Chapter 234
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m sorry.”
Johan flew into a rage, and Paladin Commander Dayson lowered his head.
It had been only a few hours since they obtained information that Eaton was hiding in a tavern. They had urgently dispatched paladins to capture him before he could escape.
Although Eaton was known as the ruler of Sinchon, his abilities weren’t particularly impressive.
At best, all he could do was use telekinesis to fling iron pellets.
That might be a threat to low-level Awakened or ordinary people, but it posed no danger to heavily armored paladins. That was why they had been confident the paladins would capture Eaton.
However, the result went completely against the commander’s expectations.
Eaton vanished like a ghost, and the dispatched paladins ended up like dogs that had chased a chicken only to lose it. They searched the entire area but couldn’t find a single trace of him.
Because of that, Johan’s anger had reached its peak.
It should have been a fight that ended the moment Eaton was caught. Yet they had lost their prey right in front of them—there was no way he wouldn’t be furious.
“Find Eaton no matter what and bring him before me.”
“I’ll capture him myself this time.”
“If you fail twice, you’ll have to step down from your position.”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Leave.”
“Yes, sir!”
Dayson bowed and left.
Left alone, Johan’s eyes gleamed ominously.
“Have I let him run loose for too long? Tch!”
Anything left stagnant in one place for too long is bound to rot.
The same was true of Dayson.
He had originally been a back-alley thug. After meeting Johan, he repented. Shortly after, he Awakened, and Johan appointed him as the Paladin Commander.
Even after becoming commander, he hadn’t been able to shake off his thug habits and grew lazy. That was why he had only sent his subordinates to capture Eaton this time.
Johan tolerated him because of his strong loyalty, but if he continued to display incompetence like this, he would have no choice but to remove him.
There were plenty of people who could replace Dayson.
In Dongdaemun, only Johan mattered.
Everyone else was merely a component meant to protect him.
“Joshua!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Johan’s call, Joshua—who had been waiting outside—entered.
“What about Zeon?”
“He’s being held in an NSSC prison.”
“Any signs of escape?”
“None at all.”
“Are you sure?”
“Based on everything we’ve confirmed so far, yes.”
“I see. Well, he doesn’t really have a choice. NSSC prisons completely block the flow of mana.”
A faint, sinister smile formed on Johan’s lips.
The reason he had led the paladins to seize Sinchon in the first place was because Zeon was absent.
Zeon had been presumed dead during a dungeon raid, and Johan didn’t miss the opportunity—he launched a surprise attack and took control of half of Sinchon.
Taking over the remaining half was only a matter of time, so he had been able to relax.
But then he suddenly received information that Zeon had returned to the mana stone mine, and from that moment on, he grew anxious.
If Zeon returned, there was a high chance everything would collapse into nothing.
No matter what, he had to prevent Zeon from entering Neo Seoul.
That was why he used the NSSC.
As it happened, top-grade mana stones had just been discovered in the mine.
It wasn’t difficult to set the NSSC in motion.
“What are they planning to do with Zeon?”
“It doesn’t seem to have been decided yet.”
“A whole team was wiped out, and they’re still doing nothing? The head of the NSSC isn’t that soft.”
“It seems they’ve been instructed to observe for now.”
“From above? Who?”
“We haven’t been able to find that out yet.”
“Seems there’s someone clever pulling the strings behind the scenes.”
Johan frowned.
It would’ve been best if the NSSC simply eliminated Zeon, but things in this world rarely went exactly as he wanted.
Still, it was too early to be disappointed.
“Provoke the NSSC little by little. Someone there is bound to resent Zeon.”
“Understood.”
“It’s a shame Jaekyung isn’t here. She would’ve been useful at a time like this.”
If Kim Jaekyung were still alive, there would’ve been no need to go through all this trouble. With her ability to brainwash even strong Awakened in an instant, she could have manipulated NSSC agents into attacking Zeon.
But she was no longer in this world.
The dead do not return. He would have to make the best of what he still had.
Johan suddenly looked out the window.
Beyond the massive wall, the city hall building could be seen.
“After Sinchon, we’ll move into Neo Seoul. There, we’ll spread the will of God.”
“Ugh…”
Eaton groaned as he regained consciousness.
The first things he saw were a boy who still looked young and a girl wearing a pointed hat pulled low over her head.
“Who… are you?”
“Oh, you’re awake?”
“You were with Zeon… I think…”
“You remember. My name is Levin.”
The boy was Levin.
The girl beside him was Brielle.
Eaton shook his head and pushed himself up.
“What happened? I remember being sucked into the wall…”
After that, his memory cut off as he lost consciousness.
Levin handed him a cup of water.
“Drink.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m the one who saved you.”
“How?”
“With my ability.”
“What kind of…?”
“You’ve already experienced it. That’s my ability.”
“That wasn’t a dream?”
Eaton looked at him in disbelief.
For a brief moment, he had definitely turned into something like a ghost.
It was his first time experiencing something so intense.
The dizzying sensation of floating and the feeling of being sucked straight into the wall weren’t something he could easily forget.
“Crazy bastard!”
“Huh?”
“You’re actually something else. Come work under me. You’ll be the number two in Sinchon. What do you say? Tempting, isn’t it?”
Smack!
At that moment, Brielle struck the back of Eaton’s head.
The impact rattled his brain so badly that he couldn’t say anything for a moment. When he finally came to his senses, anger flared across his face.
“Are you fucking insane, bitch?”
“You’re the insane one.”
“What?”
“Zeon is alive and watching, and you’re trying to recruit Levin? Are you out of your mind?”
“W-What did you just say? Zeon is alive?”
“Yeah! Idiot.”
“You’re serious? Then why hasn’t he shown himself?”
“Because he’s locked up.”
“What?”
“Are you deaf? He’s in an NSSC prison right now.”
“Fuck!”
Eaton cursed and collapsed to the ground.
His only hope had been Zeon.
He had endured everything, believing that if Zeon returned, this hellish situation could be overturned.
Once Zeon came back and cleaned things up, he thought he could rule Sinchon again.
But if Zeon was imprisoned by the NSSC, everything would fall apart.
“It’s over. Fuck! Those fanatics are going to take everything.”
Eaton despaired.
Watching him, Brielle scoffed.
“Pathetic.”
“What? You little brat—why have you been talking down to me this whole time? With Zeon gone, you think you’ll be safe acting like that?”
“And what if I’m not?”
“Want to get beaten to death?”
“You still haven’t come to your senses, old man.”
“You fucking—”
In the end, his anger exploded, and Eaton tried to strike Brielle.
But Levin was far faster.
Grabbing Eaton’s wrist, Levin unleashed Purple Lightning.
Crackle!
“Aaaargh!”
Electric current surged through Eaton’s entire body, making him scream in agony.
He tried to resist with telekinesis, but it was useless.
Levin, now a B-rank Awakened, was far too powerful for him to handle.
Only after Eaton lost consciousness did Levin release his grip.
Brielle looked down at the collapsed Eaton with a contemptuous expression before waking him.
“Hey, old man! Get up.”
“Ugh…”
“Wake up. We don’t have time for you to be lying around like this.”
“Grr… damn it.”
Only then did Eaton fully regain his senses.
“We don’t have time, so I’ll get straight to the point. How many subordinates do you still have?”
“Why does that matter?”
“I said we don’t have time. How many?”
“Fuck… About thirty direct subordinates.”
“That’s pathetic.”
“That’s just direct ones. If I scrape together everyone who’s on my side, it’ll be over a hundred.”
“Geez. This is why you should’ve managed things properly. Running around with prostitutes all the time—no wonder you couldn’t keep your men in line.”
“That’s…”
Eaton could only open and close his mouth like a fish.
He had no excuse.
After being utterly overwhelmed by Levin, he didn’t even dare think about using violence against Brielle again.
Levin stepped in to organize the situation.
“So you can mobilize about a hundred people?”
“That’s right.”
“Good. Starting now, move them secretly into Dongdaemun.”
“Why Dongdaemun?”
“We need to find the stolen top-grade mana stone. Once we do, Zeon hyung will be released.”
“Is that true?”
“So start gathering all information about Dongdaemun—Awakened movements, vehicle traffic, financial flows. If you dig enough, something will turn up.”
“…Got it. I’ll do it.”
Eaton had no other choice anyway.
If he could just find the top-grade mana stone and get Zeon released, he could turn everything around.
Levin spoke.
“Then let’s get moving. We don’t have much time.”
“Yeah!”
As he answered, cold sweat formed on Eaton’s back.
He had thought Zeon was just taking care of some homeless orphans, but Levin was a monster beyond his comprehension.
Levin could not only turn himself into a ghost but others as well—and on top of that, he wielded lightning magic.
Even if there were ten Eatons, they wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
The fact that he had just tried to recruit someone like that under him made his face burn with embarrassment.
Eaton quickly left the place as if fleeing.
After he disappeared, Levin looked at Brielle.
“Do you think he’ll actually find the mana stone?”
“It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t. As long as he stirs up Dongdaemun, it’ll divide their attention.”
There was no way Johan wouldn’t notice what was happening in Dongdaemun.
If Eaton’s subordinates started poking around, they would definitely be caught on Johan’s radar.
Once their attention was split, there would be an opening—and Brielle’s plan was to exploit that gap to find the top-grade mana stone.
If the top-grade mana stone was discovered in Dongdaemun, the game would be over.
Zeon wouldn’t even need to explain himself.
Everything would be resolved simply.
Brielle spoke.
“Let’s go to the Goblin Market. That unni must’ve gathered some useful information.”
“Okay!”
Levin nodded.
Ever since Zeon had been captured by the NSSC, Brielle had been leading everything.
She actively made plans and moved decisively.
Levin didn’t dislike that change in her.
“Let’s go, brain. I’ll handle the action.”