Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 141

Zeon stood on the rooftop of the tallest building in the slums, gazing out at the desert.

The fierce desert wind blew as if it would sweep Zeon away at any moment, but his body remained unmoved, as if nailed down.

Boom! Boom!

In the distance, Awakened fighters were battling fiercely near the fortress.

“Scavengers, Dongdaemun fanatics, and their supporters. What a mess!”

The Awakeneds from Dongdaemun wore masks and changed weapons to conceal their identities. However, there was one thing they couldn’t hide: their skills.

One of the common skills among the Dongdaemun Awakeneds was the “Divine Radiance,” a barrier-like ability.

Both paladins and berserkers were required to master this skill.

In moments of danger, the Dongdaemun Awakeneds would instinctively deploy the Divine Radiance to protect themselves.

Although it didn’t block all attacks as its grand name suggested, it was powerful enough to save their lives in critical moments.

When faced with death, everyone resorted to their most trusted methods, and the Dongdaemun Awakeneds were no exception. This made them easily identifiable.

Zeon’s gaze shifted to a tall building on the outskirts of the slums, where Mechanized Awakened, exhausted after powering a railgun, were visible.

‘The Mechanized Awakened must have come from the West District…’

But that wasn’t all.

Suspicious movements were felt throughout the slums.

Chaos tends to breed more chaos.

Amid the extreme turmoil, someone desiring the Crown of the Spirit King was making their move.

‘Just as Damien wanted.’

Zeon frowned.

This incident was causing a major disruption in the well-maintained order of Neo Seoul.

Although the system wouldn’t collapse, significant chaos was inevitable.

Zeon did not wish for Neo Seoul to fall into disarray.

Personal feelings aside, he understood all too well that Neo Seoul was humanity’s last stronghold.

Neo Seoul was the only place where such a large population lived and had achieved such a highly advanced civilization, at least among the places Zeon had visited.

If it fell, human civilization would regress by at least two generations.

Therefore, Zeon tried to avoid causing problems that would shake the system of Neo Seoul.

But Damien was different.

He didn’t care if Neo Seoul shook or fell because of this.

His father’s revenge was his top priority, and he was prepared to make any sacrifice for it.

That’s why he relentlessly induced chaos in Neo Seoul, using all the items he had painstakingly gathered.

Boom!

At that moment, a different level of explosion erupted.

The blast was so powerful that the shockwave reached Zeon’s location, shattering the building’s windows and scattering the items on the rooftop like straw.

‘What is that?’

Zeon’s brow furrowed deeply.

Emerging from the exploded side of the fortress was a gigantic mammoth.

Whoosh!

The mammoth trumpeted, attacking the Awakened fighters who had besieged the caravan.

“The mammoth is going berserk!”

“Damn it! Someone do something about that!”

“Shit!”

The faces of the scavengers and Dongdaemun Awakeneds were filled with panic.

Even though the mammoth had a docile temperament, it was still a formidable C-rank monster.

Its attack power was low enough to be classified as C-rank, but its defense was comparable to a B-rank monster.

The mammoth rampaged wildly, attacking the Awakeneds with its tusks and four legs, causing increasing damage to them.

As the mammoth’s rampage pushed the chaos to its peak, those who had been lurking in the slums waiting for an opportunity began to make their moves in earnest.

Zeon decided it was time for him to act as well.

Swish!

Zeon leapt off the rooftop.

His figure soared tens of meters through the air, descending in a graceful arc towards the ground.

Landing lightly on the road, Zeon began walking towards the desert.

“Zeon!”

“Is it really him?”

Suddenly, he was confronted by two identical twin sisters, who blocked his path.

“Yes, I am Zeon. Who are you?”

“It’s really him!”

“We found him!”

Ignoring Zeon’s question, the twins chattered excitedly amongst themselves.

Zeon felt a sense of deja vu, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

‘Twins? Could they be the ones I saw in the square?’

Although he couldn’t see clearly because of the barrier, he remembered an old man with two girls.

The twins blocking his way gave off a similar vibe.

“Were you the ones watching from the square?”

“How did you know?”

“How?”

The twin sisters widened their eyes in surprise and started chirping like larks.

“Incredible! You saw through Grandpa’s barrier.”

“Is Grandpa losing his touch?”

“He’s got more wrinkles, but his skills are still sharp.”

“But how did he know?”

“He must really be an A-rank.”

The twins were unaware that only S-rank or higher Awakeneds could see through the barrier.

The old man had kept this a secret even from them. So they assumed Zeon was just an A-rank.

“An A-rank is impressive.”

“Impressive indeed. We’re A-rank too.”

“But we’re better. We’re above that.”

“That’s true!”

Their chatter was making Zeon’s head spin. He needed to interrupt them.

“Did you come looking for me?”

“Yep!”

“Why?”

“To stop you.”

“Stop me? Why?”

“You’re heading to the desert, right?”

“Right!”

“We’re here to stop you from going.”

“Why?”

“Grandpa asked us to. Just hold you back for a bit so you can’t interfere.”

“So why doesn’t he want me to interfere?”

“He considers you a danger.”

“A danger?”

“Yep! He thinks you might mess up the whole plan. That can’t happen.”

The twins answered cheerfully with innocent expressions.

“Is your grandpa the barrier master who was with you?”

“How did you know?”

“Because I saw him with you.”

“Wow, amazing. That makes you more dangerous.”

“Preventing the plan from falling apart? Are you affiliated with City Hall?”

“Wow!”

The twins’ mouths dropped open in shock.

Few people knew they were affiliated with City Hall.

Only a handful of people, including the old man they traveled with, were aware of this.

“You two must be part of the Numbers, the execution squad directly under the Mayor.”

Zeon said, now certain based on their reactions.

“Wow, you’re really smart.”

“I wonder how your brain works.”

“I’m curious too!”

“Should we find out?”

“Should we?”

“Grandpa did give us permission.”

In an instant, the playful smiles vanished from the twins’ faces.

At the same moment, Zeon’s eyes grew serious.

Bzzzz!

Suddenly, an intense ringing in his ears was accompanied by a severe headache.

It felt like his brain was being stabbed by a sharp awl.

Despite the pain, Zeon realized what the twins’ ability was.

“You two are telepaths.”

“As expected, you’re smart.”

“I really don’t like smart people.”

As Zeon suspected, the twin sisters were telepathic Awakeneds.

Their names were Eun Soo-jin and Eun Soo-young.

From a young age, they had Awakened their telepathic abilities.

Not only could they read others’ thoughts, but they could also directly interfere with their minds.

Because of this, even their parents abandoned them.

When they read their parents’ minds and spoke the thoughts aloud, it frightened them.

–Never appear before us again, you monsters!

These were the last words their parents said when they abandoned the twins, leaving a deep scar in their hearts.

Fortunately, Jin Geum-ho, who highly valued their abilities, took them in. They grew up under his care in City Hall and eventually became part of the Numbers.

The shock of being abandoned by their parents made them trust no one deeply, except for Jin Geum-ho and the old man.

Jin Geum-ho took them in when they had nowhere to go, and the old man cared for them purely without any ulterior motives.

Reading others’ thoughts was both a blessing and a curse.

As their talent grew, they surpassed merely interfering with others’ minds and could manipulate them in desired directions.

This ability to manipulate thoughts, also known as mind control, allowed them to show hallucinations or trap someone in an eternal dream at will.

This power to manipulate others’ minds like clay made those who knew their true nature very afraid of them.

“We won’t kill you.”

“We don’t like killing people.”

“We’ll just take a peek.”

“Because we’re curious.”

Eun Soo-jin and Eun Soo-young held hands, amplifying their abilities.

Being twins, they created a synergy that enhanced each other’s powers.

The human brain was like a completely sealed chamber.

To penetrate it, one had to first drill a small hole with a sharp awl.

This was the hardest part, especially with high-ranking Awakeneds, whose mental barriers were strong and hard to penetrate.

If done alone, it would not have been easy.

But they were twins and knew how to amplify each other’s strength.

Eun Soo-jin spoke.

“I’ll drill the hole. Concentrate your power.”

“Okay!”

With Eun Soo-young’s response, she transferred her mana to Eun Soo-jin, greatly amplifying Eun Soo-jin’s telepathic ability.

Sweat beads formed on Eun Soo-jin’s forehead. Even with their abilities amplified more than twice, it was difficult to create a hole in Zeon’s mental barrier.

“Tch, this is hard.”

“Hang in there!”

“Okay!”

Encouraged by Eun Soo-young, Eun Soo-jin increased her output further. Despite this, she couldn’t make even the smallest hole in Zeon’s mental barrier.

“Crazy… This is even stronger than the Captain or Grain.”

The leader of the Numbers, Seong Ho-yeon, and the second-in-command, Grain, were both S-rank Awakeneds with incredibly strong mental defenses.

The twins had to use tremendous concentration, time, and mana to read their thoughts.

Reading Mayor Jin Geum-ho’s thoughts was impossible, and there was no need to read the old man’s thoughts.

Apart from those two, Seong Ho-yeon and Grain were the hardest to read, but Zeon’s mental barrier was even more formidable.

“Damn it!”

Eun Soo-jin gritted her teeth and increased her output.

Eun Soo-young continued to support her.

Finally, after a tremendous effort, they managed to drill a needle-sized hole in Zeon’s mental barrier.

“Got it.”

Eun Soo-jin exclaimed in triumph.

Drilling the hole was the hardest part; the rest was easy.

Through the tiny hole, they infiltrated Zeon’s brain, just like injecting water into a small opening.

Eun Soo-jin began to dominate Zeon’s brain, with Eun Soo-young’s assistance.

She quickly invaded Zeon’s brainstem, aiming to take control of its neural pathways.

The brainstem, connecting various parts of the brain and spinal cord, was a crucial pathway. Controlling this meant completing 90% of the work.

The first task when invading another’s mind was to seize the brainstem’s nerves and then understand the person’s mental imagery.

Mental imagery contained everything about the person: their past, actions, and desires. Understanding this allowed them to manipulate the person at will.

Since this was a routine task, Eun Soo-jin had no hesitation.

After completely seizing the brainstem, she infiltrated Zeon’s cerebrum to peek into his mental imagery.

She was curious about the past of someone with such a strong mental barrier.

At the moment she gently opened the veil of darkness in Zeon’s mind…

“Wh-What is this?”

A shrill scream burst from Eun Soo-jin’s mouth.