Chapter 353

Chapter 353

“Th-that……”

“Lord Johan is in the sand…….”

Dongdaemun’s forces who had come with Johan were shocked by the sand rotating at terrifying speed.

Johan was buried in the sand, and even his form could not be seen.

“We have to save Lord Johan quickly.”

“We can’t let Lord Johan die.”

Several believers leaped into the violently rotating sand to save Johan. But no matter how long the others waited, they did not come back out.

The believers looked at Joshua.

That was because Joshua was the strongest among the remaining believers.

Under normal circumstances, Joshua would have jumped into that sand immediately to save Johan. But right now, he was hesitating.

He had lived believing Johan was God. But at this moment, doubt had arisen in his faith.

A question suddenly occurred to him.

‘If he really is someone God has descended upon, shouldn’t he be able to come out alive from this much?’

Because of that, Joshua hesitated to jump into the sand to save Johan.

GRIIIIIND!

Even in that moment, the sand was rotating at a ferocious speed.

Just watching from a distance was enough to make one’s fine hairs stand on end and goosebumps rise.

Joshua was the same.

Even as Swift Joshua, he was not confident he could enter sand rotating that fiercely and return alive unharmed.

In such a case, there was only one solution.

Eliminate Zeon, the one who had created that phenomenon.

If Zeon died, the sand would lose cohesion and scatter.

Joshua’s gaze turned toward Zeon.

Around Zeon, dozens of Sand Soldiers were positioned.

Breaking through that many Sand Soldiers and reaching Zeon was impossible even for Joshua.

‘A monster!’

Joshua thought Zeon was more terrifying than a Grade S monster.

That was because he was smarter and more creative than a Grade S monster.

Above all, his reason, which coldly grasped the situation as it unfolded, was frightening.

‘We should never have become enemies with him in the first place.’

Not once had they ever gained anything by clashing with Zeon.

Zeon always controlled the situation and created an environment favorable to himself.

It was the same now.

He had first eliminated the Paladins, Heresy Inquisitors, and Dark Saints, forcing Johan to step forward personally.

Everything had proceeded exactly as Zeon intended.

The situation after this would probably be the same.

Although Joshua could not know Zeon’s thoughts, he was certain things would flow according to Zeon’s plan.

Joshua was not confident he could face such a Zeon.

“Lord Joshua!”

“This isn’t the time to just stand here…….”

Unaware of Joshua’s thoughts, Dongdaemun’s Awakened urged him on. They were telling him to save Johan quickly. But Joshua ignored them.

It was then.

Whoooosh!

The sand that had been rotating so violently stopped as if it had all been a lie.

The sand scattered in every direction like mist, revealing Johan trapped within it.

Johan’s appearance was truly wretched.

His legs had disappeared from below the knees, and both arms had been ground away without leaving a trace.

He lay on the ground, gasping roughly for breath.

“Hah! Hah!”

His mind had gone numb from extreme fear and pain, and he could not even recognize what kind of state he was in.

At that moment, Zeon knelt on one knee and met his gaze.

“Ze……on!”

Johan called Zeon in a voice that sounded as if it were splitting apart.

Instead of answering, Zeon reached out and took the cross hanging around Johan’s neck.

Crackle!

As if rejecting Zeon’s touch, sparks flew from the cross. But Zeon paid it no mind and gripped the cross tightly.

Flash!

At that moment, light fell from the sky.

It was God’s Judgment, which Johan had used. But without Johan as its medium and amplifier, its power was incomparably weaker.

BOOM!

A Sand Soldier took the hit instead and still remained intact.

Zeon looked at the cross and muttered,

“It seems you obtained this from a dungeon.”

“Give…… it back. That is not an object you may possess.”

Johan reached out to snatch the cross back. But he had no arms, so he could not take it.

No matter how outstanding a buffer he was, he could not regenerate arms and legs that had vanished.

Unless, perhaps, it were Remura, whom he had tried so hard to secure.

In the end, Johan gave up on taking the cross back and stared blankly at the sky.

He was dying.

His heartbeat grew slower and slower, and his face turned pale without a trace of blood. It was the natural result of losing too much blood. Yet suddenly, vitality began returning to Johan’s face.

He spoke in a cracked voice.

“I wanted to spread God’s will through Neo Seoul, but because of you, it all came to nothing. You will surely regret what happened today.”

“Perhaps.”

“The human mind is weak. It needs something to believe in and rely on. Today, you have destroyed the channel of communication with Him. The price will be extremely harsh.”

“You underestimate humanity’s potential too much.”

“Are you not the one overestimating it?”

“While wandering the desert for a long time, I saw countless people. Elves, dwarves, beastfolk. They are all races stronger than humans. But none of them rebuilt civilization as quickly as the humans here. The times changed, but they still live buried in the glory of the past, reminiscing about it.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“Humans choose to move forward rather than remain buried in the past. Even if the future is so bleak that they cannot see an inch ahead. Dongdaemun without you will be the same. At first, it will be chaotic. But they will accept the present without you and move toward a new future.”

At Zeon’s words, Johan vomited blood and screamed.

“Do not…… make me laugh. Do you think Dongdaemun will remain without me? If Dongdaemun collapses, Neo Seoul will not survive either.”

“That is only your wish.”

“Ghk! Lies……. Cough!”

Crack!

At that moment, Zeon crushed the cross in his hand.

At the same time, the light of life in Johan’s eyes vanished as well. He vomited a large mouthful of blood one last time, then never moved again.

That was the end of Johan, the ruler of Dongdaemun.

Everyone looked at Johan with expressions of disbelief.

“Lord Johan really died?”

“No! That can’t be.”

They denied Johan’s death.

To them, Johan was God.

A god dying was impossible.

That was why they believed Johan would come back to life.

Just like the saint of Earth long ago.

But it was impossible for the dead to return to life.

Even if resurrection were possible, Zeon had no intention of allowing it.

Bubble! Bubble!

The sand where Johan lay bubbled like lava.

Zeon had unleashed Sand Gehenna.

The lava formed from melted sand dissolved Johan’s corpse.

It was to leave not even the slightest possibility of resurrection.

It was truly a cruel measure.

“N-no!”

“Lord Johan…….”

Dongdaemun’s believers screamed from all around.

Some even cursed Zeon as a demon. But even as he listened to their accusations, Zeon did not show the slightest change in expression.

Everything had to be finished properly.

Zeon had experienced countless times how doing ten things well, only to fail at the final finish, caused matters to grow out of control.

That was why he had melted Johan’s corpse and erased it completely.

At that moment, Joshua approached Zeon.

He looked at Zeon with a complicated gaze and said,

“Did you have to destroy even Lord Johan’s corpse?”

BOOM!

At that instant, Sand Blaster struck him in the chest.

Joshua could not even scream and rolled across the ground.

Zeon looked at Joshua, who was struggling in pain, and said,

“It seems you are mistaken about something.”

“Ghk!”

“This was not a fight I started. It was a fight your side picked. If I had lost, what would have happened to my corpse? Would your side have considered my circumstances and left it intact? This is what war is. The victor thoroughly breaks the defeated. Did you wage war against me without even that resolve?”

“Even so…….”

“What would have happened if I had left Lord Johan’s corpse behind? You would have used it. Johan would have become a martyr in death, and Dongdaemun would have gathered again around him as a spiritual focal point. I do not want that situation.”

“That is…….”

“Now you understand why I had to erase Johan’s corpse. Of course, from your perspective, you may think it is harsh, but that is none of my concern. As you know, we fought a war.”

Zeon’s calm, measured voice could not have been more terrifying.

Joshua looked at Zeon with eyes full of fear.

Zeon had killed Johan and countless others, yet he had not suffered a single wound.

He looked impossible to regard as the same kind of human.

Joshua carefully asked,

“What do you intend to do with Dongdaemun?”

“What is there to do? You will handle it yourselves.”

“Are you saying you will not interfere in Dongdaemun?”

“Why would I?”

Zeon answered with an indifferent expression.

If he had wanted to rule others, he would have ruled Shinchon directly. Such troublesome matters were not to Zeon’s taste.

After looking at Zeon for a moment, Joshua cautiously said,

“I will take the remaining people and return to Dongdaemun. Will you let us go?”

“Go.”

Zeon opened the path for Joshua.

Joshua led the remaining people and left Shinchon.

Zeon watched their backs for a long while as they moved away.

Dongdaemun, having lost its leader, would now fall into extreme chaos.

Until someone with leadership as powerful as Johan’s appeared, their division would surely never be patched over.

“Whew!”

Zeon let out a low sigh.

Suddenly, he felt a prickling gaze.

It was the gazes of the slum residents who lived in Shinchon.

The faces of the people looking at Zeon were filled with fear, just like Dongdaemun’s believers.

Until now, to them, Zeon had strongly felt like a guardian who protected Shinchon from outside forces. That was why they had blindly cheered for him and followed him. But the inhuman majesty Zeon had shown against Johan and Dongdaemun’s Awakened had instilled deep fear in them as well.

At the people’s reaction, Zeon gave a bitter smile. But he was not disappointed.

It was natural for people to feel great fear toward beings with unknown power.

Leaving the people’s frightened gazes behind him, Zeon headed for the Crocodile den.

---

“Why hasn’t he come yet?”

Quite some time had passed since she had sent the Angel of Salvation flying.

If this much time had passed, Johan and Dongdaemun’s elites should already have arrived with time to spare.

“Could something have happened?”

Suddenly, she had an ominous feeling.

The Johan she knew was not someone who would fail to come after seeing the Angel of Salvation.

Something unexpected had clearly happened.

“Could Zeon have……?”

The moment she thought of him, an ominous feeling swept over her.

“Ghk!”

At that instant, Bakum’s muffled groan woke her mind. She looked over in surprise and saw Bakum kneeling on one knee.

In front of him stood, astonishingly, Jetoya.

Jetoya, a Grade D Awakened, had defeated Bakum, a Grade C Awakened.

At that unbelievable result, Chensi’s eyes widened.

At that moment, Levin approached Chensi.

“It’s over, Auntie! You don’t have any cards left.”

“Ghh! Once Lord Johan comes…….”

“You still don’t get it? He can’t come. Brother Zeon won’t let him.”

“Shut up! Lord Johan is God. No one can kill God.”

Chensi shouted, denying Levin’s words.

At her maddened appearance, Levin clicked his tongue.

“Tsk! This is why I hate fanatics.”

Levin used Ghost Transformation and grabbed Chensi.

Chensi tried to use her ability to hypnotize Levin. But Levin’s movements were far faster than hers.

Crackle!

Purple Lightning struck Chensi.

The purple current burned all the way down to Chensi’s bones.