Chapter 73: He’s... so powerful

Indifferent to the turmoil his actions had caused, Zephyr stood amid the spreading darkness, his brows furrowed slightly. A vein pulsed on his forehead as his figure remained almost completely obscured by the pitch-black energy surrounding him.

His senses were pushed to their limits as he maintained precise control over his SSS-Rank Corrosion Manipulation skill.

Even his mind and heart were racing.

This was the most dangerous skill he possessed. At least for now, because he still had not fully grasped the knowledge Gaya System had left within his mind.

Using it on such a large scale was risky, especially since Zephyr had yet to gain complete control over the skill. But with countless monsters surrounding him, he had been presented with the perfect opportunity to increase his skill mastery.

So, Zephyr decided to take the risk.

And, of course... there was a second reason.

He wanted to cause more chaos.

He carefully controlled the dark energy erupting from his body, guiding its spread very slowly and with precise control rather than allowing the darkness to run rampant.

Zephyr made sure that not a trace of it reached any of the Espers in the distance.

He only wanted to kill the monsters.

And he did.

Painful, terrified roars echoed through the darkness as the monsters desperately tried to flee. The moment they realized the black energy was devouring everything living in its path, they turned and ran in complete panic.

But they were too slow.

Not to mention, with so many monsters packed together in front of the Dungeon, their frantic attempts to escape only caused them to violently crash into one another, further slowing them down as the darkness continued to close in.

Zephyr took a deep breath.

"I feel fine physically... but not mentally. My mind still cannot keep up with what my body is capable of. I need to train more."

He closed his eyes and spread his mana outward, letting his senses expand in every direction. The battlefield gradually came into focus within his mind. He could sense almost everything around the Dungeon.

Then, Zephyr opened his eyes.

At that moment, the mountain of rubble above him suddenly trembled. A moment later, the entire pile collapsed around him.

It fell haphazardly without any target.

Zephyr paid it no attention.

He had decided to direct his complete focus to his Corrosion Manipulation skill.

The lower-ranked Espers fighting in the distance were immediately alerted when the dark energy, which had been spreading slowly until now, suddenly surged and began expanding at an alarming speed.

They all instinctively forced back the monsters they were fighting before quickly retreating several dozen meters, putting as much distance between themselves and the rapidly advancing darkness as possible.

They could not see Zephyr.

Only a massive wave of darkness.

It was like a large tsunami, with everything in its path being devoured by the darkness.

Suddenly, one of the Espers swallowed hard and muttered under his breath.

"He’s... so powerful!"

Zephyr did not stop until he had killed almost every lower-ranked monster in the area. When the darkness finally began to fade, an eerie silence descended over the battlefield. For a moment, no one spoke.

Even the five S-rank monsters seemed to have sensed that something was very wrong.

Earlier, while attacking the S-rank Espers, they had coincidentally witnessed what the eerie yet powerful darkness had done. Now, they were desperately trying to run away.

Around Zephyr, nothing remained except piles of rubble and the broken remains of fallen buildings. Not even the bodies of the monsters he had killed with the rubble and fragments of concrete were left behind.

Everything living had been erased.

Zephyr stood silently at the center of it all, surrounded by an empty, desolate battlefield.

His skill had not caused any destruction. It had not shattered the ground or anything.

There had been no deafening explosion or earth-shaking impact.

Yet the emptiness it had left behind was enough to send chills down the spines of even the S-rank Espers present.

A skill capable of erasing countless monsters and reducing them to nothing but particles.

Monsters that had previously required dozens of lower-ranked Espers working together just to hold them back had simply vanished without leaving a trace.

There was no struggle. No resistance.

They had simply disappeared.

And that realization was far more terrifying than any display of destructive power.

At that moment, among the lower-ranked Espers watching Zephyr, Monica, the A-rank Esper from M City, who had also come to B City with her teammates to help deal with the Dungeon Break, suddenly found herself connecting what she had just witnessed to the strange incident that had occurred near the Association building just over a week ago—the incident involving the Dungeon that had dragged Zephyr and Lucien inside.

She stared at the empty battlefield for a long moment before finally muttering.

"I think... I finally understand why the Dungeon that appeared behind the Association in M City was completely empty..."

One of her teammates groaned.

"Why did you have to say that now?"

He covered his face with one hand.

If what Monica had just said was true... then the Association’s treatment of Zephyr after that incident suddenly seemed far more concerning.

He could only hope the Association would not come to regret their actions.

After all, judging by the terrifying power Zephyr had just displayed, if he truly wanted revenge, there was little the Association could do to stop him.

With a single skill, he had erased countless monsters from the battlefield without leaving even a trace behind.

If that same power were unleashed against the Association...

He did not even dare to imagine the consequences!

Amidst the Guides, Eleven was also completely dazed.

He stared at the empty battlefield for a long moment before finally slumping down, his breaths shallow and unsteady.

At that moment, he remembered how he had once barged into Zephyr’s room and arrogantly demanded that Zephyr undergo physical guiding with him, fully believing that Zephyr would have no choice but to comply. He had even threatened him and tried to bully him in the cafeteria...

Thinking about it now, Eleven’s face gradually turned pale.

He had messed up.

He had really, really messed up!

With a darkness skill like that alone, if Zephyr had truly wanted to make him disappear, Eleven doubted anyone would have even found his remains.

As for his S-rank Esper older brother...

Eleven was certain that even his older brother would not be able to defeat Zephyr!

If Zephyr ever decided to use that power against him for revenge, Eleven could not even imagine how he would survive.

At first, he had thought Zephyr was just a B-rank Esper. He had not feared him at all.

But now, after witnessing what Zephyr had just done...

B-rank?

What kind of B-rank was this?!

For the first time since becoming a Reader and later awakening as a powerful Guide, Eleven genuinely regretted how reckless and arrogant he had been in the past. He almost wished he could go back in time and slap some sense into his former self.

He had always been far too confident and arrogant simply because he was an S-rank Guide with an S-rank Esper as his brother.

The Association valued both him and his brother, which only fueled his arrogance.

Still... deep down, he was a coward. So, he had always been careful not to push things too far or get himself into serious trouble.

Yet... this time, it seemed that he might have pushed the wrong person too far.

Sylvia, who was standing opposite him, suddenly asked in a slightly shrill voice.

"How can he be so powerful?!"

Her voice was filled with utter disbelief, as if she simply could not accept what she had just witnessed.

Ryan, her brother, was in a similar state, staring at Zephyr as though the person standing in the distance could not possibly be real.

How could this person... this useless person they had always despised, the one they had eventually abandoned... be this strong?

He was supposed to be nothing more than a piece of garbage.

Someone who could barely keep up with his studies.

Someone who had failed to awaken.

Yet now...

He was standing there, surrounded by the aftermath of a dark power that had erased countless monsters without leaving a trace.

The difference between the person they remembered and the person standing before them was so immense that neither Sylvia nor Ryan could comprehend it.

Yet, the person at the center of it all remained completely indifferent to the storm he had stirred in everyone’s hearts.

Suddenly, Zephyr glanced back when he heard someone land softly behind him.

It was Erick who had ignored the fleeing S-rank monsters and come straight toward him.

However, Zephyr had exhausted his mind, and he had stopped using his mana. So, for a moment, he could not tell who had approached him. It was only when he heard Erick’s voice that he finally recognized him.

"Are you okay?"

Zephyr rubbed his temples, trying to clear his head. His voice was deep and hoarse.

"Yeah. I just need some guiding."