Chapter 27

Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted continuously right in front of Zeon.

The Bomb Bees were crashing into the sand wall and detonating.

Dozens had already self-destructed, yet neither Zeon nor Go Du-won had suffered even a scratch.

It was all thanks to the sand barrier surrounding them.

The Bomb Bees couldn't break through and exploded on impact.

Because of that, the two remained completely unharmed.

"This… this can't be!"

Go Du-won couldn't close his gaping mouth.

He knew better than anyone how terrifying and troublesome the Bomb Bees were.

One or two weren't a problem.

He could simply shoot them down with arrows.

The real issue was that the number of Bomb Bees inhabiting the Black Forest was impossible to even estimate.

At most, Go Du-won could carry a few dozen arrows at a time.

But the Bomb Bees numbered in the hundreds, thousands—easily hundreds or thousands of times more.

They didn't fear death and would self-destruct without hesitation.

Against such overwhelming force, Go Du-won's abilities were meaningless.

He and the Bomb Bees were the worst possible matchup.

That was why he had never dared to venture deep into the Black Forest, only circling its outskirts.

Unless one was an awakened on the level of Deioden, entering the forest was unthinkable.

Even coming here with Zeon had been out of desperation—grasping at straws.

He hadn't expected much.

But what Zeon was showing now far exceeded anything he had imagined.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Like heavy rain pounding on a roof, the Bomb Bees relentlessly struck the sand barrier, exploding one after another.

Watching them detonate beyond the barrier almost made them seem pitiful.

If Bomb Bees were the worst possible match for Go Du-won, then Zeon was the worst possible match for the Bomb Bees.

'So that's why that madman Deioden keeps him around…'

For a moment, he even forgot that his daughter was inside the forest, his gaze fixed on Zeon.

As his shock gradually subsided, he noticed something familiar about Zeon's robe.

"Is that… an elf's robe?"

"How did you know?"

"My wife had one very similar."

"I see."

"Where did you get it? Elves would never give their belongings to humans."

"Well…"

"Looks like Deioden slaughtered another elf village somewhere."

Go Du-won grasped the truth instantly.

Zeon made an awkward expression, unsure how to respond.

Fortunately, Go Du-won didn't blame him.

Zeon carefully asked,

"Do you know why Deioden hates other races so much?"

"…Sigh."

"Is it true that the world became like this because of them?"

"…That… is true."

Go Du-won answered reluctantly.

There was no time to waste on excuses when his daughter needed saving.

"So that's why he hates them so much."

"Not all of them were the same. My wife opposed their decision. She was cast out, and that's how she met me… we ended up marrying."

"What did they do to turn the world into this?"

Zeon couldn't understand.

From what he had heard, Earth was an enormous planet.

Neo Seoul was said to be nothing more than a tiny dot in comparison.

How could something so vast turn into a desert in an instant?

"I don't know that much either. Even my wife refused to speak of it… said it was their original sin…"

"…I see."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Let's focus on saving Har first."

"Thank you!"

Even as they spoke, the Bomb Bees continued to slam into the sand barrier and explode.

Boom! Crash!

The deeper they moved toward the center of the Black Forest, the more intense the explosions became.

That meant even more Bomb Bees were attacking.

The once-solid sand barrier began to shake violently.

Bzzzzzz!

The sky turned completely black.

Bomb Bees filled the air.

"My god…!"

Go Du-won's face turned deathly pale.

There were dozens of times more Bomb Bees than he had imagined.

He could hardly believe that so many existed within the Black Forest.

He asked Zeon,

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Now let's start reducing their numbers properly."

"Properly?"

"Yes. There's a skill I've been wanting to test."

Zeon gave a slight smile.

The Bomb Bees themselves were weapons.

And there were countless of them.

But Zeon felt no fear.

"I've got weapons of that level too."

Rumble!

As Zeon raised his control, the sand within dozens of meters around him lifted into the air all at once.

No matter how many Bomb Bees there were, they could never outnumber the sand covering the world.

A war of numbers would be answered with a war of numbers.

The only question was mana and control.

For now—he had more than enough.

Zeon began releasing the image he had long envisioned into the Black Forest.

The floating sand gathered around him.

It formed something like a massive cylinder.

A gigantic cylinder made of sand.

The image in his mind was perfectly manifested into reality.

All that remained—

was to pull the trigger.

"Here I go."

Zeon poured mana into the cylinder.

Grrrrrr!

In an instant, the massive sand cylinder began rotating at terrifying speed.

The sand cylinder pulled in everything around it—and crushed it.

Bomb Bees caught in the vortex were shredded in an instant.

KRAAAASH!

Inside the massive sand cylinder, the Bomb Bees triggered chain explosions.

It was a spectacle so overwhelming it was hard to believe even while watching it.

Zeon muttered,

"Kind of like… a sand mixer."

That's why he named the skill Sand Mixer.

Its strength was the ability to rotate sand at high speed and grind countless magical beasts to pieces in an instant.

Its weakness was the heavy mana consumption, making it difficult to maintain for long.

For now, its range wasn't very wide due to his low rank, but as his rank increased and his mana grew, its power would become far more devastating.

Reaching S-rank might even make controlling a full sandstorm possible.

Go Du-won stared blankly at the Sand Mixer.

"…This is insane."

The sky, once pitch-black, was slowly returning to its original color.

He couldn't believe that the Bomb Bees—which had tormented the Goya Tribe for so long—were being wiped out so easily.

Even his wife had never mentioned such a skill existing.

That meant this was a completely new ability—one never before seen in the world.

Already, more than half of the Bomb Bee swarm had been eliminated.

But Zeon's expression wasn't particularly bright.

"…Tch. My mana's running low after all."

"You're running out of mana?"

"I think this is as far as I should go for reducing their numbers. Let's find Har and get out."

"W-wait! Take this. This should help cover your mana shortage."

What Go Du-won pulled out was a necklace glowing with a faint blue light.

Just looking at it gave a refreshing sensation—it was clearly no ordinary artifact.

"What is it?"

"It's my wife's keepsake—Elura's Tear. She brought it from her homeland. It has the effect of restoring all consumed mana once per day."

At that moment, greed flashed across Zeon's face.

"Are you lending it to me… or giving it to me?"

"I'll give it to you. On one condition—reduce as many Bomb Bees as you can today within your mana limits."

"Deal."

"I'm counting on you."

Go Du-won handed over Elura's Tear.

Even in his wife's homeland, it was a rare and precious artifact.

But to Go Du-won, it wasn't particularly useful.

His skills didn't consume much mana.

For Zeon, however, it was an incredible treasure.

Even now, he managed his mana carefully—but as his skills developed, the consumption would inevitably skyrocket.

Obtaining such a treasure made taking some risks more than worthwhile.

For Go Du-won, it was also a profitable exchange.

The more Bomb Bees Zeon eliminated, the higher the chances of reclaiming the Black Forest.

Saving Har was important—but restoring the forest mattered just as much to him.

Unable to give up either, he handed over the tribe's treasure.

Zeon placed Elura's Tear around his neck.

The moment it touched his chest, a refreshing sensation spread throughout his entire body.

"Nice…"

It was practically like gaining an extra mana reserve.

A deep smile spread across Zeon's face.

Now he could use Sand Mixer without worrying about mana.

Grrrrrr!

The Sand Mixer spun even faster, smashing through the surrounding Bomb Bees.

KRAAAASH!

Massive explosions shook the Black Forest.

The once-overwhelming swarm of Bomb Bees visibly dwindled.

At this rate, it seemed possible to wipe them out completely.

Just then—

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, the center of the Black Forest trembled.

Both of their expressions changed instantly.

"A boss…"

"The queen?"

Unable to endure the near-annihilation of its swarm, the Bomb Bees' boss had emerged.

The center of the forest stirred—and then a single Bomb Bee appeared.

But its size was beyond imagination.

From head to the stinger at its tail, it measured nearly seven meters in length.

It was the queen—the ruler of the Bomb Bee swarm.

Countless eggs clung to her abdomen.

But among them—

one held a small girl.

It was Go Du-won's daughter, Go Har.

"Har! Why are you there?!"

Go Du-won's eyes widened.

The egg she clung to looked different from the others—its shape and glow were unusual.

It didn't seem like a normal egg—something else was mixed within it.

Har hung onto it, unconscious.

"Give me back my daughter, you monster!"

Go Du-won nocked an arrow and drew his bow.

Against the swarm, his attacks were ineffective—but in a one-on-one fight, it was a different story.

He was a combat-type awakened, specialized in archery.

His target was the queen's head.

"Explosion Arrow."

Fwoosh!

The arrow shot forward at incredible speed and struck the queen's head.

BOOM!

The arrow exploded, forcing the queen's head back slightly—

but it quickly returned to its original position.

There was no real damage.

"Damn it!"

Go Du-won fired arrow after arrow.

Each shot struck the queen precisely in the head.

Bzzzzzz!

The queen's wingbeats grew more violent.

Go Du-won's repeated attacks only fueled her rage.

In an instant, the queen vanished from his sight.

She was moving too fast for the eye to follow.

"Damn—this is bad!"

Zeon detected her movement first.

He quickly raised a sand barrier in front of Go Du-won.

BOOOOM!

With a deafening crash, the barrier shattered—

and Go Du-won was sent flying far into the distance.

The queen's high-speed charge had dealt massive damage.

If Zeon hadn't used the barrier to absorb some of the impact, he would have been killed instantly.

Zeon fixed his gaze on the queen.

"Your opponent is me."

Bzzzz!

As if responding, the queen's wings beat even more violently.