Chapter 43

Chapter 43

BAAANG!

Disaster descended upon the Valley of Death.

The valley, which had held its form firmly for more than a hundred years, had been horribly ruined until its original shape could no longer be recognized.

The cause was the explosions ringing through the valley.

The owners of those explosions were Zeon and Deioden.

SHAAAK!

Deioden’s sword split the air.

Its target was Zeon’s neck.

At that instant, Zeon’s body retreated as if someone had pulled him back with a rope.

Zeon’s gaze, as he retreated with his back held straight, was fixed on Crayon.

What Crayon aimed for was Zeon’s neck.

If he allowed even the slightest distance to close, his head would fly.

Even so, Zeon did not lose his composure.

SWISH!

Crayon passed by Zeon’s neck by a hair’s breadth.

Even though Crayon had not cut him directly, a long line opened across his neck, and blood flowed out.

At least it was fortunate that it was only a wound on the skin.

A chilling sensation came from his neck, but Zeon did not panic and swung his hand.

Then sand rose from the ground and attacked Deioden.

The attacks wriggled like living snakes as they flew toward Deioden.

It was Viper, the evolved form of Sand Blaster.

A Skill as deadly as a viper. That was why it had been named Viper.

It was a method of operation he had learned while fighting a fierce battle against Deioden.

Dozens of Vipers flew toward Deioden, each aiming for a weakness. But not a single one managed to strike him.

Before they could even touch Deioden’s body, they were blocked by a faint membrane and vanished.

It was Aura Shield, the defensive method of Martial Type Awakened.

The Vipers shattered and scattered against Aura Shield, but Zeon was not disappointed.

Rather, he was satisfied simply by drawing out Aura Shield, Deioden’s defensive measure.

That was how powerful Deioden was.

Over the past ten days, Zeon had not managed to inflict a single meaningful blow on Deioden. Even so, he did not despair or collapse.

No matter how many wounds he suffered, no matter how often he hovered between life and death, he rose again and fought Deioden.

In that process, he grew terrifyingly.

He was more tense than when facing any monster, and he desperately searched for a way.

To survive against the monster called Deioden, he had no choice but to develop in real time.

It was impossible for ordinary people or other Awakened, but it was possible for Zeon. No, Deioden had forcibly made it possible.

He had pushed Zeon to the extreme and dragged out every bit of his potential.

BOBOBOBOOM!

The Vipers struck Deioden one after another.

He was blocking them with Aura Shield, but the power of each strike was by no means light.

Enough that even Deioden of all people was being forced back little by little.

At last, when Deioden had been pushed to the position Zeon wanted, Zeon snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

GRRRRIND!

At that instant, the sand beneath Deioden’s feet rotated at terrifying speed.

Sand Blender had activated.

“Hmph!”

But Deioden snorted and lightly escaped Sand Blender.

That was when it happened.

Nearby, soldiers made of sand rose and attacked Deioden.

They were one of Zeon’s Skills, Sand Soldiers.

And there were as many as six of them.

In the past, he had only been able to control two, but the number had tripled in the meantime.

The six Sand Soldiers each attacked Deioden.

While the Sand Soldiers drew Deioden’s attention, Zeon prepared Exion.

Exion was released from his pores.

Zeon, wrapped in fine sand, looked like black fog.

With Exion wrapped around his body, Zeon attacked Deioden directly.

BAAANG!

With an explosive roar, Deioden’s body was pushed backward. But because he had blocked it with Crayon, he did not suffer a single wound.

Zeon had not expected Deioden to be wounded either.

CRASHCRASHCRASH!

The Vipers struck Deioden repeatedly, and the Sand Soldiers assisted. Then came Zeon’s attacks using Exion, followed by Sand Blender.

All of it continued without leaving even a moment to breathe.

In an instant, all his mana was depleted.

Zeon used Elura’s necklace to recover his mana. Then he poured out all his Skills once more.

CRASHCRASH!

With explosive roars, the sandstone cliff collapsed, and a red cloud of dust rose high into the sky.

“Haa! Haa!”

It was when Zeon, who had poured everything out in a single moment, was exhaling ragged breaths.

SHOOO!

Deioden appeared through the red dust.

Even after the bombardment into which Zeon had poured all his strength, Deioden had not suffered a single wound.

“Damn it!”

Zeon hurriedly tried to avoid Deioden’s attack with Sand Walk. But Deioden charged in without giving him the slightest room to dodge.

BAAANG!

“Ghk!”

Zeon was struck hard by Crayon and flew far away.

At least he had protected his body with Exion, so he avoided a fatal wound. But the impact shook his organs so violently that he could not breathe properly.

Toward that Zeon, Deioden’s second strike flew in.

BAAANG!

The impact felt as if his whole body were being dismantled, leaving him unable even to scream.

Zeon flew for a long while and crashed into the wall.

Deioden looked at Zeon with a pathetic expression.

“How long are you going to stay embedded there? An enemy will not wait for you to get up on your own. Cripple!”

“Grrgh!”

“Get up. If you can breathe, you can stand.”

“Damn it!”

Zeon stood with all his strength.

Blood was flowing down his face and chest.

He had survived, but he had suffered wounds deep enough that they would need several days to heal.

Deioden pointed Crayon at him and said,

“If you are going to whine over wounds of that level, go back to Neo Seoul right now.”

“Who said I’m whining? Haaah!”

Zeon kicked off the wall and launched himself at Deioden.

Deioden smiled as he looked at Zeon charging at him with flashing eyes.

“Heh-heh! That’s how it should be. You need at least that much grit for it to feel satisfying when I break you.”

He swung Crayon without mercy, and Zeon was smashed back into the wall.

That situation repeated dozens of times.

---

“Phew!”

Zeon quietly exhaled and looked ahead.

His entire body was truly a mess.

His face was covered in broken skin and cuts, bleeding all over, and his whole body was covered in wounds large and small.

The robe he wore was torn until it was no different from a rag, and his hair was disheveled, making him look like a beggar.

But the light in his eyes, visible between strands of hair, had sunk deeply without the slightest tremor.

At the place his gaze was directed stood Deioden.

He did not know how much time had passed since they had stayed here.

Judging by the fact that the jerky they had prepared was almost gone, it seemed they had been here for at least several months.

During that time, Zeon had fought Deioden until he was sick of it.

The battles against Deioden were truly a series of defeats.

He was broken, broken again, and broken endlessly.

Not once had he dealt a meaningful blow to Deioden. He had only suffered defeat again and again.

Even so, Zeon did not give up.

He felt as if he would have no more wishes if he could land one proper blow on Deioden’s face.

Until then, he could never give up.

Through the decisive battles against Deioden, Zeon’s skill rose terrifyingly.

Fighting Deioden alone was harder than fighting hundreds of monsters.

No matter how strong monsters were, there was a limit to their intelligence. But there was no limit to Deioden’s strength.

There was physical strength, combat sense, and the experience accumulated over a hundred years.

These three elements formed a perfect balance and made him even stronger.

Deioden attacked Zeon without the slightest mercy.

There was also the reason of raising Zeon’s skill, but more than that, it was because he wanted to polish his own body and mind.

Now, his body and mind had reached their peak.

They were unimaginably sharp, like a blade honed to the limit, allowing not even the slightest variable.

At this moment, Deioden could perfectly control not only himself, but also his opponent and the situation around him.

Deioden walked toward Zeon with Crayon hanging down toward the ground.

He was simply walking, but a tremendous force was flowing from his entire body.

Merely facing him made Zeon feel suffocated, as if his whole body would be crushed.

“Phew!”

Zeon exhaled once again.

He had experienced this situation dozens, hundreds of times.

Now, he too had learned with his body how to escape this pressure.

Zeon relaxed the muscles throughout his body.

Keep the mind calm.

Keep the body flexible, ready to respond at any moment.

If he saw with his eyes and chased, it would be too late.

The flow of the air, the color, the moisture, the surrounding scent, even the heat—he had to feel all of it with his skin and react in real time.

If even one of those things was missing, he could never stand against Deioden.

The moment Zeon’s nerves became sensitive to the extreme, the air in the area grew cold.

‘He’s coming.’

Zeon raised a sand barrier in front of him.

BAAANG!

The sand barrier burst apart helplessly, and Deioden appeared. But Zeon was not surprised.

It was a picture he had already expected.

He had raised the sand barrier only to buy a moment of time.

The instant Deioden broke through the sand barrier and came out, Zeon vanished into the sand.

Now, hiding and moving through the sand was as natural to him as breathing.

Even while inside the sand, he could understand the situation outside as clearly as if looking at the palm of his hand.

That was because the sand in the area delivered information to him.

CRUNCH!

He felt Deioden’s footstep.

At that instant, Viper activated.

Dozens of sand vipers flew toward Deioden’s entire body.

“Petty tricks......”

Deioden swung Crayon and cut off the heads of the sand vipers in one stroke. Then he drove Crayon hard into the ground.

BAAANG!

With an explosive roar, the sand on the ground exploded.

Like a volcano erupting, a tremendous amount of sand shot up into the sky, and Zeon was revealed. But Zeon did not panic.

That was because he had already expected this to happen.

Sand Soldiers rose around him.

This time, there were as many as ten.

While fighting Deioden, the Skill had developed until he could move as many as ten at once.

The ten Sand Soldiers moved while receiving Zeon’s commands in real time.

Issuing individual commands to this many Sand Soldiers placed a tremendous burden on Zeon’s brain as well.

DRIP!

His nose burst with blood, and his entire vision turned red.

Even the capillaries in his eyes burst from the tremendous pressure placed on his brain.

His head swam for an instant, but Zeon soon gathered his mind.

He raised both hands like a conductor.

At that instant, Viper flew at Deioden again. Then he raised sand to cover Deioden’s sight.

In the meantime, Zeon’s body floated into the air.

The sand supporting him shot into the sky like a pillar and lifted Zeon up.

From a full one hundred meters in the air, Zeon watched every situation.

Sand Soldiers shattered, and Vipers were cut apart.

Sand Blender did not work at all.

But Zeon was not disappointed.

That was because he had never expected them to work in the first place.

His true aim was not those Skills.

Sssshhh!

Before he knew it, black mist had settled around his body.

He had released Exion.

He focused the rippling Exion onto his right arm, the one wearing the gauntlet.

At that instant, Deioden raised his head and looked at Zeon.

The moment their gazes met in the air, Zeon murmured,

“Here I come, you dogshit old man!”

He launched himself from a hundred meters in the air just like that.

Zeon fell like a meteor.

His target was Deioden’s face.

He swung his right fist, wrapped in Exion, with all his strength.

CRAAAAASH!