Chapter 142
Everything he saw was red.
Zeon’s mental world was filled with something crimson.
Eun Sujin reached out and grabbed the red substance.
Like liquid, it slipped through her fingers.
“What is this…?”
It was sand.
Fine, delicate sand.
Like grains dyed by a sunset, blood-red sand filled Zeon’s entire mental landscape.
“What the…?”
Eun Suyoung, who had entered Zeon’s mind after Sujin, blinked in disbelief.
They had invaded countless minds and glimpsed their inner worlds—but this was the first time they had seen anything like this.
“Why is there sand in his mental world?”
“Is this even a human mind?”
“What is this guy…?”
“We knew he was strange, but this is too much.”
Such desolation. Such bleak emptiness.
They had never imagined a mental world like this could exist.
“What kind of life does someone have to live to end up with something like this?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t.”
“I’m not even sure mental manipulation will work on someone like this.”
“Still, we have to try.”
“We do.”
The twins reached toward the sand.
They intended to manipulate Zeon’s mind through his mental image.
The moment they infused mana into the sand—
Sluuush!
Suddenly, the sand around them began to ripple.
“What?”
“That startled me!”
The two stepped back in shock.
The sand continued to writhe.
At first, it was only a small movement—but in an instant, the rippling spread across Zeon’s entire mental world.
“What is going on?”
At that moment, something rose from within the shifting sand.
It was a human figure made of sand.
One… two… three…
The sand figures multiplied endlessly.
Soon, Zeon’s entire mental world was filled with them.
Countless sand figures.
Overwhelmed by their sheer number and presence, the twins froze.
“Wha—!”
“There are this many…?”
Their bodies trembled involuntarily.
At that moment, the leading sand figure opened its mouth.
“To be able to invade and manipulate someone else’s mind… that’s an interesting ability. Though from the one being targeted, it’s not interesting at all.”
“That voice… Zeon?”
“How are you inside your own mental world? Wait—are you a telepath too?”
The twins asked in shock.
The sand figure shrugged.
“What’s so strange about being in my own mind? The more impressive thing is you barging into someone else’s like this.”
“You… what are you? Why is there nothing but sand here? Are you even human? Or are you some kind of monster?”
“And you?”
“What?”
“Are you human—trying to knead and reshape someone else’s mind however you please?”
“That’s different!”
“What’s different? From where I stand, you look more like monsters.”
“Grr! We’re not monsters!”
“A normal person doesn’t try to manipulate someone else’s mind so casually.”
“What do you know?! Don’t talk nonsense when you know nothing!”
Eun Sujin and Eun Suyoung shouted, clearly agitated.
Zeon simply watched them for a moment.
They had invaded someone else’s mind without permission, yet acted like victims—it was absurd.
“I don’t think this will work. Both of you—leave my head.”
The sand soldiers surrounded the twins and began to press in.
“Ugh!”
“Let go!”
The twins struggled, but it was useless.
This was Zeon’s mind.
He was the master here.
Naturally, everything obeyed his will.
“No!”
“Get out!”
With one final cry, the twins were expelled from Zeon’s mental world.
“Gah!”
They opened their eyes at the same time.
They had returned to reality.
Their bodies were drenched in sweat, and their eyes were bloodshot, veins burst from the strain.
Moments later, Zeon also returned from his mental world.
He rubbed his temple, groaning.
“Ugh… my head.”
“You kicked us out?”
“Unforgivable!”
The twins’ hair rose as if alive, writhing like seaweed.
“Unbelievable. Did that old man you follow never teach you manners?”
“Don’t insult grandpa.”
“We’ll kill you.”
At that moment, objects around them began to float into the air.
Bricks, steel rods, and all sorts of debris rose and orbited the twins.
Zeon narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Telekinesis?”
“That’s right! We can move objects however we want with just our thoughts.”
“We’ll tear you apart.”
When telepathic ability reaches its peak, it evolves into the power to move objects with the mind.
That was telekinesis.
The twins’ level of telekinesis was on par with—or beyond—that of most A-rank awakened.
That was why the old man had sent them—to stop Zeon.
Even if subduing him was difficult, he had judged that buying time wouldn’t be too hard.
“Hyaaah!”
With the twins’ shout, the objects floating in the air shot toward Zeon.
Whoooosh!
They flew faster than the speed of sound.
At that velocity, even an ordinary brick became a lethal weapon.
Greater speed meant exponentially greater destructive power.
KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!
Everything around them exploded and shattered.
The area instantly turned into chaos.
And yet, Zeon—their target—was completely unharmed.
The moment the twins launched their attack, he had already retreated far away.
“That’s cowardly!”
“Don’t run!”
The twins shouted as they hurled more objects at the distant Zeon.
This time, Zeon wasn’t confident he could dodge everything.
“Cha-hat!”
He unleashed Fire Rain.
Countless fireballs poured down like rain.
The Fire Rain intercepted every incoming object at terrifying speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bricks and steel rods exploded midair—it was a spectacular sight.
But the twins had no time to admire it.
“Grr! What is this?!”
“Die! Just die!”
They screamed and hurled objects recklessly.
But not a single one managed to injure Zeon.
Enraged, they abandoned throwing objects and instead used telekinesis directly on Zeon himself.
In that instant, Zeon felt an invisible force constrict his entire body.
It was like being crushed under hundreds of tons of rock.
The twins tried to tear his limbs apart with their telekinesis.
Even with his superheated gauntlet skills, blocking this attack was impossible.
“Guess I have no choice.”
Zeon let out a small sigh.
He had always known he would have to reveal this power eventually—but not like this.
Still, once he made up his mind, he didn’t hesitate.
Swoosh!
With a gesture, the sand piled on the ground condensed and surged forward like a stream.
One of Zeon’s main skills—
Sand Blaster.
The sand shot forward like a torrent and struck the twins directly.
Thud-thud-thud!
“Aaagh!”
“That hurts!”
Caught off guard, the twins screamed.
Fortunately, at the moment of impact, their barrier skill activated, preventing fatal injuries.
But it couldn’t block the pain.
A necklace with a blue gem hanging around their necks swayed.
It was an enchanted item that could activate a barrier up to three times a day.
That was what had saved them.
Eun Sujin’s eyes trembled.
“You’re attacking with sand? Can you use telekinesis too?”
“No! You can’t control that many sand particles with telekinesis.”
“Then… you’re influencing the sand itself? Wait—are you a sand mage?”
“That’s insanely broken.”
Though young, the twins were experienced A-rank awakened.
They immediately grasped the nature of Zeon’s power.
“That’s right. A sand mage.”
“Damn!”
As if confirming it, Zeon raised his hand again.
Sand Blaster formed once more.
Whoooosh!
More than ten streams of sand shot toward them at terrifying speed.
The twins instantly grabbed hands and retreated backward—
lifting themselves into the air with telekinesis.
The Sand Blaster only punched holes into the ground below.
“Scary…”
“This is scary…”
Fear filled the twins’ faces.
The power of the Sand Blaster itself wasn’t overwhelming.
There were plenty of awakened who could use skills of similar strength.
The real problem was something else.
There was no way Zeon only had this one ability.
Now they understood his mental world—
that endless sea of sand.
It represented his potential.
If even a fraction of that power could be used…
they had almost no chance of winning.
There was sand everywhere around the slums.
The mere fact that they couldn’t predict what he might do with it terrified them.
At that moment, Zeon unleashed Sand Blaster again.
This time, there were over thirty streams.
Screeeeeech!
They flew even faster than before.
The twins hastily pulled nearby objects together with telekinesis to form a wall.
KWA-BOOM!
The wall they had desperately created exploded instantly.
The sheer force was overwhelming.
The twins’ eyebrows trembled.
“We can’t keep this up.”
“Let’s run.”
“But that hurts our pride…”
“Pride comes after survival.”
“…You’re right.”
“Tch! Grandpa’s going to scold us.”
“Can’t be helped.”
Still floating in the air, they turned and fled.
Zeon quietly watched as they quickly disappeared into the distance.
He could have chased them at any moment if he wanted—
but now wasn’t the time.
BOOOOM!
Another explosion erupted from the White Bear Caravan’s fortress.
The vibration was strong enough to be felt through the ground.
The situation was clearly escalating.
‘Damian…!’
Now that his power was revealed, Zeon held nothing back.
Whoooosh!
The surrounding sand gathered like a pillar, lifting him high into the air.
Standing atop the sand pillar, Zeon looked toward the White Bear Caravan.
More than half of the fortress had already collapsed.
The battle had grown even more intense.
The number of awakened fighting had increased significantly.
It wasn’t just scavengers and Dongdaemun awakened anymore—
awakening fighters from other sectors had clearly joined the assault.
Pruuuuu!
With a sorrowful cry, the giant mammoth collapsed.
The very creature that had been the caravan’s greatest asset had fallen.
The situation had turned decisively against the White Bear Caravan.
Zeon rose into the air, riding the sandstorm.