Clash with the Silver Twins
Zeon stood on the rooftop of the tallest building in the slums, gazing out at the desert.
The harsh desert wind blew fiercely, as if it could sweep him away at any moment, but his body didn't budge an inch, rooted like iron spikes driven into the ground.
Boom!Kaboom!
In the distance, he could see Awakened battling fiercely near the fortress walls.
"Scavengers, Dongdaemun fanatics, and whoever's backing those fanatics. What a fucking mess!"
The Dongdaemun Awakened had donned masks and switched weapons to hide their identities. But there was one thing they couldn't conceal.
Their skills.
One skill common to Dongdaemun Awakened was God's Light Barrier.
It was a kind of barrier skill.
Holy Knights and Berserkers learned it as a must-have.
In a crisis, Dongdaemun Awakened instinctively deployed God's Light Barrier to shield their entire bodies.
It didn't block every attack despite its grandiose name, but it had enough power to save their lives once in a pinch.
When death loomed, anyone resorted to their most reliable move—and Dongdaemun Awakened were no exception.
That made them easy to spot.
Zeon's gaze shifted to a tall building on the outskirts of the slums.
There, mechanized Awakened lay exhausted after powering the railgun.
'The mechanized ones must be from the West District...'
And it wasn't just them.
Suspicious movements stirred throughout the slums.
Chaos bred more chaos.
In the midst of this extreme turmoil, someone greedy for the Spirit King's Crown was making their move.
'Just as Demian wanted.'
Zeon furrowed his brow.
This incident was badly shaking the rigid order of Neo Seoul.
The system wouldn't collapse entirely, but major disorder was inevitable.
Zeon didn't want Neo Seoul plunged into chaos.
No matter his personal feelings, he knew too well it was humanity's last bastion.
It was the only place where so many people lived together, sustaining an advanced civilization.
At least among the places Zeon had seen.
If it fell, human civilization would regress two or three generations.
That's why Zeon tried to avoid causing problems that could destabilize Neo Seoul's system.
But Demian was different.
He didn't care if Neo Seoul shook or crumbled from this.
Avenging his father was paramount, and he was prepared to sacrifice anything for it.
That's why he'd relentlessly stirred up chaos in Neo Seoul.
Throwing in every item he'd painstakingly gathered so far.
Kaboom!
Suddenly, an explosion far more massive than before erupted.
So powerful that the shockwave reached even Zeon's position.
Building windows shattered, and rooftop fixtures splintered and scattered like matchsticks.
'What the hell?'
Deep creases formed on Zeon's forehead.
After one side of the fortress wall blew open, a massive mammoth revealed itself.
Roooaaar!
The mammoth trumpeted, charging at the Awakened raiding the caravan.
"M-Mammoth's gone berserk!"
"Fuck! Do something about that thing!"
"Goddamn it!"
Panic spread across the faces of the scavengers and Dongdaemun Awakened.
No matter how docile mammoths were, they were C-rank large monsters.
They were rated C only because of low attack power; their defense rivaled B-rank monsters.
The mammoth rampaged wildly, tusks and legs crushing Awakened left and right. Casualties mounted fast.
As confusion peaked from the mammoth's frenzy, those lurking in the slums seized the chance and moved in earnest.
Zeon decided it was time for him to act too.
Whoosh!
He kicked off the rooftop and soared into the air.
His figure arced through the sky, dozens of meters up, before plummeting to the ground.
Thud!
Landing lightly on the road, Zeon started toward the desert.
"Zeon!"
"That's him, right?"
Suddenly, figures blocked his path.
Twin sisters with identical faces, like they'd been stamped from the same mold.
"Yeah, I'm Zeon. Who the hell are you?"
"It's him!"
"We found him!"
The twins ignored his question, chattering between themselves.
Zeon felt a vague sense of familiarity, like he'd seen them before.
'Twins... from the plaza?'
He hadn't seen clearly through the barrier, but he remembered an old man with two girls.
These twins gave off a similar vibe.
"You the ones watching me from the plaza?"
"You knew?"
"How?"
The twins' eyes widened in surprise.
They started twittering like magpies.
"Amazing! Piercing Grandpa's barrier for real."
"Grandpa's skills getting rusty?"
"His wrinkles might be piling up, but his power's still top-tier."
"So how'd you know?"
"He's really A-rank, huh."
The twins didn't know only S-rank or higher could pierce the barrier.
The High Elder had kept it secret from them. So they pegged Zeon as just an A-rank Awakened.
"A-rank's impressive enough."
"Super impressive. We're A-rank too."
"But not against us. We're beyond that."
"True that!"
Zeon's head spun from their banter. He needed to cut them off.
"You came looking for me on purpose?"
"Yup!"
"Why?"
"To stop you."
"Me? Why?"
"You're heading to the desert, right?"
"Spot on!"
"So we're keeping you here."
"Why?"
"Grandpa asked. Hold you back so you don't interfere."
"Why block me from interfering?"
"He sees you as a risk factor."
"Risk factor?"
"Yup! You might wreck the board we've carefully set up. Can't have that."
The twins answered innocently with bright smiles.
"Grandpa the barrier master with you?"
"How'd you know?"
"Saw him next to you."
"Wow, even more dangerous."
"Preventing the board from breaking? You with city hall?"
"Whoa!"
The twins gaped.
Few knew they worked for city hall.
Just the High Elder and a handful of others.
"You're the mayor's direct execution squad, the Numbers."
Zeon was certain from their reaction.
"Smart cookie."
"Wanna peek inside that head."
"Me too!"
"Let's rummage around."
"Should we?"
"Grandpa said it's okay."
In an instant, the smiles vanished from the twins' faces.
Zeon's eyes darkened too.
Ziiing!
Suddenly, tinnitus rang with excruciating headache.
Like a sharp awl stabbing his brain relentlessly.
Even in agony, Zeon realized their power.
"You're telepaths."
"Sharp as ever."
"I hate overly smart people."
As Zeon guessed, the twins were telepathic Awakened.
Eun Su-jin and Eun Su-young.
The Silver Twins.
They'd awakened telepathy young.
Not just reading minds, but directly intervening in thoughts.
Even their parents abandoned them.
They'd innocently voiced what they read, and their parents freaked.
—Don't ever show your faces before me again, you monsters!
Those were their parents' parting words.
It scarred the twins deeply.
Luckily, Jin Geum-ho valued their abilities, took them in, raised them at city hall, and they joined the Numbers.
Traumatized, they trusted no one deeply.
Only Jin Geum-ho, who gave them a home, and the High Elder, who cared purely without agenda.
Reading minds was both blessing and curse.
Their talent grew over time.
Beyond intervention, they could manipulate thoughts as desired.
Mind control.
With focus, hallucinations or eternal nightmares.
Playing with brains like clay. Those who knew feared them deeply.
"We won't kill you."
"We hate killing."
"Just a little peek."
"So curious."
Eun Su-jin and Eun Su-young joined hands. Their power surged.
As twins, they amplified each other synergistically.
The human brain was a sealed chamber.
To invade, first drill a tiny hole with an awl.
The hardest part.
Higher-rank Awakened had ironclad mental barriers.
Tough alone.
But they knew how to boost each other perfectly.
Eun Su-jin said, "I'll drill. Focus your power."
"Got it!"
Eun Su-young channeled mana. Eun Su-jin's telepathy amplified massively.
Sweat beaded on Eun Su-jin's forehead.
Even doubled, piercing Zeon's barrier was brutal.
"Ugh! So hard."
"You got this!"
"Yeah!"
Boosted by cheers, she ramped up. Still, no hole.
"Crazy... Stronger than the boss or Grain."
Numbers' leader Seong Ho-yeon.
No.2 Grain.
Both S-rank with iron wills.
They drained the twins' focus, time, mana to read.
Jin Geum-ho was impossible; High Elder unnecessary.
Zeon's barrier outdid even them.
"Nngh!"
Eun Su-jin gritted teeth, pouring more.
Eun Su-young aided.
Finally, after grueling effort, a needle-thin hole.
"Done!"
Eun Su-jin cheered.
Drilling was hardest; rest was easy.
Inject mind through the pinhole into the brain.
She invaded Zeon's brainstem swiftly, Eun Su-young assisting.
Target: neural network.
Brainstem linked cerebrum, cerebellum, spinal cord.
Control it, ninety percent done.
First step in mind invasion: seize brainstem neurons, grasp the inner image.
Inner image held everything: past, actions, desires.
Grasp it, manipulate freely.
Routine for her.
She seized the brainstem fully, climbed neural paths to cerebrum, peeked at the inner image.
Curious about such a fortified mind's past.
The moment she gently parted the dark veil in Zeon's head.
"Wh-what is this?"
Eun Su-jin's shrill scream burst out.