Chapter 342

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 342

“Ooh!”

“A miracle!”

Cries of amazement erupted from deep underground.

A large group of people had gathered in a clearing beside a wastewater canal.

At the center of them, a brilliant light flared.

A small girl stood at the heart of the light, her arms extended as she focused.

The radiance pouring from her was so divine that many knelt in tears.

“That cursed skin disease is healing!”

“This… this is a miracle!”

An elderly man lay before the girl.

His entire body, once raw with festering sores and oozing pus, was rapidly healing under the sacred light.

The disease that had ravaged his skin vanished in an instant, replaced by fresh, healthy tissue. It was enough to convince anyone watching that a miracle had occurred.

“That should… do it,”

Remura, the girl, opened her eyes and spoke.

She looked visibly exhausted.

Even though she was an A-rank Healer, she was still just a child.

She hadn’t learned how to manage her powers efficiently.

As a result, every time she activated her skill, she gave it everything she had—and quickly became drained.

Sweating profusely, Remura turned to her mother.

“Mom… I want to rest now.”

“There are still people waiting to be healed. Why would you rest now?”

“But, Mom…”

“No more of that. Let’s treat this person too.”

Heather pointed to a man lying nearby.

He was massive in size.

His skin, like that of a crocodile, was rough and gnarled—similar to Croker, whom Zeon had once faced.

The prolonged life underground had mutated his body.

In his case, the condition had worsened to the point where his entire body had hardened like stone.

The man’s name was Barkhum.

Before his illness became severe, he had been the leader of this crew.

He was a C-rank martial Awakener.

Back then, his leadership had allowed his group to expand its power rapidly.

His skin was so tough that ordinary weapons couldn’t even scratch him. Most attacks simply bounced off. But even Barkhum had not been spared from this accursed affliction.

As his skin hardened further, even his muscles began to petrify, until he could no longer move.

That was why he now lay motionless.

Heather asked him,

“If my daughter heals you, what will you do for us?”

“Loyal… I’ll be loyal…”

Barkhum rasped in a hoarse, crumbling voice.

His entire body was turning to stone—his vocal cords were beginning to petrify too.

Soon, his voice and lungs would cease functioning entirely.

He didn’t have much time left.

If he wasn’t healed now by Remura, he might not survive the day.

Knowing this, Barkhum pledged his loyalty.

Heather’s lips curled upward.

“You better keep that promise.”

“S… Swear it!”

“Very well. Remura! Heal Barkhum.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Remura sighed deeply and placed a hand on Barkhum’s forehead.

Cure!

As she activated her skill, a familiar radiant light burst forth.

At that moment, she felt the formless energy drain from her chest like an ebbing tide.

Her face went pale, and sweat poured down without pause.

Meanwhile, Barkhum’s condition improved drastically.

His once stone-like body began to soften, and vitality returned to his limbs.

The curse that had rendered a natural-born warrior helpless was being lifted.

“RRAAAARGH!”

Moments later, Barkhum sprang to his feet with a roar.

Now fully healed, he radiated overwhelming force.

Thud!

He dropped to one knee before Remura.

“From this moment, you are my master. If you so wish it, I—Barkhum—will leap into the fires of hell for you.”

But Remura couldn’t hear his words.

She had lost consciousness the moment Barkhum was fully healed.

“Hee hee hee!”

Heather let out a shrill, delighted laugh in her place.

＊＊＊

“Gahh! Hah!”

Zetoya collapsed onto the sand, gasping for breath.

All around him were the corpses of numerous monsters. His body was drenched in their blood.

It had been a brutal day.

The monsters he had fought were the Bigfang Badgers—low-grade F-rank beasts.

Bigfang Badgers traveled in packs of at least several dozen.

Even E-rank Awakeners could handle them fairly easily. The problem was the numbers.

They typically moved in groups of a hundred or more.

Despite being F-rank, they were fiercely aggressive. Even when faced with stronger monsters or Awakeners, they refused to retreat.

They ignored their own mortality and charged with reckless abandon, making even mid-grade monsters think twice before approaching.

Zetoya had spent the entire day in a bloody struggle against them.

It wasn’t by choice.

Levin had driven the pack straight into his location, leaving him no option but to fight.

The badgers were vicious.

For such small creatures, their savagery was chilling.

Zetoya fought desperately.

Even though his rank was higher, he had no experience with this type of battle and suffered for it.

By the end, he was fighting like one of them.

Using fists, feet, even his teeth—whatever it took to survive.

He had no choice.

Naturally, he had sustained numerous injuries.

“Haah… haah…”

Having wiped out the entire badger pack, Zetoya now lay in ruins.

Beside him, Levin and Brielle chatted away casually.

“This isn’t nearly enough, right?”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

“Time to bring in something stronger.”

“I’ll have Gaia scout for nearby E-rank monsters.”

“Tell her to be quick. We need to hit him before he recovers.”

“Got it.”

Listening to their conversation, Zetoya realized with horror that demons truly did exist.

Despite knowing how wrecked he was from fighting the badgers, they were already planning to bring more monsters.

He opened his mouth with difficulty.

“N-No more!”

“Yes, more!”

“Why?!”

“Why? Because that’s how you get stronger.”

“That’s insane!”

“It’s not. When people are cornered, they do anything to survive.”

“Are you trying to kill me?!”

“Why would I kill you?”

Levin grinned as he answered.

That grin was even more terrifying.

“Then why all the monsters…?”

“I went through it too. When Zeon threw me into a cave full of monsters, I hated him. I thought he was punishing me, thought he didn’t like me. But I was wrong. Once I overcame the trials he gave me, I got stronger. You will too.”

“I’m not like you.”

“You are. Just like me. Just like those guys over there…”

Levin looked off into the distance with a smile.

A fierce battle was unfolding there as well.

It was Aaron and Dominic—Levin’s friends.

They were fighting against another wave of low-grade monsters.

“Graaaaah!”

“Just kill me already, you damn demons!”

They were screaming their lungs out as they fought the swarm.

Brielle chuckled.

“They’re calling you a demon.”

“Then I guess I’d better show them what a real demon is. Send another pack that way too.”

“Okay!”

Brielle nodded and turned to Gaia.

“You heard him, Gaia?”

―Beep?

“Too much? No way! No one dies from just this.”

―Beep beep?

“Zeon said so. Trials that don’t kill you make you stronger. You’re not doubting Zeon, are you?”

―Beep! Beep beep!

“Exactly! Now go bring more monsters.”

―Beeeeeeep!

Letting out a long cry, Gaia vanished over the horizon.

Moments later, she returned with a horde of monsters chasing after her.

Dudududu!

The sound of pounding hooves and feet shook the earth. Zetoya, Aaron, and Dominic turned ghostly pale.

But they didn’t know yet—

This was only the beginning.

The trials that Levin and Brielle had prepared had only just begun.

* * *

Zeon stood with a furrowed brow, staring at the map of Neo Seoul hanging on his wall.

His efforts hadn’t been in vain—he had managed to identify most of the sewer entrances within Neo Seoul and the slums.

Not all of them, but at least seventy to eighty percent were accounted for.

Using this information, Zeon had drawn a map.

By connecting the various entry points, he’d sketched the sewer system.

And it was mind-bogglingly complex.

More intricate than any maze or labyrinth he had seen.

The problem was—it still wasn’t a complete map.

Roughly twenty to thirty percent of the sewers remained uncharted.

Even Jin Geumho probably didn’t know just how complex the sewer system beneath Neo Seoul was.

When he’d built the city with Dyoden, it hadn’t been this elaborate.

But after years of additions and expansions, and with those living underground carving new paths, the Crocodile's Den had grown into something beyond comprehension.

Now, the underground sewer was practically another world.

Rubbing his chin, Zeon studied the map he had created.

“This is as much as I can figure out for now. I’ll have to uncover the rest myself.”

The issue was—even if he ventured in personally, there was no guarantee he’d find Remura.

She and her mother, Heather, had been born and raised in the Crocodile's Den.

If they truly wanted to disappear, even Zeon would have trouble locating them.

There was only one conclusion.

“I have to raise Zetoya.”

Fortunately, Zetoya had immense potential.

Even though Remura had awakened as A-rank, a D-rank awakening was still impressive.

Those who started at D-rank had a far greater chance of reaching C or B-rank compared to those who started at F.

Right now, he was just a green D-rank martial Awakener—but with intense training, he could reach C-rank in no time.

Thankfully, Zeon had the know-how to accelerate Awakener growth, and he had passed that knowledge on to Levin and Brielle.

Even without his instruction, they would be pushing Zetoya to his limits.

“I hope he grows quickly…”

Muttering to himself, Zeon put on his robe.

After spending days mapping out the sewers, he had a headache.

He wanted to step outside for a bit of fresh air.

As he emerged, a dry wind blew across him.

It carried sand—but none touched Zeon. The grains simply moved around him.

Thanks to that, he could breathe fresh, clean air.

The breeze cleared his head a little. But as soon as he saw the people approaching from across the street, his mood soured again.

Surrounded by holy knights, a man in priest’s robes was approaching.

It was Johan, the ruler of Dongdaemun.

Johan had seen him too and walked straight over.

“It’s been a while, Zeon.”

“Looks like you’ve lost your way. This isn’t Dongdaemun.”

“No, I’ve come to the right place—since I’ve found you.”

Johan looked at Zeon with a chilling smile.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]