Exion's Fury
Exion was not of Earth.
It had come to this transformed world alongside the heteromorphs.
Yet no one knew its true purpose, so it had been dismissed as a mere sandglass.
Ignored by all, the sandglass passed through countless hands until fate delivered it to Zeon.
Normally stored in his pores, Exion could be drawn out whenever needed.
For a Sand Mage powerless without sand, it was the perfect weapon, compensating for his greatest weakness.
The moment Zeon absorbed Exion into his body, he felt a terrifying heat surging within.
Exion wasn't fusing properly—it was straining his body.
Classic symptoms of rampage.
Since it hadn't gone through the proper absorption process, it was going berserk.
Thanks to it, Zeon's body recovered to normal in an instant, but left unchecked, it could destroy him instead.
There was only one way to stabilize the overflowing energy.
Release the rampaging power.
Zeon heightened his control. Exion, absorbed into his pores, began flowing out.
Like clouds, it swirled around his body.
He could feel every particle as if connected to his nerves.
That's when Gigarein sensed the ominous aura and lunged at him.
Flash!
Chain Lightning erupted once more.
The web of electricity filled the chamber.
Even amid the blinding current storm, Zeon didn't flinch.
He shaped Exion into a small dome around himself.
Zzzap!
Chain Lightning slammed into Exion, but not a shock reached Zeon inside.
Sand inherently resisted electricity.
Exion, the Sand Mage's exclusive weapon, resisted far more powerfully.
As the electric web filling the room dissipated, Zeon released the dome.
"Whew! Impressive."
Zeon marveled at Exion's power.
To shield him perfectly from such intense currents.
Depending on how he used it, it could be a devastating weapon.
Thud! Thud!
With Chain Lightning ineffective, Gigarein charged directly.
Its massive frame accelerating was utterly terrifying.
But Zeon wasn't consumed by fear.
He had bravely faced Gigarein even without Exion. Now armed with it, cowering was unthinkable.
Whoosh!
Zeon kicked off the floor, charging at Gigarein.
Exion trailed like a meteor's tail, enveloping him.
Euphoria and vitality flooded his body.
"Hyaah!"
Zeon thrust his fist forward.
Exion spun like a drill along his punch, smashing into Gigarein.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rocked Gigarein's huge body.
A massive gash scarred its tough hide, but not enough to halt it.
A golem's greatest strength was feeling no pain.
Without fear, it ignored all but the gravest wounds.
Zeon knew this well.
He had analyzed their weaknesses fighting countless golems on the way here.
Its weak point is the joints. Especially the knees.
Zeon focused his mind and hurled himself at Gigarein.
He envisioned the image.
Compressing Exion into thin threads like silk.
Now, infiltrate Gigarein's joints with Exion. But one obstacle remained.
The black force field covering its body.
A protective barrier.
It mitigated or blocked physical impacts and magic attacks to some degree.
To outliers like Dayton, it was paper-thin. But to a low-rank Awakener like Zeon, an insurmountable wall.
Zeon had a plan, though.
Concentrate everything on one point. Then rotate to maximize destructive power.
He poured all his mana into Exion.
Whirr!
The thread-like Exion spun fiercely, boring into the force field.
Like a thread-snake, it struggled through, finally piercing Gigarein's knee joint.
Golem joints were vulnerable to sand.
Grind!
A grinding noise echoed from the knee joint.
Ordinary sand would shrug it off, but Exion was no ordinary sand.
It could change form at Zeon's will.
Inside the joint, Exion clumped into coarse grains.
Zeon envisioned it spinning within.
"High-speed rotation!"
Greeee!
Exion spun at high speed.
The coarse grains gnawed at the joint.
Sandblasting used high-pressure sand to erode tough metal surfaces.
Sand Blaster worked on the same principle.
High-speed spinning sand was a joint's worst nightmare.
Stone chips flew from the joint.
Exion ground away the rock.
Gigarein ignored the anomaly, trying to move.
Crack!
A rupture sounded, and its leg bent grotesquely.
The knee joint, unable to bear the strain, shattered.
Thud!
Gigarein dropped to one knee.
The giant struggled to rise, but supporting its bulk on one leg was impossible.
If Gigarein had any intellect, it might have chosen differently.
But it was an artificial lifeform, acting only by programming.
No adaptability for unforeseen situations. It stuck to its script.
Zeon exploited that.
He sent Exion into the other knee joint.
High-speed rotation followed, and soon both knees were destroyed.
Crash!
Gigarein's massive body collapsed.
Zeon stayed vigilant.
High-grade golems like Gigarein had self-repair.
It was wrecked now, but given time, it would heal and attack.
He had to destroy it completely first.
Find the core quickly.
Destroy the core, and the golem stops.
The problem: where was it hidden in this huge body?
Only one way to check.
Use Exion.
Zeon guided Exion inside through the knee joint.
Even stone golems needed mana from the core to move—a pathway called the mana circuit.
Too fine for most methods to detect. But Exion was finer and more sensitive.
Exion scanned rapidly, finally locating the mana circuit.
Zeon focused, infiltrating it with Exion.
Then—
Grind!
A chilling noise as the shattered joint began regenerating.
Broken stones and dust reassembled.
Like time rewinding. Zeon frowned.
The knee was nearly healed.
Gigarein slowly rose.
Red light burst from its eyes.
Zeon thought it was angry.
Impossible for an emotionless golem. But as a B-rank or higher monster, perhaps not.
He had to end it before that rage turned on him.
Zeon intensified his control over Exion.
Exion raced up the mana circuit.
From knee to waist axis, then chest. Still no core.
Meanwhile, Gigarein fully recovered and stood.
Grind!
The behemoth loomed.
Only three meters separated them.
Arm's reach.
Gigarein raised both arms high.
Ready to smash Zeon flat.
Zeon saw it clearly but couldn't dodge.
Dodging now would scatter his focus, wasting all effort.
Whoosh!
Gigarein slammed down its sky-high fists.
Zeon concentrated fully.
Found it!
As the fists crushed toward him, he located the core.
Exion attacked it.
Crack!
The core shattered. Gigarein froze.
Its fists halted above Zeon's head.
A mere handspan from death.
"Hah!"
Zeon's legs gave out, and he collapsed.
Even though he did it, it felt unreal.
Absorbing Exion or not, downing a B-rank beast didn't feel real.
"Did I really take down this golem? Haha! Insane..."
He laughed in disbelief.
But Zeon knew.
It wasn't pure skill—it was matchup advantage.
Impossible against other B-rank beasts.
Sss!
Exion, having stopped the core, flowed back and reabsorbed into Zeon.
As he lay spread-eagled, panting—
Suddenly, orange light glowed from his gauntlet's inner wrist.
Startled, Zeon removed it. Light poured from his rank badge.
The third line glowed.
Undoubtedly, promoted to D-rank.
"I'm D-rank now?"
Pride swelled in his chest.
An achievement by his own power, without Dayton's help.
He was proud of himself.
Reaching D-rank fully restored his stamina and mana.
"Phew! Guess I'm not dying today."
Zeon stood and eyed the fallen Gigarein.
It remained frozen mid-smash.
A coreless golem was just a rock pile.
No usable parts like sand gator hide or queen wolf ant corpse.
Regret aside, Zeon headed to the opposite exit.
No time to dwell.
He had to reach Dayton.
Thankfully, no more golems after Gigarein.
Zeon reached the passage's end unscathed.
A door larger than Gigarein's chamber awaited.
Zeon swallowed dryly.
If the door's this big, what's inside?
Fear surged. He shook it off.
"Can't turn back now. Let's go."
Zeon pushed the massive door.
It opened smoothly, unbelievably.
His eyes widened at the sight.
An unbelievable scene unfolded.
A massive light mass was dissipating.
Dayton stood before it, Clayon in hand.
No need to ask.
That fading light was the temple's master.
He killed a god?
Chills ran through Zeon.
Then Dayton turned.
"You're late, you bitch."
Gulp!
Zeon swallowed instead of replying.