Chapter 43

Boom!

A calamity descended upon the Valley of Death.

The valley, which had stood firm for over a hundred years, was now so horribly destroyed that its original form was unrecognizable.

The cause was the deafening explosions echoing through it.

The source of those explosions was Zeon and Deioden.

Swoosh!

Deioden’s blade cut through the air.

Its target was Zeon’s neck.

In that instant, as if someone had yanked a string, Zeon’s body was pulled backward.

Even as he retreated with his back perfectly straight, Zeon’s gaze remained fixed on Crayon.

Crayon’s aim was precisely Zeon’s neck.

If he allowed even the slightest opening, his head would be severed.

Still, Zeon did not lose his composure.

Spit!

By a hair’s breadth, Crayon grazed past Zeon’s neck.

Even though it hadn’t directly struck him, his neck split open, and blood flowed out.

At least it was only a surface wound—that was the one saving grace.

A chilling sensation ran across his neck, but Zeon didn’t panic. He swung his hand.

At once, sand rose from the ground and attacked Deioden.

The attacks writhed like living snakes as they flew toward him.

It was an evolved form of Sand Blaster—Viper.

A deadly skill like a venomous snake, hence the name Viper.

It was a method he had learned through fierce battles against Deioden.

Dozens of Vipers shot toward Deioden, each aiming for his weak points. But not a single one managed to land a hit.

Before they could even touch him, they were blocked and dissipated by a faint barrier.

It was an Aura Shield—the defensive technique of martial-type Awakeners.

Though the Vipers shattered against the Aura Shield, Zeon was not disappointed.

Rather, he was satisfied just by forcing Deioden to use his defensive measure.

That alone proved how overwhelming Deioden was.

For the past ten days, Zeon hadn’t managed to land a single meaningful blow on him.

Even so, he neither despaired nor collapsed.

No matter how many times he was wounded or pushed to the brink of death, he rose again and continued fighting Deioden.

Through that process, he had grown at a terrifying rate.

He had been more tense than when facing any magical beast and desperately searched for ways to survive.

To stand against the monster named Deioden, he had no choice but to evolve in real time.

For ordinary people or other Awakeners, such a thing would have been impossible—but for Zeon, it wasn’t.

Rather, Deioden had forced it to be possible.

By driving Zeon to his limits, he had drawn out every ounce of his potential.

Boom boom boom!

The Vipers relentlessly struck Deioden.

Though blocked by the Aura Shield, each blow was far from weak.

Even Deioden himself was gradually pushed backward.

At last, when he had been forced into the position Zeon wanted, Zeon snapped his fingers.

Snap!

Craaang!

In an instant, the sand beneath Deioden’s feet began to spin at a terrifying speed.

Sand Mixer had been activated.

“Hmph!”

But Deioden merely scoffed and easily escaped the Sand Mixer.

At that moment—

Soldiers made of sand rose nearby and attacked Deioden.

It was one of Zeon’s skills—Sand Soldiers.

And there were six of them.

Previously, he could only control two. Now their number had tripled.

The six Sand Soldiers each attacked Deioden.

While they drew his attention, Zeon prepared Exion.

Exion burst out from his pores.

Wrapped in fine sand, Zeon looked like a mass of black mist.

Enveloped in Exion, Zeon personally charged at Deioden.

Boom!

With a thunderous impact, Deioden’s body slid backward. However, he had blocked it with Crayon and suffered no injury.

Zeon hadn’t expected him to be hurt anyway.

Boom boom boom!

Vipers continued to batter Deioden, supported by the Sand Soldiers.

On top of that came Zeon’s Exion-powered attacks, followed by Sand Mixer.

All of it flowed without giving even a moment to breathe.

In an instant, his mana was completely depleted.

Zeon used Elura’s Necklace to recover his mana—and then unleashed all his skills again.

Boom!

With a massive explosion, a sandstone cliff collapsed, and a cloud of red dust surged high into the sky.

“Huff… huff…!”

Just as Zeon exhaled roughly after pouring everything out—

Whoooosh!

Cutting through the red dust, Deioden emerged.

Despite Zeon’s all-out bombardment, Deioden remained completely unscathed.

“Damn it!”

Zeon hurriedly tried to evade using Sand Step, but Deioden gave him no chance and charged in.

Boom!

“Guh!”

Zeon was struck hard by Crayon and sent flying far away.

Thanks to Exion protecting his body, he avoided a fatal injury.

But the impact shook his internal organs, leaving him unable to breathe properly.

Then Deioden’s second strike came crashing toward him.

Boom!

The force was so overwhelming that Zeon couldn’t even scream.

He was sent flying again and slammed into a wall.

Deioden looked at him with a contemptuous expression.

“How long are you going to stay buried like that? An enemy won’t wait for you to get up on your own, you idiot!”

“Urgh…”

“Get up. If you can breathe, you can stand.”

“Damn it!”

With every ounce of his strength, Zeon forced himself back up.

Blood was flowing down from his face and chest.

He had survived, but the wounds were deep enough that he would need several days of treatment.

Deioden pointed Crayon at him and said,

“If you’re going to whine over injuries like that, go back to Neo Seoul right now.”

“Who the hell is whining? Aaaah!”

Zeon kicked off the wall and hurled himself at Deioden.

Deioden’s eyes gleamed as he watched Zeon charge in, and he laughed.

“Heh… that’s more like it. You need at least that much grit to make it worth breaking you.”

He swung Crayon mercilessly, and Zeon was smashed back into the wall once more.

That situation repeated dozens of times.

＊＊＊

“Hoo…”

Zeon let out a low breath as he looked ahead.

His entire body was a complete mess.

His face was torn and shattered, blood streaming down, and his whole body was covered in wounds big and small.

The robe he wore was ripped to shreds, barely more than rags, and his disheveled hair made him look like a beggar.

Yet the eyes visible through his tangled hair were calm and deeply sunken, without the slightest wavering.

At the end of his gaze stood Deioden.

He had no idea how long he had stayed here.

Judging by the fact that his dried meat provisions were nearly gone, it must have been at least several months.

During that time, Zeon had fought Deioden endlessly.

His battles with Deioden had been nothing but a string of defeats.

He was broken, then broken again, and kept being broken.

Not once had he managed to land a meaningful blow on Deioden.

Still, Zeon did not give up.

If he could just land one proper hit on Deioden’s face, he felt he would have no regrets.

Until that moment, he could never quit.

Through this decisive struggle, Zeon’s abilities had risen at a terrifying rate.

Fighting Deioden alone was far harder than fighting hundreds of magical beasts.

No matter how strong magical beasts were, their intelligence had limits.

But Deioden’s strength had no such limit.

Physical power, combat sense, and a century of accumulated experience—

These three elements were perfectly balanced, making him even stronger.

Deioden attacked Zeon without mercy.

Part of it was to raise Zeon’s abilities, but more than that, it was to sharpen his own body and mind.

Right now, his body and mind were at their absolute peak.

Like a blade honed to its sharpest edge, he allowed not even the slightest variable.

At this moment, Deioden could perfectly control not only himself, but also his opponent and even the surrounding environment.

Dragging Crayon along the ground, Deioden walked toward Zeon.

It was just a simple step forward, yet an overwhelming pressure poured from his entire body.

Just facing him made it feel hard to breathe, as if his whole body would be crushed.

“Hoo…”

Zeon exhaled once more.

He had gone through this situation dozens, hundreds of times.

Now, his body had learned how to escape this pressure.

He relaxed every muscle in his body.

His mind remained cold.

His body stayed flexible, ready to react at any moment.

If you rely on your eyes to follow, you’re already too late.

You must feel the flow of the air, its color, its moisture, the surrounding scent, even the heat—through your skin—and react in real time.

Miss even one of those, and you can never stand against Deioden.

At the moment Zeon’s senses reached their peak, the air around them turned cold.

He’s coming.

Zeon erected a wall of sand in front of him.

Boom!

The sand wall burst apart effortlessly as Deioden appeared through it.

But Zeon did not panic.

He had already anticipated this.

The sand wall had only been meant to buy a split second.

The moment Deioden broke through it, Zeon disappeared into the sand.

Now, moving hidden within the sand was as natural to him as breathing.

Even from within the sand, he could grasp the outside situation as clearly as reading the lines of his palm.

The sand around him conveyed all the information.

Crunch!

He sensed Deioden’s footsteps.

At that moment, Viper activated.

Dozens of sand vipers shot toward Deioden’s entire body.

“Petty tricks…”

Deioden swung Crayon, instantly severing the heads of the sand vipers. Then he drove Crayon forcefully into the ground.

Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, the sand beneath erupted.

Like a volcanic eruption, an enormous amount of sand shot into the sky, revealing Zeon.

But Zeon did not panic.

He had expected this outcome.

Around him, Sand Soldiers rose.

This time, there were ten.

While fighting Deioden, his skill had evolved to the point where he could control ten at once.

The ten Sand Soldiers moved in real time, following Zeon’s commands.

Controlling that many at once placed an enormous strain on his brain.

Drip…

A nosebleed burst forth, turning his vision red.

The immense pressure even caused the capillaries in his eyes to rupture.

For a moment, his head spun—but Zeon quickly regained control.

Like a conductor, he raised both hands.

At once, Viper flew toward Deioden again, while sand surged up to obscure his vision.

In that gap, Zeon’s body rose into the air.

The sand beneath him surged upward like a pillar, lifting him skyward.

From nearly a hundred meters above, Zeon observed everything.

Sand Soldiers were shattered. Vipers were cut apart.

Sand Mixer didn’t even work at all.

Yet Zeon was not disappointed.

He hadn’t expected anything from them in the first place.

Those skills were never his true aim.

Sssss—

Before he knew it, black mist enveloped his body.

Exion had been released.

He concentrated the surging Exion into his gauntlet-clad right arm.

At that moment, Deioden lifted his head and looked at Zeon.

The instant their gazes met in midair, Zeon muttered,

“I’m coming, you damn old bastard.”

He immediately launched himself from a hundred meters up.

Like a meteor, Zeon plummeted.

His target—Deioden’s face.

He swung his right fist, wrapped in Exion, with all his might.

KWA-AAAAANG!