Chapter 49

Zeon emerged through one of the nine mouths of Kaeshu.

The massive demonic beast—so terrifying it made one’s legs tremble just to look at it—was stretched out across the sand.

Its nine heads lay sprawled in different directions, long tongues hanging limply.

There was no trace of life anywhere in Kaeshu.

It was unmistakably dead.

“...So I’m the one who killed this thing?”

Zeon made a weary expression.

It hadn’t been a fair fight—he had relied on a trick rather than a proper method—but in the end, he had still brought down the colossal beast with his own power.

And not just any monster, but a guardian close to S-rank—a dragon’s guardian.

No awakened being in Neo Seoul had likely ever achieved such a feat.

He wanted to savor the lingering thrill of victory, but this was no time to relax.

At this very moment, Deioden was probably advancing toward the dragon.

There was no time to hesitate here.

Zeon turned his back on Kaeshu’s massive corpse and began walking. As he moved, the sand beneath him rose like dust and followed him.

It resembled moths chasing a flame.

Like that, Zeon moved forward with sand trailing behind him like a tail.

There was no doubt—A-rank was different.

It wasn’t just that the amount of mana he could wield had drastically increased.

His senses, his control over sand, the vitality of his body—everything had improved beyond comparison.

Before, he had to forcibly squeeze out power to manipulate the sand.

Now, it felt as if the sand itself was desperately trying to follow him.

It was as if their master-servant relationship had reversed.

That was how it felt to Zeon.

He suddenly looked ahead.

A suffocating darkness blocked his view.

But Zeon could feel them.

The countless chimeras hiding beyond that dark passage.

They weren’t comparable to a guardian like Kaeshu, but there were enough of them to pose a serious threat, lying in wait under the cover of darkness.

Before, he wouldn’t have sensed the presence of hidden chimeras so clearly.

But now, as an A-rank, their existence felt as vivid as if he could see them with his own eyes.

“There’s nothing more foolish than charging in blindly when you know enemies are hiding.”

Zeon had no intention of making such a mistake.

Fortunately, he had a good option.

He moved the sand that had been following him like moths.

Gaaang!

The sand spun violently and shot into the cave.

It was an application of his Sand Mixer.

The sand filled the narrow tunnel completely as it surged forward.

Kreeeak!

Kyaaak!

Agonized screams of chimeras echoed from ahead.

The rapidly rotating sand shredded the hidden creatures.

Zeon stepped into the cave the sand had swept through.

The walls and floor were littered with brutally ground remains of chimeras.

Splash. Splash.

Each step he took made the pooled blood on the ground cry out like a scream.

At last, the sand that had finished off all the monsters returned to Zeon’s side.

The sight of sand swirling around him like a cloud felt completely natural.

If he had used a skill of this magnitude before, his mana would have been rapidly drained, leaving him exhausted.

But now, it felt like nothing.

As if he had merely scooped a few buckets of water from a lake.

At this rate, it seemed he could use his skills freely without worry.

“Good.”

With a satisfied smile, Zeon quickened his pace.

After walking for a while, another vast underground cavern appeared.

Not knowing what kind of guardian might be waiting this time, Zeon entered with heightened tension.

But the scene inside was far from what he expected.

There was indeed a chimera that appeared to be a guardian.

The massive creature—easily over twenty meters tall from foot to head—was unmistakably an ogre.

However, unlike a typical ogre, it had two heads.

Its official name was Twin-Head Ogre.

The Twin-Head Ogre had eight arms attached to its torso, and even wings on its back.

It too was a chimera born from the fusion of different monsters.

Along with cyclopes, ogres were classified among the most dangerous bipedal monsters.

With their massive bodies, immense resistance to magic, and overwhelming strength, most awakened beings were nothing more than a meal to them.

The Twin-Head Ogre was several times stronger than a normal ogre.

If the Gold Dragon Hieltun had made it a guardian, it was likely a special specimen.

And yet—

That massive Twin-Head Ogre lay dead in a gruesome state.

Its tough skin, known for its incredible defense, was split open, exposing raw red flesh.

Its two heads had been severed and lay far from the body.

There was no need to confirm who had done this.

“Deioden!”

The only one capable of killing a Twin-Head Ogre like it was nothing more than a toy was Deioden.

It was clear he had passed through here.

Zeon hurried past the corpse and entered the cave beyond.

Inside, countless chimera corpses were scattered everywhere.

This too was evidence of Deioden’s path.

He had crushed everything that stood in his way.

No chimera had been able to delay him even for a moment.

Zeon followed the trail of corpses.

The deeper he went, the more the number of bodies increased exponentially.

The overwhelming stench of rot and blood pouring from the corpses was enough to make his head spin.

Still, Zeon didn’t so much as frown as he pressed forward.

After walking for a long time, yet another massive underground cavern appeared.

Just like before, a gigantic monster—likely a guardian—lay there in a gruesome death.

This time, the dead creature was a giant formed from a grotesque mass of fused chimera corpses.

“A corpse golem?”

If Kaeshu and the Twin-Head Ogre chimera were beings created by combining monsters,

then the corpse golem was a monster that Hieltun had created from nothing itself.

Gathering the corpses of chimeras and forging them into a single lifeform required several times more effort than creating something like Kaeshu or the Twin-Head Ogre chimera.

But it was worth it.

Because it was that powerful.

And yet—even such a corpse golem had failed to hold Deioden back.

A core was visible in the center of the corpse golem’s chest.

It was the same kind of magic stone as Kaeshu’s.

Hieltun had used a magic stone as the core to create the corpse golem. However, unlike Kaeshu’s, the magic stone embedded in the golem radiated a sinister aura.

Absorbing energy from something like that would clearly cause nothing but harmful side effects.

Boom!

Zeon detonated a claymore, blasting the magic stone apart.

The stone shattered into pieces and vanished, and the energy within it dispersed like smoke.

Just as Zeon was passing the corpse golem—

Ruuumble!

The entire underground space shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

Cracks formed along the ceiling and walls, and sand began to pour in through them.

Crash! Rumble!

The tremors didn’t stop after just one.

Even as Zeon moved forward, the cavern continued to shake, and a tremendous wind blasted in from ahead.

It was a violent gale that felt like it would crush his face and sweep his entire body away.

He didn’t even need to see it to know what was happening up ahead.

“Deioden… he’s fighting the dragon.”

The chaotic turbulence of mana and air within the cavern was proof enough.

Even before reaching them, goosebumps rose across Zeon’s skin, and cold sweat ran down his spine.

His body reacted to fear before his mind did.

Then came his thoughts.

For a moment, his mind went completely blank.

The overwhelming presence of the dragon erased all thought from his head.

Before he knew it, Zeon had dropped to one knee.

He hadn’t even faced the dragon directly, yet an unbearable fear pressed down on him.

Zeon gritted his teeth.

Cold sweat streamed endlessly down the contours of his face.

“So… this is the power of a dragon?”

Now he understood why dragons stood at the pinnacle of this world—Kurayan.

Even as an A-rank awakened, he was being affected just by being in the same space.

An ordinary awakened would have already coughed up blood and died.

Even if countless B-rank or lower awakened gathered, it felt impossible for them to inflict any damage on a dragon.

“Damn it!”

Zeon cursed and forced himself to stand.

Through sheer willpower, he broke free from the dragon’s oppressive presence.

His entire body was drenched in sweat, as if he had just stepped out of a bath.

“Who says I’d be scared of something like this?”

He muttered to himself like a mantra and moved forward.

Wooooom!

The wind grew stronger the closer he got.

The storm-like gale scattered the sand that had been following him into nothingness.

Even so, Zeon did not stop.

After walking for a long time, he finally arrived at an enormous underground chamber.

The cavern was so vast its size was impossible to gauge—and it was entirely made of gold.

Walls, ceiling—everything was gold.

At the center of the massive chamber, a Gold Dragon stretching over 150 meters in length and a single human were locked in fierce combat.

Hieltun and Deioden.

BOOOOM!

Each clash between them made the vast underground space tremble as if it would collapse at any moment.

Only because it had been reinforced with magic was it holding together—otherwise, it would have long since crumbled.

“...Insane!”

Zeon’s eyes widened at the sight of the two beings fighting.

Hieltun moved his massive body with surprising agility, continuously casting magic.

Flames erupted in midair, bolts of lightning surged forward—

Yet Deioden calmly evaded every attack and countered.

Moving at a speed nearly invisible to the eye, he kicked off the walls.

Tap!

With just a few steps, Deioden closed in on Hieltun and swung Crayon with all his might.

BOOOOM!

With a thunderous impact, Hieltun’s enormous body was pushed back.

Thanks to his Absolute Shield, he suffered no injury—but the force was undeniable.

The violent shock that shook his Absolute Shield made Hieltun’s eyes widen in surprise.

—How can a mere human possess such power?

“Don’t underestimate humans, you damn lizard!”

Deioden roared as he swung Crayon again.

In response, Hieltun cast Reverse Gravity.

In an instant, gravity inverted, and Deioden’s body was hurled upward.

Without wings, escaping reversed gravity should have been impossible.

But Deioden had Crayon.

Crayon possessed the ability to fly.

Relying on it, Deioden broke free from Hieltun’s magic.

“Chaah!”

He charged forward at full force, leading with Crayon.

Craaaash!

The Absolute Shield rippled violently, as if it were about to shatter.

Hieltun was visibly shaken.

Until Deioden had defeated all the guardians and arrived here, Hieltun had not considered him a serious threat.

A master of magic with the ultimate body—there was no reason for him to fear a mere human.

To Hieltun, Deioden had been nothing more than a slightly dangerous toy.

But the moment they clashed, Deioden’s power far exceeded his expectations.

Though he had the form of a human, his combat strength was anything but human.

“Die, you worthless lizard!”

BOOOOM!

Deioden’s powerful strike snapped Hieltun’s head back.

As the dragon slowly returned to position, rage burned in his golden eyes.

CRASH! CRASH!

Suddenly, massive bolts of lightning rained down across the entire cavern like a storm.

Thick pillars of lightning filled the space, leaving Deioden no room to evade.

“Hahaha! That’s not enough to bring me down!”

Even when struck head-on by the lightning, Deioden remained unharmed.

Releasing a surge of madness, he charged straight at Hieltun.

At the berserker-like sight of him, even Hieltun couldn’t hide his unease.

Zeon clenched his fists tightly as he watched the battle.

It was frustrating—but this was not a fight he could dare to interfere in.

“Damn it!”

“There’s no need to feel so frustrated. Before long, you’ll become as strong as Deioden… no, even stronger.”

At that moment, a sorrowful voice spoke right beside him.

Turning his head, Zeon saw a spider-woman lying on the ground, her upper and lower body severed, looking up at him.

He instinctively knew it was Deioden’s doing.

“Who are you?”

“Eblis Rayonia. That was my name when I was human.”