< 73. The Hell of Distrust (1) >
Jenkins is a dragon who values the worth of trust highly.
He believes that a world where everyone distrusts and betrays one another will ultimately become hell.
This belief is reflected in his management style, with Jenkins being known for promising his employees high levels of freedom and welfare benefits. He highly valued the goodwill and capabilities of his subordinates, trusting that they would not betray him for selfish desires.
Thus, his anger was deeper and more intense than ever before.
= Everyone is here. =
In Jenkins' lair.
Seven staff members from the executive office, who rarely visited this place, had been summoned.
These were his closest aides, a group privy to classified information that others could not handle. They were also the ones who had assisted with makeup and filming when Ha-eun's spirit was possessed by an orc.
All of them looked uneasy.
The interior, designed to accommodate the massive form of a great dragon, was excessively spacious. The vastness of the space made them feel like mere specks of cosmic dust and instilled a sense of dread.
But the reason for their trembling was something else.
For unnecessary discord and rigidity, the Red Dragon, who almost never exposed his main body, was now revealing his enormous form and looking down upon them.
An overwhelming and awe-inspiring sight.
= I assume you know why I've gathered you here. =
A heavy anger rippled in the dragon's eyes.
= Recently, an important witness I was protecting was abducted. =
From Jenkins' massive form, a dragon's aura was emanating. Those who had never experienced this energy directly felt their knees weaken and collapsed.
= Yes, I know. Normally, I would have punished only the traitor, rather than calling all of you. But this time, I've had a change of heart. =
Six pairs of eyes in the great dragon's gaze sparked with flames.
= It's all because of you, Hyeon-kyu. =
The named secretary screamed.
"Please save me! I made a mistake! Please! Chairman!"
As the dragon gestured, the named human secretary was lifted into the air.
The vertical flight continued until the secretary's face was level with the dragon's. The remaining aides felt the screams fading quickly. When the secretary was fixed at an altitude that appeared as a small dot on the ground, he could no longer breathe properly.
On the ground, twelve terrified eyes stared, and from high above, another twelve sharp, needle-like eyes scrutinized him.
= Thanks to you, I've come to a realization. =
A self-reflective mental wave followed.
= I too made efforts to win over Changsun's subordinates. The result? Embarrassingly, I managed to secure only one cook. The senior executives who closely served her never came over. But what about the opposite case? =
High-ranking individuals serving Changsun did not dare betray her.
In contrast, Jenkins' closest aides had betrayed him.
The Elder Dragon pondered the cause and reached a conclusion through self-reflection.
= There is a reason why Changsun's subordinates did not betray her while mine did. It's simple. The more one saw the reality of that woman and the more contact they had with her, the more they were terrified of Changsun. =
They were so scared that they couldn't even imagine betraying her. They knew a fate worse than death awaited them. They had seen how she treated her subordinates.
What about Jenkins?
= I have made every effort to consider your convenience and work in mutual respect. =
The fairies who had less experience facing him trembled at the thought of being devoured when the dragon lair was raided, but the elves, his closest aides, did not worry about such things. They trusted their boss's character.
In the end, the dragon, who had degenerated into a mere pretense of a noble character, said:
= That doesn't mean I'm foolish enough to forgive traitors. I am not that foolish. The problem was that the fear directed at me was not deep enough. The desires ignited by temptation... spread and eventually overcame the fear. =
Absolute fear that would prevent any attempt at betrayal, overwhelming awe that was absent from the traitor's mind.
= I believe that was the decisive difference. =
The mental wave conveyed the inside story from investigating Changsun's lair.
= Were the immortals' lifespans so coveted? Was the human lifespan insufficient? =
The reason why the traitor risked retaliation from the great dragon.
Changsun had made an offer. If the traitor cooperated, she would extract the man's soul from his human body and transplant it into an immortal.
Since 1945, humanity had discovered beings that lived much longer than themselves. If they had remained unaware, they might not have felt the jealousy and envy. But knowing, they envied and were envious, but could do nothing. Extending the lifespan of their descendants by mixing blood with races like elves was all they could achieve.
However, Changsun's offer stimulated the insatiable inferiority complex and desires of humans.
The promise to help live several tens or even hundreds of times longer.
She even showed proof that she had such the capability.
= Did Changsun truly… did that psychopath really make such an 'investment'? For those she despises? How foolish. Truly… pathetically foolish. =
The traitor mumbled weakly.
"P-please… save me…!"
= Thanks to this, I have realized. Changsun's way of handling subordinates isn't necessarily right. But it seems my approach hasn't been flawless either. =
Tears of despair flowed from the secretary's eyes.
= When considering Changsun's and my goals as polar opposites, the wisest path seems to follow the dialectic of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, doesn't it? =
"Please…!"
= If it were her, she would have tortured you for hundreds or thousands of years and made your relatives suffer terribly. I won't go that far. =
The dragon gestured again.
That was the last scene the traitor saw.
Crack!
Crunch!
Broken bone fragments, bile, brain matter, and clumps of blood fell like a disturbing shower. Observing this, the dragon appealed to the surviving secretaries.
= So that our relationship can remain as it is now. =
He asked politely.
= And to ensure that the results of synthesis do not lean too far towards anti-thesis… to help me not develop a deeper interest in Changsun's methods. =
The secretaries swore their loyalty in voices close to screams.
In 1945.
When the committee contacted the UN and the existence of aliens and spirits was proven.
Psychologists, scientists, sociologists, politicians, and even religious figures on Earth predicted this: that traditional religions on Earth would rapidly decline and eventually disappear.
To conclude, that prediction was only half correct.
Even after the scientific and magical methods proved that the afterlife and the mechanism of souls described in their religions were entirely different from reality, most of Earth's religions managed to persist.
The secret was simple. The clergy of each religion had incorporated all the new knowledge and unprecedented miracles that humanity had acquired into their doctrines.
Reflecting on it, similar phenomena existed even before 1945. As science advanced, religious figures always had to explain many things.
For example, there were instances where the belief that "the Earth is a giant turtle carrying an elephant on a platter" was defended not as a literal truth but as a symbolic metaphor for human spirituality. Similarly, the interpretation that "the sun, not the Earth, moves" was argued to be a perspective-based expression rather than a literal statement, showing how various religions adapted their beliefs.
Moreover, as time passed, there was a development that religious figures might have considered a good omen.
Just as in other worlds, the concentration of mana in the atmosphere increased, leading to the emergence of individuals manifesting extraordinary powers under the name of divine power.
There was one condition for these abilities to manifest, albeit with low probability:
The person must possess deep faith.
An important point to note here was that the specific object of faith was not specified.
In other words, the form and type of religion were irrelevant to experiencing divine power. As long as one was devout.
The proof of miracles that could only be achieved through faith became a reason for some to delve even deeper into their religions. As a result, although the overall number of religious adherents decreased compared to before 1945, the unity and effectiveness of the remaining religious followers became even stronger.
"Chairman, here is the list of clergy who responded to the request."
In the executive meeting room of Jenkins Company.
Located on the second-highest floor of the tower, Jenkins, Min-jun, and Blair were having a discussion. As the elf handed over the documents with a more tense demeanor than usual, the great dragon reviewed them with the agent.
"Hmmm. Three people. One priest from the Roman Catholic Church, one mobed from Zoroastrianism. And…"
The dragon, polymorphed as a human, widened his eyes.
"Dreamland? What kind of religion is this?"
The name evoked thoughts of a theme park rather than a religion. Blair explained.
"It's a religion rapidly gaining followers centered around Germany."
It turned out to be one of the modern style new religions that had codified a multidimensional worldview.
According to their doctrine, all dimensions are merely dreams of transcendental beings. When each of them awakens, dimensions are destroyed, and when they fall back asleep, new dimensions are created.
'These nihilistic ideas are quite popular these days.'
While Min-jun accepted this explanation, Jenkins still looked puzzled.
"Is divine power confirmed?"
"Yes, they are among the top experts in exorcism ceremonies worldwide."
Jenkins had invited these clergy because their abilities, which dragons could not manifest even if they died and revived, and which were impossible for dark sorcerer Min-jun, were needed.
They intended to safely guide the spirits of Changsun and Ryuhou to the spirit world.
Jenkins asked Min-jun:
"There are no more memories to extract, right?"
Min-jun nodded. As Blair was present, he spoke respectfully.
"My abilities may not match top-class necromancers, but from my experience, if the spirits are in that state, there's nothing more to be extracted. If you're still unsure, I could summon a proper necromancer from another dimension…"
The dragon shook his head.
"No, I trust you."
In the meantime, Min-jun had sifted through Changsun's memories as a spirit and collected clues about Kibite, who had communicated with her.
Concluding that there was no longer a reason to hold onto the two souls, Jenkins planned to send them to the spirit world.
Rather than leaving the dragon's spirit to wander the afterlife, paying a high price to send them to the other side was a way for the dragon to fulfill his duty and preserve his race's dignity.
"I suggested advancing the dragon council meeting this time."
"Is that so?"
"Given the seriousness of the situation, I thought it was necessary to mention it. I also plan to share the information you've discovered from that place…"
At that moment, Blair hesitantly interjected.
"Uh, Chairman."
Since the incident in the lair a few days ago, Blair's manner and demeanor had noticeably changed.
"In fact, I just received a message from the Lord's office…"
Blair's roundabout explanation could be summarized as follows:
Jenkins' request was rejected.
The great dragon was taken aback.
"What? Why?!"
"The Lord has reportedly taken an unannounced mating leave. He left without appointing an acting chairperson for the next dragon council meeting, so the schedule cannot be adjusted as it stands…"
The red dragon exclaimed in disbelief.
"Mating leave? That crazy old man really… Does he lay eggs? Why is he on leave?!"
Jenkins, furious, attempted to contact the Dragon Lord directly through magical communication. Meanwhile, Min-jun whispered to the elf.
"He lays eggs? Did he get married again?"
It was just a few years ago that Min-jun had been invited to the dragon lord's twenty-sixth divorce celebration party. Since then, he hadn't received any wedding invitations.
Blair, with a reddened face today, responded to Min-jun.
"This time, he decided to cohabit without a marriage vow and only lay eggs."
"Why?"
"Even though the dragon's marriage contracts were mutually agreed upon and terminated, repeating them so many times has started to take a toll on his body…"
When the Dragon Lord did not respond to the magical communication, a dangerous aura emanated from Jenkins' eyes.
"How much of a fool do you think I am?!"
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Dragon's Fury.
Min-jun, startled, gestured to the elf.
"Chairman! The Fury!"
While it was fine for Jenkins to face it directly, Min-jun was concerned about Blair.
However…
'What's going on with his expression?'
At that moment, Min-jun noticed Blair's peculiar expression.
"?!"
Min-jun hurriedly turned his head again.
The other two, except for Jenkins, witnessed the scene outside the window on the 108th floor.
A black shadow was falling outside the window.
Min-jun reflexively jumped and, as he checked outside the window, the elf screamed a beat later.
"Eek!"
It seemed the scream was from what they had just seen rather than from the Fury.
Min-jun saw a few feathers fluttering at his eye level and several people falling dozens of floors below. Without further hesitation, he cast a spell.
Levitation.
The falling individuals began to float in the air as if caught by an invisible hand. They were all unconscious.
"Phew, we avoided an accident."
The agent sighed in relief.
He then examined the appearance of those below. Despite the weather being more suitable for early summer than late spring, everyone was wearing autumn jackets. Large holes in their backs rendered the thermal function of the jackets useless.
And extending from their bodies were two pairs of wings resembling those of birds.
The wind blew, and pure white feathers fluttered. As their bodies turned, their faces revealed, showing a beautiful appearance.
From just that, it might have been mistaken for angels revered in certain religions falling from the sky and being rescued.
If not for the wipers and glass cleaner bottles floating around with them due to the spell.
< 73. The Hell of Distrust (1) > End