Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 484

Chapter 484

Zeon gently ran his hand over Gaia’s skin.

Beneath the smooth surface, he could feel countless scars.

Large and small wounds covered her entire body, scars that hadn’t been there before.

They were marks she must have gotten during her trip to the High Elf village.

Most were from beasts’ attacks, but a few were clearly from weapons--Proof that she had been assaulted not only by monsters but by those who wielded arms.

Gaia’s body stretched over twenty meters long, massive enough to rival a great-class beast.

There weren’t many creatures in the world capable of attacking something of that size.

Any beast bold enough to face Gaia had to be both enormous and ferocious.

Zeon stroked one of the wounds and murmured,

“You’ve been through a lot.”

--Pii!

Gaia blinked her enormous eyes and looked at him.

Within those vast pupils, Zeon could see it, the burning desire to become stronger.

After gazing into her eyes for a moment, Zeon opened his subspace 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

and took out the Blood Crystal, the core of Cronos, a cursed relic infused with divine malediction.

At the sight of it, Gaia opened her huge mouth wide, as if to say she wanted to take it in immediately.

“This carries the concentrated curse of the gods. Are you sure you can digest it?

If you can’t endure it, that curse could take hold of you.”

--Pii!

Gaia nodded with calm confidence.

“Hey, wait!”

“No, that thing…!”

Levin and Teserina both cried out, startled.

But Gaia didn’t hesitate.

She had once absorbed the Scythe of Death, the embodiment of a god’s curse itself.

No matter how terrible the Blood Crystal’s power was, it could not surpass that weapon’s malediction.

And Gaia was now far larger, far stronger than before.

There was no reason she couldn’t make this crystal her own.

Zeon placed the Blood Crystal into her mouth.

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

--Pii!

With the crystal between her jaws, Gaia soared into the night sky.

“Hyung, are you sure it’s okay to give her that thing? That gem looked seriously ominous.”

“What were you thinking, giving a vampire’s core to a spirit child?”

Levin and Teserina both pressed him for an answer.

Zeon simply gazed up toward the heavens where Gaia had disappeared.

“She’ll be fine. If it were beyond her, she wouldn’t have wanted it in the first place.”

He believed in Gaia.

Just as she had grown by absorbing the Scythe of Death, she would take in this Blood Crystal and evolve once more.

Zeon turned back to them.

“We’re leaving tomorrow. Go get ready. Levin, you’re coming too, right?”

“Of course. If Brielle’s in trouble, I have to go.”

“I thought you’d say that.”

Zeon nodded once.

“Wait! Can’t I go too?”

Teserina asked quickly.

Zeon looked at her.

“You?”

“I want to come. Please. I promise I won’t be a burden.”

Even if she wasn’t her true body, Teserina’s chimera form possessed power beyond that of an S-class Awakened.

She would undoubtedly be an asset.

“Fine. You can come. But you must obey my word without question.”

“I promise.”

“Then let’s go together.”

“Yes!”

Teserina clenched her fist, delighted.

Levin spoke up.

“Hyung, I’ll drop by the underground city for a bit. Left something there.”

“Be back before morning.”

“Yep! Don’t worry.”

He turned spectral and vanished through the air. He tried to look composed,

but inside he was still reeling.

‘Teserina noona is a dragon’s chimera? That’s insane!’

Shaking his head in disbelief, he disappeared from Zeon’s sight.

When Zeon and Teserina returned home, she went to her room, saying she had preparations to make, leaving him alone in the living room.

He sat on the sofa and stared out the window. Somewhere beyond the dark sky above City Hall, Gaia was gliding through the air.

Suddenly, he frowned.

He could feel Gaia’s emotions.

She was burning, as though submerged in molten lava.

“So you’ve begun absorbing the Blood Crystal.”

That crystal contained the distilled curse of the gods.

To absorb it meant enduring unimaginable backlash.

A human would have gone mad long before.

--Piiiii!

Gaia’s cry of agony rang in his head.

Zeon clenched his teeth; because of their link, her pain coursed vividly through his own body.

It felt as though his nerves were being scorched by fire.

He could cut off the sensation if he wished, just sever their resonance for a while, but he refused.

Their connection had deepened so much since they first met that he now felt everything with terrifying clarity.

This time, he would share her pain.

‘Hang in there!’

--Pii!

Her voice stabbed directly into his mind.

‘Yes… I believe in you.’

She answered, determined to endure.

Then the pain changed.

The molten heat faded, replaced by a chilling cold that spread through every vein like ice.

Zeon gritted his teeth and bore it.

Compared to what Gaia was enduring under that night sky, his suffering was nothing.

To cry out now would be an insult to her strength.

Time crawled. It was going to be a long night.

Zeon sat rigid on the sofa, unmoving, enduring every wave of agony until dawn broke.

When the first light seeped in, his entire body was drenched in sweat.

“Haah…”

He finally let out the breath he’d been holding.

The sharpest pain had subsided, and with it, he felt Gaia’s exultant joy.

“She made it.”

“What made it?”

Teserina’s voice came from behind him. She was standing there, though he hadn’t noticed when she came out.

Zeon rose from the sofa, shaking his head.

“It’s nothing.”

“You’ve been here all night? Why are you drenched in sweat?”

“I’m going to wash up.”

Leaving her behind, he stepped into the room, rinsed himself off under cold water until his mind cleared, and finally felt human again.

When he came out dressed, Teserina and Levin were already in the living room, and someone else was with them.

“Lemura? What are you doing here?”

The young healer sat politely on the edge of the sofa.

Levin scratched his head.

“She insisted on coming when I said we’re going to help Brielle.”

“Zeon oppa, I want to help Sister Brielle too!” she pleaded.

Zeon sighed softly.

“You know Brielle is a High Elf, right?”

“Yes. She told me in secret.”

“I don’t even know where the High Elf village is. But the road there won’t be easy.”

“I can endure it. Please let me come. I won’t whine or slow anyone down.”

Her voice trembled on the verge of tears.

Teserina, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.

“She’s that determined, let her come. I’ll keep her safe.”

Zeon exhaled.

“Alright, fine.”

With Teserina protecting her, one worry was off his mind.

Lemura was an extraordinary healer but had no means of defense.

Someone had to guard her, and there was no one safer than Teserina.

“Let’s head out. Gaia’s waiting.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Thank you, Zeon oppa!”

“So we’re finally going to the High Elf village?”

Excitement sparkled in Lemura and Teserina’s eyes.

For Lemura, it was her first journey beyond Neo Seoul; for Teserina, her first chance to meet High Elves since coming to Earth.

They looked almost giddy, like children off on a school trip.

The four of them stepped outside.

The streets of the slums were empty at this early hour, allowing them to leave unnoticed.

Once they were far beyond the outskirts of Neo Seoul, the air above shimmered, and Gaia descended from the sky, as though she had been watching and waiting.

“Wow…”

“She’s even bigger than yesterday!”

Levin and Lemura gasped together.

It was Lemura’s first time seeing Gaia, and Levin was awestruck by how much she’d grown overnight.

She had nearly doubled in size.

Every wound had vanished without a trace, and a soft crimson radiance now glowed from her body.

Zeon reached up and patted her head.

“You did well.”

--Piiiii!

“You must have suffered, but you’ve absorbed the Blood Crystal beautifully.

I’m proud of you.”

--Pii!

“Good. You look magnificent. You’ve reached S-class now. Congratulations.”

--Pii!

“What did I do? This is your own achievement. Be proud of it.”

At his words, Gaia’s eyes curved in a gentle smile.

Levin, listening, gaped.

“Wait, you’re saying Gaia’s S-class now?”

“In beast terms, yes. But she’s not a beast, she’s a spirit lifeform. Even I don’t know how far she can grow.”

“Unbelievable… a crazy whale, growing this fast. I’m jealous.”

“You’ve been advancing at a rate no one else could believe either. You’ve got no right to complain.”

“Haha, fair enough.”

Levin scratched his cheek with an awkward grin.

“Enough chatter. Let’s get on. Gaia will take us to the High Elf village.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Levin climbed onto her back first, followed by Lemura and Teserina.

Zeon was the last to mount.

“Let’s go, Gaia, to the High Elf village.”

--Piiiii!

With a powerful cry, Gaia surged upward into the sky.

Lemura looked around in awe.

There was nothing to hold onto, yet her body remained steady.

Then she noticed a faint red barrier enveloping them.

“What’s this?”

“A force field, Gaia’s shielding us.”

“So we’re safe inside?”

“Completely. No ordinary beast can break through it. Until an S-class monster shows up, we’re fine.”

“Wow… Gaia really is amazing.”

“She’s one of a kind in this world.”

Zeon said, stroking her head once more.

--Piiiii!

Gaia let out a cheerful cry, as if she understood.

“Alright then. Let’s fly, Gaia!”

--Pii!

With that, she climbed higher, cutting through the air at terrifying speed.

Kwooooosh!

Winds crashed against her barrier and split apart in all directions.

Zeon crossed his arms atop her head, eyes fixed forward.

‘Brielle, hang on. We’re coming.’