Chapter 187

Chapter 187

The power of Lightning God’s Hammer was certainly tremendous.

The robe made from Leviathan’s hide had strong resistance against most magical attacks, yet it had failed to block the attack completely and had left Zeon with a serious wound.

Even so, he could still move.

It was thanks to the fact that he had trained his body to the limit.

Zeon looked at those who had collapsed.

Briel and Eloy looked so precarious that it seemed they might stop breathing at any moment. Only Levin, who could use lightning like Lee Ji-ryeong, was relatively fine. Even so, perhaps because the shock had been so great, focus had not yet returned to his eyes.

Zeon reached into his chest.

His hand grasped a glass bottle filled with transparent liquid.

Zeon first drank a mouthful himself, then fed it to Briel, Eloy, and Levin in order.

Color returned to the faces of Briel and Eloy, who had been wheezing as if they might stop breathing at any moment, and focus returned to Levin’s eyes as well.

Zeon also felt that breathing had become much easier.

It was a remedy he had made himself.

The remedy, made by mixing monster blood with several medicinal herbs, showed excellent effects in emergencies.

Levin, who had regained his senses, asked Zeon,

“Brother, what happened?”

“Lee Ji-ryeong attacked us.”

“Why would he attack us?”

“That isn’t important right now. Getting out of here is more important.”

“Ah!”

The portal had closed, and the dungeon was on the verge of disappearing.

If they delayed even a little longer, they would disappear along with the dungeon.

Zeon rose and said,

“Carry Eloy. I’ll carry Briel.”

“Yes, Brother.”

Thanks to the medicine Zeon had given them, Briel and Eloy’s conditions had improved. But they still had not regained consciousness.

The two carried Briel and Eloy on their backs.

Levin asked,

“What are we going to do now?”

“I’m going to force the exit open, so stay sharp and follow me.”

“Is that possible?”

Instead of answering, Zeon took something out of subspace.

What he took out was a blue bead the size of a child’s fist.

‘Leviathan’s core. With this, I should be able to create a fissure in the dungeon.’

It was the core where all of Leviathan’s authority was concentrated.

It contained that much powerful force.

‘A dungeon’s power is proportional to the boss. Leviathan was a monster that surpassed the Knight King. If I make the core containing its authority go berserk, I should be able to create a fissure in the dungeon.’

In theory, it was possible.

But theory and reality were not always the same.

If things did not go according to calculation, only death awaited them.

If he had to calculate it, the chance of success was around ten percent. But Zeon had no choice.

Zeon injected mana into Leviathan’s core.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE—!

Leviathan’s core, having accepted alien mana, went berserk.

A tremendous force erupted from Leviathan’s core.

The power emitted by Leviathan’s core collided with the power of the dungeon.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!

Explosions erupted all throughout the dungeon.

It was a scene like the end of the world had come.

Levin looked at Zeon with an anxious expression.

“Brother?”

“Wait just a little longer.”

Zeon watched the dungeon’s changes without blinking once.

It was then.

A foreign fissure appeared a hundred meters away from them.

“There. Follow me.”

“Yes, Brother.”

They did not hesitate and jumped into the fissure.

The tremendous pressure he felt for the first time in his life made Levin’s mind grow distant.

Zeon grabbed Levin’s hand and said,

“If you lose consciousness, it’s over. Stay focused.”

“Y-yes!”

Levin barely held on to his mind and looked at Zeon.

Inside the fissure, it was as dark as pitch.

Levin felt fear before the dense darkness that seemed as though it would never end. But Zeon stared ahead with his eyes wide open, as if he felt no fear at all. Seeing Zeon like that gave Levin courage.

At that moment, Zeon discovered something and shouted,

“There!”

Where his gaze was directed, a pure white light could be seen.

The white light was gradually shrinking.

If the light disappeared like this, they would be lost in dimensions forever.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zeon threw himself toward the white light, and Levin followed close behind.

SWOOOOOSH!

By a hair’s breadth, they managed to pass through the white light.

What greeted them after passing through the light was red sand.

With a thud, they crashed into the sand.

“Haa! Haa! Did we make it outside?”

Levin gasped for breath as he looked around.

This was the first time a landscape where nothing but sand could be seen had felt so welcome.

“Whew!”

Zeon let out a sigh of relief and lay spread-eagled on the sand.

Because he had overexerted himself with an injured body, pain surged through him as if his entire body were being dismantled.

Zeon left his body to the sand and closed his eyes.

Levin also lay spread-eagled like Zeon and muttered,

“Haa! We’re alive.”

Even the coarse sand-laden wind felt welcome, and he felt comfort from the scorching sand.

Because he was alive, he could accept even pain joyfully.

---

“Damn it! To think we were beaten without even resisting once. Lee Ji-ryeong, that son of a bitch! When I get back to Neo Seoul, I won’t let him get away with this.”

“I knew he didn’t feel trustworthy from the start.”

Eloy and Briel vented their anger.

That was their reaction after regaining consciousness and hearing that Lee Ji-ryeong had ambushed them.

Eloy swung the Mad Nine-Tailed Fox through the air for quite some time, and Briel swore that she would make the worst poison on earth and pour it into Lee Ji-ryeong’s mouth.

Zeon and Levin waited for their fit to end.

Fortunately, after about an hour, the two calmed down.

Once she had settled down somewhat, Eloy asked Zeon,

“By the way, where is this? If we escaped the dungeon, shouldn’t we have come out at the entrance?”

“We escaped by forcibly creating a fissure in the dungeon, so the exit must have been generated randomly.”

“So you’re saying you don’t know.”

“That’s right.”

Zeon nodded.

A dungeon was a by-product of Kurayan drifting through dimensions.

If one came out through a place that was not a proper entrance or exit, one could easily become lost in dimensions.

The fact that they had safely returned to Earth like this was itself a miracle.

Even if they did not know where they had returned to.

Briel asked carefully,

“But we can still return to Neo Seoul, right?”

“Of course. Who do you think this man is? He’s the best guide in the desert. No Navigator can find a path as well as he can. I guarantee it.”

Eloy, who had watched Zeon from beside him, knew best how well he found paths.

Returning to Neo Seoul was not the problem.

The only question was how long it would take.

Zeon looked around and said,

“First, we need to figure out where this place is. Once we know our exact location, finding our way to Neo Seoul won’t be that difficult.”

Even for Zeon, it was impossible to figure out where this place was by looking only at the surrounding scenery.

That was because most desert scenery looked similar.

“Everyone, if you’ve recovered somewhat, let’s move.”

Zeon walked at the front, and Briel, Levin, and Eloy followed behind him.

They walked across the scorching desert sand.

At first, they exchanged various conversations, but the longer they walked, the quieter everyone became.

Walking through the desert consumed several times more stamina than walking across flat ground. Not only Briel, but even Levin and Eloy could not open their mouths due to the extreme drain on their stamina.

Briel, who had the weakest stamina, was especially the problem.

“Huff! Huff!”

Her face had turned red enough to look pitiful, and she kept gasping for breath.

Levin held out his hand to Briel, who was staggering as if she might collapse at any moment.

“Take my hand.”

“I’m...... fine. I can walk on my own.”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

Levin forcibly pulled Briel’s hand into his.

“Thanks!”

“Hang in there a little longer.”

“Mm!”

In that way, Briel leaned on Levin and walked across the sand.

Although he did not look back, Zeon knew Briel was struggling. Even so, he did not help because he knew such kindness would instead harm Briel.

The greatest enemy in the desert was not the scorching sand, nor the sunlight beating down as if it would burn everything away.

It was one’s own patience and belief.

The desert endlessly tested people and drove them into corners.

Zeon knew all too well that those who could not endure and could not believe in themselves could never survive in the desert.

For both Briel and Levin, this was their first true journey through the desert.

They had to overcome this hardship on their own.

Zeon walked at a pace they could follow.

Fortunately, Briel did not fall behind and tenaciously followed Zeon.

As they walked like that, the sun began to set before they knew it.

Only then did Zeon stop and say,

“Let’s rest here today.”

“Haa!”

“We survived.”

Briel and Levin sank to the ground at the same time.

Eloy also sat beside them with a tired expression and rested.

She did not say it aloud, but fatigue had built up in her as well after a forced march she had not done in a long time.

Among them, only Zeon remained perfectly lively.

Crrrrk!

Zeon moved the sand and made walls.

In an instant, a shelter that could block the sand-laden wind was created.

“There don’t seem to be any monsters nearby, so we should be able to rest well today.”

“It’s a good thing you’re here, Brother. If only we had been stranded, who knows what would’ve happened......”

Levin trembled as if even imagining it was horrifying.

Zeon smiled faintly and said to Levin,

“You two will be able to make your way through just fine once you gain a little more experience. Anyway, take out some food you stored in subspace.”

“Yes!”

Levin took food and water out of the backpack he had brought.

Fortunately, he had packed generously, so it seemed they would be able to last several days.

“You packed thoroughly. Well done!”

“Hehe!”

At Eloy’s praise, Levin smiled awkwardly.

What Levin had brought were packed meals sold at slum street stalls.

It was a method that could be used because time did not flow inside subspace.

Thanks to that, the group was able to eat until they were full.

“Hah! I feel alive.”

“Phew!”

“This feels more like camping than being stranded.”

Briel, Levin, and Eloy all looked satisfied.

All of them were Awakened.

They had accumulated a great deal of fatigue for now, but since they had eaten their fill, they would recover quickly.

Levin took sleeping bags out of subspace and handed them to the group.

“You even brought sleeping bags? You’re really prepared.”

“I suppose giving you the subspace backpack was worth it.”

At the two women’s praise, Levin gave a bitter smile.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use them even while preparing, but I didn’t think Lee Ji-ryeong would stab us in the back like that.”

“Exactly. I thought he was at least the kind of man who kept his promises.”

Eloy ground her teeth.

Lee Ji-ryeong’s reputation in Neo Seoul was quite good.

Cold-hearted and merciless, but still a capable leader who kept the words he spoke. That was his image.

Thanks to that, Awakened lined up to join the Pegasus Raid Team.

Although this expedition had suffered tremendous damage, they had obtained countless spoils, so they would be able to recover the damage quickly.

“As soon as I return to Neo Seoul, I’ll expose what he really is. I’ll show him that a Supervisor from City Hall isn’t someone to be taken lightly.”

Eloy ground her teeth and vowed revenge.

After that, they talked about how they could properly take revenge on Lee Ji-ryeong until they fell asleep.

Once everyone had fallen asleep, Zeon quietly rose.

There was so much sand in the air that the stars could not be seen.

One of the ways to find direction in the desert was to estimate one’s position through the constellations.

Zeon’s body floated silently into the air.

The sand lifted his body.

In that way, Zeon rode the sand and rose high into the sky.

Once he pierced through the atmosphere filled with sand, a dazzling sea of stars unfolded before Zeon.

It was a fantastical scenery no one in Neo Seoul had ever seen.

A world permitted only to Zeon, the Sandmancer.

Zeon looked at that sight for a long time.