Chapter 546

Chapter 546

As the black sphere exploded, the condensed mana inside it was released like an unbridled colt.

Tridgion’s mana contained tremendous destructive energy.

With that mana being unleashed all at once, there was no way the surrounding area could remain intact.

The air twisted, and a massive storm erupted.

Even if it wasn’t as bad as being hit directly by the black sphere, a storm of this size would surely reduce the slums to scorched earth.

Then, once again, something astonishing happened.

A gigantic barrier formed, centered on the area where the storm was raging.

Old Go’s eyes flew wide open.

He realized at once that it was a barrier of a far higher level than anything he, a barrier mage, could create.

‘Just who on earth is in the slums…?’

There had to be someone stronger than even Old Go or the Numbers nesting in the slums.

The fact that such a powerful being was lurking there, aside from Zeon, sent chills down Old Go’s spine.

Kwaaaaah!

The mana storm with overwhelming force failed to break through the barrier created by the unknown being. It swirled outside the slums and then dissipated.

“Just what…?”

Even Sung Huyun and Grain couldn’t hide their stunned expressions at the unbelievable sight.

Tridgion himself, the one who had launched the attack, was just as shocked.

—This can’t be!

It had been an attack containing all of his mana.

An attack powerful enough to easily vaporize an entire city, yet someone in the slums had blocked it with absurd ease.

To stop his attack, that person would have to wield magic on par with his own. He had never even dreamed that such a being would be hiding in the slums.

—Who in the world are you?

“Rather than that, you’d better worry about your own safety.”

At that moment, Zeon’s cold voice rang out.

Only then did Tridgion realize his mistake and look at Zeon.

Riding the sand wind, Zeon was floating in the air, looking down at him. Zeon’s gaze was colder than ever before.

Even Tridgion, who prided himself on having lost all human emotion, felt fear in that instant.

In truth, Zeon’s rage had reached its peak.

The fact that Tridgion had tried to completely destroy Neo Seoul—the last bastion of humanity—had detonated his fury.

The Numbers didn’t know, but Zeon did.

He knew that the one who had destroyed Tridgion’s magic was Tesserina.

Across both Neo Seoul and the slums, the only being who could unleash magic of that level was Tesserina.

She had clearly sensed the crisis and cast her magic to defend.

The slums were Zeon’s home, but they were also where Tesserina’s lair was.

A dragon’s obsession with its lair went beyond imagination.

Thanks to that, the slums had escaped a great threat, but Zeon’s anger did not subside.

Zeon drew up all of his mana.

Whiiing!

Suddenly, the air around the sky where he floated began to convulse like mad.

The same phenomenon that had occurred when Tridgion’s magic exploded earlier was now happening centered on Zeon.

Kwakwa-kwa-kwa!

Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Tridgion felt his mind go cold.

The rage that had filled his head just moments ago vanished, and fear took its place.

He could tell just by Zeon’s gaze and presence.

How vicious Zeon’s killing intent was.

The will to kill and destroy without fail was being carried through the air straight to him.

“Diamond Spear!”

Kwaaaah!

At that moment, a carbon crystal—Diamond Spear—shot up from deep within the sand.

It was bigger and more powerful than all the Diamond Spears he had made before combined.

Boom!

The gigantic Diamond Spear pierced straight through Tridgion’s chest.

With Tridgion skewered on it, the Diamond Spear surged high into the sky.

—Guhk!

Feeling as if even his soul had been pierced, Tridgion screamed.

His body was hurled tens of meters into the air. But Zeon had no intention of ending it there.

When Zeon flipped his palm, the Diamond Spear slammed straight back down into the ground. Along with it, Tridgion’s massive pierced body was driven into the sand.

Kwaaang!

It dug a deep crater into the ground, like a meteor strike.

“Sand Gehenna.”

The moment Zeon spoke, the huge pit where Tridgion lay melted into a lake of lava.

The lava flowed into the hole in Tridgion’s chest and filled his insides.

Tridgion hurriedly tried to expel the lava and restore his body. But after exhausting all his mana attacking the slums, he couldn’t recover at the speed he wanted.

Looking down at him with icy eyes, Zeon muttered,

“So you don’t want to die after all?”

—S-Spare me. I was wrong. If you let me live, I’ll go back and never set foot near Neo Seoul again.

In the end, Tridgion abandoned his pride and begged for his life.

Zeon’s answer was simple.

“No.”

—Eek!

“If I let someone like you live, I know the trouble will never end.”

Gwoaaaang!

In an instant, the lava around Tridgion began to spin violently.

Zeon was applying Sand Mixer to lava.

The fiercely rotating lava attacked Tridgion from both inside and out at the same time.

His body was ground down and melted away.

Already shrunk to human size, his form melted even faster.

—N-No!

Tridgion screamed.

It had been a body he had claimed with great difficulty.

Zeon could never know what price he had paid to obtain this body.

And now he was about to lose it.

If he melted away like a golem’s body here, he would never get another chance to revive.

But he couldn’t escape either.

When he transferred into the golem, Triox Five had been completely destroyed.

Unlike when he was a support AI, he could no longer use the return protocol.

—Kyaaaah!

Tridgion’s screams echoed inside the lava lake, but soon his voice faded.

The lava had swallowed even his screams.

Bubble! Bubble!

From the air, Zeon looked down at the lava lake boiling violently. Sung Huyun and Grain stared blankly at Zeon.

The authority Zeon had displayed against Tridgion, whom they themselves had struggled against, left them speechless.

‘My god…’

‘A Sand Mage has power over flames like that too?’

Now Zeon no longer looked like a fellow human to them, but like a monster.

In truth, Zeon possessed monstrous authority.

Tridgion was now completely submerged in the lava lake, no longer visible.

He had melted down to only a third of an adult human’s height.

Zeon watched him carefully until the very end.

Before, he had relaxed after thinking Tridgion was dead, and this disaster had happened.

—Gggh…

Tridgion’s scream echoed once more from within the lava.

That was his last.

The life reaction felt inside the lava disappeared completely.

Tridgion had completely melted away.

Tridgion no longer existed in this world.

That was Tridgion’s end.

“Phew…”

Only then did Zeon descend to the ground and let out a faint sigh.

Even though he had withdrawn his authority, the lava in the lake was still boiling fiercely.

The Numbers approached Zeon.

“Is it over?”

“Yes.”

“Haah!”

“Damn it!”

As soon as Zeon finished speaking, the Numbers collapsed onto the ground.

Their faces were filled with exhaustion.

In truth, they had used up all their strength and were completely spent.

Only because they possessed superhuman willpower were they still holding on. A normal Awakened would have already been lying flat on the ground.

Zeon also dropped down beside them.

Like the others, he too had exhausted all his strength.

Every skill he had used consumed massive amounts of mana.

Even for him, it couldn’t be without strain.

Zeon rested with the Numbers and recovered his mana.

After they had recovered some mana and stamina, Old Go spoke.

“So what happens to the West District now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it. Triox Five, the driving force behind the West District’s development, went mad and caused all this…”

“They have to take responsibility.”

At Grain’s cold voice, Old Go nodded.

“Of course they must take responsibility. What I mean is the future of the West District without Triox Five. If they decline too much, it won’t be good for Neo Seoul either.”

“That’s not our problem.”

This time Sung Huyun said flatly.

As he got to his feet, he continued,

“He has to pay for what happened. Because of him, the Mayor nearly died, and all of Neo Seoul almost collapsed.”

“The price he’ll have to pay won’t be light.”

“If it were up to my temper, I’d storm in right now and take his life. But since the Mayor doesn’t want him dead, we’re letting him off.”

“Hoo…”

Old Go let out a deep sigh.

This incident was now out of his hands.

All he could do was watch and see what result came of it.

‘I wonder if the West District can bear responsibility for this situation.’

Fortunately, with Old Go and the unknown being stepping in, the destruction of Neo Seoul and the slums had been prevented.

But the damage already done was no small matter.

Countless buildings had been destroyed, and there were enormous casualties.

Even if most of that damage was limited to the West District, they wouldn’t be able to avoid City Hall’s scrutiny.

Suddenly, Old Go’s gaze turned to Zeon.

In front of him, the lava lake was still bubbling.

Even though he had withdrawn his authority, the terrifying heat remained.

It was truly a broken ability.

‘He’s become an even more monstrous monster in no time.’

It was growth beyond Old Go’s common sense.

Now he was starting to worry.

Was it really right to keep such a monster in the slums?

It was like harboring something worse than an S-rank beast.

He wondered how long they could keep carrying such a monster.

Sensing Old Go’s gaze, Zeon turned his head and looked at him.

Feeling awkward for no reason, Old Go cleared his throat and said,

“Ahem! By the way, what are you going to do about that lava? There should be golem metal melted in there. Wouldn’t it be better to recycle it?”

“And what if he revives again?”

“He’s completely melted. Would he really revive?”

“I killed him before, and he revived by borrowing a golem’s body like this.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to bury it completely underground.”

Zeon raised his control and moved the sand.

A hole opened in the bottom of the lava lake, and the liquid containing Tridgion’s remains flowed deep underground.

The lava slowly solidified hundreds of meters below the surface.

Zeon made it so that no one but him could ever find Tridgion’s waste buried deep in the sand, or retrieve it to the surface.

After finishing everything, Zeon said,

“I think I’ve done what I needed to do, so I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Rest.”

“Huh? You’re going to rest by yourself? There’s a mountain of cleanup to do!”

At Grain’s fuss, Zeon chuckled and said,

“If it’s unfair, then quit being a civil servant.”

“Damn it!”

“I’ll head out first. Good work, everyone.”

Without looking back, Zeon flew toward the slums.

Watching Zeon’s retreating figure, Sung Huyun muttered,

“It’s lucky that monster is on humanity’s side. If he were on the side of another race or the Scavengers, Neo Seoul would have no future.”

The goosebumps on his skin still hadn’t gone down.

The last time he had felt like this was with Jin Geumho.

“Let’s pray that the monster born of the desert stays on humanity’s side to the very end.”