Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 83

Fwoosh!

A tremendous blaze filled the underground space.

Naturally occurring fires could never have this much firepower.

It was Zeon who caused the inferno.

The superheated flames consumed everything underground.

The corpses of Crocker and the crocodiles, Goran and Ava, and even the corpses supplying blood were all turned to ash without a trace left behind.

After the tremendous blaze swept through the underground space, there was nothing left.

“Are you really human?”

Brielle stared at Zeon with an expression of disbelief.

A Sand Mage manipulating flame abilities.

Even in the world of Elves, Dual Awakeneds were rare.

There were those who awakened two abilities by chance, but usually, one was the primary ability, and the other was only used as support.

Zeon was the first Awakened to freely wield two abilities like this.

Zeon glanced at Brielle with a slight smirk.

“Let’s go.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Are you planning to stay here?”

“No, I’ll go.”

Brielle shook her head, sticking close to Zeon.

She had been trapped in this hellish space without a single ray of light for over a year.

The mere thought of seeing sunlight again filled her with excitement.

With Brielle reluctantly trailing behind, Zeon led the way through the underground passage.

“Huff! J-Just a moment…”

But not long after they started walking, Brielle stopped abruptly.

Her face turned pale, and she looked like she might collapse at any moment.

“What’s wrong?”

“Damn it! Pills, pills…”

Brielle frantically rummaged through her pouch and pulled out a few pills.

Zeon’s gaze turned cold the moment he saw them.

“Are those drugs?”

“N-No! They’re stimulants.”

Brielle quickly swallowed the pills.

As soon as she took them, her complexion returned to normal.

“Haa! That was close.”

“An Elf relying on drugs? And didn’t you say you were a High Elf.”

“Fuck! Who would rely on these because they want to? It’s all because of you humans.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had to make drugs day and night under the watch of the crocodiles. Do you think my body would be normal without them?”

Her body had deteriorated from being reliant on drugs to the point where she couldn’t live a day without them, and her body was so fragile that she wouldn’t find it strange if she stopped breathing at any moment.

Eventually, she secretly manufactured other drugs to survive.

They were a kind of Awakened supplement.

Fortunately, she was able to prevent her body from deteriorating further due to drugs, but in return, her body became unable to survive without the Awakened supplements.

So, she despised humans, who corrupted a pure elf to this extent.

At least that’s what Brielle thought.

“If you rely on drugs like that, you will die unexpectedly one day.”

“Hah! Don’t act like you care. Humans are all the same…”

“Is there a way to stop having to rely on drugs?”

“Who knows? I’ll have to find a way before I die.”

“I guess I can only wish you luck.”

“I don’t need any comfort from humans.”

“But you’re the one who decided to follow one.”

“Damn it!”

“Once your body recovers, let’s go.”

Zeon resumed walking.

After hesitating for a moment, Brielle hurriedly followed him.

After walking for a while, they finally reached a door leading to the outside world.

Brielle squinted her eyes against the intense light pouring in from the wide-open door.

Having been trapped underground for so long, even her eyes had weakened.

She didn’t know if her retinas would burn if she went outside like this.

Brielle pressed her wide-brimmed hat down to shield her eyes.

Zeon grabbed Brielle’s hand, surprising her.

“If I don’t hold your hand, you won’t be able to follow me.”

“Tsk!”

Brielle pursed her lips at Zeon’s words.

But she didn’t pull her hand away.

She realized there was no other way than what Zeon said.

Zeon and Brielle walked hand in hand down the street.

The warm wind mixed with sand, the bustling voices of people, and the intense sunlight enveloping their bodies.

Brielle trembled slightly at the sensation of the outside world, which she hadn’t felt for over a year.

She had missed this feeling for so long.

Swoosh!

Tears streamed down Brielle’s cheeks.

She bowed her head deeply to prevent Zeon from seeing her tears.

As Brielle fell silent, Zeon also remained quiet.

The two walked the streets quietly together.

After walking for a while, they finally reached Shinchon, which had regained its everyday appearance as if there had never been a series of explosions.

Though it was regrettable for the dead, the living had to continue living.

Even if the streets turned into a battlefield again today and many people died, the market would reopen tomorrow.

“Huh?”

“It’s… Zeon.”

Some of the people recognized Zeon among the crowd.

Their faces were filled with astonishment.

They all knew about the fight between Goran and Zeon.

The fact that Zeon had returned meant that he was the winner of that fight.

There was no one in this street who didn’t know that fact.

“Did Zeon really win?”

“My goodness!”

“Does this mean the owner of this street is changing?”

The crowd’s agitation was transmitted directly to Zeon.

They hoped Zeon would say something, anything. But Zeon simply passed them by and entered the building where his house was.

“Huff!”

After climbing eighteen floors, Brielle’s complexion turned pale again.

Gasping for breath, she once again took out an Awakened stimulant from her pouch and consumed it.

With the help of drugs, Brielle barely managed to reach the eighteenth floor.

“Ha! Ha! Fuck! My heart is about to burst.”

She leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

“Here.”

Zeon opened the door to his house for her.

Brielle entered Zeon’s house without any expectations. However, she was surprised to see a different scene inside.

“What’s this? Why is it so clean? And there’s even a barrier?”

She widened her eyes and looked around the room.

As a High Elf, she could clearly see the barrier surrounding Zeon’s house.

She had never seen such an intricate barrier even in her homeland.

“Is that a mana generator? What are those gems on top? Is that the source of the barrier?”

Brielle trembled as she saw the Watching Eye.

As the saying goes, knowledge is power.

Brielle could understand how remarkable the Watching Eye was, given her knowledge of barriers.

“What’s your real identity? Are you human? Could it be that you’re a polymorphed dragon?”

“A dragon? You know about dragons?”

“Are you kidding? How can you not know about dragons?”

“Have you seen one?”

“Of course not.”

Brielle lowered her head deeply.

An elf as young as her had never seen a dragon in person.

Dragons that came to this world were few, and they all hid in deep places where human eyes couldn’t reach.

They weren’t so sloppy that they’d even reveal themselves to some young elf.

Dragons were unimaginably fierce, sinister, and cruel.

Perhaps if Brielle had encountered a dragon, she wouldn’t be an elf in this world anymore.

Brielle looked up at Zeon.

“Am I going to live here from now on?”

“For the time being.”

“Yahoo!”

Brielle leaped onto the bed.

The warm bed was what she missed the most while making drugs underground. That’s why she jumped onto the bed first.

But she couldn’t fulfill her wish.

Zeon had grabbed the back of her neck.

“Your place isn’t there.”

“Then where do I sleep?”

Instead of answering, Zeon looked at the sofa.

“Sleep on the sofa? Isn’t that too much for a lady like me?”

“First, you’re not a lady. Second, the bed is mine. Third…”

“What, there’s a third?”

“Yes! Third, my heart.”

“Ugh!”

“So, don’t eye my bed and just sleep on the sofa. That’s already quite generous of me.”

“Haa!”

Brielle glared at Zeon with a pout.

Even though tears welled up in her eyes, she couldn’t move Zeon’s heart.

In the end, Brielle weakly walked over to the sofa. But as soon as she lay down on it, she smiled broadly, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

“Wow! It’s so soft. So comfy!”

The sofa was softer and more comfortable than she had expected.

After tossing and turning for a while, Brielle fell into a deep sleep as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

Ha! Ha!

Listening to Brielle’s quiet breathing, Zeon thought.

‘A High Elf’s oath…’

The bond of the oath connected him and Brielle.

It was impossible to forcibly sever this bond.

As long as Brielle followed him, he had an obligation to take care of her.

It was an unexpected burden.

‘To sever the oath, do I need to find the High Elf village?’

Come to think of it, he hadn’t asked Brielle where her village was or how many people were in it.

Zeon decided he would ask her when she woke up.

But before that, there was one thing he had to do.

Leaving Brielle sleeping deeply, Zeon left the house.

His destination was Goran’s business establishment.

Near the collapsed arena were numerous buildings belonging to Goran’s businesses.

Among them, Zeon entered a building where prostitutes were gathered.

Even though they saw him coming, none of the prostitutes stopped him.

They knew.

The ruler of this street had changed as of today.

They had no intention of resisting the new ruler.

A prostitute who looked a little older stepped forward.

“Welcome.”

“Do you recognize me?”

“In a place where you can’t survive a day without being perceptive, of course, I can’t help but recognize you.”

“Then it’ll be easier to talk. Where’s Ethan?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Tell me where Ethan is.”

“I’ll guide you.”

The prostitute led Zeon to Ava’s room.

There, Ethan was lying down, receiving treatment.

“You?”

Ethan quickly got up when he saw Zeon.

The wounds he had received from Zeon hadn’t healed yet, so even standing up took effort. But he had to stand up forcibly.

He couldn’t just sit and take it.

“Goran… could it be that you defeated him?”

“Goran, Ava, and Theo, they all died by my hands.”

“That can’t be true!”

“Believe it or not, you’re the only one among Goran’s followers who’s still alive.”

Ethan’s face turned pale.

If what Zeon said was true, it meant that Goran’s power had completely collapsed.

Zeon said to him.

“You have two choices left. One is to fight to the end and die.”

“Are there other choices?”

“Of course.”

“What is it?”

“Become the ruler of Shinchon in place of Goran.”

“What? What do you mean…”

For a moment, Ethan couldn’t understand Zeon’s words and blinked.

Logically, since Zeon had defeated Goran, it was right for him to become the ruler of Shinchon.

“Why aren’t you becoming the ruler instead of me…”

“I’m fine just as it is right now. If you don’t like it, I’ll have to find someone else.”

“No, no. I’ll do it. I’ll become the ruler of Shinchon.”

Eithen hastily spoke.

His face was now filled with a sudden gleam of greed.

Despite thinking of it as an insurmountable mountain, he also had ambitions while working under Goran.

Knowing that Zeon’s offer wouldn’t come again, he didn’t hesitate to seize it.

The fact that Ava, his lover, died at Zeon’s hands didn’t pose any problem for him.

There were plenty of prostitutes to replace her.

Zeon said.

“If you agree to one thing, you’ll be the ruler of Shinchon.”

“What is that?”

Ethan looked at Zeon with eyes filled with intense desire.

Zeon’s answer was simple.

“Do not bother me.”