Chapter 368

Chapter 368

Zeon quickly recognized the source of his déjà vu.

“This is where I came with Dyoden.”

Back when he had just awakened—still just a greenhorn—he had passed through this area with Dyoden. That’s why it looked so familiar.

There hadn’t been a moment in Zeon’s life that he didn’t remember, but among all those memories, the ones he shared with Dyoden were the most vivid.

They had been through so much together, visited countless places.

And this place—where Zeon now stood—was one of them.

Though the desert changed almost daily, there were landscapes that remained constant.

Those unchanging landmarks became natural signposts.

The massive cactus now within Zeon’s view was one such marker.

Its seven branches stretched toward the sky, resembling a person sprawled out with arms wide open.

Its size had grown significantly, but its shape was just as Zeon remembered.

“I’m surprised it survived without being devoured by monsters.”

Among the beasts were herbivorous ones as well. But even they had avoided this cactus due to the deadly poison hidden in its spines.

With venom strong enough to melt even monsters, it had survived all this time.

“Over here, I’m sure…”

“What is it?”

Brielle asked, puzzled, as she finally managed to peel off the dark elf children clinging to her.

“Something came to mind. If everyone’s rested enough, let’s get going. If we move quickly, we can reach it before sunset.”

“Where to?”

“You’ll see when we get there. I’m not even sure it still exists…”

“Huh?”

Brielle blinked her large eyes in confusion.

Zeon playfully pushed down the top of her pointed hat, then turned to the others and announced it was time to move.

The dark elves, who had been enjoying a brief rest, rose immediately without a single complaint.

That was the strength of the dark elves.

They obeyed their leader without hesitation or question.

While Zeon wasn’t technically their chief or lord, on this journey, they regarded him as someone to be followed.

And so they moved without a word.

Recalling the path from memory, Zeon set their direction.

Up until now, he had been extremely cautious—scouting for monsters, only moving through safe zones. It had made progress slow. But now, Zeon moved without hesitation.

To keep up with Zeon’s sand-walking pace, the dark elves had to use their wind-step technique.

Brielle too followed using Wind Walking.

She had become quite adept at it now.

Levin, floating through the air in spectral form, muttered to himself,

“She’s come a long way. I guess pushing her hard was the right move. Everyone improves when you grind them.”

Both he and Brielle had grown rapidly under Zeon’s relentless pace.

Levin resolved to put his friends, Aaron and Dominic, through similar grind sessions when he returned to Neo Seoul.

If those two had heard his thoughts, they would have collapsed on the spot.

Levin, too, was becoming more like Zeon.

Just then, something strange caught Levin’s eye.

“Hmm?”

He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was hallucinating.

The sight before him felt so out of place. But no matter how much he rubbed, the scene didn’t change.

“Hey, do you see that? There’s a forest in the middle of the desert!”

“That’s the Black Forest.”

“Huh?”

“The Black Forest. It’s the land of the Goya clan.”

“The Goya clan? You mean people live there?”

“Yes.”

Zeon nodded.

That pitch-black patch nestled in the middle of the yellow desert like a dot was the Black Forest.

Long ago, Zeon had briefly visited that place.

It was a mysterious forest where the trees had carbonized, fossilized into their form.

Even after a hundred years, the Black Forest had remained intact. But now, it was under threat.

KRWOAAAR!

KAAA!

Massive monsters were attacking the forest.

There was an enormous gorilla, bulging with explosive muscles, and a saber-toothed beast with dagger-like fangs.

Above them, a flock of griffins circled, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Within the Black Forest, about a dozen people were engaged in a fierce battle with the monsters.

“Stop the armored gorilla!”

“Damn it! How could you let the saber-tooth move freely?”

They swung their weapons, fending off the beasts’ assault.

At the center of it all was a man dressed as a hunter.

He fired arrows at the griffins overhead and shouted,

“Watch the griffins! If they catch you, you’re done!”

One of his arrows struck a griffin in the shoulder, causing it to shriek in rage.

Spurred by the cry, the other griffins became more ferocious in their attack.

A look of despair crossed the hunter’s face.

“Is this how it ends? No… I can’t fall here. Not for Hahr’s sake.”

The hunter’s name was Go Doo-won.

He was the master of the Black Forest.

Originally, he had lived there with his daughter, Go Hahr. The rest of the Goya clan had abandoned him, thinking he was chasing a foolish dream.

But when the petrified forest began to change, those who had left returned, forming a community.

That hard-earned community was now on the verge of collapse under the monster assault.

The armored gorilla, as its name implied, was protected head to toe in metallic armor. None of their attacks could get through.

The saber-tooth tiger was so agile that they couldn’t land a hit.

And then there were the griffins—circling like vultures, waiting to dive.

Three awakened warriors had already been caught and torn apart by them.

The rest, witnessing the gruesome deaths of their comrades, were drained of morale.

Everyone knew they wouldn’t hold out much longer. But they had no solution.

“Damn it! The change was just beginning…”

Go Doo-won clenched his fists.

His bloodshot eyes seemed on the verge of tears.

KIIIIEEE!

A griffin dove at him like lightning.

Go Doo-won fired an arrow in panic, but the griffin was already too close.

He could see its fangs and claws.

Is this it?

As he closed his eyes—

THWACK!

With a sickening sound, the griffin’s head exploded right in front of him.

Headless, the beast narrowly missed Go Doo-won and crashed into a carbonized tree.

Heart pounding, Go Doo-won looked around in a daze.

“Who…?”

He spotted a group charging toward the Black Forest from afar.

They were all dark elves, their skin pitch black.

Leading them was a strange man, gliding across the sand as if skating.

Go Doo-won immediately recognized him.

“Zeon?”

There were many awakened in the desert, but only one man could ride the sands like that.

Zeon the Sand Mage.

The boy who had once come to the Black Forest with Dyoden had returned, now grown beyond recognition.

SHSHSHSH!

Behind Zeon, countless Sand Serpents rose to intercept the griffins in the sky.

BAM BAM BAM!

SCREECH!

Griffins struck by the sand vipers shrieked and scattered.

Into the disarray dove Levin.

FLASH!

Purple lightning chained through the griffins, electrocuting them in succession.

They fell like autumn leaves, the scene almost surreal.

The dark elves following Zeon attacked the armored gorilla and saber-tooth tiger.

They were expert hunters.

They coordinated perfectly to bring down the two massive beasts.

“Go for the legs! Take their mobility first!”

Under Floa’s command, the dark elves targeted the monsters.

SLASH!

ROAR!

Tendons severed, the armored gorilla screamed in pain.

Its body may have been clad in armor, but the dark elves struck where it was unprotected.

It swung its log-thick limbs in retaliation, but it was too slow.

It couldn’t even touch their shadows.

As the onslaught continued, the armored gorilla began to fall.

The saber-tooth fared even worse.

Four dark elves had mounted its back, stabbing their blades into it.

Its hide was thick enough to deflect most weapons—but not the dark elves’ blades. They pierced its flesh like tofu.

STAB! STAB!

RAAAARGH!

With a mournful cry, the saber-tooth collapsed.

“What’s happening?”

“Why are elves helping us?”

The other awakened warriors beside Go Doo-won stood in stunned silence.

In the desert, elves and humans weren’t exactly friendly—especially not dark elves, who had a particularly hostile relationship with humans.

Dark elves often showed outright disdain for humans, who in turn spat at the mere sight of them.

The idea that dark elves would come to their aid had never crossed anyone’s mind.

It felt like a dream.

Meanwhile, Zeon had reached Go Doo-won.

Go Doo-won looked up at him.

Once, Zeon had looked up at him—but now it was the reverse. Zeon had grown that much.

Go Doo-won spoke first.

“Ze…on, right?”

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

“How did you…?”

“How is Hahr?”

“Hahr, well… you’ll understand once you see her.”

“Something happened?”

“You’ll see. But more importantly—why are you with dark elves?”

Go Doo-won looked over in confusion at the dark elves fighting monsters.

The massive beasts were crumbling under their relentless assault.

Zeon answered calmly.

“They’re looking for a place to settle.”

“Hah… you, helping dark elves. Dyoden would’ve lost his mind.”

“I doubt it.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s no longer of this world.”

“…I see.”

“But don’t worry. He went out the way he wanted—slaying a dragon.”

“Incredible… he really did it.”

Go Doo-won shook his head in disbelief.

Anyone who had met Dyoden knew of his grudge against dragons. But few believed he would actually kill one.

Dragons were legendary beings, beyond what humans could imagine defeating.

Yet Dyoden had succeeded.

His resolve defied words.

Then—

ROOOAR!

With the final cry of the armored gorilla, the monster hunt was over.

The saber-tooth had already fallen, and the griffins fled, terrified by Levin’s might.

Levin returned and landed beside Zeon.

“This place is wild. I didn’t know anything like it existed.”

He looked around the Black Forest, eyes wide with curiosity.

Then he noticed Brielle walking toward one of the carbonized trees, like someone in a trance.

“Oh… my god.”

Brielle’s voice trembled.

She reached the tree and examined something—then collapsed to her knees.

Levin rushed to her side.

“What is it?”

“There’s… there’s a leaf growing from the dead tree.”

“What?”

Levin followed her gaze.

From the metallic-black bark of the petrified tree, a tiny green sprout had timidly emerged.

“This is insane…”