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[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 347
“Ha!”
“Damn it!”
Levin and Zetoya’s faces twisted as they arrived at the village.
Several corpses were already visible.
Villagers had gathered around the bodies, weeping.
Brielle shook her head slightly and said,
“Looks like she’s already been here.”
“She used brutal methods. Judging by the wounds, she’s using silver thread as a weapon, and she didn’t hesitate to kill.”
Just from examining the corpses, Levin had already figured out the weapon Chen Xi used.
It was proof of just how experienced Levin had become.
Chen Xi had torn through Zetoya’s village and vanished.
The only consolation was that the death toll wasn’t too high.
She had killed only as many as needed to extract information and left.
The downside was that she moved with extreme efficiency.
Indiscriminate slaughter was easy, but killing selectively to get the exact information you needed required precision and skill.
Which meant she was a formidable opponent.
Tracking someone who operated with such ruthless efficiency would be that much harder.
Zetoya questioned the surviving villagers about what happened when Chen Xi visited.
A short while later, having gathered all the information, Zetoya approached the others.
“She’s a complete lunatic. She executed villagers one by one until she got the answers she wanted.”
“This will keep happening until we secure Remura.”
“Then we have to track her quickly.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“About what?”
“This is your village. Are you okay leaving without tending to the dead?”
“What they want isn’t to be buried. It’s revenge.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Even the families of the dead asked me to avenge them. So let’s get moving.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Levin nodded and turned to Brielle.
Brielle pulled a glass vial from her pointed hat and said,
“She left behind traces. It won’t be hard to follow her.”
She poured the liquid from the vial where Chen Xi had stood. Footprints began to glow in luminous green.
It was Brielle’s tracking potion.
Once a target was marked, she could sprinkle the potion at every fork in the path to determine which way they went.
Brielle took the lead, following the trail of glowing prints. Levin followed behind and spoke to Zetoya.
“Let’s go, Zetoya.”
“Yes, hyung!”
And the three set off on the chase.
Once they confirmed no one else was around, Brielle said,
“Okay, come out now, Gaia!”
―Beeep!
Gaia emerged from the subspace portal.
Finally free, Gaia wagged her tail with joy.
In the past, Gaia had been too weak to endure the foul energy of the sewers, but she had grown stronger and could now handle it to some extent.
Brielle patted Gaia on the head and said,
“I’m glad you’re with me, too. But for now, let’s focus. We have to track her down before more lives are lost.”
―Beeep!
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Brielle and Gaia dashed through the darkness, following Levin and Zetoya.
* * *
Zeon sat inside Old Man Klexi’s shop, eating a meal.
A soup filled with chunks of meat—his favorite dish.
At some point, he had started eating gukbap, and now it had become an essential source of energy.
Slurp!
As Zeon slurped down the hot broth, Old Man Klexi spoke up.
“Is it good?”
“It’s delicious.”
“Can you really swallow that down?”
“It goes down great.”
“You sent the kids to the Croc Hole, and you’re eating like this?”
“You made it, so you know how good it is. How could I not eat it?”
“Geez! Don’t you worry about those kids?”
“Not at all.”
Old Man Klexi scowled at Zeon’s firm answer.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“You’re telling me you don’t worry, sending those young kids off like that? Are you heartless?”
“I didn’t raise them to be soft enough to warrant worry.”
“Huh?”
“I trained them harshly. This won’t be a problem for them.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Yes.”
With that, Zeon lifted the bowl and drank the broth to the last drop.
Old Man Klexi looked silently at Zeon’s calm face.
He didn’t like how composed he looked. But still, he trusted his words.
He knew just how cautious Zeon could be.
If Zeon said so, then he must be sure of it. He wasn’t the type to send the kids into danger without reason.
Relieved at last, Old Man Klexi let out a sigh.
“Whew. So what about you? You planning to just sit around like this forever? Keep wasting time?”
“That’s not the plan.”
“Then?”
“I was already thinking it’s about time to move. Just need to finish this gukbap first.”
The bowl was already nearly empty.
Zeon scraped up the last pieces of meat and rice, set the bowl down.
Clack!
“Ah, that was great. Your food is always the best.”
“Hehe! Everyone says that about my cooking.”
“Thanks to you, I’ve got the energy to move again.”
“What’s your plan?”
“First, I’m going to deal with the watcher.”
“The watcher?”
“I’ve tolerated it long enough.”
Zeon smiled faintly.
Old Man Klexi found that smile unsettling.
“That’s your killing smile.”
“Sorry?”
“I mean, that’s the kind of smile people wear right before they kill someone.”
“Ah, well…”
Realizing what he meant, Zeon chuckled softly and stood up.
“Thanks for the meal. I’ll come by again.”
“Bring the kids next time, if you can.”
“I’ll try.”
“Alright. Take care.”
“Yes, sir.”
Zeon placed some money on the table and left the shop.
Once he had walked a fair distance, his expression changed.
He looked up at the distant clock tower.
It was Sinchon’s most iconic landmark.
Thanks to it, no one in Sinchon needed to wear a watch.
The distance between him and the tower was over three kilometers.
To the average person, nothing on top of it would be visible. But to Zeon, it was perfectly clear.
There, atop the tower, sat a man watching him intently.
Wearing priest robes and radiating a fierce aura—Lubo.
One of Dongdaemun’s prized Dark Saints, wielder of the overpowered skill Clairvoyance.
He was observing Zeon’s every move from the tower.
And reporting Zeon’s movements to Dongdaemun in real time.
A deep frown creased Lubo’s brow.
Their eyes had just met.
‘Could it be?’
There were three kilometers between them.
And he was cloaked with a stealth skill.
Not even the most skilled Awakened had ever spotted him before.
Of all the people he’d monitored, not one had ever noticed.
He had every reason to feel secure—but Lubo never let his guard down.
He knew a moment’s complacency could cost him his life.
The instant their eyes locked, Lubo’s heart began to pound wildly.
He recognized it for what it was—his instincts warning him.
‘He saw me.’
Lubo sprang to his feet.
At that moment, Zeon leapt off the ground.
Soaring through the air—headed straight for the tower.
The earth propelled him upward with a burst of sand.
“Damn it!”
Lubo turned and ran without hesitation.
Though he specialized in surveillance, he was still an Awakened.
His physical capabilities rivaled most martial-type Awakened.
In an instant, he sprang off the tower and landed on a nearby rooftop.
‘I need to regroup with the others.’
Ten Dark Saints had entered Sinchon.
With Chen Xi missing, nine remained.
Aside from him, there were eight others scattered throughout Sinchon.
They’d been gathering information on the Saint.
He already knew their locations.
Lubo began moving toward the nearest one.
Shhhhhh!
Suddenly, he heard a sharp sonic boom behind him.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
He knew it was Zeon.
“Damn it!”
The sound grew louder—closer.
He didn’t need to guess what it meant.
Realizing he couldn’t escape, Lubo turned around.
Wham!
A tremendous impact struck his chest.
Zeon had flown through the air and kicked him square in the chest.
“Gah!”
Lubo screamed as he tumbled across the rooftop.
He rolled until he slammed into a guardrail and finally stopped.
Zeon landed softly in front of him.
To Lubo, who watched him descend on a stream of sand, Zeon looked like a devil.
Looking down at him, Zeon said,
“Thank you for watching over me all this time.”
“Son of a… So you knew all along?”
“After spying on me every day for a month? It’d be strange if I didn’t.”
“Then you knew I was watching from the start?”
“Yes.”
“Ha! Fucking hell…”
Lubo bit his lip in frustration.
He felt like everything he’d done for the past month had been a complete waste.
“So you knew and still let me be?”
“I felt kind of bad for you.”
“For what?”
“You barely slept, crouching in hiding all the time just to watch me.”
“Then why didn’t you strike earlier? Would’ve saved me a month of effort.”
“Because we had a deal.”
“A deal?”
“You didn’t know? I made a deal with Johan. I agreed to let you all move freely for one month.”
“That…”
Lubo trailed off.
He’d heard the same from Johan.
Zeon looked back at the clock tower.
“A month has passed. By one minute. Time to leave.”
“You crazy bastard! You’re attacking over a minute?”
“Like I said, the deal with Johan was for exactly one month. Now you all need to keep your end.”
“Shit!”
Lubo cursed under Zeon’s cold gaze—but that was all he could do.
Even with his Clairvoyance, he was no match for Zeon.
If he fought, he would certainly lose.
Lubo staggered to his feet.
“Take everyone else and leave. If even one remains, I won’t sit still.”
“W-Wait. One of us is still unaccounted for.”
“You want me to believe that? You’ve got ten minutes. Take the rest and get out of Sinchon. Anything that happens after will be on you and Johan.”
“Goddamn it!”
Lubo fled without another word.
Zeon smiled as he watched Lubo’s retreating figure.
‘Now the justification is on my side.’
He had given them a whole month.
And they’d failed to find anything.
That was Dongdaemun’s failure.
He had honored the agreement. Now, Johan had no grounds to protest whatever Zeon did next.
‘You’re in for a headache, Johan. You gained nothing but enemies in the past month…’
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[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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