Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert
Chapter 353

Chapter 353

“H-he’s…”

“Lord Johan… he’s been swallowed by the sand…”

Dongdaemun’s remaining forces, who had come with Johan, were horrified by the terrifying whirlpool of sand.

Johan had vanished beneath it—completely buried, not even a trace visible.

“We have to save him!”

“We can’t let Lord Johan die!”

Some of the believers, determined to rescue Johan, jumped into the violently swirling sand. But no matter how long they waited, not one of them came back out.

All eyes turned to Joshua.

He was the strongest among the remaining believers.

Under normal circumstances, Joshua would have thrown himself into the sandstorm without hesitation to save Johan. But now, he hesitated.

He had lived his life believing Johan to be a god. But at this very moment, that belief was beginning to crumble.

A question surfaced in his mind.

‘If he’s truly a vessel of the divine… shouldn’t he be able to survive something like this?’

That was why Joshua held back, unable to enter the maelstrom to save Johan.

GRRRRRRK!

Even now, the sand spun with terrifying force.

Just watching from afar made the hair on Joshua’s body stand on end, sending chills across his skin.

He was no exception.

Even for the "Swift Joshua," entering that sandstorm and returning alive wasn’t something he could guarantee.

There was only one solution in this kind of situation.

Eliminate the one who created the phenomenon—Zeon.

If Zeon died, the sandstorm would lose its cohesion and disperse.

Joshua’s gaze shifted to Zeon.

Surrounding Zeon were dozens of Sand Soldiers.

Even for him, cutting through that many soldiers to reach Zeon was impossible.

‘A monster…’

Joshua now considered Zeon even more terrifying than an S-rank beast.

More intelligent and more creative than any monster.

What frightened him even more was Zeon’s calm, unshakable grasp of the situation.

‘We never should’ve made an enemy of him in the first place.’

Never once had anyone gained anything by opposing Zeon.

He always stayed in control, molding the environment to suit him.

This time was no different.

He had methodically eliminated the paladins, inquisitors, and Dark Saints—leaving Johan no choice but to personally step forward.

Everything had gone just as Zeon had planned.

And the rest would likely follow the same pattern.

Though Joshua couldn’t read Zeon’s mind, it was clear that everything was unfolding according to Zeon’s design.

And Joshua knew—he wasn’t capable of facing Zeon.

“Lord Joshua!”

“We can’t just stand here—!”

The other Dongdaemun Awakened, unaware of Joshua’s inner turmoil, pressed him urgently. They demanded he act—demanded he save Johan. But Joshua ignored them.

Then, it happened.

Ssssshh!

As if it were all a lie, the ferocious sandstorm abruptly came to a halt.

The sand dispersed like mist in every direction—and Johan’s form was revealed within it.

His condition was abysmal.

Both legs were gone from the knees down. His arms had been shredded so thoroughly that nothing remained.

Lying on the ground, he gasped for breath.

“Hah… hah…”

Overwhelmed by the sheer terror and pain, his mind had shut down—he couldn’t even comprehend the state he was in.

Zeon knelt on one knee, leveling his gaze with Johan.

“Ze… Zeon…”

Johan croaked with a shredded voice.

Instead of answering, Zeon reached out and yanked the cross from Johan’s neck.

CRACK!

Sparks flew from the cross, as if rejecting Zeon’s touch. But Zeon ignored them and clenched it tightly.

FLASH!

A beam of light fell from the sky.

It was Divine Judgement—the very skill Johan had wielded.

But without Johan as its conduit and amplifier, the power was drastically diminished.

BOOM!

A Sand Soldier took the hit and remained unharmed.

Zeon examined the cross and murmured,

“Looks like it came from a dungeon.”

“G… give it… back. That’s not yours…”

Johan tried to reach for the cross—but without arms, he couldn’t even lift his hand.

No matter how great a buffer he was, he couldn’t regenerate lost limbs.

Maybe if he had secured Remura as he intended—maybe then.

Ultimately, Johan gave up trying to retrieve the cross and simply stared blankly at the sky.

He was dying.

His heartbeat was fading. His face had gone deathly pale.

He had lost far too much blood—this outcome was inevitable.

Yet suddenly, a glimmer of life returned to Johan’s face.

With a broken voice, he said,

“I wanted to spread God’s will across Neo Seoul… but you’ve ruined everything. You’ll regret this day—mark my words.”

“Maybe.”

“The human spirit is weak. People need someone to believe in—something to lean on. Today, you severed their connection to the divine. And the price for that will be harsh.”

“You’re underestimating humanity.”

“And you’re overestimating it.”

“I’ve roamed the desert for years, seen countless others. Elves, dwarves, beastkin—they’re all stronger than humans. But none of them were able to rebuild civilization as quickly as humans. They cling to past glories and live in nostalgia.”

“So what’s your point?”

“Humans choose to move forward, not dwell in the past. Even if the future is pitch black. Dongdaemun will be the same. At first, there will be chaos. But they’ll accept a present without you and move toward a new future.”

At those words, Johan screamed—vomiting blood.

“D-don’t make me laugh! You think Dongdaemun can stand without me? If Dongdaemun falls, Neo Seoul won’t survive either!”

“That’s just your wishful thinking.”

“L-lies… cough!”

CRACK!

At that moment, Zeon crushed the cross in his hand.

And with that, the last glimmer of life vanished from Johan’s eyes. He coughed up one final mouthful of blood—then moved no more.

Thus ended Johan, ruler of Dongdaemun.

Everyone stared in disbelief.

“Is… is Lord Johan really dead?”

“No… it can’t be…”

They couldn’t accept it.

To them, Johan was a god.

And gods don’t die.

So they believed he would rise again.

Just like the saint of Earth’s past.

But the dead do not return.

And even if resurrection were possible, Zeon had no intention of letting it happen.

BUBBLE… BUBBLE…

The sand beneath Johan’s corpse began to boil like lava.

Zeon had activated Sand Gehenna.

The molten sand consumed Johan’s body—leaving not even a fragment behind.

A brutal, merciless act.

“N-no!”

“Lord Johan…”

Cries of despair rang out from all corners of Dongdaemun’s remaining faithful.

Some began screaming that Zeon was a demon.

But Zeon’s face didn’t so much as twitch at their accusations.

He knew better than anyone: the ending matters most.

He had seen too many disasters unfold from poorly wrapped-up conflicts.

That was why he had incinerated Johan’s body—left nothing behind.

Then, Joshua approached Zeon.

Staring at him with conflicted eyes, he asked,

“Did you really have to destroy Lord Johan’s corpse?”

BOOM!

A Sand Blaster struck him in the chest.

Joshua was thrown to the ground without even time to scream.

As he writhed in pain, Zeon looked down at him and said,

“You’re misunderstanding something.”

“Ghhh…”

“This wasn’t a fight I started. You came at me. If I had lost… what would’ve happened to my body? Would you have spared it out of pity? That’s war. The winner thoroughly breaks the loser. Did you start a war with me without being prepared for that?”

“Still…”

“What if I had left Johan’s body intact? You would’ve used him. Turned him into a martyr, a symbol to rally Dongdaemun. I don’t want that.”

“That’s…”

“Now you understand why I did it. Harsh as it may seem to you—I don’t care. Because we were at war.”

Zeon’s calm voice sent chills down Joshua’s spine.

He looked up at Zeon, eyes filled with fear.

After all the death—Johan and countless others—Zeon stood there without a scratch.

It was hard to believe he was even human.

Joshua carefully asked,

“What do you plan to do with Dongdaemun now?”

“What do you mean? That’s for them to figure out.”

“You’re not going to interfere?”

“Why would I?”

Zeon answered indifferently.

If he had wanted to rule others, he would’ve taken over Sinchon himself. That sort of hassle wasn’t to his taste.

After a moment of silence, Joshua asked cautiously,

“I’ll take the survivors back to Dongdaemun. Will you let us go?”

“Go ahead.”

Zeon stepped aside, opening the path.

Joshua gathered the remaining forces and left Sinchon.

Zeon stood still for a long time, watching them leave.

Leaderless, Dongdaemun would now descend into chaos.

Until someone as charismatic as Johan emerged again, it would remain fractured.

“Haa…”

Zeon exhaled softly.

Suddenly, he felt sharp stares on his back.

The eyes of Sinchon’s slum dwellers.

Just like the followers of Dongdaemun, their faces were filled with fear as they looked at Zeon.

Until now, Zeon had been their guardian—protecting Sinchon from outside threats. They had supported and trusted him without question.

But what he had shown them—the overwhelming force with which he had annihilated Johan and Dongdaemun’s elite—was enough to inspire terror even in his allies.

Zeon gave a bitter smile at their reaction.

But he wasn’t disappointed.

It was only natural for people to fear powers they didn’t understand.

Leaving their wary gazes behind, Zeon turned and headed for Crocodile's Den.

* * *

“Why… why aren’t they here yet?”

It had been a while since she had sent out the Angel of Salvation.

By now, Johan and Dongdaemun’s elite should have arrived.

“Could something have happened?”

A wave of unease swept over her.

The Johan she knew would never ignore the Angel’s signal.

Something had gone wrong—she was sure of it.

“Could it be… Zeon?”

The moment his name entered her mind, a sense of dread washed over her.

“Ugh!”

At that moment, a groan snapped her out of it.

Startled, she looked to see Bakum down on one knee.

And in front of him—shockingly—stood Zetoya.

A D-rank Awakened had defeated a C-rank one.

Chen Xi’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Then Levin stepped toward her.

“It’s over, Ajumma. You’ve got nothing left.”

“N-no! Lord Johan will come—any moment now!”

“You still don’t get it? He’s not coming. Zeon won’t let that happen.”

“Shut up! Lord Johan is a god! And gods can’t die!”

Chen Xi screamed in denial.

Levin clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. This is why I hate zealots.”

He phased into ghost form and seized her.

Chen Xi tried to use her powers—to hypnotize him.

But Levin was faster.

CRACKLE!

Purple Lightning struck Chen Xi.

The violet electricity seared her down to the bone.

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