Chapter 628

Chapter 628

Zeon spoke as he looked at Lemura, who was sitting down with a tired expression.

“Wasn’t that too much for you?”

“It was hard, but I’m okay since I was able to save a lot of people.”

“Still, take care of your body while you do it.”

“Don’t worry, oppa!”

Lemura smiled adorably. Watching nearby, Jetoah clicked his tongue and scolded her.

“She really is an idiot. Pouring out mana until she collapsed from exhaustion.”

“But I could endure it because of the necklace Zeon oppa gave me.”

Lemura pointed at the necklace hanging around her neck.

It was Elura’s Tear, which Zeon had given her some time ago.

A broken item capable of completely restoring mana once a day.

Thanks to Elura’s Tear, Lemura had been able to heal people to the fullest without worrying about mana depletion.

“What about the other healers?”

“They drank the potion sister Brielle gave them and are resting.”

“They’ll have to treat a lot of people tomorrow too, so make sure they get as much rest as possible.”

“Yes, oppa!”

“You did well today.”

“Hehe!”

At Zeon’s praise, Lemura smiled shyly.

After sending her and Jetoah off to rest, Zeon stepped outside.

When he headed toward the entrance of the Steel Fortress, he saw Levin collapsed onto the ground with an exhausted look on his face.

“You worked hard.”

“Ugh! My whole body aches like hell.”

“If it weren’t for you, the skies would’ve broken open and the damage would’ve been massive. You did well.”

“If I’d been alone, they would’ve broken through. We only managed to stop them because everyone helped with one heart.”

Levin’s gaze turned toward the West District awakeners sitting a short distance away.

The West District awakeners were busy repairing or replacing their parts.

Thanks to their covering fire, Levin had been able to stop the flying-type beasts with ease.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the West District awakeners waved their hands. Levin waved back.

They had only fought together for half a day, yet camaraderie had already formed.

“If you’re really struggling, why not ask Lemura?”

“It’s fine. Lemura must be exhausted too after working all day. This alone is enough for me.”

Levin pulled out a small glass bottle from his chest and shook it.

It was a potion made by Brielle.

Levin downed the potion in one gulp.

“Haa! I finally feel alive again.”

“You’ll have to work hard again tomorrow. Out of everyone here, you’re the only one who can deal with flying-type beasts easily.”

“I was already prepared for that much.”

Levin nodded.

Among everyone gathered here, only he, Zeon, and the gravity mage Grain possessed flight abilities.

Grain, a member of the Numbers, was occupied dealing with the large beasts and couldn’t help Levin, while Zeon wasn’t participating in battle at all.

Zeon asked,

“Are you upset that I’m not stepping in?”

“No! Not at all.”

“Really?”

“Yes! We can’t keep relying on hyung forever. I think the mayor made the right decision.”

“I see? That’s a relief.”

At Levin’s answer without even a trace of hesitation, Zeon nodded.

The reason Zeon wasn’t fully participating in the battle was because of Jin Geum-ho’s request.

Before the war began, Jin Geum-ho had come to Zeon and said,

“If possible, I’d like you to refrain from taking part in this war.”

“Is there a reason I should?”

“Because this war is both a crisis and an opportunity for Neo Seoul.”

“Please explain in more detail.”

“Because it’s an opportunity to unite our fractured interior into one.”

“Hmm!”

“Those who fight together and shed blood against a common enemy are bound to form strong bonds. But if the war ends too quickly or its outcome is decided too soon, that unity will inevitably weaken.”

“There will be many casualties.”

“Even so, it can’t be helped. Right now, even if we must pay a heavy price, this is the time to endure for the sake of the future.”

Jin Geum-ho’s eyes were fixed on the distant future.

They couldn’t rely on Zeon forever.

For the sake of what lay ahead, Neo Seoul’s awakeners themselves had to become the masters of this battlefield.

The pride of overcoming a crisis with their own strength, combined with the bonds formed through fighting together, would make Neo Seoul’s awakeners even stronger.

If Zeon stepped in too early and robbed them of the chance to fight, such an opportunity would never come again.

That was why Jin Geum-ho chose to seal away the broken existence known as Zeon.

Because it was a decision that looked far beyond immediate victory and toward the distant future, Zeon had no choice but to follow Jin Geum-ho’s words.

Levin smiled and said,

“Hyung, don’t worry too much. The people you raised are all playing huge roles in this war.”

“Hmm!”

Zeon nodded.

Not only Levin and Lemura, but Brielle too was helping the war effort by locking herself in her room and endlessly making potions.

She had started mass-producing potions she had developed herself rather than the standard potions distributed in Neo Seoul.

It wasn’t something she could do alone.

She had gathered every alchemist sent from Neo Seoul and taught them her recipe.

The potions Brielle created were incomparably superior to the existing ones.

Ordinarily, recipes like these were never disclosed. But to reduce casualties, Brielle boldly revealed her formula.

The potion ingredients were supplied from both the Primordial Forest and Neo Seoul, and the alchemists continued making potions until their mana was utterly exhausted.

Thanks to that, many lives had been saved.

Zeon patted Levin on the shoulder and said,

“I’ll stand watch, so get some sleep in the meantime.”

“I will.”

Leaving Levin behind, Zeon exited the Steel Fortress.

Outside, post-battle recovery efforts were still in full swing.

Humans, elves, dwarves—regardless of race, everyone was working together to repair damaged traps and magic circles.

Zeon watched them for a moment before riding a sandstorm high into the sky.

Above the night sky, where darkness had fallen after sunset, all was silent.

Not even the flying-type beasts that had attacked the Steel Fortress like mad throughout the day could be seen.

Having suffered major losses from Levin and the West District awakeners’ attacks, they had retreated to rest. But once daylight returned, they would surely reappear as though they had never hidden at all.

Because of that, Zeon was able to enjoy some time alone for the first time in a long while.

It had been a long time since he had been alone without any interruptions like this.

Zeon didn’t dislike this solitude.

Because it brought peace to his mind.

Zeon climbed higher and higher.

Once he reached the thin-air heights, he felt a powerful force above his head.

It was the mana field covering the Earth.

Even when Teserina had first told him about the mana field, it had left a bad taste in his mouth, but feeling it directly made it even worse.

This mana field was humanity’s limit.

Unless the mana field blanketing the Earth was removed, humanity was no different from fish trapped inside a fishbowl.

Jin Geum-ho was carrying out Heavenly Punishment to overcome this limit, but whether they could truly break through the mana field and leave Earth remained unknown.

“One day, I’ll strip away this entire mana field.”

Making that vow, Zeon descended once more.

After descending a certain distance, breathing became much easier.

Only then did Zeon stop and gaze into the far distance.

There was a place shining brightly like torches in the darkness.

It was where El Harun’s demi-humans were stationed.

Fires had been lit throughout the camp, making it clearly visible even within the thick darkness.

Thanks to that, Zeon could observe the military camp in detail.

In the middle of the vast desert, countless tents were spread out, and enormous beasts guarded the perimeter.

The beasts continuously let out threatening cries, apparently displeased by something, while the demi-humans watched them with anxious expressions.

Even for the demi-humans, this situation was unfamiliar.

Beasts were not creatures that could be tamed.

If coexistence had been possible, they would have lived together or domesticated them long ago. But beasts could be subdued, never truly broken.

Even now, though some kind of force compelled them to fight alongside the demi-humans, they had not truly submitted.

The way they constantly moved their heads around and scraped the ground with their claws made it seem as though they would attack the demi-humans the moment their restraints disappeared.

There was no way the demi-humans could feel comfortable staying so close to such savage beasts.

Because of that, most of the demi-humans were watching the beasts with uneasy expressions. But there were some who were different.

The prime example was the giant race.

The giants, whose bodies rivaled massive beasts in size, strode through the camp without a trace of intimidation.

Among them, one figure stood out the most.

It was Krudu, the leader of the giants, whose physique was exceptionally enormous.

“Hm?”

While surveying the camp, Krudu suddenly stopped after sensing something strange.

His gaze turned toward the night sky.

A pitch-black night so dark that not even stars were visible.

Even if something were there, it should have been impossible to see it.

And yet Krudu’s superhuman senses detected that something existed high within that dark sky.

“Spear!”

When he held out his hand toward a subordinate beside him, the subordinate handed him an enormous spear over ten meters long.

Calling it a spear was generous—it was larger and sturdier than the pillars supporting ordinary buildings.

Krudu briefly savored the feel of the spear before gripping it tightly.

“Chaaat!”

Swaeek!

Krudu hurled the spear directly toward Zeon’s location.

The gigantic spear flew with terrifying speed like a rocket.

Zeon didn’t dodge. Instead, he waved his hand.

At his gesture, a Fire Spear formed and intercepted Krudu’s spear.

Kwaaaang!

With a thunderous explosion, the spear Krudu had thrown exploded midair.

Fragments of the spear scattered in all directions alongside the flames.

Through the flames, Krudu saw Zeon’s face revealed.

His eyes turned even colder.

“Zeon! So it really was you. What are you plotting?”

Since Zeon hadn’t appeared during the daytime battle, Krudu had wondered if he might not be at the Steel Fortress at all.

If Zeon, the sand mage, had participated from the start, no matter how many beasts they mobilized, they would never have been able to pressure the Steel Fortress like that.

That was how dangerous Zeon was.

His broken ability to freely control sand was more dangerous than anything else in the desert.

Yet for some reason, Zeon hadn’t even shown himself on the battlefield.

Though he couldn’t know the reason, it was fortunate for El Harun’s demi-humans.

“It doesn’t matter if you join the war. I’ll tear you apart with my own hands.”

Krudu trusted in his overwhelmingly powerful body.

His physique was so strong that he could overpower most beasts even in barehanded combat.

No matter how broken Zeon’s abilities were, Krudu was confident that if he managed to grab him, he could rip him apart like paper.

After glaring at Zeon for a long while, Krudu turned around and disappeared among the giants.

“Hoo.”

Zeon let out a faint sigh.

They hadn’t clashed directly, but even from this single exchange, he could tell just how absurdly powerful Krudu truly was.

The distance between where Krudu stood and where Zeon hovered exceeded several kilometers. Yet he had thrown the spear with perfect accuracy from that distance.

Even more terrifying, the force behind it hadn’t weakened in the slightest by the time it arrived here.

Even considering he was a giant, the strength he possessed was absurd.

“To deal with him, considerable sacrifices will be unavoidable.”

For a moment, Zeon considered whether it might be better to intervene now and kill Krudu himself.

“Hm?”

At that moment, Zeon sensed someone’s gaze.

It wasn’t Krudu.

He had already disappeared among the other giants.

Zeon’s gaze shifted toward a place far beyond the rear of the demi-human camp.

It was a distance no ordinary human eyesight could ever perceive.

Zeon frowned.

Because the gaze he faintly sensed from that distant place felt strangely familiar.

It didn’t take Zeon long to recall the owner of those eyes.

“Don’t tell me that mad elf Dantal came here too?”

It felt as though the blood throughout his body turned ice-cold.

There was only one person Dantal would target here.

Zeon himself.

“Well now.”