Chapter 75

Chapter 75

“You really can’t let your guard down around him.”

Zeon glanced back.

He could still see old man Clexi looking at him with lingering regret.

If Zeon had listened to his whole story, he would surely have ended up with a ring through his nose.

Old foxes like that dug into the slightest opening like vipers and tightened around you until escape became impossible.

The best thing was not to get entangled in the first place, but since he had already become involved, he had to keep a proper distance.

The hardest thing in life was precisely this kind of relationship.

Fighting monsters was better by comparison.

At least friend and foe were clear.

To live mixed into human society, there were far too many things to think about and guard against.

After being lost in thought for a long while, Zeon stopped in front of his house.

It was because of the unfamiliar gazes he sensed around him.

“Whew!”

Zeon let out a sigh without realizing it.

He had thought he had shaken off one troublesome lump, but it seemed another had attached itself to him.

When Zeon made no movement, someone approached him.

The man, dressed in a neat suit that was hard to find in the slums and wearing his hair tied back, was Eaton.

Eaton opened his mouth.

“You’re Zeon, right?”

“And who are you?”

“So that means I’m right.”

“I don’t believe I’ve heard an answer yet.”

“My name is Eaton.”

“Eaton?”

“I serve Lord Goran.”

At Eaton’s answer, Zeon frowned slightly.

He did not know Eaton, but he knew Goran.

Since he lived in Shinchon, it would be stranger not to know the ruler of Shinchon.

“So what business do you have with me?”

“The magic power generator.”

“Pardon?”

“Where is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you recovered the magic power generator. Where is it?”

“......”

Zeon frowned.

Only a few people knew that he owned the magic power generator. The merchant who had sold it to him, and those who had stolen it.

The merchant was already dead, so the only ones left were those who had stolen the magic power generator.

“You people leaked the information to the Crocodiles.”

At Zeon’s words, Eaton flinched.

He was surprised by Zeon’s reasoning ability, which had deduced that much from the single phrase “magic power generator.”

Estimated combat power Grade C or higher.

On top of that, he had an excellent mind.

He was clearly a talent difficult to find in the slums.

The word “recruitment” surfaced in Eaton’s mind.

“Hand over the magic power generator and come under us. Then we’ll treat you well.”

“So you’re telling me to hand over the magic power generator and become your dog.”

“A dog’s fate changes depending on what kind of master it has. Lord Goran treats capable people generously. You will never regret it.”

“I refuse.”

“You’re firm. You’d better think about it again.”

“No matter how many times you ask, my answer won’t change.”

“Then at least hand over the magic power generator. If you only hand over the magic power generator, we’ll withdraw quietly.”

That was when it happened.

BZZT!

An alarm rang inside his subspace.

It was a signal that someone was trying to break into his house.

“Have you already sent people to my house?”

“You installed an alarm?”

“That’s basic.”

“Then this conversation will go even more smoothly. Whether you allow it or not, my boys will bring out the magic power generator anyway. So just accept it as fate.”

“Fate, you say......”

“That would be best for you. No matter how much of a Grade C Awakened you are, you can’t survive on this street after falling out of Lord Goran’s favor. Just live quietly. Like a person who doesn’t exist......”

Eaton spoke as if the magic power generator already belonged to him.

He had sent several of his subordinates to Zeon’s house.

Among them, two were Awakened.

Although their grade was only Grade F, even that level of ability was enough to easily break down the door of a shabby building.

Even if Zeon did not open the door himself, it would not take long to obtain the magic power generator.

“This is sincere advice, so you should accept it. I’m saying it all for your sake.”

“I don’t see how that’s for my sake.”

“I told you. The magic power generator is as good as in our hands already. It’s useless no matter how much you struggle.”

“Is that so? I don’t think so.”

“What?”

That was when it happened.

Several men ran out of the building where Zeon’s house was.

They were Eaton’s subordinates who had gone to retrieve the magic power generator.

Their faces were clearly full of frustration.

Eaton instinctively realized that something had gone wrong.

“What happened?”

“We can’t open the door.”

“What?”

“We don’t know what the door is made of, but it won’t open.”

“You can just break it, you idiots!”

“It won’t break either. Not just the door. Our attacks don’t work on the walls or windows either. That bastard definitely used some kind of method.”

At his subordinate’s words, Eaton’s face twisted.

At first, he thought his subordinate was lying. But there was no reason for him to lie to Eaton.

Eaton glared at Zeon.

“Was this your doing?”

“Isn’t locking your door basic?”

“You’d better open the door obediently. If you don’t want to die......”

“Does the Goblin Market know about this?”

“What?”

“I mean the fact that you people stole their information. I don’t think they’d be very pleased to learn that.”

At that instant, Eaton’s expression hardened.

The fact that they had leaked information from the Goblin Market was top secret.

Since it was a matter related to the Goblin Market’s credibility, if they found out, they would certainly not stay quiet.

A war with the Goblin Market.

It was not impossible, but if that happened, their side would also suffer tremendous damage.

“You won’t get the chance to tell the Goblin Market.”

Before he knew it, Eaton’s subordinates had completely surrounded Zeon.

“It would have been better if you had obediently handed over the magic power generator. You’re making things unnecessarily large.”

Eaton’s gaze as he looked at Zeon was as sharp as a blade.

Weapons were already in his subordinates’ hands.

Monster-butchering knives.

They were the easiest weapons to obtain on this street.

Knives made to dismantle monsters could carve a human’s soft flesh into pieces in an instant.

Eaton gave the order.

“Kill him!”

“Yaaah!”

“Die!”

Before his words had even ended, his subordinates swung the butchering knives at Zeon.

SHAAAK!

The butchering knives flew in with a chilling sound cutting through the air.

At that instant, Zeon let out a low sigh.

“Whew!”

It was because the enemy’s attack felt like the signal that his rest was over. But that did not mean he intended to be struck down pathetically.

WHOOSH!

Dozens of fireballs floated around his body at once.

They were fireballs created with the Superheated Gauntlet.

The fireballs struck the bodies of the men swinging the butchering knives.

“Aaagh!”

“H-hot!”

“Save me!”

The men whose bodies had caught fire screamed and rolled across the ground. But the flames clinging to them showed no sign of going out.

Among those who had caught fire were Awakened as well.

They tried to extinguish the flames using their abilities, but it was useless.

The flames instead burned more fiercely and consumed them.

“Ghhhhh!”

“Water, waaaater!”

Their desperate screams rang through the street.

But not a single person stepped forward.

“Damn it!”

Eaton bit his lip hard.

He had heard that Zeon possessed power of Grade C or higher, but he had not known Zeon could handle fireballs to this extent.

Eaton said to Zeon,

“Withdraw the flames.”

“Pardon?”

“If you’re a flame-type Awakened, you should be able to extinguish flames at will. Put out the fire clinging to my subordinates. Then I’ll spare your life.”

“It seems you still don’t understand the situation. You’re not in a position to give me orders.”

“So you’re running wild because you trust that rat-tail little ability.”

“Rat tail? I think it’s at least a dragon’s tail.”

“You dare mock me, kid?”

Eaton’s eyes changed.

At that instant, Zeon twisted his body.

SWISH!

Something passed by his hair by a hair’s breadth.

If he had dodged even slightly late, his head would have been pierced straight through.

What had brushed past Zeon was a steel ball.

The steel ball that had flown far away slowly returned and orbited Eaton’s body like a satellite.

The source of the steel ball was Eaton’s pocket.

Zeon said,

“You’re a telekinetic? That’s a rare ability.”

“That’s right! My ability is telekinesis.”

A dozen or so steel balls floated up from Eaton’s pocket.

They were steel balls made of a special metal.

They were several times heavier and harder than other metals of the same size.

If one was struck by a steel ball launched with telekinesis, muscles tore and bones shattered like cookies.

Until now, Eaton had sent dozens of Goran’s competitors to their graves with this ability.

“Block them if you can, kid!”

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

The steel balls shot forward at terrifying speed, as if fired from a gun.

Their target was, naturally, Zeon.

In Eaton’s eyes, he saw an illusion of large holes being punched through Zeon’s body.

Every ability had an opposing match.

Flame-type Magic boasted tremendous destructive power, but that did not mean it could block steel balls fired at such a terrifying speed.

TATATATATANG!

As the steel balls struck Zeon’s body at terrifying speed, metallic sounds burst out.

‘Metallic sounds?’

At that instant, Eaton instinctively felt something had gone wrong.

That sound was far from flesh being pierced and bones breaking.

Just as he guessed, the steel balls had failed to pierce Zeon’s body.

The moment they struck Zeon’s body, they bounced away in every direction.

The robe he wore was made from Leviathan hide.

An attack of this level could not even scratch it.

Naturally, Zeon’s body did not suffer a single wound either.

“Grrgh!”

Eaton tried to move the steel balls that had fallen to the ground again.

This time, his target was Zeon’s head.

Since there was no protective gear on his head, Eaton thought he could pierce it in one blow.

But the next moment, his eyes had to widen.

WHOOSH!

As if molten iron were flowing from a furnace, his steel balls were melting and running down.

DRIP! DRIP!

The sound of molten metal falling to the ground felt chilling.

“Madness!”

Eaton shouted without realizing it.

There was no way a mere Grade C Awakened could produce enough heat to melt his steel balls in an instant.

The opponent was beyond that.

“Damn it!”

Eaton hurriedly retreated.

Since he had realized the opponent’s full strength was greater than his, he intended to withdraw for now and inform Goran.

But Zeon had no intention of kindly letting Eaton withdraw.

Zeon rushed forward several times faster than Eaton’s retreat.

He had used Sand Stride, but Eaton did not know that.

Appearing before Eaton in an instant as if he had used Blink, Zeon swung his hand. Then dozens of fireballs appeared and shot toward Eaton.

The fireballs flew faster than the steel balls Eaton had launched and struck him.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Flames exploded one after another.

“Kraaaagh!”

Eaton’s scream erupted from within the crimson-burning flames.