Chapter 149
“What… is that?”
The old man’s eyes widened in shock.
Damian had definitely been human.
He had worn an item called Prism Armor, but his essence had still been human.
But now, the being standing before him could no longer be called human.
It wasn’t just his appearance that had changed.
It felt as if his very soul had been altered.
And in truth—it had.
The one who had resurrected using Damian’s body was a demonic beast known as Balrog.
An ancient calamity-class monster, bearing the title Duke of Demonic Beasts.
Though it did not quite rival a dragon, its ferocity was said to surpass even them.
Because of that, in terms of danger, it was often considered even more terrifying than dragons.
In fact, the appearance of a Balrog had once led to the destruction of an entire kingdom.
Because of this, in Kurayan, countless Awakened and entire nations had united to eliminate it.
Even with such combined power, they could not completely kill it.
In the end, they borrowed the power of the Spirit King and sealed it within a Crown.
That was the true secret of the Crown people believed held the Spirit King.
The Balrog had now revived through Damian’s body.
However, due to being sealed for so long, its original power had greatly diminished.
Even so, it still radiated a presence far beyond an S-rank demonic beast.
At the Balrog’s mere aura, everyone froze.
Mariel, Borin—even Queen Serian herself.
Even the old man, who had protected his entire body with a barrier, suffered mental shock and couldn’t move for a moment.
If even they—among the strongest in Neo Seoul—were affected like this, there was no need to mention the others.
The surviving scavengers and Awakened were completely immobilized by the Balrog’s overwhelming pressure.
Fwoosh!
Hellish flames swept over them.
It was the Balrog’s skill—The Eye of Destruction, said to rival hellfire itself.
Everything within the Balrog’s field of vision fell under its effect.
No living being—Awakened, monster, or otherwise—could escape its gaze.
There was a reason it was called the Beast of Ruin.
At least now, weakened by long sealing, this was the best chance to eliminate it.
But neither Serian nor Mariel could even think of attacking.
They were crushed by the sheer intimidation of the name Balrog.
Had they not known what it was, they might have attacked without hesitation.
But they knew its legend—
and the fear ingrained deep within them froze their bodies.
“Grrr…!”
Upon spotting them, flames surged more fiercely within the Balrog’s eyes.
Seeing the elves and other races who had once sealed it, intense hostility erupted.
Fwoosh!
A long whip appeared in the Balrog’s hand.
Hellfire blazed along its length.
It was the Balrog’s weapon—the Flame Whip.
This weapon was what truly set it apart from other demonic beasts.
Most beasts relied purely on instinct—their bodies and innate abilities.
They had no need to study or use tools.
But the Balrog was different.
It thought, studied, and sought ways to grow stronger.
The result of that was the flaming whip in its hand.
It condensed its innate hellfire into the form of a weapon.
Its power was, naturally, beyond imagination.
Shwaaaak!
The Balrog lashed the flame whip toward Serian and the others.
The whip, filled with hellfire, tore through the air.
Snapping back to her senses, Serian hurriedly activated her skill.
“Seven Overlap Shield!”
It was her defensive technique—layering seven shields at once.
Fortunately, she deployed it just in time.
KRAAANG!
But the cost was devastating.
Of the seven layered shields—
six were shattered by a single strike.
Only the final shield barely held, saving their lives.
Even so, the impact slammed into Serian, Mariel, and Borin.
“Ugh!”
“Cough—!”
Mariel and Borin collapsed to their knees, coughing blood.
Even Serian’s face turned pale.
She immediately tried to shift from defense to offense.
Though she had been overwhelmed by the Balrog’s sudden appearance, she was still a Rank 5 Awakened.
Not strong enough to face it head-on—but far from weak.
If she could properly deploy her skills, she at least had the ability to extract herself.
The problem—
was that the Balrog gave her no such opportunity.
BOOM! BOOM!
It continuously lashed its whip.
Serian desperately maintained her Seven Overlap Shield.
“Get a hold of yourselves! At this rate, we’ll all die!”
She shouted at Mariel and Borin.
But they couldn’t recover so easily.
Protecting them forced Serian to stay in place—pushing her deeper into defense.
“Unbelievable… a monster like that exists?”
The old man stood frozen at the sight.
This was the first time Balrog had appeared.
No one in Neo Seoul—including him—had ever seen such a creature.
Naturally, they had no information about it.
But one didn’t need information to understand its strength.
Just looking at it was enough.
At that moment—
ROOOAR!
Frustrated that the shields wouldn’t break, the Balrog let out a furious roar.
A massive storm of flames erupted, sweeping across the area.
The old man, protected by his barrier, managed to avoid the flames—
but the three Shadow Unit members with him were not so fortunate.
“Aaagh!”
“S-save me—!”
“Gahhh!”
Swept up in the superheated firestorm, they were reduced to ashes in an instant.
The same happened to the others.
The scavengers and Awakened who had barely survived began to melt away.
Seeing that sight, the old man’s expression hardened.
“…My God.”
Under the extreme heat, all the surrounding sand melted, turning smooth like glass.
And this was with the Balrog not yet fully restored.
If it regained its full power—there was no telling how catastrophic it would become.
Still, one thing was certain.
“If that thing reaches Neo Seoul… it will be a disaster.”
The Balrog was a monster capable of ignoring Neo Seoul’s anti-demonic force.
Unlike lower-tier monsters, it wasn’t affected by the city’s suppressive power.
If it entered Neo Seoul, a catastrophe was inevitable.
It had to be stopped before that happened.
At that moment, the enraged Balrog unleashed its presence once more.
ROOOAAAR!
A powerful light burst from its entire body—
spreading outward until it reached Neo Seoul itself.
Crackle!
“Ghk!”
“What is this?!”
At the outskirts of Neo Seoul’s slums, Cha Jincheol and the mechanized Awakened groaned.
The machines exposed to the Balrog’s light sparked and shut down.
Cha Jincheol stared at his sparking arm, muttering,
“What the hell… what just happened?”
Around the fortress, a massive wall of fire had formed.
From where he stood, it was impossible to see what was happening inside.
“Was that… an EMP?”
As if proving his guess, the power supply across the slums abruptly cut off.
Lights went out—
and darkness fell.
***
“…It can’t be helped. I didn’t want to do this.”
The old man muttered.
He wasn’t a selfless person.
If he were, he could never have served in the execution squad.
But neither was he so cold-hearted that he could stand by while countless people died.
He had to buy time before the Balrog reached Neo Seoul.
Fortunately—
he had the ability to do so.
“Hah!”
With a shout, a massive barrier formed.
The barrier swallowed everything—the Balrog, himself, and the surrounding area.
He didn’t know how long it would hold.
But it should buy enough time for other Awakened from Neo Seoul to arrive.
Still—
the one he truly relied on was someone else.
‘Zeon…!’
Floating in midair atop drifting sand—
was Zeon.
His gaze was fixed on Damian.
There was no trace of humanity left in him now.
His body, fully fused with the Prism Armor, had grown massive and powerful enough to house the Balrog’s soul.
Flames of extreme heat poured from his eyes and mouth.
The human self had vanished—
replaced by the overwhelming soul of a demonic beast.
And so—
Damian had become the Balrog completely.
He had known this would happen.
From the moment he obtained the Spirit King’s Crown and the Prism Armor.
Even knowing he would eventually become the Balrog—
he chose to use them.
That was how deep his hatred toward the elves and other races ran.
Everything that made up the human Damian had disappeared—
except that hatred.
And now, fused with the Balrog, it had grown even stronger.
ROOOAAAR!
The Balrog unleashed its presence again, and another infernal firestorm erupted.
But this time, it was blocked by the old man’s barrier.
“Ghk!”
The immense impact distorted the old man’s face.
Forcing down the blood rising in his throat, he shouted to Zeon,
“We have to stop it! If it escapes the barrier, Neo Seoul will face catastrophe!”
His voice was desperate.
He was determined to keep the Balrog contained at all costs.
“…Hah.”
Zeon let out a quiet breath and nodded.
Whatever the circumstances—
Damian had chosen the path of becoming the Balrog.
Zeon understood his deep-rooted hatred toward the other races.
But even so—
he couldn’t allow the Balrog to rampage through Neo Seoul.
If it invaded, the place that would suffer the most—
was the slum he called home.
At the very least, he had to protect that.
At that moment—
an arrow shot toward the Balrog.
It was fired by Borin, using the bow of Nylia, purchased at auction.
As expected of a weapon once wielded by the elven hero Nylia—
its power was tremendous.
Thud!
It pierced the Balrog’s skin.
But such a shallow attack only provoked its fury.
Whoooom!
The Balrog swung its flaming whip.
Breaking through the air, it struck Borin.
BOOM!
She was sent flying without even a scream.
Fortunately, she had blocked the whip with Nylia’s bow, avoiding fatal injury—
but the impact left her body frozen.
The flaming whip came again.
“Borin!”
Serian tried to rush to her aid—
but she couldn’t match the speed of the whip.
Sensing her fate, Borin shut her eyes tightly.
‘Damn it…!’
BOOM!
At that moment—
the air in front of her exploded.
The flaming whip struck empty space just before reaching her.
Though the heat nearly scorched her face—
she had avoided direct impact.
“…What?”
Borin cautiously opened her eyes.
A man stood in front of her—
blocking the attack.
Though she could only see his back—
she recognized him instantly.
“…Zeon?”
Fwoosh—
The blazing whip was caught in Zeon’s right hand, clad in a superheated gauntlet.
“From here on… I’ll be your opponent, Damian—no… Balrog.”
ROOOAAAR!
Enraged, the Balrog attacked.
At that moment—
countless streams of sand shot toward it.