Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

“What the hell is that?”

The old man’s eyes widened in shock.

Damien had definitely been human.

Though he wore the Prism Armor, his essence remained human.

But now, the being standing before him was something entirely different, unrecognizable as Damien.

It wasn’t just his appearance that had changed.

It seemed as if his very soul had transformed.

Indeed, that was the case.

The one resurrected using Damien’s body was none other than Balrog, a demonic monster.

Balrog was an ancient disaster-class monster known as the Demon Duke.

Although it wasn’t quite on par with a dragon, its ferocity was said to surpass even that of dragons.

Because of this ferocity, Balrog was often deemed more dangerous than dragons.

One appearance of Balrog had led to the destruction of an entire kingdom.

As a result, countless Awakeneds and nations banded together in Kurayan to eliminate Balrog.

Despite pooling their resources, they couldn’t completely kill it. In the end, they borrowed the power of the Spirit King to seal it within the Crown.

This was the secret of the Crown, which people believed housed the Spirit King.

Balrog had now resurrected using Damien’s body. However, being sealed for so long had severely weakened its original power.

Even so, its presence alone surpassed that of an S-rank monster.

Everyone froze under Balrog’s aura.

Mariel, Borin, and even Queen Serian were paralyzed.

The old man, protected by his barrier, was also spiritually shaken, unable to move for a moment.

If these top-tier Awakeneds of Neo Seoul were this affected, others stood no chance.

The remaining scavengers and Awakeneds were immobilized by Balrog’s aura.

Fwoosh!

They were swept away by a hellish fire.

It was Balrog’s skill, The Eye of Destruction, akin to Hellfire.

Everything within Balrog’s sight fell under The Eye of Destruction’s range.

No living creature, Awakened, or monster could escape Balrog’s gaze.

It wasn’t called the Demon of Destruction for nothing.

Now was the perfect chance to eliminate it due to its weakened state from the long seal. However, neither Serian nor Mariel dared to attack.

They were overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the name Balrog.

If they hadn’t known Balrog’s identity, they might have attacked more freely.

But knowing the legend of Balrog instilled a deep-seated fear that paralyzed them.

“Grrr!”

Seeing the elves and otherworldly races who had sealed it, Balrog’s eyes flared with intense flames of hatred.

Whoosh!

A long whip appeared in Balrog’s hand, wreathed in hellfire.

It was Balrog’s signature weapon, the Flame Whip, distinguishing it from other monsters.

Most monsters relied on their innate physical prowess and skills, requiring no study or tools.

But Balrog was different.

It constantly sought ways to enhance its power, leading to the creation of the Flame Whip.

Concentrating its innate hellfire, Balrog formed it into a whip.

Its power was beyond imagination.

Crack!

Balrog swung the Flame Whip towards Serian and the others.

The whip, imbued with hellfire, broke the sound barrier.

Serian, snapping back to her senses, hurriedly cast her skill.

“Seven Overlap Shield!”

It was her defensive skill, layering seven shields together.

She managed to cast it in time, blocking the whip.

Boom!

However, the cost was severe.

Six of the seven overlapping shields shattered with just one lash of the Flame Whip.

Only the last shield held, saving their lives, but the massive shockwave struck Serian, Mariel, and Borin.

“Keuk!”

“Argh!”

Mariel and Borin coughed up blood and fell to their knees, while Serian’s complexion paled.

Serian quickly tried to shift from defense to offense.

Despite being overpowered by Balrog’s arrival, she was still an S-rank Awakened.

She had enough power to at least escape, if not confront Balrog directly.

But Balrog gave her no such chance.

Bang! Bang!

Balrog kept striking with the whip.

Serian desperately cast her Seven Overlap Shield in time with each attack.

“Snap out of it! We’re all going to die at this rate!”

She shouted at Mariel and Borin.

But they couldn’t recover quickly enough.

Protecting them left Serian trapped, unable to escape her defensive stance.

“My God! Such a monster exists?”

The old man was frozen in terror.

Balrog was an unprecedented monster.

Neither he nor anyone in Neo Seoul had ever seen its like before.

Naturally, they had no information on it.

But it didn’t take knowledge to understand its immense power just by looking.

At that moment—

Roar!

Enraged by the unbroken shields, Balrog let out a furious roar, unleashing a tremendous flame storm.

The old man, protected by his barrier, was spared, but the three Awakeneds from the Shadow Squad were not so lucky.

“Aaagh!”

“Help…”

“No!”

Engulfed by the high-temperature flame storm, they turned to ash in an instant.

The same fate befell the other survivors.

The scavengers and Awakeneds who had barely escaped earlier were now melting away.

The old man’s expression hardened as he witnessed the carnage.

“My God!”

The intense heat had turned the surrounding sand into a smooth, glassy surface.

Despite not having fully regained its strength, Balrog’s power was already immense, hinting at the catastrophic force it could unleash once fully restored.

One thing was certain.

“If that thing heads to Neo Seoul, it will bring a massive disaster.”

Balrog was a demonic monster capable of ignoring Neo Seoul’s anti-magic barrier. Unlike lower-tier monsters, it was unaffected by the city’s defensive measures.

If Balrog were to invade Neo Seoul, the devastation would be unimaginable. He had to be stopped here.

At that moment, Balrog, enraged, unleashed his aura once more.

Roar!

A powerful light emanated from Balrog’s entire body, quickly reaching Neo Seoul.

Crackle!

“Ugh!”

“What’s happening?”

Cha Jin-cheol and the Mechanized Awakeneds stationed on the outskirts of Neo Seoul groaned in pain.

The machines exposed to Balrog’s light sparked and halted. Jin-cheol looked at his sparking arm and muttered.

“What is this? What happened?”

A massive wall of fire surrounded the fortress, blocking his view of the interior.

“Is this an EMP attack?”

As if to confirm his suspicions, the entire slum area lost power, plunging into darkness.

The old man, watching the scene, muttered.

“I have no choice. This wasn’t what I planned.”

He was never an altruistic person.

If he were, he wouldn’t have been part of the execution squad. However, he wasn’t so malevolent that he could stand by and watch countless people die.

He had to buy time before Balrog reached Neo Seoul.

Fortunately, he had the capability.

“Haap!”

With a shout, he generated a massive barrier.

The barrier encompassed him, Balrog, and everything in the vicinity.

He didn’t know how long it would hold, but it might buy time until other Awakeneds arrived from Neo Seoul. However, his true hope lay elsewhere.

‘Zeon!’

Zeon stood on floating sand, hovering in the air.

He was watching Damien, who had lost all traces of humanity.

His body, now fully fused with the Prism Armor, had grown large and strong enough to house Balrog’s soul.

Flames of extreme heat flickered in his eyes and mouth.

The human consciousness was gone, replaced by the powerful spirit of a demonic monster.

Damien had known this would happen from the moment he obtained the Crown of the Spirit King and the Prism Armor.

Despite knowing he would become Balrog, he used them anyway.

His hatred for elves and otherworldly races was that immense.

While everything that made him human was gone, his hatred had merged with Balrog, intensifying.

Roar!

Balrog unleashed his aura again, creating a storm of flames.

However, the barrier held, preventing the flames from spreading outside.

“Ugh!”

The immense pressure on the barrier caused the old man to grimace. Swallowing the blood rising in his throat, he spoke to Zeon.

“We must stop him. If he escapes the barrier, Neo Seoul will face catastrophe.”

The old man’s expression was desperate.

His determination to prevent Balrog from escaping was clear.

“Huu!”

Zeon sighed and nodded.

Regardless of the circumstances, Damien had chosen to become Balrog.

Though Zeon understood his deep-seated hatred for otherworldly races, he couldn’t allow Balrog to ravage Neo Seoul.

The slums, where Zeon lived, would suffer the most.

Just then, Borin shot an arrow at Balrog.

It was from the Bow of Nylia, purchased at an auction.

As befitting the weapon of the elven hero Nylia, it was incredibly powerful.

Thud!

The arrow pierced Balrog’s skin, but the attack only fueled Balrog’s rage.

Whoosh!

Balrog swung his Flame Whip.

The whip, moving at supersonic speed, struck Borin.

Bang!

Borin was thrown back without even a scream.

Though the bow blocked the whip, preventing serious injury, the impact left Borin paralyzed.

The whip flew towards Borin again.

“Borin!”

Serian tried to save Borin, but she couldn’t match the speed of Balrog’s whip.

Sensing her fate, Borin closed her eyes tightly.

‘Shit!’

Boom!

Just before the whip reached Borin, a burst of air erupted.

The whip struck the air in front of Borin, missing its target.

The extreme heat scorched Borin’s face, but she avoided a direct hit.

“What the…?”

Borin cautiously opened her eyes and saw a man standing in front of her.

Recognizing his back instantly, Borin whispered.

“Zeon?”

Roar!

The Flame Whip, ablaze, was caught in Zeon’s right hand, protected by the Inferno Gauntlet.

“From now on, I will be the one dealing with you. Damien! No, Balrog!”

Roar!

Enraged, Balrog attacked Zeon.

In that instant, countless streams of sand shot towards Balrog.