Chapter 242

Chapter 242

SHOOOOSH!

Hundreds of chunks of lava, each as large as an adult’s torso, flew toward Lee Ji-ryeong like meteors.

Lee Ji-ryeong hurriedly spread a veil of lightning to block the lava attack.

CRASH, CRASH, CRASH—!

With a series of explosions, Lee Ji-ryeong’s body shook violently.

That was because the chunks of lava pounded against the veil of lightning like drums.

Drip!

Black blood forced its way between his lips and flowed down.

That was how tremendous the impact had been.

‘Damn it!’

Lee Ji-ryeong hurriedly launched a counterattack.

His most powerful Skill was Lightning God’s Hammer, but he could not use it recklessly.

Its mana consumption was enormous due to its tremendous power, and a complicated process was required before it could be activated again.

It was not a Skill suited for a moment this urgent.

Dozens of lightning bolts shot out at once.

Like Zeon, he too had begun using wave tactics.

Since he had fired dozens, he was certain that at least a few of them would strike Zeon. But contrary to his expectations, every bolt of lightning struck the huge chunks of lava Zeon had launched.

CRASH, CRASH, CRASH—!

The chunks of lava shattered, and fireballs scattered in every direction.

At that moment, Lee Ji-ryeong saw a large steel bar embedded inside a chunk of lava.

It was a steel frame from the wreckage of NSSC.

Only then did Lee Ji-ryeong realize why his lightning was being concentrated on the chunks of lava.

“He’s using steel bars as lightning rods?”

Like most buildings, NSSC headquarters had also used steel bars as its frame. As NSSC headquarters had been destroyed, the remains of steel bars lay scattered everywhere.

In other words, materials Zeon could use as lightning rods were scattered all around.

RUMBLE—!

Lava gathered around the steel bars.

Just before the sizzling lava could melt the steel bars, it flew toward Lee Ji-ryeong.

Lee Ji-ryeong dodged the lava and fired lightning at Zeon, but the lightning was drawn toward the steel bars and struck the lava instead.

BOOM—!

The enormous chunk of lava burst apart from the lightning, and sparks of fire splashed toward Lee Ji-ryeong.

Lee Ji-ryeong’s face twisted.

As an Awakened who controlled lightning, he had strong resistance to high-voltage current, but he had no resistance to high heat.

To make matters worse, Sand Gehenna had been spread here.

The earth, where sand had melted and blazed like lava, rejected him.

This was literally Zeon’s domain.

“Damn it!”

Lee Ji-ryeong realized that all his plans had gone up in smoke.

His original plan had been to kill Zeon and leave without leaving any evidence behind. But with the NSSC building blown away, everyone in the area had seen his face.

He could no longer deny it, nor could he turn it into something that had never happened.

Neo Seoul’s sanctions would come in some form.

Now only two options remained.

Either flee into the desert and become a Scavenger, or receive punishment and serve time.

Whichever method he chose, the premise was attached that he had to kill Zeon.

‘In the end, you’re forcing me to stake everything.’

Lee Ji-ryeong looked at Zeon with a resolute expression.

It was as if a massive wall stood before him.

If he could not climb over that wall, he would never reach the seat where Jin Geum-ho stood.

CRACKLE—!

His entire body was covered in lightning.

He was no longer releasing lightning outward. He had become lightning itself.

Fury of the Lightning God (Fury of Thunderer), a Skill he had realized after becoming Grade S.

Lee Ji-ryeong became the Lightning God in that way and shot toward Zeon.

Without thinking of what came after, he poured every drop of mana he had left into this one attack.

PAAT!

Zeon also kicked off the ground and flew upward.

The lava that had turned the area into a flame hell surged up after Zeon.

WHIRRR!

The lava swirled and wrapped around Zeon.

Wrapped in lava, Zeon looked like a giant Fire Spear.

CRAAACK—!

The Lightning God and the lava spear clashed in midair.

The aftermath was tremendous.

A considerable number of buildings near NSSC headquarters were half-destroyed, and the tremendous shock wave swept through the area like a blade.

CRASH, CRASH, CRASH—!

Chain explosions erupted, and countless Awakened were swept up and lost their lives.

Those who barely survived stared blankly at the place where NSSC headquarters had been.

In the place where NSSC had stood, a huge pit had been carved out as if a meteor had fallen, and the nearby buildings were badly wrecked, barely maintaining their shapes.

This was the result even after Neo Seoul’s protective magic circle had activated and minimized the damage.

It was nothing less than a disaster.

“How is this a fight between humans?”

“Are all Grade S Awakened like this? Then how much more incredible are the rulers of each district?”

If Lee Ji-ryeong, who had only just become Grade S, was already like this, it was frightening to imagine what level the rulers, who had become Grade S long ago, had reached.

The Awakened looked at the enormous pit with fear-filled expressions.

There, Zeon and Lee Ji-ryeong stood facing each other.

Judging by appearances alone, it was impossible to tell who was the victor and who was the loser.

It was then.

FLAAARE!

Suddenly, flames rose from Lee Ji-ryeong’s feet.

The pure white flames swallowed Lee Ji-ryeong’s lower body in an instant, then engulfed him up to the chest.

“Th-that?”

“The Captain......”

It was the moment the victor of the duel was decided.

Zeon was pale, without a trace of blood in his face, but he was still standing on his own two feet. Lee Ji-ryeong, on the other hand, was swallowed by fierce flames.

Lee Ji-ryeong opened his mouth from within the flames.

“You’re strong! I was never your opponent from the start.”

“......”

“Right?”

“......”

“Heh-heh! How pathetic. I struggled so desperately, but in the end, I was still in the palm of your hand.”

Lee Ji-ryeong’s self-mocking laughter echoed from within the flames.

The ultra-high-heat flames now wrapped around Lee Ji-ryeong’s face as well.

His hair, eyeballs, and vocal cords melted in order.

Even so, Lee Ji-ryeong stood firm and looked toward where Zeon was.

That was Lee Ji-ryeong’s final pride.

The tyrant who had dreamed of ruling Neo Seoul had his wings broken in that way and burned away in the flames.

It was then.

“No!”

Someone’s sharp scream rang out.

It was Kelda, who had been fighting fiercely with Eloy nearby.

Seeing Lee Ji-ryeong’s death, Kelda ran over like a madwoman. But by the time she reached the scene, Lee Ji-ryeong had already burned away without leaving a trace.

“How can this be? Captain......”

Kelda scraped at the soil where Lee Ji-ryeong had stood with both hands, shedding tears.

A bloodstain spread across the area of Kelda’s heart.

When her attention had scattered because of Lee Ji-ryeong, Eloy’s spear had pierced her heart.

“Captain! You’d be lonely by yourself. I’ll go with you. Even there, aim for the sky......”

Kelda’s voice slowly faded, and her head dropped.

Her breath had stopped.

“Haa!”

Only then did Eloy exhale the breath she had been holding.

She had been a disgustingly strong opponent.

If Kelda’s attention had not scattered because of Lee Ji-ryeong’s death, it would have taken Eloy much longer to bring her down.

“How can this be!”

“The Captain......”

The surviving Pegasus Awakened could not hide their bewilderment.

The center of the Pegasus Raid Team had been Lee Ji-ryeong.

It had been maintained without serious trouble because of his powerful charisma and leadership.

In particular, the more recently someone had joined, the more heavily they depended on Lee Ji-ryeong. That was why, when Lee Ji-ryeong died, they had no idea what to do.

On top of that, even the key figures who should have handled the situation had died. The deaths of Bronson, the clearing team leader, and Kelda, the secretary and rescue team leader, accelerated the fragmentation of the Pegasus Raid Team, whose cohesion had already been like sand.

“Fuck! I’m leaving.”

“You’re just going to leave? We should avenge the Captain.”

“How? You saw it too. You saw how strong the Sandmancer is. I don’t want to burn to death that horribly.”

“Still......”

“If you want revenge, you do it. I’m leaving.”

Just as people began leaving one by one, it happened.

“What is this?”

“The headquarters is completely gone.”

“Arrest them all.”

The NSSC, who had gone outside because of the terrorist attack, returned.

At the sight of their headquarters completely blown away, the NSSC Awakened, their eyes turned with rage, attacked and arrested the Pegasus Raid Team’s Awakened.

Zeon silently watched the entire scene.

He too had suffered serious injuries while fighting Lee Ji-ryeong. Even so, he never showed himself wavering or struggling.

Neo Seoul was a place where, if you looked weak, others would look down on you and try to devour you.

No matter how exhausted he was, or how much pain made him feel like dying, he had to endure and hold on.

Someone carefully approached Zeon.

It was Kevin, the Captain of NSSC.

Fear dwelled in Kevin’s eyes as he looked at Zeon.

Anyone who was not an idiot could understand how the situation had unfolded by this point.

Kevin was not an idiot.

That much was obvious from the fact that the instant he realized the terrorist attack was fake, he had turned his troops back and returned to NSSC.

The problem was Zeon.

A powerful man strong enough to burn Lee Ji-ryeong, a Grade S Awakened, to death.

Kevin had no confidence in facing such a strong man.

‘You’d need to be at least one of the Numbers to even try anything against him.’

He was neither one of the Numbers nor a Grade S Awakened.

‘What am I supposed to do with him......?’

At that moment, Zeon approached Kevin.

Kevin’s face hardened instantly.

That was because if Zeon attacked now, there would be no way for him to stop him. But Zeon’s attitude toward him was polite.

“This is my explanation.”

“Mm!”

“Is there anything else I need to explain?”

“Whew! I understand that you didn’t kill my subordinates. If you had, the Pegasus Raid Team wouldn’t have needed to come here to kill you.”

He had to admit it.

Zeon was not the culprit who had killed NSSC Team 2.

The situation unfolding around them said as much.

Kevin was not foolish enough to insist stubbornly when the circumstances were this obvious.

“You’re innocent. You may go.”

“Thank you.”

After thanking him, Zeon turned his head and looked at Eloy.

Eloy was leaning on Mad Nine-Tailed Fox, breathing hard.

Right now, she did not have the strength to move even a finger.

That was because she had exhausted all her strength dealing with Kelda.

Zeon said to her,

“Please take care of the aftermath.”

“Got it. Hurry up and go.”

Eloy gestured for him to leave.

In any case, someone had to remain and clean up this chaos.

This was an incident where NSSC headquarters had been attacked and blown away.

The aftermath would not be small.

Zeon had also helped blow away NSSC, so he could not completely avoid responsibility.

That was why Eloy had to remain and handle the aftermath.

So no problems would arise.

Eloy knew the best method.

“Mandy, I’m counting on you.”

It was to entrust the matter to an expert.

Eloy’s personality disappeared beneath the surface in an instant, and Mandy’s personality popped out.

“A-ah, no!”

Mandy sat down, looking as if she were about to cry.

Zeon did not even glance at Mandy and walked away from NSSC headquarters.

One NSSC Awakened carefully asked Kevin,

“Is it all right to let him go like that?”

“If we don’t?”

“Still, we could arrest him and hold him responsible for destroying the headquarters......”

“Do you want to catch him?”

“......”

“The Sandmancer even created lava. That man is beyond what our hands can handle.”

“Isn’t that cheating? How can the same human have an ability like that......?”

“If you feel wronged, you catch him and ask him.”

“That’s......”

“If you can’t, then just crumple yourself into a corner. Don’t show off and end up like Lee Ji-ryeong.”

“Fuck!”

In the end, the Awakened who had spoken spat on the ground without gaining anything.

Kevin watched Zeon’s back as he grew farther away and murmured,

“That man is already a big shot. He’s not a size we can handle.”