Chapter 82
Goran’s face hardened menacingly.
Zeon’s mocking tone had struck his pride.
“Hah! The arrogance of a brat like you reaches the heavens.”
“I do pride myself on being a bit arrogant.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Makes me even more pissed. I feel like I won’t be satisfied until I tear you limb from limb.”
A sticky killing intent filled Goran’s voice.
Since taking control of Sinchon, this was the first time he had been cornered like this.
What angered him even more was the realization that this entire situation—one he believed he was controlling—was actually under Zeon’s control.
Goran knew.
The truly terrifying ones were those who controlled the flow of battle like this.
Before Zeon could grow any further, he had to be cut down completely.
Cracking his neck, Goran said,
“You’re the first one who’s made me this serious. So consider it an honor to die by my hands.”
Swoosh!
At that moment, without a sound, a vajra shot out from behind Zeon.
It was aimed precisely at his lower back—to sever his spine in a single strike.
But just before it hit, Zeon’s body slid sideways.
He had avoided it using Sand Step.
“Damn it!”
With a curse, a cold-faced man appeared from empty air.
It was Taeo—one of Goran’s trusted subordinates.
“Tch.”
Goran clicked his tongue.
His carefully prepared trap had failed.
He had set Taeo in place for a contingency.
Taeo specialized in assassination, a martial-type Awakened.
On top of that, Ava had concealed his presence completely with illusion magic.
Even Goran’s prolonged conversation had been to distract Zeon.
But Zeon avoided the ambush as if he had known it all along.
At this point, the only option left was to kill him with everything they had.
“Hya!”
“Ha!”
Taeo and Ava attacked Zeon simultaneously.
Zeon stepped back using Sand Step.
He retreated toward the beds where people were lying.
“Now!”
Boom!
At Goran’s shout, one of the people lying on a bed exploded.
In the short time since Zeon entered, Goran had already turned several of them into human bombs as a precaution.
Caught in the explosion, Zeon was blown backward.
Taeo charged at him immediately, Ava cast her magic, and Goran detonated more human bombs.
It was the same combination that had once allowed them to crush countless rivals and take control of Sinchon.
Even without Eaton and Dolkan, the three of them were more than enough to destroy most Awakened.
The problem was—
Zeon was not “most Awakened.”
Zeon swung his hand.
The sand scattered across the ground rose like serpents and attacked the three of them.
It was his skill—Viper.
“What the—?”
“Sand snakes?”
“Shit!”
Startled, the three scattered in all directions.
They had fought many Awakened, but never once had they encountered someone who controlled sand.
Shh—shh—shhk!
Like venomous serpents, the Vipers lunged for their throats.
They pursued their targets like magic missiles.
Realizing they couldn’t dodge, each of them used their own abilities to defend themselves.
Taeo blocked with his vajra, Ava with magic, and Goran with Air Bombs.
Boom! Boom!
Explosions burst in midair as sand scattered in all directions.
“Ugh!”
Ava groaned.
She hadn’t been injured—but sand had gotten into her eyes.
Instinctively, she shut them.
Zeon didn’t miss that opening.
He rushed straight toward her.
“No!”
“Ava!”
Taeo and Goran shouted, trying to save her—
But Zeon was faster.
His right hand covered Ava’s face.
Flames erupted from his palm.
The extreme heat melted her face in an instant.
She died before she could even scream.
At her horrific and unexpected death, Goran and Taeo’s eyes widened.
Zeon immediately surged toward them.
“Yaaah!”
“Die!”
Goran and Taeo unleashed their strongest skills.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The people on the beds exploded in a chain reaction.
Taeo’s vajra, wrapped in red aura, shot toward Zeon like an arrow.
Zeon was engulfed in the explosions—
And Taeo’s vajra pierced straight through the center of the blast.
“Got him.”
“It’s over.”
Goran and Taeo shouted at the same time.
Their excitement at believing they had killed Zeon clouded their judgment.
Because of that—
They didn’t notice.
At some point, sand had begun floating all around them.
They realized it only moments later.
“Sand?”
“Since when—?”
Gaaaanng!
In that instant, the sand floating around them began spinning at terrifying speed.
It was Zeon’s skill—Sand Mixer.
The violently rotating sand particles devoured everything.
First, they shredded the clothes on their bodies into dust. Then they began grinding away their skin.
Next came the muscles.
Goran and Taeo screamed at the top of their lungs, trying to escape—but it was useless.
The Sand Mixer swallowed not only their bodies, but even their voices.
Brielle stared at the scene with her eyes wide open.
Gaaaanng!
In the silent underground space, only the sound of grinding gears echoed.
Her body trembled, as if she herself were being torn apart.
After a while, the horrifying sound faded, and the swirling sand settled back onto the ground.
What remained were two mangled lumps of flesh.
Goran and Taeo—ground down beyond recognition.
They staggered briefly, then collapsed.
That was their end.
“My… God.”
Brielle covered her mouth with both hands.
Her pupils shook violently.
She had never seen such a skill.
She had never even imagined it.
“A sand-controlling ability? Then… a Sand Mage?”
Through the lingering flames, she saw Zeon slowly walking forward.
Despite Goran’s explosions and Taeo’s attacks, Zeon stood completely unharmed.
That only made her more terrified.
Zeon glanced at the remains of Goran and Taeo and muttered,
“Not exactly a skill meant to be used on humans… I should hold back next time.”
He had expected them to last a bit longer—it seemed he had overestimated them.
Shaking his head slightly, Zeon looked around.
The underground space had been completely devastated by Goran’s abilities.
Everyone lying on the beds had been caught in the explosions and killed.
The only survivor was Brielle.
As Zeon approached her, he said,
“Keeping secrets is easier if I just kill you.”
He didn’t want the fact that he was a sand user to become known—at least not yet.
Quick-witted, Brielle immediately spoke,
“W-wait! I’ll keep your secret. Please, just spare me.”
“Hmm. I don’t trust promises.”
“I’m an elf. A High Elf. We keep our promises better than humans.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re an elf who makes drugs. Why should I trust a drug-maker’s promise? Killing you would be much simpler.”
Damn it!
Panic spread across Brielle’s face.
She had experienced the worst of the human world.
Naturally, she understood why Zeon wanted to keep his abilities hidden.
The potential of a Sand Mage is limitless. The powerful figures of Neo Seoul would definitely try to control him.
Zeon knew that too—that’s why he was protecting his secret.
Even though she had been reduced to making drugs under human coercion, she still wanted to live.
She was only twelve years old.
For an elf, who could live hundreds of years, she was practically a newborn.
She didn’t want to die like this.
Desperately, she said,
“I—I’ll swear an oath.”
“What good is that?”
“A High Elf’s oath is different. It’s binding.”
“Binding?”
“If I make a soul oath, I have to keep it. If I break it, I die instantly.”
“That kind of thing exists? The elves I’ve met never mentioned it.”
“That’s because they were ordinary elves. I’m a High Elf.”
“So High Elves are different?”
“Of course we are!”
Brielle shouted.
Zeon frowned slightly.
Unlike Deioden, he didn’t hold any particular feelings toward elves.
If they were enemies, he would kill them—but he had no desire to hunt them down otherwise.
As Zeon seemed to hesitate, Brielle played her final card.
“My true name is Brielle Roa. I swear, in the name of Brielle Roa, to keep your secret and follow you.”
A radiant light blossomed from her body.
At that moment, Zeon felt something connect between his heart and hers.
Instinctively, he understood—
If she broke the oath, she would die.
Zeon clicked his tongue.
“Tch. You didn’t have to swear to follow me. Just keeping the secret would’ve been enough.”
“I—I panicked… damn it…”
Only now realizing she had gone too far, Brielle stammered.
But the oath had already been made.
It was too late to undo it.
Regret was meaningless.
“I’ll free you first.”
Zeon grabbed the chain binding her ankles.
Strange patterns were engraved into it.
They were spells restricting her abilities—that’s why she hadn’t been able to break it before.
Fwoosh!
The chains that had bound her for so long melted away effortlessly.
“Ah…”
Brielle blinked several times in disbelief.
She cautiously moved her foot.
There was no resistance.
“Freedom… I’m free.”
She hopped in place, savoring the feeling.
But it didn’t take long for reality to hit her.
“Damn it! Why did I make that oath…?”
Now that she had made a soul oath to Zeon, she had no choice but to follow him.
She had escaped the den of drug addicts—
Only to be bound by a new chain.
“Ugh… whatever. I’ll figure something out.”
In the end, she chose to avoid reality.
After living so long among humans, her way of thinking had become similar to theirs.
Meanwhile, Zeon checked the underground space for any survivors.
Unfortunately, everyone had been killed in the explosions.
Even if they hadn’t, they likely wouldn’t have lived long.
Croker had kept them in a near-death state, supplying only minimal nutrients through tubes.
In their severely weakened condition, having their blood regularly drained meant their lives were already hanging by a thread.
Zeon looked at the bodies with a bitter expression, then turned away.
Brielle approached him.
“Kid. I’ve freed you, so go back to your people.”
“Damn it! I told you—I already made the oath!”
“I said I’d release you.”
“I swore to follow you, so I have no choice!”
“So?”
“I don’t know. Feels like my life is screwed.”