Chapter 332
Two thousand three hundred.
That was the number of people who survived until the very end.
In that hellish underground space, a staggering eleven hundred people had died.
Many Awakeners had died as well, but the casualties among the supporting mechanics and ordinary civilians were several times greater.
The Awakeners had tried to protect them too, but the situation had been far too dire to save everyone.
Mechanics were just as important as Awakeners.
Even in Neo Seoul, raising a proper mechanic required an enormous amount of effort.
Without them, they never could have driven their vehicles all the way out here.
It would probably take a very long time to train replacements for them.
Without anyone noticing, Seo Taeran clenched her teeth.
‘More time wasted again.’
It was the situation she hated most.
The meaningless sacrifice of people painstakingly raised and nurtured.
Awakeners didn’t necessarily need to be trained by City Hall.
Whenever talented individuals appeared, districts, guilds, or raid groups would recruit and foster them themselves.
City Hall simply made use of them when necessary.
But mechanics were different.
It took a very long time to understand and handle precision machinery.
Only after years of study and effort could someone finally become a true mechanic.
That was why other districts rarely trained mechanics.
They believed it was better to spend that time cultivating personnel directly useful to their own districts.
But mechanics were absolutely necessary.
They were like the lubricant that kept Neo Seoul functioning.
That was why City Hall handled their training personally.
And now, over two hundred of those carefully cultivated people had been killed.
It was an enormous loss.
Seo Taeran stared at the darkness undulating ahead and muttered,
“We will absolutely repay this grudge.”
It was a gigantic cavern dripping with thick, blood-red liquid.
It might actually have been real blood.
The stench of blood hung heavily in the air.
Still, she hoped it wasn’t, because the sheer quantity was horrifying.
She couldn’t even imagine how many living beings would need to be drained to produce that much blood.
Even if they combined all the blood from the expedition members who had died here, it probably still wouldn’t amount to that much.
At that moment, the old man placed a hand on Seo Taeran’s shoulder.
“Calm yourself.”
“I’m not agitated.”
Seo Taeran answered coldly.
“Doesn’t seem that way. This is the first time I’ve seen you this shaken.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“We need to escape.”
“There’s a monster inside there that caused this entire disaster.”
“Can we handle it?”
“That’s…”
“It’s a necromancer. A completely new type of enemy for us. If we enter without proper information, there’s no telling how much damage we’ll suffer.”
“Haven’t we already gathered enough information by now?”
“Do you truly think so?”
“Taeran.”
“I said I understand, so stop calling me that.”
For the first time, Seo Taeran raised her voice.
Only then did she regain her composure.
The old man patted her shoulder once before returning to Zeon.
“I think we should break the barrier and escape now. What do you think?”
“I agree.”
Zeon answered immediately.
Their unknown enemy was a necromancer.
If the necromancer truly committed to a war of attrition, these numbers would become nothing but a burden.
The dead would only become enemies and further increase the necromancer’s forces.
The old man nodded and said,
“This barrier grows stronger the more blood it absorbs. If we don’t open it now, we may never be able to.”
“Do you need assistance?”
“Thanks to the time you bought me, I’ve nearly figured out the barrier’s structure. I should be able to disable it temporarily.”
“That’s good news.”
“The problem is that the necromancer inside absolutely won’t sit still and watch.”
The old man stared at the blood-filled cavern.
Just looking at it made his entire body shiver.
His body was reacting to the necromancer’s presence inside.
He couldn’t determine the rank, but the sheer malice radiating from it was unbelievably vivid.
Somewhere unseen, the creature was watching them even now.
The moment the old man released the barrier, it would make its move.
Zeon spoke calmly.
“Do it anyway.”
“Understood.”
At Zeon’s firm response, the old man nodded.
His expression looked strangely reassured.
Zeon gestured toward Jang Yongbeom.
“What is it?”
“Have you recovered some of your strength?”
“To some extent.”
“What about the others?”
“Not everyone, but enough to fight. Why?”
“The moment the old man releases the barrier, everyone will escape. The problem is that moment will be…”
“The most dangerous moment, right? Got it. I’ll inform the other raid leaders too.”
Jang Yongbeom instantly understood Zeon’s meaning.
If the necromancer attacked with its full strength, ordinary Awakeners wouldn’t be able to handle it.
It would cause fewer casualties if powerful Awakeners like the raid leaders took the front lines instead.
Normally, they kept each other in check for the sake of their own interests, but they weren’t foolish enough to bicker over that in the face of a common crisis.
Above all, they had lost countless subordinates and were burning with rage.
“Good! We’ll step forward.”
“We’ll hold the front line.”
“This is the first time we’ve actually fought together.”
The leaders of each raid group exchanged glances and stepped to the front of the Awakeners.
Watching them, Levin spoke to Aaron and Dominic.
“It’s about to start, so stay behind me.”
“Hah… Sorry. We dragged you into danger because of us…”
“Me too…”
Levin smirked at their apologies.
“Enough already. Stay focused.”
“Okay!”
“Got it.”
Aaron and Dominic concentrated themselves.
At that moment, the old man, who had been gathering his focus, finally began working on the barrier in earnest.
With his eyes closed, he started dismantling the barrier while the twin sisters assisted him at his side.
This was the moment the three of them were most vulnerable.
Knowing that, numerous Awakeners, including Eloi, guarded them intensely.
Crackle!
Sparks burst from the barrier.
It was rejecting the old man’s interference.
That became the signal.
Kuuuu!
The previously silent cavern suddenly began to churn with blood.
The necromancer had sensed the disturbance in the barrier and started moving.
Dudududu!
Violent tremors shook the depths of the cavern.
The leaders of the raid groups shouted,
“It’s coming!”
“Prepare yourselves!”
“Fuck! Time to properly tank again for the first time in ages.”
At that moment, something enormous emerged through the darkness.
KUUWOOOAR!
A gigantic roar swept through the underground space.
Instantly, many of the Awakeners in the cavern staggered from the shock.
The raid leaders, including Jang Yongbeom, widened their eyes in shock.
“A drake?”
“But why is it nothing but bones?”
What emerged from the darkness was unmistakably a drake.
But only a blackened skeleton remained—there were no scales, muscles, or flesh.
It was a Bone Drake.
“Crazy bastards! They turned a drake into a Bone Drake?”
Jang Yongbeom muttered while gripping his claymore tightly.
An ominous black aura flowed from the Bone Drake.
At minimum, it was above B-rank.
But there was no way something releasing such terrifying aura was only B-rank.
“At least A-rank.”
“Fuck!”
“Tch!”
BOOM!
At that moment, the Bone Drake collided head-on with the raid leaders.
The Awakeners, all A-rank, were blasted away like bowling pins by the overwhelming mass attack.
“Ghk!”
Only Jang Yongbeom, who had reached S-rank, managed to withstand the massive impact.
Even so, his pale complexion showed he wasn’t in good condition.
When ranks were equal, larger demonic beasts were naturally much stronger.
And when powerful supernatural abilities were added on top of that, the gap only widened further.
Bone Drakes were fundamentally undead.
They didn’t die easily.
The difference was overwhelming.
Even for an S-rank like Jang Yongbeom.
KWA-GAGAG!
While he struggled against it in a clash of strength, the raid leaders who had regained themselves rose and charged at the Bone Drake.
“Fuck! How embarrassing…”
“Kill it!”
“Hyaaaah!”
BOOM! BOOM!
They attacked the Bone Drake with all their strength.
But the situation wasn’t good.
Swoooosh!
The Bone Drake’s aura attacked them like tentacles.
They had to dodge the tentacle-like aura while attacking, which multiplied the difficulty several times over.
It was such a vicious battle that Awakeners below B-rank didn’t even dare join.
Seo Taeran spoke to Zeon.
“You’re not joining the fight?”
“You think there’s only one?”
“…What?”
“Yes.”
Zeon nodded and stared ahead.
Dududududu!
As if proving his prediction, another demonic beast burst from the darkness.
It too was a Bone Drake wrapped in black aura.
Even then, Zeon still didn’t move.
Seo Taeran’s face twisted.
The fact that Zeon still hadn’t stepped in despite a second Bone Drake appearing meant there was still another one remaining.
Without thinking any further, she shouted,
“Everyone, release the second-stage seal and stop it!”
“Yes!”
At the same moment, all of her subordinates’ suits ripped apart.
As the second-stage seal was released, their bodies nearly doubled in size.
Underneath their torn suits, they wore specially made combat suits.
The suits stretched to match their enlarged physiques.
A vivid aura radiated from their entire bodies.
With fists and kicks imbued with aura, they attacked the Bone Drake.
They couldn’t defeat it, but they at least managed to slow its advance somewhat.
It was power far beyond what they had shown in the first stage.
‘A-rank or higher output… So the second-stage release acts like a booster.’
Zeon instantly grasped the true nature of the second-stage seal.
Ordinarily, he would have been greatly surprised.
But he had no time for that now.
Ssssss…
An extremely ominous sound came from behind the Bone Drakes.
‘That one is the real threat.’
The Bone Drakes were dangerous, but the truly terrifying monster was the thing quietly approaching behind them.
Finally, like an emperor making its entrance, the creature fully revealed itself.
At that moment, everyone present froze.
“Nine heads?”
“That’s a hydra, right?”
“My god…”
The Awakeners watching from the rear shouted in shock.
The enormous demonic beast leisurely slithering forward while swaying its nine heads was unmistakably a hydra.
A Bone Hydra with nothing but bones remaining.
The appearance of the Bone Hydra, radiating an aura stronger than both Bone Drakes combined, froze every Awakener in place.
Walking toward the Bone Hydra, Zeon muttered,
“To think I’d end up fighting another hydra here too. Even if it’s undead.”
Kaeshu, one of the Three Guardians of High Eltune.
One of the worst chimeras ever created, combining a hydra and a succubus.
Thanks to that, the originally A-rank hydra had possessed power close to S-rank.
But this creature was different.
By turning a pure hydra into a Bone Hydra, it had become a pure S-rank monster—one at the absolute highest level.
Those nine heads each breathed a different type of breath attack.
If even one landed among the Awakeners, it would become a catastrophe.
Zeon spoke to Brielle.
“The moment the barrier opens, leave with Levin.”
“But…”
“That’s how you help me.”
“…Alright.”
Seeing Zeon’s hardened expression, Brielle nodded.
KWA-KWA-KWANG!
Even at that moment, the battle between the Bone Drakes and the Awakeners intensified.
The aftermath of the fighting increasingly spread toward the other Awakeners as well.
Meanwhile, the old man continued concentrating on dismantling the barrier.
As Zeon passed between the two drakes, he spoke to Jang Yongbeom and the other raid leaders.
“You should either defeat them or escape once the barrier is released.”
“What about you?”
“I still have something left to do.”
Leaving only those words behind, Zeon disappeared between the two drakes.
The Bone Drakes’ tentacle-like aura attacked him, but not a single strike touched him.
Passing through them, Zeon finally stood before the Bone Hydra.
The Bone Hydra looked down at the tiny lifeform, not even one-hundredth its size, as though it were laughable.
The corners of Zeon’s lips twisted upward.
“How arrogant…”
At that moment, the sand piled across the floor moved and formed a gigantic wall behind Zeon.
The space containing the Awakeners was completely cut off.
The Bone Drakes still remained, but dealing with them was the others’ responsibility.
Zeon couldn’t solve everything for them.
Ssssss…
The Bone Hydra flicked its tongues.
It radiated confidence that it could destroy a mere sand wall whenever it wanted.
Zeon smiled as well.
Tssssss!
At that moment, the sand began to boil and transformed into magma.
The sticky, molten sand wall quickly hardened and became solid.
“You still think you can break it easily now?”
Zeon said with a grin.