Chapter 131
Zeon’s question was simple.
“Tell me all the nests you know about.”
“Fuck off, you bastard.”
The scavenger cursed viciously.
With veins bulging on his forehead as he shouted, he looked like a raging demon.
Even though he was heavily injured, the scavenger’s spirit hadn’t broken. The glare in his eyes was enough to make even Brielle shrink back.
But it didn’t work on Zeon.
“Do we really have to do this the hard way?”
“Don’t make me laugh! You think I’m scared? Tch!”
The scavenger spat out a lump of bloody phlegm. But Zeon casually ignited flames and burned it away in midair.
“You son of a bitch!”
Even with his last act of defiance rendered meaningless, the scavenger’s spirit didn’t falter.
Flames rose in Zeon’s hand.
“I didn’t want to use this method, but I guess I have no choice.”
“Heh… you bastard… bluffing—”
“Whether it’s a bluff or not, you’ll find out soon enough. Clench your teeth.”
Zeon grabbed the scavenger’s wrist with his flame-covered hand.
Sizzle!
Under the intense heat, flesh burned and muscles melted.
Faced with a pain no human could endure, the scavenger’s mouth fell open.
He tried to hold it in somehow, but the searing agony was beyond anything a human could withstand.
“Aaaaargh!”
In the end, the scavenger let out a desperate scream.
He struggled wildly to break free from Zeon’s grip, but it was useless.
Zeon’s hand tightened around his arm with crushing pressure, like a press.
Unable to endure the pain of even his bones burning, the scavenger finally shouted,
“Ugh! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you…!”
Only then did Zeon withdraw the flames from his hand.
“So, the nests?”
“The only ones I know are this place and Nest No. 3. The location of Nest No. 3 is—”
Bang!
At that moment, a gunshot rang out, and the scavenger’s head exploded.
Before Zeon could react, he was splattered with the scavenger’s blood.
“Zeon!”
Brielle shouted in shock.
But Zeon, without showing the slightest sign of panic, looked toward the direction the shot had come from.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted in rapid succession.
Zeon pulled Brielle into his arms and pressed against the wall of the corridor, dodging the bullets.
But the bullets weren’t aimed at Zeon or Brielle.
They were targeting the scavengers lying on the floor.
Under the merciless barrage, the scavengers’ bodies burst apart.
The power was terrifying.
These weren’t ordinary bullets.
Only magically enhanced rounds could tear apart the hardened bodies of Awakened like tofu.
“A gunslinger…?”
Zeon looked toward the direction the bullets were coming from.
Ordinary bullets were ineffective against Awakened or magical beasts.
Their bodies were so strong that most physical attacks simply bounced off.
Because of that, firearms had once fallen into obsolescence. But thanks to enchanters, they had made a spectacular comeback.
Enchanters discovered how to reinforce guns and bullets with magic, dramatically increasing their power.
They weren’t effective against large monsters, but they were devastating against smaller types or lower-level Awakened.
Those Awakened who used enchanted firearms were called gunslingers.
Gunslingers specialized in handling firearms.
Under the gunslinger’s relentless fire, all the scavengers who could have revealed the truth to Zeon were killed.
“They’re trying to erase the evidence.”
Bang!
As if answering his words, an especially powerful shot rang out.
At that moment, Brielle stepped forward and spread both arms.
“Shield!”
A translucent barrier appeared in front of them, blocking the bullet.
The force of the shot was so strong that the shield shattered like glass. But the bullet also broke apart against it and fell to the ground.
At that instant, Zeon launched himself toward the direction the bullet had come from.
Brielle followed behind him.
Rat-tat-tat!
They could feel the gunslinger’s presence slipping away into the darkness.
He had erased all evidence and was fleeing.
Zeon and Brielle chased after him at terrifying speed.
After passing through the dark corridor, a wide space appeared.
It was about ten meters across.
A place furnished with basic living items—beds, sofas, chairs, even a refrigerator.
It was a nest.
At the door on the opposite side, a man in a black military uniform could be seen fleeing.
Without even a moment to inspect the nest, Zeon and Brielle pursued him.
Just as they were about to reach the door the man had escaped through—
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted from the nest.
Right before being caught in it, Zeon grabbed Brielle and leapt away at incredible speed.
A tremendous heat and powerful shockwave surged from behind them.
If they had been even a moment slower, they would have been swallowed by the inferno.
Gritting his teeth, Zeon increased his speed.
Ahead, he saw light.
It was clearly an exit leading outside.
Without hesitation, Zeon hurled himself out through it.
Boom!
The moment he exited, flames burst out from the passage behind him.
Barely avoiding the blaze, Zeon didn’t even pause for breath as he searched for the gunslinger.
The gunslinger was fleeing into a narrow alley.
Zeon set Brielle down and said,
“I’ll track him. Follow behind me.”
“Got it.”
Brielle answered immediately.
There was no way she could match Zeon’s speed anyway. It was better for her to follow at her own pace.
Zeon immediately resumed the chase.
As he accelerated, he spotted the gunslinger fleeing in the distance.
Sensing Zeon’s pursuit, the gunslinger fired his weapon.
Bang! Bang!
Without even looking back, he fired—and the bullets flew straight toward Zeon’s forehead.
It was a terrifyingly precise shot.
But the bullets were blocked by the superheated gauntlet.
Ting! Ting!
With metallic sounds, fragments of the bullets scattered in all directions.
“Tch!”
The gunslinger clicked his tongue when his attack failed.
Shock was clearly written all over his face as he fled.
‘To think the nest would get wiped out…’
His name was Jacob.
A scavenger—and the manager of Nest No. 7.
The moment he realized the other scavengers had been taken down by Zeon, he immediately moved to destroy the evidence.
He destroyed the nest and eliminated the injured scavengers. Then, as soon as the job was done, he fled.
‘Damn it! Where did that monster come from?’
In an instant, one entire nest had been wiped out.
This had never happened before.
Which meant only one thing—the opponent was that strong.
Strong enough that even his attacks as a gunslinger had no effect at all.
He had never expected to encounter such an Awakened in the slums. That was what made it even more shocking.
‘Just a little farther…’
Scavengers always prepared an escape route.
Jacob was no exception.
His trump card was the plaza where the largest number of slum residents gathered.
‘Damn… I didn’t think I’d have to use this.’
What Jacob pulled out from his coat was a detonator.
He had hidden a bomb beneath the Dongdaemun plaza.
It was a special item designed for hunting large magical beasts.
That alone spoke of its destructive power.
If the bomb exploded, everyone in the plaza would be killed.
The situation would spiral completely out of control.
His plan was to escape in the chaos.
Countless people would die when the bomb went off—but he had no choice.
Survival came first.
Even now, Zeon was rapidly closing the distance.
They were barely twenty meters apart.
At most, two or three seconds before he was caught.
There wasn’t even time to hesitate.
Just as Jacob was about to press the detonator—
Boom!
An overwhelming impact struck him.
“Ghk!”
Like a bowling pin, he was flung through the air and slammed into the ground.
Someone had attacked him out of nowhere.
The shock was so intense it felt like his entire body was falling apart—he couldn’t even scream.
At that moment, the one who attacked him spoke.
“You traitorous bastard. Finally found you.”
It was a Black man wearing a black coat and sunglasses.
A sword was strapped to his back, and beneath his coat he wore a bulletproof vest.
Inside the coat was a machine gun, and a pistol was holstered at his thigh.
Jacob’s face twisted as soon as he recognized him.
“Ra…ven.”
“Nice to see you. I’m glad too.”
The man called Raven spat on the ground as he muttered.
By then, Zeon had arrived.
Raven, noticing Zeon, raised his palm to stop him.
“That’s far enough, kid. I’m taking this one.”
“You barge in out of nowhere and now you’re claiming rights over him?”
Zeon looked at Raven in disbelief. Raven bared his white teeth in a grin.
“Kid, do you even know who you’re messing with?”
“And do you know who I am?”
“Hah! Some slum Awakened who doesn’t know his place is running his mouth. Shut it before I tear it wide open.”
A savage glint burst through his sunglasses.
Raven was no ordinary Awakened.
His unusual attire, his gaze, and the overwhelming killing intent all proved it.
He continued,
“I’m taking this bastard, so forget everything you saw and heard today. Do that, and you might keep your life.”
“Judging by your outfit and equipment, you’re from Neo Seoul. Why are you taking him?”
“You want to know? If you know, you die.”
Raven smirked.
It wasn’t that he was underestimating Zeon.
He simply had absolute confidence in his own strength.
Jacob struggled to get up, but the pain coursing through his body was so intense he couldn’t move.
Spitting blood, he muttered,
“Ghk… you… dog of the Eastern District…”
At that moment, Raven’s eyes turned vicious.
Jacob had just revealed a secret.
Having learned something important, Zeon muttered,
“A hound from the Eastern District… Then that man must also be connected to the Eastern District.”
“Tch! Sharp bastard. Yeah, you’re right. That guy’s a deserter. He used to be in our district but ran away and became a scavenger.”
“Then is it safe to assume that not just him, but a large number of the scavengers are deserters from the Eastern District?”
“Hah! Unbelievable.”
Raven looked genuinely taken aback.
All Zeon had needed was the phrase ‘hound of the Eastern District’ to deduce this much.
And Zeon was right.
A significant number of the scavengers causing trouble were originally from the Eastern District.
Unlike the Western District, where mechanized Awakened dominated, the Eastern District was composed mainly of combat specialists under an absolute ruler—Seden Price.
The Eastern District was formed by the descendants of U.S. soldiers once stationed in Korea, along with international students.
As descendants of former soldiers, they combined various weapons, magic, and powerful physical abilities.
They weren’t just Awakened—they were like trained soldiers.
They showed absolute loyalty to their ruler, Seden Price, and carried out his orders with machine-like precision.
Because of this, the Eastern District was filled with strict discipline and an oppressive atmosphere.
Those who rebelled against that environment became the leaders of the scavengers.
They secretly established nests and supported the existing scavenger groups.
Up until then, it hadn’t been a major issue.
After all, everything was done in secret and didn’t tarnish Seden Price’s reputation.
The problem began when the scavengers armed themselves with items that had leaked out from the White Bear Caravan.
With newfound confidence, their activities became more aggressive—putting pressure on the Eastern District.
If it were revealed that the scavengers’ leaders were high-ranking Awakened who had defected from the Eastern District, it would disgrace Seden Price.
So he deployed hunters like Raven.
Their mission was simple:
Eliminate the core scavengers who had defected from the Eastern District.
Raven pulled out the gun strapped to his thigh and said,
“I told you. If you find out why I’m here… you die.”