Chapter 405

Bang!

At the sudden explosion, Zeon and Eloy, who had been walking down the street, both looked up.

And it wasn’t somewhere else—it had happened right here, in Neo Seoul.

Worse yet, it was in the central district where City Hall was located.

Something that should never happen had just occurred.

Eloy spoke urgently.

“Damn it! That’s the direction of the Mana Stone power plant.”

“Looks like they’ve already begun moving.”

“Those crazy bastards! They’re actually attacking the Mana Stone power plant!”

Cursing, she quickened her pace.

Zeon ran after her.

After a long sprint, they finally arrived at the defensive tower guarding the Mana Stone power plant. But around the tower, a large number of Awakeners had already gathered.

They were the Awakened unit operated by City Hall.

“Hurry up and breach the entrance!”

“The passage is packed with bugs—we can’t get inside.”

“What the hell do you mean ‘bugs’?”

“Ugh! They’re self-destructing!”

At the report from an Awakener who had barely escaped the tower alive, the commander, Derek, scowled.

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

“The bastards explode the moment they touch you. The blast is so strong there’s no way to hold them back.”

“What the…”

“Dozens of our guys have already been taken out by those bugs.”

At his subordinate’s reply, the corners of Derek’s eyes twitched.

He had sensed something off about Jang Woo-hang’s group and had prepared in advance—but even so, the attack had already begun, and the situation was spiraling out of control.

Every subordinate stationed in the control room was dead, and even the forces he’d sent to capture Jang Woo-hang’s men had been wiped out by the self-destructing insects.

Casualties were already in the dozens.

The problem was, despite so many losses, they still hadn’t subdued the enemy.

Then—

“We’ll take care of the bugs.”

A welcome voice rang out.

Turning their heads, they saw a unit of Awakeners wearing identical robes.

The vivid red lizard emblem on their backs marked them as one of City Hall’s anti-terrorism units—the Salamander Special Task Force.

The Salamanders were composed entirely of magic-type Awakeners. Whenever a terrorist attack occurred in Neo Seoul, or whenever a threat requiring magical intervention arose, they were the first to be deployed.

Their captain was Kim Geun-pyung—a formidable B-rank Awakener.

When Kim Geun-pyung appeared, Derek’s expression lit up.

“Captain!”

“I hear the self-destructing bugs have taken over the passage?”

“That’s right.”

“We’ll handle them.”

“I’m counting on you.”

Derek inclined his head slightly in gratitude.

Kim Geun-pyung returned the gesture and walked past him.

At the entrance to the defensive tower, Kim addressed his men.

“They self-destruct, huh? Then a few blasts of fire magic will set them off on their own. We’ll start with fireballs.”

“Yes, sir!”

Huge fireballs formed in the hands of Kim Geun-pyung and his subordinates.

The reason the Salamanders bore their name was simple—they were all fire magic Awakeners.

Kim narrowed his eyes at the entrance.

“To think they’d target the Mana Stone power plant… I will never forgive them. I’ll roast them all to ash.”

Fwoosh!

At his lead, the Salamanders hurled fireballs down the tower passage.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A chain of explosions erupted inside.

The self-destructing bugs, struck by fire, blew themselves up.

Rumble!

The detonations were so intense it felt like the entire tower might collapse.

When the blasts finally subsided, Kim gave his next order.

“Move in! Stay alert—no telling where or when they might strike.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Let’s go!”

Kim charged into the passage, the Salamanders following close behind.

Derek clenched his fist.

“Good! Now that they’ve gone in, the inside will be cleaned up in no time. The real problem is the southern sector…”

The attackers were carrying entry cards and IDs issued by the southern sector.

Once the terrorists were dealt with, City Hall would no doubt hold the southern sector responsible.

And this wasn’t something that could be taken lightly.

The real issue was how far that blame would reach.

“If we’re not careful, we could have an all-out war between City Hall and the southern sector.”

The thought alone was chilling.

True, City Hall held overwhelming military power—but the southern sector wasn’t weak, either.

If the two forces clashed, Neo Seoul would be reduced to ruins.

That kind of worst-case scenario could never be allowed to happen.

“Damn it! Me worrying won’t solve anything. The higher-ups will deal with that. For now, I need to focus on the fight in front of me.”

Although Derek was a fairly strong Awakener, in the grand scheme of Neo Seoul, he was just a small fry.

Men far stronger than him roamed the city—Kim Geun-pyung, for example, was way out of his league.

With Kim having entered the tower first, Derek was confident the matter would soon be resolved.

Then—

“Aaargh!”

“Guh!”

Screams echoed from deep inside the passage.

Derek assumed they were the cries of the intruders. But it didn’t take long for him to realize just how wrong he was.

“Urgh!”

A moment later, someone was flung out of the passage, rolling across the ground.

It was a Salamander operative, covered in blood.

Seeing the man’s chest split wide open and blood pouring out, Derek rushed to his side.

“Hey!”

“T-trap inside… all of us… wiped…”

“Wiped out? You mean they’re all dead?”

“….”

“Hey!”

Derek shook him, but no reply came.

The man had stopped breathing.

“Damn it! The Salamanders have been wiped out?”

As Derek stared at the tower in disbelief—

Whirr!

With a metallic grind, a panel on the tower’s front slid open, revealing a gun barrel.

Derek’s eyes went wide.

Only then did he realize the defensive tower’s true purpose—

It was built to defend the Mana Stone power plant from enemies.

Of course, that meant it was equipped with heavy weaponry.

“There should be a mana gatling gun—”

Ratatatata!

Before he could finish, the weapon opened fire.

Boom!

“Argh!”

“Hel—”

The Awakeners near the entrance were obliterated by mana blasts.

Powered by the plant’s massive output, the weapon functioned like a railgun, but instead of bullets, it fired concentrated mana.

Outside Neo Seoul, its enormous power consumption made it unusable—but with direct supply from the plant, it could fire indefinitely.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The blasts ripped through the area around the tower.

The only saving grace was that the surrounding buildings were made of special materials, barely holding up under the bombardment. But if this continued, they’d crumble soon enough.

That had to be prevented at all costs.

“Everyone—”

But Derek’s order to charge died in his throat.

Most of his men had already been severely injured by the gatling fire.

Creak!

Then he saw the barrel shifting—

It was aiming right at him.

“Tch!”

It was too late to dodge.

He drew on his mana, bracing to counter the weapon.

Vwooom!

The mana gatling gun fired.

Derek swung his fist with all his strength, ready to die trying.

Whether it could stop the blast, he didn’t know—but he had to try.

Boom!

An explosion erupted in front of him—but strangely, there was no pain.

Still holding his stance, Derek looked ahead.

A robed man now stood before him, blocking the blast in his place.

“You all right?”

“Huh? And you are…?”

“Name’s Zeon.”

“The… sand mage?”

“Yes. The Wolf Fang Unit is inside, correct?”

“Wolf Fang Unit?”

“That’s what they call the men led by Jang Woo-hang.”

“Th-that’s right.”

“Understood.”

Zeon nodded.

As he started forward, Derek hurried to stop him.

“Sir Zeon! I appreciate the help, but there are procedures—”

“It’s fine. I’m the one who called him, so there’s no procedural issue.”

The one who answered was Eloy.

“Ah!”

Recognizing her, Derek let out a small exclamation.

Since she was a City Hall supervisor, her request overrode any red tape.

“In that case, I leave it to you.”

“Yes.”

With that, Zeon strode toward the tower.

Boom! Boom!

The mana gatling tried to block him, but he dodged every shot and launched a fire missile, shattering the barrel.

With a loud crash, the weapon was destroyed.

Zeon and Eloy slipped into the tower.

The interior was a wreck.

Corpses of Awakeners lay scattered across the floor, walls and ceiling blackened from countless explosions—the work of the bugs.

Zeon turned to Eloy.

“Someone stayed behind to operate the mana gun. Find them and take them out.”

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry.”

At the first fork, Eloy sprinted toward the mana gun control room.

Left alone, Zeon headed for the control room.

He could feel a strong flow of mana emanating from there.

Then, from the shadows, someone stepped out to block his path.

A young man radiating murderous intent, arms crossed, gaze fixed coldly on Zeon—Sou Chen.

Behind him, Tang Shiyan’s face was visible.

Sou Chen spoke.

“You actually chased us all the way here, sand mage.”

“You know me?”

“How could I not? Since you entered Neo Seoul, the name I’ve heard most often is Zeon. And you killed Guang Liang…”

“So you were there, too.”

“That’s right. I saw it with my own eyes—how you killed him.”

“And yet you still stand in my way? Bold of you.”

Even at Zeon’s taunt, Sou Chen’s expression didn’t waver.

“Back then, I couldn’t intervene. But now, it’s different. We will bring you down with everything we have, sand mage!”

“Trying to buy time, are you?”

Zeon glanced past him—straight at the control room.

Then—

Swish!

Something sharp sliced through the darkness toward him.

Without warning, Tang Shiyan had thrown a hidden weapon.

“I’ll melt you down to the marrow, pangzi!”