Chapter 349

Chapter 349

Briel let out a sigh.

“Hah! We’re a little late.”

She looked back and forth between Heather, collapsed on the floor, and Chensi.

The floor could be seen through the hole pierced through Heather’s back.

Blood gushed from the wound in thick surges, and Heather was convulsing.

It was a fatal wound, just before her breath stopped.

“Mom!”

Remura tried to approach Heather, but Chensi stopped her.

“It’s dangerous.”

“Let me go. I have to save Mom.”

Remura tried somehow to shake off Chensi’s arm. But a young girl could not withstand an Awakened’s strength.

Bakum, who had been guarding Remura nearby, was attacking the Awakened who had ambushed Heather.

Because of that, he could not pay attention to Remura.

“It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.”

The Awakened who had attacked Heather desperately tried to explain, but no one listened.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on the Grade E Awakened who had attacked Heather.

This, too, was Chensi’s doing.

Incitement through hypnosis was one of her specialties.

The lingering trace of mana Chensi subtly spread put people under hypnosis. Because of that, they could not make proper judgments.

Levin looked at Chensi.

“Did you make this happen, Auntie?”

“You’re calling an unmarried woman Auntie?”

“You’re just an auntie. Let Remura go, and let’s talk quietly.”

“Hoho! How funny, child. Why should I?”

“Because that’s how you can live too, Auntie.”

“Do you think I fear death?”

“What are you talking about? People are naturally afraid of death.”

“I am different. For God and Lord Johan, I can throw away this one life as many times as needed.”

Chensi smiled, showing her white teeth.

Madness surged across her face.

“Hah!”

Levin sighed again.

He had felt this before, but dealing with people filled with madness like this was extremely tiring.

‘How does Brother Zeon deal with people like this as if it’s nothing?’

The more he thought about it, the more incredible Zeon seemed.

At that moment, Briel stepped forward.

“Auntie! While we’re still asking nicely, leave Remura and go.”

“Hah! You damned little brat…….”

After being called Auntie by Levin and then by Briel as well, Chensi’s face twisted.

No matter how calm she pretended to be, an unmarried woman could not help taking damage after being called Auntie again and again.

Knowing that, Levin and Briel continued calling her Auntie.

Then Jetoya opened his mouth.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Why are you bewitching people and making them fight each other?”

“To take this little lady with me, of course.”

“Hah! Without even asking what Remura thinks?”

“She’ll like it once she goes to Dongdaemun. It’s clean and wealthy there, and everyone will worship her. There’s no reason she wouldn’t like it.”

At Chensi’s words, Jetoya let out a sigh.

He asked Remura,

“Remura! Do you want to go up to the surface?”

“No! I just need Mom. I don’t want to go to the surface.”

Remura shook her head as tears flowed down her face.

“You heard her, right, Auntie? So wake up from your dream and let her go.”

“You little brats really know how to get on my nerves. If any of you move even one step from there, this child dies. Understand?”

Chensi tightened her grip around Remura’s neck.

In an instant, Remura’s complexion turned deathly pale.

At that, Jetoya flinched and stepped back.

Levin grabbed Jetoya’s shoulder and said,

“That woman can’t kill Remura. If she kills her, Johan will fly into a rage. So you stop them. If we’re late, there’ll be a major disaster.”

“Yes! Brother.”

With that answer, Jetoya walked toward Bakum.

Under the influence of Chensi’s hypnosis, Bakum’s eyes were bloodshot red.

Bakum was a Grade C martial-type Awakened.

He was an Awakened far stronger than Jetoya, who was Grade D.

Normally, Jetoya would never have dared challenge him. But thanks to Levin and Briel, after fierce battles against monsters in the desert, Jetoya’s ability and confidence had risen dramatically.

“Mr. Bakum! It’s me, Jetoya.”

“Move, Jetoya! If you block my path, I won’t spare you either.”

“This is all that woman’s trick. Please come to your senses.”

“Shut up.”

Bakum shouted loudly.

Inside his head, there was only one thought: he had to kill the Awakened who attacked Heather.

Paht!

Bakum kicked off the ground and launched himself toward the Awakened who had attacked Heather.

“Damn it!”

Jetoya also threw himself forward.

Now was not the time for the Awakened of the Crocodile den to fight among themselves.

They had to unite as one and stand against Dongdaemun’s scheme.

BOOM!

Jetoya and Bakum collided in midair.

At the tremendous impact, Jetoya’s face twisted.

While blocking Bakum’s attacks one after another, he shouted to Levin,

“Take care of that woman quickly.”

“Okay!”

Levin answered and approached Chensi.

Chensi, who had been carefully watching the situation, clicked her tongue.

“Tch! To think children would interfere.”

From the moment Levin and the others appeared, Chensi had been looking for a chance to escape.

As was true of most hypnosis abilities, they did not work well on those with strong minds.

The Awakened weakened by their long stay underground were easily affected by her mental domination, but it did not work on Levin, Briel, and the others.

They were narrowing the encirclement while perfectly blocking the paths Chensi could use to escape.

Chensi slipped a hand into her chest and muttered,

“I hope they hurry here as quickly as possible.”

What she took out from her chest was a small angel statue.

The adorable statue, which depicted a winged angel in the posture of shooting an arrow, was an item Johan had specially bestowed upon her.

The angel statue’s name was Angel of Salvation.

As the name suggested, it was an item used to request rescue.

No matter where it was, it would fly to Dongdaemun in an instant and guide them to Chensi’s location.

“Go!”

Chensi infused mana into the angel statue and muttered.

At that instant, tremendous light burst from the angel statue, and it flew away at terrifying speed.

It happened before Levin and Briel could do anything.

The angel statue vanished into the darkness in an instant.

Chensi said with a triumphant expression,

“Hoho! Lord Johan will come running soon.”

“Will he really?”

“What?”

“You seem to have forgotten whose land this is.”

Levin gave a small laugh.

＊＊＊

Flash!

With a powerful light, an angel burst out of the underground sewer.

The angel fluttered its small wings and soared high into the sky, then shot a tiny arrow.

BOOM!

The arrow burst like a firework and created brilliant flames.

Johan, who was heading toward Shinchon with the Paladins, saw that sight.

“That is…….”

The corner of Johan’s eye trembled.

There was no way he would not know.

Because the one who had given the Angel of Salvation to Chensi was none other than him.

The Angel of Salvation was literally an item that activated when requesting rescue from Dongdaemun.

Dark Saints like Chensi did not request rescue no matter how much danger their lives were in.

There was only one situation in which they would request rescue.

When they were on the verge of completing a mission and a serious problem occurred.

A smile appeared on Johan’s lips.

The mission Chensi had been entrusted with was securing the Saintess.

The fact that she had sent up the Angel of Salvation meant she had either secured the Saintess or confirmed her location, but a problem had occurred.

“Chensi finally did it.”

If there was a problem, it was that the Angel of Salvation had risen from Shinchon. But to Johan, who was blinded by securing the Saintess, Shinchon was not a major issue.

He led the Paladins and tried to hurry into Shinchon. But he had no choice but to stop at the entrance.

Because of the man blocking the path into Shinchon.

The corner of Johan’s eye trembled.

“Zeon!”

“Lord Johan!”

The man blocking Johan’s path with a smile was Zeon.

He approached Johan and said,

“This is a breach of our agreement.”

“A breach?”

“Wasn’t the deadline we agreed on one month? I allowed Dongdaemun’s believers to operate for one month according to our agreement. But now you’re bringing troops?”

“Was this what you were aiming for from the beginning?”

“I don’t know what you mean, Lord Johan.”

“Did you set the one-month deadline to shackle our ankles? You knew from the beginning, didn’t you? That the one we were looking for was beneath Shinchon.”

“I don’t know what kind of nonsense you’re talking about. There’s only one thing I know. You broke our promise and invaded, Lord Johan.”

“You dare play word games with me?”

Johan’s eyebrows shot up toward the sky.

At his anger, the killing intent of the Paladins lined up behind him also rose.

It was a sight that would make one’s legs go weak just by facing it. But Zeon, who faced them directly, remained calm.

“I’m not playing word games. I’m telling you to keep your promise. You clearly promised me, didn’t you? That your activities in Shinchon would last one month. What exactly is the problem?”

“And still?”

Johan’s face became even more frightening.

Because he thought Zeon was mocking him.

Raising his killing intent, he said,

“Open the path, Zeon!”

“I can’t do that.”

“Do you dare defy God’s will?”

“I don’t particularly believe in God.”

At Zeon’s calm answer, the Paladins bristled.

“How dare you deny God.”

“That unbeliever…….”

The Paladins stirred as if they would charge at Zeon at any moment.

They already had many grudges piled up against Zeon.

The fact that they had been forced to withdraw when they had nearly seized Shinchon, all because of Zeon alone, remained as a wound in their hearts.

Johan said,

“I will give you one last chance. Open the path, Zeon! Once we secure the Saintess, we will withdraw quietly.”

“Did God really say that? That a Healer is a Saintess?”

“Do you intend to deny God’s words?”

“I’m asking because I’m genuinely curious. What kind of God whispers that a Healer is a Saintess and incites you like this?”

Zeon did not particularly deny the existence of God.

Because he knew Deioden had killed a god.

Even if the god Deioden killed had been nothing but an empty shell that had lost its divinity and power.

A dragon had crossed over, so there was no reason a god could not have crossed to Earth as well.

The problem was why that being called God had pointed to a Healer as a Saintess and made Johan secure her.

There was no way God had given such an order without any intention.

“Whew!”

Johan let out a sigh.

Every emotion he had held in his heart was contained in that sigh.

Anger toward Zeon, fear, and even jealousy. He shook off every negative emotion with that one sigh.

Only one emotion remained in him.

Killing intent.

“Now I know for certain. You and I cannot coexist beneath the same sky. For me and Dongdaemun to live, I must kill you.”

“Your realization is a little late. I knew it from the moment I first saw you.”

Zeon smiled.

They had been fated to collide long ago. Even so, the reason Zeon had postponed it until now was because of Dongdaemun’s hidden strength.

He did not know how many people in Neo Seoul had been recruited by Dongdaemun. Believers who protected Dongdaemun from the shadows.

If he left them behind, there would be endless consequences. But that problem had been resolved.

Because while searching for the Saintess, the believers had stirred up Neo Seoul and caused clashes with each district.

Believers whose personal information had all been exposed were no longer objects of fear.

Around Johan, the Paladins and other core forces were positioned.

They were all Dongdaemun’s key personnel.

If he removed all of them, he could carve out all the dark organizations that had taken deep root in the slums and Neo Seoul.

Rustle!

Behind Zeon, dozens, then hundreds of sand humans rose.

They were Sand Soldiers who would fight alongside him.