Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 563

Chapter 563

“Hyung! I don’t see him.”

“I couldn’t find him either.”

Levin and Tesserina, who had gone out to search, returned empty-handed.

Zeon was no different.

He had ridden the sandstorm high into the sky and thoroughly surveyed the entire area, but nowhere could he find any trace of Behemoth.

Tesserina muttered,

“I can’t believe it. Where in the world is he hiding that massive body?”

“It seems he has a talent for hiding. At this rate, finding him won’t be easy.”

Zeon furrowed his brow.

Levin asked him,

“What should we do, hyung?”

“We’ll have to keep expanding the search area.”

“Then I’ll continue searching from the sky.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, sir! If I find anything, I’ll fly back right away.”

“Good.”

Levin immediately turned incorporeal and flew into the sky.

Once he vanished from sight, Tesserina apologized.

“Sorry I’m not much help.”

“No. You’re already helping a great deal.”

“Whew… I never expected Behemoth to awaken now of all times.”

“You said you couldn’t interfere with each other because of causality, right?”

“Yes. I didn’t know Kurayan’s Law would remain in effect even here.”

“Who determines such causality?”

“It was created by the law that sustains the world. If beings of overwhelming power were to clash, the very foundation of the world would tremble. So for the sake of stability, such a law was made. It’s the only restriction placed upon dragons and Behemoth.”

“Does that law apply to Krasias as well?”

“Krasias exists outside the law.”

A faint fear lingered in Tesserina’s voice.

Even Tesserina, a dragon herself, feared Krasias.

She continued,

“As I told you before, Krasias merely wears the form of a dragon. He is something beyond that.”

“Something? That’s abstract.”

“It has to be abstract. There’s no proper way to describe it. If you had seen Krasias before crossing over to Earth, you would think the same.”

“Compared to Behemoth?”

“In terms of power, Krasias is far stronger. But the reason for their existence is different. Behemoth seems to believe that in order to begin anew, one must first pass through destruction. He brings ruin to maintain the world at an appropriate level.”

“So he believes Neo Seoul must cease to exist for Earth to recover.”

“Most likely.”

“Has there ever been a place he marked that did not fall to ruin?”

“Not once.”

Tesserina answered firmly.

Behemoth was not called the Beast of Calamity for nothing.

There had never been a place he had marked that did not perish.

“This is troublesome.”

“It’s more than troublesome. If he truly approaches Neo Seoul, a great catastrophe will occur.”

“What about Neo Seoul’s anti-magic power?”

“I’m sorry, but that won’t work. Neo Seoul’s anti-magic power ultimately comes from the energy emitted by a dragon’s corpse. As I said earlier, dragons and Behemoth are equal beings. That means it won’t work on Behemoth.”

“This is bad.”

Tesserina spoke carefully.

“I was thinking…”

“Say it.”

“Shouldn’t we inform the humans and have them prepare in advance?”

“Prepare in advance?”

“If we can find and eliminate him, that’s one thing. But we need to prepare for the possibility that we fail or cannot find him.”

“That makes sense.”

Zeon nodded.

The survival of Neo Seoul was at stake.

Rather than shouldering everything alone, it seemed far better to inform Jin Geumho and let him prepare.

“You don’t have to carry all the burden yourself. The Mayor has the will and strength to bear it with you.”

“I know.”

No one acknowledged Jin Geumho more than Zeon.

Even Dyoden, who looked down upon everyone, had acknowledged Jin Geumho.

It made no sense not to trust such a man.

However, to explain Behemoth to Jin Geumho, he might have to mention the Steel Fortress.

Jin Geumho already knew of it, but only in fragments.

To gain his cooperation, Zeon would have to explain it in detail.

For future exchanges with Neo Seoul, the Steel Fortress would have to be revealed someday. But he could not calculate whether it was right to reveal it this soon.

After thinking for a long while, Zeon made his decision.

“Even so, we have to tell him.”

“You made the right choice. Shall I go?”

“Levin would be better than you. He’ll be more credible.”

“That’s true. I’ve never even met him.”

“As soon as Levin returns, we’ll send him.”

“Okay.”

Tesserina nodded.

Zeon paused and looked around.

Everything was silent.

It was not a strange sight.

The desert was always quiet.

But what was visible was not everything.

Though it appeared still, the desert was constantly moving and changing.

Yet now, everything was frozen.

As if time itself had stopped.

All of this had happened after Behemoth’s appearance.

Even the nameless insects of the desert were holding their breath and hiding.

It was not that they understood anything.

The intangible aura and authority emanating from Behemoth forced even the insects into silence.

It was not because he was nearby.

His presence was spreading throughout the entire desert.

“If only we had bait to draw him out.”

“Anything ordinary wouldn’t even make him snort.”

“Probably not.”

Zeon clicked his tongue. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He raised his dominion and examined the sand beneath the area, but nowhere could he sense Behemoth’s presence.

---

Fwoosh!

A massive head burst through the sand.

Behemoth had completely digested the Sand Kraken and risen to the surface.

But his appearance had changed from before.

A massive horn, unseen when he devoured the Sand Kraken, now rose from the center of his forehead.

That was not the only change.

His skin had taken on the exact color of the desert sand.

Like the Sand Kraken, he now bore protective coloration.

All of it was the result of devouring the Sand Kraken.

He had absorbed even its authority and evolved.

Behemoth’s body was as large as a small mountain.

From any distance, such a size would be impossible to miss.

Yet now, Behemoth was barely visible.

It was not only because of his sand-colored camouflage.

The Sand Kraken had possessed exceptional ability to conceal its presence through stealth and distortion—so much so that even Zeon’s dominion had difficulty detecting it.

Behemoth had made that authority entirely his own.

His colossal body shifted instantly to match the surrounding environment, like a chameleon.

With stealth and distortion layered over it, he could not be recognized even at close range.

Boom!

Squelch!

A small monster, unaware of Behemoth’s approach, was crushed beneath his massive foot and burst apart.

Even a low-grade monster with highly developed survival instincts had failed to sense him and lost its life.

Behemoth was extremely pleased with his new authority.

It had made him even stronger.

But he felt it was not enough.

—I must grow stronger.

Fortunately, Behemoth knew how.

He would devour them.

S-grade monsters like the Sand Kraken.

By absorbing the authority of S-grade monsters, he would become far stronger than he was now—and achieve the destruction of Neo Seoul he sought.

Behemoth lifted his head and inhaled.

—Khmm! Khrrmm!

Wind entered his nostrils.

He sensed the scent of monsters carried within it.

Information on countless monsters flowed into his mind.

He filtered out the small and the weak, separating only the powerful presences.

After careful selection, he sensed two powerful beings.

Both were S-grade monsters.

—I will devour them and grow stronger.

Thud! Thud!

Behemoth began moving his colossal body toward where the S-grade monsters were.

---

“Hyung! I’m sorry, I just can’t find him.”

Levin returned, shaking his head with a pale expression.

He had scoured hundreds of kilometers. Yet nowhere had he found any trace of Behemoth.

Having flown incorporeally all day, he had consumed an enormous amount of mana. His face was deathly pale.

Zeon shook his head.

“No. You’ve done well.”

“If something that huge is moving, we should at least see a shadow. But I couldn’t even find that.”

“It seems he has decided to hide.”

“Either that, or he has a way to conceal his body completely. Either way, he won’t be easy to find by ordinary means.”

“Mm.”

“What should we do?”

“Levin, you head back to Neo Seoul.”

“What?”

Levin’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.

“Behemoth’s target is Neo Seoul anyway. He’ll try to get there by any means.”

“So you want me to prepare in case you miss him.”

“That’s right. Tell the Mayor that Behemoth is targeting Neo Seoul. He’ll make the necessary preparations.”

“Understood.”

Levin nodded.

He wanted to continue traveling with Zeon, but he knew this was not the time to be childish.

“Wait…”

Seeing how exhausted Levin was, Tesserina cast a recovery spell on him.

Levin felt his depleted mana refill.

“Thank you, noona!”

“Don’t mention it.”

“You’ll be moving with hyung, right?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Then I’ll go alone.”

“Be careful of monsters.”

“Yes! See you later.”

Levin turned incorporeal and flew toward Neo Seoul.

After sending him off, Zeon and Tesserina moved again to search for Behemoth.

At that moment, an unfamiliar sensation caught Zeon’s senses.

“Wait.”

“What is it?”

Tesserina looked at him curiously.

Instead of answering, Zeon focused on his senses.

He walked toward where he felt the foreign energy.

They arrived at a vast quicksand zone.

The flow of sand there was completely different from elsewhere.

Tesserina asked, puzzled,

“Why here?”

“A monster was here. A fairly powerful one had made its nest.”

The flow of the quicksand was abnormal.

It seemed something powerful had generated it.

It was a foreign movement only Zeon, a sand mage, could perceive.

“And?”

“It’s gone now.”

“What? You mean the owner of the nest?”

“I’ll go down into the sand for a moment.”

Without waiting for her reply, Zeon threw himself into the quicksand.

Tesserina remained where she stood, waiting for him to emerge.

After a long while, Zeon resurfaced.

“Behemoth was here.”

The scent of Behemoth’s mana from their battle had seeped deeply into the sand.

“And now he’s gone.”

“He must have devoured the nest’s owner and recovered his strength.”

“Damn it!”

Tesserina clenched her teeth.

The worst possible situation they had not anticipated had unfolded.

“What if he didn’t just recover his strength, but also absorbed the monster’s authority?”

The worst assumption rose in her mind.