The Scorched Desert's Sand Mage (Novel) - Chapter 149

Chapter 149

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“What is that?”

Old Man Go’s eyes widened.

Damian had clearly been human.

He had been wearing the item known as Prism Armor, but his essence had still, in the end, been human. But the Damian now standing before him had changed so much that he could no longer be called human at all.

It was not merely his appearance that had changed.

It felt as though his very soul had changed.

And in truth, it had.

The one revived through the borrowed body of Damian was the demonic beast known as Balrog.

An ancient calamity-class demonic beast known by the epithet Demon Duke.

It was said that, while it did not reach the level of a dragon, it more than surpassed one in sheer savagery.

Because of that savagery, its danger level was in fact evaluated as higher than that of a dragon.

In reality, the appearance of Balrog had brought about the destruction of an entire kingdom.

That was why, in Kurayan, many Awakened and entire nations had joined hands to eliminate Balrog.

Even after pooling so much strength, it had been impossible to fully cut off its life. In the end, they borrowed the power of the Spirit King and sealed it inside the Crown.

That was the secret of the Crown people had believed contained the Spirit King.

Balrog had revived through Damian’s body.

However, because it had been sealed for too long, its true power had become considerably weakened.

Even so, it was still radiating a presence above that of an S-rank demonic beast.

Everyone froze under Balrog’s Fear.

Mariel and Borin, and even Queen Serian herself.

Even Old Man Go, who had protected his entire body with a barrier, suffered a direct shock to his spirit and was unable to move for a moment.

If this was the condition of them, who were counted among Neo Seoul’s foremost Awakened, then there was no need to even mention the others.

The scavengers and Awakened who had barely survived froze under Balrog’s Fear and could not move a single inch.

Puhwahaak!

The hellish flames swept over them.

It was The Eye of Destruction, Balrog’s skill said to be comparable to Hell Fire.

Everything within Balrog’s field of vision fell within the range of The Eye of Destruction.

No life form, no Awakened, and no demonic beast could escape Balrog’s gaze.

Balrog was not called a demonic beast of destruction for nothing.

The one bit of fortune was that its power had weakened because of the long sealing, making now the best chance to eliminate it. But neither Serian nor Mariel could bring themselves to attack Balrog.

That was because they were crushed under the oppressive weight of the name Balrog itself.

If they had not known Balrog’s true nature, they might have attacked it more lightly. But they knew the legend of Balrog, and the fear embedded to the bone froze them in place.

“Grrr.”

When Balrog noticed them, an even more intense blaze flared in its eyes.

Seeing the elves and the different races who had once sealed it away, an overwhelming hostility surged out.

Chwaruruk.

A long whip appeared in Balrog’s hand.

Hellfire blazed along the length of the whip.

It was Balrog’s weapon, the Flame Whip.

That Flame Whip was the weapon that distinguished Balrog from other demonic beasts.

Most demonic beasts instinctively used their innate bodies and skills.

There was no need for study, and no need for tools.

But Balrog was different.

It thought and studied about how to make itself stronger. And the result of that was the Flame Whip it now held in its hand.

It had condensed its innate hellfire into the shape of a whip.

Naturally, its power was beyond imagination.

Chwahaak!

Balrog swung the Flame Whip toward Serian and the others.

The whip, filled with hellfire, broke the speed of sound as it flew toward them.

Only belatedly regaining her senses, Serian urgently used a skill.

“Seven Overlap Shield.”

It was Serian’s own defensive skill that layered seven shields on top of one another.

Fortunately, she formed the shields in time and managed to stop the whip.

Jjeeeong.

But the price was devastating.

No less than six of the seven layered shields were shattered by a single lash of the Flame Whip.

Only because the final shield held had they been able to preserve their lives, but the overwhelming shock struck Serian, Mariel, Borin, and the others.

“Hup.”

“Kehk.”

Mariel and Borin coughed up blood and dropped to their knees, and Serian’s complexion also turned pale.

Serian tried to shift urgently from defense to offense.

Though she had indeed been overpowered by Balrog’s appearance, she too was still an S-rank Awakened.

She was not enough to face Balrog head-on, but she still possessed strength that could not be ignored.

If she deployed her skills in earnest, she had enough ability to at least save herself.

The problem was that Balrog did not give her any room to breathe.

Bang. Bang.

Balrog lashed again and again with the whip.

Timing her movements precisely, Serian unfolded Seven Overlap Shield.

“Pull yourselves together quickly. If you stay like this, we’re all going to die.”

She shouted at Mariel and Borin.

But they could not easily regain their senses.

Because she had to protect them, Serian could not pull out alone. That forced her even further onto the defensive.

“Good heavens. To think such a demonic beast exists.”

At the sight, Old Man Go froze.

Balrog was a demonic beast that had never appeared before.

Neither he nor anyone else in Neo Seoul had ever once seen a demonic beast like Balrog.

Naturally, they possessed no information about it at all.

But one did not need information to understand how powerful an opponent was.

Just by looking, one could tell how immense Balrog’s power was.

It was then.

Kwoooaar!

Enraged that the shields were not breaking, Balrog let out a roar. A tremendous firestorm surged up and swept across the entire area.

Old Man Go, who remained inside his barrier, managed to escape the influence of the firestorm at least. But the three Awakened of the Shadow Unit who had been following him did not enjoy the same luck.

“Kraaagh!”

“S-save…”

“Ughk!”

Caught in the ultra-high-temperature firestorm, they turned to a handful of ash and vanished in an instant.

The same was true of the others.

The scavengers and Awakened who had barely survived melted away.

Seeing that scene, Old Man Go’s expression hardened.

“Good heavens.”

The extreme heat melted all the sand in the area and turned it glossy.

Balrog had not even fully regained its power yet, and it was already this destructive. He could not begin to imagine what kind of horrifying power it would show once all of that strength returned.

Even so, there was one thing he could say for certain.

“If that thing heads for Neo Seoul, a great catastrophe will descend.”

Balrog was a demonic beast that could ignore Neo Seoul’s anti-demonic force. Unlike lower-grade demonic beasts, it was not affected by Neo Seoul’s anti-demonic force at all.

If something like Balrog charged into Neo Seoul, then a great catastrophe was inevitable. It had to be stopped before that happened.

Just then, the enraged Balrog unleashed Fear once more.

Kwoooaar!

At that moment, a powerful light burst from Balrog’s entire body.

That light reached all the way to Neo Seoul in an instant.

Pajijik.

“Urgh.”

“What was that?”

Cha Jin-cheol and the mechanized Awakened stationed in the slums outside Neo Seoul let out groans.

The machines exposed to the light emitted by Balrog sparked and stopped.

Looking at his sparking arm, Cha Jin-cheol muttered, “What the hell? What just happened?”

A massive wall of flame had sprung up around the fortress.

Because of that, from where he stood, he could no longer tell what was happening inside the fortress.

“Was that some sort of EMP?”

As if proving his guess, the power supply across the outer slum around Neo Seoul suddenly cut off.

Because of that, every light in the slums went out, and darkness descended.

Watching that sight, Old Man Go muttered, “It can’t be helped. I hadn’t wanted to resort to this.”

He was by no means an altruistic man.

If he had been, he could never have worked as part of the execution unit. Even so, he also was not so corrupt a figure that he could stand by while knowing countless people would die.

He had to buy time before Balrog headed for Neo Seoul.

Fortunately, he had the ability to do at least that much.

“Hup!”

Along with a sharp shout, a giant barrier formed.

The barrier swallowed him, Balrog, and everything in the surrounding area.

He did not know how long the barrier would endure, but he thought it should be enough to buy time until other Awakened came from Neo Seoul. Yet there was another thing he believed in more.

‘Zeon.’

It was the man floating in the air while using hovering sand as footholds, Zeon.

Zeon was looking at Damian.

There was no longer any trace of a human being left in Damian’s appearance.

His body, now completely fused with Prism Armor, had grown large and strong enough to accept Balrog’s soul, and blazing high-temperature flames surged in his eyes and mouth.

The human ego was gone, and in its place a powerful demonic beast soul had settled within.

In this way, Damian had completely become Balrog.

Damian had known from the very beginning that this was what would happen.

From the moment he obtained the Spirit King’s Crown and Prism Armor.

He had used them despite knowing that in the end, he would become Balrog.

That alone showed how enormous his hatred toward the elves and the different races was.

Everything that had once made up the human Damian had disappeared, but that hatred alone had fused with Balrog and become even greater.

Kwoooaar!

Balrog unleashed Fear once more. A firestorm of ultra-high temperature erupted.

But the firestorm was blocked by Old Man Go’s barrier and could not affect the outside at all.

“Urgh.”

Old Man Go’s face twisted under the tremendous impact crashing into the barrier. Forcing himself to swallow the blood rising in his throat, he said to Zeon, “You have to stop it. If it gets out of the barrier, Neo Seoul will face catastrophe.”

Old Man Go’s expression was desperate.

It was filled with the determination that no matter what happened, he would not let Balrog outside.

“Whew.”

Zeon let out a breath and nodded.

Whatever the circumstances had been, Damian had ultimately chosen the path of becoming Balrog.

Zeon did not fail to understand Damian’s deep-rooted hatred toward the different races. But even so, he could not simply allow the Balrog Damian had become to trample Neo Seoul.

If Balrog invaded, the place that would suffer the greatest damage was the slum where he lived.

At the very least, he had to prevent his own home from being destroyed.

At that moment, Borin shot an arrow at Balrog.

It was Nylia’s Bow, the item she had purchased at the auction here.

As befitted a bow once used by the elven hero Nylia, its power was terrifying.

Thud.

It had managed to pierce Balrog’s skin. But that clumsy attack only further stoked Balrog’s fury.

Whoom.

Balrog swung the Flame Whip.

The Flame Whip, which had surpassed the speed of sound, struck Borin.

Bang.

Borin was sent flying backward without even managing to scream.

She had managed to block the Flame Whip with Nylia’s Bow, so she had not suffered a major wound, but the shock had stiffened her body to the point that she could no longer move.

The Flame Whip came flying toward that helpless Borin again.

“Borin!”

Serian tried to save Borin, but she could not possibly be faster than Balrog’s Flame Whip.

Sensing her fate, Borin squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Goddamn it.’

Boom.

At that moment, the air in front of Borin exploded.

The Flame Whip had failed to reach her and instead struck the space right in front of her.

The horrifying heat felt as though it would burn her face, but because she had not taken the direct hit, her life was preserved.

“What?”

Borin cautiously opened her eyes.

At that moment, she saw a man standing in front of her, blocking the attack.

It was only his back, but Borin recognized his identity in an instant.

“Zeon?”

Fwoosh.

The burning Flame Whip was caught in Zeon’s right hand, the one wearing the Thermo Gauntlet.

“From here on, I’ll be your opponent. Damian. No, Balrog.”

Kwoooaar!

The enraged Balrog attacked Zeon.

At that same moment, countless streams of sand shot toward Balrog.