Chapter 243

Chapter 243

STEP! STEP!

People’s footsteps sounded overhead.

Only after the footsteps faded into the distance did Levin and Briel let out sighs of relief.

“They’re gone.”

“Wow! They spread a barrier over the entire district. Are they fucking insane?”

Briel shook her head with a sickened expression.

Other districts had barriers too.

But most barriers were placed only around major facilities or buildings that absolutely had to be protected. They were not spread across such a vast district as a whole.

That was partly because such a barrier required an enormous amount of funds and manpower, but more than anything, the residents would rebel fiercely.

Once a barrier activated, all entry and exit were completely cut off.

Naturally, the residents could no longer move to other districts either.

If it were only a few people, that might be one thing, but if all the residents rebelled, even the rulers of each district could not ignore it.

That was why the other districts did not do such insane things.

Levin looked around and said,

“It’s possible because they’re a group of fanatics. Dongdaemun’s residents blindly follow Johan. If he told them to die on the spot, they’d probably kill themselves out of joy.”

“They’re completely insane.”

“That’s why they’re fanatics.”

SPLASH! SPLASH!

Dirty water sloshed beneath their feet.

The place they were in was Dongdaemun’s underground sewer.

Just as they were about to escape Dongdaemun, the barrier had spread.

They had failed to leave Dongdaemun by a hair.

After that, every resident of Dongdaemun had started searching for them. The residents had voluntarily become the eyes and ears of the Paladins.

Because of that, they could not hide in an ordinary building or alley.

No matter how absurd Levin’s ability was, he could not avoid every person’s eyes. That was why they had come here, to the sewer.

The sewer, where every kind of filth gathered and flowed, was a place even fanatics hesitated to enter.

Because of that, the Paladins had not searched this place yet. But if they failed to find the two of them, it was clear they would soon barge in even here.

Before that happened, they had to escape Dongdaemun through the sewer.

The problem was that the sewer was as complicated as a maze.

It was more complicated than most maze-type dungeons, and one wrong move could leave them trapped here forever.

There was no barrier here, but a worse obstacle awaited them.

In this place, their sense of direction became distorted, and it was not easy to find the correct path.

Levin muttered with a flustered expression,

“Was Shinchon this way? No, was it that way?”

“Idiot. It’s to the right.”

“How do you know?”

“Did you forget where I was locked up?”

“Ah!”

Levin belatedly let out an exclamation.

Briel, who had been captured by humans, had made drugs in the sewer. For years.

She was used to this darkness and stench.

Naturally, she was better at finding direction than Levin.

“Let’s go!”

Briel walked ahead.

Levin followed behind her and thought,

‘She really is one tough little brat.’

A smile rose to his lips on its own.

The reason he could smile even in the worst situation was because Briel was with him.

She was cheeky, arrogant, cold, and had every bad personality trait imaginable, but even so, being with her gave him strength.

Briel, who was walking ahead, murmured,

“Light!”

At that instant, a fist-sized sphere formed.

It was Light, a basic Magic.

Thanks to that, they could clearly see ahead even in the dark sewer.

The view of the sewer revealed beneath the light was truly horrific. All kinds of unidentifiable filth had mixed together, thick and viscous like a swamp.

“Ugh! I would’ve been better off not seeing it.”

“Why are you acting like this is a big deal? The place I was in was......”

“Wait!”

Levin suddenly raised his hand and cut off Briel’s words.

Briel, who had looked puzzled, also stiffened.

Splash! Splash!

The sound of water came from far away.

The two immediately realized what the sound was.

“Pursuers.”

“The Paladins followed us.”

The Paladins had undoubtedly tracked them all the way into the sewer.

Just as they expected, the owners of the footsteps were the Paladins.

At the front of the Paladins was Victor.

‘To hide in the sewer. They’re more cunning than I thought.’

If not for Infinite Tracking, he would never have known that Levin and Briel had entered the sewer.

The two of them had moved that unexpectedly.

The sewer was a place anyone hesitated to enter.

Especially the Paladins, who considered themselves noble, never came near this place. To those who served God, this place, filled with filth from the bottom, was like hell.

Even so, they had boldly returned to the sewer.

If they failed to retrieve the top-grade Mana Stone from Levin and Briel, Dongdaemun’s foundation would be shaken.

Victor shouted,

“They’re not far.”

Even in the sewer, where all kinds of stench mixed together, Infinite Tracking released a clear scent.

As long as Infinite Tracking was working, it was impossible for Levin and Briel to escape their grasp.

Victor and the Paladins increased their pursuit speed further.

Their movements made the filth on the floor slosh.

The ripples in the filth reached even Briel.

“How can they sense our movements accurately and follow us in a sewer maze like this?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Paladins must have pulled some trick.”

“Could they have used some kind of tracking Skill?”

“Wait...... Search!”

At that instant, Briel used a simple Magic and examined herself and Levin.

After seeing the result, her expression twisted.

“I knew it!”

“Why?”

“There’s a tracking Skill on us.”

“Really?”

“It’s a Skill that makes us give off a scent only the caster can smell. That’s why they’re following us like hunting dogs.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Wait.”

Briel searched through the subspace inside her pointed hat. A moment later, a small potion bottle appeared.

“Sprinkle this on yourself! It’ll hide the scent for a little while.”

“Got it.”

Levin sprinkled the potion evenly across his entire body.

“Done.”

“Then let’s go.”

The two began running through the sewer again.

There were many iron bars inside the sewer.

Every time iron bars blocked the path, Levin passed through them with Ghost Transformation.

The Paladins, on the other hand, charged forward while smashing the iron bars apart.

Victor’s expression grew urgent.

“Damn it! Their scent is fading. They must have realized Infinite Tracking is attached to them. At this rate, we’ll lose them.”

His mind spun rapidly.

‘Their destination is Shinchon anyway. Rather than following them blindly like this, it may be better to track them from outside.’

Having made his decision, he shouted to the Paladins,

“Everyone, get outside.”

“Yes, sir!”

They immediately opened a manhole cover and leaped outside.

The place where the Paladins emerged was Shinchon.

While chasing wildly through the sewer, they had already crossed over into Shinchon.

Victor gave an order.

“Mobilize all the Paladins deployed in Shinchon and block Zeon’s house and the Dokkaebi Market.”

There were only two safe places in Shinchon.

The Dokkaebi Market, which was close to extraterritorial ground, and Zeon’s house.

The Dokkaebi Market involved the interests of countless factions, so even Dongdaemun had not fully taken control of it yet.

The other place was Zeon’s house.

Until now, Dongdaemun’s Paladins had worked tirelessly to open the door to Zeon’s house. But the barrier made by the Watching Eye could not be destroyed no matter what they tried.

Neither the walls nor the windows could be destroyed.

Zeon’s house itself was a perfect fortress.

In the end, the Paladins had given up on entering Zeon’s house and had chosen to guard it instead.

Victor moved toward the Dokkaebi Market.

He acted according to his instincts.

Victor’s gamble worked.

When they reached the Dokkaebi Market, Levin was escaping from the manhole with Briel in Ghost Transformation.

“Caught you.”

Victor immediately launched a sword strike at Levin and Briel.

SWISH!

Fortunately, they were in Ghost Transformation, so they took no damage. But Levin and Briel felt a chill in their hearts.

They thought they had completely shaken off the pursuit, only to be caught right in front of their destination.

Levin let out a sigh.

“Haa! Damn it. We got caught by one hell of a hunting dog. I didn’t think he’d track us this persistently.”

“Where is the top-grade Mana Stone?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Playing dumb is useless. You must have placed it inside some item like a subspace tool.”

Before they knew it, the Paladins had surrounded Levin and Briel.

They surrounded the two without even a drop of water slipping through and drew their weapons.

Sacred light flowed from their maces, swords, and iron maces.

Holy Weapon, a Skill unique to Paladins, had activated.

No matter how much Levin’s Ghost Transformation made him unharmed by physical attacks, he could not nullify even attacks containing such divine protection.

Levin sighed and said,

“Looks like we’ll have to stake our lives.”

“Let’s hold out as long as we can. The Dokkaebi Market should’ve realized by now that we’ve arrived in front of them, so they’ll definitely move.”

“They’d better.”

It was then.

“Die!”

“Unbelievers, receive God’s hammer.”

The Paladins attacked them all at once.

In response, Levin used Purple Lightning, and Briel unleashed every Magic she could use.

FLASH! RUMBLE—!

Lightning and holy light flashed, devastating the area.

At the sudden fight, the merchants of the Dokkaebi Market rushed out.

“What is this?”

“It’s those Paladin bastards.”

The merchants’ expressions hardened when they saw the Paladins.

There was not a single merchant in the Dokkaebi Market who had good feelings toward Dongdaemun’s Paladins.

Yu Se-hee, who came outside belatedly, bit her lip.

She had recognized the two people fighting the Paladins.

‘Levin, Briel!’

She wanted to mobilize the Dokkaebi Market’s forces and save them immediately. But the moment she intervened in this fight, an all-out war with Dongdaemun would be unavoidable.

The moment they touched Dongdaemun’s fanatics, they would have to fight a battle with no end.

If it were Yu Se-hee alone, that would be one thing, but as the person who had to lead the Dokkaebi Market, she could not help hesitating.

Even as Yu Se-hee wavered, the battle between Levin, Briel, and the Paladins intensified.

Victor, who had been attacking Levin for a while, suddenly changed direction.

His target was Briel, who was fighting the other Paladins.

In an instant, he had judged that Briel was the weak point.

Unlike Levin, Briel did not have outstanding combat ability.

Alchemy was her main Awakened ability, so her Magic was nothing more than a by-product she could use on the side. Naturally, the power of her offensive Magic was not particularly great.

Rather than wasting strength attacking Levin for no reason, it was better to bring down the weaker Briel and scatter his attention.

SWISH!

Victor’s sword flew toward Briel’s neck.

Briel could not react at all to the sudden attack.

“No! Briel!”

Levin tried to save her in shock, but he could not be faster than Victor’s sword.

Victor’s sword reached Briel’s neck in an instant.

‘So this is how I die.’

Briel squeezed her eyes shut.

THUD!

With a dull sound, Victor’s sword was blocked by something.

When Briel cautiously opened her eyes, she saw a yellow sand wall. Victor’s sword, which had been aiming for her neck, was buried in the sand wall and could not move an inch.

At that instant, a smile appeared on Briel’s face.

“Zeon!”

The only person in this world who could control sand was Zeon.

When she looked up into the air, she saw Zeon standing on a sand pillar as his foothold.

Zeon, who had left Neo Seoul, had returned to Shinchon.

Victor and the Paladins looked up at Zeon in shock.

“Zeon?”

“The Sandmancer.”

Zeon’s gaze as he looked down at Victor and the Paladins was cold.

At that moment, a sand-laden wind began to blow.

The sand piled on the street and the sand traveling with the wind responded to Zeon’s will, wrapping around Victor and the Paladins.

Zeon gave an order.

“Sand Blender.”

GRIIIIIND—!