Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 76

From the blazing flames, Ethan jumped out.

His entire body was burned, and his hair, tangled in the fire, had turned into frizzy curls.

“This bastard…”

Ethan glared at Zeon with a terrifying look in his eyes.

Just like Zeon, wearing a robe made of Leviathan hide, he also possessed a formidable A-rank item.

Underneath the completely charred outerwear, he wore a black suit.

It was a protective suit made by combining the leather of an Armored Rhinoceros with Neo Seoul’s technology.

Its official name was Colaine No-3.

It was in high demand for protecting wearers from both physical and magical attacks.

On the other hand, since obtaining Armored Rhinoceros leather was extremely difficult, the quantity produced was very limited.

As a result, not many people in Neo Seoul had Colaine No-3.

Ethan had managed to obtain such a rare item through great difficulty. And Colaine No-3 proved its worth to him.

It had protected him from the extremely high heat flames that could melt even steel beads.

If it weren’t for Colaine No-3, Ethan would have melted away to the bone.

Zeon looked at Colaine No-3 that Ethan was wearing with an expression of fascination.

“Seeing that it is still intact despite being engulfed by the flames, it looks like it’s made of monster’s skin?”

“Do you understand now? As long as I’m wearing Colaine No-3, your fire magic won’t work on me.”

“Colaine No-3? Is it a product of Neo Seoul? As expected, it’s amazing.”

Zeon was truly impressed.

The fireball he had just unleashed emitted such intense heat that it could melt any metal. Protecting the wearer perfectly in such extreme heat meant that Colaine No-3’s defense was remarkable.

“Ugh!”

Ethan unleashed his telekinesis power again.

With a gesture, a street lamp was pulled out of the ground and came flying towards Zeon split into thousands of pieces.

“Let’s see if you can melt it this time too.”

Ethan’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Pieces of iron rained down on where Zeon stood.

Ethan hoped to see Zeon torn apart, but there was no sign of Zeon being injured anywhere.

Before he knew it, Zeon had unleashed his Sand Stride and avoided the attack.

Ethan’s eyes scanned the area, searching for Zeon.

For a moment, a chill ran down his spine.

‘Behind?’

It wasn’t confirmed visually.

It was instinct whispering.

In fact, behind him, Zeon was staring at him with cold eyes.

“Shit!”

As Ethan hurriedly tried to turn around, Zeon’s fist struck him in the abdomen.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

The impact to his abdomen caused Ethan’s mouth to gape open.

Thanks to Colaine No-3, he didn’t suffer any external injuries. But that didn’t mean he didn’t feel the impact.

The shock of the impact made Ethan unable to regain his senses.

Zeon struck Ethan’s head with his fist again.

Crunch!

“Keuk!”

The tremendous impact caused Ethan’s head to snap back as if his neck would break.

The focus was already gone from Ethan’s eyes. The consecutive blows had sent his consciousness far away.

Even without the Inferno Gauntlet or using his sand abilities, Zeon was strong.

Trained harshly by Dyoden and having experienced countless battles over eight years, Zeon’s hand-to-hand combat skills had risen significantly.

Ethan was no match even for Zeon’s bare hands.

Zeon continued to attack Ethan’s upper body.

Crack!

His repeated blows caused cracks to appear on the surface of Colaine No-3.

With this, he was clearly able to grasp the extent of Colaine No-3’s defense capabilities.

“Seems like it enhances defense by about 50% compared to regular Armored Rhinoceros leather.”

The Armored Rhinoceros itself had formidable defense.

When considering only pure physical defense, it could be said to be among the top ten among the monsters roaming the desert.

Enhancing the defense by over 50% using Armored Rhinoceros leather alone was a remarkable feat of technology.

However, it was far short of Zeon’s level.

If the same material were given to Kailey of the Motte Tribe, who was known for her enchanting abilities, could have at least doubled the defense and added special abilities.

Of course, what Ethan wore was mass-produced, so it couldn’t be compared to the skill of a craftsman like Kailey.

Thus, it was possible to roughly gauge the technological capabilities of Neo Seoul.

Although it wasn’t enough to judge based on only Colaine No-3, it still served as a benchmark.

Now, there was nothing more to deal with Ethan.

Zeon struck Ethan’s head with all his might.

Crack!

Colaine No-3 shattered into pieces, and Ethan fell like a lifeless corpse.

Looking down at the defenseless Ethan, Zeon spoke.

“You understand, right? If you try to take what belongs to someone else and fail, you will have to give up your own life.”

“Damn… it!”

Ethan weakly cursed.

It was impossible not to know.

That was the law of the slums.

The weak perish, and the survivor takes it all.

As Zeon’s fist was about to strike Ethan’s face,

“Oh my, how impulsive.”

A woman’s voice was heard, and suddenly Ethan disappeared.

Bang!

Thanks to that, Zeon’s fist only shattered the empty ground.

Turning around, Zeon saw a gorgeously dressed middle-aged woman standing there.

It wasn’t sure what method she used, but Ethan was nestled in her arms.

Zeon chuckled.

“That’s an interesting skill. Is it spatial manipulation? It’s extremely rare for someone to master spatial skills.”

“You know a lot. It’s not my skill, just something thanks to an item.”

“Can you tell me what item it is?”

“You’re quite a curious young man, aren’t you? You know, trade secrets can’t be revealed so lightly.”

The middle-aged woman flashed a seductive smile.

Her name was Ava.

She was one of Goran’s four most trusted subordinates, and she was the leader of the brothels.

She was in a romantic relationship with Ethan, making her more sensitive to his movements than anyone else.

Ava gently caressed Ethan’s unconscious face as she spoke.

“The only thing worth seeing is his face, and yet you’ve managed to ruin it like this. It seems like you are not afraid of the consequences.”

“Is there anything to fear more than death?”

“You’re a fearless young man. Well, I guess you had the audacity to try to kill him, but…”

She no longer smiled or wore a seductive expression.

She looked at Zeon with a face devoid of emotion, almost like an emotionless doll.

Then she spoke.

“I’ll leave for today.”

“Who said you could leave?”

“Don’t be mistaken. I’m not seeking permission from you.”

Suddenly, Ava’s image wavered like a wave.

“A mirror image?”

Zeon realized the nature of the magic Ava had cast and sent flames towards her.

Boom!

The massive flames swept past the spot where Ava and Ethan had been. However, the two of them were no longer there.

They had fooled him with a mirror image and escaped.

Scratching his head, Zeon muttered under his breath.

“Dammit, just taking a short rest made me lose my edge.”

This would’ve been unthinkable before he entered Neo Seoul.

Being complacent in the desert was directly related to survival.

That’s why he never let his guard down for even a single moment. Yet, coming into Neo Seoul and taking some rest seemed to have made him lax unknowingly.

Blaming himself for being deceived by a mere mirror image, Zeon moved on.

Though he could track them down, it wasn’t very efficient.

“If you beat up a hunting dog, the owner will come forward.”

Zeon shook his head slightly and entered a building.

Arriving at the door of his own apartment on the eighteenth floor, Zeon chuckled.

Because there were signs of someone trying to force the door open.

The door, which even an Awakened couldn’t break, opened smoothly when Zeon touched it.

Only Zeon could freely enter and exit this place; it was not permitted for others.

Zeon, now without his robe, sat on the sofa.

The red neon sign outside caught his eye.

Zeon gazed at the sight for a long time.

***

Yoo Se-hee sat deeply in her chair, crossing her legs.

Everyone has something they cherish. For her, it was the chair she was sitting in right now.

It was a chair made a hundred years ago.

An antique made before the earth turned into sand.

The chair’s leather had decayed, and its springs had rusted and squeaked. But to Yoo Se-hee, that sound was as comforting as a lullaby.

The scene of a beautiful woman with red hair and white leather clothes, sitting with her legs crossed, would be enchanting to anyone who saw it.

But Yoo Se-hee, the person in question, was lost in her own world, paying no attention to it.

She opened her eyes only after a long time.

“This is difficult, so difficult!”

Yoo Se-hee sighed.

Being the owner of the Goblin Market was a position with a lot to consider.

She had to protect numerous merchants and respond to external threats, so she had no choice but to be cautious.

There had been an incident at the Goblin Market last night too.

It was a light fight between merchants, but Yoo Se-hee couldn’t overlook it easily.

“Lately, these kinds of cases have been increasing. It seems like there’s some kind of stress factor…”

There was no lack of guesses, but she had to be careful.

“Miss!”

At that moment, a large man dressed in black appeared.

He was Yoo Se-hee’s bodyguard, the Black Lion.

Yoo Se-hee sighed audibly at Black Lion’s appearance.

If he was disturbing her contemplation, then it must not be something trivial.

“Hah! What’s wrong?”

“There have been unusual movements in Sinchon.”

“Goran?”

“Yes! Ethan has moved.”

“Ethan is Goran’s secretary, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Why did he move?”

“He went to see that man.”

“Speak so that I can understand.”

“Zeon! The man you’ve met before.”

Yoo Se-hee furrowed her brows at Black Lion’s answer.

It wasn’t to jog her memory.

Rather, because the name was still vivid in her memory.

“Isn’t he the one who went to the crocodiles’ den to find the mana generator? Why would Goran be interested in him?”

Yoo Se-hee raised her eyebrows.

No matter how much she thought about it, there was no connection between the two.

Goran might be the ruler of Sinchon, but he doesn’t pick fights for no reason.

“What? Is there something I don’t know? Why would Goran… So what are the results?”

“Ethan almost died.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s definite that Ava came forward and barely saved him from being killed by Zeon.”

“Is that true?”

“I’m certain.”

“Unbelievable! Even though it’s Ethan, he’s still considered a formidable figure in the slums….”

Yoo Se-hee was truly impressed.

She knew better than anyone the history of Goran and his subordinates inside Sinchon.

That’s why the news of what happened to Ethan was even more surprising.

Yoo Se-hee asked the Black Lion.

“What do you think Goran will do?”

“He probably won’t move directly since there are still subordinates left…”

“If he moves directly, hell will break loose again.”

Yoo Se-hee’s voice sank low.

During the time when numerous organizations were rampant, Goran suppressed countless competitors on his own and became the ruler of Sinchon.

Yoo Se-hee knew very well how terrible things had become then.

“Why did you have to get involved with him…?”

Yoo Se-hee genuinely felt sorry for Zeon.

In her eyes, his cruel end seemed vividly clear.