Flame Wolf Alpha's Demise
The Flame Wolf alpha's roar shook the Awakeners' minds to their core.
"Urk!"
"Goddamn it!"
The Awakeners staggered, momentarily losing their balance.
In stark contrast, the Flame Wolves drew courage and strength from their alpha's cry, charging with even greater ferocity.
The already dire battle tilted even more sharply against them.
"Fuck! You goddamn mutts…."
Eloi swept back her lush golden hair, spitting curses.
Red blood trickled down the shaft of her Mad Gumiho spear.
She'd lost count of how many Flame Wolves she'd slain.
In a frenzy, she'd killed and killed again.
Yet the Flame Wolves showed no sign of thinning out.
As soon as a gap appeared, another filled it, charging without fear of death.
"Graaah!"
One of the Awakeners, barely holding on, got bitten and fell from the armored bus.
Dozens of Flame Wolves swarmed the straggler.
The Awakener vanished in an instant, devoured as the wolves' fodder. But it wasn't enough to sate them—they came on even harder.
"I'll wipe you all out."
Eloi hurled the Mad Gumiho skyward.
In midair, the spear split into nine in the blink of an eye.
With a gesture from Eloi, the nine spears rose high into the sky.
A blindingly intense light erupted from the mana connecting the nine spears.
Nine Spear Strike.
Her most powerful skill unfurled.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A rain of spears poured down, smashing into the Flame Wolves lunging at the armored bus.
Hundreds were swept away in seconds.
"Hah! Hah!"
Eloi recalled the Mad Gumiho, gasping ragged breaths.
The skill's devastating power came at an immense mana cost.
Her reserves were nearly depleted. But there was no time for rest.
Rowr!
Countless Flame Wolves filled the gaps and charged again.
Hundreds dead, and it barely made a dent.
"Fuck! Kill 'em all you want, they just keep coming. Where the hell are all these monsters crawling out from?"
She knew the reason.
It was that alpha.
When a monster pack birthed an alpha, their numbers swelled and cohesion strengthened.
Forming a massive horde took no time at all.
Without killing the alpha, the Flame Wolves would keep multiplying endlessly.
She had to take it down.
The problem was that killing it seemed damn near impossible.
The Flame Wolf alpha just watched from afar, not joining the hunt.
As if they weren't even worth its time.
"Gotta kill that bastard…."
Eloi gnashed her teeth.
But defending the armored bus was burden enough—she couldn't even attempt it.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
A fierce wind suddenly whipped up from behind.
Turning, she saw a sandstorm blowing in.
Thick sand blotted out everything.
Without a second thought, Eloi yelled at the driver.
"Drive into the sandstorm!"
Whether the driver heard her or not, he steered toward the oncoming sand.
The massive armored bus vanished into the storm in moments. The Flame Wolves pursued relentlessly, but their numbers had noticeably dwindled.
Eloi swung the Mad Gumiho and muttered.
"Guess heaven hasn't completely abandoned us after all."
＊＊＊
Zeon glanced back casually.
The bus was hidden by the thick sandstorm.
It was the one he'd summoned.
He could see the Flame Wolves flailing in confusion within it.
This should buy Eloi and the Awakeners some breathing room.
Now to solve the real problem.
Zeon activated Sand Step.
Shhh!
His body glided across the sand like a skier.
Rowr!
Spotting him, Flame Wolves charged.
In that instant, dozens of sand tendrils erupted from beneath his feet.
Like vines climbing a wall, they shot straight at the Flame Wolves.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The wolves pierced through without even a scream, lifeless.
Zeon never slowed for a second.
Hundreds died to the tendrils before they could even close in.
In a flash, Zeon arrived before the Flame Wolf alpha.
Grrr!
The alpha bared its fangs at him.
Flames flared brighter in its eyes.
Its monster instincts had pegged Zeon as a grave threat.
Zeon eyed the alpha and said,
"B-rank, I'd say. A little more time, and hitting A-rank wouldn't have been an issue."
Just as Awakeners rose through ranks with experience and time, so did monsters.
The alpha before him was a young wolf, not yet fully mature.
Which meant rapid growth potential.
Left alone, it'd hit A-rank soon enough.
A disaster waiting to happen.
Rowr!
The alpha roared.
Unleashing its presence. But it had zero effect on Zeon.
He furrowed his brow.
"Spitting all over. Filthy mutt…."
Indeed, the alpha's saliva splattered his chest.
Flame Wolf spit contained venom and corrosives that melted ordinary gear in seconds. But Zeon's robe showed no trace.
It was made from Leviathan hide.
Far superior in rank and strength.
No chance the alpha's spit could damage it.
Sensing their alpha's peril, the Flame Wolves came charging madly.
Their goal was singular: sacrifice themselves to save it.
But Zeon had no intention of granting that wish.
"Summon! Sand Soldiers."
Sand swirled around him, instantly forming human shapes.
Sand Soldiers.
Hundreds of them.
"Block them!"
At Zeon's command, they moved.
No fear, no hesitation.
The Sand Soldiers hurled themselves into the wolves' maws willingly.
Fighting, killing, dying.
When heavily damaged, they crumbled like sandcastles.
Zeon wasn't worried.
With mana and sand, he could resummon them endlessly.
Sand was infinite, his mana plentiful.
No issue maintaining them.
As the Sand Soldiers held the line, Zeon closed in on the alpha.
Grooo!
Flames surged from its maw and tail.
The alpha opened wide, unleashing a blast of scorching fire at Zeon.
"Sorry, but that won't scratch me."
Zeon raised his right arm. The Superheat Gauntlet flashed red.
The red light obliterated the alpha's flames instantly.
It housed a Red Dragon's eye.
The pinnacle of fire attributes.
No flame skill could touch it.
Melee was all the alpha had left.
It lunged with overwhelming size, mass, fangs, and claws.
Zeon remained unfazed by the intimidating charge.
Just before its fangs pierced him, a sand wall rose.
The sand swallowed the alpha whole.
Zeon murmured,
"Sand Mixer."
Greeee!
Fine sand particles spun at blinding speed.
Like a blender, they ground the alpha to pieces.
It thrashed in agony, desperate to escape. But breaking free from the high-speed vortex was impossible.
Fur tore off, flesh ripped away.
The sand burrowed in, pulverizing and dissolving.
The alpha screamed in torment. But even that was drowned by the roar of the spinning sand.
Greeee!
Blood and chunks flew.
The vortex turned red in seconds. Yet it didn't stop.
Wooo!
Yip! Yip!
The Flame Wolves battling Sand Soldiers suddenly tucked tails and barked wildly.
They'd sensed their alpha's death first.
With their dominating leader gone, the pack scattered in all directions.
Only then did Zeon dispel the Sand Soldiers and Sand Mixer.
Thud!
A red magic stone dropped where the alpha had been.
All that remained of its bones, flesh—its very essence.
Despite dispatching a B-rank monster in moments, Zeon's face showed no excitement.
His path had been too harsh for that.
A mere Flame Wolf alpha wasn't even a threat.
Picking up the magic stone, Zeon muttered,
"This'll fetch a nice price."
He'd had no need for money before.
No place to spend it in the desert.
Colonies outside Neo Seoul were too desperate for survival to advance civilization.
They bartered with magic stones instead of currency. No need to convert them.
Neo Seoul was different.
Over ten million lived there.
Nearly twenty including the slums.
That many crammed together meant currency was inevitable.
High-quality stones fetched top dollar.
Especially from alpha kills—these held superior energy compared to mined ones.
Zeon stored the stone in his subspace.
The horde that had blanketed the area was gone, scattered.
They'd roam in small packs until a new alpha emerged.
"Time to head back?"
Mission accomplished. Back to the bus.
Zeon used Sand Step and caught up in seconds.
The bus was still shrouded in his sandstorm, oblivious to the outside.
They only sensed the attacks easing.
Zeon boarded casually and dispelled the storm.
As the obscuring sand cleared, Eloi and the Awakeners grasped the situation.
"What?"
"The wolf bastards are all gone?"
"We survived. We fucking survived!"
Awakeners and miners embraced in joy. But Eloi couldn't share their pure relief.
This wasn't natural.
She spotted Zeon entering, arms crossed on a seat.
The thick scent of blood wafted from him.
Her half-elf nose couldn't be fooled.
That bastard did something, no doubt.
Nothing else explained it.
But what? That was the mystery.
What the hell are you, you dogshit prick….