Episode 17
Aura could be seen coiling around both of Gawein’s fists.
His aura was far more intense and brilliant than Kleing’s or Mashimoto’s. It was proof that his rank was higher than theirs.
His rank was a step higher than even Jeon’s.
Judging by pure stats alone, Jeon could never defeat him.
But this place was a desert.
The entire desert was his stage and his canvas.
Here, he could paint any picture he desired.
Shhhwooo!
Sand walls shot up from all directions, protecting Jeon. But the sand walls were soon shattered by Gawein’s fists.
Unfazed, Jeon unleashed Sand Missiles.
It was the same technique that had killed Kleing just moments before.
“Not a chance.”
Gawein swung his fists, smashing the Sand Missiles to pieces.
Having witnessed Kleing’s death moments ago, he had already grasped Jeon’s attack pattern.
“Die!”
Having neutralized the Sand Missiles in an instant, Gawein reached Jeon. He swung his massive fist at Jeon.
“Hup!”
At that moment, with a sharp cry, Jeon vanished from Gawein’s sight.
A large pit had formed instantly beneath Jeon’s feet, sucking him down.
It happened so fast that Gawein was left with a blank, dazed expression.
From beneath Gawein’s feet, Jeon fired Sand Missiles upward indiscriminately.
Babababang!
With sounds like firecrackers exploding, Gawein’s body jerked.
“Krrgh!”
Gawein curled up tightly, minimizing the impact.
As a D-grade Awakened, he possessed formidable durability. He had also reinforced his entire body with aura for protection.
Thanks to that, he could endure the indiscriminate Sand Missile bombardment to some degree. But if he continued taking this random shelling without a chance to counterattack, he would clearly lose his life.
Gawein clenched his teeth.
“Don’t underestimate me. Uwooooah!”
Letting out a bizarre shriek, he slammed his fist toward the ground.
Kzzzzoong!
His fist detonated against the sandy floor, and a shockwave burst forth.
His skill, Shock Wave, had activated.
The shockwave completely overturned the sand in the area.
The pit where Jeon was hiding couldn’t avoid the Shock Wave either.
“Krrgh!”
The shockwave rattled Jeon’s brain.
His eardrums burst, and the capillaries in his eyes ruptured.
Staggering from Gawein’s unexpected counterattack, Jeon faltered.
Gawein didn’t let that opening slip by and leaped into the pit.
“It’s over, brat!”
He unleashed Shock Wave at Jeon.
If struck squarely, Jeon’s life couldn’t be guaranteed.
“Iyaaah!”
In that instant, with Jeon’s shout, the surrounding sand poured straight into the pit.
The mound of sand crashed over Gawein and Jeon like a wave.
With the sand’s impact, Gawein’s Shock Wave was canceled.
“Kurk!”
Buried alive in the sand out of nowhere, Gawein quickly came to his senses.
A massive amount of sand pressed down on his entire body.
Gawein checked to see if Jeon was nearby. But he couldn’t sense Jeon’s presence anywhere.
He had clearly escaped the sand pit.
‘Like a rat….’
Gawein shuddered and raised himself up.
Puaaang!
With the activation of Shock Wave, the massive amount of sand covering him blew away.
It was the moment Gawein was on guard above the sand pit, preparing for Jeon’s next attack.
Puhwuk!
Suddenly, he felt tremendous pain in his lower body.
“What…the?”
He looked down with an expression of disbelief.
More than ten thorns were piercing through his lower body and abdomen in a cross pattern. They were thorns made of sand.
He had only prepared for an ambush from above; he was completely unprepared for an attack from inside the pit he was standing in.
Because he had thought Jeon had already gotten out.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, Jeon rose from the floor of the pit.
“Kuhak! You?”
Gawein looked at Jeon, coughing up blood.
He had never imagined that Jeon would be hiding in the pit, having completely deceived his senses. That made the shock all the greater.
There was only one ability that could control sand so freely.
“You…don’t tell me, you’re a…Sand Awakened?”
“Yes!”
“Crazy! To think you awakened such a cheat-like ability. Kulk!”
Gawein coughed up blood once more.
At that moment, Jeon withdrew his dominion. The sand thorns that had pierced Gawein’s body crumbled, returning to grains of sand.
With the sand thorns that had supported his body gone, Gawein collapsed too. And he never moved again.
“Haa!”
The tension released, Jeon finally slumped to the ground.
In truth, the final skill used to attack Gawein had been an improvised move.
It was a method that had come to him spontaneously in the moment his life was in danger.
He couldn’t guarantee that the gamble would work, but he trusted his instincts and followed them.
Instead of escaping outside the pit, he hid beneath Gawein’s feet, concealing his presence with sand.
If Gawein had caught on even slightly, everything would have been over.
If he had taken a Shock Wave from that close, Jeon’s life would have vanished in an instant.
“Hah! Hah!”
As Jeon was catching his rough breath.
“You son of a bitch!”
“Die!”
Scavengers crawling out of the pit ambushed him.
By the time Jeon looked over in surprise, their weapons were already a hair’s breadth from his body.
He had no time or strength to evade.
It was the moment Jeon thought of death.
Shhhwoong!
An intangible force swept over Jeon’s head.
Splat!
The Scavengers attacking Jeon were split in half by the intangible force and fell.
The blood they shed poured over Jeon.
“Ah!”
Covered head to toe in their blood, Jeon could only gasp, his mouth opening and closing.
Then, Deiodeun’s voice reached his ears.
“To let your guard down when enemies still remain.”
Jeon hung his head low.
He had no excuse even if he was cursed at.
“You’ve got a long way to go, dumbass!”
Deiodeun’s curses became daggers that pierced his heart.
***
Deiodeun sheathed Keureion.
He had sent aura flying with Keureion, cutting down all the enemies ambushing Jeon.
Deiodeun’s skill in sending aura dozens of meters away was truly astonishing. But what surprised Pavilsa wasn’t Deiodeun—it was Jeon.
He muttered with an expression of disbelief.
“Good heavens! An Awakened who controls sand?”
He had wandered the desert for a long time and met many Awakened, but not once had he seen an Awakened who handled sand.
He hadn’t even imagined such a being could exist.
Pavilsa looked at Deiodeun.
Deiodeun still wore a displeased expression.
He was displeased with Jeon, who had failed to finish properly and brought a crisis upon himself.
‘So that’s why that monster is keeping him around.’
Only now did he feel he understood why Deiodeun traveled with Jeon.
In a world turned to desert, the being capable of demonstrating the greatest power was none other than a sand sorcerer.
Although he had only just awakened his ability and its power was weaker than expected, his potential for growth was limitless.
Jeon, having finished off the Scavengers, trudged toward the Areukellon. His face was visibly exhausted.
For this single battle, Jeon had poured out everything.
He had wrung out every last drop of imagination, mana, and physical energy.
Fighting magic beasts was hard, but fighting humans was harder.
“Whew!”
Sighing, Jeon boarded the Areukellon.
“Good work.”
“You worked hard.”
Pavilsa and Keilri welcomed him. But Deiodeun was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Deiodeun?”
“He went inside. Said it’d make his eyes rot…….”
“Hah!”
As Jeon sighed, Pavilsa spoke with a smile.
“That’s just because his standards are too high. You fought well enough.”
“Yes!”
“You’ve had a hard time, so go in and rest too.”
He gestured to Keilri.
Keilri approached Jeon.
“Let’s go! I’ll guide you to your quarters.”
“Thank you.”
Jeon didn’t refuse and followed Keilri.
What she guided him to was a small room in a corner.
“Rest here. I’ll bring you something simple to eat.”
“Yes!”
Keilri left Jeon behind and went outside.
Jeon sat on a stone bed and looked at his hands.
Tremble, tremble!
They were shaking as if he had a tremor.
He had killed many people today.
Even though they were Scavengers, they were clearly the same kind of people as him.
Killing people like himself gave his mind considerable pain.
He had killed people before too, but the feeling was different from now.
Back then, it had been impulsive killing while struggling to survive; now, it was the murder of countless people under thorough planning.
Naturally, the guilt was immense.
“But I have to overcome it, right?”
Jeon steeled his wavering heart.
He couldn’t blame himself forever.
To survive in this harsh world, he had to throw away guilt.
It was a world where you couldn’t survive without trampling others anyway.
Though his heart wavered for a moment, Jeon had learned the laws of such a world long ago.
“Whew!”
His trembling hands quickly steadied.
Only then did he have the leisure to look back on the recent battle.
Leaning his back against the wall, Jeon replayed the fight with the Scavengers.
***
Pavilsa entered the room where Deiodeun was resting without knocking.
Deiodeun was staring intently at Keureion resting on his knees.
Pavilsa spoke to him.
“Keureion has changed.”
“I tempered it with a Flame Drake’s heart.”
“You granted Keureion a fire attribute? I see you’re really planning to try it.”
“Not for a single moment in a hundred years have I forgotten my goal.”
“Whew! A hundred years is long enough to forget everything.”
Pavilsa sighed.
A deep shadow fell over his face.
It was because he felt ashamed.
He had dismissed it as something unavoidable, a catastrophe that humans couldn’t handle, and had buried that day’s memory.
Instead, he poured his heart into the protection and prosperity of the Mort clan.
Yet while he lived solely for his clan, Deiodeun had lived for a single goal.
Such a path wasn’t one just anyone could walk.
At least among those Pavilsa knew, Deiodeun was the only one.
That was why he was foolish, and admirable.
Pavilsa spoke.
“Give me Keureion.”
“…….”
“If you use it in that state, Keureion will be damaged instead. I’ll have the boys stabilize it.”
The Flame Drake’s heart contained tremendous heat.
It could truly be called a living blast furnace. Having absorbed the heat of such a Flame Drake, Keureion was in a state of extreme fatigue.
If it wasn’t stabilized now, its strength would inevitably weaken significantly.
Deiodeun handed Keureion to Pavilsa.
The moment he received Keureion, Pavilsa’s body swayed. Such was the immense weight of Keureion.
This was the weight of the life Deiodeun had shouldered.
A man who had picked up such a sword and lived for a hundred years for only one goal.
That man was Deiodeun.