Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

The Grim Reaper was an intangible monster.

Physical attacks had no effect on it.

Only magical skills could harm it, and those had to be powerful B-rank or higher spells.

This made it a particularly bad match-up for Zeon.

Zeon’s ability to control sand was useless against the Grim Reaper.

The Grim Reaper likely knew this when it appeared.

Black mist swirled from its scythe.

The scythe was a top-tier item, known as the Reaper’s Scythe.

Even a slight cut from it could cause severe damage to the soul.

Surviving an attack would still leave one’s soul damaged, ultimately leading to death.

The Grim Reaper advanced with its scythe ready.

“Let’s see if sand really can’t touch you.”

Zeon raised his hand. A spatial rift opened behind him, releasing a massive amount of sand.

The sand filled the passageway, rising and writhing like living creatures.

It looked like a swarm of snakes.

This was one of Zeon’s skills, Viper.

Hisssss!

Dozens of sand serpents launched themselves at the Grim Reaper.

Boom! Boom!

But the Vipers passed through the Grim Reaper harmlessly, hitting the wall behind.

Zeon tried Viper several more times. But none of the Vipers could harm the Grim Reaper.

Even his Sand Mixer skill had no effect.

The Grim Reaper’s eyes blazed with hellfire, growing more intense as it realized Zeon’s attacks were futile.

Hiss!

The Grim Reaper swung its scythe.

Zeon narrowly dodged the attack, stepping back.

Sensing victory, the Grim Reaper attacked more fiercely.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The scythe filled the passage with afterimages as it moved at blinding speed.

The Grim Reaper’s attacks were extremely fast.

Being intangible, it moved freely through space. Yet, even at that speed, it couldn’t fully catch Zeon.

Every attack missed by mere centimeters. This only made the Grim Reaper’s hellfire and black mist intensify.

The monster was enraged.

Hisss!

The Grim Reaper swung its scythe, sending a black energy slash at Zeon.

In the narrow passage, Zeon had little room to dodge.

Thud!

His back hit the wall.

He had nowhere left to go.

The black energy slashes rained down on him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The wall behind Zeon exploded with a thunderous noise, filling the air with dust.

The Grim Reaper lowered its scythe and approached the wreckage, confident that Zeon was dead.

As it neared, a crimson flash erupted from the dust.

Instinctively, the Grim Reaper shivered at the sight of the intense red light.

It felt a primal fear from the light.

The red light was the Dragon’s Eye embedded in the Inferno Gauntlet.

A dragon was an existence beyond categorization.

Comparing an A-rank monster like the Grim Reaper to a dragon was absurd.

Thus, even a mere dragon’s eye induced fear in the Grim Reaper.

Trying to shake off the fear, the Grim Reaper swung its scythe.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of black energy slashes shot towards Zeon.

Simultaneously, dozens of red energy blasts fired from the Inferno Gauntlet.

They were Fire Missiles.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Fire Missiles intercepted and destroyed all the black energy slashes.

Then they continued on, striking the Grim Reaper.

Kieeeek!

The Grim Reaper screamed in pain, a rare occurrence.

Fire Missiles were simple spells for magic-type Awakeneds. But those powered by a Red Dragon’s essence were on another level.

The Grim Reaper’s form flickered and dimmed like a dying lightbulb.

The attack had dealt severe damage.

The effectiveness of a spell depended on the caster and their items.

An item embedded with a dragon’s eye was in a league of its own.

The Inferno Gauntlet had evolved to an immeasurable degree, showing its power against the Grim Reaper.

Ssssh!

White smoke rose from the parts of the Grim Reaper hit by the Fire Missiles, burning away.

Writhing in newfound agony, the Grim Reaper floated about erratically.

Then, it locked its eyes on the source of its pain: Zeon.

Knowing that killing Zeon would end its suffering, the Grim Reaper let out a furious roar.

Roarrr!

With an explosion of hellfire, the Grim Reaper charged at terrifying speed.

It and its scythe became one, cloaked in a black storm that destroyed the passage.

Zeon had no place to dodge.

But he didn’t plan to.

Zeon extended his hand, the Inferno Gauntlet glowing, and muttered.

“Fire Rain!”

The dark passageway filled with a crimson glow.

Flames rained down, filling the passage.

The fire hammered the Grim Reaper mercilessly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Even the Grim Reaper’s intangible form couldn’t withstand this attack.

Kieeeek!

Its agonized scream echoed through the passage.

The Grim Reaper’s form had shrunk significantly.

Still, it clung to life, showing the resilience of an A-rank monster.

“This isn’t enough, huh? In that case…”

A grin spread across Zeon’s face.

There was a skill he had always wanted to test.

The Grim Reaper was the perfect monster for it.

Zeon amplified his dominance. The sand scattered on the floor rose and wrapped around the Grim Reaper. But the Grim Reaper paid no attention to the sand.

It knew the sand couldn’t harm it.

Zeon’s smile grew wider.

Clench!

Roar!

As he clenched his fist, the sand around the Grim Reaper began to spin at a terrifying speed.

It was Sand Mixer.

But the Sand Mixer couldn’t harm the Grim Reaper. The sand simply passed through, leaving it untouched.

Zeon had anticipated this.

“What if I add a Fire Wall to this?”

Fire Wall was a basic skill that created walls of fire.

Though it consumed a lot of mana, any fire-type Awakened could use it. Its high mana cost relative to its effect made it rarely used.

But combining Sand Mixer with Fire Wall changed everything.

Each particle of the rapidly spinning sand was now engulfed in flames.

The red-hot Sand Mixer turned into a blazing furnace.

The Grim Reaper screamed in agony.

The black energy that once protected it had long vanished.

The superheated, high-speed spinning sand particles tore at the Grim Reaper’s form.

Roar!

The Grim Reaper’s particles melted away in the flames.

Kieee!

The Grim Reaper thrashed wildly, trying to escape the Sand Mixer. But escape was impossible.

“Be gone, you outsider unfit for this world or the next.”

Finally, the Grim Reaper’s form was completely shredded by the Superheated Sand Mixer.

Thud!

All that remained was the Reaper’s Scythe lying on the ground.

Only then did Zeon deactivate the Sand Mixer.

The intense heat that had permeated the air vanished instantly.

The Grim Reaper was nowhere to be seen.

It was completely annihilated.

Zeon reached down and picked up the Reaper’s Scythe.

Just holding it sent pain shooting through his hand.

Simply grasping it caused a myriad of curses to invade his body.

The Reaper’s Scythe was a cursed item.

It was so cursed that only a curse-type Awakened could wield it without dying.

But Zeon endured.

He wanted to gauge the extent of the curse.

His strength drained rapidly, his vision dimmed. His heartbeat slowed, and his skin grew dry and brittle.

“Tsk, it’s cursed in every way.”

The Reaper’s Scythe was a vessel for all sorts of curses.

Just holding it allowed countless curses to infiltrate Zeon’s body.

An ordinary Awakened would have died instantly.

Zeon channeled energy from the Inferno Gauntlet. The curses invading his body burned away.

No matter how powerful the Reaper’s Scythe was, it couldn’t match the dragon’s eye embedded in the Inferno Gauntlet.

Thanks to this, Zeon returned to normal.

“So, it can both cast and break curses?”

No one had told him this.

Upon holding the Reaper’s Scythe, he instinctively knew how to use it.

The ability to break curses alone made the Reaper’s Scythe invaluable. But it wasn’t something Zeon needed at the moment.

Zeon opened his subspace and stored the Reaper’s Scythe. The lingering curse dissipated completely.

He also stored all the sand he had used.

In such a sand-poor environment, it was a necessary measure.

No more obstacles appeared to hinder Zeon.

It seemed the Grim Reaper had indeed been the final gatekeeper. Even so, Zeon remained on guard.

Then it happened.

Rumble!

The entire underground area shook as if struck by an earthquake.

The floor beneath him shifted horizontally, and the walls changed.

Some walls disappeared, while new ones emerged.

It was as if the entire underground space was rearranging like a puzzle.

Zeon watched the transformation closely, unperturbed.

It felt like the entire castle was a living entity.

With no more obstacles left, it seemed to be guiding Zeon to its core.

Thud!

After a considerable amount of movement, the floor beneath Zeon finally came to a stop.

Zeon’s eyes gleamed with interest.

He had encountered unexpected individuals in this new location.

“Hyung!”

“Zeon!”

The ones greeting him warmly were Levin, Brielle, and Eloy.

Zeon spoke.

“You’re all safe.”

“I knew you’d survive.”

“Sand can’t kill Zeon.”

“You look fine.”

They approached Zeon, who patted Levin and Brielle on the shoulders while looking at the others with them.

He saw Lee Ji-ryeong, Bronson, Gesling, and the entire Pegasus Raid Team along with the West District Awakeneds.

They couldn’t hide their surprise at Zeon’s sudden appearance.

Without looking at Zeon, Lee Ji-ryeong spoke.

“You’re late.”

“There were many obstacles.”

“You’ve had a hard journey. Now, just sit back and watch.”

“……”

“Watch how we capture the master of this castle.”

Lee Ji-ryeong was staring at the door ahead.

The massive, ominous door indicated that the master of the castle was behind it.

Lee Ji-ryeong shattered the door.