Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 146

“Huff, huff!”

Mariel and the Thorn Attack Squad were panting heavily.

Their force, which had been well over a hundred strong, had now dwindled to about twenty.

This was the price of passing through the indigo and violet prisons.

The indigo prison had dredged up the deepest longings hidden within the elves’ hearts.

Desires arise from intensely wanting what one cannot have.

The elves, living intermingled with humans, yearned for their own utopia, and the indigo prison showed them this illusion.

In that moment, their desires sprouted like poisonous mushrooms.

The desire to kill all the humans in Neo Seoul and take their place gripped them.

This desire threw the elves into a hyper-excited state.

Somehow, they escaped the indigo prison, only to be greeted by the chaos of the violet prison.

Chaos made it impossible for the elves to make sound judgments, causing them to perceive each other as enemies.

They killed each other, again and again.

By the time they escaped the violet prison, their number had dwindled to twenty.

Mariel and the remaining elves trembled, unable to believe the reality.

Only now did the memory of them slaughtering their comrades come into sharp focus.

“This… this can’t be!”

“I killed my friend.”

“Argh!”

The elves screamed in anguish.

Above all, elves cherished their kin deeply.

The inferiority complex of living among humans, coupled with the delusion of being persecuted, made them cling even more to their kin.

It was unthinkable that these elves, who held their kin in such high regard, had lost their minds and massacred them.

“This must be a dream. It has to be a dream.”

“How could I… have killed them with my own hands…?”

Some elves denied reality. But Mariel knew the truth.

It wasn’t a dream or an illusion.

No matter how they tried to dress it up or claim it was an unavoidable situation, they were guilty of the heinous crime of killing their kin.

“Do not cry. We don’t even have the right to cry. The only way to atone for our sins is to offer that man’s blood as a requiem and secure the Crown of the Spirit King.”

Mariel scolded the elves and began to move.

There was no one left to stand between them and Damien.

“I will kill you and offer your corpse as a tribute to my comrades. Damien!”

“Charge!”

Mariel and the elves lunged at Damien.

Damien looked down at the attacking elves and spoke.

“How many humans have died because of you, and you act like you’re the victims? You’ve invaded someone else’s world and wrecked it; you must face the consequences.”

“Don’t spout nonsense, Damien!”

Mariel denied Damien’s words and swung her sword.

Clang!

Her sword stopped right in front of Damien’s neck.

Something invisible had bound her.

It wasn’t just Mariel. All the elves charging with her were stuck as if caught in a spider’s web.

“What is this?”

“It’s the web of a Glass Spider. As you can see, the threads are transparent and invisible to the naked eye. Once caught, you can never escape on your own.”

“There’s no such thing…”

“Ha! Don’t measure everything by your common sense. There are all sorts of monsters in dungeons with unimaginable traits. It’s not surprising that a monster with such characteristics exists.”

“Stop lying.”

“How many dungeons do you think I’ve conquered?”

“You expect me to believe that crap…”

“Seventy-two. I’ve conquered seventy-two dungeons over eight years. That’s about one dungeon every month. It’s insane, right? No one else would raid dungeons like a maniac. All because of you. I risked my life for revenge against you.”

“You’re crazy! We don’t even know you.”

“Maybe you don’t. But what about the elves, dwarves, and beastmen in El Harun?”

“What nonsense is this? El Harun?”

“Looks like your Queen didn’t tell you about El Harun. She hid it even from her own kind. Elves are truly untrustworthy.”

Damien’s taunts made Mariel and the elves’ faces flush with anger.

“Stop spreading lies, human!”

“Elves, you’ll soon find out if I’m lying or not. Your Queen is coming this way.”

Damien’s gaze fixed on Serian and the elite forces from the North District approaching the fortress.

Snap!

Damien snapped his fingers, and the Spectrum Prison in front of Serian vanished.

He had opened a path for them.

Serian paused momentarily at the entrance of the passage and looked at Damien.

She could see him smiling at her.

Coldness, contempt, and hatred filled that smile.

Why does he look at me with such eyes?

Such questions swirled in her mind.

She entered the passage.

Now was not the time for questions but for action.

Even now, Mariel and the elves, bound by the invisible spider web, were precariously trembling.

It was evident that over a hundred had come, but only twenty were visible.

The fate of the rest was obvious.

‘What kind of grudge does he hold against the elves?’

There could be no other reason for Damien’s merciless actions.

‘The Crown of the Spirit King must have been bait to lure the elves out.’

Given this, she was curious about what had driven Damien to such extreme hatred towards the elves.

But first, rescuing Mariel and the Thorn Attack Squad took precedence.

Serian and the northern elite forces quickly climbed to the top of the fortress. Damien exaggeratedly waved his arms in a courteous gesture.

“Welcome, Queen of the parasitic otherworldly races in the human world.”

“As expected, you despise us.”

“Not just me. Any human who knows the truth despises you.”

“That incident happened over a hundred years ago. The otherworldly races living in Neo Seoul have nothing to do with it.”

“So, no responsibility at all?”

“That’s not…”

Serian was at a loss for words.

At that moment, Eli shouted from beside her.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Even without us, Earth would have ended up this way. Your race was already on the path to destruction.”

“I despise people like you the most. Those who, knowing their own faults, blame others instead. That’s why I can’t forgive you.”

“And what will you do if you can’t forgive?”

“You must pay the price.”

“How arrogant! How dare a mere human demand accountability…”

Eli’s anger flared, but Serian intervened.

“Be quiet.”

“There’s nothing more to say. That man cannot be forgiven.”

“Eli!”

“I will kill him. We just need to secure the Spirit King’s Crown, don’t we?”

Without waiting for Serian to stop her, Eli charged at Damien.

In an instant, she reached Damien and swung her hand. A white light shot out from her hand.

The light, reminiscent of a spider’s web, quickly spread out like a web and surrounded Damien.

Webbing Cutter.

As the name suggests, it was a spell that used light in the form of a spider’s web to cut the target into pieces.

It was Eli’s unique ability, which earned her the nickname “Spider Queen.”

The light spread out like a web, forming a tetrahedron, and then began to tighten around Damien.

“Damien!”

At that moment, Alexandro stepped in front of Damien and swung his fist.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, the Webbing Cutter shattered.

“You dare!”

Eli was furious at Alexandro, who stood in her way.

She cast another spell, but all her magic was shattered by Alexandro.

“No one can touch Damien without my permission.”

Alexandro growled like a wild monster.

The wounds he had sustained fighting Brixton, combined with those from breaking Eli’s magic, had left him drenched in blood. But his gaze remained unwavering.

Eli shouted to the Awakened warriors of the North District.

“What are you doing? Kill them and rescue our comrades.”

“…”

But despite her command, the Awakened warriors didn’t move. They were waiting for Serian’s orders.

Serian sighed softly.

“Eli, you clearly don’t understand the gravity of the situation. I will hold you accountable when we return to Neo Seoul.”

“My Queen!”

Eli tried to say something urgently to Serian, but she had no chance.

Alexandro attacked her.

“Your opponent is me.”

He charged at Eli like an enraged bear.

Alexandro had already resigned himself to death.

He had nothing to fear or hesitate about.

Thus, he threw everything he had into attacking Eli.

As a result, Eli struggled to hold her ground.

Serian sighed again and approached Damien.

She spoke to him.

“I understand that you harbor a great deal of hatred towards us. But there’s no need to make such a big deal out of it. Do you know how many people have been hurt and killed because of you?”

“That’s typical of your kind.”

“What?”

“Shifting responsibility, speaking evasively, pretending to be dignified…”

“Your hatred for us is overwhelming. Fine! I won’t beat around the bush anymore. Hand over the Spirit King’s Crown. It’s too dangerous for humans to possess.”

“I know. That’s why I brought it.”

“So you brought it to draw me out.”

“I knew you’d figure it out, the true entity sealed within the Spirit King’s Crown…”

The ominous aura emanating from Damien grew stronger, darkening Serian’s expression.

“Your plan has succeeded. You’ve drawn me out. But it’s time to dispel the Spectrum Prison. Originally, the Spectrum Prison was a magic circle to seal the Spirit King’s Crown. If it’s destroyed like this, the seal will weaken.”

Rumble!

The entire Spectrum Prison was shaking.

Brixton and the Thorn Attack Squad were causing havoc from within, and Zeon was destroying it from the outside.

At this rate, the Spectrum Prison wouldn’t hold much longer, and the entity sealed within the Spirit King’s Crown would be released.

Serian’s eyes were desperate, knowing that this must be prevented at all costs. But Damien coldly ignored her gaze and spoke.

“Then tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“The location of El Harun.”

“So you caused all this for that?”

“Yes!”

“You’re insane.”

“That’s right. I’m insane. So tell me. Where is El Harun?”

Damien’s eyes were as cold as ice.

But Serian could sense the intense madness lurking behind that coldness.

She looked up at the yellow sky.

A hundred years ago, it had been blue.

Earth had turned into this yellow sky in exchange for her people crossing over.

‘Our fate should have ended in Kurayan. If it had, Earth’s lifeforms wouldn’t have suffered.’

If she had had the decision-making power, she would never have crossed over to Earth. But back then, she was just a young elf.

She had been in a position where she had no choice but to follow the decisions of the elders.

In a way, she was also a victim, but she knew Damien wouldn’t believe her even if she explained.

She had no intention of making excuses, and even less of revealing the location of El Harun.

Regardless of original sin, El Harun was the last stronghold of the otherworldly races.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re not sorry at all, are you?”

“Please understand that I have my own reasons for not being able to tell you.”

“I expected as much. You pretend to be compassionate, but you’re the most selfish race of all.”

“Damien!”

“If you feel even a shred of remorse, tell me. Tell me the way to El Harun, you bitch!”

Damien’s long-suppressed rage exploded.

At that moment, Serian gave an order.

“Everyone, subdue him.”