Chapter 398

“What the hell?”

“Those tiny bugs exploded?”

Kevin and Tom stood there, stunned.

If Zeon hadn’t noticed in time and thrown them out the window, they would’ve been caught in the blast and killed.

Their legs gave out and they dropped to the floor.

Levin turned to Zeon.

“Hyung?”

“He’s already noticed us.”

“Damn it!”

Levin ground his teeth.

He felt responsible—it had been his oversight.

Who would’ve thought the man would not only notice the tail but go so far as to attach exploding bugs?

If Zeon’s reaction had been even slightly delayed, the kids would’ve died.

Zeon looked at Tom and asked,

“You okay?”

“Huh? Y-Yeah!”

“Which room was the old man staying in?”

“Over there.”

Tom pointed to an apartment tucked into the corner of the hallway.

Levin strode toward it immediately.

“I’m coming with you.”

He closed in beside Zeon.

Zeon grabbed the doorknob, but it was tightly locked from the inside.

Still holding it, he channeled mana into his Inferno Gauntlet. In an instant, the handle turned bright red—then melted like water.

Before opening the door, Zeon said to Levin,

“Be careful.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Levin responded and immediately ghosted.

Zeon flung the door open.

And the moment he looked inside, his eyes widened.

The room was teeming with bugs.

They looked exactly like the ones that had clung to the children’s clothes.

“Shit!”

Zeon instantly opened a subspace and poured sand into the room.

He used it to form a wall—blocking off the entrance.

And in that moment, the bugs began to explode in a chain reaction.

KWA-KWA-KWANG!

A thunderous blast rocked the Demon Den.

The massive building shook as if it might collapse.

Luckily, Zeon had created a sand wall to direct the explosion outward. If he hadn’t, the entire outer wall might have crumbled.

“Urgh!”

Zeon let out a pained groan.

Though he’d blocked the blast with sand, the shock still reached him full force.

Not even Zeon could withstand that kind of force unscathed.

The dark, bloody smear at the corner of his lips made that clear enough.

“You okay, hyung?”

Levin had survived thanks to ghosting and now rushed over in alarm.

Zeon nodded and asked,

“I’m fine. What about the others?”

“They’re okay.”

Levin was unhurt thanks to his ghost form, and the kids had been shielded by Aaron and Dominic.

Zeon and Levin stepped into the wreckage.

The apartment’s outer wall had been completely blown away, exposing the inside, which was a mess of shattered debris.

This was after Zeon had absorbed most of the impact. Without that, the neighboring units might have been destroyed too.

Looking around, Levin spoke with an incredulous face.

“Hah! Place is empty.”

“He must’ve noticed the tail and escaped.”

“Those sick bastards. Just because kids were tailing him, he used exploding bugs?”

“That old man’s ability must be controlling these insects.”

Zeon picked up the charred remains of one of the bugs from the floor.

A foul chemical stench rose from the blackened fragments.

“Looks like something similar to a bomb-beetle.”

The creatures that once ruled the now-Primeval Forest, formerly known as the Black Forest, had been bomb-beetles.

They had a tendency to charge at targets and self-destruct.

These bugs seemed to share that same trait.

The only difference was that bomb-beetles obeyed a queen’s command—while these followed the old man’s.

“Where do you think he got bugs like this?”

“Good question.”

“This is getting out of hand.”

“Hoo…”

Zeon sighed as he surveyed the scorched interior and then walked toward the bathroom.

Inside the half-destroyed room, the corpses of the original tenants were crumpled up.

“Damn… these sick bastards.”

Levin spat on the floor at the sight.

Zeon silently agreed.

The old man was utterly deranged.

He stuck exploding bugs onto children’s clothes, took over someone else’s home, and raised bomb bugs inside it.

He was sharp, decisive—and absolutely ruthless.

Just the fact that he’d blown up all those carefully raised bugs without hesitation made that clear.

The longer people like him were allowed to operate, the bigger the disaster they’d cause.

Zeon said to Levin,

“We need to find them as soon as possible. These guys… they’re seriously insane.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Levin nodded firmly.

That’s when Aaron and Dominic approached, having just finished checking on Tom and Kevin.

“We’ll help you track them down.”

“We’ll activate every connection we have.”

The network they had built in the slums was vast and dense—like a spiderweb.

If you didn’t know it existed, maybe you could slip by. But once they were aware of you, it was only a matter of time before you were found.

Zeon warned them both.

“You saw it. He’s extremely dangerous. Don’t take any chances.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“If you find them, don’t engage. Contact me immediately.”

“Don’t worry.”

Zeon approached the blasted-out wall.

They were several stories up—the wind howled like a beast, shaking his body.

If he lost his balance, he’d plummet dozens of floors. But Zeon didn’t blink as he scanned the surroundings.

He could feel it—eyes watching him from somewhere.

The old man who controlled the exploding bugs was observing him. He was sure of it.

＊＊＊

“So they actually found me. I thought maybe… but still.”

The old man stood on the roof of a building near the Demon Den.

It was only about half the height of the Den, so he had to crane his neck to see where the explosion had happened.

His neck stiffened, but he didn’t care.

Standing on the edge of the destroyed wall was Zeon.

From that distance, Zeon looked like he was surveying the world from above—radiating a crushing aura.

“A guy like that was hiding here? Damn it, Bak Gui—you lost all your kids.”

Ki-ki-ki!

Just then, a jet-black bug poked its head out from behind the old man’s neck.

It looked exactly like the ones that exploded in the apartment—but far bigger, about the size of a child’s forearm.

The insect let out a strange cry, as if responding to the old man’s words.

Ki-ki-ki!

“Yeah, yeah. Just make more. My Bak Gui is such a clever little thing.”

He stroked the head of the creature he called Bak Gui.

The bug closed its eyes and basked in his touch.

After a while, the old man’s eyes turned cold.

“Don’t think you’ve won, brat. You caught me off guard because I’m still not used to this place—but once I am, this whole city will be our playground. Hehehe…”

Chuckling darkly, the old man turned away.

Bak Gui vanished once more into his robes.

He descended the building and walked through the streets.

Far from the Demon Den, familiar faces appeared to greet him.

“Elder Heuk-no.”

The man who approached and addressed him was Sou Chen. As always, Tang Xi’an followed closely behind.

The old man, now clearly known as Heuk-no, smiled in recognition.

“Oh! You came to meet me?”

“We were getting worried. You didn’t show for a while.”

“Sorry about that. I had some pests tailing me—had to shake them off.”

“Pests?”

“Some kids were following me. Just in case, I attached some of Bak Gui’s spawn to them. And, wouldn’t you know it—they stormed into my hideout.”

“Wait… then that explosion earlier…”

“Yeah. My handiwork. Hehehe.”

“Haa…”

Sou Chen sighed deeply at Heuk-no’s reply.

First Ma Gwang-ryang, and now Heuk-no. Another incident—and a major one.

Heuk-no was an Awakened with a highly unusual ability.

He could communicate with insects.

Not large ones—only small insects were within his power. That’s why people looked down on him.

They often mocked him, saying such an ability was useless. He suffered greatly because of it.

His fate changed the day he met the insect he named Bak Gui.

Strangely, Bak Gui’s offspring had explosive traits.

At its command, the spawn would charge their targets and self-destruct without fear of death.

When Heuk-no first discovered this, he’d been overwhelmed with awe.

He worked tirelessly to bond with Bak Gui—and eventually succeeded.

Once he tamed it, he went after everyone who had looked down on him.

Using Bak Gui’s spawn, he killed them—horribly.

As long as Bak Gui was well-fed, it could lay hundreds of eggs per day. They hatched quickly and matured fast.

Given enough time, he could produce an endless army of exploding bugs.

They weren’t effective against B-class monsters or higher with repulsion fields, but for weaker monsters—or humans—they were catastrophic.

The reason Jang Woo-hang and the Wolf Fang Squad even made it alive to Neo Seoul was largely thanks to Heuk-no.

Which is why neither Sou Chen nor Tang Xi’an scolded him now.

Sou Chen asked him,

“So your hideout’s gone?”

“Of course. If I’d had a few more spawn, I could’ve taken down the whole building. I only managed one room.”

“If the building had collapsed, Neo Seoul would’ve been on high alert.”

“You scared of them? I’m not scared at all.”

“I’m not scared either. But this isn’t our territory. We should be cautious. There are some serious powerhouses hidden around.”

“Yeah, one of the ones tailing me was pretty strong. Used sand in a weird way.”

“Did you say… sand?”

“Yeah. Why? Know the guy?”

At Heuk-no’s question, Sou Chen nodded.

“Pretty sure that’s the guy who killed Gwang-ryang.”

“Gwang-ryang’s dead?”

“He tried to sell Ghost Beetle shells in the Goblin Market and got exposed.”

“So he really died?”

“Yes.”

At Sou Chen’s confirmation, Heuk-no’s face twisted with grief.

“Gwang-ryang… that sweet boy…”

“He was killed by the sand-user.”

“That son of a bitch! If I’d known, I would’ve finished it back there!”

Heuk-no was furious.

He and Ma Gwang-ryang had been extremely close.

He had treated others cruelly—but with Gwang-ryang, he’d been almost like a father.

That’s why he was now raging at the news of his death.

Sou Chen and Tang Xi’an let him vent.

Trying to stop him now would only make things worse.

Heuk-no stood there, cursing Zeon with a torrent of vulgarities so vile even Sou Chen and Tang Xi’an were uncomfortable.

Only after unloading a full storm of invective did he calm down.

“I’ll deep-fry that bastard alive. I’ll never forgive him.”

“Now that you’ve calmed down, let’s relocate to the next base. They’ll be searching for us like bloodhounds.”

“…Alright.”

Heuk-no nodded without resistance.

He knew, too.

The power of this vast city was no joke. One wrong move, and they’d be the ones eaten alive.

As Sou Chen slipped into the shadows, he muttered,

“Until Woo-hang makes contact, we’ll lie low, build our strength, and absorb everything this city has to offer. Everything we gain will nourish the Subterranean City and bloom into something greater.”

Even if it meant becoming villains in the process—he didn’t care.