Chapter 127

Long ago, humanity desired to reach the gods.

So they built a towering structure.

A tower named Babel.

In the end, the tower collapsed under the wrath of the gods, and humanity was divided.

It was a legend from the mythic age—one that few even remembered now.

Neo Seoul was the Babel Tower of the present era.

In the massive city standing alone in the desert, the long-held desire of ancient humans to reach the gods still lingered.

Within Neo Seoul stood cutting-edge buildings that had flourished before the Great Cataclysm, rising as if to pierce the sky.

All districts were evenly developed, but among them, the most dazzling and refined was the West District.

Neo Seoul prided itself on its ultra-advanced civilization, and among its districts, the West District was the most technologically advanced.

There were more mechanized Awakeners there than anywhere else, and this trait drove rapid technological progress.

In this place, magic was merely a supplementary tool—not the main force.

The West District researched and developed machinery specifically for mechanized Awakeners, allowing it to progress at a far faster rate than other districts.

This defining trait of the West District was fully reflected in Kim Kyungsoo’s residence.

Inside the metallic interior, countless pipes and wires were exposed.

Kim Kyungsoo sat in a large metal chair.

At a glance, his appearance was no different from that of an ordinary person. However, a significant portion of his body was composed of mechanical prosthetics.

Even so, thanks to highly advanced technology, they were nearly indistinguishable from a real human body. To the naked eye, it was impossible to tell where the machine ended and the human began.

His expression was blank, his gaze cold—like someone wearing a mask of metal.

Kim Kyungsoo stared into the empty air.

His eyes glowed red.

They too were artificial.

After staring for a long while, he finally spoke.

“Samjok-o!”

At that moment, a voice was transmitted directly into his brain.

—Yes, Master.

“Report the situation.”

—So far, seventy-two victims. All had their mechanical bodies stolen and were disposed of. The stolen parts are believed to have been dismantled and funneled into the black market.

“Seventy-two?”

—It has now increased to seventy-three.

“The culprit… scavengers, as expected?”

—That is correct.

“This is ridiculous. Seventy-three people taken out by scavengers in just a few days? Do they think we’re pushovers?”

—An item that entered through the White Bear Caravan is showing extremely poor compatibility with mechanized Awakeners. If left unchecked, damage is projected to increase further.

“Countermeasures?”

—Deploying the mechanical legion and directly eliminating the White Bear Caravan is the most effective method.

“That’s not possible! If we mobilize the mechanical legion, it will give Jin Geumho an excuse to intervene in the West District.”

Kim Kyungsoo’s expression twisted.

He feared nothing—but Jin Geumho, the mayor of Neo Seoul, was an exception.

He knew exactly how powerful and terrifying Jin Geumho was.

Giving him a reason to intervene would be nothing short of a disaster for both the West District and himself.

That was why he had no choice but to act with extreme caution.

“Any other methods?”

—Calculating.

For a moment, the mechanical voice fell silent.

Kim Kyungsoo waited patiently for the answer.

Samjok-o was not human.

It was a supercomputer born from a fusion of coincidence and science.

In the early days of his awakening, Kim Kyungsoo had accidentally entered a dungeon.

The dungeon’s master was an S-rank entity—an Ancient Golem.

At the time, Kim Kyungsoo had been too inexperienced to defeat such an opponent.

However, for some reason, the Ancient Golem had already been on the verge of collapse. Thanks to that, he barely managed to defeat it and claim its spoils.

Among them was the golem’s brain—containing its ego.

The brain had been reset.

Kim Kyungsoo brought it back and began researching it.

For reasons unknown, during the process, the golem’s brain fused with a computer used in the research.

The result was the rebirth of a supercomputer.

Kim Kyungsoo named it Samjok-o.

The main body of Samjok-o existed in a bunker one hundred meters underground.

Every mechanized Awakener in the West District was equipped with a communication module linked to Samjok-o.

Because of this, Kim Kyungsoo could sit here and monitor their movements as if reading the lines on his palm.

Ordinary Awakeners were only equipped with communication modules, but his close subordinates were granted auxiliary AI.

This auxiliary AI was a downgraded version of Samjok-o, connected through its ego.

It allowed for precise control of movement and energy, drastically enhancing combat capability.

Because of this, every mechanized Awakener desired to become one of Kim Kyungsoo’s subordinates and receive an auxiliary AI.

However, such an opportunity was not given to just anyone.

The number of auxiliary AIs was limited, and only a select few were granted them.

As Kim Kyungsoo was lost in thought, Samjok-o’s voice spoke again.

—Based on current power analysis, forming an alliance with Dongdaemun yields the highest efficiency.

“Dongdaemun? That group of fanatics?”

—Yes.

“Of all choices…”

Kim Kyungsoo frowned.

Even for him—the ruler of the West District—Dongdaemun, centered around Johan, was an unsettling group.

It wasn’t their strength that was frightening, but their unity and their fanatical faith in their god.

Fanatics who did not fear death were troublesome even for cold, emotionless mechanized Awakeners.

Which made Samjok-o’s recommendation all the more surprising.

Samjok-o continued.

—Recently, Dongdaemun has suffered consecutive failures and is cornered. While their losses are not severe, the authority of their leader, Johan, has been greatly diminished. They require an opportunity to turn the tide.

“A reversal… I see.”

—We put Dongdaemun at the forefront while we provide support from behind.

“So we preserve their pride while securing our own gains.”

—Correct.

“I like that.”

A smile finally appeared on Kim Kyungsoo’s face.

—Then I will proceed.

“Do it.”

—I will carry out the Master’s command.

Kim Kyungsoo nodded and leaned deeply into his chair.

After gazing out the window for a moment, he suddenly spoke as if something had come to mind.

“Current number of pure Koreans?”

—Based on current data, 3,724,309.

“That’s all?”

—At this rate, within a hundred years, pure Korean bloodlines will completely disappear.

“As long as I’m alive, that won’t happen. The masters of this land are, and always will be, Koreans.”

Though most of his body had been replaced with machinery, his soul and spirit remained purely Korean.

***

Zeon stared at the metal fragment placed on the table.

It was a remnant of the object that had caused the explosion at the Goblin Market.

Because of it, five people had died and twenty had been seriously injured.

The incident had thrown the entire Goblin Market into chaos.

Yoo Sehui immediately gathered the merchants and Awakeners of the market to establish countermeasures.

“All this mess because of a single thing.”

“What is that?”

At that moment, Brielle’s voice came from behind—she had been holed up in the room.

Without even turning around, Zeon replied,

“Pulled another all-nighter?”

“Yeah!”

Brielle answered while rubbing her eyes.

Staying up all night had become routine whenever she was experimenting with alchemy.

At this point, her day and night had completely reversed.

She picked up the object on the table and examined it from every angle.

“This is made from the shell of a Spiked Trilobite.”

“You know the material?”

“Yeah. It’s extremely rare, but if it’s processed incorrectly, it explodes—so people usually avoid using it.”

“Really?”

“Spiked Trilobites are magical beasts that are rarely seen around here. Could this be something released by the White Bear Caravan?”

“Seems like it.”

“There are plenty of safer materials, so why use something this dangerous?”

“They might have done it on purpose.”

“On purpose? Why?”

Just as Brielle tilted her head in confusion—

Bang! Bang!

Someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it? Levin?”

Brielle cautiously opened the door.

What she saw was completely unexpected.

A beautiful woman with long, wavy blonde hair stood there.

Most striking of all were her sapphire-like blue eyes.

The moment Brielle saw her, her expression hardened. But the woman didn’t notice and asked politely,

“Is this Mr. Zeon’s residence?”

“It is. Who are you?”

“Oh! My name is Mandy. I came to see Mr. Zeon.”

“Mandy?”

“Yes! Is Mr. Zeon inside?”

At that moment, hearing her voice, Zeon came to the door.

“What brings you to my place?”

“Looks like I came to the right place.”

“Come inside first.”

Zeon invited Mandy in.

Brielle frowned, clearly displeased that Mandy had been let in.

Mandy looked around the house and said,

“This place is really spacious and nice. I didn’t expect to find something like this in the slums.”

“If you look hard enough, there are quite a few decent places even in the slums.”

“I think I understand why you choose to live here instead of Neo Seoul. If I had a place like this, I’d stay too.”

“If you like it, you can look for one.”

“I’ll consider that later. That’s not why I came today.”

“Figured as much.”

Zeon nodded.

There was no way Mandy had come all the way to this dangerous slum just for small talk.

Looking straight at him, Mandy spoke,

“I came to ask for your help.”

“Help?”

“Yes. Among the people I know, no one understands the slums better than you.”

“So you have business in the slums.”

“I’ve been tracking scavengers, but I lost them here. I couldn’t figure out how to continue, so I came to you.”

Mandy had lived her entire life in Neo Seoul, but the slums were an unknown world to her.

Unlike the orderly city, the slums were as complex as a maze and filled with countless dangers.

It wasn’t that she feared danger—but she wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble.

That was when she thought of Zeon.

Zeon asked,

“You were tracking scavengers?”

“Yes. I followed them all the way here.”

“Things must be pretty serious because of them.”

“Very serious. Their rampages are causing a lot of damage, and the city hall can’t just sit back anymore. That’s why people like me have been mobilized to eliminate them.”

“I see.”

“I want to end this quickly. Instead of catching them one by one, it’s better to wipe out their base entirely.”

“Do scavengers even have a base? Aren’t they just individual raiders?”

“From what I’ve confirmed, they have a network. I’ve also obtained information that they have a base somewhere in the desert. If that’s the case, then there must be a place in Neo Seoul—or in the slums—where they gather.”

“That makes sense.”

Zeon nodded.

“So… will you help me?”

“I will.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Wow!”

Mandy couldn’t help but exclaim.

She hadn’t expected Zeon to agree so easily.

But he hadn’t agreed without reason.

The items released by Damian were already causing damage in the slums.

If left alone, things could escalate much further.

Putting on the robe hanging on the wall, Zeon said,

“Let’s go.”

At that moment, Brielle hurriedly shouted,

“I’m coming too.”