Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Aura could be seen gathering around Gawain’s two fists.

His aura was far more intense and brilliant than Kleing’s or Mashimoto’s. It was proof that his grade was higher than theirs.

His grade was one level higher than Zeon’s as well.

If judged purely by ability stats, Zeon could never defeat him.

But this place was a desert.

The entire desert was his stage and his canvas.

Here, he could paint any picture he wanted.

SHOOO!

Sand walls surged up from every direction and protected Zeon. But the sand walls were soon broken by Gawain’s fists.

Zeon did not panic and unleashed Sand Missile.

It was the same method he had used to kill Kleing moments ago.

“Not a chance.”

Gawain swung his fist and smashed the Sand Missile apart.

After seeing Kleing die moments ago, he had already grasped Zeon’s attack method.

“Die!”

After neutralizing the Sand Missile in an instant, Gawain reached Zeon. He swung his huge fist at Zeon.

“Hup!”

At that moment, with a shout, Zeon vanished from Gawain’s sight.

A large pit had formed beneath Zeon’s feet in an instant and swallowed him.

Because it had happened so suddenly, Gawain looked dumbfounded.

From beneath Gawain’s feet, Zeon fired Sand Missiles upward at random.

BOBOBOBOOM!

Together with the sound of fireworks bursting, Gawain’s body jolted.

“Grrrgh!”

Gawain curled his body tightly and minimized the impact.

As befitted a Grade D Awakened, he possessed strong durability. He also strengthened and protected his entire body with aura.

Because of that, he could endure to some extent even under the indiscriminate bombardment of Sand Missiles.

But if he continued taking the indiscriminate barrage like this, it was clear he would lose his life without even getting a chance to counterattack.

Gawain gritted his teeth.

“Do not look down on me. Wooooar!”

He let out a monstrous roar and struck his fist down toward the ground.

CRAAACK!

His fist struck the sandy ground, and a shockwave burst out.

His Skill, Shockwave, had activated.

The shockwave completely overturned the sand in the area.

The pit where Zeon was hiding could not avoid Shockwave either.

“Grrgh!”

The shockwave concussed Zeon’s brain.

His eardrums and the capillaries in his eyes burst.

At Gawain’s unexpected counterattack, Zeon staggered.

Gawain did not miss that opening and leapt into the pit.

“It’s over, kid!”

He unleashed Shockwave toward Zeon.

If Zeon took a direct hit, there would be no guarantee of his life.

“Yaaaaah!”

At that instant, together with Zeon’s shout, the surrounding sand poured straight into the pit.

The mound of sand swept over Gawain and Zeon like a wave.

As the sand struck, Gawain’s Shockwave was canceled.

“Grrgh!”

Gawain, who had suddenly been buried alive in sand, quickly regained his senses.

A massive amount of sand pressed down on his entire body.

The first thing Gawain did was check whether Zeon was nearby. But he could not sense Zeon’s presence anywhere.

He had clearly escaped the sand pit.

‘That rat bastard......’

Gawain trembled with rage and raised his body.

BOOM!

When he unleashed Shockwave, the massive amount of sand covering him burst apart.

Gawain was guarding the top of the sand pit, preparing for Zeon’s next attack.

SQUELCH!

Suddenly, tremendous pain came from his lower body.

“What...... the hell?”

He looked down with an expression of disbelief.

More than ten spikes were piercing through his lower body and abdomen in crisscrossing lines.

They were spikes made of sand.

He had prepared only for a surprise attack from above, not for an attack from inside the very pit he was in.

That was because he had believed Zeon had already escaped.

That was when it happened.

Suddenly, Zeon rose from the bottom of the pit.

“Kuh-hurk! You?”

Gawain spat blood and looked at Zeon.

He truly had not expected Zeon to have hidden inside the pit while perfectly deceiving his senses. That made it even more shocking.

There was only one ability that could handle sand this freely.

“You, could you be a sand...... Awakened?”

“Yes!”

“Insane! You awakened such a fraudulent ability. Cough!”

Gawain spat blood once more.

At that moment, Zeon withdrew his control. Then the sand spikes that had pierced Gawain’s body collapsed and returned to grains of sand.

When the sand spikes that had been supporting his body disappeared, Gawain collapsed as well. And he never moved again.

“Haa!”

Only then did the tension leave Zeon, and he sank to the ground.

In truth, the final Skill he had used to attack Gawain had been improvised.

It was a method that had come to him on the spot in the very moment his life was at risk.

He could not guarantee the gamble would work, but he had trusted his instincts and followed them.

Instead of escaping outside the pit, he hid beneath Gawain’s feet and concealed his presence with sand.

If Gawain had noticed even by the smallest chance, everything would have ended.

If he had taken Shockwave from that close, Zeon’s life would have vanished in an instant.

“Haa! Haa!”

It was when Zeon was breathing roughly.

“You son of a bitch!”

“Die!”

The Scavengers who had crawled out of the pit ambushed him.

By the time Zeon looked in shock, their weapons were already about to touch his body.

He had neither the time nor the strength to dodge.

Just when Zeon thought of death,

SHOOOONG!

An invisible force swept over Zeon’s head.

GUSH—!

The Scavengers who had been attacking Zeon were cut in two by the invisible force and fell.

The blood they spilled poured over Zeon.

“Ah!”

Covered completely in their blood, Zeon only moved his mouth soundlessly.

Then Deioden’s voice reached his ears.

“To let your guard down when enemies still remained.”

Zeon lowered his head.

Even if he was cursed at, he had nothing to say.

“You are still far from enough, cripple!”

Deioden’s insult became a dagger and stabbed into his chest.

---

Deioden put Crayon away.

He had launched aura with Crayon and cut down every enemy who had ambushed Zeon.

Deioden’s skill in sending aura flying across dozens of meters was truly terrifying. But what surprised Pabilsa was not Deioden, but Zeon.

He muttered with an expression of disbelief.

“My God! An Awakened who controls sand?”

He had wandered the desert for many years and met many Awakened, but not once had he ever seen an Awakened who controlled sand.

He had not even imagined such a being could exist.

Pabilsa looked at Deioden.

Deioden still wore a displeased expression.

He did not like that Zeon had failed to finish things properly and brought danger upon himself.

‘No wonder that monster is taking him around.’

Only now did he feel he understood why Deioden was traveling with Zeon.

In a desertified world, the existence that could display the greatest power was none other than a Sandmancer.

Although Zeon had only just begun to bloom his ability and its power was weaker than expected, his potential for growth was limitless.

After dealing with all the Scavengers, Zeon trudged back to Archelon. His face clearly showed his exhaustion.

For this one battle, Zeon had poured out everything.

His imagination, his mana, and every last drop of physical energy had all been squeezed out.

Fighting monsters was difficult, but fighting humans was even more difficult.

“Phew!”

Zeon sighed and climbed onto Archelon.

“You worked hard.”

“Good work.”

Pabilsa and Kaylee greeted him. But Deioden himself was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Deioden?”

“He went inside. He said his eyes felt like they were rotting......”

“Haa!”

When Zeon let out a sigh, Pabilsa smiled and said,

“His standards are too high. You fought well enough.”

“Yes!”

“You worked hard, so go inside and rest.”

He nodded to Kaylee.

Kaylee approached Zeon.

“Let’s go! I’ll show you to your room.”

“Thank you.”

Zeon did not refuse and followed Kaylee.

What she guided him to was a small room in a secluded corner.

“Rest here. I’ll bring you something simple to eat.”

“Yes!”

Kaylee left Zeon behind and went outside.

Zeon sat on the stone bed and looked at his hands.

Tremble, tremble!

His hands were shaking as if he had tremors.

Today, he had killed many people.

Although they were Scavengers, they had surely been human beings just like him.

Killing the same kind of person inflicted considerable pain on the mind.

He had killed a person before, but it felt different now.

Back then, it had been an accidental killing while he struggled to survive. This time, he had murdered many people according to a thorough plan.

Naturally, the guilt could only be that much greater.

“Still, I have to overcome it, don’t I?”

Zeon steadied his wavering heart.

He could not blame himself forever.

To survive in this harsh world, he had to throw away things like guilt.

In any case, it was a world where one could not live without trampling others.

For a moment, his heart had shaken, but Zeon too had learned the laws of such a world early on.

“Phew!”

His trembling hands rapidly calmed.

Only then did he gain the composure to look back on the battle from moments ago.

Leaning his back against the wall, Zeon reviewed the fight against the Scavengers.

---

Pabilsa entered the room where Deioden was resting without knocking.

Deioden had Crayon laid across his knees and was staring at it.

Pabilsa spoke to him.

“Crayon has changed.”

“I tempered it with the Flame Drake’s heart.”

“So you granted Crayon the fire attribute? It seems you truly intend to try it.”

“For a hundred years, I have not forgotten my goal for even a single moment.”

“Phew! A hundred years should be long enough to forget everything.”

Pabilsa let out a sigh.

A deep shadow fell over his face.

It was because he felt ashamed.

He had told himself that it had been unavoidable, that it had been a disaster no human could endure, and had deliberately buried the memories of that day.

Instead, he had devoted all his heart to protecting and prospering the Mort Clan.

While he had lived only for his clan, Deioden had lived for a single goal.

Such a path was not something anyone could walk.

At least among those Pabilsa knew, Deioden was the only one.

That was why he seemed foolish, and why he was worthy of respect.

Pabilsa said,

“Give me Crayon.”

“......”

“If you use it in that state, Crayon will be damaged instead. I will have the children stabilize it.”

The Flame Drake’s heart contained tremendous fire energy.

It could truly be called a living furnace. Since Crayon had absorbed the fire energy of such a Flame Drake, its fatigue had reached its limit.

If it was not stabilized now, its hardness would inevitably weaken significantly.

Deioden handed Crayon to Pabilsa.

The moment Pabilsa received Crayon, his body staggered. That was how tremendous Crayon’s weight was.

This was the weight of the life Deioden had carried.

A man who had carried a sword like this and lived a hundred years for only one goal.

That man was Deioden.