Chapter 150

Chapter 150

Sand Blaster.

It was a Skill Zeon liked to use.

It was also the first Skill he had mastered.

That was how skilled he was at using it.

The power of a single Sand Blaster was not particularly impressive. But if dozens were fired at once, the story changed.

It possessed enough power to grind up most monsters in a single breath. In fact, Zeon had hunted many monsters with Sand Blaster.

But his opponent was the Balrog.

The hardness of its body surpassed that of most large monsters, and above all, it possessed a powerful force field.

High-grade monsters above Grade A possessed force fields, and those force fields displayed powerful defensive strength against most physical and magical attacks.

Naturally, the higher the monster’s grade, the stronger that force field became.

The Balrog did not have an exact grade.

That was because it had appeared in the world for the first time today.

But Zeon could tell just from its presence and force field.

‘It’s above Grade S.’

That meant Grade S was the minimum.

If it was already this powerful right after awakening, then once it fully recovered its strength, it might become impossible to even estimate.

‘You really did wake up a monster like this, Damian.’

The Balrog was a monster capable of destroying most colonies in an instant.

And Damian had released such a monster right in front of Neo Seoul.

Even if it had been to lure out the elves and obtain information about Elharun, this had gone too far.

Perhaps that meant Damian trusted Zeon that much.

He believed Zeon would surely stop the Balrog.

WHOOOSH—!

The flame whip flew in at a speed invisible to the eye.

Zeon used Sand Walk and retreated.

By a hair’s breadth, the flame whip brushed past the space in front of Zeon’s face.

SIZZLE!

It had merely grazed past, yet the air boiled.

The air had heated so fiercely that even most Awakened would have had their skin melt away.

But heat of this degree could not harm Zeon at all.

He had the Gauntlet of Extreme Heat.

The Gauntlet of Extreme Heat, embedded with the Red Dragon’s Eye, protected Zeon perfectly from flames.

At the very least, he would not die to the Balrog’s flame attacks.

If so, what remained was a pure exchange of Skills and bodies.

WHOOOSH—!

The flame whip flew at him again.

Even excluding the flames, its pure offensive power alone was enough to tear apart the bodies of most monsters.

CLANG—!

Zeon blocked the flame whip with the Gauntlet of Extreme Heat.

This too was only possible because the hardness of the Gauntlet of Extreme Heat was no less than that of the flame whip.

BANG, BANG, BANG!

The flame whip and the Gauntlet of Extreme Heat collided again and again, bursting the air apart and sending flame storms raging in every direction.

Zeon and the Balrog clashed while moving at speeds invisible to the eye.

Their movements were so fast that Serian and Mariel could not follow them with their eyes.

Elder Go kept his barrier maintained, his mouth hanging open.

“He was this strong?”

He had known Zeon was powerful.

The very fact that the twins he had sent to stop him had not contacted him proved Zeon’s strength.

But he had never expected Zeon’s physical abilities to be strong enough to stand equal to the Balrog.

“Then is he a martial-type Awakened?”

Elder Go soon rejected his own thought.

Zeon was not simply a martial-type Awakened.

The sand rippling around him proved that fact.

The sand was surging as if responding to Zeon.

It looked exactly like hunting dogs awaiting their master’s command.

If Zeon gave the order, they were ready to tear into the prey’s throat at any time.

At that moment, Zeon gestured with his hand. Then the sand floated into the air and clumped together.

The masses of sand, each as thick as a child’s forearm, shot toward the Balrog at terrifying speed.

It was Sand Missile.

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!

Dozens of Sand Missiles exploded across the Balrog’s massive body as it swung its whip wildly.

But they caused no damage to the Balrog’s body.

That was because the force field protected its entire body.

Zeon knew that fact as well.

Even so, he poured Sand Missiles onto it in order to wear down the force field.

No matter how powerful a force field was, it could not be maintained indefinitely.

The Balrog was no different.

There was no way the Balrog, which had only just occupied Damian’s body, had any leeway. That was why Zeon was pouring a barrage of numbers onto it to shave down its force field.

Fortunately, inside the barrier Elder Go had created, there was an enormous amount of sand. And Zeon possessed the control to command that vast amount of sand.

“Let’s get serious.”

Zeon raised the sand.

The sand rose like a tidal wave and crashed down on the Balrog.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE—!

Seeing the sand tidal wave, dozens of meters high, swallowing the Balrog, Serian covered her mouth with one hand.

“A Sand......mancer?”

“Good heavens!”

Eli’s eyes widened as well.

A giant pillar of sand rose and lifted Zeon into the air.

With that, the fact that Zeon was a Sandmancer became certain.

GRAAAAR!

The Balrog, enraged to the tips of its hair, unleashed The Eye of Destruction.

The red beam fired from the Balrog’s eyes instantly melted the sand supporting Zeon.

The sand melted and flowed down like lava.

In an instant, the inside of the barrier transformed into a volcanic region.

Rivers of lava flowed everywhere, and the air grew scorching hot.

Simply breathing felt as though it would cook one’s lungs.

“Hrk!”

“Damn it!”

Those who had barely survived covered their mouths with their sleeves and retreated.

“Your Majesty!”

Even as Borin pulled her back by the hand, Serian could not take her eyes off Zeon.

Zeon spread both hands wide like a conductor. Then the sand in front of the Balrog chasing him exploded like a bomb.

BOOOOM—!

Tremendous pressure and countless grains of sand engulfed the Balrog.

Zeon had unleashed Claymore.

Most monsters would be torn apart like rags by a single blast of Claymore.

But his opponent was the Balrog.

A monster called a calamity.

The sand failed to pierce the force field formed around the Balrog’s body and scattered in every direction.

“This won’t work! We have to help him.”

“We must not, Your Majesty!”

Eli objected.

She hurriedly stepped in front of Serian and continued speaking.

“Didn’t you see it too, Your Majesty? That man harbors ill will toward races like ours. If we help him, he’ll surely stab us in the back.”

“Eli!”

“We must judge coldly. If Elharun’s location is exposed, every one of our races who crossed over from Kurayan will be placed in danger.”

Eli’s eyes were bloodshot.

She had always coveted Serian’s position and secretly opposed her. But there was one thing on which her will aligned perfectly with Serian’s.

Elharun.

Elharun was the final bastion of everyone who had crossed over from Kurayan.

Until they possessed greater power, they had to protect Elharun.

“There is no need for us to use our strength. We only have to let the humans inside this barrier die. Then Elharun’s secret will be protected.”

“No, Your Majesty!”

Borin rebelled against Eli’s words.

“How dare you!”

Eli glared at her with savage eyes, but Borin paid no mind and continued speaking.

“I understand that Elharun is an important place. But this place is important too. Whatever else may be true, Neo Seoul is where we live, is it not? We already live while watching the humans’ moods. If even this place falls, our people living here will have nowhere to go.”

“Why would they have nowhere? There is Elharun, isn’t there?”

“I don’t know Elharun. This place is my home. Most of our kin probably think the same as I do.”

“What do you know, running your mouth like that? Shut it.”

“I’m sorry. But I must say what needs to be said. If we don’t help Zeon now, countless people in Neo Seoul will die. Neo Seoul itself may not suffer much damage, but the people of the slums will find it difficult to avoid death. If they die, the hatred and resentment directed at us will deepen even further.”

After pouring out everything she wanted to say, Borin looked as though her chest had finally cleared.

It did not matter if she earned Eli’s hatred because of this and suffered some disadvantage.

Eli’s gaze turned toward Serian.

“You must not listen to that wench.”

“Eli!”

“Humans are our enemies. You must never forget that.”

“Hoo! I’m sorry, Eli. I have always respected your opinion, but this time, I cannot.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Even if Elharun’s location is exposed because of this decision, we must prevent many people from dying. And if we leave the Balrog alone, do you think we will be safe? We might be safe for the moment, but in the end, we too will suffer tremendous damage from the Balrog.”

“But......”

“Enough. This is an order. If you object to my words any further, I will regard it as insubordination and punish you.”

Serian looked at Eli with cold eyes.

At that point, even Eli could no longer oppose her.

‘Damn it!’

Humiliated, Eli bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

Serian ignored Eli and stepped forward.

She could see Zeon fighting fiercely against the Balrog.

The space inside the barrier had already transformed into a volcanic region.

This too was the Balrog’s authority.

Monsters that surpassed grades, like the Balrog, changed the surrounding environment to suit themselves.

They instinctively terraformed the area around them.

The Balrog was a monster born within the flames of hell.

For the Balrog, which had grown by feeding on high heat and flame, this terrain was the optimal space where it could exert its greatest strength.

As the environment changed, the Balrog gained even greater power.

Zeon’s offensive against that Balrog also grew fiercer.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

Zeon dragged in sand wherever he could and attacked the Balrog. But the sand in the area had mostly melted, so the amount he could command was limited.

Zeon bit his lip slightly.

‘Do I have to go all out?’

If he set his mind to it, he could move even the sand beneath that lava. But if he did, it would amount to revealing his full strength.

Just as Zeon was hesitating, it happened.

“I’ll help you.”

Serian shouted loudly and unleashed a Skill.

An enormous cluster of light burst from her entire body and shot toward Zeon.

At that instant, Zeon felt a vast power boiling up within him.

It was one of Serian’s Skills, Blessing of the Earth.

Blessing of the Earth was a buff Skill that temporarily transferred her mana to another.

Serian was a Grade S Awakened.

Naturally, her mana was as wide and deep as the sea.

She transferred a considerable portion of that tremendous mana to Zeon.

Even Zeon was slightly surprised by the immense fullness he had never felt before.

‘If it’s this much......’

Even if he deliberately used a mighty Skill, no one would believe that it was his own original ability.

That was enough.

“Good!”

Zeon shouted and flew into the air.

The Balrog flew after him.

At some point, a pair of flame wings had grown on the Balrog’s back.

Flapping those flame wings, the Balrog approached Zeon in an instant.

BANG!

The Balrog broke through the speed of sound, and a sonic boom erupted.

The flame whip in its hand transformed into a spear-like point and aimed for Zeon’s throat.

At the moment of absolute crisis, Zeon quietly murmured,

“Sand Storm!”

ROOOOAR—!

At that instant, the lava overturned, and the enormous quantity of sand buried beneath it surged into the air.

The surging sand rotated terrifyingly and swallowed the Balrog and flame whip that had been attacking Zeon.

Zeon’s attack did not stop there.

“Sand Blender!”

GRIIIIIND—!

The exquisitely fine grains of sand spun like a blender and scraped away the Balrog’s force field.

With the force field gone, the Balrog’s skin was exposed to the grains of sand rotating at terrifying speed.

GRRRAAAATE!

The Balrog’s skin, so hard until now, began to be shaved away little by little by the fine grains of sand.

GRAAAAR!

In tremendous pain, the Balrog unleashed Fear and fired The Eye of Destruction wildly.

High-heat beams filled with flame struck everywhere inside the barrier.

Elder Go vomited blood and shouted,

“Damn it! I can’t hold much longer. Finish it quickly!”

At that moment, Serian and Borin unleashed attack Skills.

Their attacks scattered the grains of sand in every direction, blocking everyone’s view.

At that instant, Zeon released Exion.

At last, he had unleashed maximum output.

With black sand draped behind him like wings, Zeon struck the Balrog directly.

BOOOOM—!