Chapter 44

“Guh—!”

Zeon spat out blood.

His complexion had turned as pale as paper.

His right arm, clad in a gauntlet, hung limp from multiple fractures, and the impact from falling a hundred meters had broken both of his legs as well.

Even so, Zeon smiled.

Because his gauntleted fist had reached Deioden’s face.

Deioden’s head had turned slightly, and a small wound had formed where the gauntlet struck.

For a life-risking gamble, the result was insignificant—but Zeon was satisfied.

He had finally landed a hit on Deioden’s face.

“Don’t… look down on me…”

With those words, Zeon collapsed.

Deioden silently stared at the fallen Zeon for a moment.

It was the first time he had allowed Zeon to land a blow.

Even Deioden hadn’t anticipated that Zeon would throw himself from a hundred meters in the air.

Thanks to that, he had received a tiny wound on his face—but he didn’t feel displeased.

Because Zeon had reached the level he desired.

This was how an Awakener should be.

If there was even the slightest possibility, one had to boldly throw their body into it and find a breakthrough.

A hundred years ago, most Awakeners developed their skills in exactly this way—by risking themselves to grasp possibility.

“Ghk… Ghhk…”

Zeon gasped roughly.

The price of that reckless attack was that his breath was about to give out.

Deioden opened a subspace.

He took out a potion and made Zeon drink it. Then he took out another and poured it over Zeon’s entire body.

Immediately, Zeon’s condition stabilized rapidly.

The potion Deioden used was a top-grade healing potion created in Neo Seoul.

It required extremely rare materials and was difficult to produce, so only a few bottles existed even in Neo Seoul.

As long as one wasn’t completely dead, it could instantly heal any wound.

Deioden still had several of those potions in his subspace.

“Haa…”

After a while, Zeon let out a breath and regained consciousness.

Having returned from the brink of death, he lay there blankly for a moment.

It took some time for his mind to fully return to reality.

Once he regained himself, he spoke.

“So… I’m still alive?”

“If you’d died from injuries like that, you wouldn’t be worth keeping alive.”

“Seriously…”

Zeon shook his head and pushed himself up.

His whole body ached, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from moving.

Compared to the price of risking his life, this level of pain was bearable.

Deioden looked at him and said,

“You’re finally somewhat usable now.”

“Should I say thank you?”

“Forget it. Take these.”

Deioden pulled out several items from his subspace and tossed them to Zeon.

Clothes, leather armor, and a robe.

The clothes were obtained from Neo Seoul, while the armor and robe were items from a dungeon.

Both the armor and robe came from an A-rank dungeon—far from ordinary.

The armor, made from the hide of an unknown magical beast, was covered in indecipherable inscriptions.

“It’s a bit weak against physical force, but its magic resistance is high. It’ll be very useful for you right now.”

“You’re not going to wear it yourself?”

“Armor is for weaklings like you. I don’t need it.”

“Damn it…”

Zeon’s expression twisted.

The fact that he couldn’t refute Deioden’s words made him feel miserable.

Even if it pisses me off, I’ll just have to get stronger.

Zeon changed his clothes and put on the armor.

The moment he wore it, a refreshing energy flowed through his entire body.

It seemed to be due to magical enhancement.

He then draped the robe over the armor.

The robe was similar in color to sand.

From a distance, it would be almost indistinguishable from the desert.

“Camouflage, huh?”

Zeon pulled up the hood attached to the robe.

Deioden said,

“If you’re done, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

The two left the Valley of Death, where they had stayed for months.

During their time there, the valley had been ruined beyond recognition.

What had once been a great masterpiece of nature had collapsed into something pitiful, now buried under layers of sand.

By the time they returned—if they ever did—this place would likely be completely covered, with no trace remaining.

If we ever come back, that is.

＊＊＊

Zeon and Deioden walked silently across the endless desert.

The scorching sunlight relentlessly tormented them, yet neither complained.

Deioden had lived in such a desert for a hundred years, and Zeon had also grown accustomed to it.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Zeon stopped.

Deioden silently looked at him.

After months in the hellish valley, Zeon’s sensitivity to sand and his control over it had increased dramatically.

Now, when it came to sensing the desert, even Deioden couldn’t match him.

The fact that Zeon had stopped meant he had sensed something.

After a moment, he spoke.

“I can feel a water source. It looks like an oasis will form nearby.”

“Is that so?”

Just as Deioden showed a hint of interest, moisture began to rise from the sand beneath their feet.

At first, it was only slightly damp—but as time passed, more and more water began to pool on the ground.

Soon, the wet sand sank inward, forming a fairly large oasis.

“Oh!”

As Zeon had said, an oasis formed in an instant, and even Deioden looked slightly surprised.

An oasis in the desert is like a mirage.

One day it suddenly appears, and then it disappears again.

It doesn’t vanish completely—it moves along the shifting sands to an entirely different place.

Humans cannot predict such changes. Yet Zeon had sensed in advance that an oasis would form here.

It was an ability that ordinary Awakeners could not even imagine.

Zeon asked Deioden,

“It should be here too, right?”

“You mean the Sand Angler?”

“Yes!”

“It should be. Every oasis that moves along the sands has one.”

“I thought so.”

Zeon nodded.

The suddenly formed oasis had already grown to the size of a pond.

Zeon peered into it.

Deep below, he could see a faint light.

That eerie, alluring glow that bewitched those who looked at it—it was the Sand Angler.

A C-rank magical beast that lured and devoured humans or monsters drawn to the oasis.

Zeon himself had nearly been eaten by one before.

If not for Deioden, he would have been devoured without a trace.

That didn’t mean he held any special feelings toward it.

This was simply the kind of world it was.

If you don’t devour, you get devoured.

A place where anything is permitted to survive.

The Sand Angler lured prey to live—and Zeon hunted it for the same reason.

Without hesitation, Zeon leapt into the oasis.

Sensing him, the Sand Angler rushed toward him at incredible speed.

The light grew clearer—the massive Angler behind it revealed itself.

Perhaps thinking Zeon was already prey, it charged at full speed without the slightest caution.

Zeon waited for it to come close and then swung his right fist.

Exion condensed over his gauntlet.

Like a drill, the gathered Exion was thrust straight into the Sand Angler’s mouth.

Splurt!

Like a fish pierced by a harpoon, the Sand Angler’s palate was torn open, and it writhed violently.

Ordinary sand loses cohesion in water and crumbles apart—but Exion was different.

As a weapon exclusive to sand sorcerers, Exion maintained its form even underwater.

Now!

Zeon spun the Exion embedded in the Sand Angler’s mouth.

Craaaang!

In an instant, Exion crushed the Sand Angler’s brain.

Thus ended the life of the C-rank magical beast.

The Sand Angler floated to the surface, its belly exposed.

Zeon dragged it out onto the shore.

Not bad.

The corner of Deioden’s lips curled slightly upward.

Water is the greatest enemy of sand.

Yet Zeon was freely using Exion even underwater.

It proved he clearly understood how to utilize his abilities.

Zeon began dismantling the Sand Angler.

First, he removed its belly skin.

He knew its soft, elastic hide made excellent material for robes, so he prioritized it.

Next, he cut the meat into sections.

There was nothing to waste.

Unlike most magical beasts, its flesh contained almost no toxins and tasted good.

Among all its parts, the best was its gallbladder.

When they had hunted one before, Deioden had made Zeon eat the gall first.

Zeon handed the gall—about the size of an adult torso—to Deioden.

“Eat.”

It was an incredibly rare medicinal treasure, unmatched in strengthening bones and muscles.

Zeon knew its effectiveness well from experience.

But Deioden refused outright.

“I don’t need it.”

“If you’re going to fight a dragon, shouldn’t you prepare your body in advance?”

“You think something like a Sand Angler’s gall could affect me? You’re the weak one—eat as much as you like.”

“Come on, at least say it nicer…”

Ignoring him, Deioden picked up another piece of meat.

Fwoosh!

Flames ignited in his palm.

They were made from mana.

The tender meat cooked instantly.

Deioden chewed it slowly.

After watching for a moment, Zeon also began eating the gall.

It was most effective when consumed raw.

As before, a powerful heat surged through him—but this time, there was no dramatic change.

His body had already grown stronger, and he had consumed it before.

Even after eating the entire massive gallbladder, Zeon’s stomach remained the same.

He felt full, but there was no bloating or discomfort.

It was just as fascinating as the first time.

The two ate their fill for the first time in a while.

As before, they planned to stay until every last bit of the Sand Angler’s meat was consumed.

Zeon leaned back against a sand dune and lay down.

Like this, he felt he lacked nothing.

At first, he had followed Deioden by force.

It was a choice he had no option but to make to survive.

But after growing stronger, he chose to stay with him of his own will.

Swept along like a current, wandering the desert in a daze, he had somehow made it this far.

A fight with a dragon? This is insane… or is it success? I honestly don’t know.

A boy who once struggled day by day in the slums of Neo Seoul had now reached a place where dragons existed.

No one could have imagined it.

Not even Zeon himself.

Every day felt like a dream.

But that moment of sentiment didn’t last long.

Step.

Footsteps echoed from far away.

A magical beast?

Zeon quickly got up.

Deioden was already staring intently in the direction of the sound.

But something about his expression was off.

The man who never tensed against any magical beast now had a face as rigid as stone.

At any moment, it seemed he would grab Crayon and strike.

Zeon tensed as well.

Finally, the source of the footsteps revealed itself.

A human?

Surprisingly, it was a human.

He had strikingly rich, glossy blond hair, skin so pale and flawless it looked untouched by sunlight, and an oddly unsettling aura.

His eyes were red, as if the veins had burst, and between his thin lips, sharp fangs gleamed among perfectly white teeth.

Looking at the two of them, he spoke.

“Greetings.”