Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 95

The passage was dark. However, it appeared bright as day in Zeon’s eyes.

His eyes didn’t miss a single scratch on the walls or even a single pit in the floor.

Crunch!

Something brittle crumbled under his foot.

Zeon reached out and grabbed the broken object.

“Ghost Dragonfly exoskeleton? Seems like some of them have already molted.”

As with any monsters, the danger increases as Ghost Dragonflies mature.

The floor was littered with exoskeletons.

It was clear that many had already molted.

“This is too soon.”

Zeon furrowed his brow.

Every living organism in nature follows a timeline.

The time it takes for a human to be born, grow into an adult, and then age.

Though races and innate DNA may differ, the passage of time for growth and aging is nearly the same.

Monsters are no different.

While the timing may vary by species, timelines within the same species are quite similar.

Ghost Dragonflies are no exception.

From hatching from eggs to becoming larvae, and from larvae to becoming adults, the time frame is always consistent.

Naturally, the size of the larvae during molting is also similar.

But the sizes of the exoskeletons scattered on the floor varied.

It meant they were born at different times.

Yet they all molted almost simultaneously.

Naturally, this was impossible.

“Something must have forcibly accelerated their molting.”

It was a conjecture Zeon could make based on his knowledge of monster physiology.

Zeon continued walking, stepping on the exoskeletons.

The size of the cave grew as he progressed.

The width and height noticeably expanded.

This was also something that could never happen naturally.

However, Zeon didn’t find it strange.

After all, dungeons themselves were such places.

Remnants of Kurayan had been transformed into dungeons due to the failure of terraforming.

Ghosts trapped in the interstices of dimensions, unable to die or live, continuing their existence as specters.

Some dungeons evolve on their own, much like living organisms.

The dungeons Zeon knew were such places.

So, suddenly revealing a vast space was not at all unusual.

Just like now.

In a moment, the space changed.

Wooong!

What greeted Zeon was a multitude of Ghost Dragonflies.

The swarm of Ghost Dragonflies filled the sky, as black as night.

Zeon had never seen such a large gathering of Ghost Dragonflies.

“Look at this.”

Zeon’s eyes gleamed coldly.

What he noticed was the eyes and wings of the hovering Ghost Dragonflies.

Their eyes were as red as blood, and their transparent wings shimmered with incomprehensible patterns.

“An artificial frenzied state. As expected, someone has definitely intervened.”

That explained why everything felt off from the moment he entered the dungeon.

The fact that Old Man Klexi was captured by Hell Moles, and the existence of two entities that could never coexist in the same dungeon, all felt unnatural.

Everything was unnatural.

That’s when it happened.

Whooong!

The Ghost Dragonflies in midair suddenly swooped down towards Zeon.

Like meteors showering down, the swarm of Ghost Dragonflies descended upon him.

Zeon extended his Sand Strides, dodging the Ghost Dragonflies’ attacks.

Crash! Boom!

Where Zeon had been just moments before, it exploded as if hit by a bomb.

It was a suicidal attack.

Ghost Dragonflies were also living beings.

Naturally, they valued their lives.

But there was only one reason they would recklessly sacrifice themselves like this.

“The Queen must be in trouble.”

Wooong!

As if in response, the Ghost Dragonflies continued their relentless assault, one after another.

A swarm of Ghost Dragonflies pouring like rain.

The sound of their fluttering wings was terrifying.

Crash! Bang! Boom!

Explosions ensued one after another.

Zeon narrowly avoided all the explosions by a hair’s breadth.

Flames surged like a tsunami, and immense pressure crushed his entire body. Yet amidst all the threats, Zeon remained unfazed.

Despite the sheer number of Ghost Dragonflies, they couldn’t be more numerous than grains of sand scattered in the desert.

Sand was also scattered in this dungeon.

“Claymore!”

As Zeon opened his mouth, nearby sands exploded.

Sand burst out like the ancient weapon, Claymore, unleashing force comparable to its steel beads.

Countless sand grains clashed with countless Ghost Dragonflies.

Rumble! Whoosh!

Sand grains pierced through the wings of the Ghost Dragonflies and penetrated their large eyes and bodies.

The Ghost Dragonflies shattered, torn apart, and dismembered.

A large hole was blasted into the space where Claymore had exploded. The swarm of Ghost Dragonflies that had filled that space vanished.

If another Awakened had witnessed this scene, they would have surely been astonished beyond words.

Such was the immense power unleashed.

Thud! Crash!

Zeon continuously unleashed Claymore.

Each time, heaps of Ghost Dragonflies vanished from the world.

Claymore was a skill that consumed a tremendous amount of mana. Yet Zeon unleashed it consecutively without a care.

Ghost Dragonflies, their wings torn off and bodies torn asunder, plummeted.

The sight of the Ghost Dragonflies falling helplessly was pitiful. Yet Zeon paid them no mind as he walked on.

Now, there were no Ghost Dragonflies blocking his path.

Zeon passed through the remnants of the Ghost Dragonflies and arrived at his destination.

There stood an unusually large Ghost Dragonfly.

A monster Ghost Dragonfly that seemed to measure twenty meters from head to tail.

“The Queen!”

The monster Ghost Dragonfly was none other than the Queen.

However, her condition was dire.

Her once beautiful and transparent wings were nowhere to be seen, as if they had been forcibly torn off, and her long, beautiful tail was severed in half, writhing on the ground.

Transparent exoskeletons were scattered all over the floor.

The Queen Ghost Dragonfly was on the brink of death.

Trembling legs gasped for breath.

Zeon approached the Queen Ghost Dragonfly. Then, he saw seven jewels embedded in her back.

The jewels were arranged like the Big Dipper.

Zeon plucked one of the jewels.

Even so, the Queen Ghost Dragonfly didn’t resist.

She was already drained of strength.

Zeon examined the jewel closely.

It was evident that it was an item with magic runes inscribed on its surface.

“The traces of mana… This was the work of a Tamer. They forcibly accelerated the molting.”

Insect-type monsters molt several times in their lifetime.

Each molting makes them larger and grants them greater strength.

But molting doesn’t occur randomly.

Sufficient mana must accumulate, and they must be physically and mentally mature to progress to the next stage.

In Zeon’s view, it wasn’t yet time for the Queen Ghost Dragonfly to molt. Yet an unknown Tamer had forcibly accelerated her molting.

“There must be a reason to the forced molting… Was it because of her wings?”

Zeon recalled Brielle’s words.

She mentioned that the wings of a freshly molted Queen Ghost Dragonfly weren’t affected by gravity.

If the Tamer coveted the Queen Ghost Dragonfly’s wings, it was more than enough reason.

A formidable Tamer would undoubtedly have the ability to forcibly induce the molting of a Ghost Dragonfly.

“But can a single Tamer accomplish this feat alone?”

Zeon looked around.

It was a double dungeon with two bosses.

Even the most powerful Tamer couldn’t subdue all these monsters and control them as they pleased.

There must have been collaborators.

The question was whether the collaborator was an individual or an organization.

“It’s highly likely that it’s an organization.”

Not only did they discover the dungeon emerging from the desert, but they also managed to infiltrate it while avoiding the guards.

It would have been impossible without some kind of organization.

Zeon tilted his head slightly and waved his hand, and suddenly, a massive blaze erupted, engulfing the Queen Ghost Dragonfly.

In an instant, the Queen Ghost Dragonfly turned into a handful of ashes.

***

A man and a woman were walking in the uninhabited desert.

Both wore loose robes, and like the woman, the man wore a spacious cloak.

They both had their faces covered with hats, concealing their identities.

“…”

The woman suddenly stopped and looked up, prompting the man beside her to speak.

“What’s wrong?”

“The Queen is dead.”

“Oh? Seems like her breath has finally ceased.”

“But it wasn’t time for her to die yet…”

The woman tilted her head, calculating precisely and making a gesture with her hand.

Even though they forcibly induced molting and tore off her wings, she believed the Queen could recover enough over time.

However, contrary to her expectations, the Queen’s life ended.

“It seems an unexpected variable has occurred.”

“It’s possible.”

The man nodded, but he didn’t seem overly concerned.

His task was to protect the woman, a Tamer.

Once they entered Neo Seoul, his mission would be complete.

He detested anything beyond his assigned duties.

Observing the man’s grumpy attitude, the woman frowned her expression slightly.

‘Well, it’s not my concern anymore. The commission has been successfully completed.’

She was a B-rank Tamer.

Though she was called a Tamer, she couldn’t simply tame all the monsters. If that were the case, she would have been the ruler of this desert, not the monsters.

The number of monsters she could tame was extremely limited, and taming monsters higher in rank than her was even more impossible.

Especially, it was impossible to tame the boss of a dungeon regardless of rank.

Dungeon bosses inherently possessed a strong sense of self.

Monsters with such strong egos instinctively rejected being subservient to humans.

The Queen Ghost Dragonfly was no exception.

As the pinnacle of a herd, the Queen possessed a strong sense of self that she could never subdue with her abilities alone.

The fact that she was able to subdue and forcibly induce molting in the Queen Ghost Dragonfly was solely due to her item.

The jewel necklace hanging around her neck.

The central jewel radiated seven different lights in all directions.

It was commonly called a Rainbow Gem.

Hence, the necklace was named the Rainbow Pendant.

‘An S-rank item…’

The woman’s hand trembled as she touched the necklace.

It wasn’t her possession; it was an S-rank item borrowed from the man beside her.

The power of an S-rank item was truly formidable.

It temporarily elevated her abilities from B-rank to S-rank.

Thanks to it, she could temporarily subdue the Queen Ghost Dragonfly and her legion.

Thanks to it, she could forcibly accelerate their growth and induce molting.

All of this was done to obtain the wings of the Queen Ghost Dragonfly.

In the process, unexpected interventions occurred, such as a raid team entering and luring in Hell Moles.

But thanks to the man who assisted her, all problems were easily resolved.

‘Who on earth is he?’

She didn’t know the man’s identity.

He never took off the hat he had worn from the beginning to the end.

However, she knew he was incredibly powerful.

It was because of the man’s abilities shown within the dungeon.

If he wished, he could turn her into minced meat in an instant.

Without a word, they walked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at Neo Seoul.

They stood in front of the entrance to Neo Seoul, not the slums.

The man spoke at the door.

“We’ll part ways here.”

He extended his hand to the woman.

It meant to return the Rainbow Pendant he had lent her for a while.

The woman pursed her lips and bit them tightly.

She really didn’t want to return it. But she had to.

She reluctantly unfastened the Rainbow Pendant and handed it back to the man.

The man stowed away the Rainbow Pendant and the wings of the Queen Ghost Dragonfly in a spatial storage and said,

“We’ll meet again on the next commission, Claire.”

“When will the next commission be?”

“I’ll inform you when the time comes. Until then, rest well.”

“Yes!”

Claire responded with a trembling voice.

As they entered Neo Seoul, the two walked in different directions.

Passing through the bustling streets, the man headed towards the city’s highest building, the City Hall.

The Awakened guarding the City Hall greeted the man politely.

“Welcome. The Mayor is waiting for you.”