Chapter 307

Jetoya  led Zeon to the Red Fire Crocodile Crew’s hideout, and Zeon frowned deeply.

A horrific scene beyond description lay before them.

Countless children’s corpses were strewn everywhere.

Arms and legs had been severed, and heads rolled across the floor.

Entrails spilling from split-open stomachs, along with blood, soaked the ground.

“Damn it…!”

Unable to keep looking at the bodies of his friends, Jetoya  turned his head away.

Whether he liked them or not, they had lived together for over a decade.

There had been both affection and resentment between them.

Seeing those people slaughtered so brutally made his stomach churn, as if he were about to vomit.

Zeon spoke to Jetoya .

“If it’s too hard, wait outside.”

“No. I can endure it.”

Jetoya  answered through gritted teeth.

At that moment, Brielle spoke.

“Looks like they left not long ago.”

A few pieces of baggage that appeared to belong to the Helbrin Mercenary Company were scattered across the floor.

It meant they had left in such a hurry that they hadn’t even been able to gather their belongings.

Zeon let out a faint sigh.

“Hoo… At least I’ll give them credit for their danger detection instincts.”

“Then you’re saying they already knew we were coming?”

“I don’t know about that. But it’s obvious they sensed danger when their comrades didn’t return after so much time passed.”

“No, but if your comrades don’t come back, shouldn’t you go look for them?”

“These people aren’t beings you can understand with ordinary logic. Their thoughts and senses are entirely focused on survival. As long as they can survive, they can ignore the deaths of their comrades without hesitation.”

A deep crease formed between Zeon’s brows.

Even Zeon, who prided himself on having seen every kind of human while wandering the desert, had never encountered a group like this before.

They were the very definition of the strong preying on the weak, yet more cunning than ordinary scavengers and more savage than magical beasts.

They thoroughly avoided anyone stronger than themselves, but toward those weaker than them, they were unimaginably cruel.

As though they refused to allow anyone weaker than themselves to remain in this world, they tore into them like mad beasts.

On top of that, their danger detection ability was exceptional. The moment something felt even slightly off, they immediately abandoned their base.

“This is going to be a difficult game of hide-and-seek.”

Zeon wore a troubled expression.

The sewer system was as complicated as a labyrinth.

Even for Zeon, tracking them through such sewers would not be easy.

At that moment, Jetoya  spoke.

“I can find them. No one knows these sewers better than I do. No matter where they’re hiding—

I’ll find them for sure.”

“We have to move faster than they do. If we’re even a little late, we won’t see so much as their shadows.”

“I can do it. No, I’ll make it happen. Definitely!”

Seeing Jetoya  burning with fighting spirit, Zeon nodded.

“Good. I’ll leave the tracking to you.”

“Then keep your promise.”

“The mana generator?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll definitely keep it.”

“I’ll trust you.”

Jetoya  had never trusted anyone before, but strangely enough, he trusted the man before him.

He himself didn’t know why.

Still, his instincts told him one thing clearly—this was not a man who would go back on his word.

Jetoya  immediately began tracking in earnest.

In the desert, Zeon was unmatched when it came to tracking, but in the filthy underground sewers, Jetoya  was the best.

While Zeon used sand to determine and track the location of his prey, Jetoya  used the moisture filling the underground sewers to pinpoint his targets.

“Sniff, sniff!”

At a fork in the tunnel, Jetoya  paused briefly and inhaled the scent in the air.

Pointing to the right passage, he spoke.

“The scent’s mixed in over here.”

“You can distinguish smells even in this stench?”

“If I focus, I can pick out the scent I want even among hundreds of different smells.”

“Seriously?”

“People like you who came from above have a distinct dry smell.”

“Dry?”

“Yes! Especially people who’ve spent a long time in the desert. Their scent feels rough and brittle. That smell is mixed into the right tunnel.”

“That’s impressive.”

Zeon smiled.

If Jetoya  really could track the Helbrin Mercenary Company by scent, everything changed.

They could pursue them directly without wasting unnecessary time.

As Jetoya  entered the right tunnel, he said,

“I’m going to run from here on out, so don’t fall behind.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Just run already.”

The moment Zeon and Brielle answered at the same time, Jetoya  shot through the sewer at a terrifying speed.

Jetoya  was a human perfectly optimized for the underground world.

Like a lizard, his hands and feet stuck tightly to the walls and floor. Because of that, he could sprint across wet walls as though they were flat ground.

Thanks to this ability, Jetoya  had been able to evade the pursuit of the awakened members of the Helbrin Mercenary Company for a long time.

“Waaah!”

Brielle couldn’t help exclaiming in amazement when she saw Jetoya  running upside down along the ceiling.

Even Zeon was impressed by Jetoya ’s abilities.

‘At that point, he’s basically a completely new type of human.’

A new kind of human optimized for the underground world.

Humans truly were creatures that evolved by adapting to their environments.

“This way!”

Dropping down from the ceiling, Jetoya  headed into the left passage.

The entire time he ran through the tunnels, he continuously sniffed the air.

He was gathering information from the atmosphere in real time.

With a confident expression, he said,

“They’re not far now. We’ll catch up to them soon.”

“Understood.”

Zeon nodded and looked around.

They had already passed dozens of forks in the tunnels.

In the process, they had descended deep underground.

It felt as though they had gone dozens of meters deeper beneath the surface.

If Zeon had been alone, he never would have reached this place so quickly.

Then it happened.

“Aaagh!”

As though proving Jetoya ’s words true, a faint scream echoed from ahead.

Increasing his speed, Zeon spoke.

“I’ll go first.”

In an instant, he overtook Jetoya  and disappeared into the darkness ahead.

Jetoya  stared blankly at the place where Zeon had vanished.

“Whoa…”

“What, you’re shocked by just that?”

Brielle mocked him lightly.

Jetoya  flared up.

“How could I not be? He’s faster than me.”

“Zeon’s abilities are far beyond just that. Once you go up to the surface later, you’ll understand.”

“But if I go up to the surface, I’ll die.”

“What?”

“As you can see, I’ve completely adapted to the underground. If I’m exposed to sunlight, I’ll dry up and die.”

Humans from generations above Jetoya  could still go up to the surface if they wanted. But children like Jetoya , who had perfectly adapted to the underground, could not endure the sunlight and heat of the surface world.

“Ah, sorry!”

Brielle hurriedly apologized.

She hadn’t known Jetoya  had circumstances like that.

“No, it’s okay! Someday, if I awaken too, maybe I’ll be able to go up to the surface and survive there.”

“You haven’t awakened?”

“As you can see.”

Jetoya  shrugged. But there wasn’t the slightest trace of discouragement on his face.

That was how firmly he believed that one day he would awaken.

Of course, that assumed he survived until then.

Leaving Jetoya  and Brielle behind, Zeon ran ahead.

Just as he rounded a corner—

his eyes caught a faint silver thread.

Instinctively, he lowered his head.

Slash!

In that instant, several strands of his hair were sliced away by the silver thread.

It was a trap set by the Helbrin Mercenary Company.

The silver wire, made by combining titanium with the byproducts of magical beasts, was sharp enough to sever even the tough bodies of martial-type awakened ones in an instant.

Moreover, the placement was ingenious.

It had been set at face level, where armor offered no protection.

If Zeon hadn’t spotted it in advance, the bridge of his nose would have been sliced clean off while he was running.

The fact that even his hair had been cut so easily demonstrated just how viciously sharp the silver wire was.

No sooner had Zeon avoided the wire than attacks came flying at him.

“Die!”

“You bastard!”

The ones screaming as they attacked were the awakened members of the Helbrin Mercenary Company.

The martial-type awakened ones swung weapons infused with aura, while the magic-type awakened ones unleashed all sorts of skills.

The attacks came too suddenly to evade.

Zeon’s response was simple.

He crossed both arms to protect only his head and took every attack with his entire body.

An ordinary awakened one would have died from a single volley like this, but Zeon wore a robe made from Leviathan hide.

Most attacks simply bounced right off it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A tremendous explosion shook Zeon’s body.

But despite appearances, he suffered not the slightest impact.

The moment he finished blocking the barrage, Zeon counterattacked.

Shushushush!

Dozens of Fire Missiles shot toward his attackers.

“Ghk!”

“Ugh!”

The men who had attacked Zeon were forced backward with muffled groans.

Only then did Zeon straighten up and look at the people who had attacked him.

The men wearing turbans and deshadas were the awakened members of the Helbrin Mercenary Company.

At the center stood Hashim.

“Kahk! Ptui! I had a feeling it’d be you after all.”

Spitting on the floor, Hashim glared at Zeon with an exhausted expression.

When the subordinates he’d sent to capture Jetoya  failed to return even after a long time, he had sensed something was wrong and moved out immediately.

The sewer system was vast, and there were countless crocodile dens.

If something felt off, there was no reason to stubbornly remain in one place. So they had moved in search of a new hideout—

and this place was what they had found.

Zeon’s gaze shifted behind Hashim.

Dozens of people were gathered together, trembling in fear.

They were women, children, and the elderly.

The men had already all been killed and lay scattered across the floor.

The Helbrin Mercenary Company had carried out the massacre before Zeon even arrived.

“You should’ve come a little later. Then we could’ve cleaned everything up neatly.”

“I’ve met plenty of humans worse than magical beasts, but among them all, you’re the worst.”

“Heh-heh, that’s an honor. Receiving praise like that from a strong man like you. Fuck.”

“You’re Hashim of the Helbrin Mercenary Company, right?”

“Looks like my subordinates spilled everything. That’s right. My name is Hashim. As you can see, I’m the captain of the Helbrin Mercenary Company.”

Even while answering, Hashim secretly observed Zeon from head to toe.

Judging only by appearance, it was impossible to tell Zeon was such a powerful awakened one.

But he was the monster who had survived even after Alton poured all his mana into that explosion.

The terrifying persistence with which he had pursued the Helbrin Mercenary Company after they switched to Plan S—

and the brutality with which he slaughtered his men in an instant.

The opponent before him was a true powerhouse.

And that powerhouse had chased them all the way into these filthy sewers.

With an incredulous expression, Hashim spoke.

“I really can’t understand what kind of grudge you have against us to chase us this desperately. Don’t tell me you had family in one of those survivor villages?”

“And what grudge did you have against the survivor villages to attack them?”

“Kuh! Guess I asked a stupid question.”

For the strong to plunder the weak was no crime.

At least, that was the law of the desert.

That was why Hashim felt no guilt over the Helbrin Mercenary Company raiding survivor villages.

The same logic applied to Zeon as well.

If he was stronger, then they would be devoured.

Conversely, if they were stronger, trampling Zeon would only be natural.

Hashim called out someone’s name.

“Alton!”

BOOM!

The instant the word left his mouth, an explosion erupted centered on where Zeon stood.

Realizing Zeon was tracking them, Hashim had ordered Alton to set explosives in advance.

The blast had been concentrated entirely on Zeon alone.

Its destructive power was correspondingly immense.

Hashim shouted,

“Everyone, get ready!”

He already knew.

An explosion of this level wouldn’t be enough to kill Zeon.

Fwoosh!

At that moment, a single Fire Missile shot through the explosion.

“Gaaah!”

Alton collapsed screaming.

The Fire Missile had pierced straight through his forehead.

“Fuck!”

Hashim ground his teeth.

In an instant, he had lost his most important combat asset.