# Chapter 22
Ion recalled Levi’s collarbone that had been drenched in blood. Though it was hard to see clearly because of the blood, there was definitely something solid inside.
‘So that’s the core…’
He knew Levi wasn’t an ordinary person, but this was certainly different from legendary concepts like immortality or eternal youth.
Whether it’s the head, neck, or heart, no matter which vital point of a human is cut, he doesn’t die.
Instead, he says he’ll die if his “core” is destroyed.
The location is the hollow spot in the center where the collarbones meet.
Ion traced his own collarbone area as if gauging the position of Levi’s core. Then he clenched his fist tightly.
‘There must be a way.’
He at least knew that something strange was happening to Levi.
The increasing sleep, worsening complexion, the way he couldn’t distinguish friend from foe and instinctively tried to kill people around him, and Levi’s eyes that seemed to have reached their limit.
‘That guy must know.’
Such symptoms couldn’t have suddenly appeared in Levi like this. Though not exactly the same, similar incidents must have occurred in the past, and whether before or after Levi lost his memories, Hest, who had been in contact with him, would obviously know something.
‘I don’t like it, but I really need Hest.’
He was too anxious to wait vaguely, fearing that what happened today might occur again.
Ion ran his hand over his neck. Until just a few minutes ago, it had been sore enough to tell it was bruised, but thanks to his self-healing ability, it was fine now.
This was his first experience having his neck strangled. It was scarier and more painful than he had thought.
But what was even more frightening was Levi’s desperate expression when he realized what he had done.
For Levi’s sake, he had to find a solution. Why had he suddenly entered such a state, and why had he asked to have his core destroyed instead of trying to find a solution?
No matter how much he thought about it, there was no answer he could come up with right now.
‘I should go back and ask to call Hest first.’
Ion straightened his crouched legs and stood up. By then, unlike when Levi had attacked him, his mind had become sufficiently calm.
Ion turned around to retrace his steps.
Rustle—
At the sound coming from somewhere, Ion quickly turned his head. Although the forest had begun to flourish, he hadn’t yet found traces of animals entering. He had been disappointed about that, so could that sound be from an animal or bird?
With expectant eyes, he carefully looked in the direction of the sound. Beyond it, the thorny trees without leaves were still all black, and between the dreary soil, a few sprouts were vigorously rising. Since the moisture imbued with Ion’s power was gradually spreading through the ground, it was obvious that area would also become surprisingly green soon.
But for now, it was a dark area where visibility was poor.
Crackle— Rustle—
Again, the sound of stepping on fallen leaves came from the darkness. Judging by the weight of the sound, it seemed to be an animal of considerable size, making him wonder if it might be a deer.
‘A deer would be nice too. Even a chubby rabbit would be good.’
Ion kept sparkling his eyes, anticipating the animal that would reveal itself from the darkness.
And the moment he spotted a silhouette rippling in the darkness.
Ion’s face instantly hardened, and without the slightest hesitation, he turned his body and ran.
“There he is!”
The booming voice made it feel like the hair all over his body stood on end.
He ran without looking back. There wasn’t even time to check how many there were, what kind of people they were, or what weapons they were carrying.
‘Stay calm. Stay calm, Ion.’
He kept repeating in his mind to avoid being consumed by confusion and fear.
Ion, who had been heading in a straight line, suddenly changed direction and skillfully dashed through the winding thorny trees.
‘I need to go in a different direction from the tent.’
Levi’s condition is not good at all. Not only does he suddenly fall asleep as if collapsing, but he also has a deep wound on his collarbone to show the core. These people might show mercy to Ion himself since he has value to them, but they wouldn’t be so kind to Levi. If Levi were to collapse during a fight, they would immediately cut his neck. If the core gets damaged, it would be a disaster.
Moreover, involving Levi would mean he would “kill” again.
‘No. I don’t want Levi to… kill anyone anymore.’
It might be a selfish thought, but Ion didn’t want the pure Levi to kill others.
He had hoped that someday they would leave this forest together and live together outside under bright sunlight. To do that, he had to avoid creating situations where someone would point a finger at Levi and call him a “murderer,” like that young girl from the shantytown.
Whoosh—!
Ion turned his head at the sound of wind being cut from somewhere. Seeing a greatsword flying towards his legs, he was startled and threw himself to the side. The greatsword, which narrowly missed Ion, embedded nearly halfway into a thorny tree near him.
If he hadn’t dodged, both his legs would have been cut in half.
Ion clenched his teeth as he imagined his legs being cut off and got up from his position.
As he was about to push off the ground again and go around the thorny tree in front of him.
“Huk—!”
A man’s hand that suddenly appeared from behind the thorny tree violently grabbed Ion’s neck. The impact to his neck and the sudden blockage of breath made his vision flicker intensely.
“Kid, don’t be a nuisance.”
The low voice, which sounded like a growl, sent a chill down his spine. At the same time, the pressure on his neck became much stronger. With the intense pain as if his neck was being broken entirely, his vision suddenly darkened. As strength drained from his body, his consciousness became distant.
“Oh my.”
The sound of the man clicking his tongue reached Ion’s muffled ears. Then his body dropped down with a thud.
“Ugh, cough! Cough! Keuheuk…!”
Thanks to the sudden opening of his airway, his consciousness, which had almost flown far away, barely found its place. But because he had regained consciousness, he had to fully feel the tremendous pain in his neck.
Ion wrapped his neck with both hands, curled up his body, and kept coughing roughly. It was a terrible pain that couldn’t be compared to when Levi had strangled him. Moreover, more than the fear of not being able to breathe, the fear that he almost died from his neck breaking made his body tremble.
Still, Ion maintained his composure until then.
‘There’s still some distance between us and the rest of the gang.’
The man in front of him must have been the fastest among the group despite his rare large build. The others still seemed to be at some distance, so if he ran away immediately, he might somehow be able to escape.
Not knowing Ion’s thoughts, the large man crouched in front of him and warned:
“Stay still. Then you won’t get hurt anymore.”
“How… ugh, how can I believe that…?”
As Ion responded while looking up, the corners of the man’s eyes visible above his mask formed a small arc.
“Is there anything to believe or not? What’s certain is that the more you resist, the more we’ll have to make you behave, which means we’ll have no choice but to rough you up a bit.”
“Whew… Are all of your people so… violent?”
The man’s eyes lit up as he looked down at Ion, who was talking back without backing down.
“You’re quite talkative. I thought you’d cry and beg to be saved or released.”
Ion inwardly snickered.
If it had been him when he first entered this forest ready to die, he would have. Having lost his mother, lost his place to stay, and even lost his trust in people, back then, he could do nothing but vaguely plead when caught by thugs.
But now it was different from then.
‘I’ll make sure Levi doesn’t get involved.’
Ion, whose breathing had considerably returned, smiled smugly as he placed both hands on the ground.
“I don’t need it, you know?”
And with that, he grabbed a handful of soil and threw it towards the man’s eyes. In the moment the man staggered, closing his eyes tightly at the sudden action, Ion pushed off the ground and ran.
No, he tried to run.
“You just never let yourself get caught quietly, do you.”
Ion’s body, his ankle grabbed, floated in the air. His body fell with a thud, landing face down on the ground.
“Ugh!”
Not only his body but also his head hit the ground hard as he fell. The impact was so great that he momentarily heard a ringing sound, and a part of his head was torn, causing blood to flow immediately.
Right after.
The sound of something breaking somewhere in his body was heard.
“Aaaagh—!”
A scream burst out despite himself due to the extreme pain felt in his legs. Ion, who let out a painful, desperate scream, looked towards his legs while gasping for breath.
The man, who had somehow retrieved the greatsword embedded in the tree, had struck Ion’s knees with its blunt blade. The greatsword itself was so heavy that with the man adding considerable force in striking down, both of Ion’s legs were broken all too easily.
