Chapter 268
Arkelon blinked its enormous eyes before slowly stretching its head toward Zeon.
“Arkelon!”
Zeon reached out and stroked Arkelon’s head.
At his touch, Arkelon closed its eyes and quietly accepted the gesture.
“Ah! I-I…”
Beside them, Claire made a noisy fuss, but Arkelon did not even glance at her.
All of Arkelon’s senses were focused solely on Zeon.
Zeon spoke.
“You really are dying. How did this happen?”
“It was attacked by a black sea anemone controlled by a curse mage.”
A voice came from behind Zeon.
When he turned around, he saw a frail old man wearing glasses and a mature woman.
The old man’s face was covered in wrinkles, while the woman—with brown skin and blue eyes—gave off a resilient vitality like a cactus blooming alone in the desert.
Zeon recognized them immediately.
“Elder Pabilsa, Sister Kaylie!”
“So it really is Zeon. To think that little boy grew up so splendidly.”
“It’s been a long time, Zeon!”
The two approached him.
Time had made the old man older, and turned the boy and girl into adults.
Kaylie looked Zeon up and down as she spoke.
“You’ve really grown a lot.”
“You too, noona.”
“It’s been eight years, right?”
“I think so.”
“I wish we could’ve met again under better circumstances. Sorry for suddenly calling you back like this. You were the only one I could think of…”
“You said it was attacked by a black sea anemone controlled by a curse mage?”
“Yeah. Arkelon protected us and took the attack in our place. That’s why it’s dying.”
Kaylie stroked Arkelon’s head with a bitter expression.
“That cowardly curse mage. To ambush us using a vicious magical beast like the black sea anemone… If it hadn’t been attacked by surprise, Arkelon would’ve won.”
Arkelon’s shell possessed tremendous defensive power.
It was so sturdy that ordinary magical beast attacks could not even leave a scratch on it.
“I’ve never heard of a magical beast called a black sea anemone.”
Zeon was familiar with most magical beasts.
Yet he had never even heard the name before.
Pabilsa answered,
“That’s because it doesn’t exist naturally in this world.”
“Then…”
“It’s a chimera. I don’t know how, but that curse mage was controlling a chimera.”
“A curse mage controlling a chimera? That doesn’t make sense. Their affinities don’t match.”
Zeon asked with a bewildered expression.
A chimera was a type of synthetic lifeform.
Bits and pieces of biological tissue were gathered from various lifeforms and fused together.
But simply gathering the materials did not guarantee success.
Creating a new lifeform through human hands was nearly impossible.
It essentially belonged to the domain of creating life itself.
Among everyone Zeon knew, only the dragon Higheltoon had ever created chimeras and used them as servants.
He had never seen a human successfully create one.
That was why hearing that a curse mage had made a chimera sounded suspicious.
A curse mage, by definition, was an awakened specialized in spreading curses—not someone related to creating chimeras.
Pabilsa replied,
“I don’t know the method either. Maybe he made it himself, or maybe he happened to obtain one someone else created.”
“Is the black sea anemone really that dangerous?”
“Its main body is only around ten meters at most. Size-wise, it can’t compare to Arkelon.”
“Then why did Arkelon lose?”
“The problem is its tentacles. It has thousands—tens of thousands—of tentacles growing above its head, and they can extend hundreds of meters. It instantly wraps around its prey and drains all its bodily fluids dry. The only reason Arkelon survived was because it’s Arkelon. If it had been any other person or magical beast, they would’ve been devoured instantly.”
“Mm…”
“I still can’t believe it myself. That such a chimera exists in this world…”
Just recalling the black sea anemone made Pabilsa tremble in fear.
Zeon looked at Arkelon’s head.
The wounds left behind by the black sea anemone’s tentacles were still visible there.
‘Could the curse mage actually be a dragon?’
Without realizing it, Zeon frowned.
If his opponent truly was a dragon, then it would be the worst possible situation.
But Zeon considered that unlikely.
Even after wandering the desert for eight years, he had never encountered another dragon.
More importantly, dragons exceeded one hundred meters in size.
They were even larger than Arkelon.
And just as enormous as their bodies were their egos and pride.
They would never tolerate polymorphing themselves into something as insignificant as a human.
If anything, they would create chimera avatars to act in their place instead.
‘Using a chimera to control another chimera? That’s not a dragon’s style.’
Although Higheltoon was the only dragon he had met, Zeon had gained some understanding of their tendencies and nature.
‘If it’s not a dragon, then maybe the curse mage obtained an item related to chimeras from a dungeon?’
That possibility was far more plausible.
Occasionally, utterly bizarre items were unearthed from dungeons.
Some of them were things completely beyond human comprehension.
If the curse mage had acquired a chimera-related item from a dungeon, then it was not impossible.
While Zeon was deep in thought about the curse mage, someone called out.
“So you’ve arrived!”
Turning around, he saw Urtian walking over together with his wife Deborah.
“It’s been a while.”
“I never expected we’d meet again this soon.”
“Same here.”
It felt like only yesterday that he had left the Steel Fortress and returned to Neo Seoul.
Yet now he was standing here again, which felt strangely surreal.
Zeon introduced the two people who had accompanied him.
“These two are Lee Jeongho and Claire from Neo Seoul.”
“A pleasure.”
“We’ll be in your care.”
“Hello.”
Urtian and the others exchanged simple greetings.
At that moment, Pabilsa spoke apologetically.
“I’m sorry. I happened to arrive here by chance and heard your story from Lord Urtian. He said you helped him tremendously…”
“I see.”
After being attacked by the black sea anemone, Arkelon had desperately attempted to escape.
It tore away every tentacle wrapped around its body through sheer force and continued taking step after painful step.
Perhaps because it could not move while extending its tentacles, the black sea anemone did not pursue Arkelon afterward.
Thanks to that, Arkelon escaped from the black sea anemone and wandered the desert before eventually arriving here by chance.
When Urtian first saw the gigantic turtle approaching the Steel Fortress with thunderous footsteps, he had been utterly shocked.
He had tried to mobilize the Steel Fortress’s forces to attack Arkelon.
But the one who stopped him was Deborah.
As a tamer, Deborah immediately realized that Arkelon had no intention of attacking.
Arkelon had come seeking help while gravely wounded.
Deborah could not bring herself to reject Arkelon’s plea.
So she accepted both Arkelon and the people riding inside it, then sent Aslan and Duduyan to find Zeon.
After hearing the full story, Zeon asked Pabilsa,
“I heard that to heal Arkelon, we need to find Moby Dick. Is that true?”
“It is.”
“How is that possible?”
“How much do you know about Moby Dick?”
“Nothing besides the name.”
“Moby Dick is exactly what its name suggests—a gigantic whale. A colossal whale that swims freely through the sky and beneath the earth.”
“Wait a second. It flies through the sky?”
“That’s right. It can fly through the sky.”
At Pabilsa’s words, Zeon looked toward Lee Jeongho.
Lee Jeongho shook his head.
This was the first time he had heard that Moby Dick could fly as well.
Zeon turned back to Pabilsa.
“Is that even possible?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? This isn’t exactly a world governed by common sense anymore. Moby Dick swims through sand and sails through the sky. I don’t know how such a lifeform came into existence, but…”
“But is there a way to find it? If it moves through both sand and sky, tracking it would be difficult. And why are you trying so desperately to find it?”
“I saw it with my own eyes. I saw it heal a wounded mammoth.”
Even now, the sight from that day remained vivid in Pabilsa’s eyes.
The image of a colossal creature nearly one hundred meters long scattering mystical light from high in the sky.
On the ground had stood an injured mammoth.
Pabilsa did not know what kind of magical beast had attacked it, but the mammoth had been dying from deep wounds.
Yet the moment it received the light Moby Dick emitted, its injuries healed instantly.
A miracle had unfolded in the middle of the desert.
“After seeing that, how could I possibly stay still? I drove Arkelon and chased after Moby Dick. And then I discovered its nest.”
“Its nest?”
“Perhaps resting place would be a better term. But the name hardly matters, does it? In any case, I found a mysterious place where Moby Dick rests. I saw it descend from the sky and rest on the ground with my own eyes.”
“Where is it?”
“I can’t explain it with words. Unlike you, I don’t possess the ability to navigate the desert.”
“Then how—?”
“Isn’t Arkelon here? Arkelon roughly remembers the path leading to the nest.”
Arkelon navigated by scent carried in the air.
Since it had smelled the air around Moby Dick’s nest, it would at least be able to roughly determine the direction.
After that, they would need Zeon’s help.
“But in its current condition…”
“It’s conserving its strength for the final journey. If it squeezes out the last of its vitality, it should somehow be able to reach Moby Dick’s nest.”
“I understand. Until then, all we can do is pray that Arkelon endures.”
The gigantic old turtle was breathing heavily with great difficulty.
It looked like a veteran warrior standing before its final battle.
At that moment, Claire, who stood beside Arkelon, spoke.
“I’ll take care of Arkelon and make sure it doesn’t collapse.”
“Do you have a skill that heals tamed magical beasts?”
“Yes. My rank is low, and Arkelon is so massive that it probably won’t help much, but I should at least be able to restore some of its vitality from time to time.”
“That’s a relief.”
Deborah let out a sigh of relief.
As a tamer herself, she understood better than anyone how precarious Arkelon’s condition truly was.
Pabilsa claimed Arkelon could somehow make it to Moby Dick’s nest, but from Deborah’s perspective, it would not be easy.
Right now, Arkelon resembled a candle flame flickering just before extinction.
No one knew when it might suddenly go out.
High-ranking tamers possessed a Cure skill capable of healing the magical beasts they had tamed.
Deborah herself would likely gain the Cure skill once her rank increased further.
“Since Arkelon isn’t directly tamed by me, the effect will probably be cut in half.”
“Even that should be enough. It has an incredibly strong will…”
Deborah reached out and stroked Arkelon’s head.
The old giant turtle did not reject the warmth of her touch.
Worry filled Claire’s face.
“Even if I manage Arkelon’s condition, if it suffers a major shock or attack, there’s nothing I’ll be able to do.”
“You can leave that to Zeon.”
The two women’s gazes naturally turned toward Zeon.
Zeon stood there with his arms crossed and head lowered, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
But Deborah’s trust in him remained absolute.
“In this desert, there’s nothing Zeon can’t protect once he’s decided to protect it.”
“You really trust him that much.”
“You’ll understand too, Claire. You’ll see what kind of things Zeon is capable of in the desert.”
“I…”
“So please help Zeon make sure Arkelon safely reaches Moby Dick’s nest.”
Deborah looked at Claire with warm eyes.
Claire could not bring herself to meet her gaze directly.
“Everything will work out. Zeon is with us.”
“I truly hope so.”
“Hehe. Believe in him. Then things will turn out well.”
After gently patting Claire on the back for a moment, Deborah left.
Claire remained standing there, blankly staring at Deborah’s retreating figure for quite a while.
Clap! Clap!
At that moment, Urtian clapped his hands, snapping everyone back to attention.
“Alright, enough standing around out here. Let’s all head inside. I’ll treat everyone to dinner tonight.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the middle of the sandstone mountain.
A massive basket was descending from above.
Lee Jeongho muttered,
“So that’s the entrance to the Steel Fortress? They built a colony in an incredibly advantageous location.”
A place like this looked capable of defending against even thousands of magical beasts attacking at once.
“Excellent.”
“What exactly is excellent?”
At Zeon’s question beside him, Lee Jeongho gave a cold smile.
“Everything…”
“Please leave it alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“When the time comes, they’ll naturally begin trading with Neo Seoul on their own. Before that, it would be best not to forcefully annex them and create unnecessary problems.”
“Is that a warning?”
“It’s a request.”