Chapter 459

Chapter 459

Zeon looked down at the fallen dragon before him with a lonely expression.

It was Akaid, the master of this dungeon.

The dragon’s blue scales, once gleaming like jewels, had lost their luster, shattered and broken.

The horns that symbolized him were snapped midway, and his two pairs of wings were torn like paper, scattered across the ground.

Akaid moved only his eyes to look at Zeon.

―Impressive... to think you could push me this far.

“You didn’t even fight back, Lord Akaid.”

―If I had, you would have struggled more. But even then, I doubt the result would have been very different.

The sandstorm that had completely engulfed his colossal body.

The ground that boiled beneath scorching heat.

And the black sand that burst from Zeon’s pores in the end.

All of it had destroyed Akaid’s body from the inside out.

He could have counterattacked, but Akaid had chosen to endure every strike with his own body.

The result was the broken figure before him now.

Scales harder than diamond had cracked or shattered, and even his insides had been ground away by the sand, leaving him barely intact.

―I would like to give you my mana heart and horns, but they are only degraded fragments. They would be of little use to you.

“Degraded fragments?”

―The real me perished in Kurayan long ago. The dungeon’s laws revived and bound me here, but compared to the true me, everything about this body falls short.

“That makes sense.”

―The only true legacy of mine you hold is that scale.

“This one?”

Zeon drew Akaid’s scale from his subspace.

―Bring it to me.

“Yes, sir.”

Zeon obediently placed the scale before Akaid’s face. Akaid closed his eyes and focused.

In that instant, the scale emitted a blinding blue light.

The brilliance stung Zeon’s eyes, forcing him to shut them. Then Akaid’s voice echoed in his ears.

―A dragon who dies a natural death returns all to mana, leaving no trace behind. But a dragon who dies unnaturally is denied that blessing. We must leave behind fragments of our existence in the world we could not depart cleanly from. I am no different. That scale carries my will. My hatred toward Krathias kept that scale bound to Kurayan. Perhaps, in a way, the fact it passed through Neria and reached your hands was the world’s arrangement of fate. I, Akaid, now bequeath the last of my power to you through this final legacy, in accordance with the will of this world.

Fwooosh!

A light burst from Akaid’s entire body, brighter than anything before.

Even with his eyes closed, Zeon could feel the searing radiance burning through his vision.

It was as if he were bathing in sacred light.

Every cell in his body pulsed with vitality, and his drained mana filled once more.

Not only was it replenished, it had nearly doubled in volume.

“What...?”

Zeon opened his eyes in shock.

In his palm lay a ring that hadn’t been there before.

A ring set with a blue gem that perfectly resembled Akaid’s scales.

Just by looking at it, he knew.

Akaid had poured the entirety of his remaining power into the scale to forge it.

―That ring is called the Ring of Purification. May it aid your path...

“The Ring of Purification?”

Zeon looked up at Akaid, but the dragon was already gone.

This time, he had left nothing behind, his essence completely returned to nature.

Krrrrr!

The moment Akaid vanished, the dungeon began to quake violently.

The dungeon was collapsing without its master.

Zeon slipped the Ring of Purification onto his finger.

He wanted to test its effects immediately, but there was no time.

He had to escape before the dungeon disintegrated entirely.

Fortunately, an exit formed nearby.

Zeon leapt and escaped through it.

What awaited him outside was thick darkness, and a mountain of sand.

“Underground...?”

Zeon frowned.

Normally, when a dungeon vanished, its exit appeared where the entrance had been.

There were exceptions, but such rules rarely broke.

“Why is the exit underground? Don’t tell me... someone collapsed the area?”

Zeon exerted control over the sand, creating a space around himself.

If it had been anyone else emerging here, they would have been crushed to death by the pressure.

“What happened here? Why... Did someone do this on purpose?”

He didn’t need anyone to tell him. As a sand mage, he could read the land like his own palm.

The mountains of sand had collapsed, burying the dungeon completely.

Realizing that, Zeon ascended to the surface.

Ssshhh,

The sand before him parted, and the sand beneath his feet lifted him upward.

Fwhaak!

In less than a minute, Zeon broke through the mass of sand and reached the surface.

The first thing he saw were the corpses of elven rangers.

The elves who had guarded the Dungeon of Darkness were all dead, and before them sat Liala and Uslan.

Their entire bodies were stained red with blood.

He didn’t need to ask whose blood it was.

Liala looked up at Zeon and spoke.

“You made it through, just as I thought you would. I was a little worried, though, you were later than expected.”

“You fought the elf rangers.”

“Yeah. They tried to kill us by collapsing the sand mountains.”

“So it was that after all.”

“Haa... damn it.”

Liala sighed and clutched her head.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

No matter how strained things had been, she had never imagined she’d have to kill her own comrades from Elharun.

The betrayal of Del Roa, who had driven her to this point, filled her with rage.

Zeon asked quietly.

“Was this the Council’s decision?”

“Higher than that.”

“Lord Del Roa’s command, then.”

“Yeah. I was a thorn in his eye. He thought if he got rid of me, the rest of the humans could be subdued again under Elharun’s control.”

From the beginning, sending them here made no sense.

Telling them to claim rewards from the Dungeon of Darkness was already beyond reason.

Still, she had obeyed, because it was Del Roa’s order, someone she had respected. But what she received in return was brutal betrayal.

“Captain Caron told me the rewards from the Dungeon of Darkness stopped appearing long ago. They were planning to seal it. And yet that bastard sent us in there. From the start, he meant to bury us with the dungeon.”

It wasn’t just anyone, they had tried to kill Liala, the leader of all humans.

If that became known, all of humanity would rise up in fury.

The reason Del Roa had risked that danger was simple.

He wanted to remove Liala and the other human leaders, replacing them with those he could easily control.

That was how he intended to tighten his rule over the humans of Elharun.

Uslan slammed his fist into the ground and shouted.

“How could he do this to us? How much have humans sacrificed for Elharun?”

“We cannot let this go. It’s time we humans stood on our own.”

“We can’t keep walking with races that treat us like fools. Lady Liala, please lead us.”

The fury they had suppressed for so long erupted like a volcano.

Uslan and his men’s foreheads bulged with veins as their anger boiled over.

It was not a rage born overnight.

It had been building since birth, and this incident had finally ignited it.

The old Liala would have silenced them, scolding them for speaking out of line.

But after the Black Queen incident, her heart had changed.

She had reached her limit with the other races’ arrogance and hypocrisy.

And the attempt to kill her alongside Zeon was the final blow.

Until now, she had endured because she believed the others hadn’t crossed the ultimate line.

But this time, they had.

To stay silent now would be to admit that humans were nothing more than slaves.

Liala clenched her fists and muttered.

“To push me this far...”

Even a rat, cornered, will bite a cat.

And Liala was no rat.

She was not an ordinary powerless human.

She was the strongest among all humans in Elharun.

And now, she wore Lautra’s Armor.

Lautra, the legendary hero who had led humanity to rule Kurayan.

To be recognized as the master of his armor held immense meaning.

As Lautra’s successor, there was no stepping back.

She would fight, and raise her voice for her people.

Zeon asked her,

“What do you plan to do?”

“I’m going to Elharun.”

“And once you’re there?”

“I’ll settle this.”

“Shall I come with you?”

“No.”

Liala shook her head firmly.

Seeing his surprise, she explained.

“If you get involved, things will get complicated.”

“Because I’m an outsider?”

“Because you’re a human from Neo Seoul. If you act, this could turn into a war between Elharun and Neo Seoul.”

“That’s true.”

“Exactly. So we’ll handle it ourselves. Without anyone’s help.”

“And if things go bad?”

“If the worst happens... then I’ll take all the humans and leave.”

Once the humans of Elharun learned that Liala had nearly died in a trap set by Del Roa and the other races, they wouldn’t stay quiet.

Tension had already been brewing. Now oil had been poured on the fire.

Zeon asked,

“Do you have a place to go?”

“Why? You think there’s no place for humans to live in this vast desert?”

“So you already have one in mind. Understood.”

“If I ever need help, I’ll reach out. That much is fine, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then this is goodbye.”

At her words, Uslan and the others rose from the ground.

Their faces burned with the same determination as Liala’s.

Just as Lautra had once ushered in the age of humans in Kurayan, they believed Liala, who inherited his legacy, would build a human world here too.

Uslan reached out his hand to Zeon.

“It’s been an honor fighting alongside you. Let’s meet again someday.”

“It was my honor as well.”

Zeon clasped his hand.

“Honor? Don’t make me laugh. Take care of yourself.”

“I wish you safety.”

“Don’t worry. Humans are strong.”

“Yes.”

Zeon nodded.

Uslan’s men, Jupiro and Alonso Kriden, also stepped up to shake Zeon’s hand in turn.

He accepted each one.

Among Uslan’s subordinates, only the other-race members were missing.

Their absence was no coincidence.

The leaders of their races had clearly pulled them out beforehand, knowing Del Roa’s plan. That knowledge only deepened the humans’ rage.

Whether they liked it or not, they had fought side by side for years. Such betrayal was unforgivable.

They swore that at least Corin and Dempleton would not be spared.

Liala and Uslan departed immediately for Elharun, leaving Zeon alone where the Dungeon of Darkness had once been.

“I should head back too.”

Dragged into this mess by fate, he had come farther than expected.

Now, it was time to return to Neo Seoul.