Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 110

The Ice Queen was the last hope and guardian of the otherworldly races living in secret within Neo Seoul.

Thanks to her presence, these otherworldly races could persistently carry on their lineage in Neo Seoul despite harsh persecution.

That’s why the loyalty of these races towards her was almost blind.

Borin was no exception.

Her becoming the Commander of the Blue Leaves Special Force was all thanks to the Ice Queen, Serian Oliana.

She accepted the perilous position of Commander because she wanted to be of some help to her.

While leading the Blue Leaves, facing countless dangers and encountering numerous individuals, none of them gave her the eerie feeling as much as Zeon did.

Zeon was smiling.

His seemingly kind smile felt as threatening as a blade.

Borin felt as if she were standing alone, all naked, in front of the sharpest knife in the world.

Zeon asked with a smile on his face.

“I understand taking Levin, he has abilities worth taking. But why take the murderer? What value does he have?”

“….”

Borin tightly sealed her lips.

Even though she had failed her mission, she couldn’t recklessly reveal the secret.

Seeing Borin’s reaction, Zeon made a sad expression.

“Borin! Let’s make this easy. Please don’t make me do bad things. Then I’ll really be unhappy.”

“Ugh!”

Borin’s face contorted for a moment.

With her elven senses, she felt that what Zeon said was true.

Although she didn’t know what bad things Zeon was referring to, she was certain that if he acted, it would be very detrimental to herself and the entirety of the Blue Leaves.

“Haah!”

Zeon sighed.

After looking at Borin for a moment, he turned to the other elves.

“It seems like she hasn’t decided yet. We might need to help her a little.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“I have some interesting things with me. Among them, there’s a bug called the Agony Eater. It’s a bit of a funny creature, it eats the bones of living beings. If bones are eaten, the creature should die, right? But this bug injects a paralyzing toxin into the prey’s body from its mouth. This toxin has hallucinogenic effects. So, the victim enjoys the greatest pleasure until all their bones are eaten away, then they die.”

“That’s impossible. There’s no way such a creature exists in the world.”

“Are you sure? As far as I know, this creature also came from Kurayan.”

“That’s….”

Borin’s pupils shook.

It seemed like Zeon put his hand into his pocket.

It was unclear whether there really was an Agony Eater in Zeon’s pocket. However, Borin had heard about the legend of the Agony Eater from the Ice Queen, Serian.

But it took some time to recall, as it was fragmented information.

‘What if that guy really has an Agony Eater?’

Just imagining it made her hair stand on end.

Eventually, Borin surrendered.

“Okay. I’ll tell you. He’s a byproduct of an experiment.”

“A byproduct?”

“Yes! A literal byproduct. Like trash. So his personality is destroyed, and only the instinct for slaughter remains.”

“What kind of experiment was it?”

“We’re trying to find that out by taking him.”

“Hmm!”

“Rumors about the Central District, where the City Hall is located, have been circulating for a long time. That’s why the Ice Queen was concerned too.”

“So the experiment was conducted in the Central District?”

“Our guess is yes. So we’re trying to find out the details.”

“Hmm.”

Zeon furrowed his brow.

If Borin’s words were true, then he could understand the movements in the North District as well.

Although they belonged to Neo Seoul together, the Central District and the other four districts each had separate rulers.

Their territories were strictly managed, making it difficult for other powers to intervene.

Since intervention from other powers meant war, caution was necessary.

“Alright. I’ve told you everything I know. So let us go now.”

“Okay. But there’s a condition. Don’t ever come near Levin again.”

“That…”

“I cannot let you go unless you make this promise.”

“Okay…”

At that moment, Brielle intervened.

“Promise on Serian’s name.”

At the sudden intervention of Brielle, Borin looked puzzled.

Sweating on the name of Serian, the leader of the otherworldly races, was no different from putting her honor on the line.

If this oath were violated, Serian’s name would also be dragged through the mud.

It’s a fact only known to elves.

Borin looked at Brielle.

“You… you’re an elf, right? But why are you siding with humans?”

“I’m not siding with humans. I’m siding with Zeon.”

“Aren’t they the same thing?”

“No!”

“Hmm.”

“What are you going to do?”

Brielle asked bluntly.

After a moment of contemplation, Borin sighed and replied.

“There’s no choice. I’ll swear on the name of the Ice Queen, Serian Oliana, the ruler of the North District. There won’t be any further attempts to approach Levin from me or the North District.”

“Hmph!”

Brielle crossed her arms and snorted.

Her attitude resembled that of a child expecting praise from Zeon.

Zeon smiled and said.

“Well done.”

“Yeah.”

At that moment, Borin asked Brielle.

“You seem to be close to being a pureblood. Which tribe do you belong to?”

“You won’t know even if I told you.”

“Huh?”

“So just turn your curiosity off.”

With that, Brielle firmly sealed her lips.

Borin felt that it was pointless to ask any further questions due to her stubborn attitude.

That’s when it happened.

“Look at this.”

Zeon’s sudden voice snapped her out of her reverie.

“What?”

“He escaped.”

“What?”

“That murderer, he escaped.”

Zeon pointed to where the murderer had been. But now, there was no one there.

The murderer had suddenly regained his senses and fled.

“That’s impossible. We confirmed that he was critically injured.”

“Tsk! Levin will be upset when he wakes up.”

Zeon said so, but his expression showed no remorse.

The murderer’s fate would be determined by Levin.

Levin probably wouldn’t want the murderer to be taken to the North District either. That would have made revenge impossible.

After carrying up Levin, Zeon and Brielle left together.

Brielle asked Zeon in a somewhat accusing tone.

“Did you really intend to use the Agony Eater?”

“There’s no way I’d have something like that.”

“So, was it a lie?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow! You trickster! I fell for it too.”

Brielle shook her head in disbelief.

Watching Zeon’s retreating figure, Borin muttered to herself.

‘There was an enormous monster hiding in the slums.’

***

Zeon brought Levin to his house.

Levin regained consciousness the next day.

Whether it was due to the aftermath of what happened with the elves, Levin remained in a dazed state all day.

Zeon and Brielle didn’t bother to talk to or provoke Levin.

They gave him time to sort things out on his own.

Zeon sat by the window, looking out at the street, while Brielle was engrossed in her experiments.

Bang!

A flask containing an unidentified liquid exploded.

“Hmph! Another failure.”

“Are you okay?”

At that moment, Levin offered warm words to the distressed Brielle.

“Are you finally back to your senses?”

“Yeah! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! It’s nothing new.”

“Brielle is brave, not afraid of failure.”

“If I didn’t, the humans would beat me.”

“Ah! Sorry.”

“It wasn’t Levin who hit me, so why apologize?”

“Just….”

“Levin is indeed kind.”

For a moment, Levin smiled bitterly.

He knew he wasn’t a kind person at all.

If he were kind, he would have listened to his mother and been with his family on the day the incident happened.

Because he wasn’t, he survived alone.

Levin glanced at Zeon sitting by the window.

“What happened to the bastard?”

“The bastard?”

“I’ve decided to call that murderer that.”

“He escaped.”

“Good. I was worried about what those women would do if they took him away.”

Levin smiled broadly.

Leaving his revenge in someone else’s hands wasn’t his style.

He remembered the murderer’s face, eyes, scent, everything.

No matter what form he took or what identity he assumed, Levin believed he could find him.

Of course, he needed to fully recover physically first.

Levin asked Zeon.

“Will the North District continue bothering me?”

“The North District won’t be able to touch you, so don’t worry.”

“Huh?”

Zeon explained to the puzzled Levin what happened yesterday, how Brielle made Borin swear on Serian’s name.

Now that Levin knew everything, he thanked Brielle.

“Thanks! Brielle.”

“Eh, it’s no big deal.”

Brielle raised her nose slightly.

“But you should be cautious in other districts.”

“Would that elf named Borin leak information?”

“There must have been more than one person who watched your fight yesterday. Rumors will spread through them.”

Levin was a new type of Awakened that had never existed before.

Apart from combat prowess, his utility was immeasurable.

His ability to ghostify was already a deception in itself.

With enough determination, he could infiltrate anywhere and neutralize all means of defense.

It was an ability optimized for information gathering and assassination.

Any organization would be tempted to recruit him.

“Hmm.”

Levin hummed thoughtfully.

He finally realized his situation.

He sought Zeon’s advice.

“What should I do?”

“Raise your rank so that nobody can touch you, or hide so that nobody can find you. You have to choose one.”

“I don’t want to hide anymore.”

“Then raise your rank.”

“How?”

“Fight as much as possible to expand your abilities beyond the limit.”

“Hyung! I’m begging you. Please help me.”

“….”

“If it’s you, Hyung, you can do it. Right?”

“It’s possible.”

“I’m asking for your help. I’ll devote myself to you, Hyung.”

Levin knelt before Zeon.

“Do you understand how terrifying those words are?”

“Hyung! I’m not a child. I fully understand the weight of my words. Even if it’s not this, I wanted to be with you, Hyung.”

Levin knew.

Despite his seemingly ordinary appearance, Zeon was a frightening Awakened.

He effortlessly removed Goran, the ruler of Sinchon, and easily defeated the Special Force of the North District.

Estimated rank: B.

And that’s the minimum estimate.

‘Perhaps A rank, or even higher…’

Levin needed an umbrella to protect him from the downpour of the world.

A large and wide umbrella.

The man he considered a giant umbrella responded.

“It’ll be too cramped if you stay here. We need to buy the house next door and expand our home.”