Chapter 646
Zeon spent the entire day searching through the forest.
From the outside, it did not look all that large, but the forest’s actual size was enormous.
It was impossible to search the entire forest in a single day.
Because of that, Zeon had to come to the forest every day.
Olivia had practically settled in the forest and did not come out at all.
She ate and slept in the forest, communed with the trees, and attempted to heal them.
Her efforts were not in vain, and many of the trees gradually began to recover.
“The forest seems to be recovering, but the root problem hasn’t been solved. If we can’t find and eliminate the cause, the trees will start dying again.”
“That’s why I’m planning to go deeper into the forest today.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Then are the trees around the outer area mostly treated now?”
“Yes! I supplied them with nutrients mixed with sap from the World Tree Village, so they should hold on for a while.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Let’s head farther in.”
Olivia strode vigorously deeper into the forest.
Whenever she found a tree in poor condition, she used Undine to sprinkle water mixed with nutrients on it.
As they walked while paying attention to each tree one by one, it naturally took a long time to reach their destination.
Thanks to that, Zeon also had plenty of time to observe the surroundings.
“The situation inside is even worse.”
“Yes. The energy of the land is bad. I can barely feel any vitality. It’s as if the land itself is dying.”
“Hmm.”
A low sound escaped Zeon.
Just as Olivia had said, even though they had come deep into the forest, there was almost no refreshing feeling. Instead, the air felt stuffy.
It was strange that the air felt unpleasant despite the forest being this dense.
Suddenly, Zeon stopped walking.
It was because of the huge tree that had appeared before him.
It was the largest tree he had seen so far.
The giant tree was so massive that even several adults stretching their arms as far as possible would not be able to encircle it, yet every one of its leaves had fallen off, leaving it utterly barren.
Its trunk had completely dried out, and the bark crumbled at the slightest touch.
“This tree is completely dead. It looks like the oldest tree in the forest...”
“It does.”
Olivia reached out and gently stroked the tree.
Before she knew it, tears had welled up in her eyes.
As if sharing her emotions, Undine also sprinkled nutrient-infused water on the dead tree, trying to save it.
But no matter how powerful the nutrient solution mixed with the World Tree’s sap was, reviving a tree that was already completely dead was impossible.
Zeon said,
“It seems this tree died first.”
“Just a moment.”
Keeping her hand on the dead tree, Olivia focused her mind.
Her mana spread through the tree, flowing throughout its trunk and roots.
Through her mana, she examined the tree’s condition and the source of its problems.
A moment later, she withdrew her hand and spoke.
“I think the land is the problem. This child’s roots extend deep beneath Neo Seoul, but all the nutrients have been depleted. Something has definitely absorbed or burned away every bit of nourishment in the soil.”
“How far do the roots of this dead tree extend?”
“They reach beneath the building we visited. It seems the necrosis started there.”
“Hmm.”
Zeon frowned.
Seeing his expression, Olivia cautiously asked,
“Do you have some idea what it might be?”
“Yes. But I’m not certain, so I need to verify it first. Please stay here, Olivia. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Alright.”
Olivia nodded.
From Zeon’s expression, she could tell it was something she should not know.
Leaving the forest, Zeon headed straight to the mayor’s office.
Jin Geumho, who had been busy working, looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Weren’t you in the forest? What brings you here at this hour?”
“I’m coming from the forest.”
“Did you find the problem? Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“Can you show me what lies beneath Neo Seoul?”
“Hmm.”
At Zeon’s words, Jin Geumho rubbed his chin with a troubled expression.
Zeon watched silently as he made his decision.
After a long moment, Jin Geumho seemed to make up his mind and rose from his seat.
“Follow me.”
“You’re going to show me?”
“Didn’t you ask to see it? What I’m about to show you must never be spoken of anywhere else.”
“I understand.”
“Come.”
Jin Geumho led Zeon into a private elevator.
The elevator, which only Jin Geumho and Seo Taeran could use, carried them deep underground in an instant.
“Don’t be surprised. Other than the workers here, no one has ever entered this place.”
Kiiiing!
As Jin Geumho finished speaking, the elevator doors opened.
A vast cavern appeared before Zeon, so enormous that it was hard to believe it existed deep underground.
But it was not the giant cavern that surprised him.
Such caverns were rare, but not unheard of.
Even the Steel Fortress boasted a space several times larger.
What shocked Zeon was the enormous corpse standing in the middle of the underground cavern.
“A... dragon.”
“That’s right. A dragon. The dragon hunted by Dyoden and Neo Seoul’s Awakened working together. Without that dragon’s corpse, the Neo Seoul of today would never have existed.”
Countless emotions passed through Jin Geumho’s eyes as he looked at the dragon’s corpse.
Even now, numerous workers were attached to it, peeling away its scales and cutting through its bones.
Most of the blood and muscles had already been harvested and little remained.
Only the scales and bones still preserved its form, but at this rate, even those traces would soon disappear.
Jin Geumho said,
“Neo Seoul has been able to develop this far because of that dragon. By researching its blood, muscles, bones, scales, and marrow, we were able to advance Neo Seoul to this extent.”
“So Neo Seoul’s anti-magic power really does come from that dragon’s corpse.”
“You knew?”
“I heard it from Dyoden.”
“You crossed paths with him?”
“He took me in and helped build my foundation.”
“I see!”
Jin Geumho nodded.
During the seven years Zeon had been away from Neo Seoul, he knew nothing about what had happened to him.
How he had acquired his current abilities, or how he had survived.
No matter how powerful an Awakened was, surviving alone in a desert filled with demonic beasts was nearly impossible in the beginning due to a lack of experience.
That was true even for Zeon, a Sand Mage.
Jin Geumho had assumed there must have been someone helping him, but even he had never imagined that person would be Dyoden.
The Dyoden he knew was a violent lone wolf with little patience.
He was not someone who would protect and nurture another person like a babysitter.
The thought of Dyoden raising someone while traveling with them was unimaginable.
That was why Jin Geumho had never even considered the possibility that Zeon had ties to Dyoden.
“What became of Dyoden?”
“He fulfilled his wish and passed away.”
“Don’t tell me he killed the dragon?”
“He died in the explosion together with it.”
“They perished together?”
“Yes.”
“Then there’s no dragon corpse left.”
“No.”
“Haa...”
Jin Geumho let out a sigh.
It was because the dragon’s corpse was such a loss.
The dismantling operation beneath Neo Seoul alone was proof enough that a dragon’s corpse was nothing less than a treasure.
The secrets and possibilities contained within the strongest lifeform on the surface were virtually limitless.
Even the corpse of a young dragon had allowed Neo Seoul to develop this much.
If they possessed the corpse of a fully grown adult dragon, their progress would be even more terrifying.
But obtaining the corpse of an adult dragon was nearly impossible.
Even the dragon currently being dismantled had only been hunted because it was young and let its guard down. If it had been fully prepared or more cunning, they would never have caught it.
For the past hundred years, Neo Seoul had continuously harvested materials from the dragon’s corpse.
And now, they could see the end approaching.
Advances in technology over the past year had dramatically increased extraction speed compared to before.
Even Jin Geumho had not expected it to proceed this quickly.
“So that’s why Neo Seoul’s anti-magic power has weakened recently.”
“You knew that too? That’s right. Neo Seoul’s anti-magic power has now fallen to a dangerous level.”
“Even so, do you intend to completely dismantle the dragon’s corpse? Once even that is gone, Neo Seoul’s anti-magic power will disappear entirely.”
“I know.”
“You still intend to continue.”
“We only need to complete Heavenly Punishment. If we can launch Heavenly Punishment into space, we won’t need to rely on barriers to protect Neo Seoul.”
Jin Geumho spoke stubbornly.
No matter what Zeon said, he had no intention of abandoning Heavenly Punishment.
To gain something, one had to give up something of equal value.
To obtain the greatest offensive power, one had to sacrifice defensive power of the same level.
If all he wanted was to remain comfortably within Neo Seoul, there would have been no need to take such a gamble.
As long as the anti-magic power remained, no demonic beast could approach.
The problem was that humanity’s territory would then remain confined to Neo Seoul.
In fact, before the portals were installed, Neo Seoul’s sphere of influence extended only to nearby areas and the magic stone mines.
Even reaching the mines required risking one’s life because the desert was so dangerous.
Even Awakened had to risk their lives.
For ordinary people, venturing into the desert was unthinkable.
Jin Geumho wanted to change that reality.
“If you want dramatic change, you have to accept risk. A safe wall protects your immediate safety, but it also has the drawback of limiting humanity’s territory to this place. We may prosper safely for now, but someday we’ll reach our limit. And what happens when Neo Seoul reaches its limit? Food, housing, clothing—everything will become scarce.”
Though he was speaking of the future, these were things Jin Geumho had already experienced.
The early days of Neo Seoul.
He still vividly remembered what happened when Neo Seoul first began to take shape after the Great Cataclysm.
He still remembered people eating other people because there was no food, looting homes because there was nowhere to live, and stripping clothes from corpses because they had nothing to wear.
Fortunately, stability had eventually been restored through Jin Geumho’s desperate efforts.
But by then, many had already died.
At that time, Jin Geumho realized something.
If they simply relied on anti-magic power and left Neo Seoul as it was, the same thing would happen again someday.
Fortunately, thanks to Zeon, the areas humanity could expand into had increased.
But humanity could not leave its fate in Zeon’s hands forever.
That was why, even during the war against the other races of Elharun, he had tried not to rely too heavily on Zeon’s help.
And it was also why he was abandoning anti-magic power in favor of creating Heavenly Punishment.
Zeon asked him,
“Do you really believe all those problems can be solved if Heavenly Punishment is successfully launched?”
“Yes.”
“And what if you fail?”
“That will never happen. I’ll mobilize everything I have, and all of Neo Seoul’s resources. If we truly can’t do it ourselves, I’ll even get down on my knees and beg you for help.”
“You say that so easily right to my face.”
“I already told you. I’ve staked everything I have, and everything Neo Seoul has, on this. If it means making Heavenly Punishment a success, I can discard my pride as many times as necessary. What matters to me is ensuring the safety of Neo Seoul and humanity by successfully launching Heavenly Punishment.”
“Hoo... Before that, we need to solve the problem right in front of us.”
“What do you mean?”
“The forest of Neo Seoul is dying. I think it’s connected to the decline of the anti-magic power.”
Zeon’s gaze rose toward the ceiling of the cavern.
Thin tree roots protruded through the thick concrete.
They were undoubtedly roots from the trees he had seen in the forest.
But the roots had dried up completely and turned pure white.
Jin Geumho’s eyes naturally followed Zeon’s gaze to the roots.
“Is that because of this as well?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, I don’t think we have much time left.”
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