Chapter 238

Chapter 238

Zeon first learned that lightning could flash in a person’s eyes when he saw Lee Ji-ryeong’s.

It was not an illusion.

Lightning was actually flickering ceaselessly in Lee Ji-ryeong’s eyes.

‘So this is what happens when an Awakened who can use lightning reaches Grade S.’

He had learned something he had not known before.

If one looked closely, lightning flashed within his eyes, but from a distance, it looked as if a white eye-glow were blazing.

It was an intimidating sight, enough to suffocate anyone who looked at it.

If an ordinary person saw Lee Ji-ryeong’s eyes like this, they would probably stop breathing and sink to their knees.

Zeon faced that intense gaze as if it were nothing.

Lee Ji-ryeong asked,

“How did you get out of a dungeon that had already been cleared?”

“Who knows?”

Zeon smiled vaguely.

A dungeon that had been cleared disappeared as it was.

It literally vanished completely. That was why Lee Ji-ryeong had attacked Zeon, Briel, and the others to prevent them from leaving the dungeon.

Naturally, he had assumed Zeon and his companions had all vanished along with the dungeon. Yet Zeon’s group, who should have died, had appeared alive and well.

When he first heard the news, Lee Ji-ryeong had no idea how shocked he had been.

It was the first time in his life he had ever been that shocked.

Even when his trash-like younger brother died, he did not think he had been that shaken.

Because he had accompanied Zeon, he knew very well just how absurd Zeon’s ability was.

In the desert, Zeon was nearly invincible.

Ordinary Awakened or monsters could not be Zeon’s opponent.

That was because the entire desert was no different from Zeon’s weapon.

That was why even Lee Ji-ryeong had given up on facing Zeon in the desert and instead made sure he could not escape the dungeon.

Facing him head-on had been far too burdensome.

And that burdensome existence was now in the same space as him.

Zeon asked,

“Are you curious how I got out of the dungeon? Or are you curious why I came back to Neo Seoul?”

“Do you want revenge?”

“I’m trying to repay a debt. You know, don’t you? If you owe a debt and don’t repay it, people look down on you. And you know how people who are looked down on get treated.”

“......”

Lee Ji-ryeong frowned.

He knew better than anyone what Zeon’s words meant.

That was why he had become strong so stubbornly and expanded the Pegasus Raid Team.

So that no one could look down on him.

After remaining silent for a while, Lee Ji-ryeong spoke with difficulty.

“If you stop here, I’ll pretend everything never happened.”

“Everything?”

“That you killed my brother. That you stole the top-grade Mana Stone. That you betrayed the Pegasus Raid Team inside the dungeon.”

“I’ll admit the first one! But the second and third are not true at all.”

“The truth isn’t important. If I say it is so, then it is so.”

“Your self-regard is still enormous.”

“So will you accept? Or not?”

At that instant, the corner of Zeon’s mouth curved up.

Anyone could see it was blatant mockery.

“I can get caught once. I can let my guard down. But if I get caught by the same opponent twice, that means I have no intelligence.”

“So you’re rejecting my offer.”

“Don’t make me say the same thing twice.”

“Then from this moment on, you are my enemy.”

“You really are self-centered. From the moment you stabbed me in the back inside the dungeon, we were already enemies. A traitor saying something like that doesn’t really move my heart.”

Zeon smiled faintly.

In truth, he and Lee Ji-ryeong had been enemies from the beginning.

From the moment he killed Lee Ji-ryeong’s younger brother.

It did not matter who had caused it.

No matter how much of a piece of trash his younger brother was, to Lee Ji-ryeong, he was still a brother who shared his blood. Avenging his brother was extremely natural.

There was nothing more ridiculous than saying one would forget a sibling’s revenge for the sake of a greater cause.

After glaring at Zeon for a moment, Lee Ji-ryeong turned around.

“You can look forward to it. To what will happen to you from now on......”

“I’ll look forward to it. But if you want to satisfy me, an ordinary scale won’t be enough.”

“I’ll try not to disappoint you.”

At that moment, someone approached Lee Ji-ryeong.

“Visiting time is over.”

It was Kevin, the Captain of NSSC.

Lee Ji-ryeong looked at Kevin with cold eyes.

Kevin clenched his teeth and endured under that pressure.

“It’s regulation.”

“Regulation......”

“If your business is finished, please leave.”

“I will.”

Lee Ji-ryeong brushed past Kevin indifferently.

Kevin’s shoulders trembled from humiliation.

He was not someone who should be ignored like this anywhere.

If one was the Captain of NSSC, even the rulers of each district showed a certain level of respect. Yet Lee Ji-ryeong had treated him with open contempt from beginning to end.

Even his visit to NSSC had not followed proper procedure.

He had simply barged in late at night and pressured them to let him meet Zeon.

Kevin had not been able to ignore Lee Ji-ryeong’s words.

That was because Lee Ji-ryeong was already recognized as a big shot in Neo Seoul. So he had allowed the visit as an exception.

But he could not allow the meeting to continue for too long, so he had spoken carefully, only to receive a cold glare and utter contempt in return.

‘This fucking bastard......’

Unaware that Kevin was grinding his teeth, Lee Ji-ryeong went outside.

Left alone in the corridor, Kevin spoke to Zeon through the window.

“Zeon!”

“Yes!”

“You really didn’t kill our people?”

“As you already know, I had no reason to kill them.”

“Fuck!”

Kevin kicked the cell door.

NSSC Team 3 had stormed into the cell to take revenge, only to be beaten like dogs by Zeon and Eloy.

Because of the prison’s characteristic of disrupting the flow of mana, the fight had been fought with pure physical ability alone, but in any case, the ones who lost had been Team 3.

There had been an opportunity to escape after taking down Team 3. But Zeon had not done so.

At that moment, a thought had crossed his mind.

The suspicion that Zeon might truly not be the culprit.

If he himself had been the culprit, he would have left the prison the instant he took down Team 3.

From then on, Kevin had been unable to shake off the uneasy feeling.

“If it wasn’t you, then who killed our people?”

“You’re already suspicious too, aren’t you? Trust your instincts.”

“Fuck!”

BANG—!

Kevin kicked the iron door once more. But the iron door, made of special metal, was not even scratched.

After fuming alone for a while, Kevin looked at Zeon.

“Unless your innocence is proven, I can’t release you. That’s NSSC’s rule.”

“I understand.”

“But I’ll make sure useless bastards don’t come around and bother you like this.”

“It’ll be difficult. The people involved aren’t ordinary.”

“I don’t care. I’m no ordinary stubborn bastard either. Rest comfortably until your innocence is proven.”

“I’ll do that.”

Kevin came outside and shouted,

“Fuck! Dirty bastards! How dare they stab me in the back? Strengthen security and don’t accept visitors.”

---

Lee Ji-ryeong looked back at NSSC headquarters.

He saw a blue film forming over the massive warehouse-shaped headquarters.

A defensive barrier had activated.

Major buildings in Neo Seoul all had defensive barriers like that.

They were turned off during normal times, but activated when an emergency occurred.

The fact that the defensive barrier had spread over the NSSC building meant Kevin had judged Lee Ji-ryeong and the Pegasus Raid Team to be threatening existences.

“Foolish......”

It was then.

A gray-haired woman who had been waiting outside approached him.

She was Kelda, Lee Ji-ryeong’s secretary and rescue team leader.

She asked,

“How did it go?”

“Negotiations broke down.”

“As expected. There’s also a problem in Dongdaemun.”

“What happened there this time?”

“They say intruders stole the top-grade Mana Stone and fled.”

“Cripples......”

Lee Ji-ryeong wore a contemptuous expression.

He had joined hands with Johan to expand his power.

His goal was to take Neo Seoul, while Johan’s was to take the slums.

But that did not mean he intended to stay with Johan until the end.

Carrying along a fanatic group like Dongdaemun was burdensome even for Lee Ji-ryeong.

That was why he had planned to use them appropriately, then discard them, but now this mess had happened.

“Who stole the Mana Stone?”

“They say it was stolen through the walls, so......”

“It was him. Levin.”

“It seems so.”

Lee Ji-ryeong bit his lip.

He had coveted Levin’s ability and had tried several times to bring him under his command, but every attempt had ended in failure.

“Fortunately, a barrier has activated across all of Dongdaemun, so it seems they haven’t escaped yet.”

“They won’t be able to maintain the barrier for long. It would be good if they catch them before then, but if not......”

“We’ll suffer a major blow.”

If it became known that he had conspired with Dongdaemun to attack NSSC, a unit directly under City Hall, and steal the top-grade Mana Stone, even Mayor Jin Geum-ho would not stay still.

Jin Geum-ho was lenient when the districts fought among themselves for power, but he had not the slightest mercy for those who threatened his or City Hall’s authority.

Even Lee Ji-ryeong, whose confidence now pierced the sky after becoming Grade S, had no confidence in facing Jin Geum-ho.

He needed to grow further and expand his forces even more.

What he lacked was time to grow.

“Execute the second plan.”

“Right now?”

“If not now, the opportunity may never come again.”

“Understood.”

Kelda took a mobile phone from her coat.

It became useless once one went out into the desert, but inside Neo Seoul, there was no better means of communication.

Kelda called someone.

“It’s me. Proceed according to the plan.”

She stated her business simply, then hung up.

Lee Ji-ryeong looked at the scenery of Neo Seoul with his arms crossed.

BOOM—!

At that instant, an explosion erupted from a tall building.

The explosion completely blew away the upper floor of the building.

“What is that?”

“Is it terrorism?”

People who had been sleeping late at night rushed outside in shock.

WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!

Urgent sirens rang throughout all of Neo Seoul.

Lee Ji-ryeong murmured,

“When terrorism occurs in Neo Seoul, every armed group directly under City Hall is required to mobilize.”

As soon as his words ended, Awakened rushed out from NSSC.

They were Team 1 and Team 3, who had been guarding NSSC.

At the news that terrorism had occurred, they were leaving only the bare minimum of personnel behind and mobilizing everyone else.

Kevin, the Captain of NSSC who had been opposing Lee Ji-ryeong, could be seen as well.

Once they completely disappeared from view, Lee Ji-ryeong smiled.

“Shall we begin robbing the empty house now?”

One by one, black shadows gathered behind Lee Ji-ryeong.

They were Awakened from the Pegasus Raid Team.

Hundreds of Awakened had secretly gathered at NSSC headquarters.

Bronson, the clearing team leader, looked at NSSC headquarters and murmured,

“Heh-heh! Are we finally hunting the Sandmancer?”

“We cannot drag this out. We must kill Zeon before the NSSC bastards return.”

“Don’t worry, Captain! He may be invincible in the desert, but not here. There’s no sand, and he’s inside a prison where he can’t move his mana properly. What power could he possibly use?”

The NSSC prison’s nickname was Cleanroom.

It had a structure where not even a single speck of dust could enter, let alone sand.

It was the worst possible environment for a Sandmancer like Zeon. That was why they had chosen this place as the battlefield.

Lee Ji-ryeong spoke to the Awakened.

“I’ll give the position of deputy captain of the Pegasus Raid Team to the one who brings me Zeon’s head.”

“Wooooh!”

“His neck is mine.”

“Let’s go!”

The excited Awakened rushed toward NSSC headquarters in competition with one another.

Their target was Zeon’s head.