Chapter 325

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 325

Most of its massive body remained hidden beneath the sand, with only two enormous eyes protruding above the surface—the Kraken.

The monstrous creature, far larger than any human, had locked its gaze onto Zeon.

Zeon, in turn, stared right back.

The eyes of the colossal beast and the lone human clashed in the air.

The Kraken’s pupils gleamed with pure hostility.

It still vividly remembered the one who had dared attack it.

Unlike most beasts, the Kraken possessed intelligence rivaling that of humans.

Its memory was sharp, holding grudges for a long, long time.

And Zeon had not only attacked it—

He had wielded sand.

There was no way the Kraken would forget such an insult.

Rumble!

A tremor rippled through the ground as the Kraken stirred beneath the sand.

It was as if it was asserting dominance over its territory, reminding Zeon exactly whose land this was.

‘Cunning bastard.’

The Kraken had chosen its lair well.

Beneath this seemingly endless desert lay a mana stone mine.

Though the surface appeared to be a vast expanse of sand, the reality was far different—

Only a thin layer of sand covered the mine, just deep enough to conceal the Kraken’s massive form.

With so little sand to work with, Zeon’s sand-based abilities wouldn’t be able to do much damage.

The Kraken knew that.

That was why it was baiting him, watching his every move.

Zeon reached out through the sand, trying to sense the true size of the beast.

‘The tentacles alone are over fifty meters long…’

Considering that a typical octopus had eight arms, this thing’s total size was absolutely monstrous.

If something this massive latched onto its prey with those suction cups, even Moby Dick—Gaia’s mother—would struggle against it.

A monster of such scale was lurking beneath the desert.

For a while, neither of them moved.

The battle of wills between Zeon and the Kraken stretched on in silence.

Then, without another word, Zeon turned away and began walking back toward his companions.

The entire way back, he could feel the Kraken’s piercing gaze burning into his back.

It watched him intently, as if ready to strike at any moment—

But it didn’t move.

Not even an inch.

‘So it really won’t leave its nest so easily?’

It was smarter than he had expected.

The area Zeon was walking through was pure sand, away from the mana stone mine.

If the Kraken had ambushed him, Zeon would have dragged it out and turned the fight to his advantage.

But the Kraken wasn’t that foolish.

It had seen through his trap—and chose to stay put.

‘This won’t be easy.’

Creatures like this were the most troublesome to deal with.

Zeon would have preferred an opponent that recklessly relied on brute force.

Fighting a powerful beast was one thing, but dealing with something this cautious and intelligent was a different kind of battle entirely.

And there was another issue—

The massive chasm that had swallowed 3,400 people.

Was it a result of the Kraken’s power?

Or just a natural disaster?

If the Kraken had caused it, then its rank needed to be reevaluated.

When Zeon returned to the rift, Brielle greeted him.

“You’re back.”

“The barrier?”

“Still analyzing it.”

Old Man Go was standing at the edge of the chasm, staring down at the shimmering barrier.

At a glance, he seemed to be simply watching—

But inside his mind, he was performing complex calculations.

Just then, Seo Tae-ran approached Zeon.

“You went to see the Kraken?”

“Yes.”

“How was it?”

“Impressive.”

“How does it compare to Moby Dick?”

“I won’t know until I fight it myself.”

“…That bad?”

Seo Tae-ran frowned.

Moby Dick was a monstrosity beyond classification.

If the Kraken was anywhere near that level, it was far more dangerous than expected.

“It’s intelligent. It understands its opponent’s capabilities and knows how to assess a threat.”

“Annoying type.”

“We need to deal with the barrier first and rescue the people. The Kraken can wait.”

“I agree.”

Seo Tae-ran nodded.

Zeon studied her face for a moment.

“…What?”

“I’m just curious.”

“About what?”

“The real reason you’re here.”

“What do you mean? I came to rescue people.”

“I have a feeling that’s not the only reason.”

“There’s nothing else.”

Seo Tae-ran’s voice was cold as she turned and walked toward Old Man Go.

Watching her leave, Brielle muttered under her breath.

“Wow… she really has no manners.”

Zeon simply nodded in agreement.

Seo Tae-ran reached Old Man Go and issued orders to her subordinates.

It seemed she was reinforcing security around the area.

Then—

Kuwaaaah!

Kheung!

A sudden chorus of beastly roars echoed from the distance.

Turning toward the source of the sound, they saw giant creatures approaching.

Massive beasts, towering over the landscape.

“…Well, well.”

Zeon’s eyes gleamed sharply.

These were not small-fry.

Even if he turned the ground into quicksand, these monsters could easily climb out.

The Kraken had learned from their last encounter.

It had seen Zeon’s Quick Sand in action and had called in reinforcements—beasts too large to be easily trapped.

Zeon examined the approaching creatures closely.

All of them had lifeless eyes.

And with that, he confirmed one of the Kraken’s abilities.

“It’s controlling lower-ranked beasts.”

Not a single B-rank or higher beast was among them.

That meant the Kraken’s mental domination didn’t work on creatures strong enough to resist its influence.

But anything C-rank or lower?

It had absolute control.

“Try disrupting their minds.”

The two concentrated, reaching out with their telepathic abilities—But almost instantly, their faces went pale, and they recoiled.

“It bounced us out.”

“Too strong… We can’t break through.”

Both shook their heads.

Zeon stepped in front of them.

“So even you two can’t break its control.”

“Damn it!”

“Losing to a damn octopus? Seriously?”

The twins seethed in frustration.

But there was no time to complain.

The horde was almost upon them.

Zeon raised his hand, his dominance surging.

“Now’s not the time to whine. We need to keep them from interfering with Old Man Go.”

“We know.”

“Don’t worry about us.”

The twins smirked and readied for battle.

Boom, boom, boom!

Just as the beasts reached them—

The largest among them, a gorilla-like monster, suddenly floated into the air.

Kraaaah?!

The creature flailed wildly, confusion plastered across its face.

Then, in perfect unison, the twins shouted:

“Go!”

Whoosh!

The gorilla shot forward like a cannonball, colliding with several other beasts.

Crash!

A massive impact sent them all tumbling across the battlefield.

Brielle’s eyes widened in shock.

“…Telekinesis?”

“They’re high-level psychics.”

When psychic power reaches a certain level, telekinesis becomes second nature.

For A-rank Awakened, not having it would have been strange.

Seo Tae-ran’s subordinates charged into the fight as well.

Boom!

Thud!

Fists clashed against flesh as they engaged in brutal close-quarters combat.

Zeon watched them carefully.

Brielle noticed his expression and asked,

“What is it?”

“…Something’s off.”

“About them?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re holding back.”

“Are you sure?”

At Zeon’s words, Brielle looked at Seo Tae-ran’s subordinates with a bewildered expression.

They were engaged in a brutal fight against the massive beasts.

Unlike the twin sisters, they had stepped forward and were fighting in close combat.

Their battle was ruthless.

Blood splattered, flesh was torn, and bones broke in this primitive form of combat.

The beasts that were struck down by Seo Tae-ran’s subordinates screamed in agony as they collapsed, though the humans suffered great injuries as well.

But no matter how severe the wounds, they did not utter a single groan.

Crack!

Even when they were crushed under the beasts' gigantic feet and lost their lives.

“Could it be that their vocal cords were removed?”

“That can’t be it. They still respond when Seo Tae-ran speaks.”

“Then they’re the result of training?”

“Probably…”

“Crazy!”

Brielle’s eyes trembled.

She couldn’t even imagine how a human could be trained to not scream even in the moment of death.

“Are they really human?”

“That’s what I’m wondering.”

Zeon’s gaze shifted toward Seo Tae-ran.

Seo Tae-ran, with her arms crossed, was guarding the old man, prepared to enter the battle at any moment.

Seo Tae-ran sensed Zeon’s gaze and looked back at him.

Even at that moment, the battle was growing fiercer.

The fight was turning more unfavorable for the humans.

The beasts’ overwhelming numbers were pushing the humans back.

Just as the humans were being driven to the edge of a cliff—

“The door is open.”

The old man’s voice echoed across the battlefield.

He had finally succeeded in opening the barrier.

However, it wasn’t fully released.

He had only opened a small door big enough for people to enter.

The situation had grown too urgent for him to fully open it, so he only managed to open a passage large enough for people to pass through.

“Hurry! We can’t keep the door open for long!”

At the old man’s shout, Seo Tae-ran gave orders to her subordinates.

“Retreat and enter the door.”

“Yes!”

Her subordinates, who hadn’t spoken a word during the fight against the beasts, responded and retreated.

The door to the barrier was dozens of meters underground from where they stood. For ordinary people, it would be unthinkable to leap into it, but there were no ordinary humans here.

Led by the old man, the twin sisters, Seo Tae-ran and her subordinates, Brielle and Zeon, all leapt into the small door that had opened in the barrier.

The beasts also leapt after them, but the moment Zeon entered, the door disappeared. The old man had restored the barrier to its original state.

The beasts, unaware of this, collided with the barrier.

Kraaah!

The beasts let out agonized screams.

The immense power within the barrier instantly melted the beasts.

The beasts didn’t have time to retaliate and disappeared without a trace.

“Crazy!”

“If we had just jumped in, we’d have ended up like that, right?”

The twin sisters, who had been looking upward, shuddered.

They were holding onto the old man’s arms, slowly descending like feathers to the ground.

They were using telekinesis to control their falling speed.

Next to them, Zeon was holding Brielle’s hand, matching their descent speed. He was using sand to support his body.

On the other hand, Seo Tae-ran and her subordinates had fallen deep into the ground, out of sight.

Zeon, still holding Brielle’s hand, looked around.

Unlike the sand-covered ground above, the underground was made of solid bedrock.

“Mana stones.”

“Could all of this be mana stones?”

Brielle and the twin sisters looked at Zeon in surprise.

“I’m sure! All of this is mana stones.”

“Everything?”

“This is insane.”

The twin sisters and the old man were stunned.

What they had seen were refined mana stones from a mana stone mine, but this was the first time they had seen them in their raw form.

“With this amount, Neo Seoul could use it for a thousand years.”

“This is insane.”

At Zeon’s words, the old man smiled brightly. But his smile didn’t last long.

As soon as they landed on the ground, they were greeted by the numerous corpses of their predecessors.

The bodies of the previous expedition team.

The horrific scene froze them all in place.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]