Chapter 240

Chapter 240

From the start, restraining Zeon’s mana with something like a mana restraint was impossible.

It was not only because the mana restraint had been made using dragon bone as its material. Nor was it because Zeon’s amount of mana far exceeded the amount a mana restraint could control.

The answer was precise mana operation.

The moment the mana restraint was placed on his hand, he cut off the flow of mana going toward that area.

He had blocked the source so the mana restraint could not interfere with the flow at all.

No Awakened in Neo Seoul knew such a method existed. Even if they knew, it was not a method just anyone could use.

It was a technique only Zeon could use.

The same was true of NSSC’s prison.

Even if the entire prison was covered in special metal and Magic to cut off mana inflow from the source, it could not do anything about the mana already contained inside the body.

FLAAARE—!

Countless fireballs floated up behind Zeon.

They were Fire Missiles, which he often used.

The power of each Fire Missile was not all that great. But if their number went beyond dozens, the story changed.

Moreover, this was a narrow corridor with nowhere to dodge.

His enemies might think they had driven Zeon into a trap, but in truth, this place was the optimal battlefield for Zeon.

“Go!”

SHOO, SHOO, SHOO—!

At Zeon’s will, dozens of Fire Missiles were fired at the Awakened of the Pegasus Raid Team.

“Damn it!”

“Block them!”

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

The Awakened swung weapons or used Skills to protect their bodies.

Because of that, there were almost no casualties.

Even so, Zeon was not disappointed.

He still had enough mana left to fire Fire Missiles without pause.

If he wanted, he could fire nothing but Fire Missiles all day.

And Zeon actually did exactly that.

SHOO, SHOO, SHOO, SHOO—!

Dozens of Fire Missiles were fired in succession.

Before the Fire Missiles could even strike the Awakened, he poured down a third barrage of Fire Missiles.

Since the enemy had come with wave tactics, he responded with wave tactics of his own.

CRASH, CRASH, CRASH—!

Explosions rang out without pause.

‘Fuck! Why is it so fast?’

‘I can’t find the timing to counterattack.’

The overwhelming wave tactics were so fast that they could not even breathe.

“Kraaak!”

“Urgh!”

In the end, casualties began appearing one after another.

When they blocked one Fire Missile, two or three more came flying in, so they flailed helplessly and were struck down.

“That son of a bitch......”

“I’ll kill you no matter what.”

The enraged martial-type Awakened tried to approach Zeon while enduring the damage. But most of their attempts were reduced to nothing by Eloy.

“Where do you fucking bastards think you’re going?”

She had let a few pass at first, but from then on, she became an iron wall guarding Zeon’s front.

Thanks to that, Zeon could pour down a barrage of Fire Missiles without worrying about the Awakened’s offensive.

The casualties among the Pegasus Raid Team’s Awakened snowballed.

Fire Missiles kept flying endlessly, no matter how many they blocked.

It felt as if they had stepped into a hell of fire.

In truth, the air inside had grown scorching hot.

Some even collapsed from suffocating in the terrifying heat.

“Useless...... Everyone, move aside.”

At that instant, Bronson pushed his subordinates away and stepped forward.

He was furious to the top of his head at his subordinates’ sacrifices and incompetence.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

Fire Missiles struck all over his body. But he did not budge.

A low-level Skill of this degree could not even scratch his skin.

Bronson was a Grade B martial artist.

His specs were slightly lacking for someone serving as the team leader of a massive raid team like Pegasus. But no one looked down on Bronson because of his special Awakened ability.

Bronson’s eyes turned bloodred.

Even the Awakened of the Pegasus Raid Team felt fear at his gaze, which was full of madness and killing intent.

Zeon recognized Bronson’s Awakened ability at a glance.

“A Berserker?”

Those who used rage and pain as nourishment to explode their latent power all at once.

While using their Awakened ability, they felt no pain, and their strength multiplied severalfold.

“I’ll rip your neck off.”

Bronson charged in with a cry filled with madness.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Eloy tried to stop Bronson, but it was no use.

Her weapon, Mad Nine-Tailed Fox, had been confiscated, and the difference in weight class was far too great.

His overwhelming bulk was a weapon in itself.

Like a massive bison, Bronson rammed straight into Eloy.

CRASH—!

With an explosion, Eloy’s body flew backward.

She had reduced the impact by relaxing as much as possible at the moment of collision, but even then, her whole body hurt as if it would break apart.

His destructive power was tremendous.

Bronson, who had broken through Eloy in an instant, rushed right up to Zeon’s nose.

Bronson’s enormous fist shot out like a boulder launched from a catapult.

“Die!”

CRASH—!

Zeon crossed both arms and blocked his fist.

Zeon slid backward under the tremendous destructive force. But not a trace of bewilderment appeared on his face.

Bronson’s next attack flew toward him.

“Hammer of Punishment!”

It was Bronson’s unique Skill.

His enormous fist itself was no different from a hammer.

Once it was infused with the hard mana unique to a Berserker, it gained tremendous destructive power, enough to smash even a giant monster’s head in one blow.

But Zeon had no intention of meekly taking his attack.

“Fire Rain!”

At that instant, a rain of fire flew like meteors and struck Bronson.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

Ultra-high-heat flames covered Bronson.

It was a powerful blaze that would burn an ordinary Awakened without leaving even a speck of bone powder behind.

FLAAARE—!

“Krahaha!”

But it did not seem to cause Bronson any pain.

He had burst through the flames.

After closing the distance to Zeon, Bronson wrapped his arms, as thick as logs, around Zeon’s waist and squeezed.

A tremendous pressure concentrated on Zeon’s waist, as if an enormous snake were constricting him.

As Bronson squeezed Zeon’s waist, he said,

“You are nothing. What can you do when you can’t use sand? You die here today. By my hands......”

CRACK, CRACK!

The sound of bones clashing came from Zeon’s waist.

Even so, not a single change appeared on Zeon’s face.

He looked down at Bronson’s face with cold, sunken eyes. The instant their gazes met, Bronson realized that something was wrong.

Zeon opened his mouth.

“You people always make the same mistake. If I show you an opening, you think you’re the ones controlling the situation.”

“What?”

THUD—!

At that instant, Zeon grabbed Bronson’s face with his right palm.

Bronson’s face was so large that Zeon’s hand could not even cover half of it. But that was enough.

FLAAARE—!

Flames rose from Zeon’s palm.

They were ultra-high-heat flames on a completely different level from before.

The white flames burned Bronson’s eyes and penetrated into his body.

“KRAAAAK!”

A desperate scream burst from Bronson’s mouth.

He tried to release the arms constricting Zeon and retreat. But this time, Zeon did not let him go.

He had wrapped both legs around Bronson’s waist.

Bronson rolled across the floor and shouted,

“Fuck! Get off me, monster!”

“You said I was nothing if I couldn’t use sand, didn’t you?”

“Aaaaagh!”

The white flames were burning through Bronson’s eyes and into his brain.

A choking smoke rose.

The smell of burning meat made every Awakened nearby shudder.

Only then did they realize that they had been greatly mistaken.

Zeon was not strong because he was a Sandmancer. The man called Zeon was strong from the start.

They had thought that if they were in the Cleanroom where he could not use sand, they could easily kill Zeon, but that had been a huge mistake.

Even without using sand, and even with the Gauntlet of Extreme Heat sealed, Zeon was strong.

When hundreds from the Pegasus Raid Team had been mobilized just to clear a single dungeon, Zeon had wandered through countless dungeons alone as if they were his own home.

He had fought life-and-death battles against countless monsters and faced humans aiming for his life.

The experience and physical ability built up layer upon layer through all of that were far superior to anything ordinary Awakened could match.

“Uuugh!”

“Insane! Does that even make sense?”

Fear appeared on the faces of the Awakened who had charged at Zeon without hesitation.

Only then did they realize that Zeon existed on a different plane from them.

A fear they could not handle surged in like a tidal wave and paralyzed their nerves.

Like frogs before a snake, they could not move under that primal fear.

After looking at them for a moment, Zeon moved toward the stairs.

No one rushed at Zeon anymore.

They too had realized it.

If Zeon had wanted, he could have turned this narrow corridor into a sea of fire and burned them all to death. If he had done that, every Awakened from the Pegasus Raid Team who had entered the corridor would have burned to death.

“Kaaak! Ptooey! Serves you right, you crippled bastards.”

Eloy spat and mocked them. Even so, not a single person rushed at her.

They had been completely crushed by Zeon’s terrifying presence.

FLAAARE—!

After Zeon left, Bronson’s corpse was completely engulfed in white flames. But not a single person dared approach to put them out.

“Damn it!”

---

THUD—!

With a heavy sound, the door leading to the first-floor lobby opened.

Zeon and Eloy’s steps stopped the moment they stepped outside.

It was because of the Awakened filling the lobby.

At their center stood Lee Ji-ryeong.

Lee Ji-ryeong’s eyebrow twitched when he spotted Zeon.

It was the reaction of someone who had seen something he should not have.

“Zeon! How are you......?”

“As expected, you were here.”

“What happened to Bronson?”

“What do you think happened?”

“I asked a crippled question.”

“And made a crippled choice.”

“I do not regret my choice. Even if I went back to that time, I would make the same choice.”

Lee Ji-ryeong thought of himself as a lion.

The leader of the male lions did not retreat and did not regret.

Once he viewed something as prey, he bit down and did not let go.

To other animals, it might look cruel, but that was the way to protect his own kind.

Pure lions had gone extinct and vanished, but Lee Ji-ryeong believed one still lived in his soul.

Lee Ji-ryeong walked toward Zeon and said,

“I tried to handle this quietly if possible. How nice would it have been if you had simply died?”

“Who would give up their own life that easily?”

“If you had died in there, it would have been more comfortable.”

“Don’t treat me like I’m already dead.”

“You are already dead.”

“Because I can’t use sand?”

“I know you carry sand in your subspace. But with that amount, you can never defeat me.”

Zeon was strong in the desert because he had an infinite supply of sand. But this was Neo Seoul, covered in anti-monster force, defensive magic circles, and barriers.

It was not as extreme as the Cleanroom, but there were almost no openings for sand to enter.

With a limited amount of sand, he could never defeat Lee Ji-ryeong.

White lightning began striking around Lee Ji-ryeong.

He walked toward Zeon.

“Come at me, Sandmancer!”