Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 284

Though Zeon knew nothing about Kurayan, he had heard of the World Tree from the elves.

A colossal tree that supported the world of Kurayan.

The source of all life and what the elves called “Mother.” However, he’d been told that the World Tree had completely vanished with the fall of Kurayan.

“Is this really a seed of the World Tree? I don’t feel any energy coming from it.”

—Screech!

“It’s lost its power? But it can be revived? How?”

—Screeeeech!

“You need to absorb it?”

The baby whale nodded with the seed of the World Tree still in its mouth.

Zeon sensed its unease.

The young whale worried that Zeon, the seed’s owner, might not allow it.

With a small smile, Zeon patted the whale’s head.

“Go ahead.”

—Screech!

“I’m serious. Take it in.”

—Screeeeech!

The baby whale swam excitedly around Zeon in circles.

Claire, watching from a distance, had no idea why the calf was so animated around Zeon.

She was too far away to hear their conversation.

Then, the baby whale swallowed the World Tree’s seed in a single gulp.

Whoosh!

The moment it did, a radiant light burst from the calf’s body.

After a few moments, the light faded, and the baby whale reappeared.

Its appearance hadn’t changed much.

It was still the same size, with the same gentle expression.

But the density of its mana had shifted.

Where it had once felt light as cotton candy, it now carried a weight like compressed steel.

With renewed vigor, the young whale swam energetically around Zeon.

—Screeeeech!

“It’ll take time to fully blossom? How long?”

—Screech!

“You don’t know, either? That’s fine. No matter how long it takes, it’s okay.”

At Zeon’s words, the young whale flicked its fins, visibly reassured.

Watching it with a warm smile, Zeon suddenly had a thought.

“Gaia.”

—Screech?

“I’ll call you Gaia. How about it?”

The baby whale nodded in approval.

And just like that, the young whale’s name became Gaia.

After enjoying Zeon’s touch for a while, Gaia let out another cry.

—Screech!

“You want to rest? In my subspace?”

—Screeeeech!

“You can live there?”

—Screech!

With a quiet cry, Gaia disappeared.

“What the…?”

Zeon stared at his right arm in amazement.

He’d closed the subspace immediately after Gaia took out the World Tree’s seed, so it had remained sealed. Yet, Gaia had managed to enter the closed space on its own.

That wasn’t the only change.

The ownership of the subspace was shifting.

Previously, it had been enchanted into the Inferno Gauntlet and could only be accessed through it.

But now, control of the subspace was transferring from the gauntlet directly to Zeon himself.

He didn’t know how this was happening, but now he could open the subspace without needing the gauntlet.

He was now the true master of the subspace.

Its size had also expanded immensely.

The subspace, which Kailey had already expanded tenfold, had grown even larger.

It was now vast enough to house several Moby Dicks at once.

Gaia must have worked some kind of magic, he thought.

Zeon shook his head and muttered to himself.

“This is insane!”

He had thought he was unshakable, but meeting Moby Dick and Gaia had thrown him into a series of surprises.

He gave up trying to understand the situation any further.

He could still feel Gaia resting within the subspace.

That was enough.

Turning, Zeon looked over at Pavilsia and Kailey.

The two of them were tearfully embracing the fully-recovered Archelon.

Archelon, as if it had never been on the verge of death, looked back at them in perfect health.

This journey had been to save Archelon.

Even with Zeon’s help, they hadn’t been very hopeful. Seeing Archelon miraculously healed left their minds blank with disbelief.

Zeon’s gaze turned to Claire.

She stood paralyzed with fear, unsure of what to do.

At this point, she couldn’t run away, nor could she undo what she’d done.

With the loss of Lee Jung-ho, her protector, she felt utterly helpless.

If there had been even one beast nearby that she could tame, it would’ve been some comfort, but Zeon had eradicated them all.

All Claire could do was watch as Zeon approached, trembling.

“I… I’m sorry. But I was only following their orders—I didn’t have a choice.”

“Why would you listen to them?”

“If I don’t, how could I survive in Neo Seoul? If I want to live there, I have no choice but to follow his orders.”

“Forcing the Queen Ghost Dragonfly to molt so you could take its wings—that was you, wasn’t it?”

“How did you know?”

Claire’s eyes widened in shock.

“Was that Jin Geum-ho’s order too?”

“Yes.”

“And what did he want with the Queen Dragonfly’s wings? And what does he intend to do with Moby Dick’s heart?”

“I don’t know. Only that it’s some kind of divine punishment…”

Thud!

The moment she uttered the words “divine punishment,” Claire’s head snapped back as if struck by a bullet.

Her head exploded from within.

Thick blood poured from her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

“I…”

Claire looked at Zeon in disbelief, then collapsed. She was dead.

Zeon stared at her with a grim expression.

“Did they put some sort of curse on her without her knowledge?”

Zeon couldn’t be sure of the exact mechanism that had caused her head to explode.

All he knew was that the instant she said “divine punishment,” the explosion occurred. The phrase seemed to be some kind of trigger.

“Divine punishment…”

Zeon shook his head, pushing away his thoughts.

Words alone wouldn’t reveal the truth.

He surveyed his surroundings.

Moby Dick had vanished without a trace, and Archelon had evolved to a new form.

Originally a B-rank beast, it had now risen to A-rank.

As an A-rank beast, Archelon’s presence was formidable.

Its spiked shell and newly-formed horn gave it an intimidating appearance.

Around Archelon lay the corpses of the beasts that had come to hunt Moby Dick.

The bodies of the Grey Ogre, Crimson Drake, and Giant Spider were all there. But Zeon wasn’t focused on the carcasses themselves.

His attention was drawn to a shadow creeping toward the beasts’ bodies.

It slithered like a leech, trying to stay low to avoid Zeon’s notice. But Zeon’s senses were not so easily fooled.

“So, you survived after all.”

Zeon began walking toward the wriggling black shadow.

As it reached out to touch the Grey Ogre’s corpse, it froze, trembling in shock at Zeon’s approach.

The shadow rippled like a wave, and a human face emerged from it.

“Pantsy!”

The face, with an expression of panic, was Pantsy’s.

Just before he was destroyed by Zeon’s Sand Gehenna, Pantsy had attempted to fuse with the Black Anemone’s core.

A desperate move, to survive at any cost.

Unexpectedly, it had worked, merging him with Bessy, the Black Anemone.

As a result, he barely escaped the explosion. But Bessy had been reduced to a mere core, with no remaining power.

Without a stronger host, Pantsy would soon be devoured by another beast.

That’s why he had no choice but to take a risk.

He aimed to absorb the bodies of the three A-rank beasts Zeon had killed.

Absorbing them would make him even more powerful than before. But his stealthy attempt had been immediately detected by Zeon.

Pantsy frantically pleaded.

“Wait, spare me! I swear, I’ll be loyal to you if you let me live.”

“I don’t need a beast’s loyalty.”

“No… please!”

Whoosh!

As Pantsy struggled to rise, a white flame ignited in front of Zeon.

It was a flame conjured by the Inferno Gauntlet.

Its intense dryness made it feel almost cold.

Seeing the white flame, Pantsy’s face went pale.

“Please… I just want to survive…”

“Then you should have stayed hidden.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Zeon replied coldly, flicking his fingers. The white flame moved, attaching itself to Pantsy.

Although it started as a small flame no larger than a hand, the instant it touched Pantsy, it expanded a hundredfold.

“Aaaahhh!”

Pantsy’s agonized screams echoed from within the flames.

He rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire, but it was futile.

This was no ordinary flame.

“Hellfire.”

Zeon had concentrated all the power of the Inferno Gauntlet into the white flame.

It was a fire straight from hell.

The fusion with Bessy had strengthened Pantsy’s life force.

But that only prolonged his agony.

A normal human would have perished instantly in the Hellfire, but thanks to Bessy, Pantsy had to endure the searing pain for a long time.

His suffering only ended when his body was completely consumed, leaving no trace behind.

After confirming Pantsy’s complete annihilation, Zeon let out a low sigh.

“Haa.”

Truthfully, killing Pantsy hadn’t been difficult. He was so weak that sparing him wouldn’t have mattered.

But leaving someone like him alive would inevitably lead to trouble.

Better to end it while he could.

Zeon then searched through the remains of the beasts.

He wouldn’t have bothered with mana stones from ordinary beasts, but A-rank or B-rank mana stones were different.

The Grey Ogre, Crimson Drake, and Giant Spider were all rare beasts.

Naturally, their mana stones were special as well.

Fortunately, each of them held large mana stones.

Among them, it was the Crimson Drake’s mana stone that caught Zeon’s eye.

The Crimson Drake was a fire-based beast, much like the Red Dragon whose eye was embedded in his Inferno Gauntlet.

Though it couldn’t compare to a dragon, it was still a creature of the same element.

Its mana stone held a rich, deep-red hue.

“A fire-element mana stone.”

Stones infused with elemental power were rare.

And an A-rank mana stone was even rarer.

If he sold it in Neo Seoul, it would fetch a fortune.

“I’ll figure out what to do with this later.”

At that moment—

Gaia suddenly popped out of the subspace without warning.

—Screech!

Gaia fixed its gaze on the mana stone in Zeon’s hand.

Its curious expression made Zeon chuckle.

“What? You want to eat it?”

—Screech!

Gaia gave a joyful cry, confirming it.

As a creature gifted with four elemental attributes inherited from its mother, Moby Dick, mana stones infused with beast attributes were precious sustenance for Gaia.

Knowing this, Zeon tossed the Crimson Drake’s mana stone to Gaia without hesitation.

Like an eager puppy, Gaia caught it and retreated happily into the subspace.

Though he’d given up a valuable mana stone, Zeon felt no regret.

After gathering the remaining mana stones and the Grey Ogre’s club, Zeon smiled.

It was time to return.

And a perfect mount was waiting right in front of him.

Zeon climbed onto Archelon.

“Ready to head out?”

“Where can I take you?”

“Neo Seoul.”

“I’ll get you there in one piece, honored guest!”

Pavilsia replied with a smile.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]