Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 108

Levin was not in a good condition.

His clothes were torn and burnt, resembling rags, and he had deep wounds on his shoulders and thighs.

Blood flowed profusely from the wounds.

“Heuk! Heuk!”

Levin looked at the man, gasping for breath.

The man’s condition was worse than Levin’s.

He had more severe wounds and was bleeding much more. But he was smiling.

His face, giggling and smiling as if he couldn’t bear the current situation, overwhelmed with joy, was terrifying to behold.

“Kikik! Such an amusing ability. Being able to use Ghostification and lightning-type skills together. You’ll probably end up stuck inside a lab once they find out about this.”

“You too? Were you locked up in a lab?”

“Hehe! Does this answer your question? I willingly cut off my own healthy hand, after all.”

The man waved his mechanical hand.

The machine prosthetic, which had discharged powerful electric energy several times, made a creaking sound as it malfunctioned. Yet the man continued to laugh, seemingly enjoying something.

“So, did you escape from the lab and roam around killing people?”

“Hehe! Others should feel the pain as much as I did.”

“You bastard! You call that a reason?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“My mother and younger brother died just for that? For such absurd reasons?”

“Hehe! Kid! There are countless people who die for even less significant reasons in this world. How long are you going to play innocent? Anyway, humans eventually become independent from their parents. I just hastened that process a bit.”

“I will kill you. Definitely!”

“Now you’re showing a bit of maturity.”

“Damn it!”

At that moment, an intense light exploded from Levin’s whole body.

“Wow! Did his rank go up?”

The man recognized it as a phenomenon that occurs when an Awakened’s rank increases.

The rage that turned Levin’s head almost white elevated him from E-rank to D-rank.

Zap!

Levin emitted purple electricity while in a ghostified state.

Levin’s gaze, hovering in the air, turned toward the man.

“Die!”

In an instant, a violet chain lightning exploded from his entire body.

The grid of lightning covered the man in an instant.

“Kikik!”

The man retreated as he swung the sword with a silver thread hanging from it.

With the prosthetic damaged, no more current flowed to the sword and the silver thread. Still, the man paid it no mind.

After all, his abilities were acquired after birth.

Even without using electricity, he knew how to kill.

Levin’s ghostification was undoubtedly a remarkable ability.

To change the human body into something intangible was extraordinary.

Conventional physical attacks couldn’t touch him.

However, despite his rank increasing, Levin hadn’t fully mastered his abilities.

That’s why, even in his ghostified form, his body intermittently solidified. Though the time was very short, it was enough for the man.

The man aimed for the moment when Levin’s body solidified.

Fwoosh!

The dagger deeply pierced into Levin’s side.

Levin’s face contorted in pain. But he endured the pain and grasped the dagger stuck in his side with his hand.

The man sneered at Levin’s suffering.

“Did you see that? I made one of the blade’s sides into a saw. It won’t come out until it tears off all your flesh. How does it feel? Hot, right?”

Instead of replying, Levin glared at the man with bloodshot eyes.

“I tempered it with the bones of a Flame Alligator. So, it’s quite hot.”

“Pull out?”

“What?”

“I just barely caught you, why would I pull out now?”

Levin laughed, revealing blood-stained teeth.

“You bastard!”

The man suddenly felt chills running down his spine.

Only then did he realize.

Levin didn’t momentarily solidify due to insufficient abilities; he deliberately showed a flaw.

“You planned it?”

“Yeah! You bastard.”

Levin unleashed his full power with a roar, spreading the chain lightning.

The purple current struck the man through the silver thread hanging from the dagger.

It happened before the man could react.

The tremendous current penetrated his whole body, and he could only tremble without even a scream.

Crackle!

As the current pierced through, flesh burst everywhere, and the mechanical prosthetic was completely shattered.

Levin poured out his full power with the resolve to kill.

“Ugh!”

A moment later, Levin felt a sense of emptiness and knelt on the ground.

Unknowingly, he had returned to solidity from ghostification.

Levin looked at the man with bloodshot eyes.

The man was burnt to a crisp, like something roasted in a fire.

His head was completely burnt, leaving no trace, and his skin was so charred that his original form was unrecognizable.

Despite such a state, the man was still alive.

Although his breathing was labored as if he would suffocate, he still looked at Levin with hatred.

Even in a state of complete disarray and on the brink of death, his will to live did not diminish.

It sent shivers down Levin’s spine.

Levin wondered what kind of life one must live to bear such resilience.

“But, still, I won.”

Levin staggered to his feet.

He didn’t want to see those chilling eyes anymore.

Levin pulled out the dagger lodged in his side.

As the dagger was pulled out, flesh tore apart.

The excruciating pain made everything seem distant, but Levin struggled to stay conscious.

“You must feel it too. The pain my mom, brother, and others felt…”

“Gah… Huh! Fuck you!”

The man barely managed to reply with a raspy voice.

Levin thrust the dagger into the man’s thigh.

Thud!

As the dagger plunged in, the man’s body jolted.

Though his whole body was burnt by the current, his sensory perception remained intact.

Levin pulled out the dagger.

Squelch!

With a gruesome sound, flesh tore apart from the man’s body.

It would be agonizingly painful.

Yet the man didn’t scream.

He smiled as if inviting Levin to try harder.

“You bastard! You don’t deserve to live, you son of a bitch.”

Levin pushed the dagger into the man’s shoulder once again, then twisted it left and right.

The wounds tore wider as the blade moved.

Levin withdrew the dagger and looked at it.

Chunks of flesh clung to the serrated edges, mingling not only the man’s flesh but his own.

It made him feel nauseous.

Tears streamed down his cheeks.

“Fuck!”

Levin brought the dagger towards the man’s throat.

He intended to cut off his breath.

The man laughed as if he had been waiting for this.

“Is… this something you wanted to try? Someone like you… can’t inflict pain on others.”

“What’s your name?”

“Why, trying to remember?”

“Yeah! I’ll remember and savor it forever.”

“Hehe! You’re amusing, kid. But what’s it to you? I never had a name to begin with.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll remember you as ‘bastard’.”

“That’s not bad. ‘Bastard’ it is now. It’s funny how I’m getting a name only at the brink of death. Kehehe!”

Levin couldn’t bear to see the man laugh anymore. So he forcefully stabbed the dagger.

Clang!

But his attempt was futile, deflected by some unseen force.

With a loud noise, Levin’s hand holding the dagger was thrown back.

His arm was fractured and trembled from the tremendous impact.

“Urgh!”

Levin, who had been thrown backward, looked at his forearm.

An arrow the size of a child’s palm was lodged in it.

Someone had shot an arrow to prevent his action.

Levin grabbed his forearm and shouted.

“Who are you? Damn it!”

“I’m sorry, boy, but he can’t die yet.”

At that moment, the owner of the arrow appeared.

She was a woman wearing a coat that reached her ankles and a tricorn hat.

Her face was obscured by the deep-set hat, but her voice revealed she was a woman.

Levin cursed.

“Are you an accomplice of this bastard?”

“That’s an insult to me, boy!”

“Do you know what a real insult is? Preventing rightful revenge is the real insult.”

“I’m sorry. But we have no choice. This is very important evidence. And boy, you must come with us.”

“What?”

“Boy, your unique ability is dangerous. We’ll protect you.”

“Fuck you! Who’s going to protect whom?”

“Why can’t humans be rational? Why are they so passionate? If you thought rationally, you would know I’m right.”

The woman sighed slightly, shaking her head.

Behind her, a dozen other women dressed the same appeared.

The woman gave them an order.

“Take them both.”

“Yes!”

The women approached Levin.

“Aaargh!”

Levin unleashed all the remaining strength as if wringing out a rag. But his power was feeble.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A barrage of merciless fists rained down on Levin’s body.

Despite his slender frame, their blows were powerful.

Thump!

A blow to the temple sent Levin’s consciousness flying momentarily.

As Levin collapsed unconscious, one of the women picked him up in her arms.

The woman, seemingly the leader, murmured.

“Completing the mission and acquiring a rare Awakened individual as well, the Queen will be pleased. Humans are somewhat bothersome, but they can be useful after being brainwashed.”

“The Queen, are you referring to the Ice Queen of the North District?”

A clear voice suddenly interrupted.

The woman felt a chill run down her spine.

‘When?’

Until the voice sounded right behind her, she hadn’t noticed the approach.

If her opponent had attacked, she would have been helplessly defeated.

Quickly turning around, she faced a tall, handsome man and a young girl wearing a tricorn hat.

‘It wasn’t one, but two?’

The realization that two people had deceived her senses added to her confusion.

She tried to remain composed and nonchalantly asked.

“We didn’t expect additional guests. Where are you from? The South District, the Central Zone?”

“I’m from around here.”

“Around… the slum area?”

“Yes!”

It was Zeon who answered with a calm expression.

The girl with the tricorn hat next to him was none other than Brielle.

“Levin!”

Brielle’s gaze turned to Levin, who was draped like a towel on one of the woman’s shoulders.

Levin, on the brink of consciousness, didn’t even twitch.

Under the brim of the tricorn hat, Brielle’s eyes turned sharp.

Though they hadn’t shared deep emotions, he was one of the few humans she could comfortably converse with.

And now, Levin was severely wounded and being abducted.

If they had arrived just a bit later, Levin would have disappeared without a trace, taken by them.

Brielle demanded.

“Levin! Let him go.”

“….”

The women remained silent.

Zeon gently addressed the apparent leader.

“Levin is our friend. Please release him.”

“We can’t do that. He’s a very rare Awakened. With proper nurturing, he could become a formidable force.”

“He hasn’t consented to this.”

“We don’t need his consent. And we certainly don’t need yours.”

“That’s regrettable.”

“I feel the same way. I didn’t want to cause any trouble.”

The woman deepened her hood.

Hiding her eyes and face meant she knew her actions weren’t honorable.

Zeon muttered.

‘Maybe that’s why everyone wears a mask.’

At that moment, the leader woman issued a command.

“Don’t kill, only subdue. We’re taking them too.”