Chapter 273

Chapter 273

Fifteen days had already passed since they began traveling on Archelon.

Archelon’s steps had grown visibly slower.

Even though Pabilsa and Claire were taking turns using Cure Skill, it was no longer having any effect.

Huff, huff!

Archelon breathed roughly, as if moving had become too much for it.

Pabilsa, who had been watching it carefully, said to Zeon,

“It seems we cannot go any farther today.”

“Let’s rest here today. Resting early should be better for Archelon as well.”

It was still too early for the sun to set, but Archelon’s condition was so poor that there was no helping it.

“Hoo! It seems Archelon’s condition is worsening faster than expected. I worry it may collapse before we reach our destination.”

“It will endure.”

“Yes! It has a stronger will than anyone.”

“Yes! If it gets enough rest, it should be able to travel far again tomorrow.”

“Your words give me some comfort. I truly have no face before you.”

“Not at all.”

“I am truly glad you came with us. I am certain Archelon feels the same.”

Though Zeon was far younger than him, Pabilsa could not describe how reassured he felt with Zeon at his side.

Even when he had first met Zeon, he had thought the boy was far from ordinary. Now, eight years later, Zeon had become an even greater man than he had expected.

More dependable than anyone, and worthy of trust and reliance......

Pabilsa thought once again that asking Zeon for help had been the right decision.

Zeon said to Lee Jung-ho,

“We will rest here today.”

“Understood.”

Lee Jung-ho had also seen Archelon’s condition, so he followed the decision without complaint.

In truth, there was no other choice except to follow Zeon’s decision.

It had already been close to a month since they left Neo Seoul.

They had stopped by Steel Fortress along the way, and during the journey from there to this place, Lee Jung-ho had tried to memorize the terrain. But it had not taken long for him to realize just how useless that effort was.

No matter where he looked, the scenery was the same.

In a desert where similar sand mountains continued endlessly, it was impossible to find a mark that could identify direction.

The method of finding direction by the constellations in the night sky was useless as well.

A night sky hazed with sand showed constellations only for a few days in a year.

It was impossible for Lee Jung-ho, who had no knowledge of constellations, to find his way by the occasional stars he saw.

Only then did Lee Jung-ho understand why Jin Geum-ho valued Navigators so highly and tried to secure them.

Only Navigators, or those with abilities equivalent to theirs, could find direction and cross the desert.

From that perspective, Zeon was the perfect guide.

Zeon was the only one who could find paths better than a Navigator and possessed martial power they did not have.

Suddenly, he became curious.

He wondered how far Zeon had traveled over the past eight years.

With Zeon’s ability, he must have reached places no one in Neo Seoul had ever visited.

Zeon was silently preparing food.

The way he casually took ingredients from his subspace, tossed them into a pot, and boiled them was anything but ordinary.

In an instant, a large pot was filled with stew.

Zeon handed bowls of stew to the three of them.

Lee Jung-ho also accepted a bowl of stew and sat to one side.

“This is good.”

On the way here, Zeon had cooked from time to time.

Most of his dishes were simple, like stew, but they suited Lee Jung-ho’s taste perfectly.

The others liked the food Zeon made as well.

Zeon put all the remaining stew into his own bowl and sat down.

Slurp!

Zeon carefully ate the hot stew, blowing on it as he did.

Though it was food he had made himself, it was fairly good.

Zeon looked at Archelon as he ate the stew.

Archelon had pulled its head and legs into its shell and was sleeping deeply. Its condition had worsened so much that it needed rest even though the sun had not yet set.

Zeon asked Pabilsa,

“How much farther do we need to go?”

“If that creature has not moved its nest, we should arrive in a week.”

“A week. That is cutting it close.”

“Hoo! We can only hope nothing happens during that time.”

Pabilsa let out a sigh.

Archelon was everything to him.

More than a friend, a being bound to him down to the soul.

If Archelon died, he would no longer have any meaning in life.

Pabilsa was scooping up a spoonful of stew with a bitter smile when it happened.

Zeon suddenly set down his bowl and stood.

“What is it?”

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Zeon suddenly launched himself toward the large sand mountain ahead.

“I will go with you.”

Sensing that something was unusual, Lee Jung-ho followed after Zeon.

They arrived almost simultaneously at the top of the high sand mountain. In their field of vision, far in the distance, they saw people fleeing in a hurry.

“Awakened? Scavengers?”

Lee Jung-ho frowned.

Their running speed was far from ordinary.

People who ran dozens of meters in a single second could not possibly be normal humans.

There were three people fleeing.

They were each running with all their strength in different directions.

Zeon said,

“They have been watching us for a short while.”

“I will take the one in the center.”

“Then I will take the left.”

“There is no helping the one on the right.”

Lee Jung-ho looked displeased.

The two of them could not catch all three people fleeing in different directions. Their speed was extremely fast.

The two immediately chased after the fleeing figures.

Zeon unfolded Sand Walk.

The sand pushed his body forward, propelling him at great speed. But the fleeing person’s speed was no laughing matter, so it took quite some time to catch up. Still, Zeon eventually reached the man’s back.

“Ugh!”

Realizing that he would not be able to shake Zeon off, the Awakened finally turned around.

He was a middle-aged man wearing a cloak made from the hide of an unknown monster.

His hair was filthy, caked with grease and sand as if it had not been washed in ages, and all his rotten teeth were black.

His appearance was more wretched than a beggar’s, but his eyes were filled with venom.

“Fuck!”

What he drew from his waist was a shamshir curved like a crescent moon.

SWISH—!

The shamshir flew toward Zeon at terrifying speed.

At that moment, the sand around Zeon’s body wriggled upward and shot toward the shamshir.

Dozens of sand snakes resembling vipers.

It was Viper, one of Zeon’s Skills.

BOOM—!

With a single strike from Viper, the shamshir exploded like a bomb.

“Guh!”

The Awakened swinging the shamshir screamed from the pain of his hand being torn apart.

His hand had indeed been shredded as if hacked apart with a blade. That was how tremendous Viper’s power was.

For the Awakened, the disaster had only just begun.

There were still dozens of Vipers created by Zeon remaining.

Dozens of Vipers struck the Awakened at once.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

“Aaaargh!”

The Awakened screamed in terrible agony and collapsed.

After instantly neutralizing the Awakened, Zeon knelt on one knee and said,

“They are not wounds severe enough to kill you, so do not make such a fuss.”

“You fucking bastard......”

“Who sent you?”

“My fucked-up life, dying like this......”

At that moment, the face of the Awakened subdued by Zeon began turning black.

In an instant, his skin rotted away, exposing the muscles beneath, and soon even the muscles began melting down.

“Aaaargh!”

The Awakened let out a desperate scream at the pain of his entire body melting.

At the unexpected sight, Zeon quickly stepped back.

As if time itself had been compressed, the Awakened’s body rotted and melted at an unbelievable speed.

Zeon frowned at the terrible stench and murmured,

“A...... curse?”

That was the only possibility that came to mind immediately.

The Awakened no longer screamed.

That was because his vocal cords had crumbled and lost their function.

In the area of his heart, which still remained intact, Zeon saw a black branch the size of a finger embedded in it.

The black branch rotted and vanished in an instant along with the heart.

It had happened in a fleeting instant, so quickly that Zeon would not have noticed it if he had not been concentrating.

Zeon instinctively realized that the black branch was the curse’s medium.

The melted flesh of the Awakened soaked into the sand and vanished.

That was the Awakened’s end.

Zeon recalled the last words the Awakened had spoken.

“A fucked-up life?”

The Awakened had clearly known that this would be his end.

No sane human would accept a curse by their own will.

“Is this the Curse Caster’s doing?”

Zeon clicked his tongue.

No Awakened other than a Curse Caster could do something like this.

It was clearly the work of the Curse Caster who had wounded Archelon.

At that moment, Lee Jung-ho approached Zeon.

Lee Jung-ho was also empty-handed.

Looking at the ground where the Awakened had melted, he said,

“The same happened to mine. The one I chased melted away in an instant.”

“It seems to be the Curse Caster’s doing.”

“There was a black branch embedded in the heart of the man I chased. It seems to be the medium.”

“Yes! It appears he has followed Archelon.”

“He is a cunning bastard. Instead of showing himself directly, he subdued Scavengers and used them as scouts.”

“He is definitely not an easy opponent.”

The proof was that he did not reveal himself even though he possessed a Chimera called a black sea anemone.

It was hard to know what schemes such cautious enemies were weaving in the shadows. That made them even more difficult to face.

Lee Jung-ho asked,

“Have you ever fought a Curse Caster before?”

“Once in the past.”

“How was it?”

“Even though his Grade was not that high, he was difficult to deal with. Their method of attack is completely different from that of ordinary Awakened.”

Curse Casters never stepped forward directly.

Their method of attack was to hide themselves thoroughly while spreading curses through mediums.

From the moment one became enemies with a Curse Caster, one had to give up sleeping comfortably.

That was because they placed curses on everything one ate, drank, and breathed.

The moment one let one’s guard down even for an instant, a curse would seep in.

“It will be a tiring fight.”

“I suppose so.”

Lee Jung-ho nodded.

He too had fought Curse Casters several times before.

Fighting them was filthy, like a muddy brawl, and not once had it ever ended cleanly.

At least Lee Jung-ho had no problem because he wore all kinds of items that defended against curses, but others who had fought Curse Casters suffered from various aftereffects and eventually lost their lives.

He was not afraid of Curse Casters, but fighting them was always something he avoided.

“Let us go back. We do not know what trick he may have played while we were away.”

“Yes!”

The two hurried back to Archelon.

Fortunately, there were no problems with Archelon or the group.

Pabilsa asked the two who had returned,

“Is everyone all right?”

“We are fine.”

“That is a relief.”

“More importantly, it seems the Curse Caster has followed us.”

“......”

At Zeon’s words, Pabilsa’s face turned deathly pale.

Because he had already been attacked by the Curse Caster once, the fear had been carved deep into his bones.

“Grandfather.”

Kaylee hurriedly took Pabilsa’s hand.

At her warmth, Pabilsa quickly regained his composure.

“I am sorry. I showed you an unsightly side of myself.”

“Not at all.”

Zeon shook his head and looked out at the desert.

Before he realized it, deep darkness had fallen over the desert.

Somewhere beyond that darkness, the Curse Caster must be watching them.

They had to drag the Curse Caster hiding in the dark into the open.