Chapter 193
The people of the village called this place the Steel Fortress.
It was their own stronghold, carved into a red sandstone mountain.
They had lived their entire lives within this closed environment, and because of that, their wariness of outsiders was extreme.
The elders whispered among themselves for quite some time, unable to reach a conclusion.
Occasionally, raised voices broke out—it seemed they were arguing with one another.
After a long debate, a conclusion was finally reached, and a man who appeared to be their representative stepped forward.
“Very well. It’s late, and you’ve done a service by saving the children, so we will allow all outsiders to enter. However, while inside, you must promise not to cause any trouble and to remain within the designated area. If you agree to these terms, you may enter. Do you accept our conditions?”
“Agreed.”
Zeon answered without a moment’s hesitation.
While the elders had been discussing, night had already fallen.
Finding another place to stay now would be troublesome. Even if it was uncomfortable, resting in the village was far better.
More than anything, this village itself had piqued Zeon’s curiosity.
Villages or colonies of this kind weren’t unheard of—but he had never seen one operated in such an isolated manner.
He wondered what had made them so closed off.
The elder gave an order to one of the awakened.
“Lower the basket.”
From the village entrance, a large basket connected to a pulley system descended.
Without it, one couldn’t even approach the entrance.
Jacob and Lucy climbed in first and said,
“Get in.”
The basket was large enough to hold Zeon’s entire group comfortably.
Creeeak!
Once everyone was inside, the basket was pulled upward.
The village entrance was about seventy meters above the ground.
The strong wind made their height unmistakable.
Thud!
At last, the pulley stopped, and they reached the entrance.
From below, it hadn’t been visible—but inside the entrance, about a dozen awakened individuals stood ready with weapons, prepared to attack at any moment.
Like Jacob, they wore armor made from monster hide. Behind them, the villagers wore similar clothing.
Just from their attire, one could guess the standard of living within the fortress.
‘Medieval… or early modern level, perhaps?’
Neo Seoul, with its advanced civilization, was the anomaly—this was the norm.
Most colonies and villages Zeon had visited were at about this level.
At that moment, the elder who had spoken earlier approached.
He was an old man with long hair reaching his shoulders and a beard extending to his chest.
His sharp eyes and thin lips gave him a stubborn, severe appearance.
“My name is Gerwen. I am the First Elder of the Steel Fortress. All matters here are decided through the council of elders. Since you have entered our village, you must follow our decisions. If you do not obey, you will be expelled immediately. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Then, trusting that you won’t cause trouble, we will provide you with lodging.”
Gerwen gestured to one of the awakened standing nearby, who stepped forward toward Zeon’s group.
“Follow me.”
“No, step back. I will guide them.”
At that moment, another elder stepped forward.
“You, Elder?”
“Didn’t they save Jacob and Lucy? At the very least, we should show them that courtesy.”
“…Understood.”
The awakened nodded and stepped aside.
The elder introduced himself to Zeon.
“My name is Holtran. I am the Second Elder of this fortress. I will take you to your quarters.”
“Thank you.”
Holtran immediately led Zeon’s group inside.
Gerwen, the First Elder, watched him with a displeased look.
‘Seems there’s tension between the two elders.’
Zeon noticed the uneasy atmosphere between them but chose to ignore it.
There was no colony without internal conflict.
Even in Neo Seoul, the mayor, Jin Geumho, and the four district leaders kept each other in check.
Because of that, the power in Neo Seoul remained balanced.
Zeon figured the Steel Fortress was no different.
He could feel the villagers’ intense gazes.
Their eyes, filled with both suspicion and curiosity, relentlessly followed Zeon’s group.
“Outsiders?”
“Has it been twenty years since we last saw any?”
“Look at their clothes. That’s not monster hide.”
“Where are they from?”
“Gerwen actually let outsiders in?”
“Well, after sending people to gather Sun Flowers and causing that disaster, he didn’t have much choice.”
Though they spoke quietly, their words were perfectly clear to Zeon’s group, who were all awakened.
‘So Elder Holtran supported letting us in, while First Elder Gerwen opposed it.’
In an instant, Zeon grasped how the Steel Fortress operated.
Understanding relationships like these was basic survival.
The Steel Fortress itself was a vast underground cavern.
The people had carved it out of the sandstone mountain by hand.
Without proper equipment, they had accomplished this enormous feat purely through human will and strength.
Inside the cavern were hundreds of houses.
‘If four people live in each… that’s at least two thousand residents.’
Compared to Neo Seoul, it was nothing.
Even a single slum building there housed that many people.
But for two thousand people to survive in the desert until now—that was truly remarkable.
‘But how do they handle water? A population this size would need a reliable water source.’
At that moment, Holtran’s voice broke Zeon’s train of thought.
“This is the house.”
The house Holtran led them to was located on the outskirts of the village.
It was far from the main population, and with watch posts scattered around, it seemed difficult to avoid scrutiny.
Zeon looked around and replied,
“It’s modest, but nice.”
“It used to belong to someone else.”
“And the owner?”
“His name was Matthew. He went out with Jacob and Lucy to gather Sun Flowers.”
“…He’s dead, then.”
“He was a good man. I can only hope he is reborn somewhere better in the next life.”
“Isn’t this place good enough as it is?”
“The Steel Fortress… is an isolated island. You must be tired, so get some rest. The food will be brought by the children.”
With those words, Holtran left the house.
Zeon watched his retreating figure for a moment before entering.
The inside of the house was clean.
There were two rooms, enough for four people to sleep comfortably.
Eloi sat down in a chair and muttered,
“I never thought they’d carve out a village inside a mountain. Most monsters wouldn’t even be able to get close.”
“With the entrance about seventy meters up, unless it’s a flying-type monster, there’s probably no way in,”
Levin agreed.
Brielle looked around with curiosity and said,
“But how do these people get water? No matter how I look at it, I don’t see any source.”
“Yeah, that’s strange.”
“Maybe they draw it from underground?”
“How?”
“Well… that’s…”
Watching Brielle and Levin seriously debate such things, Eloi let out a small laugh.
“Still kids, huh? Full of energy. What do you think?”
“About what?”
“This village. Doesn’t it feel like there are factions? The elders seem divided.”
Eloi was quite perceptive.
Just from the atmosphere, she had already grasped the situation.
Zeon nodded.
“It seems the First Elder, Gerwen, and the Second Elder, Holtran, have differing opinions.”
“No matter where you go, it’s always factional disputes.”
“That’s just human nature. Even two people together will start forming a hierarchy.”
“How pathetic. They might not even survive unless they unite, and this is what they’re doing…”
“Indeed.”
Zeon agreed.
When facing danger, humans would unite—but once things became even slightly stable, they would start fighting over power.
Zeon smiled faintly.
“We’re leaving tomorrow anyway. Don’t overthink it—just rest well.”
“Alright.”
Eloi nodded.
You had to rest when you could.
No matter how skilled she was as an awakened, accumulated fatigue would dull her performance.
Eloi went into a room to get some sleep.
Brielle and Levin, who had been debating, also went in to rest, leaving Zeon alone in the living room.
As Zeon looked around, his eyes suddenly gleamed.
On a shelf, he noticed a plant with dried petals attached.
Jacob and Lucy had said they went out to gather Sun Flowers.
“Then… is this a Sun Flower?”
Zeon picked up the plant.
After examining it for a moment, he frowned slightly.
“This is a demon grass.”
To be sure, he chewed one of the dried petals.
A tingling sensation spread across his tongue, and his mind instantly began to blur.
Zeon quickly spat it out.
Even so, his tongue went numb, and his consciousness wavered.
He used mana to expel the substance that had entered his body. Only then did his mind clear again.
“It’s definitely demon grass.”
Zeon’s expression hardened.
Demon grass, as the name implied, grew from the corpses of monsters.
Absorbing their poison and blood, it temporarily amplified human abilities—but like a drug, it induced hallucinations and numbed reason.
Worst of all, it was highly addictive. Once someone fell into it, they could never escape.
Its side effects were so severe that anyone who knew even a little about it would never consume it.
Yet here, it seemed to be used under the name “Sun Flower.”
“Using children to gather demon grass… this place isn’t right either.”
People who sent even children on such dangerous tasks couldn’t be decent.
“Tch.”
Just as Zeon clicked his tongue—
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
When Zeon opened it, a familiar face appeared.
It was Jacob.
He was holding a tray of food.
“Elder Holtran told me to bring you this.”
“Want to come in?”
“Yes.”
Jacob entered, carrying the tray.
His expression darkened as he looked around the house.
He was reminded of Matthew, the original owner.
Matthew had been the first victim of the Sandworm.
He had been devoured in an instant, without even a chance to react.
If there was any consolation, it was that he likely died without feeling pain.
But that didn’t erase the guilt.
After all, guilt was the burden borne by those who survived.
Jacob suppressed his emotions and placed the food on the table.
“This is dinner. I wish I could offer something better, but this is all we have in the fortress.”
The dish was made from the meat of some unknown monster.
The smell alone was enough to make one frown.
“Things must not be going well here.”
“If it’s uncomfortable to answer, you don’t have to. It’s just my guess.”
“It’s not… that bad. At least, we can still get by.”
“I see.”
“Yes. And… thank you for saving us. I wanted to say that.”
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Thank you. And… be careful.”
Zeon looked at Jacob for a moment, then nodded.
“Alright.”