Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Eaton burst out from within the crimson flames.

His whole body was burned, and his hair had been scorched by the fire until it had curled.

“You son of a bitch......”

Eaton glared at Zeon with terrifying eyes.

Just as Zeon wore a robe made from Leviathan’s hide, Eaton also had a trump card.

A black suit he had been wearing beneath the outer clothing that had completely burned away.

It was a protective suit made by combining Neo Seoul’s technology with the hide of an Ironclad Rhino, which ranked among the best in defensive power.

Its official name was Colane No—3.

Because it protected the wearer from most physical and magical attacks, there was high demand for it.

On the other hand, because obtaining Ironclad Rhino hide was so difficult, very few were produced.

Because of that, not many people in Neo Seoul possessed Colane No—3.

Eaton had managed to obtain and wear such a precious item with great difficulty. And Colane No—3 proved why it was so expensive.

It had protected Eaton from the superheated flames that could even melt steel balls.

If not for Colane No—3, Eaton would have melted down to the bone.

Zeon looked at the Colane No—3 Eaton was wearing with a curious expression.

“Seeing how it’s intact even under flames of this level, it must be made from monster hide.”

“Do you understand now? As long as I’m wearing Colane No—3, your Flame Magic won’t work on me.”

“Colane No—3? Is it one of Neo Seoul’s works? As expected, impressive.”

Zeon was genuinely impressed.

The fireballs he had unleashed moments ago emitted enough heat to melt most metals. The fact that it had perfectly protected the wearer inside such superheated flames meant Colane No—3’s defensive power was that extraordinary.

“Die!”

Eaton unleashed his telekinesis again.

At his gesture, a streetlamp was ripped out.

The streetlamp instantly split into thousands of pieces and flew toward Zeon.

“Let’s see you melt this too.”

Eaton’s eyes gleamed with killing intent.

CRASH, CRASH, CRASH, CRASH—!

Pieces of metal embedded themselves in the place where Zeon had been standing.

Eaton expected Zeon to be torn apart, but nowhere could he see any chunks of flesh that seemed to belong to Zeon.

Before he knew it, Zeon had used Sand Walk to avoid his attack.

Eaton’s eyes swept the area in search of Zeon.

At that instant, chills ran down his spine.

‘Behind me?’

He had not confirmed it with his eyes.

His instinct had whispered it to him.

In truth, Zeon was standing behind him, looking at him with cold eyes.

“Fuck!”

The moment Eaton hurriedly tried to turn around, Zeon’s fist struck his abdomen.

CRASH—!

“Keuk!”

At the impact that pierced through his abdomen, Eaton’s mouth fell open.

Thanks to Colane No—3, he had not suffered an external wound. But that did not mean he had not received the impact.

The shock of his organs being crushed left Eaton unable to collect himself.

Zeon once again threw a punch at Eaton’s head.

CRACK—!

“Hrk!”

Under the tremendous shock, Eaton’s neck snapped around as if it would break.

The focus in Eaton’s eyes had already vanished. The consecutive impacts had sent his consciousness far away.

Even without the Superheated Gauntlet, and even without using his sand authority, Zeon was strong.

He had been trained harshly by Deioden, and he had wandered the world for no less than eight years, experiencing countless battles.

In that process, Zeon’s martial ability had risen by leaps and bounds.

He could subdue someone of Eaton’s level with his bare hands.

Zeon continued attacking Eaton’s upper body.

CRACK—!

Under his repeated attacks, fissures appeared on the surface of Colane No—3.

With that, he could clearly tell the extent of Colane No—3’s defensive power.

‘It's defensive power is about 50 percent better than the original Ironclad Rhino hide.’

The Ironclad Rhino itself possessed tremendous defensive power.

In terms of pure physical defense alone, it ranked among the top ten monsters active in the desert.

The fact that they had improved the defensive power by over 50 percent using that Ironclad Rhino hide alone could be called remarkable technology.

But it was still far below Zeon’s standards.

If the same materials had been given to Kaylee of the Mort Clan, she would have enhanced the defensive power by at least double and enchanted it with a special ability.

Of course, what Eaton was wearing now was mass-produced, so it could not be compared to the craftsmanship of an artisan like Kaylee.

With this, Zeon could roughly estimate the level of Neo Seoul’s technology.

Of course, it was too early to judge everything based only on Colane No—3, but it could still serve as a reference point.

Zeon had now seen everything he needed to see from Eaton.

Zeon brought his fist down with all his strength.

CRASH—!

Colane No—3 shattered to pieces, and Eaton jerked violently like a monster on the verge of death.

Looking down at Eaton sprawled defenselessly, Zeon said,

“You know, right? If you try to steal someone else’s belongings and fail, you have to pay with your life.”

“Fuck......”

Eaton weakly spat out a curse.

There was no way he would not know.

That was the law of the slums.

If you were weak, you died, and the one who survived took everything.

It was when Zeon’s fist was about to slam straight into Eaton’s face.

“Oh my, how hasty.”

A woman’s voice rang out, and suddenly, Eaton disappeared.

CRASH—!

Thanks to that, Zeon’s fist only smashed the innocent ground.

When Zeon turned around, he saw a middle-aged woman standing there, dressed flamboyantly.

He did not know what method she had used, but Eaton was in her arms.

Zeon smiled.

“That’s an interesting Skill. Is it spatial movement? I understand people who have learned spatial-type Skills are extremely rare.”

“You know quite a lot. I’ll just say it isn’t my Skill, but thanks to an item.”

“May I ask what kind of item it is?”

“What a curious young master you are. You know, don’t you? Trade secrets aren’t something you reveal carelessly.”

The middle-aged woman smiled alluringly.

Her name was Ava.

She was one of Goran’s four proud close aides, as well as the godmother of the brothels.

She and Eaton were lovers. That was why she was more sensitive than anyone to Eaton’s movements.

Ava stroked the unconscious Eaton’s face and said,

“His face is the only thing worth looking at, and you’ve ruined it like this. It seems you aren’t afraid of the consequences.”

“Is there anything to fear more than death?”

“What a fearless young master. Then again, I suppose that’s why you dared try to kill this man......”

She no longer smiled or wore an alluring expression.

She looked at Zeon with a face like a doll devoid of emotion.

She continued,

“I’ll withdraw for today.”

“Who said I’d let you go?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not asking your permission.”

At that instant, Ava’s figure rippled like water.

“Mirror Image?”

Zeon recognized the identity of the Magic Ava had cast and launched flames.

WHOOSH—!

Tremendous flames swept over the place where Ava and Eaton had been. But the two of them were already gone.

She had used Mirror Image to deceive him, then escaped.

Zeon scratched his head and muttered,

“Well, this is something. I guess after taking some rest, even my sense of tension vanished.”

Before he entered Neo Seoul, something like this would have been unimaginable.

Carelessness in the desert was directly connected to life and death.

Because of that, he had never let his guard down for even a single moment. But while resting after entering Neo Seoul, he seemed to have grown loose without realizing it.

Blaming himself for being deceived by something as minor as Mirror Image, Zeon began walking.

It was not as if tracking them was impossible, but it would be far too inefficient.

“I beat the hunting dog, so the owner should step forward now.”

Zeon shook his head slightly and entered the building.

When Zeon arrived in front of his house on the eighteenth floor, he gave a faint laugh.

There were traces left on the door from someone trying to force it open.

The door that even Awakened could not break opened smoothly on its own when Zeon touched it.

Only Zeon could come and go freely here. No one else was permitted.

After taking off his robe, Zeon sat on the sofa.

The red neon sign visible through the window irritated his eyes.

Zeon stared at that sight for a long time.

---

Yu Se-hee sat with her legs crossed, her body sunk deep into a chair.

Everyone had something they were attached to. For her, it was the chair she was sitting in now.

It was a chair made over a hundred years ago.

An antique made before the Earth turned into sand.

The leather of the chair was worn out, and the springs were rusted and creaked. But to Yu Se-hee, that sound was as comfortable as a lullaby.

The sight of a beautiful woman with red hair, dressed in white leather, crossing and lightly swinging her legs was enough to appear enchanting to anyone.

But Yu Se-hee herself paid no attention to it and was absorbed in her own world.

It was a long time later that she opened the eyes she had closed.

“This is hard. Really hard!”

Yu Se-hee let out a sigh.

The position of owner of the Goblin Market was one that required considering a great many things.

Since she had to protect countless merchants and respond to outside threats, she naturally had no choice but to become cautious.

An incident had occurred in the Goblin Market last night as well.

It had only been a light fight between merchants, but Yu Se-hee could not simply overlook it.

“Cases like this have increased sharply lately. There seems to be some kind of stress factor......”

It was not that she had no guesses at all, but she had to be careful.

“Miss!”

At that moment, a large man in black appeared.

It was the Black Lion, Yu Se-hee’s bodyguard.

At the Black Lion’s appearance, Yu Se-hee let out a low sigh.

If it was serious enough to interrupt her contemplation, it was surely no ordinary matter.

“Hah! What is it?”

“Shinchon’s movements are unusual.”

“Goran?”

“Yes! Eaton moved.”

“Eaton is Goran’s secretary, isn’t he?”

“That is correct.”

“Why did he move?”

“He went to see that man.”

“Speak so I can understand.”

“Zeon! The man you have seen before, Miss.”

At the Black Lion’s answer, Yu Se-hee frowned.

It was not to search her memory.

Rather, it was because the name remained vivid in her memory.

“The man who went into the Crocodiles’ den to find the magic power generator, right? Why would Goran go after him?”

Yu Se-hee tilted her head.

No matter how much she thought about it, there seemed to be no point of contact between the two.

Although Goran was the ruler of Shinchon, he did not pick fights without reason.

“What is it? Is there some circumstance I don’t know about? Why would Goran go after him......? So what was the result?”

“Eaton nearly died.”

“Are you sure?”

“They say Ava stepped in and barely saved him when Zeon almost killed him.”

“Is that true?”

“It is certain.”

“That’s insane! Eaton can still be called one of the strong people in the slums......”

Yu Se-hee was genuinely impressed.

Because they were in the same Shinchon, she knew Goran and his close aides’ strength better than anyone.

That was why the news that Eaton had been defeated was all the more shocking.

Yu Se-hee asked the Black Lion,

“What do you think Goran will do?”

“He still has close aides left, so I don’t think he’ll move personally yet, but......”

“If he moves personally, hell will unfold again.”

Yu Se-hee’s voice was subdued.

During the period when countless organizations were fighting in chaos, Goran had suppressed numerous competitors with his own power and become the ruler of Shinchon.

Yu Se-hee knew very well just how terrible the events had been then.

“Why did he have to get entangled with him of all people......?”

Yu Se-hee sincerely felt sorry for Zeon’s situation.

In her eyes, she seemed to clearly see his cruel end.