Chapter 362

Chapter 362

“Zeon!”

As soon as they arrived at the campsite, Brielle was the first to greet him.

Zeon landed on the ground and asked,

“Is everyone safe?”

“There was a fierce battle going on, and then all of a sudden, the Ironclad Ants went crazy and turned back. Thanks to that, everyone’s safe.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Uh, what are those behind you?”

Brielle's eyes sparkled as she noticed the dark elves floating behind Zeon.

“As you can see, they're dark elves.”

“So where did you find dark elves?”

“In the Ironclad Ants’ nest. They were working with orcs to lure the ants toward us, then looted the empty nest.”

“Dark elves cooperating with orcs? The world’s gone mad.”

“Even you think it makes no sense, right?”

“Of course! Dark elves are notoriously vicious and self-centered. They look down on other elves, let alone orcs. And you’re telling me they’re cooperating?”

Brielle stared at the dark elves in disbelief.

Zeon set the dark elves down and said,

“We won’t know the full details until they wake up, but it looks like the orcs have something on them. From the way they were obeying orders…”

“Not just cooperating, but taking orders? That’s not any dark elf I know.”

“It’s probably a geas. Can you check?”

“I’ll take a look.”

Brielle nodded and approached the dark elves.

After examining their condition for a moment, she began inspecting them more closely.

Meanwhile, Levin approached Zeon.

“Brought back quite the baggage, huh?”

“It just happened…”

“Wow! This is the second time we’ve seen black elves.”

“They’re a rare race.”

“They’re the ones who lured the Ironclad Ants to us, right?”

“Yeah. It looks like the queen ant’s eggs were their goal.”

“Do Ironclad Ant eggs have some kind of special property?”

“That, I don’t know.”

Zeon shook his head.

Even he didn’t know why the orcs and dark elves were after the Ironclad Ant eggs.

Just then, Kim Jinsoo cautiously approached.

“Are you alright?”

“Thanks to you, yes.”

“Whew… fortunately, we were able to fend off the Ironclad Ants without any casualties. Levin’s ability was truly amazing. I owe him a great debt.”

At Kim Jinsoo’s praise, Levin shrugged his shoulders.

Indeed, he had played a key role in defending the camp.

If he hadn’t been dashing back and forth patching up weak points, many would’ve been injured or worse.

All around the camp lay the charred corpses of Ironclad Ants.

Those hit by Levin’s Purple Lightning had burned black, their bodily fluids evaporated. But the ants slain by the other Awakened and porters were still in decent shape and worth transporting—if only they had room.

The issue was with the transport vehicles.

The cargo holds were already full, so loading more ant corpses was impossible.

Kim Jinsoo clicked his tongue.

“What a waste, leaving all these bodies behind.”

“Yeah.”

Zeon agreed.

Unless they had subspace storage items, there was no realistic way to haul that many ant corpses.

Just then, Brielle shouted.

“Zeon!”

“Yeah?”

“I found out what those orc bastards did!”

“What was it?”

“Look!”

Brielle pointed at the back of the dark elves’ necks.

All of them had similar scar marks.

“It’s a brand. A method mainly used in Kurayan to restrain prisoners.”

“So the orcs branded the dark elves after subduing them?”

“We won’t know for sure until they wake up, but probably.”

“Can you remove it?”

“I can! But not by ordinary means.”

“What do you need from me?”

“First, I need a quiet place. I can’t be disturbed.”

“Got it.”

Zeon nodded and looked at Kim Jinsoo.

“As you can see, we’ve got some unexpected cargo. We’ll have to stay here a bit longer and figure out what’s going on.”

“You’re saying we should head back on our own?”

“There shouldn’t be any issues if you follow the route we came. You remember it, right?”

“Yes. I memorized it thoroughly.”

They’d made sure to remember the route in case they needed to return for more Ironclad Ant corpses. Still, returning without Zeon was a risk.

You never knew what unexpected variables might arise.

But they couldn’t keep postponing out of fear.

There comes a time when you have to stand on your own.

And that time was now.

“Don’t worry. We pride ourselves on being the elite of the Goblin Market. We’ll return safely, so you don’t have to worry about us.”

“Wishing you a safe journey.”

“You’re leaving right away?”

“Yes. As you can see, these folks aren’t in good shape.”

Zeon looked over at the dark elves.

They were gasping for breath like they could die at any moment.

It was clear they were in a dangerous state.

“Understood. Don’t worry about us—go quickly.”

“See you again in the slums.”

“We’ll come find you when you’re back.”

“Well then…”

Zeon bowed slightly to Kim Jinsoo and his group in farewell and left the campsite.

Once they’d traveled far enough, Zeon used his control over the sand to dig a large burrow into a dune.

It was large enough for Zeon, Brielle, Levin, and all the dark elves to fit comfortably.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yeah!”

Once everyone was inside, Zeon sealed the entrance, leaving only space for ventilation.

Beep!

As soon as they entered the enclosed space, Gaia emerged from the subspace.

Gaia looked at the dark elves with a pitiful expression.

She had instantly grasped their condition.

Brielle sat in front of the dark elves and said,

“I’ll begin right away. Make sure I’m not interrupted.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Got it!”

Brielle pulled a vial of red liquid from her pointed hat.

“This is the Elixir of Classi. Using this will weaken the brand’s power. But the pain is so severe, the dark elves might go wild.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll hold her down.”

Levin straddled the female dark elf and pinned her arms.

“Here I go.”

Brielle carefully applied the Elixir of Classi to the brand.

Ssssss!

The moment the elixir touched the brand, a white smoke hissed out.

“Aaaaargh!”

The female dark elf, who had been unconscious, awoke screaming.

The unbearable pain jolted her awake.

She thrashed violently, trying to break free, but Levin held her firmly in place.

Judging the brand weakened enough, Brielle poured another potion.

Ssssss!

The pain this time was far worse.

“Gyaaaaah!”

She let out a shriek as if her life were ending.

It felt like her neck was being seared with a red-hot iron.

To erase the brand, she had to endure the pain.

But it was so extreme that many died during the process.

Her torso arched like a bow.

The explosive force nearly knocked Levin off.

Her pupils dilated, and foam trickled from her mouth.

It looked like she might die right there.

Then—

Fwoosh!

A pure white light burst from Gaia’s body.

The moment it touched her, the pain vanished like a lie.

The dark elf’s expression relaxed immediately.

Brielle thanked Gaia.

“Thank you, Gaia!”

- Beep!

“Yes, help the others too.”

Brielle wasn’t surprised—she already knew Gaia had this power.

If Gaia were a bit more developed, she could probably not only ease pain but instantly heal.

How it worked, Brielle didn’t know. But she had no doubt.

Gaia was the first spirit lifeform born in this world.

She would surely unlock more powers as she grew.

Once the pain disappeared, the female dark elf fainted again—this time peacefully.

The brand on her neck was gone, as if it had never existed.

Brielle’s potion combined with Gaia’s power had completely erased it.

Brielle proceeded to treat the other dark elves one by one.

They reacted just as the first had—writhed in agony, then calmed as Gaia’s light embraced them.

“Whew… it’s finally over.”

After removing the last brand, Brielle and Levin wiped their sweat and stood up.

Zeon patted their shoulders.

“Well done, both of you.”

“Phew! I’m glad we got the brands off.”

“Can’t believe orcs branded them… that’s terrifying!”

Beep!

The dark elves, now free of the brands, had fallen into a deep sleep.

Zeon sat down and said,

“Let’s rest too.”

“Yeah!”

“Ah, I’m starving!”

- Beep!

They were all drained and hungry.

Zeon opened his subspace.

Inside were tons of meals prepared for them by old man Klexi.

Zeon handed warm food to Brielle and Levin.

“Eat this for now.”

“Thanks!”

“Thanks, hyung!”

Brielle and Levin smiled as they accepted the food.

Usually, Gaia would quietly watch them eat—but this time, she rubbed up against Zeon.

“What’s wrong?”

― Beep!

“You’re hungry from using your powers?”

― Beep!

“So what now?”

― Beep! Beep-beep!

“There’s still something you can eat in my subspace?”

― Beep!

Gaia nodded eagerly.

Zeon frowned.

Gaia had already devoured most of the useful items and magic stones in his subspace.

There should be almost nothing left.

But now she claimed something remained.

“What is it?”

― Beep! Beep-beep! Beep!

“You don’t mean… the Scythe of Death?”

― Beep!

“That’s too dangerous. It’s cursed.”

Shockingly, Gaia wanted the Scythe of Death.

It was a loot drop after defeating the Grim Reaper.

An overpowered item that nullifies most curses—but with such harsh drawbacks, even Zeon avoided using it unless absolutely necessary.

― Beep!

“You’re saying you can digest it? But…”

― Beep! Beep!

Gaia stared straight into Zeon’s eyes.

Brielle spoke up to the hesitating Zeon.

“Gaia’s always said it, growth comes with risk. I think this is that moment. Let her, Zeon!”

“Hmm…”

“You can’t protect her in the subspace forever. Gaia needs to grow and protect herself.”

“…Yeah, true.”

“Then trust Gaia. She wouldn’t say it if she wasn’t ready.”

Even though it had always been in the same subspace, Gaia had stayed quiet—until now.

That meant she finally felt ready.

Zeon looked into her pleading eyes and sighed.

“Alright… go for it, Gaia.”

― Beep!

Zeon opened the subspace, revealing the ominous Scythe of Death.

Gaia wagged her tail and entered.

A moment later, the subspace closed.

No one knew how long it would take, but Gaia wouldn’t return until she fully absorbed the scythe.

Zzzzzzzing!

The scythe’s ominous aura disappeared.

Gaia had devoured it.

Now came the long process of absorption.