Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 73

A picture resembling a bird with its wings spread wide was drawn.

It was a strange bird with three heads, three pairs of wings, and six legs.

It was more like a chimera than a bird.

That much was fine.

The taste of the person who drew the picture could just be peculiar.

The problem was that the picture was drawn not with paint, but with human blood. And where the bird’s head should have been, there were actual human faces.

At the ends of the three pairs of wings were human arms, and human legs were placed like ornaments on the six legs of the bird.

So someone killed people, drew the picture with their blood, and decorated it with their bodies.

“Sadistic hobbyists.”

It was a world where people killing other people wasn’t strange.

Even now, somewhere, someone must be dying. But the massacre unfolded before Zeon’s eyes was different from those.

It was clear that they were killed not for survival, but to fulfill the killer’s own pleasure and desire.

“Tsk!”

Zeon clicked his tongue.

The foul smell stimulated his sense of smell.

The smell of monsters and human blood was different.

Although both emitted a foul smell, human blood was much more stimulating. That’s why Zeon didn’t know if that’s why monsters crave human blood so much.

The victims seemed to be all from the same family.

The head of a middle-aged woman, and the heads of a boy and a girl who seemed to be her children.

Their wide-open eyes and gaping mouths vividly conveyed how much fear they felt before they died.

“It must be the work of that psychopath.”

Zeon sensed that it was the act of the person old man Klexi had mentioned.

While he was away for a while, a massacre was committed three floors below his house.

The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.

It felt like his territory had been violated.

That’s when it happened.

“Uh, Mom? Kids!”

A voice from behind was heard.

As Zeon turned his head, he saw a bewildered boy standing there.

Zeon recognized his face immediately.

“Levin! No way….”

It was Levin, the boy he had met just before leaving the house.

It occurred to him that Levin had said his house was the house at the end of the fifteenth floor, right here.

Levin came in looking pale.

The horrifying scene inside the house was beyond belief.

When despair reaches its peak, the mind becomes empty.

Like Levin right now.

Levin couldn’t think at all.

Until just a while ago, his mother and siblings were fine. He had fought with his mother since morning and said unpleasant things he did not mean, but he didn’t wish for them to die like this.

“No!”

Levin, who belatedly regained his senses, cried out.

“Ugh!”

“What’s going on?”

The people who had been watching shook their heads in disbelief.

They were originally indifferent to other people’s affairs, but this time they couldn’t ignore it.

Because it happened right in front of their house.

If they had made a single mistake, they could have been the victims instead.

They shivered at the thought of it.

“Ugh!”

Levin cried out loudly, holding the severed heads of his mother and siblings.

But no one came forward to console him, even after seeing his plight.

“Well, I only feel sorry for the dead.”

“The smell is going to come to my house.”

“I hope they clean up properly so that it doesn’t stick, but I don’t know if that kid even has the mind to do that.”

What they were worried about was that the corpses weren’t cleaned up properly, bugs would infest them, and the smell would spread to their own house.

Zeon looked at them indifferently.

Levin, holding the severed heads and sobbing, couldn’t even gather strength.

His entire body was stained red with his family’s blood.

Perhaps this sight was what the psychopath who committed this atrocity wanted.

“It can’t be helped.”

Bang!

Zeon closed the door, blocking the view of the people.

“Some bastard took my family… I’m going to kill you. I will definitely find you and kill you.”

Blood dripped from Levin’s eyes as he hugged the severed head and sobbed.

His tear ducts were torn, causing blood to flow.

Tears mixed with blood fell to the floor.

From Levin’s wrist, light was emanating.

Zeon knew very well what that phenomenon meant.

‘He has awakened.’

It was clear that a rank insignia, the mark of an Awakened, had appeared on Levin’s wrist.

Red for the Martial Arts category.

Blue for the Magic category.

Gray for the Shaman category.

Those who combined with machinery would have a black rank insignia mark.

Most Awakeneds did not deviate from these categories. However, there were occasional exceptions.

Zeon was a prime example.

His rank mark was a burning desert-like orange.

And his awakened ability was also unconventional, being a Sand Mage.

The light flowing from Levin’s wrist was also unusual.

A distinct bright purple color.

It was a color Zeon had never seen before.

He closely examined Levin’s wrist.

The purple light was coming from the seventh and final line.

It meant he was an F-rank Awakened.

Starting from the F-rank upon awakening meant he was just average.

Since many Awakeneds started from the F-rank.

Zeon himself started as an F-rank.

And starting ahead doesn’t mean you’ll grow faster.

Some may struggle to grow even with a lifetime of effort, while others may quickly advance despite starting from the F-rank.

The mechanism of growth varies from person to person, and from awakened ability to awakened ability.

What matters is not the rank, but the awakened ability itself.

The purple rank mark was something Zeon had never seen before.

Levin’s awakened ability was unknown, but it would undoubtedly be very rare.

Then it happened.

As Levin was vowing revenge, his body suddenly became transparent and rippled like waves.

The sight was like a ghost that Zeon had only heard about.

Pababak!

The moment Levin transformed into a ghost-like figure, an enormous amount of energy surged from his body.

The energy destroyed everything inside the house.

* * *

After releasing a burst of energy, Levin lost consciousness.

With that, his transparent form returned to normal.

Zeon moved Levin aside and gathered the bodies in one place.

The severed bodies were truly gruesome.

Those with weak stomachs wouldn’t even dare to touch them. But Zeon touched the corpses without a change in expression

He had countless experiences more horrifying than this.

This level of horror couldn’t shake Zeon at all.

Gathering the bodies together, Zeon muttered.

“May you go to a better place…”

Whoosh!

In an instant, the body parts were engulfed in flames.

It was a blaze ignited by Zeon.

The intense heat quickly consumed the bodies.

With such a fire, the entire house should have burned down. However, everything remained intact.

It was as if only the area where the bodies were had burned, as if space had been carved out for them.

It would have been a sight that would’ve astonished fire mages if they had seen it..

Among many types of magic, fire type was the most difficult to control.

Due to the nature of flames spreading through a medium, precise control was not easy.

However, Zeon managed to set the fire indoors while meticulously controlling other areas from burning.

He was like a mage born with the characteristics of a fire mage.

The flames only consumed the bodies and then disappeared.

Zeon opened the window to let out the heat. Then he gathered the remaining ashes.

Despite burning three people, the amount of ash was barely a handful.

Zeon put the ash into an empty bottle.

After briefly inspecting the vacant house, Zeon came out carrying Levin.

The people who had gathered to see the murder scene had all disappeared and were nowhere to be seen.

Since it was an event unrelated to them anyway, they lost interest.

It was a scene that showed how meaningless neighborly love was here.

Zeon returned to his house with Levin.

After laying Levin on the bed, Zeon sat on the sofa. He recalled the scene he had witnessed earlier.

Levin emitted tremendous energy while in a ghost-like transparent state.

“Ghosting… Is it an ability like a Specter?”

Not all monsters had strong bodies.

There were forms like parasites that attached to other monsters and controlled them, like the Ghost Worm Zeon had obtained recently, and there were also monsters that took the form of liquid that could change according to the situation without a fixed body.

Slime was the representative of such monsters.

Specter was one of these unique entities.

It floated like a ghost without a solid form and attacked the mind.

Those with weak minds would lose their will or be controlled by the Specter.

“And the energy emission.”

If he had to classify, it was close to electric energy.

So Levin clearly possessed two characteristics at once.

Although he had heard stories of Awakened individuals possessing two characteristics, it was the first time he had seen it in person.

It was clear that Levin was an irregular like himself.

He didn’t know where Levin’s limits were, but if he grew well, he would undoubtedly become a tremendous force.

Levin fell into a deep sleep, exhausted after consuming tremendous energy immediately after awakening.

Zeon left Levin behind and looked out the window.

The cheap neon sign outside was blurring his vision.

* * *

Three days had passed since the incident when Levin woke up.

Levin’s demeanor had changed a lot since he regained his senses.

Sunken cheeks, sunken eye sockets, and deep-set eyes.

It seemed like he had gone through ten years in just a few days.

Levin, who had been sitting blankly for a moment, looked at Zeon.

“Is this your house, Hyung?”

“Yeah.”

“It looks nice.”

“I spent some money on it.”

“No wonder, it looks like it.”

“At least enough to live comfortably.”

“Is that a mana power generator?”

“That’s right!”

“Wow! I’ve only heard stories about it, but this is my first time seeing it in person.”

“It’s the first time I’ve bought one myself.”

“As expected of you, rich Hyung! Let’s be friends, Hyung.”

Levin flashed a bright smile.

Zeon looked at his face for a moment and picked up the glass bottle that had been left by the window.

“What’s this?”

“Take it!”

“….”

“It’s your family. I cremated them without your permission.”

“Ah… Th-Thank you.”

A crack appeared on Levin’s face, which had been trying to appear nonchalant.

Levin hugged the bottle tightly to his chest and bowed his head.

Zeon silently watched him.

Sometimes, silently watching was better than hasty comfort.

Levin raised his head again after a while.

He forced a smile and said,

“Thank you, Hyung!”

“What are you going to do now?”

“I have to go home. If I leave it alone, someone else will take over.”

“And then?”

“I have to find the guy who killed my mom and siblings.”

Levin’s voice was eerily cold.

Revenge was his natural right.

Zeon had no intention of stopping him.

But there was something he wanted to advise.

“You know that you’ve awakened, right?”

“Yes!”

It would be impossible for him not to know.

The moment one awakens, they learn about their abilities even without anyone telling them.

Zeon knew better than anyone else, having already experienced it.

“And you know that your awakened ability isn’t ordinary, correct?”

“Yes!”

“It’s better to keep it hidden. It could be dangerous if it attracts attention.”

“I’ll do that.”

Levin nodded.

Zeon didn’t say anything more.

No matter how much of his words Levin would accept, the decision and responsibility were entirely Levin’s own.