Chapter 117

Chapter 117

“Why? You awakened such a rare ability, yet you have no ambition? How disappointing!”

A look of contempt appeared on Lee Ji-ryeong’s face.

The kind of people he hated most were those who lived meaningless lives day after day without ambition.

It would be one thing if they had no ability, but for someone with ability to waste time like that was truly the worst.

In that sense, Zeon was the worst kind.

At least by Lee Ji-ryeong’s standards.

Even so, the reason he could not give up was because Zeon’s awakened ability was simply too fraudulent.

‘An ability that lets him control sand at will.’

Most of the world was covered in sand.

Because of the sand, humanity’s territory could no longer expand.

Neo Seoul was the same.

It had barely managed to occupy the land of Old Seoul, and it could not even dream of advancing outside in earnest.

On this palm-sized patch of land, people clawed at each other, arguing over who was better than whom.

Lee Ji-ryeong hated that reality so much it made his skin crawl. But since there had been no solution, he had stood by and watched until now.

Now the situation had changed.

Because of the man standing before him.

With Zeon, Neo Seoul’s territory could be expanded as much as they wished.

It meant there was a possibility that humans could become the masters of Earth again.

That was why he could not give Zeon up.

“My offer still stands.”

“My answer still stands too.”

“You disappoint me to the very end, Zeon! In that case, I’ll force you to submit.”

Before he had even finished speaking, the Lightning Field expanded further.

Now, lightning flashed within a fifty-meter radius around him.

Everywhere one looked, lightning was flickering.

“Chaah! Giga Lightning Spear!”

A bolt of lightning of tremendous thickness, incomparable to anything before it, struck down at Zeon.

Zeon used Sand Walk and avoided Lee Ji-ryeong’s attack.

The enormous bolt of lightning landed where he had been standing by a hair’s breadth.

Sand burst apart, and a massive pit more than five meters deep was gouged into the ground.

It was truly fearsome power.

But without changing expression, Zeon crooked a finger. Then the sand in the area shot toward Lee Ji-ryeong like streams of water.

It was a high-pressure Sand Blaster.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

But the Sand Blaster failed to pierce the membrane of lightning flickering around Lee Ji-ryeong and burst apart.

“No chance. Your ability is impressive, but with that level of attack power, you can’t do anything to me.”

Lee Ji-ryeong sneered at Zeon.

Zeon smiled as well.

“Then shall I raise the power a little?”

“What?”

WHIRRR—!

At that instant, the sand around the place Lee Ji-ryeong stood began spinning at terrifying speed.

One of Zeon’s Skills, Sand Blender, had been activated.

The sand, rotating so fast it was almost invisible to the eye, swallowed Lee Ji-ryeong in an instant.

Lee Ji-ryeong hurriedly tried to escape the sand, but tremendous pressure crushed him down, leaving him unable to exert strength.

“This is......!”

GRIND—!

Everything he could see was sand.

A dizzying sense of isolation and danger, as if he had been thrown whole into a blender, assaulted Lee Ji-ryeong.

If one were trapped in sand spinning like this, even a gigantic monster would surely have its flesh ground away and its bones crushed.

But Lee Ji-ryeong was no mere monster.

Nor was he an ordinary Awakened.

He was the being closest to the Lightning God.

“Hraaaah! Lightning Wave!”

With his shout, lightning surged around his body like waves.

The first wave of lightning struck the Sand Blender, and then the second, third, and fourth waves of lightning swept through.

The sand that had been spinning at such terrifying speed burned away and scattered, and Lee Ji-ryeong regained his freedom.

After escaping the sand, Lee Ji-ryeong immediately tried to counterattack.

Then his eyes caught sight of the sand soldiers rising around Zeon.

Zeon had summoned Sand Soldiers.

At the sight of more than dozens of Sand Soldiers, Lee Ji-ryeong could not help letting out a hollow laugh.

“Ha! Isn’t this cheating? You can make soldiers out of sand?”

“I’d say your ability is plenty fraudulent too.”

“That means wave tactics are possible too. Now I really want this too much.”

Lee Ji-ryeong licked his lips.

To defeat Zeon, he would have to use his full strength.

If that happened, one of them would definitely die.

It would be a problem if he died, but it would also be a problem if Zeon died.

“Fine! Let’s end it here for today.”

“I thought we were going to see this through to the end.”

“You’re not my mortal enemy, so why should I?”

“I’m the enemy who killed your younger brother, aren’t I?”

“That bastard was trash. He wasn’t even recyclable. He caused a major incident in Neo Seoul, and I barely cleaned it up for him before telling him to stay hidden quietly. But he couldn’t control himself and caused another incident, then crossed the wrong person and died. That bastard was always like that. He caused trouble endlessly, and I cleaned it up. For no reason other than the fact that we had the same blood. I did more than enough. I don’t want to make a fool of myself now by avenging that crippled bastard.”

“You’re cold.”

“That’s the kind of world you have to live in. Ability comes before blood ties, and maintaining good relationships with strong Awakened is how you survive longer.”

Lee Ji-ryeong withdrew the Lightning Field.

The lightning that had covered the area vanished without a trace.

No hostility could be felt from Lee Ji-ryeong anymore.

Whether his words were sincere or not was impossible to know, but at least in this moment, it was clear that he was not treating Zeon as an enemy.

Lee Ji-ryeong said,

“Zeon!”

“Speak.”

“I’ll forget the grudge over my brother’s death. I won’t come looking for you to kill you anymore.”

“That’s a gracious thing.”

“You owe me a debt. Don’t forget that.”

“Could that even be called a debt? I think you’re the one who owes me a debt.”

“Think whatever you like. Just make sure you remember that our relationship is no longer hostile.”

Lee Ji-ryeong was thoroughly self-centered.

His attitude was absurd, but Zeon did not say anything more.

They had gone to the trouble of patching things up, and he did not want to reopen the wound for no reason.

CRACKLE!

Lightning flickered beneath Lee Ji-ryeong’s feet.

“The one who gave me information about you was Johan.”

“I thought it was him.”

“Yes! He egged me on and tried to make me kill you. Be careful. That old man will do anything for his purpose.”

“I know.”

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

BOOM!

At that instant, the lightning flashing beneath Lee Ji-ryeong’s feet exploded.

Using the propulsion of the blast, Lee Ji-ryeong shot far into the sky in an instant.

Zeon watched Lee Ji-ryeong vanish like a flash of lightning and murmured,

“He’s like a Lightning God.”

---

“Are you okay?”

When he returned home, Briel was the first to greet him.

“Yeah, I’m fine!”

“Really?”

Briel could not believe it and circled around Zeon.

Only after confirming with her own eyes that Zeon had not suffered a single wound did Briel let out a sigh of relief.

“Whew! Thank goodness.”

Then Levin asked carefully,

“How was he, hyung?”

“He was strong.”

“Compared to me?”

Levin’s eyes were shining more intensely than ever before.

Zeon immediately recognized the emotion in his eyes as competitive spirit.

“You’re not in a position to be compared yet.”

“Is he...... that strong?”

“Yes!”

“Ghh!”

Levin’s face twisted.

It was something he had already sensed, but hearing it from Zeon’s mouth made him feel even more miserable.

“But if you were the same grade, you would be much stronger.”

“Really?”

“Yes! You have an ability he doesn’t.”

“Specter, you mean Ghost Transformation?”

“That’s right! If you develop that ability well, you’ll definitely be able to surpass Lee Ji-ryeong someday.”

“Got it.”

Levin nodded.

‘I’m still young. I’ve still got plenty of room to grow.’

He had realized it clearly while facing the Vampire Bats.

His own ability was fraudulent.

And depending on his own efforts, he could grow even further.

He was only Grade C now.

If he later became Grade B, then Grade A, things would be different from now.

When that time came, he hoped he could fight Lee Ji-ryeong, the man who had given him despair, properly.

Zeon thought it was a good thing.

That was because it had given Levin a clear motive.

Nothing helped growth as much as having a goal one wanted to surpass.

With today’s events as a trigger, Levin would grow even faster.

Zeon took off his robe and sat on the sofa.

Quite a lot had happened in just a few days.

It had not been physically difficult, but mentally, it had left him rather exhausted.

Levin and Briel did not disturb Zeon.

Levin went out, saying he had business to take care of, and Briel entered her room and spread out the materials she had bought today.

‘This time, I’ll definitely succeed.’

Briel immediately immersed herself in alchemy.

---

“So Zeon returned safely?”

“That is correct.”

“Are you sure? You didn’t see wrong?”

“I confirmed it with my own eyes.”

At Kim Jae-kyung’s answer, Johan deeply furrowed his brow.

“Then what about Lee Ji-ryeong?”

“It has been confirmed that he entered Neo Seoul.”

“He just entered Neo Seoul?”

“That is correct.”

“Didn’t you say the two of them definitely met?”

“Yes!”

“Then how could both of them return unharmed?”

Johan slammed his fist down on the desk.

The one who had given Lee Ji-ryeong information about Zeon was Johan.

Lee Ji-ryeong was a strong man recognized even within Neo Seoul.

His first known estimated grade alone had been Grade B.

A long time had passed since then, so by now, he might even have become Grade A.

He was an absolute powerhouse whom even Johan could not take lightly.

Johan had stirred up such an absolute powerhouse’s grudge and arranged for him to meet Zeon.

Naturally, Johan had thought the two would fight fiercely and end up wounded or dead.

It would have been fine if Zeon died, and it would have been fine if Lee Ji-ryeong was wounded.

If Zeon died, Johan could naturally advance into Shinchon, and even if Zeon won, if he suffered serious wounds, Johan’s people could step in and finish him off.

Either way, Johan had nothing to lose.

But all his plans had gone awry.

He did not know what had happened, but both of them had returned safely to their respective residences.

“Is it certain that the two fought?”

“We cannot know. They vanished into the desert in an instant.”

“How useless. This isn’t what I expected from you.”

“I apologize.”

Kim Jae-kyung’s body trembled.

Fear was plain on her face.

When he was benevolent, Johan seemed like a saint, but when angered, he could become crueler than a demon.

If one incurred his wrath, even a close confidant would not remain unharmed.

To Johan, subordinates were like mass-produced goods that could be stamped out at any time.

Kim Jae-kyung’s ability was somewhat special, but that did not mean there were no replacements at all.

“Find out exactly what happened in the desert, and look for a way to deal with him.”

“Understood.”

“We must put Shinchon in our grasp. Only then can we evangelize the Lord’s teachings throughout all of Neo Seoul.”

A deep madness hung in Johan’s eyes behind his glasses.

He walked to the window.

In the distance, the towering City Hall building was visible.

“I will put a cross on the top of that City Hall building. No matter what.”