Chapter 441

The Laser Shot flew straight at Zeon’s head.

Only—the trajectory was strange.

Not a straight line, but curving wide in an arc.

Light, by nature, travels straight.

Even if it was a skill, having it bend in such a curve was impossible. Yet Zeon’s assumption was shattered by Hera.

“Let go of me!”

At the same time, Liala’s counterattack came.

She struck away the hand gripping her hair and drove a kick into him.

Thud! Thud!

Zeon staggered backward with heavy steps.

In that instant, the Laser Shot, like a homing missile, struck his body.

“Got him.”

Hera cried out in triumph.

To her eyes, it looked as though Zeon’s head had been pierced by the beam.

But Liala’s shout snapped her out of her joy.

“Not yet. He’s still standing.”

“What?”

Hera stared in disbelief.

Zeon had covered his head with the gauntleted fist of Scorching Heat.

The gauntlet’s surface was faintly glowing red from the impact of the Laser.

“Damn it! He’s wearing an item?”

“That’s no ordinary gear. Be careful!”

Liala warned, shifting into battle stance.

Fshh!

In that instant, Zeon vanished from their sight.

High-speed movement beyond the eye could follow.

Liala’s pupils darted wildly.

As a master martial artist, her eyes alone tracked Zeon’s movements.

Her gaze froze—right behind Hera.

As if he had teleported, Zeon deceived her senses and appeared at her back.

Liala threw herself forward and shouted:

“Behind you! Watch out!”

Startled, Hera spun around, swinging the Bow of Light. The rıghtful source is novel_fіre.net

The bow itself was a weapon—its sweep could sever anything like a blade.

Thud!

But this time it failed.

Zeon had raised the gauntlet to block the strike.

Hera’s eyes widened in shock—at that instant, Zeon whispered low:

“White Phosphorus Flame.”

The deathly fire that never extinguished once it caught engulfed her.

Just before it struck, Hera’s instincts forced her to cast a defensive skill.

“Holy Shield!”

The Holy Light Bow vanished, replaced by a faint barrier of light wrapping her body.

Fwoosh—!

By the narrowest margin, the Holy Shield held back the White Phosphorus Flame.

The death flame danced hungrily atop the barrier.

“Urgh!”

Her face twisted in strain against the searing blaze.

If she released the shield, the hellfire would incinerate her to dust.

Unless Zeon canceled the skill, the White Phosphorus would never go out.

So to survive, Hera had no choice but to keep her shield active. And if she maintained it, she couldn’t attack.

She could only stand frozen in place, shield raised.

Zeon had neutralized her that simply.

The next threat came—Liala, charging with frightening speed.

Even after watching Hera’s predicament, Liala showed not a shred of hesitation.

Her fighting spirit was too fierce to be broken by this.

“Haaah! Iron Fist!”

Whoosh!

Her fist shot forward like a catapult.

Through the skill, her fist had turned to steel.

A single strike strong enough to pierce the hide of a great beast.

But Zeon was no beast.

He wasn’t sluggish, nor were his reactions dulled. His physique was as strong as the large beasts, yet his agility surpassed the small ones.

Against such an opponent, Liala’s blow could not land true.

Besides, Zeon had sealed away his true power—the Sandmaster’s authority—upon entering El Harun.

In Neo Seoul, everyone knew his nature. But here in El Harun, no one did.

Even if they’d heard rumors of the Sandmaster, no one would connect that to him.

The more his real power remained hidden, the better.

And besides—he didn’t need sand. He was plenty strong without it.

The martial arts and battle-honed body forged under Deioden. Fire magic combined with the Scorching Heat Gauntlets.

Those alone were enough to crush most foes.

So now too.

Even with Hera and Liala together, they had failed to gain the upper hand. Instead, they were being driven into a corner.

For now, Hera endured with her Holy Shield—but time was Zeon’s ally.

The White Phosphorus would slowly devour her shield, and once her mana ran dry, that would be her end.

Naturally, Liala realized this, and urgency filled her.

No matter how much they fought among themselves, she couldn’t let a fellow council member die.

There was only one way.

Defeat Zeon as quickly as possible—or kill him outright.

But that was easier said than done.

This man who had appeared out of nowhere was strong.

Disgustingly strong.

Strong enough to make even the mighty Liala recoil.

Magic, martial arts—everything perfectly balanced.

Had he not been her enemy, she would have honored him as a human standing at such heights.

For no one knew better than her how impossible it was for a human to reach this level.

But he was an enemy.

An enemy who had entered with the Black Queen herself.

He had to die.

Liala brushed her hand over the leather armguards on her forearms.

They looked ordinary—but were brought from Kurayan.

Called the Soul of Steel.

An S-rank item that granted an indomitable will, drastically boosting physical strength and aura.

Even El Harun had only a handful of such items.

Now that power awakened.

Kwaaaah—!

Liala’s body blazed with crimson aura.

It looked like she was cloaked in fire itself.

One thing was certain—the pressure she gave off was on a different scale entirely.

“Here I come.”

She kicked off the ground, rushing Zeon.

Bang!

The speed ripped the air apart.

She appeared before him in a blink—like she’d teleported.

Her fist flew faster than sound, but Zeon merely tilted his head aside.

Then her arm bent, elbow aiming for his temple.

Caught off guard, Zeon raised his arm to block.

Boom!

The impact rattled his body.

Even with the gauntlet, his arm numbed from the strike.

And that was only the beginning.

After the elbow—her shoulder.

Kwaang!

Planting her legs firm, she twisted ankles, knees, waist in brutal rotation, channeling it all into her shoulder and ramming Zeon.

With mana concentrated as well, the force multiplied manyfold.

The terrifying power flung him backward.

But Liala gave no pause.

Fshh!

She leapt into the air, bringing her leg down like an axe toward him.

Crack!

Zeon blocked with crossed arms—only for her knee to drive into his gut immediately after.

There was no respite. Relentless body-on-the-line chained assaults.

This was the forbidden martial art known as Bombing of Iron.

In Kurayan, humans had been the weakest.

As a group, they were formidable. But alone—they were the bottom of the pyramid.

So enemies always targeted lone or small groups of humans.

Countless perished this way.

Then one man lost his entire family to raiders of another race.

While he was away, they had come and slaughtered them.

Bereft, the man entered a monastery that worshipped the God of War.

Through lifelong ascetic training, he forged a martial art—the Bombing of Iron.

It was designed to exterminate other races.

Every part of the body was a weapon—fists, elbows, shoulders, legs, knees, head, torso. It used headbutts, bites, claws, chokes, twists—every method others would call dishonorable.

With this art, the man hunted down those who had killed his family—slaughtered them, their kin, their allies, their entire bloodline.

The massacre made his name infamous across Kurayan.

Vengeance-seeking enemies came, but all fell before him.

He fought savagely.

The martial art born of one man’s obsession filled every other race with fear.

Eventually, they gave up revenge. And the man’s life ended at the same monastery where he had first created it.

There, the art was sealed—too ruthless and deadly to be taught.

Yet Liala had learned it.

Among the survivors who escaped Kurayan’s fall to Earth was a priest of that monastery.

Pitying the powerless humans among other races, he had passed the forbidden art to her.

With it, she became leader of humanity, guiding them despite rival races’ oppression.

Bababababam!

The deathly martial art that once terrorized Kurayan’s races now unleashed its force on Zeon.

His body was driven back in disarray.

He barely managed to defend—but it was clear he was on the back foot.

Seeing her advantage, Liala pressed even harder.

Her steel-hardened fists, loaded with mana, slammed into his torso. Her heel hammered toward his skull.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out from his body again and again.

Zeon seemed ready to topple. But he did not.

“Huff… huff…”

Instead, it was Liala—panting hard after her storm of attacks.

Bombing of Iron consumed everything—mana, stamina, breath.

Normally, she’d pace herself. But she had poured it all in.

For only by fighting at full power could she hope to bring him down.

And yet—he endured.

The reedlike swaying of his body suddenly stilled.

A shiver raced up her spine.

Her instincts screamed red danger.

She crossed her arms over her chest.

Fshh!

Zeon surged forward, feet pounding the earth.

His fists blazed with fire—the gauntlet’s full power gathered in both hands.

Boom!

His strike smashed into her crossed arms.

“Gahh!”

The immense impact hurled her backward.

Then Zeon raised his arm high—drawing something down from the sky.

Flames rained from above.

And struck her full body.

Bababababoom!

Explosions burst over her frame like fireworks.

Her hardened body and aura shield saved her life, but she flailed helplessly.

In that moment, Zeon closed in—his fire-clad fist slamming into her chest.

Boom!

“Urghk!”

The blast sent her flying back.

Zeon unleashed Fire Rain again, pouring destruction down on her.

Kwakwa-kwa-boom!

The storm of flames battered Liala.

If she was a master of full-body combat, Zeon had mastered the fusion of fire magic and martial arts.

He pummeled her up close—when she retreated, bombardment followed.

Precise, relentless attacks like turning gears.

At last, Liala could not endure.

“Khuhhhk!”

And she collapsed.