Chapter 614

The first to notice that something was changing in Levin was the Blue Scorpion leader.

‘Something’s off.’

On the surface, nothing had changed.

That was because Levin’s body had stiffened like a statue as the power of the Abyss Prison reached its peak.

The Blue Scorpion leader himself did not know the true power of the Abyss Prison.

Since it was a one-time-use item, this was the first time he had ever used it.

What he knew was that once the Abyss Prison activated, immense pressure would be generated, the body would stiffen, and the flow of time would slow down.

To those outside, it lasted only a moment, but to the one trapped inside, it felt like eternity had passed.

The human mind could not withstand such a flow of time.

Thus, even being trapped briefly would cause not only the body but also the mind to collapse—that was all the Blue Scorpion leader knew.

Originally, he had intended to use the Abyss Prison on Zeon.

He believed that if he could trap Zeon, he could take over the slums.

However, that plan was abandoned after he watched from afar as Zeon fought the golems controlled by Trijian.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t believe the Abyss Prison could contain Zeon.

The presence Zeon displayed back then was that overwhelming.

So he changed his target to Levin.

Levin was clearly a unique awakened.

He could turn intangible like a specter and freely wield lightning-based skills of tremendous power.

Because his phasing ability was so broken, Zeon and Levin had tried to keep it secret. But after countless intense battles, they had no choice but to use it openly multiple times, and it was no longer a secret.

As a result, Levin had been classified as a high-risk individual.

Not only for his combat power, but because his abilities were specialized for infiltration and information gathering, he had become a top-priority threat.

Many sought ways to block or neutralize him—and the Blue Scorpion leader had found his own method.

That was the Abyss Prison.

It was a one-time-use item.

Once used, it could never be used again. But the Blue Scorpion leader was certain that it could completely neutralize Levin.

He had studied Levin that much.

And as expected, Levin had been completely immobilized by the Abyss Prison.

Even so, the Blue Scorpion leader couldn’t shake off his unease.

Thump! Thump!

A heartbeat echoed in his ears.

At first it was faint, but at some point, it became incredibly loud and fast.

When he first heard it, he thought it was his own.

He assumed he was so tense that he could hear his own heartbeat. But within seconds, he realized it wasn’t his.

Like the mana engine of a massive transport vehicle, the rough and powerful heartbeat was coming from Levin.

It was so intense it felt like his eardrums would burst.

The Blue Scorpion leader looked at Teddy beside him with a baffled expression.

Teddy’s face was twisted in shock.

He too had heard Levin’s heartbeat.

“W-what the hell is happening right now? Why can I hear that bastard’s heartbeat in my ears?”

“That’s…”

The Blue Scorpion leader moved his lips, then gave up trying to explain.

It was something even he couldn’t understand.

“Fuck! Attack him now!” Teddy shouted urgently.

“But if we do, the Abyss Prison might break…”

“It’ll break anyway at this rate. And then we’re all dead.”

Teddy trusted his instincts.

It was those instincts that had allowed him to survive countless life-and-death situations.

And they were screaming at him now—

Kill Levin immediately.

“Damn it!”

A vicious light flared in the Blue Scorpion leader’s eyes.

He too felt the intense sense of crisis.

The two unleashed their strongest skills at Levin.

“Strike of Ruin!”

“Poison Tsunami!”

KWAHH!

The two skills combined, amplifying each other into an even more devastating force.

Each alone could melt and crush most monsters instantly—but together, their power multiplied several times over.

Everything within the range of the skill melted like water.

Thick concrete, even the steel reinforcements inside, liquefied in an instant—a terrifying sight.

And at the center of it stood Levin.

‘Die like this.’

‘Please!’

At that moment—

Levin opened his closed eyes.

“….”

In an instant, Teddy and the Blue Scorpion leader lost their sight.

A blinding flash erupted, striking their retinas.

“Ghk!”

“Urgh!”

Delayed cries escaped them.

The world turned pure white—and then suddenly, darkness fell.

Isolated in darkness, the two were at a loss.

The Blue Scorpion leader was the first to regain his senses, focusing everything on his eyes.

The pain subsided, and his vision slowly returned.

What he saw was Levin—now completely white.

From head to toe, white.

It wasn’t that his skin had changed color.

His entire body was wrapped in electric currents, making him appear that way. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

It was as if Levin himself had become lightning.

Their attacks had done nothing to him.

Levin stared blankly at his own arms.

He could feel lightning coursing through his veins.

Instead of blood, lightning surged endlessly within his translucent body.

“Did I… become S-rank?”

Levin realized he had broken through the wall.

The barrier that hadn’t budged no matter how hard he tried had shattered completely in this moment of crisis.

His phasing ability and lightning skills had fused, elevating him to an entirely different level of awakened.

The pinnacle of lightning users had been Lee Ji-ryeong, the leader of the Pegasus Assault Squad.

He had reached S-rank with lightning abilities alone.

That alone had given him overwhelming destructive power.

But Levin had added phasing to that.

“D-die!”

“Fuck!”

Teddy and the Blue Scorpion leader attacked again in desperation.

But their attacks passed through Levin’s body and struck the space behind him.

BOOM!

The walls melted and shattered with explosive force.

Their attacks were still powerful—but they could not affect Levin.

Only then did they understand why.

The fusion of phasing and lightning had turned Levin’s body into lightning itself.

“A lightning… body? No… lightning god transformation?”

Even Lee Ji-ryeong had never possessed such a skill.

At that moment, the Blue Scorpion leader launched another attack—unable to let go until the very end.

KRAAACK!

A bolt of lightning struck him instantly.

He didn’t even have time to scream before he was burned black.

From skin to organs, everything turned to charcoal.

For someone who once ruled the desert, it was a pitiful end.

“Ugh!”

Teddy let out a grotesque scream.

Unlike the Blue Scorpion leader, he chose to run.

He sprinted with all his might, but when thunder roared behind him, he turned—and saw the charred remains of the Blue Scorpion leader.

“Hiiik! Fuck!”

He screamed and ran even faster.

Tears streamed down his face.

His fear had reached its limit.

He had made countless others shed tears of blood—now it was his turn.

“That monster bastard! What kind of fucked-up world spits out something like that?”

Others feared Zeon the most.

But to him, Levin was the disaster.

Cursing the heavens for unleashing Levin in the same era, Teddy ran for his life.

KRAAACK!

“Where are you rushing off to?”

With a thunderclap, Levin appeared in front of him.

He had overtaken Teddy in an instant—becoming a bolt of lightning.

“H-hik! Spare me, Levin!”

“After everything you’ve done, you’re asking to be spared?”

“I was wrong! Everyone makes mistakes at least once, right?”

“Yeah. Once, maybe.”

“Right? You understand, don’t you? I’ve got mouths to feed, no way to make money. What else could I do? Sometimes you’ve gotta do a little bad.”

“You piece of shit. But you didn’t just make one mistake, did you? Do you even know how many crimes you’ve committed in Guro?”

“S-so you won’t spare me?”

“Nope. I won’t.”

“Hey, you bastard! Are you even human? You’re going to kill someone who’s repenting like this?”

Teddy shouted, spittle flying, veins bulging in his neck.

Levin shook his head.

“You really are beyond saving.”

“You bastard! Who do you think you are preaching to me? You—”

“Shut up.”

KRAAACK!

A white bolt of lightning struck down on Teddy’s head.

He was turned into charcoal in the same posture he had been shouting in.

Only then did Levin release his lightning transformation.

“…Feels strange. A blessing in disguise.”

He muttered, clenching and unclenching his fingers.

Even after releasing it, he could still feel currents flowing through his body.

His perception had increased severalfold, and his physical response speed was truly like lightning.

He had only crossed one wall—but it felt like he now existed in a different world.

As if he were alone in another dimension.

“Is this what it feels like for Hyung Zeon all the time?”

Only now did he begin to understand the world Zeon lived in.

Someone else might have grown arrogant—but not Levin.

Because unlike him, who had just reached S-rank, Zeon had long since surpassed even that.

A sky above the sky.

An awakened above all awakened.

That was Zeon.

Standing beside someone like that, arrogance made no sense.

Levin organized his thoughts and turned around.

His eyes fell on the small cage.

The realization that his friends were still trapped snapped him back.

“Harbin! Kaden!”

He rushed over, calling their names.

He twisted the lock with his hand—it broke like straw.

He opened the door and pulled them out.

“Ghh…!”

“Haah…!”

The two, heavily addicted, gasped as if they might stop breathing at any moment.

“Hey! Get a grip!”

Levin shook them, but they didn’t come to their senses.

Just then, Aaron and Dominic rushed in.

“Levin! You’re here.”

“We cleared everything outside.”

But as soon as they saw Harbin and Kaden, their faces turned pale.

“Fuck… are they addicted?”

“We need to take them to the underground city and get Lemura to treat them immediately. I’ll go ahead—you clean this up and come.”

“Got it. Go!”

KRAAACK!

Before Aaron even finished speaking, Levin transformed into lightning with Harbin and Kaden.

The three disappeared as a bolt of lightning.

Aaron and Dominic stared, mouths agape.

“Crazy…”

“At this point, he’s literally become a human lightning bolt?”