk!

With a chilling sound, Gigraine's shattered joints began to restore themselves.

Broken fragments and dust slowly returned to their original positions.

It was like watching time reverse.

Zeon frowned.

Gigraine's knee was already nearly fully restored.

The golem began to rise.

A red glow flared from its eyes.

For a moment, Zeon felt as though it was angry.

A golem feeling emotion was impossible—

but Gigraine was at least B-rank.

Perhaps it wasn't entirely incapable.

He had to finish this before that "anger" turned toward him.

Zeon focused even more on controlling Exion.

It raced along the mana circuit.

From the knee to the waist axis—

then up to the chest.

Still, he couldn't sense the core.

Meanwhile, Gigraine had fully recovered and stood up again.

Grrrk!

Its massive body rose to full height.

Only two meters separated them.

Close enough to touch.

Gigraine raised both arms high.

It intended to crush Zeon completely with a single blow.

Zeon saw it clearly.

But he didn't move.

If he dodged now, his concentration would break—

and everything he had done so far would be wasted.

KRAAAASH!

Gigraine brought both fists crashing down.

Even at that moment, Zeon focused with everything he had.

'Found it!'

Just before the fists could crush him, he finally located the core.

Zeon immediately attacked it with Exion.

Crack—BOOM!

The core shattered—

and Gigraine stopped moving.

Its fists froze just above Zeon's head.

He had survived—

by no more than the width of a palm.

"Haa…"

Zeon collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out beneath him.

Even though he had done it himself, he could hardly believe it.

Even with Exion, defeating a B-rank monster didn't feel real.

"I… actually took it down? Hah… this is insane…"

A hollow laugh escaped him.

But he knew the truth.

He hadn't won purely through his own strength—

it had been largely due to compatibility.

Against another B-rank monster, he wouldn't have been able to achieve this.

Sss—

Exion, which had neutralized the core, flowed back out and was reabsorbed into his body.

As Zeon lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath—

a faint orange glow began to shine from the inside of his gauntlet, near his wrist.

Startled, he removed the gauntlet.

Light was emanating from the insignia on his wrist.

The third line was glowing.

He had advanced to D-rank.

"I… reached D-rank?"

A sense of pride swelled in his chest.

This was something he had achieved on his own, without Deioden's help.

He felt proud of himself.

With the rank-up, his stamina and mana were completely restored.

"Hah… guess I'm not meant to die just yet."

Zeon stood up.

Then he looked at Gigraine's fallen body.

It remained frozen in the exact pose it had been in when it tried to crush him.

Without its core, it was nothing more than a lump of stone.

Unlike the Sand Devourer hide or the Queen Wolf Ant corpse, there was nothing he could make use of.

With a hint of regret, Zeon turned toward the exit.

Now wasn't the time to dwell on the golem he had defeated.

He needed to catch up to Deioden.

Fortunately, no more golems appeared after Gigraine.

Thanks to that, Zeon safely reached the end of the corridor.

There stood a door even larger than the one in Gigraine's chamber.

Zeon swallowed dryly.

'If the door is this big… how big is whatever's inside?'

Fear surged within him.

But he forced it down.

"I've come this far. No turning back now. Let's go."

He pushed the massive door open.

It opened with surprising ease.

The moment he saw what lay beyond—

his eyes widened.

An unbelievable sight unfolded before him.

A massive cluster of light was fading away.

Standing before it was Deioden, holding Crayon.

He didn't need to ask.

That fading light—

was the master of the temple.

'Then… did he kill a god?'

A chill ran down Zeon's spine.

At that moment, Deioden turned his head and looked at him.

"Took you long enough, idiot."

Gulp.

Instead of answering, Zeon simply swallowed.