Episode 59
Having two consciousnesses didn’t mean her vision was limited. Eloi had simply taken the forefront, but Mandi shared the exact same field of view. So she had watched clearly just how miserably Eloi was beaten by Zeon.
Eloi’s pain was Mandi’s pain as well.
Naturally, she felt every bit of the pain her other self suffered.
Thus, she couldn’t help but look at Zeon with a frightened expression.
Zeon spoke to her.
“Mandi! Right?”
“That’s… right.”
“I think I know what roles you and Eloi each play. You handle matters related to Neo Seoul, and Eloi handles everything else involving combat, right?”
“Yes!”
“I won’t say anything about Eloi coming out. However, when negotiating with me or giving me information, it absolutely must be Mandi who comes out. Is that possible?”
“It’s… possible.”
“Okay! Let’s settle on doing it that way from now on.”
“Is that all?”
“What do you mean?”
As Zeon looked at her with a puzzled expression, Mandi answered cautiously.
“El…loi was rude to you.”
“Ah, that? It’s fine. It wasn’t really dangerous or anything.”
Zeon smirked as if asking what the problem was.
Eloi was definitely strong.
By Awakened standards, she was probably at least B-rank.
Especially the skill she had unleashed at the end had been quite dangerous.
Had it been another Awakened besides Zeon, they would have suffered a severe wound or been utterly humiliated.
Eloi was that skilled at fighting people.
The problem was that Zeon was even more skilled at combat than she was.
For seven years after parting with Deioden, Zeon had fought countless battles.
Most were against demonic beasts, but battles against humans had been no less frequent.
The region’s natives, scavengers, and others who targeted Zeon were many.
Zeon had won every fight against them and survived until now.
He had accumulated experience incomparable to Eloi’s.
Thanks to that, he had been able to subdue Eloi without even using sand.
Mandi muttered with an expression of disbelief.
“Eloi is strong, and yet…”
“She is strong. If she accumulates a bit more experience, I think she could become dangerous… Ah! Here, drink this for now.”
Zeon suddenly pulled a small bottle from inside his robe and handed it to her.
“What is this?”
“You can think of it as a kind of healing potion. If you take it, ordinary wounds will heal quickly. Ah, set any broken bones in place before you drink it. They might heal crooked otherwise.”
Mandi’s nose was broken.
Because she had been struck by Zeon’s knee.
Only then did Mandi, realizing her condition, reset her nose.
*Crack!*
Once the broken nose bone found its place, breathing became much more comfortable.
Mandi drank the unidentified healing potion Zeon had given her.
The moment she drank the potion, a strange, refreshing sensation washed over her.
Heat rose in her broken nose bone and the cracked bones of both arms. It was a sign that the bones were mending.
Mandi looked at the empty bottle in surprise.
“What is this? I’ve never heard of a potion like this.”
“I made it by mixing the blood of a few demonic beasts with medicinal herbs. It’s pretty useful, right?”
“At this level, it’s not just pretty useful.”
She had never seen a healing potion with this level of efficacy even inside Neo Seoul. If the potion Zeon gave her were taken to Neo Seoul, it would undoubtedly cause an uproar.
*Just who is this man…*
He was a being she couldn’t understand with her common sense.
He saw through everything in the desert as if it were daylight, and he was terrifyingly strong.
If such a person had existed in Neo Seoul, she would definitely have known. The fact that she didn’t meant Zeon was someone who hadn’t grown up inside Neo Seoul.
*To think such a strong person existed outside Neo Seoul.*
She rubbed her forearm without realizing it.
Because goosebumps had risen.
Inside her, Eloi was making a fuss about what the big deal was. She was insisting that she could win if they fought again.
But Mandi knew.
Even if Eloi came out and fought again, she couldn’t be Zeon’s match.
Mandi asked.
“What are you curious about?”
“Have you ever heard of a place called Elharun?”
“What is that?”
Mandi tilted her head at a word she was hearing for the first time in her life.
“You don’t know? It’s supposedly a city built by other races who crossed over from Kurayan.”
“What? Those bastards built a city?”
Suddenly, Eloi’s personality burst forth.
Whether Zeon frowned or not, Eloi was furious and spewed words.
“Did those things really build a city? Like Neo Seoul. Tell me already.”
“I’m sure I said I wanted to talk to Mandi, not Eloi. You seem to be the type who forgets their lesson quickly.”
“Ah, that’s… fuck! Sorry. It’s just, I was so pissed I didn’t realize…”
“Why are you so angry? You might have kin in Elharun too.”
“You think I’m the result of love? I’m the trash born when an elf bastard raped my mother. So does that sound good to you? Tell me where it is. I’ll barge in right now and kill them all.”
Eloi radiated killing intent and hopped around.
She looked ready to barge in immediately if she knew where it was.
Zeon looked at her and spoke.
“You’re no help at all, so send Mandi out.”
“Hey!”
“If you really don’t want to die…”
“You son of a bitch!”
Eloi exited with curses. Then Mandi appeared.
She shook her head with a confused expression and spoke.
“I’m sorry. When she gets really angry, I can’t control her…”
“Never mind that. So you really don’t know about Elharun?”
“I only just learned that such a place even exists.”
“Are there any other races remaining in Neo Seoul?”
“Any? There are quite a lot.”
“Didn’t many die during the massacre several decades ago?”
“How do you know about that? That’s right! I heard an enormous number died then. But they multiplied like cockroaches in no time.”
Mandi’s tone was filled with hatred toward other races.
She too hated other races, just like Eloi.
Elves in particular.
“Might there be someone among them who knows of Elharun?”
“Well… I don’t know.”
Mandi trailed off.
Just then, Kim Sang-sik, who had been watching cautiously, carefully opened his mouth.
“The Ice Queen might know.”
“Ice Queen?”
“It’s the alias of the Northern District’s ruler.”
“And?”
“She is a pure elf.”
Zeon looked at Kim Sang-sik with an expression of interest.
“So you’re saying the Ice Queen is a pure elf?”
“Yes! She is presumed to be a pure-blooded elf.”
“That bitch.”
Mandi spat with a voice mixed with rage.
Currently, Neo Seoul was largely divided into five districts.
The mayor, Jin Geum-ho, occupied the center.
Naturally, he held the greatest power and oversaw the overall policies of Neo Seoul.
He was the very person who had caused Seoul, which had become ruins due to the side effects of terraforming, to be reborn as a city where magic and civilization harmonized.
A living monster who had served as mayor for over a hundred years thanks to the overwhelming support of Neo Seoul’s citizens.
His authority was as solid as the high walls surrounding Neo Seoul. But there were also people who challenged his power.
They were the rulers of the four districts—east, west, south, and north.
Although they couldn’t match Jin Geum-ho’s power, they each occupied one district and reigned as rulers.
The Eastern District’s ruler, Seden.
The Western District’s ruler, Kim Hyeon-su.
The Southern District’s ruler, Xiao Lun.
Finally, the Northern District’s ruler, the Ice Queen.
The Ice Queen was an elf.
Because she hardly engaged in external activities, ordinary people didn’t even know of her existence.
But she definitely existed.
She led the Northern District from behind a thick curtain.
That was also why the Northern District had an unusually high number of other races.
Nearly all other races surviving in Neo Seoul had taken root in the Northern District.
The Ice Queen protected them thoroughly.
“That bitch will never talk. She’s a selfish bitch who only cares about her own race.”
Mandi had once tried to seek refuge with the Ice Queen. But she couldn’t even see her face because she was a half-elf.
It wasn’t the Ice Queen who had done that.
One of her subordinates had.
He took enormous pride in being a pure-blooded elf. When young Mandi came to him in a shabby state, he realized she was a half-elf and heaped terrible humiliation upon her.
After that incident, Mandi shuddered at the mere mention of the Northern District.
Even though the humiliation came from a subordinate, not the Ice Queen.
After that, Mandi never went to the Northern District again, and shuddered whenever the Ice Queen was mentioned.
Zeon’s reaction was different from hers.
“Thank you. I learned some good information. If it’s her, the chances are high that she knows about Elharun.”
“I’m glad to be of help.”
“But you know you have to keep this a secret, right?”
“Of course.”
“Understood.”
Zeon nodded.
For now, it was a secret that had to be kept.
It wasn’t known now, but someday people would learn that a city called Elharun existed.
Perhaps the leaders of Neo Seoul already knew that fact.
They just didn’t know exactly where Elharun was located.
Zeon was the same.
After Deioden died alongside Hielthun, Zeon wandered the world.
Among the places he went was the Kamchatka Colony.
It was to find Elharun, which was presumed to be near the Kamchatka Colony.
Zeon was confident that with his abilities, finding Elharun wouldn’t be difficult. But reality was different.
No matter how much he searched the vicinity, Elharun didn’t appear.
Only then did Zeon realize that Elharun was hiding its appearance through a special method.
*They’ve probably hidden their appearance perfectly using something like a barrier or magic.*
The moment he realized that fact, Zeon cleanly gave up on finding Elharun.
There were many places he wanted to go.
He didn’t want to waste time obsessing over just Elharun. So after that, he left the Kamchatka Colony and wandered the world.
*Ice Queen, huh. When I enter Neo Seoul, I’ll definitely have to meet her.*
He hadn’t obtained a definite answer, but he had grasped a thread to follow, so he felt it would be fine to return to Neo Seoul with a lighter heart.
Zeon spoke as he moved his feet.
“Let’s go now.”
“Yes!”
“Thank you.”
Mandi and Kim Sang-sik followed Zeon.
Kim Sang-sik thought himself fortunate that Zeon hadn’t abandoned him.
Just then, Mandi approached his side and whispered.
“If what happened here leaks out, Eloi will kill you.”
“Eloi? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never saw such a person.”
“Keep that promise.”
“Don’t worry. I know my life is precious too.”
“We’ll see.”
Mandi’s words sent a chill down Kim Sang-sik’s spine.
Mandi had thoroughly hidden the fact that she had two personalities until now.
As well as the fact that she was a half-elf.
If even one of these two secrets leaked, she would be in considerable trouble. She was threatening him with that in mind.
Now Kim Sang-sik had to keep not only Zeon’s secret but Mandi’s as well.
Fortunately, Kim Sang-sik was a man with quite a tight lip.
He resolved to keep the secret no matter what and looked around.
Annika and Felix’s bodies were nowhere to be seen. They were probably already being digested inside the sand worms’ stomachs.
The thought that he could end up the same way sent a chill down his spine.
It was then.
*Swish!*
Suddenly, sand shot up, and sand worms revealed themselves.
The sand worms circled Zeon, Mandi, and Kim Sang-sik for a moment.
At that moment, Zeon lightly stomped his foot.
*Thud!*
A short but powerful vibration traveled straight through the sand.
The sand worms chased the vibration Zeon had created and disappeared into the distance.
Kim Sang-sik covered his mouth in astonishment at the unbelievable sight.
*Just what is this man…*