Chapter 323

The armored bus carrying Zeon’s group was incredibly comfortable.

Its ride was so smooth that it was hard to believe they were speeding through the desert.

Thanks to that, Zeon and Brielle were able to travel in comfort.

Brielle whispered softly,

“Is it really okay for us to travel this comfortably?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“It just feels strange…”

She had gone into the desert with Zeon many times before, but this was the first time it felt more like a picnic than an expedition.

The only vehicles Brielle had ever ridden in before were small cars like buggies.

This was her first time riding in such a large armored bus.

The inside of the bus had everything they could need.

Food, sleeping quarters, even a bathroom.

There was no need to step outside even once.

Because of that, they didn’t even have to camp outdoors, something normally essential for desert travel.

All of this felt extremely unfamiliar to Brielle.

Zeon chuckled softly.

“Just enjoy the moment. Opportunities like this probably won’t come often.”

Just then—

Kuuwooo!

A magical beast’s howl suddenly echoed from outside.

Looking out the window, they saw a massive cloud of dust rising in the distance.

Magical beasts had appeared.

“A pack of Flame Wolves.”

Hundreds of Flame Wolves were charging toward the armored buses.

The sight of the beasts racing forward with flames blazing in their mouths was intimidating enough to make one’s legs tremble.

Beside Zeon, Elder Go let out a sigh of admiration.

“What a spectacle.”

“Aren’t you going out to fight them?”

“Why would I?”

Elder Go smirked and looked toward the armored bus running alongside theirs.

It was the bus carrying Seo Taeran.

Screeech!

With the sound of brakes, Seo Taeran’s bus came to a stop.

But the person who stepped out wasn’t Seo Taeran.

It was the employees from her secretary’s office.

“Hm!”

Zeon watched them with interest.

Normally, people traveling through the desert wore loose robes or clothes like deshada garments.

Those kinds of clothes were far more suitable for moving beneath the scorching sun.

But Seo Taeran’s staff were dressed in black suits even in the middle of the desert.

Zeon wondered why they wore clothing that ordinary people—or even most awakened—would never wear here.

‘Are they that confident in their abilities? Or is there another reason?’

Kuuwooo!

The Flame Wolf pack drew even closer.

Once the wolves were near enough for their fangs to be seen clearly, the secretary office employees moved.

Pat! Pat!

They kicked off the ground and leapt into the air.

Crack!

One employee’s fist smashed into the jaw of the leading Flame Wolf.

Yelp!

With a shriek, the wolf’s jaw twisted grotesquely as it died instantly.

That was the beginning of the battle.

Fearlessly, the secretary office employees fought the Flame Wolves barehanded.

Well—not completely barehanded.

A closer look revealed that they were wearing knuckle weapons on both fists.

The sight of them taking down the wolves one by one with knuckle-clad fists was almost beautiful.

‘Not a single wasted movement. Completely efficient.’

Block. Strike. Kill.

Block another attack. Strike. Kill again.

It sounded simple, but it was anything but.

Fighting close-combat magical beasts like Flame Wolves required tremendous courage.

No matter how much humans awakened and surpassed their limits, primal emotions like fear never disappeared.

Because of that, many awakened individuals who possessed extraordinary abilities still failed to display their full strength once they stood before magical beasts.

But Seo Taeran’s staff were different.

They were like dolls.

None of the emotions or fear that humans naturally displayed could be seen in them.

Thud! Thud!

The secretary office employees unleashed overwhelming violence against the Flame Wolves.

Occasionally, they were bitten by the wolves’ fangs, but their black suits seemed to be items of some kind, remaining completely undamaged.

Yelp! Yip!

The screams of the Flame Wolves rang out continuously.

Zeon muttered,

“I don’t see an alpha. Is this a stray pack?”

Though hundreds sounded like a large number, this was actually a small-scale pack by Flame Wolf standards.

In less than thirty minutes, the entire pack that had attacked the armored buses was annihilated.

Tap! Tap!

After brushing the blood from their suits, the secretary office employees climbed back onto their bus.

Even then, Seo Taeran herself never once showed her face.

The armored bus carrying the staff immediately resumed moving.

After watching the battle, Brielle whispered quietly,

“Those people are strange.”

“They are.”

Zeon nodded.

At that moment, Eun Suyoung, one of the twins, spoke up.

“That’s because they aren’t fully human.”

“How can you tell?”

“Did you forget our ability?”

In response to Zeon’s question, Eun Suyoung tapped her temple with her finger.

“Telepathy?”

“Exactly. If someone’s human, we can usually read at least some of their thoughts. But with those people, we can’t read anything at all. That’s impossible for normal humans.”

“Could it just be that they have strong mental barriers?”

“All ten of them? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Yeah! That’d make no sense.”

Zeon nodded readily.

The mind was not something easily trained.

Most people didn’t even understand the concept of creating mental barriers to protect their minds.

Only a small number of awakened individuals built mental barriers to guard against mental contamination.

Zeon was one of them.

Because Zeon himself could create mental barriers, he knew just how difficult it was.

Yet here there weren’t one or two people, but ten individuals from the same organization capable of it.

That was anything but normal.

With an expression of disgust, Eun Sujin spoke.

“There are plenty of organizations and laboratories inside City Hall that even we don’t know about. They’re probably creations made by one of them.”

“So they’re not normal humans.”

“Does normal humanity even exist anymore? This is a world where perfectly healthy people cut off their own limbs and replace them with mechanical ones.”

“That’s true.”

Zeon nodded.

This was a world where almost nothing could be called normal anymore.

The mere existence of magical beasts on Earth was already far removed from normality.

“How many people like that are in the secretary office?”

“No idea.”

“Even the Numbers don’t know?”

“The secretary office is practically outside the law. Aside from the mayor and Seo Taeran, nobody knows what goes on inside.”

“Really?”

“In fact, it’s extremely unusual for the secretary office to expose this level of force to the outside world. They almost never reveal themselves publicly. That just shows how unusual—and important—this situation is.”

The lives of not one or two people, but three thousand four hundred individuals were at stake.

Naturally, City Hall had no choice but to enter a state of emergency.

Under normal circumstances, another organization would have been dispatched, but so many projects were being carried out simultaneously that the secretary office was the only force left capable of mobilizing personnel.

That was why Seo Taeran herself had no choice but to personally lead her subordinates.

Elder Go spoke.

“She may lack manners, but her competence is unquestionable. At the very least, she’ll handle most problems before we reach the open-air magic stone mine.”

“Then I’ll get some sleep.”

Zeon nodded and sank deeply into his seat.

Thanks to Seo Taeran, this trip might actually become comfortable for once.

If things continued like this, there was no reason for Zeon to move personally.

More important was arriving at the destination in peak condition after resting properly.

Still in that position, Zeon soon fell into a deep sleep.

Brielle, who had briefly worn an anxious expression, also followed Zeon’s example and closed her eyes to rest.

Watching the two of them, Elder Go’s eyes gleamed.

‘You can really tell they have experience. The twins are too anxious to rest properly, yet those two are sleeping so comfortably.’

To be honest, Elder Go himself was anxious too.

Though he had experienced countless battles, this was his first time venturing this deep into the desert.

Because of that, he remained subtly tense and unable to truly relax.

That was why experience mattered.

Only those with extensive experience could respond calmly according to the situation.

‘How embarrassing. I’m old, yet I can’t even compare to those young ones.’

He tried to sleep like Zeon and Brielle, but perhaps because of the tension, his mind only grew sharper.

With a bitter smile, Elder Go stared out the window.

***

After that, they were attacked by magical beasts several more times.

Each time, the secretary office employees deployed first and eliminated the beasts.

But there was another problem.

The armored buses kept breaking down.

Sand constantly got into the machinery and caused malfunctions in various parts.

Fortunately, there was a mechanic aboard, so the buses were repaired every time they broke down, but it inevitably delayed their arrival at the magic stone mine.

The twin sisters grumbled with exhausted expressions.

“The desert is seriously terrifying.”

“Neo Seoul really is the best.”

They had only been away from Neo Seoul for a few days, yet they already missed it.

And once again, they realized just how incredible Neo Seoul truly was—

and how unbelievably fortunate they themselves were to have been born and awakened there.

Suddenly, the twins looked toward Brielle.

Though they had spent several days riding in the same vehicle, the twins and Brielle still felt awkward around each other.

Part of it was because Brielle remained wary of them, but the twins themselves also weren’t very good at socializing with others.

More importantly, Brielle spent most of her time sleeping.

Unlike the twins, she had plenty of experience with this sort of thing.

Having traveled through the desert many times with Zeon, she understood how important it was to rest whenever the opportunity arose.

That was why she slept whenever she could, maintaining herself in peak condition.

As a result, the twins barely had any chance to talk with her.

Then suddenly—

Brielle, who had been sleeping like the dead, abruptly sprang upright and began adjusting her clothes.

Eun Sujin asked with a puzzled expression,

“What’s wrong?”

“I think we’re almost at the destination, so I should get ready.”

“How can you tell?”

“How could I not? The air’s become thick, and the smell of magical beasts is overwhelming.”

“What?”

“You can’t smell it? That fishy scent. It’s filled with the breath of magical beasts.”

“Seriously? You can sense that?”

“Of course.”

At Brielle’s confident answer, Eun Sujin frowned.

It was hard for her to believe.

At that moment, Zeon, seated beside Brielle, rose to his feet.

“I think it’s about time we headed out.”

“Why?”

“Because we can’t fight magical beasts properly from inside the bus. You should get ready too. It looks like we’ll have to fight our way through to the expedition camp.”

“Seriously?”

“I don’t joke about things like this.”

Zeon opened the small hatch in the ceiling of the armored bus and climbed onto the roof.

Only then did Eun Sujin realize Brielle had been telling the truth.

Following Zeon onto the roof, Brielle said,

“I’ll go up first.”

The moment she emerged onto the roof, an enormous army of magical beasts filled her view.

They would have to break through that horde to reach the expedition camp.

The magical beasts stirred violently the moment they spotted the armored buses.

The scorching air and the beasts’ deafening howls surged toward the buses like a tidal wave.