Chapter 153

“Zeon has returned.”

At his subordinate’s report, Johan raised his head.

The small eyes visible beyond his glasses held no emotion whatsoever.

“When?”

“We’ve confirmed he arrived two hours ago.”

“So he’s back after fifteen days?”

“Yes.”

“He caused an incident like that and then stayed away for half a month?”

Johan frowned.

The faction that suffered the greatest damage from the White Bear Caravan incident was Dongdaemun.

Brixton, Kim Jaekyung, and even the Berserkers sent along with them—all were killed.

Not a single one survived. They were completely wiped out.

The losses were enormous.

The moment he heard the report, Johan had even let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

It was hard to believe, hard to accept.

At first, he even thought his subordinate was lying. But the report was true.

All the men he trusted had lost their lives. In an instant, a third of Dongdaemun’s forces had vanished.

If there was any consolation, it was that Dongdaemun wasn’t the only one—most factions that had sent troops to the fortress suffered near-total annihilation.

The problem was Zeon.

Through the few survivors, word spread that Zeon had killed Balrog.

And also of his true awakened ability.

‘A sand sorcerer…’

He had never even imagined such an ability could exist.

In a world where most land had turned into sand, the usefulness of a sand sorcerer was limitless.

Even a C-rank sand sorcerer would be highly valued—yet Zeon’s estimated rank was A.

And that was the minimum estimate.

Given that he had defeated Balrog, he was almost certainly S-rank.

The emergence of an S-rank sand sorcerer had put every power-holder in Neo Seoul on high alert.

A hidden struggle to recruit Zeon had already begun.

It simply hadn’t surfaced because Zeon had been absent for fifteen days for unknown reasons.

Now that he had returned, each district would undoubtedly begin making their moves.

“This is going to be troublesome.”

The problem was that Dongdaemun couldn’t take part in the competition for Zeon.

They were already enemies. Any attempt to recruit him would be pointless.

It would only make them look ridiculous.

But they couldn’t just leave him alone either.

If they did, Dongdaemun would inevitably be devoured—even if Zeon himself didn’t intend it, the situation would move in that direction.

They had to eliminate him before that happened.

“Do I have to handle this myself?”

Johan sank deeper into thought.

—

Zeon removed his robe and hung it on the wall.

His home, which he hadn’t seen in a while, was unchanged.

Partly because Brielle and Levin had maintained it well—but more importantly, it was perfectly protected by unseen watchers.

While Zeon had been away, many had come hoping to recruit him.

Some had even tried to break in by force.

But every attempt had failed.

No one could enter without Zeon’s permission.

As soon as he entered, Brielle handed him a bottle filled with red liquid.

“You worked hard. Drink this and get some rest.”

“What is it?”

“I made it. It’s great for recovering fatigue.”

Zeon eyed the red liquid suspiciously. It looked like blood, which made him uneasy.

“Just drink it! It’s really fine.”

“Alright.”

Unable to resist her insistence, he finally drank it.

The moment he did, Zeon was startled.

Vitality surged through his entire body.

Brielle looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yeah!”

“Hehe! It worked!”

“You made this?”

“Yeah! I was trying to make a mana recovery potion, but this came out instead. It restores vitality instead of mana.”

“That’s insane. It’s not even an item, yet it has this effect.”

“Right?!”

At Zeon’s praise, Brielle jumped up and down in excitement.

‘Her talent is blooming.’

When he first saved her, she had been nothing more than a drug addict.

Now, there was hardly any trace of that in her.

She still hadn’t completely overcome the aftereffects, and there were many days when her eyes lost focus—but even so, she was developing her talent.

‘So this is what a High Elf is like?’

If she continued to grow like this, even Zeon couldn’t predict how far she would go.

Brielle was still young, and if nothing happened, she would live a very long life, true to a High Elf.

There was no telling what kind of items she might create in the future.

Her potential was limitless.

“How many of these can you make?”

“I’ve completed the recipe. As long as I have the materials, I can make as many as I want.”

“Are the materials easy to get?”

“Umm…”

“So they’re not.”

“They’re obtainable, but expensive.”

“That’s fine. At least they’re not impossible to get.”

Zeon smirked.

Money wasn’t a problem.

His subspace was filled with valuables.

If anything, this vitality potion was more useful to him.

“I’ll inform Yoo Sehui, so feel free to take whatever materials you need from the Goblin Market.”

“Actually… I was thinking… what if I go into business with her?”

“A partnership?”

“I think it would be more profitable…”

“Do as you like.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

With Zeon’s permission, Brielle smiled brightly.

—

After experiencing the Balrog summoning incident, she had realized many things.

One human’s obsession and resentment had summoned a calamity-level monster like Balrog.

And the target of that hatred had been people like her—other races.

At first, she couldn’t understand such blind resentment and rage.

But when she put herself in their place, she realized she might have felt the same.

To humans, other races were invaders who had ruined this world.

If they hadn’t crossed over so recklessly just to survive, Earth might never have become so devastated.

Many humans wouldn’t have died.

After incurring the resentment of so many people, it wasn’t strange at all that someone would plan such a revenge.

‘I can’t undo what my race has done… but I still want to do something for the people in the slums.’

She wanted to use the profits from the vitality potions for the people here.

That was why she insisted on partnering with Yoo Sehui.

“I’m heading to the Goblin Market. You get some rest, Zeon.”

“Alright.”

As Brielle ran outside, Zeon was left alone and sat down on the sofa.

“Phew…”

Sinking deeply into it, a sense of relief washed over him.

He gazed out the window.

Beyond the red neon lights, he could see the towering wall and the city hall.

After staring at it for a long while, he eventually fell asleep.

—

He opened his eyes the next morning.

Even though he had slept on the sofa, he didn’t feel tired at all.

It was likely thanks to the vitality potion he had taken the day before.

“She really made something incredible.”

It was an item far more useful for lower-ranked Awakened than for someone like him.

If a single bottle could completely remove fatigue, there would be no reason not to buy it.

It would likely become quite popular once released on the market.

“More importantly… Jin Geumho is looking for me.”

Zeon frowned slightly.

Jin Geumho was the ruler of Neo Seoul.

A monster who had lived through the same era as Deioden.

His estimated age alone exceeded 150 years.

Excluding other races, no human had survived that long.

At least, none that Zeon knew of.

An Awakened who had outlived Deioden—and perhaps was just as strong.

And that very man was summoning Zeon.

It wasn’t that he was afraid.

Though he hadn’t lived as long as Jin Geumho, Zeon had survived through countless deadly trials.

He was confident he wouldn’t fall behind—even against him.

At least, in the desert.

But Neo Seoul was different.

It was protected by countless magic circles and barriers that prevented sand from entering.

Without sand, Zeon’s combat power would inevitably be reduced by half.

Knowing that, Jin Geumho had clearly summoned him into Neo Seoul on purpose.

“I’ll have to prepare myself.”

If he wasn’t careful, he could lose his life—or end up shackled.

“There’s no time to rest. Hah…”

Just as Zeon let out a sigh—

“Oh, hyung! You’re back.”

The door opened, and Levin returned.

“Did you pull an all-nighter?”

“Yes!”

Levin nodded without hesitation.

“You’ve been working hard. Any results?”

“Not yet.”

Levin shook his head.

He was still tracking the serial killer.

But since that day, the killer had completely vanished.

He had perfectly concealed his traces.

And there had been no more murders.

He was likely hiding somewhere, treating his injuries.

The problem was that no one knew where.

“When he heals and comes out, he’ll definitely start killing again…”

Levin sighed.

He had already lost his family, so there was nothing he could do about that—but he wanted to prevent any more victims.

“Well, next time I meet him, I won’t let him escape.”

Seeing Levin’s burning determination, Zeon smiled.

Levin had grown a lot.

While tracking the killer, he had naturally met many people—and all of them had become part of his network.

Based on that, he had built his own independent intelligence network.

It couldn’t compare to something like Argos’s Eye, but it was still impressive.

As Zeon put on his robe, he said—

“I’m going to get something to eat. What about you?”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Levin followed him outside.

Perhaps because it was still early, the streets were quiet.

The two headed toward the street where old man Clexi ran his stall.

Slurp—

There was already a customer at the stall.

A large man with short hair.

With his head lowered, he was eating the food Clexi had prepared.

Even from the back alone, Zeon recognized him instantly.

Sitting beside him, Zeon spoke—

“Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“You’re here.”

The man turned his head.

A large scar across his right cheek and golden eyes made a strong impression.

His name was Lee Jiryung.

The leader of the Pegasus Strike Team—and the older brother of the man Zeon had killed.

“The food here is good. Didn’t expect a place like this in the slums.”

“The old man’s cooking is excellent. We’ll have the same.”

Zeon placed an order with Clexi.

“Got it. Ahem!”

Clexi cleared his throat and began cooking.

Zeon looked at Lee Jiryung.

“You didn’t come here just to eat slum food. You came to see me, didn’t you?”

“You really made quite a spectacle.”

“You mean the Balrog?”

“Yeah. Revealing your awakened ability like that—it was a foolish choice.”

“Is that so?”

“Now those who covet your power will swarm you like starving beasts. Can you handle it?”

“I would’ve had to reveal it eventually. I’ll deal with it.”

“You sound confident.”

“So you came to give me advice?”

“Advice? No. I came to make a proposal.”

“A proposal…?”

“Yeah. A proposal. Let’s raid a dungeon together.”