Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Rio was not someone who should have died like this.

He was the most crucial figure in the hunt for Deioden.

His ability to snipe from long range was absolute, which was why even Neo Seoul’s mayor had handed him over after much deliberation. Yet they had lost him before the battle had even begun in earnest.

Jang Yong-beom glared at Deioden.

Deioden was standing in the middle of the desert, laughing.

There was no sign anywhere on his body that he had taken the impact of a bullet.

Even a bullet specially treated with Magic for use against Awakened had failed to leave so much as a scratch.

“Good! It has to be at least this much. Otherwise, it wouldn’t feel worth hunting.”

Aside from his own party, seven other parties had taken part.

All of them were people well versed in hunting Awakened.

There were no Grade S, who could be called strategic weapons, but many Grade A and Grade B Awakened were included.

There were countless Awakened parties in Neo Seoul and the slums.

They found and conquered dungeons around Neo Seoul that might become threats. But among them, there were also those who hunted other Awakened instead of monsters.

That was because it was much easier to earn a large amount of money that way.

They avoided getting involved with one another as much as possible.

That was because they knew one another too well. The reason such people had gathered for this commission was that the reward was just that great.

The fact that it was a commission made directly by the mayor, the highest authority in Neo Seoul, was reason enough to participate.

“We’ll be the ones to hunt him.”

“We can finally take the Massacrer’s throat. Heh-heh!”

The Awakened riding in other buggies burned with fighting spirit.

They had heard countless legends about Deioden.

The Massacrer.

The madman of the desert.

The living disaster.

There were countless words that described him.

The problem was that every one of those words was negative.

Even so, they were not intimidated. Rather, they were excited.

That was because this was the perfect opportunity to hunt the legendary Deioden.

Whoever hunted Deioden would take all the honor and become a new legend.

“We have to get there first. Step on it.”

“We can’t let the others steal him.”

The buggies carrying the Awakened raced forward, each trying to outdo the others.

“Those idiots!”

Jang Yong-beom frowned as he watched them.

Even if they joined forces, there was no telling whether they could handle him, yet from the start, this was already a complete mess.

The signs were not good.

Aiden said,

“Captain, let’s fall back a little.”

“Damn it!”

“We have to stay calm.”

It was the advice of Aiden, who could be called the brain of Jang Yong-beom’s party.

Finding Deioden in this vast desert had also been his achievement. If not for him, they would still be wandering the desert in search of Deioden.

Jang Yong-beom nodded.

“Okay! We’ll drop to the very rear.”

“Yes!”

Aiden slowed down slightly. Then the other buggies overtook them.

They closed the distance to Deioden in an instant.

“Old man! Give up your life.”

An Awakened riding in the lead buggy launched himself toward Deioden.

In his hand was a gigantic axe.

A powerful aura rose from the axe.

When he swung the axe, axe-shaped aura flew toward Deioden.

He was confident he could inflict a serious wound on Deioden with this one move.

Deioden was empty-handed.

It was impossible to block his Skill without a weapon.

Then Deioden swung his bare fist.

CRASH—!

At that instant, the aura the Awakened had sent flying with his axe vanished as it was.

“What?”

The Awakened, who had been charging in with great momentum, widened his eyes.

That was because Deioden, who had erased his aura, had disappeared from sight.

The place where Deioden reappeared was right in front of his nose.

It was as if he had moved through space in the blink of an eye, like using Blink.

GRAB!

Deioden’s large hand covered the Awakened’s face.

“Ghk!”

The Awakened tried to swing his axe and attack Deioden’s body. But Deioden was far faster in putting strength into the hand holding his face.

CRACK!

The Awakened’s head shattered like a cracker as he swung his axe.

The Awakened’s blood and brain matter flowed down between Deioden’s fingers.

“Heh-heh! Did Jin Geum-ho send you?”

Jin Geum-ho was the mayor of Neo Seoul.

Like Deioden, he was a living giant who had made his way through the turbulent era.

He had rendered distinguished service in creating the current Neo Seoul, then made himself mayor.

The person standing at the peak of Neo Seoul, the highest authority, was Jin Geum-ho.

At one time, he had been Deioden’s comrade and a friend who walked the same path.

But a hundred years had divided them, and now they were worse than enemies.

“Shut up, monster!”

“All-out attack!”

The Awakened leapt out of their buggies and launched an all-out attack.

CRASHCRASHCRASH!

The Awakened’s Skills tore through the desert sand.

But when their Skills struck, Deioden was already no longer there.

The place where he reappeared was in the middle of the Awakened.

CRUNCH!

With a single punch, he burst the head of a Grade B Awakened.

The next victim was a female Awakened who used Magic.

She did not even manage to use Flame Wind, the Skill she was so proud of.

The last thing she saw was Deioden’s madness-filled eyes.

“N-no......”

CRASH—!

At that instant, her body burst apart.

“Kraaaagh!”

“D-don’t panic......”

“Aaagh!”

Screams and bewildered voices echoed through the desert sky.

‘This can’t go on!’

The one who stepped forward at that moment was an Awakened named Noh Ji-gwang.

“Flame Lance.”

Several spears of flame appeared in the air.

At Noh Ji-gwang’s hand gesture, the spears of flame flew toward Deioden.

CRASHCRASHCRASH!

With explosive roars, Deioden was engulfed in flame.

Not missing that opening, the other Awakened unleashed their Skills all at once.

The martial type rushed in while raising aura, and the Magic Type bombarded him from a distance.

Flames and sand covered the desert.

Someone swallowed dryly and murmured,

“He must be dead after that, right?”

That was when it happened.

SHAAAK!

Suddenly, a chilling tearing sound rang out.

Startled, they turned back and saw a gigantic longsword flying in from far away.

It was Crayon, which Deioden had thrown.

Crayon spun fiercely and swept through the Awakened.

CRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCH!

“Kraaaagh!”

“Save me!”

Everything swept up by Crayon was cut apart.

Awakened and weapons alike.

Their grades could not protect them.

Whether Grade A, Grade B, or Grade C, all were torn apart equally.

In an instant, half the Awakened who had participated in the attack force died.

“My God!”

“Is this the...... Massacrer?”

The faces of the surviving Awakened turned pale.

After slaughtering the Awakened, Crayon landed in Deioden’s hand.

The Awakened had attacked with all their strength, but Deioden stood unharmed without a single wound.

“Heh-heh-heh!”

Deioden’s mad laughter made the Awakened shudder.

Only now did they understand why Deioden was called the living disaster, and why he was called the Massacrer.

Deioden was strong.

He was not simply strong. He was chillingly strong.

It was meaningless to divide him by grade.

Only now did they understand why no Grade S Awakened had been included in this attack force.

That was because even a Grade S Awakened could not dare guarantee survival before Deioden.

The mayor of Neo Seoul had clearly thought this attack force had a higher chance of failure than success.

“Then why did he send us?”

“Fucking mayor bastard!”

They cursed Jin Geum-ho, the mayor who had commissioned this attack force.

Without even glancing at the attack force that now had no idea what to do, like a rabble, Deioden spoke.

“Did you see?”

“Just because you call me a cripple doesn’t mean my eyes are crippled too.”

The one who answered bluntly was Zeon.

“They are all bastards who pride themselves on being somebody in Neo Seoul.”

“So?”

“With your skill, you’ll receive about the same treatment as those bastards in Neo Seoul.”

“So?”

“I’m saying this is your last chance to return to Neo Seoul. Cripple!”

“So?”

“If you follow me now, you can never return to an ordinary life again. So if you intend to return to Neo Seoul, go now. This is your last chance.”

“An ordinary life?”

“Yes! A life the same as everyone else’s.”

“Fuck! Are you joking?”

“What?”

“Do you think I can live normally now? You’re saying something that doesn’t even make sense. You dogshit old man!”

From the moment he met Deioden, no, from the moment he awakened as a Sandmancer, an ordinary life had stopped suiting Zeon.

With his heart full of longing to become stronger, how could he follow them back to Neo Seoul?

Even if he returned, it was obvious he would either become a tool for those in power or be dissected thoroughly.

For him, returning to Neo Seoul was no different from another way of saying death.

Deioden laughed.

“Heh-heh! The cripple’s head has finally broken too. Congratulations on becoming a true cripple.”

“Wow, I’m so fucking grateful.”

Zeon raised his middle finger at Deioden.

“Heh-heh!”

Deioden burst out laughing and leapt among the Awakened.

They had not dared block Deioden even when he was bare-handed. There was no way they could block him when he held Crayon.

Deioden was a lion that had leapt into a flock of sheep.

CRUNCH!

Each time he swung Crayon, Awakened broke, tore apart, and were crushed.

In an instant, the desert was stained red with the blood of Awakened.

“Fuck! How is that human?”

“It would be better to pull back. Before we become that human’s targets for no reason.”

Jang Yong-beom’s party, which had fallen behind because of an ominous feeling, fortunately escaped Deioden’s massacre.

Mountain, who had feared nothing in the world thanks to his enormous body and incredible strength, had gone deathly pale, and Aiden and Giselle’s faces were no different.

Jang Yong-beom looked at Deioden with a dumbfounded expression.

“They told us to hunt a human like that? The mayor has completely lost his mind.”

He had heard many stories about Deioden, but this was the first time he had seen him in person.

Jang Yong-beom was a Grade A Awakened in name and reality.

He feared no Awakened inside Neo Seoul.

If it was a Grade S Awakened, he might feel a little intimidated, but that did not mean he would not even dare fight.

If he was prepared to throw away his life, he would probably be able to make something happen somehow.

But against Deioden, who was slaughtering Awakened far away, he did not even dare think of trying.

Even though they were this far apart, goosebumps rose along his arms.

It was the first time he had felt this way.

Giselle said,

“Captain, at this rate, we’ll become food for the Massacrer too. Let’s get out of here.”

Her face was full of urgency.

The distance from Deioden was two kilometers.

It was a far distance if called far, but to an Awakened like Deioden, it meant nothing.

If he made up his mind, he would appear here in the blink of an eye.

Jang Yong-beom said,

“We’re returning to Neo Seoul. And we’re never taking another commission connected to the mayor again.”

“Understood.”

“Let’s hurry.”

Aiden hurriedly turned the steering wheel.

The buggy moved away from where Deioden was at high speed. But Jang Yong-beom could not take his eyes off the battlefield.

His gaze suddenly turned toward the robed figure standing behind Deioden.

The person was too far away, and with the hood attached to the robe pulled low, he could not see their face.

‘Who is that? If they are Deioden’s companion, they definitely aren’t an ordinary human.’