The Scorched Desert's Sand Mage (Novel) - Chapter 151

Chapter 151

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Grrrr.

A giant sword was piercing Balrog’s chest.

It was a sword made from jet-black diamond.

Using the authority of the Thermo Gauntlet, Zeon had applied ultra-high heat and immense pressure to transform sand into diamond.

It was a miracle possible only because Zeon could freely control both sand and flame.

That black-glittering diamond sword had pierced straight through Balrog’s chest.

If Balrog had wanted to, it could have avoided Zeon’s attack.

Yet for some reason, in that final moment it had not dodged and had taken the blow head-on.

Drip. Drip.

Balrog’s blood flowed down the black diamond sword.

Balrog stood there blankly like a mannequin, staring at the diamond sword piercing its chest.

Zeon said to Balrog, “Damian. Was it you? Were you the one holding Balrog in place at the last moment?”

At that moment, Balrog turned its head and looked at Zeon.

Balrog said nothing.

Yet Damian’s face seemed to overlap upon Balrog’s.

It was as though that face were nodding and saying yes.

“So you couldn’t become a complete villain after all.”

Grrrr.

Instead of answering, Balrog let out a pained groan.

Its eyes, fixed on Zeon as though it could not believe its own death, were full of disbelief.

The flames pouring from Balrog’s eyes and mouth grew stronger and stronger.

The fire began to burn Balrog’s body from the inside out.

It was as though it intended to burn itself away without leaving even a single trace in this world.

Zeon watched the scene in silence.

Balrog’s mighty body turned to ash and scattered away.

And so Balrog and Damian disappeared from this world without leaving behind even the slightest trace of themselves.

As though they had never existed from the beginning.

At that moment, the world changed.

Old Man Go had released the barrier.

The rivers of lava and volcanic terrain that had seemed on the verge of overflowing vanished without a trace like a mirage.

Instead, what entered Zeon’s eyes was the vast desert stretching on endlessly.

And in the distance stood Neo Seoul.

“Huff. Huff.”

Old Man Go was gasping as though his breath might stop at any moment.

He had used all of his strength just to maintain the barrier.

If Zeon had been even a little later in bringing down Balrog, he would not have been able to hold the barrier to the end.

He was exhausted to the point that it was hard to remain standing on both legs, but Old Man Go still forced himself upright.

That was because the elf queen, Eli, Borin, and the others were all still standing.

‘He definitely said Elharun.’

A city said to have been built by the different races that crossed over to Earth.

Even after serving for a long time at the side of the mayor, he had never once heard that such a city existed.

If Jin Geum-ho, the mayor, had known, then he too would have learned of it.

That meant the contents of the conversation that had taken place inside this barrier were top-secret matters even Jin Geum-ho did not know.

‘Those scheming elves won’t simply sit by and let the secret they’ve kept hidden all this time leak out.’

If things went badly, they might have to fight a fierce battle against the elves as well, so he could not afford to relax yet.

At that moment, Serian approached Zeon.

“Whew. You worked hard. Thanks to you, we were able to prevent a great tragedy.”

“That was thanks to the help you gave me.”

“A sand mage. I never could have imagined it. I never thought an Awakened with such an ability could exist.”

“And I never thought I’d end up meeting the queen of the North District.”

“That is an embarrassing title. More importantly, don’t you think we need to talk?”

“About Elharun?”

“That as well, and…”

Serian let the end of her sentence trail off.

There was no way to prevent the location of Elharun from leaking out now.

The only way to preserve that secret would have been to kill Zeon and Old Man Go, but she had no confidence whatsoever in being able to deal with the consequences of that.

‘It was a secret destined to become known someday anyway.’

Elharun was not a place that could simply be found just because someone knew its rough location.

It was protected by all kinds of magic circles and barriers, so unless someone was a navigator on Damian’s level, they could never find it.

And even if someone somehow did find it, its defensive systems were already complete, so anyone without permission would never be able to enter it.

Until now, they had simply kept the secret thoroughly hidden in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.

And since a secret that had already leaked out could not be gathered back up, and since she could not kill Zeon or Old Man Go either, there was another option.

It might be easier to win Zeon over instead.

An ability to freely control sand in a world turned into desert.

‘His potential is truly limitless. We must absolutely make him one of ours.’

It would surely cost a considerable price to draw Zeon in, but that much was something she could endure.

It was then.

“Surely you do not mean to take him into your fold?”

Sensing her intention, Eli stepped in to stop her even before Serian had spoken her purpose.

“Eli.”

“That cannot be allowed.”

“Do you truly say that, knowing whose fault it is that we ended up in this situation?”

“I am sorry for that. But we cannot allow a human into our district. Our North District is the final cradle of the fallen races of Kurayan.”

Eli’s eyes were bloodshot.

And in those red-rimmed eyes was nothing but hostility toward Zeon.

“We need to kill those men now and silence them. That is the only way to protect our pitiful race.”

At those words, which crossed the line, Serian’s anger finally exploded.

“Stop it. Because of your selfishness, precious elites lost their lives. How many more must die before you are satisfied? And do you truly think you can deal with that man?”

“Your Majesty?”

“Please wake up. The world is not kind to us, and it is not so easy that we can bend it to our will. Whether you like it or not, we have to live by compromising with the people of this world. Why can you not accept that fact?”

“So you mean to take the side of that human?”

“That is not what I said at all.”

“Then what is it?”

“Haa. No words can get through to you, can they? Eli. For the time being, I strip you of all authority.”

“Your Majesty.”

“That is an order. If you refuse, I will not suspend it temporarily. I will strip you of it permanently.”

“…”

Only then did Eli fall silent.

Within the North District, Serian’s position was as firm as an iron fortress.

With a single word from her, everything Eli possessed could disappear like a mirage.

That was precisely why Eli had desperately coveted Serian’s seat.

Letting out a faint sigh, Serian looked toward Zeon.

But by then, Zeon had already moved away from her.

Before anyone noticed, Zeon was now beside Old Man Go.

“Are you all right?”

“Not at all.”

“You worked hard.”

“If anyone worked hard, it was you. More importantly, astonishing. To think you actually brought down Balrog.”

“That was thanks to everyone’s help.”

“Was it? I feel like I wasn’t much help, but if that’s what you think, then I’ll be grateful.”

“You were a great help.”

“And the twin sisters? I sent them to stop you.”

“I only sent them back with the lesson that they shouldn’t pry into other people’s heads without permission.”

“Thank you.”

Old Man Go let out a sigh of relief.

The twin sisters were no different from his own granddaughters.

If he had known that Zeon was an Awakened possessing this level of strength, he would never have sent them.

“It may not be much of a price, but I will keep my mouth shut about the place called Elharun.”

Old Man Go deliberately raised his voice so that Serian could hear.

He was putting them in his debt so they could not act carelessly.

“That said, I don’t think I can hide the fact that you are a sand mage. If I am to make the mayor understand how Balrog was erased, then I will have to tell him the truth about your ability.”

“Do so. I never thought it was a secret I could keep forever anyway.”

“Soon enough, the mayor will send for you.”

“I’ll wait.”

Zeon nodded.

After something of this scale had happened, there was no way Jin Geum-ho, the mayor, would remain ignorant of it.

‘I was going to have to meet him sooner or later anyway.’

Thinking that, Zeon looked toward the place where Balrog had disappeared.

Balrog, and Damian too, had vanished from this world without leaving behind even a trace.

The only legacy Damian left was the location of Elharun.

To obtain it, he had gambled everything he had and lived like a fierce flame, only to burn away in the end.

Zeon had the feeling he would never be able to forget Damian.

* * *

The rumor that the White Bear Caravan had summoned Balrog spread throughout Neo Seoul in no time.

City Hall organized a pursuit squad and set out to track the remnants of the White Bear Caravan.

For reasons nobody knew, summoning Balrog this close to Neo Seoul was an enormous incident that could never be forgiven.

But the pursuit squad failed to catch the remnants.

The survivors of the White Bear Caravan were all masters of desert survival.

What was more, they had Ellen, a Navigator, with them.

He could not compare to Damian, but he still possessed enough ability to keep direction in the desert.

Thanks to Ellen, the survivors of the White Bear Caravan shook off their pursuers and gathered at the rendezvous point.

“Captain.”

“You made it out safely.”

The young men welcoming Aleksandro and his men were there.

Ellen and Jack.

They were the Awakened who had escaped the fortress before Aleksandro.

When Aleksandro confirmed that the two of them were safe, a smile appeared on his face.

Ellen was a Navigator, and Jack was the owner of subspace.

Every magic stone the White Bear Caravan had purchased from Neo Seoul was stored inside Jack’s subspace.

Those magic stones would become Akutsk Colony’s lifeline.

Losing Damian was tragic, but Aleksandro believed that these two would fill the emptiness he left behind.

Embracing them, Aleksandro said, “Now let’s go back. Back to our home, Akutsk.”

“Yes.”

It was certain to be a harsh road.

Damian, who had safely guided them, was no longer there, and their numbers had been reduced to a tenth of what they once were.

Even so, not one of them voiced a complaint.

Because they had already resolved themselves for this.

How long had they walked like that?

Suddenly Ellen’s face hardened.

“I can sense a demonic beast ahead.”

“A demonic beast?”

“Damn it. It’s moving under the sand. It’s definitely a sandworm.”

“A sandworm? Get behind me.”

Aleksandro hurriedly pulled Ellen and Jack behind him.

Kukuku.

In the distance, the sand could be seen rising and shifting.

Just as Ellen had said, a giant sandworm was approaching at terrifying speed.

If the sandworm came above ground, it would be no match for him. The problem was that it was moving underground.

With the thick sand serving as a shield, a sandworm moving beneath the ground was quite a troublesome opponent.

At that moment, the sandworm’s movement abruptly stopped.

“What’s it trying to pull?”

Gaaaang.

In the next instant, the sand around the place where the sandworm had stopped began to spin violently.

The furiously spinning sand ground the sandworm apart as though it were caught in a mixer.

Kwoooaar.

The sandworm’s roar rang out.

That was the sandworm’s last.

“What in the…”

At that moment, Aleksandro saw a man standing atop a high dune in the distance.

Aleksandro recognized his identity at once.

“Ze…on?”

The one and only sand mage of the Burnt Desert.

Having killed the sandworm, Zeon disappeared as though he had simply done what needed to be done.