Chapter 260
When Levin returned home, he shut himself up in his room and did nothing but sleep for several days.
Brielle even said he looked like he was hibernating for the winter. Still, she never tried to drag Levin out or force her way into his room.
Because she could roughly guess what he was feeling.
“He poured all his energy into getting revenge, so it’ll probably take a long time to recharge. Well, once he’s fully recovered, he’ll come out on his own.”
Zeon smiled.
It was because Brielle had spoken with surprising maturity.
Just as Levin had grown, Brielle had grown as well.
She no longer acted as childish as before, and she had learned how to think from other people’s perspectives.
It was tremendous progress.
The one who benefited most from it was Zeon.
Unlike before, he no longer had to take care of every little thing personally, so his daily life had become much more relaxed.
“I’m heading out for a bit.”
“Okay! See you later.”
Leaving Brielle and Levin behind, Zeon stepped out of the house.
The place he headed to was the Goblin Market.
No matter when he visited, the Goblin Market was always lively.
Zeon sat absentmindedly on one side of the street, watching the people passing by.
He had been spacing out for quite a while when someone approached him.
“Looks like you’ve got it easy. What are you staring at?”
Zeon looked up at the person who had come over beside him.
“Ah!”
“Ah?”
“Ah, it’s been a while.”
“What do you mean, ‘been a while’? We saw each other not long ago.”
“That just means I’m happy to see you.”
“If you’re bad at talking, then don’t talk…”
The woman sitting beside Zeon with her nose wrinkled was Yoo Sehui, the owner of the Goblin Market.
Behind her stood the Black Lion, who always accompanied her.
After exchanging greetings with him through eye contact, Zeon turned back to Yoo Sehui.
“Aren’t you busy?”
“I am!”
“Then why…”
“That doesn’t mean I can just ignore the strongest man in the slums.”
“The strongest? Who?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“You don’t need to act humble. Everyone living here acknowledges it. Even the rulers of Neo Seoul’s districts probably think so. Kim Kyungsoo let Levin go peacefully even after he caused such chaos because he finds you burdensome.”
“Ugh!”
At her words praising him so highly, Zeon shuddered as if horrified.
Yoo Sehui looked at him with an amused expression.
Whether Zeon realized it or not, he was someone universally acknowledged as powerful. Otherwise, why would both Johan and Dongdaemun, who had invaded Sinchon with such terrifying momentum, withdraw?
Zeon was a being feared even by fanatics willing to throw away their own lives without hesitation.
And yet Zeon himself seemed completely unconcerned about that fact.
‘If I had that kind of power, I would’ve already taken control of the entire slum district.’
If that had happened, the whole slum would probably have been drowned in blood.
Yoo Sehui was grateful that Zeon had such a moderate personality.
If a superhuman like Zeon had also been ambitious, all of Neo Seoul would have descended into chaos.
That was why she liked him.
Because someone with power was maintaining the balance, she could devote herself to running the Goblin Market.
‘So he’s the guardian of balance or something?’
After briefly entertaining the ridiculous thought, she brushed off her knees and stood up.
Unlike Zeon, she had plenty to do. She wasn’t free enough to sit around wasting time like this forever.
It was time for her to get back to work.
Just as she was about to leave—
“Fuck! Catch that bastard!”
“Hurry up and chase him!”
A huge commotion suddenly broke out on one side of the Goblin Market.
It looked like some kind of chase was happening, with merchants and guards running around in chaos.
“What now?”
Yoo Sehui looked toward the disturbance with an irritated expression.
It was a sight she saw several times a day while running the Goblin Market.
Wherever money and people gathered, trouble was bound to happen, but it still irritated her every single time.
“I swear, troublemakers never disappear.”
“Should I handle it?”
“No need! You don’t use a sword meant for hunting demonic beasts to kill chickens. The guards can handle it themselves.”
Yoo Sehui answered bluntly at the Black Lion’s suggestion.
The Black Lion was the Goblin Market’s greatest military force. They couldn’t deploy someone like him just to catch petty thieves.
The Goblin Market guards were fairly competent as well.
Most Awakened were dealt with before things escalated.
“Waaaah!”
“Fuck! Over here!”
“He went that way!”
But this time, their opponent was no ordinary target.
The person was so nimble that the guards couldn’t keep up with their movements at all.
Crash!
“Fuck!”
“Why’s he so damn fast?”
The guards were so flustered that some even tripped over their own feet.
Zeon narrowed his eyes slightly.
Because the clothes of the person running through the Goblin Market as if it were their own home looked strangely familiar.
“No way…”
“What? Someone you know?”
Yoo Sehui’s eyes gleamed at Zeon’s reaction.
“Just a moment.”
“You really know them?”
“I need to confirm first.”
Zeon walked toward the direction of the fleeing figure, avoiding the guards.
“Huh? Zeon-nim!”
At that moment, the fugitive spotted Zeon and ran straight toward him.
It was a man with ordinary clothes and an ordinary face.
The kind of man you’d probably pass dozens of times in a single hour while walking through the market.
His face was filled with relief upon seeing Zeon.
“Huff, huff! Please save me.”
He quickly hid behind Zeon.
The guards who noticed Zeon stopped in their tracks, unable to approach recklessly.
Their faces clearly showed confusion.
“Do you happen to know this person, Zeon-nim?”
“Yes. But what happened?”
“They forged an entry pass and snuck in.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Zeon realize what had happened.
He asked the man hiding behind him,
“What happened?”
“W-Well, I was trying to meet you, Zeon-nim.”
“Me?”
“Yes!”
“Let’s move somewhere quiet. Is that alright?”
Zeon looked at Yoo Sehui.
Without saying a word, Yoo Sehui nodded.
Normally, no one who illegally entered the Goblin Market would be forgiven, but if the person was Zeon’s guest, that changed things.
After giving Yoo Sehui a grateful glance, Zeon left the market together with the man.
Once he confirmed there was no one around, Zeon spoke.
“What happened, Aslan-nim?”
The man who had come looking for Zeon was named Aslan.
He was a trusted subordinate of Urtian, the master of the Steel Fortress.
Back when Urtian led the Scavengers, Aslan’s role had been to approach targets first and gather information.
“What brings you here, Aslan-nim? Surely you’re not planning to loot Neo Seoul…”
“Goodness, no! How could that be? The Steel Fortress can’t even be compared to Neo Seoul.”
Aslan hurriedly waved both hands.
At that moment, another figure appeared behind him.
It was a woman with unusually dark skin, her robe’s hood pulled low over her face.
Smack!
The woman smacked the back of Aslan’s head irritably as she spoke.
“I told you to stay quiet, but you just had to cause trouble again?”
“Argh! I told you it wasn’t my fault.”
“What were you planning to do if we hadn’t been able to meet Zeon-nim?”
“But we did meet him in the end.”
“Idiot! I can’t take my eyes off you for even a second.”
The woman sighing deeply was Duduyan, the Dark Elf who handled scouting missions together with Aslan.
Duduyan bowed politely to Zeon.
“We apologize for troubling you over something like this, Zeon-nim.”
“So Duduyan-nim came too. Did something happen at the Steel Fortress?”
“There’s no problem with the Steel Fortress.”
“Then why?”
“Well…”
Duduyan paused for a moment and carefully checked whether anyone was nearby.
After confirming they were alone, she continued cautiously.
“After you left, some people came looking for the Steel Fortress.”
“Really?”
“But they’re in quite a difficult situation.”
Zeon frowned slightly, unable to understand.
He couldn’t see what people in trouble had to do with him.
“They’re looking for you, Zeon-nim. They said you’re the only person who can save them.”
“So the two of you came all the way here just to deliver that message?”
“Yes.”
“Who exactly are they?”
“They… came riding a giant turtle.”
“A giant turtle?”
“Yes. A turtle with an enormous village built inside its shell.”
At Duduyan’s words, Zeon immediately realized who was looking for him.
The tribe that wandered the desert atop the colossal turtle Arkelon.
“The Motte Tribe.”
Seo Taeran’s room was never dark, even late into the night.
People only knew Seo Taeran as Jin Geumho’s secretary, but her actual responsibilities went far beyond that.
In Jin Geumho’s stead, she oversaw and managed nearly all affairs of City Hall.
Her authority was so great that she could handle most matters without even reporting them to Jin Geumho.
After reviewing reports for a long time, Seo Taeran removed her glasses and let out a sigh.
“Hoo…”
Jin Geumho never read reports himself.
Reading the countless reports sent in by each organization was Seo Taeran’s responsibility.
She would read through them all, summarize the important points, and report them concisely to Jin Geumho.
Naturally, that required an enormous amount of time.
So much so that Seo Taeran practically had no private life at all.
Even so, she had never once thought it exhausting or tiresome.
Because it was work done for Jin Geumho himself.
Just as Seo Taeran was rubbing between her brows and about to put her glasses back on—
“Secretary Seo!”
Someone knocked on her door.
If it had been anyone else, she never would have allowed them into her room at this hour. But the owner of that voice was an extremely cautious individual who never visited her carelessly.
He only came when there was a truly valid reason.
Seo Taeran set down her glasses and spoke.
“Come in.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The owner of the voice quietly opened the door and entered.
It was a man dressed in a black suit.
His pomade-styled hair was neatly slicked back, and he stood around 170 centimeters tall.
His build was small, and his face was ordinary.
But his eyes were anything but ordinary.
They were so narrow that his pupils were barely visible.
The kind of slit eyes people often talked about—yet when they occasionally flashed, they were as sharp as blades.
Seo Taeran rose from her seat to greet him.
“Welcome, Captain Ho.”
“My apologies. You’re already busy enough, yet I’ve come to trouble you.”
“Not at all. I was just taking a short break.”
“That’s good to hear. I have something urgent to report, so I took the liberty of coming personally.”
“What is it?”
Seo Taeran tensed slightly.
The man who had come personally to report something at such a late hour was Ho Cheongyeon, captain of the Shadow Unit, City Hall’s intelligence organization.
There was nowhere in Neo Seoul—or even the slums—that his influence did not reach.
Normally, he would have one of his subordinates deliver reports. He was not someone who visited in person.
The very fact that he had come himself at this hour proved the matter was no ordinary issue.
Ho Cheongyeon spoke.
“Number Five has made contact with outsiders.”
“Number Five?”
City Hall assigned separate numbers according to a person’s danger level.
Naturally, the rulers of each district occupied the lower numbers.
Number Five was someone who had only recently joined that ranking.
“You mean Zeon has made contact with outsiders?”