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[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 334
The one who responded to Zeon’s entrance appeared to be a man in his mid-forties.
A massive, muscular giant easily over five meters tall, with a rugged, square-jawed face covered in thick facial hair. Eyes fierce like a beast’s and a blunt, heavy nose.
A tremendous mane of black hair flared out in all directions like a lion’s mane.
The man wore a one-piece suit of armor, pitch-black and scaled like a dragon’s hide. From him radiated an overwhelming aura.
It was so immense that Zeon’s expression twisted with strain—but it wasn’t the man’s towering frame or sheer presence that had truly shocked Zeon.
It was the figure sprawled before the man, limbs splayed out as if dissected.
A man with bloodless, pallid skin, a crown of teal atop his head, and the stench of death clinging to him.
Despite clearly being dead, his eyes were full of disbelief.
A look that refused to accept his own death, even to the end.
Zeon instinctively knew this was the one he had been looking for.
“The necromancer?”
“That’s right. The necromancer. In Kurayan, he was called Pilgrim.”
The answer came from the towering man.
Zeon stared at the giant.
And the giant, with an amused glint in his eyes, looked back at the human who had trespassed into Pilgrim’s domain.
By his calculations, it should’ve taken humans at least another ten hours to reach this place—at the cost of over two thousand lives.
But this one had appeared more than ten hours early.
Of course he found it interesting.
The man spoke.
“Wait a moment. I need to finish this one off first. Otherwise, he’ll keep crawling back like a cockroach.”
CRACK!
He drove his forearm deep into Pilgrim’s chest and stirred.
Pilgrim’s body twitched violently, like a freshly caught fish.
After digging around for a while, the man finally smiled.
“Found it.”
What he pulled from Pilgrim’s chest was a tiny shard of violet gemstone, no bigger than a pinky nail.
The moment Zeon saw it, his heart sank.
A sinister energy emanating from the unidentified gem shook him to the core.
Not even the finest mana stones or items had ever made Zeon feel like this.
It felt like he was staring at something that should not exist in this world.
As his blood ran cold, Zeon asked:
“What is that?”
“You’re better off not knowing. It’s not something a human can handle.”
“Even so—what is it?”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“Sorry, but a human has no right to know.”
“So you’re admitting you’re not human.”
“That’s right. I’m not. Just as you’ve already suspected.”
The man straightened his back.
As the five-meter giant moved, an immense power filled the underground chamber.
A space that had once belonged to Pilgrim, the necromancer—now clearly belonged to this man.
Pilgrim had been capable of summoning zombies, ghost hounds, specters, and dullahans endlessly, all on his own.
He’d even created monstrous beings like Bone Drakes and the Bone Hydra.
A domain ruled by such a being.
And a domain, by nature, amplifies the power of its master.
Everything is arranged to suit the master’s disposition and abilities. That kind of atmosphere is not something easily changed.
Not even after the master dies.
Which meant this place should still reek of Pilgrim’s presence.
But the moment the man stood tall, everything bent to his will.
He had stolen another’s domain in an instant.
Pilgrim’s corpse disappeared without a trace, not even ashes remaining.
Now, not even a necromancer who defied death could ever be resurrected.
Not even Leviathan had pulled off something like this.
Which meant—this man before Zeon was someone even more powerful than Leviathan.
Zeon stared at the man, his gaze unblinking.
“…Are you… a dragon?”
“I was.”
The man neither confirmed nor denied it.
Zeon’s eyes darkened.
There was no one who understood the weight and terror that name carried more than him.
He had fought alongside Dayoden to the very end against the dragons.
Back then, Dayoden had been the main force, and Zeon had only played a supporting role—but even so, he had learned firsthand just how terrifying dragons were.
And this man before him… was equal to, if not stronger than, that dragon.
The goosebumps on Zeon’s skin, refusing to go away, proved it.
‘He’s stronger than Hieltun…’
The dragon that Dayoden had sacrificed his life to kill was Hieltun.
The man standing before Zeon now—was far stronger.
If this man went on a rampage, every Awakened who had come here would be annihilated.
Zeon, now tense, silently summoned his power.
The man noticed and chuckled softly.
“Seems like you’re uncomfortable with me being here, Sand Mage.”
“You know who I am?”
“Of course I do. This isn’t the best place for a conversation, though. Let’s move.”
Snap.
The man flicked his fingers.
Instantly, Zeon felt a dizzying sensation of weightlessness.
At the same time, the scenery around him shifted rapidly—like someone flipping through photographs at high speed.
Zeon knew exactly what that meant.
‘He’s using teleportation this easily…?’
When he regained his senses, Zeon realized he was high in the sky.
Far below stretched the vast landscape of the earth.
If not for his ability to manipulate sand and float in midair, this would’ve been a disorienting experience.
—Pii?
At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind—Gaia’s voice.
Sensing Zeon’s danger, Gaia was trying to emerge.
‘Stay put, Gaia!’
Zeon restrained her immediately.
His opponent was a monster whose limits were unknown.
Letting Gaia appear before him prematurely could have disastrous consequences.
Worst case, this monster might covet Gaia.
She was that valuable.
And Zeon knew all too well how greedy dragons could be.
The moment he saw Gaia, this creature would undoubtedly try to claim her.
‘Did he shed his dragon form…?’
Earlier, the man had referred to himself in the past tense—he was a dragon.
That had not been a lie.
Dragons didn’t enjoy lying.
Shhhk!
Every time the man moved, the scales of his black armor shifted like a living creature.
‘It’s not armor—it’s his own scales.’
That was the only way to explain such unity.
The man spoke.
“This place should let you talk comfortably—without worrying about the other humans.”
“…Yes. Seems so.”
Zeon nodded.
He didn’t know the exact coordinates of this location.
But it was far from the mana stone mines—that much he could tell.
At least here, the man’s power wouldn’t harm the others near the mine.
Which meant Zeon could finally speak to him without holding back.
After collecting his thoughts, Zeon spoke.
“…You’re remarkable.”
“What about me is remarkable? That I was a dragon? Or that I killed Pilgrim?”
“The fact that you moved at all.”
“That so? You’ve seen dragons before, then. I suppose our kind is known to be a bit lazy. I’m the exception.”
“The gem made you move, didn’t it?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because otherwise, there’s no reason you’d hunt someone like Pilgrim.”
No matter how powerful a necromancer was, they were still a necromancer.
Even if they created S-rank beasts like Bone Drakes or Bone Hydras—they were still just beasts.
To a dragon, a necromancer and his creations were less than claws.
And yet a dragon moved to kill one?
Impossible.
At least, by Zeon’s understanding.
A dragon would only move for something truly worthy.
The gem Pilgrim carried…
That was likely what drove this dragon to act.
The real issue was this:
What kind of gem could make even a dragon stir?
The man smiled.
“You really are something.”
“…What do you mean?”
“You see the truth. Just like your unusual ability.”
“My ability is unusual?”
“At the very least, it’s not normal. There were no Sand Mages in Kurayan.”
“There was no desert there?”
“There was. But no one cared. Kurayan was rich. No one needed to control sand.”
“…Sounds like a good place.”
“It was. And no one expected that a power so overlooked would one day become so useful. Not even him…”
“Him?”
Zeon’s eyebrow twitched.
The man, though briefly, had referred to him with reverence.
There was only one being a dragon would speak of with respect.
“…You mean Crassias.”
“So you did know.”
“It would be impossible not to.”
“Fascinating. Truly fascinating. You know I was a dragon, and yet you stay composed. Even hearing the name Crassias doesn’t shake you. Hahaha!”
The man burst into wild laughter.
The clouds around them scattered like waves, swept away by the force of it.
A laugh so powerful, it was terrifying.
But Zeon remained calm.
“So what if he was Crassias? He’s already dead. Why would I fear someone who’s dead?”
“…Do you really think that?”
“…What are you saying?”
“Do you truly believe Crassias is dead?”
“He was broken down into particles as payment for terraforming Earth, wasn’t he?”
“That’s how it appeared, yes.”
“…But now it sounds like you’re saying otherwise.”
“Take it however you wish.”
At his response, Zeon’s expression hardened.
If his guess was true, the consequences would be too horrific to fathom.
The man looked down beneath his feet and said:
“We’ve talked long enough. Before you leave, I should test your strength.”
“…At least tell me your name first.”
“Heh. Arrogant little thing. My name is Nigel.”
CRACK!
In that moment, the scales covering Nigel’s body spread wide and revealed their true form.
Wings.
A pair of wings so vast, it looked as if they could blanket the sky itself.
The scaled body hidden within unfolded.
Now it was clear.
Nigel was not human.
Nor was he a dragon.
He was something in between.
A half-dragon.
The ultimate being—born by taking only the best traits of dragons and humans.
He looked at Zeon and declared:
“Let’s see if you can survive this, Sand Mage.”
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[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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