Chapter 694

Zeon stopped for a moment and looked around.

He was currently floating two hundred kilometers north of the mana stone mine.

There was no sign of Nigel or Raikas.

All he could see were groups of monsters scattered across the ground, moving about.

After Abyss was killed by Zeon, the monsters lost their cohesion and scattered.

The monsters currently within Zeon’s view were also creatures that had attacked Neo Seoul and the mana stone mine.

The monsters either returned to where they had originally been or established new nests far away from Neo Seoul or the mana stone mine.

Although countless monsters had died in Neo Seoul, that did not mean the monsters’ numbers would decrease significantly.

They would soon recover with their terrifying reproductive power to make up for the loss.

After watching the monsters’ movements for quite some time, Zeon expanded his senses. But he could not sense Nigel or Raikas anywhere.

“Whew! Looks like they aren’t to the north.”

Just then—

Flash!

A streak of light fell near where Zeon was.

The flash that fell from the sky left a deep mark on the ground.

Its power was so tremendous that the monsters in the area fled in a panic.

But Zeon was not surprised.

He knew what the flash was.

“Divine Judgment?”

The flash that had created a deep hole in the desert sand was clearly the destructive beam fired by Divine Judgment.

Zeon looked up at the sky for a moment.

Other than Neo Seoul’s control tower, there was no means of communicating with Divine Judgment.

Zeon likewise had no way to communicate.

But it was not difficult to guess why it had fired the destructive beam to draw Zeon’s attention.

“Is it guiding me in a direction?”

Zeon flew toward where the beam had fallen.

Then another streak of light fell from space.

This time, it was dozens of kilometers away.

The direction was the same.

There was no reason to hesitate.

Zeon flew toward where the beam had fallen at maximum speed.

When he arrived at the place where the beam had fallen, a new beam fell and guided him.

Zeon flew at terrifying speed, following Divine Judgment’s guidance.

How far had he gone like that?

Boom!

Suddenly, an enormous explosion and flash erupted in the distance.

A mushroom cloud rose into the sky as though a nuclear explosion had occurred.

Faced with the incredible sight he had never seen before, Zeon stopped flying for a moment and looked ahead.

Whoooong!

At that moment, a storm caused by the explosion swept over Zeon.

“Urgh!”

Zeon was swept away by the storm and sent flying like a leaf.

By the time he barely regained his balance, he had been blown dozens of kilometers away.

That was how tremendous the aftermath of the explosion was.

All the sand in the surrounding area had been overturned, completely changing the terrain.

Zeon brushed back his disheveled hair and moved forward again.

He saw monsters lying dead here and there, their bellies turned upward.

Among them were numerous gigantic monsters believed to be A-rank monsters.

The explosion had been powerful enough to kill even A-rank monsters protected by barriers.

Zeon touched his ear.

No wonder it had felt numb. His eardrum had burst and was bleeding.

The place where the explosion had occurred was roughly a hundred kilometers away from where Zeon was.

And yet the sound of the explosion had ruptured his eardrum.

It was truly tremendous power.

Fortunately, Zeon had super-regeneration, so even though his eardrum had ruptured, it quickly recovered.

Boom!

At that moment, another flash erupted.

A mushroom cloud rose, and once again a powerful storm swept over Zeon.

This time, however, he had been fully prepared, so he did not get caught off guard as helplessly as before.

By now, there was no way he could fail to understand.

Nigel and Raikas were fighting at the center of that explosion.

The only creatures capable of exerting this much influence from such a great distance were dragons.

Zeon hurriedly increased his flying speed.

He had to help Nigel as quickly as possible.

Boom!

At that moment, another massive explosion occurred.

It was more powerful than the previous two explosions.

The sand near the source of the explosion had completely melted and was boiling like lava, while the scorching air was violently churning.

He had barely taken a breath of air, yet it felt as though his lungs would cook.

Without the authority of flame, Zeon himself would have suffered severe damage.

“Hyung!”

Just then, Levin flew toward Zeon, calling out to him.

Levin, who had been searching the western region of Neo Seoul, had seen the explosion and flown over.

Fortunately, because he had become incorporeal, Levin had not been harmed by the explosion.

“Zeon!”

“Hyung, I think that’s it, right?”

“Looks like it. Be careful!”

“You too.”

The two flew side by side toward the source of the explosion.

Fortunately, there were no more explosions.

As they approached the source of the explosion, their expressions hardened frighteningly.

The enormous heat had melted the surrounding sand, making it shine smoothly like glass.

And at the center of the explosion stood a gigantic mountain.

The surface of the enormous mountain was also smooth and gleaming, like hardened glass.

That was why they initially thought it was a real mountain.

But if it were a real mountain, it would not move.

The gigantic mountain was moving, little by little, but unmistakably.

Levin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“No way. Is that a dragon?”

Even at the smallest estimate, it looked to be well over three hundred meters from head to tail.

It was hard to believe that such a gigantic creature even existed.

But the enormous protrusions rising along its spine and the four wings wrapped around its body told them that the gigantic mountain was a dragon.

The largest creature Levin knew was Arisedon, the guardian of the World Tree.

Arisedon also boasted a gigantic body over two hundred meters long, but compared to Raikas, it looked like a child.

At that moment, Raikas turned his head and looked at Zeon and Levin.

“Urgh!”

The moment Levin met Raikas’s eyes, he clutched his chest.

His heart was pounding so violently that it felt as though it would burst simply from exchanging gazes with him.

Even an S-rank monster could not properly meet a dragon’s eyes.

The intimidation and authority contained in a dragon’s eyes were so tremendous that even an S-rank monster would be reduced to a docile puppy.

It was only because it was Levin that he could endure this much. If another human had met Raikas’s eyes, their heart would have ruptured instantly, killing them on the spot.

Zeon’s expression also hardened frighteningly as he met Raikas’s gaze.

Not long ago, he had fought Raikas.

So he knew very well just how tremendous Raikas’s authority and power were.

But the atmosphere and dominance Raikas displayed now were incomparably more powerful than before.

He had become overwhelmingly stronger.

―So you came. Sand Mage!

Raikas’s voice echoed in Zeon’s ears.

Just hearing his voice made it feel as though his eardrums would burst and his consciousness would fly away.

Zeon raised his dominance and stabilized the surging mana.

Only then did the ringing in his ears disappear, and the blurry world become clear again.

Zeon spoke.

“Lord Raikas!”

―I knew you would come.

“What happened to Lord Nigel?”

―Look for yourself.

At Raikas’s words, Zeon scanned the surroundings.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped beneath Raikas’s feet.

Because beneath those impossibly enormous feet, he saw a shape he knew.

“Lord Nigel?”

The object protruding between the enormous claws was Nigel’s head.

Nigel’s condition was horrific.

Half of his head had been blown away, exposing his brain.

His consciousness had apparently already disappeared, as there was no focus in his eyes.

Zeon bit his lip tightly.

He could not believe that the mighty Nigel had fallen in such a terrible state.

Raikas had not subdued Nigel easily, either.

Even after taking Raikas’s breath head-on, Nigel had not fallen.

Even though many of his scales had shattered and his internal organs had been crushed.

Even after suffering such severe injuries, Nigel instead raised his fighting spirit and charged at Raikas.

Nigel’s fighting spirit was truly tremendous.

To subdue such a Nigel, Raikas had to fire his breath two more times.

The three mushroom clouds Zeon had seen rising were the result of Raikas’s breath striking Nigel.

Nigel was armed with fighting spirit and an indomitable will, but he could not withstand being hit by the breath three times.

When he was struck by the third breath, Nigel could endure no more and collapsed.

Zeon asked Raikas,

“Is he dead?”

―He’s still alive.

“So he hasn’t died.”

―But he will soon.

Raikas tightly grasped Nigel.

Nigel boasted a large body of five meters, but compared to Raikas’s claws, he looked like nothing more than a tiny toothpick.

“Hoo!”

Zeon let out a faint sigh.

Fortunately, Nigel was still alive, so the crystal he carried should also be intact.

He had to rescue him before Raikas killed Nigel and took the crystal.

Seeing the look in Zeon’s eyes, the corners of Raikas’s mouth rose toward the sky.

―It seems you think there is still a chance.

“I can’t give up just because of that.”

―Then go ahead and run wild to your heart’s content.

“That’s what I intend to do.”

Boom!

No sooner had Raikas finished speaking than a gigantic spear shot upward through the crystallized ground.

It was the Diamond Spear created by Zeon’s authority.

The gigantic diamond spear, a full hundred meters long, was aimed at Raikas’s lower abdomen.

Jjeeeong!

But the Diamond Spear did not pierce Raikas’s abdomen.

Because a thick barrier was protecting his entire body.

Although he did not receive even a single wound on his body, Zeon’s unexpected attack was enough to make Raikas’s heart turn cold.

Raikas moved his four wings and flew high into the sky.

Zeon said to Levin,

“While I draw his attention, rescue Lord Nigel.”

“Will that be possible?”

“Even if it’s impossible, we have to make it possible.”

“Got it, hyung!”

Levin nodded.

He could not hide simply because he was afraid.

They had to find some kind of breakthrough somehow.

Fortunately, he had the cheat-like ability of incorporeality.

If he used incorporeality, he would somehow be able to approach Nigel.

Just then—

Flash!

A gigantic bolt of lightning fell above the heads of Levin and Zeon.

It was unbelievably thick and powerful.

The lightning passed straight through the place where Zeon and Levin were and slammed into the ground.

Zeon avoided the lightning by a hair, while Levin failed to react in time and was struck directly.

But Zeon did not worry about Levin.

He knew that the lightning would not do much damage to Levin.

Indeed, Levin was perfectly fine even after taking the lightning head-on.

Still, remaining in the same place was dangerous, so he immediately moved at high speed to another location.

After confirming that Levin was safe, Zeon rose toward where Raikas was.

Behind Zeon, a gigantic sandstorm arose.

Whooong!

The monster-grade sandstorm swallowed Raikas whole.

Kwagagaga!

Raikas’s enormous body was violently shaken by the fierce sandstorm.

Countless grains of sand struck the barrier surrounding Raikas’s body and bounced away.

Although he did not suffer any damage, the fact that he was trapped and shaken around by something as insignificant as a sandstorm made Raikas even angrier.

―Die!

One of the dragon’s absolute authorities, Dragon Tongue, was activated.