Chapter 327
Zeon nodded.
“A dungeon of the dead? The atmosphere definitely feels similar.”
“So you noticed it too, Zeon.”
“I’ve experienced one before.”
“Well, if it’s you, that’s believable.”
Brielle nodded.
She didn’t know exactly how many dungeons Zeon had entered, but she did know he possessed more experience than ordinary Awakeners could accumulate in an entire lifetime.
So it wouldn’t be strange if one of those places had been a dungeon crawling with the dead.
“Wait a second. A dungeon of the dead? How does that little girl know information about this dungeon?”
“Because I know it.”
“What?”
“Do I really have to explain every little thing to you? I’m not your subordinate.”
Brielle’s blunt reply caused a crack to appear in Seo Taeran’s expression.
She had never imagined she would be treated like this by someone so young.
Anyone who knew even a little about her would never dare behave this way toward her.
Even the rulers of the various districts treated her carefully.
Yet this brat, barely more than a child, was speaking to her so casually that she was momentarily speechless.
“How dare—!”
For an instant, her face flushed red.
But only briefly.
She quickly regained her composure.
She was furious, but this was not the place to pick a fight with Brielle.
So far, only ghostly hound-type monsters had appeared, but there was no telling what sort of creatures might emerge next.
She could not afford to waste mental energy fighting Brielle.
More importantly, Zeon’s presence made the situation troublesome.
Zeon was their strongest combat asset.
He was indispensable if they were going to survive this crisis.
She couldn’t risk creating conflict with him because of Brielle.
Suppressing her anger, Seo Taeran asked Zeon,
“If this is truly a dungeon of the dead, then that means it’s filled with undead?”
“That’s right.”
“Now even undead-filled dungeons are appearing.”
“We should actually be grateful it’s only inside a dungeon.”
“Hm?”
“Imagine undead roaming around in the outside world. Things are already a disaster as it is. It would become complete hell.”
“…You’re right.”
Seo Taeran nodded.
“Stay focused. If the true master of this place really is undead, then it won’t stop with mere ghost hounds.”
“Understood.”
Out of habit, Seo Taeran nodded again, though her brow furrowed deeply.
Honestly, the ghost hounds that had attacked them so far were not particularly strong opponents.
That was why they had been dealt with so easily.
But if higher-ranked undead appeared, there was no guarantee the Extermination Gauntlets alone would be enough.
At that moment, Brielle pulled out several glass bottles and handed them to Seo Taeran.
“Take these.”
“What are they?”
“Holy water.”
“Holy water?”
“It’s sold by the fanatics in Dongdaemun, so it’s a little sketchy, but it’s still holy water. It should work against undead. If things get serious, coat the gauntlets with it.”
“Haa… Of all things, holy water from religious fanatics…”
Without realizing it, Seo Taeran grimaced.
The moment she thought of Johan and the fanatics, chills ran down her spine.
Even for someone like her—the second most powerful person in Neo Seoul—Johan and his cultists were terrifying people she preferred not to deal with.
And now Brielle had casually brought along holy water sold by them.
‘She’s seriously insane too.’
Whether it worked or not was beside the point.
The fact that Brielle had purchased holy water from Dongdaemun without the slightest hesitation proved she was no ordinary lunatic.
After staring at the holy water for a moment, Seo Taeran gave orders to her subordinates.
“Everyone, coat your gauntlets with the holy water.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Without even a hint of resistance, the subordinates dipped their gauntlets into the holy water.
A faint crimson glow immediately spread across the Extermination Gauntlets.
The divine power of the holy water had truly infused itself into the weapons.
Seo Taeran looked utterly dumbfounded.
‘It actually works? This is insane.’
She decided that the moment they returned to Neo Seoul, she would buy holy water from Dongdaemun in bulk.
Meanwhile, the group continued moving deeper into the darkness.
The illuminated radius from the flashlights grew even smaller.
It had shrunk from five meters to roughly four.
The darkness was becoming increasingly dominant.
The old man muttered,
“Judging by the atmosphere, around this point…”
Swoosh!
At that moment, a wolf with flames burning in its eye sockets emerged.
It looked at least twice as large and savage as the ghost hounds that had attacked them earlier.
Like the hounds, it lacked a physical body.
The old man clicked his tongue.
“Tch. Right on cue.”
“How did you know?”
“As expected of Grandpa. Perfect timing.”
The twin sisters gave him a thumbs-up, though neither looked pleased.
Just like the ghost hounds, the ghost wolves traveled in packs.
There was no way only one would appear.
As if to prove that fact, ghost wolves began emerging from every direction.
Grrraaaah!
The ghost wolves roared loudly and charged toward Zeon’s party.
Naturally, Seo Taeran’s subordinates moved to confront them.
Smash!
The gauntlets coated in holy water displayed tremendous power.
A ghost wolf with no physical body was struck by a gauntlet, and its head exploded instantly.
They no longer even needed to convert mana into elemental energy through the Extermination Gauntlets.
Thanks to the holy water, Seo Taeran’s subordinates rapidly reduced the number of ghost wolves.
The twin sisters excitedly chattered away.
“Nice! We don’t even need to step in.”
“That’s even better.”
That was when it happened.
Ping!
As though denying the twins’ words, something suddenly shot through the darkness.
One of Seo Taeran’s subordinates failed to react in time and was pierced straight through.
An arrow had penetrated his shoulder.
And not just any arrow.
It was a massive arrow as large as an adult human.
Looking toward the direction the arrow had come from, Zeon muttered,
“So there’s a hunter controlling the wolves.”
Shwish! Shwish!
As if answering his words, another volley of arrows flew from the darkness.
After seeing their comrade struck, everyone managed to defend themselves without much difficulty.
The old man deployed a defensive barrier around himself and the twins to block the arrows.
Seo Taeran and her subordinates deflected them one by one.
Zeon intercepted each arrow with Fire Missiles.
Shwish! Shwish!
The hidden hunter continued firing arrows tirelessly from the darkness.
Under the relentless assault of unseen arrows and coordinated attacks from the ghost wolves, Seo Taeran’s subordinates were gradually pushed into a corner, their movements growing increasingly chaotic.
Brielle looked at Zeon with a puzzled expression.
“You’re not going to help? At this rate, they’re going to get wiped out.”
“They’re not weak enough to be exterminated by something like this.”
“Really?”
Brielle’s eyes widened.
She had never gotten the impression that Seo Taeran’s subordinates were particularly strong.
Zeon spoke calmly.
“They’re all suppressing their abilities.”
“Really? I couldn’t tell at all.”
“Not just you. Most Awakeners wouldn’t notice either. That’s how precisely they’re controlling their power.”
“But a few of them died earlier. So they were hiding even greater strength and still chose not to use it? How is that possible?”
“Exactly.”
Zeon stared sharply at Seo Taeran.
He had realized it from the very beginning.
Seo Taeran’s subordinates were not normal humans.
They carried a scent similar to the murderer who had killed Levin’s family.
An artificial, unpleasant scent.
Compared to the killer, they appeared far more refined, but one thing was unmistakable.
They lacked the vitality unique to living humans.
They felt more like perfectly controlled dolls—or golems.
Most likely, until Seo Taeran gave the order, they would never use the power sealed inside them.
Even if the price was their own death.
No normal human with free will could do such a thing.
Every living creature feared death.
‘What choice will she make? Will she let all her subordinates die like this? Or will she reveal their true strength?’
Either way, Zeon had no intention whatsoever of helping them before that point.
The reason they were hiding their true power was simple.
It was so they could efficiently eliminate anyone troublesome if problems arose later.
‘Someone like me, for example.’
Knowing that, there was no reason for him to foolishly step in first to help them.
That was when it happened.
Slash!
Suddenly, a sharp blade thrust out from the darkness.
The sword pierced straight through the chest of the subordinate who had earlier been struck by an arrow.
Seeing the man stagger from the fatal wound, Seo Taeran bit her lip irritably.
‘I didn’t want to reveal our strength here… but it can’t be helped.’
Unable to hold back any longer, Seo Taeran finally issued an order.
“I authorize the release of the first-stage seal.”
The instant she spoke, delight appeared on the faces of her subordinates.
They had sealed away their strength all this time in order to appear like ordinary martial-type Awakeners.
Because of that, several of their comrades had died, yet none of them blamed Seo Taeran.
They were beings who could do nothing but obey her commands.
Even if those commands ordered them to throw themselves into hellfire.
Now that the first-stage seal had been lifted, it was finally their turn to unleash themselves freely.
Outwardly, nothing had changed.
But their eyes, their aura, and their presence were completely different.
The subordinate who had been pierced by the sword from the darkness struck the blade with his palm.
Crack!
The sturdy sword shattered, freeing him.
He then pulled out both the sword fragment embedded in his chest and the massive arrow lodged in his shoulder.
Normally, blood should have erupted from wounds like those.
But almost no blood flowed from the subordinate’s injuries.
For any ordinary Awakener, those wounds would already have been fatal.
The situation completely defied common sense.
Brielle stared in shock.
“What are they? Trolls?”
“Looks like troll regeneration was grafted into them.”
“Seriously?”
“They’re not fully human. Just like the murderer who killed Levin’s family, they’re Bio Soldiers. Upgraded versions, at that.”
“Then were they created in the same laboratory as the killer?”
“There’s a high chance.”
City Hall secretly operated numerous laboratories.
Those facilities carried out hidden projects the outside world would never know about.
Among them were modification programs designed to transform ordinary humans and low-ranked Awakeners into powerful warriors.
Seo Taeran’s subordinates had clearly been born from one of those laboratories.
Whether by choice or by force.
With the first-stage seal released, Seo Taeran’s subordinates moved at speeds incomparable to before.
“Their physical strength has been enhanced too. And their senses seem much sharper.”
As proof, one of Seo Taeran’s men located a hunter hidden within the darkness, dragged it out, and crushed its skull.
Crack!
Not only had he detected the hidden hunter, but he completely overwhelmed it in both strength and speed.
Boom!
With an explosive impact, a ghost wolf’s head shattered apart, while another hunter firing arrows was blown backward by the subordinate’s attack.
Fsssh!
The holy-water-coated gauntlet melted the creature away without leaving even a trace.
Watching the scene, the old man clicked his tongue in disgust.
“Tch. The laboratories really went out of their way to create things that aren’t human anymore.”
Despite his criticism, Seo Taeran’s expression did not waver in the slightest.
Seo Taeran held two convictions.
The first was to support Jin Geumho.
The second was to protect Neo Seoul no matter the sacrifice.
‘Anyone who threatens Jin Geumho or Neo Seoul… I will never forgive them.’
Her gaze suddenly shifted toward Zeon.
Sensing her stare, Zeon looked back at her.
‘Zeon.’
Just seeing his face caused unpleasant emotions to rise from deep within her chest.