Eyes Beyond the Barrier
As if he hadn't just spotted the High Elder, Zeon dove back into his fight with Raven.
Goosebumps prickled across the back of the High Elder's hand as he gripped his staff.
For that brief instant, Zeon had definitely looked right at where he was standing.
"Did he really see me?"
Confusion flickered across the High Elder's face.
A barrier enveloped him.
It completely severed him from the real world—no Awakener could detect it.
Obviously, no one could see through it either.
Not even the other Numbers.
He'd confirmed it countless times.
Yet Zeon had stared straight at the spot where he and the twin sisters stood, if only for a split second.
"Did he really pierce my barrier? No, that's impossible. Not even an S-rank could detect it."
The High Elder denied his own suspicions.
If Zeon had truly seen through it, that would mean he was an S-rank or higher.
Only two people had ever pierced his barrier before.
Jin Geum-ho and Dayton.
Both were inhuman existences who had survived from before the Great Cataclysm. It wasn't strange that they could do it—it was only natural for them.
But no other Awakener had ever sensed or pierced the High Elder's barrier.
If Zeon had truly spotted him beyond it, that meant he was on the same level as Jin Geum-ho or Dayton.
"Ridiculous... It must've been a fluke."
The twins shot him puzzled looks at his mutterings.
"What's ridiculous?"
"Nothing. More importantly, can you find out that guy's name?"
"Shouldn't be hard."
"Then do it."
"Yeah!"
The twins nodded in unison.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rocked the air, unlike anything before.
Startled, they looked toward the battlefield. Raven was hurtling through the air, flung far away.
His coat was shredded beyond recognition from the massive impact, and the bulletproof vest beneath was utterly destroyed.
Even the signature sunglasses he wore were shattered, leaving only the frames.
"Kuh!"
Raven snatched up the broken frames and tossed them aside as he staggered to his feet.
His entire body buzzed with pain.
It felt like he'd been fed through a giant grinder.
If Zeon's punch had packed just a bit more power, he really would've been torn apart like in a grinder.
"Stepped in shit in the wrong damn place. Never thought a freak like you was hiding in the slums."
"Lack of intel always leaves a nasty scar."
"I'll give you that. We knew jack shit about the slums—or you. That's why we got screwed. But don't think I'm representing the East District. I'm just a hunting dog."
"I know."
"Tch!"
Raven's face twisted at Zeon's calm reply.
He trembled, unable to charge at Zeon.
His pride stung, but he knew rushing in would be pointless—he couldn't move recklessly.
That was when it happened.
"You fucking bastards!"
Jacob, who had been lying still as if dead after taking a beating from Raven, shuddered as he pushed himself up.
In his bloodied hand was the detonator he'd been reaching for earlier.
He glared with bloodshot eyes and bellowed.
"If we're going down, everyone dies with me!"
"W-what, me?"
Raven stammered in shock at Jacob's sudden move. He knew exactly what was in Jacob's hand.
"Heh heh! I knew a day like this might come, but not today. Still, with this many humans as company, the road to hell won't be so lonely."
Jacob was standing right where the massive monster-hunting bomb was hidden.
If it went off, not just him, but everyone near the plaza would be wiped out.
Raven shouted.
"St-stop, you bastard!"
"Fuck off!"
Jacob flipped Raven the bird and pressed the detonator without a second's hesitation.
"Shit!"
"Ah!"
The High Elder and the twins groaned.
They were safe inside the barrier, but everyone in the plaza vicinity was doomed.
It was a pity, but they had no intention of intervening.
They weren't compassionate enough to save slum dwellers too.
Then, the last person anyone expected moved.
Zeon.
The instant Jacob hit the detonator, Zeon launched himself forward without hesitation.
Stopping the explosion was impossible now.
But he could minimize the blast radius.
Zeon poured mana into the Superheat Gauntlet.
In that moment, an intense light erupted from the dragon's eye embedded in the gauntlet, blinding everyone.
"Gah!"
"My eyes..."
Those exposed to the flash went momentarily blind.
Raven, the High Elder, the twins—they all staggered, vision lost.
KABOOM!
At that instant, the buried bomb in the plaza detonated.
Jacob vanished in the blast, and as the fireball surged outward, Zeon reached the epicenter.
"Hah!"
With a shout, Zeon slammed the Superheat Gauntlet down, containing the explosion.
The light bursting from the gauntlet enveloped the fireball.
The flames faltered, blocked by the barrier of light. But it wasn't enough yet.
Zeon drew up more mana.
"Nngh!"
Blood drained from Zeon's lips.
He'd halted the spread, but barely.
Zeon invoked his power.
‘Vanish.’
Suddenly, the plaza floor where the bomb had exploded caved in deeply.
Zeon had manipulated the sand beneath to form a massive pit.
‘Now!’
He shoved the fireball into the sand pit and dodged by a hair's breadth.
ROOOAR!
The pent-up flames exploded even fiercer, like a beast unleashed.
Trapped by sand on all sides, the blast shot straight up into the open sky.
The pillar of fire soaring heavenward was a breathtaking sight.
"What the hell?"
"What just happened?"
Raven, the High Elder, and the others gaped at the fiery column piercing the heavens.
Blinded momentarily, they hadn't seen what transpired. That made it all the more shocking.
"He contained the explosion."
"How? Is that even possible?"
"Insane."
"That guy's human?"
They knew Zeon had done something, but no one knew how he'd funneled the blast skyward.
The endless pillar faded moments later.
The High Elder, who had watched it all, finally spoke.
"At least A-rank."
"At least? So maybe S-rank?"
"Holy shit."
The twins' jaws dropped at his declaration.
They wanted to call it a mistake, but they knew better than anyone how sharp the High Elder's eyes were.
If he said A-rank, it was A-rank.
And he'd added "at least."
Which meant it could be higher.
Only clashing directly would reveal the truth.
That was when it happened.
A group of Awakeners came rushing down the avenue connected to the plaza.
East District Awakeners.
"Over there."
"Terror attack?"
Though Zeon had minimized the damage, he couldn't hide the massive flame pillar.
The East District Awakeners who spotted it came sprinting over in a panic.
"Where's the bastard?"
Raven scanned around, but Zeon was nowhere in sight. He'd already slipped away.
"Damn it! No choice."
There was no reason to stick around.
Raven grabbed his gear and left the plaza.
Seeing this, the High Elder told the twins.
"Let's go."
"Yeah!"
They vanished too.
The East District Awakeners arrived at the now-empty plaza, dumbfounded.
"Who the hell did this?"
"Scavengers again?"
The East District Awakeners searched frantically for culprits, but by then, everyone was gone.
＊＊＊
"Damn, that actually hurt."
Zeon grumbled as he rotated his right wrist.
A casual remark that would shock anyone else.
What he'd done defied common sense.
"Without the Superheat Gauntlet, my arm would've been gone."
He never imagined using it so effectively when he first got it.
Thanks to the gauntlet, he'd survived countless crises and kept his sand powers hidden.
After eight years without ever removing it, it felt like part of his body now.
Footsteps approached then.
"Zeon!"
Briel, arriving late.
"You're here."
"You okay? I saw that huge explosion."
"No big deal. Let's go home."
"Now?"
"Yeah."
"Okay!"
The two fully escaped the East District.
The East District was in total chaos from the chain of events.
Awakeners rushed around trying to contain the mess, while slum dwellers wandered in a daze, lost.
The entire district was in full panic.
Leaving the frenzy behind, the pair returned to Shinchon.
Entering Shinchon made it feel like they could breathe again.
Under the same sky, yet the air felt fresher. Even though it was still the same dusty haze laced with sand particles.
Zeon pondered as he walked.
‘Who were they?’
The ones hiding in the barrier, watching covertly.
One old man, two girls.
Too far to make out faces clearly. But their aura and barrier skill marked them as no ordinary Awakeners.
‘Where'd they come from? They didn't show when Raven was getting wrecked, so probably not East District. Another district? Or City Hall?’
Nothing certain for now.
But realizing he was being watched was gain enough.
That was when it happened.
"Hey!"
Someone stormed toward Zeon and Briel, huffing.
The moment Zeon saw her face, he smirked. Briel just shook her head.
The disheveled woman approaching was none other than Eloi.
Thrown as bait to distract East District Awakeners, she'd returned in tatters.
Her clothes were ripped to shreds from the ordeal, with plenty of cuts on her face and body.
"Fuck! You ditched me while I was fighting? How could you do that to me?"
"You made it out of the East District in one piece."
"Do you have any idea how much hell I went through? Those fanatic fucks swarmed me like rabid dogs... Ow!"
Eloi shuddered, as if reliving the nightmare.
Fanatics charging without fear of injury or death.
Killing them outright would've been easier on the conscience.
But slaughtering them would've caused problems even Neo Seoul couldn't handle. The East District felt the same.
Neutralizing without killing made it a brutal fight.
What pissed her off most was that Zeon and Briel had bailed while she struggled.
"Abandoning a comrade? And you call yourselves allies?"
"Calm down!"
"Calm? How the fuck am I supposed to calm down?!"
As Eloi exploded, Briel picked at her ear with a finger.
"Half-elf's got some pipes. Hurts my ears..."
"You really wanna die, you little shit."
"Chill. We got a lead you'll like."
"What? For real?"
Briel grinned as Eloi's expression shifted.
"What is it?"
"Not telling for free."
"You brat..."
"Hee hee!"
After that, the half-elf and high elf bickered for a good while.