The Fall of Gawain
Gawain's fists began to shimmer with aura.
His aura was far more intense and brilliant than Clayng's or Matsumoto's. Proof that his rank was higher than theirs.
His rank was even one step above Zeon's.
In terms of pure stats alone, Zeon had no chance of beating him.
But this was the desert.
The entire desert was his stage, his canvas.
Here, he could paint any picture he desired.
Shuuu!
Sand walls erupted from all sides, shielding Zeon. But they crumbled instantly under Gawain's fists.
Zeon didn't panic. He unleashed Sand Missiles.
The same technique that had killed Clayng moments ago.
"As if."
Gawain swung his fist, shattering the Sand Missiles.
He had already analyzed Zeon's attacks from watching Clayng die.
"Die, you little shit!"
Gawain closed the distance in an instant, after nullifying the Sand Missiles. He swung his massive fist at Zeon.
"Hup!"
At that moment, with a shout, Zeon vanished from Gawain's sight.
A huge pit had formed beneath Zeon's feet in a flash, swallowing him whole.
It happened so fast that Gawain stood there dumbfounded.
From beneath Gawain's feet, Zeon fired Sand Missiles wildly upward.
Popopopopung!
Like fireworks exploding, Gawain's body jerked violently.
"Grrraaah!"
Gawain curled up tight, minimizing the impact.
As a D-rank Awakener, he had tremendous durability. He also reinforced his entire body with aura for protection.
That allowed him to withstand the barrage of indiscriminate Sand Missiles to some degree. But if this kept up, he'd die without landing a single counterattack.
Gawain gritted his teeth.
"Don't underestimate me! Raaargh!"
With a monstrous roar, he slammed his fist into the ground.
Craaaack!
His fist cratered the sand, unleashing a shockwave.
His skill, Shock Wave, had activated.
The shockwave flipped the surrounding sand completely.
Even the pit where Zeon hid couldn't escape it.
"Urgh!"
Zeon's brain rattled from the shockwave.
His eardrums burst, and blood vessels in his eyes ruptured.
Caught off guard by Gawain's counter, Zeon staggered.
Gawain didn't miss the opening and leaped into the pit.
"It's over, kid!"
He unleashed Shock Wave straight at Zeon.
A direct hit would surely end Zeon's life.
"Yaaah!"
At that instant, Zeon's shout rang out, and the surrounding sand poured into the pit like a wave.
The sand avalanche engulfed both Gawain and Zeon.
The sand smothered Gawain's Shock Wave, canceling it.
"Gah!"
Suddenly buried alive in sand, Gawain snapped back to his senses.
The immense weight of sand crushed his body from all sides.
First, he checked for Zeon nearby. But he sensed no presence anywhere.
Zeon had clearly escaped the pit.
'That rat bastard...'
Gawain trembled with rage as he hauled himself up.
Boom!
He unleashed Shock Wave, exploding the massive sand pile off him.
As Gawain scanned the pit warily, bracing for Zeon's next attack—
Puk!
Sudden agony exploded from his lower body.
"Wha...?"
He looked down in disbelief.
Dozens of spikes pierced through his lower body and abdomen in a cross pattern. Spikes made of sand.
He had only guarded against attacks from above, not from inside the pit he was standing in.
After all, he thought Zeon had already escaped.
That was when it happened.
Zeon rose from the pit floor.
"Gah! You?"
Gawain spat blood as he stared at Zeon.
He never imagined Zeon could fool his senses completely and hide right there in the pit. The shock hit even harder because of it.
There was only one ability that could manipulate sand so freely.
"You... don't tell me you're a Sand Awakener?"
"Yeah!"
"Crazy! Awakening such a bullshit power. Cough!"
Gawain vomited more blood.
At that moment, Zeon released his control. The sand spikes piercing Gawain's body collapsed back into grains.
Without the spikes holding him up, Gawain crumpled. And he never moved again.
"Haa!"
With tension released, Zeon finally collapsed to the ground.
In truth, that final attack on Gawain had been pure improvisation.
A desperate idea born in the heat of mortal danger.
He couldn't guarantee it would work, but he trusted his instincts.
Instead of escaping the pit, he hid at Gawain's feet and masked his presence with sand.
If Gawain had noticed even a hint, it would've been over.
A point-blank Shock Wave would've vaporized Zeon in seconds.
"Haa! Haa!"
As Zeon panted heavily—
"You fucker!"
"Die!"
Scavengers crawling out of the pit ambushed him.
By the time Zeon looked up in shock, their weapons were inches from his body.
No time or strength left to dodge.
As Zeon braced for death—
Shuuung!
An invisible force swept over his head.
Splurt!
The attacking scavengers were bisected by the unseen energy and fell.
Their blood showered down on Zeon.
"Ah!"
Drenched head to toe in their blood, Zeon just gaped.
Then Dayton's voice reached his ears.
"Still enemies left, and you let your guard down."
Zeon bowed his head low.
He had no excuse, even if chewed out.
"You're still far from ready, you dumbass!"
Dayton's curse stabbed like a dagger into his chest.
Dayton sheathed Clayon.
He had flung aura slashes with Clayon, cleaving all the ambushers from dozens of meters away.
Dayton's skill was truly monstrous. But Pabilsa was shocked not by Dayton, but by Zeon.
He muttered in disbelief.
"My god! An Awakener who controls sand?"
In all his years wandering the desert, he had met countless Awakeners, but never one who wielded sand.
He hadn't even imagined such a thing existed.
Pabilsa looked at Dayton.
Dayton still wore a dissatisfied scowl.
He didn't like how Zeon had botched the cleanup and nearly gotten himself killed.
'No wonder that monster keeps him around.'
Now he understood why Dayton traveled with Zeon.
In a desertified world, no one could wield greater power than a Sand Mage.
Though his abilities were still nascent and weaker than expected, his potential was limitless.
Having wiped out the scavengers, Zeon trudged wearily toward Arkelon. Exhaustion was plain on his face.
For this one fight, Zeon had poured out everything.
Imagination, mana, every drop of physical energy—he had squeezed it all dry.
Fights with monsters were tough, but battles against humans were even harder.
"Hoo!"
Zeon sighed heavily as he climbed onto Arkelon.
"Good work."
"You did well."
Pabilsa and Kaili welcomed him. But Dayton was nowhere in sight.
"Where's Dayton?"
"He went inside. Said the sight was rotting his eyes..."
"Haa!"
Zeon sighed again, and Pabilsa chuckled.
"His standards are just too high. You fought plenty well."
"Thanks!"
"You've earned a rest. Go inside and recover."
He nodded toward Kaili.
Kaili approached Zeon.
"Come on! I'll show you to your quarters."
"Thanks."
Zeon followed without protest.
She led him to a small room in a quiet corner.
"Rest here. I'll bring some snacks."
"Sure!"
Kaili left Zeon alone and stepped out.
Zeon sat on the stone bed and stared at his hands.
They trembled uncontrollably, like a man with the shakes.
Today, he had killed countless people.
Scavengers or not, they were human, just like him.
Killing one's own kind took a heavy mental toll.
He had killed before, but this felt different.
Those were accidental deaths in the heat of survival. This time, it was premeditated slaughter under a calculated plan.
The guilt was inevitable.
"Still... gotta push through, right?"
Zeon steadied his shaking heart.
He couldn't wallow in self-reproach forever.
To survive this brutal world, he had to shed such sentiments.
It was a world where you couldn't live without crushing others.
His resolve wavered briefly, but Zeon had long internalized that law.
"Hoo!"
His trembling hands calmed rapidly.
Only now did he have the leisure to reflect on the fight.
Leaning against the wall, Zeon replayed the battle with the scavengers in his mind.
Pabilsa entered Dayton's room without knocking.
Dayton sat staring at Clayon laid across his knees.
Pabilsa spoke up.
"Clayon's changed."
"Tempered in a Flame Drake's heart."
"Infusing Clayon with fire properties? You're really going for it."
"In a hundred years, I've never forgotten my goal for a single moment."
"Hoo! A century is more than enough time to forget everything."
Pabilsa sighed deeply.
A heavy shadow fell over his face.
Shame.
He had dismissed it as an unavoidable tragedy, a calamity beyond human endurance, burying that day's memories.
Instead, he poured his efforts into protecting and prospering the Mot clan.
While he lived for his clan alone, Dayton had pursued one sole objective for a century.
Not just anyone could do that.
At least, among those Pabilsa knew, Dayton was the only one.
Foolish, yet worthy of respect.
Pabilsa said,
"Give me Clayon."
"......"
"Using it like that will only damage Clayon. Let my people stabilize it."
The Flame Drake's heart brimmed with ferocious heat.
Like a living furnace. Absorbing that heat had pushed Clayon's durability to the limit.
Without stabilization now, its strength would degrade severely.
Dayton handed Clayon to Pabilsa.
The moment he took it, Pabilsa staggered. Clayon's weight was immense.
This was the burden Dayton had carried through life.
A man who wielded such a sword and lived a hundred years for one goal alone.
That man was Dayton.