Chapter 25

The fading mass of black light was slowly being absorbed into Crayon.

As Crayon absorbed the darkness, an even more chilling killing intent began to emanate from it.

Zeon asked cautiously,

"Is that… the owner of this temple?"

Deioden withdrew Crayon and replied,

"It's nothing more than the remnant of a god that has lost its divinity. At best, it can't even exert ten percent of its original power—a mere husk."

"So it really is a god? Is it actually possible to kill a god?"

"Didn't I tell you? It's just a shell that's lost its godhood."

"But…"

"It's not even a being of Earth—just a fragment of Kurayan that was trapped in this dungeon, barely clinging to existence. Even if it hadn't been me, it would've eventually perished on its own. So don't make a fuss."

At Deioden's words, Zeon shut his mouth tightly, but confusion still filled his face.

It was already hard enough to believe that gods truly existed, and now he had even mentioned the unfamiliar term "Kurayan."

He had thought he understood Deioden to some extent, but in truth, he knew nothing at all.

Deioden's strength far exceeded anything he had imagined.

Deioden spoke to him,

"Still, you managed to survive. Impressive, considering you had no sand."

"I barely made it."

"Hmph. As long as you didn't die, that's enough."

Tssss!

At last, the black light—the remnant of the god—was completely absorbed into Crayon.

Deioden smiled in satisfaction as he looked at it.

"Now the minimum preparations are finally complete."

"What preparations do you mean?"

"..."

At that moment—

Rumble!

Suddenly, the temple began to shake violently.

With the disappearance of the temple's master, the dungeon itself was collapsing.

Massive pillars toppled helplessly, and the ceiling caved in.

Space itself was devouring the temple.

An entire world was being erased.

Deioden watched silently, while Zeon stood overwhelmed.

Zeon took in the sight of a dying world.

At that instant, both of their bodies were engulfed in light and transported away.

A moment later, they reappeared in front of the stone gate where the dungeon entrance had once formed.

The moment it expelled them, the stone gate vanished without a trace.

Zeon looked around, but the gate was nowhere to be seen.

It had disappeared as if it had never existed in the first place.

The experience of entering the dungeon felt distant, almost like a dream.

But it was neither a dream nor an illusion.

The Exion absorbed into his body proved that.

Perhaps because he had fully absorbed Exion and advanced another level, his control had increased tremendously.

Deioden leapt out first, escaping the massive sand pit that was over a hundred meters deep.

Zeon activated his sand movement.

The sand itself pushed him up and out of the enormous pit.

As they emerged, dazzling sunlight greeted them.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed inside the dungeon, but in the real world, it was now morning.

Time flowed differently in each dungeon.

In some, a single day outside could equal ten days inside; in others, time passed the same as reality.

Because of that, it was impossible to know how much time had passed without checking directly.

But neither Zeon nor Deioden cared about such things.

What mattered was that they had conquered the dungeon hidden deep beneath the desert.

In this dungeon, Zeon had completely absorbed Exion.

Now, even in places without sand, he had secured a minimum means of protecting himself.

Fortunately, after defeating Gigraine, the rampaging Exion had stabilized.

He was now ready to use Exion at any time.

As Zeon's rank increased, the power of Exion would grow as well.

He glanced at Deioden.

Even he had become this strong—so how much stronger had Deioden become?

God-slayer.

If Zeon had killed Gigraine, a Guardian, then Deioden had killed a god.

Even if it was a weakened god that had lost its divinity.

Zeon fully understood how extraordinary and awe-inspiring that was.

'I thought I had caught up quite a bit… but I'm still far behind.'

Still, Zeon was not discouraged.

Deioden was old, but he himself was young.

He had far more years ahead of him—if he kept striving, he would eventually catch up.

Following Deioden had gradually shaped Zeon's mindset to resemble his.

Without even resting, Deioden continued walking.

Zeon activated his sand movement again.

Upon reaching D-rank, his ability to manipulate sand had improved drastically, allowing him to move at nearly the same speed as Deioden.

Deioden kept walking toward the rising sun without pause.

Zeon followed quietly behind.

After traveling east like that for several days, an unfamiliar sight appeared.

At first, he thought it was a mirage or an illusion.

The scene before him was that unbelievable.

"My god… a forest?"

What he saw was undeniably a vast forest.

In the middle of a barren desert, a massive woodland stretched out.

Since the world had fallen into ruin, this was the first time he had seen a forest of actual trees.

There were trees and forests inside Neo Seoul.

They were perfectly protected from the desert's harsh climate by barrier fields.

But the people of the slums could never see them.

A towering wall separated the slums from Neo Seoul.

Zeon had only ever heard stories of trees and forests—this was his first time seeing them in person.

His pace quickened, and soon he even overtook Deioden.

That was how eager he was to see the trees up close.

But the closer he got, the more he realized something was wrong.

There were definitely trees clustered together, forming a forest.

But there was no trace of green vitality.

Not a single leaf remained, and the trunks and branches were all blackened.

It looked nothing like the trees he had heard about as a child.

"This… is a tree?"

"It's been carbonized. Only the form remains. Its life as a tree ended long ago."

Deioden gazed at the charred forest with cold, sunken eyes.

"People call this place the Black Forest."

"People? Are there people living here?"

"Some foolish ones still live on, unable to let go of their lingering attachments."

Deioden spoke bluntly as he sat down beneath a large tree.

Though only the trunk and branches remained, it still cast enough shade to block the sunlight.

Perhaps because it shielded them from the scorching sun, a cool air could be felt within the Black Forest.

"Wow!"

Zeon couldn't help but let out a gasp at the almost chilling coolness.

Aside from dungeons or underground spaces, he had never felt such cold in any place before.

He stared blankly up at the Black Forest.

Black trees completely covering the sky.

He couldn't help but feel regret, wishing they were real, living trees rather than charred remains.

At that moment—

Bzzzz!

A faint sound reached Zeon's ears.

Something small was flapping its wings.

Acting on instinct, Zeon immediately raised a sand barrier in front of him.

Boom!

Something flew in and struck the barrier.

The object exploded the moment it hit.

Fortunately, the blast radius wasn't large, and Zeon suffered no damage.

That was when Deioden spoke,

"Don't go too deep. The inner part of the Black Forest is the territory of Bomb Bees."

"Bomb Bees? You mean bees that explode?"

"That's right. If an intruder enters their territory, they fling themselves forward and detonate."

Zeon looked down at the ground.

Remains of Bomb Bees were scattered everywhere.

From the fragments, he could infer that each one was about the size of a child's fist.

"Is the entire inner area their territory?"

"Yes. As long as you don't cross that line, you'll be fine."

"Is that why people don't live here?"

"You're quick to catch on. Exactly."

"Then why not just kill them all?"

"If it were that easy, it would've been done long ago. No matter how many Bomb Bees you kill, as long as the queen lives, they'll quickly multiply and form a swarm again. So don't waste your strength—just rest here."

"Yes, sir!"

If Deioden spoke like this, they clearly weren't just a trivial nuisance.

It didn't feel like he avoided them out of fear, but out of annoyance.

Since it had nothing to do with him anyway, Zeon also sat beneath a nearby tree.

For now, he just wanted to forget all troublesome matters and enjoy the scenery.

Leaning his back against a charred tree, Zeon gazed ahead.

Unlike the shaded Black Forest, the desert beyond blazed under the scorching sun, heat waves rising intensely.

No matter how capable he was, crossing the desert bare-bodied was madness.

'I need to get a new robe… ah!'

Suddenly, Zeon remembered he had spare robes in his subspace.

When he had gathered items from the elf village destroyed by Deioden, he had stored some robes as well.

Opening the subspace, he saw the elves' robes.

Zeon put one on.

It wasn't as effective as the robe made from Sand Angler leather, but the elf robe still blocked a fair amount of heat.

'This should do for now.'

Although Deioden despised other races, he said nothing about Zeon using the elves' belongings.

Deioden planted Crayon in front of him once more and began speaking in a low voice.

Since it was something Zeon had seen many times, he paid it no mind.

At one point, Zeon had tried to listen in, curious about what they were talking about, but it seemed the sound was blocked.

Since then, he had given up eavesdropping.

It was far more worthwhile to examine his newly acquired abilities.

'Thanks to Exion, my control has improved even further.'

From what he had confirmed outside, when he raised his control while operating Exion, manipulating sand became much easier.

Before, he could barely control sand within a radius of about ten meters, but now it had expanded to dozens of meters.

At this rate, it felt like he might eventually be able to control all the sand within his field of vision.

'I struggled because I had poor compatibility against golems. I won this time thanks to luck, but I need to study it more thoroughly.'

If, as Deioden said, the god in the temple had weakened after losing its divinity, then the Guardian, Gigraine, must have also been far weaker than its original state.

If Gigraine had been at full strength, there was a high chance Zeon would have been defeated even with Exion.

Calmly, Zeon reviewed the battle with Gigraine, identifying his weaknesses.

This kind of reflection greatly helped improve his combat ability.

'Blink and Chain Lightning… both were powerful. If I encounter an awakened who can freely use those two skills, there's a high chance I'd lose.'

The key difference between golems and humans was flexibility in thinking.

Golems acted only according to fixed patterns, but humans could adapt depending on the situation.

At present, Zeon was specialized in fighting monsters.

Following Deioden, he had mostly faced magical beasts, and his skills had developed accordingly.

If he intended to return to Neo Seoul someday, it would be wise to start developing skills with human combat in mind.

Once he grasped a starting point, his thoughts naturally branched out.

'Hmm…'

Zeon sat cross-legged and let himself sink into thought.

He didn't even realize how much time had passed.

When he finally opened his eyes again, dawn was already breaking in the distance.

He had spent the entire night like that.

"Phew…"

Zeon stood up and patted his legs.

Sitting still all night had left his whole body stiff.

"Hm?"

As he stretched, Zeon suddenly looked forward.

He had sensed movement from a living being far out on the sand.

Thinking it might be a Bomb Bee, he looked more closely—but it was something entirely different.

'A child?'

Far away, a girl who looked about twelve years old was lying flat against the sand, watching Zeon and Deioden.

At that moment, Deioden spoke,

"A mongrel of the Goya tribe."

"…What?"

"A filthy half-breed born from a family of fools who cling to impossibilities. So it's grown that much already. I should've killed it back then."

Deioden's face was filled with deep contempt as he looked at the girl.

"This child is not a mongrel. She will surely become the future of this land."

At that moment, a calm voice spoke as a middle-aged man appeared beside the girl.

A large bow and a quiver full of arrows were strapped to his back—he looked like a typical hunter.

Despite the man's sudden appearance, Deioden showed no surprise and replied coldly,

"Still spouting nonsense. Did that woman teach you that?"

"She died not long ago."

The man's face was filled with sorrow as he answered.

But Deioden's gaze toward him remained cold and merciless.

"She died? I should've been the one to kill her with my own hands."

"You haven't changed at all, Deioden. How long will you continue to despise them and treat them like enemies? What happened to this land was never their inten—"

"That's enough. Say one more word, and I'll kill you, your mongrel child, and your entire tribe."

Deioden unleashed a terrifying killing intent.

Exposed to it, the girl jumped to her feet and hid behind the man.

At that moment, Zeon saw it—

The girl's ears were shaped differently from those of ordinary humans.

"An elf?"