Dimension #77-102 is a world that is difficult for inmates to understand.
When the inhabitants of that dimension declared an unilateral terminal lockdown without the committee's consent, many expected the situation to resolve itself soon.
Terminals are not like magical doors that are always open. They were, in essence, buildings equipped with necessary facilities like spaces for dimension travelers to go through procedures and dimension control systems.
Even if such buildings were closed, the core element of dimension travel is the jump ship controlled by the committee. This was the only remaining means after the dragon race promised the permanent cancellation of dimension travel commands.
Nevertheless, inmates anticipated that the highly advanced committee would be able to freely spy on Dimension #77-102 and coerce them into ending the unilateral lockdown.
But they did not do so.
Instead, they urged inmates to inspect the dimension, but attempting to land without guidance was akin to a suicide mission, so no one had undertaken that task until now.
'But surely the committee has a way.'
Even in the First Contact in 1945, when Earth had no terminals, the committee was able to thoroughly understand the situation on Earth.
Why was it possible then but not now? Why specifically Dimension #77-102?
More importantly, surely that dimension also owes the committee a debt of dalant—so why continue to neglect it without resorting to harsh measures?
Many inmates were curious, but no clues had emerged yet.
While pondering such thoughts, including his own speculations, Min-jun was approached by Jenkinson.
"They're said to be calling back their kin scattered across the dimension to their homeland."
"Really?"
It appeared that after one of the terminals in that dimension had been reactivated, a kind of reverse diaspora was underway.
Of course, only their own kind were allowed into the dimension, and other races, including those affiliated with the committee, were strictly barred.
"So they seem to have kept track of the overseas citizens."
"Well, it's puzzling why they didn't call them back and suddenly locked the doors."
Then Jenkinson brought up the alien Min-jun had killed.
In retrospect, it was indeed an ironic and tragic timing. If he had just waited a few more months without committing his crazed acts, the door to return to his homeland might have opened.
Min-jun thought, 'If I had held on just a bit longer, I might have survived.'
But he had no regrets or guilt. He merely felt a bitter taste.
"It's to be expected, but it seems that the news of the Archbishop's death has reached that dimension."
"Did they raise any issues? Did they ask how he died?"
"No, the cause of death was thoroughly concealed by the Dreamland Church."
What piqued the dragon's interest was something else.
"There is an organization in that dimension that serves as the headquarters for the Dreamland Church. Its name is… yes, 'Council of Doctrinal Defenders'—a religious assembly."
It seemed they had decided to canonize the deceased Archbishop as a saint.
They would recognize his death as martyrdom and honor his achievements by worshiping him in the future.
"What did they say about the cause of death? Did they forge it as if he was persecuted and burned at the stake?"
"No, it's not so much about how he died but rather about his great achievements while struggling alone in a remote dimension."
"Great achievements?"
"I didn't know either, but apparently, there are over 300,000 Dreamland believers on Earth."
Min-jun was genuinely surprised.
"Not 30,000, but 300,000?! That apocalyptic religion?"
"While there are hardly any believers in Korea, it's different abroad. Remember the Zoroastrian priest during the exorcism? There are more Dreamland believers than Earth's indigenous religions. Most are Balien and Goblins, though…"
"What in the world is going on?"
Min-jun clicked his tongue.
"Anyway, since he's being canonized, it seems there's an official request to return his body to his homeland. But as you know, the area below the neck has been cleaned up. So, the Earth diocesan official will have to return at least the head."
"Explaining why the area below the neck is missing will be quite a headache."
It seemed Joachim's plan to keep the embalmed head on Earth for a thousand years would be disrupted.
But that was a matter for Dreamland to worry about, not Min-jun.
"By the way."
Min-jun changed the subject.
"The magic circle test is complete."
Jenkinson's expression hardened. At the same time, he reinforced the barrier surrounding his office. The beautiful song of the Baliens outside abruptly ceased.
Despite thorough precautions, he asked cautiously.
"Are you finally going to extract the dalant from the soul?"
"Yes. I'll start it tomorrow."
Min-jun then got to the main point, looking directly at Jenkinson, who had transformed into a blond young man.
"So, you need to come tomorrow and help with the mana infusion."
"…"
The next day, Jenkinson had no choice but to follow Min-jun's instructions. He had to cancel all existing schedules.
As a result, guests who had flown in from the opposite side of the Earth and the Minister of Strategy and Finance of Korea had to urgently adjust their schedules, but Min-jun would never know about it.
Early in the morning, the dragon went to the basement of a colossal infernal construction, which had once been the Celestial Rare and now served as Jenkinson's third lair.
Since the extraction of dalant was a top secret that should not leak to the committee, no staff members were brought along. Given the recent situation with traitors being punished, Jenkinson, who was understandably on edge, summoned golems to diligently prepare the magic circle for operation.
Preparing alone was quite a cumbersome task for Jenkinson, who usually had several subordinates.
As soon as the Elder Dragon completed the pre-arrangements on time, Min-jun arrived, accompanied by the possessed young dragon.
Jenkinson, having returned to his original form, resonated his mental wave.
=Did you arrive? I've finished the mana infusion as instructed…=
Jenkinson's eyes widened as he turned his head.
What he was looking at was the young dragon that was waddling and following behind Min-jun.
Compared to Jenkinson, the dragon appeared as insignificant as a mini pig in front of a whale, awkwardly greeting him. At least they were familiar with each other.
=Ah… Hello?=
Jenkinson telepathically shouted, pointing at Ha-eun-seong.
=What's going on?! Why has that one gotten so fat? Wait, can a dragon even get that fat?=
Ha-eun-seong had explosively increased in size over the past month while being trapped in the basement.
This wasn't normal growth through molting. The dragon's skeleton remained the same, but fat had accumulated heavily, which was clear to Jenkinson.
However, Min-jun pretended not to notice and responded.
"Why are you asking me about the dragon?"
In reality, his memories were telling him otherwise.
It was undoubtedly difficult to fatten up a young dragon to that extent, but it was possible. If the caretaker devoted their utmost care and attention, treating the dragon like their own child, nothing was impossible.
In fact, Min-jun found a strange sense of calm in seeing the possessed dragon like that.
The dragons Min-jun had seen after becoming an inmate all had muscular bodies with almost zero body fat. He always viewed such dragons with indifference. Even when some colleagues praised dragons as 'such beautiful creatures,' Min-jun's reaction was typically, 'That?'
In contrast, these days Min-jun was very pleased with how Ha-eun-seong had turned out. 'Yes, this is how a dragon should be.'
Even without eating, just seeing this dragon made him feel full.
=Has… has my body become so fat?=
Ha-eun-seong replied dejectedly.
In truth, the culprit behind his explosive increase in body fat was Cash.
Min-jun had entrusted the management of Ha-eun-seong to his secretary, and one day, after receiving a text message with no prior explanation, Cash had no choice but to worry.
There's a dragon in the basement. Feed it.
Cash knew that dragons eating raw meat wasn't something out of the ordinary, not if they were absorbing refined mana like Jenkinson.
But just in case, Cash tried giving Ha-eun-seong normally cooked food. Most of it was massive quantities of leftover cooking from her frying pan practice.
=The food from that tall and pretty sister was so delicious that… I couldn't help it.=
Jenkinson, upon hearing this, spoke in disbelief.
=Does that make any sense? No matter how much the human soul is possessed, the body is still a dragon, right? Taste buds and brain cells are all dragon ones. How can cooked food be tasty?=
Min-jun clapped his hands to regain attention.
"Alright, the issue of overweight will be addressed once the owner of that body regains their senses. Let's just focus on our tasks."
Ha-eun-seong waddled towards the place Min-jun was guiding him.
And according to the gestures of the dragon and the inmate, the magic circle was activated.
Whoooosh!
Watching the scene, Min-jun swallowed dryly.
'Finally!'
Jenkinson, standing beside him, still gazed at Ha-eun-seong with mixed emotions. He thought that the sight of the dragon, plump as if it were a 'household beast,' also desecrated the dignity of dragons.
=Huh? Huh?!=
As the magic circle began to exert its power, Ha-eun-seong, standing in the center, felt a strange wave resonating inside him.
It was like the fullness he felt when he touched the light crystal at the Celestial Bank headquarters, but reversed—a sense of hollow loss spreading throughout his body.
And then.
Whoosh!
The soul, caught in some strong adhesion, was ejected out.
"Extracted!"
Min-jun exclaimed, immediately waving his hand in the air. Since the space was stabilized by the magic circle, it didn't immediately evaporate into the spirit realm, but Min-jun quickly took action just in case.
The barrier he created formed a hexagon, containing the dalant inside. Min-jun, with a face full of joy, reached out as the light crystal approached.
'Finally got it!'
In that moment of immense satisfaction.
The most beautiful radiance in the universe filled the lair. Even Jenkinson, who had been looking at the instruments, turned his gaze, slightly opening his mouth in awe at the dazzling light.
Min-jun, still fixated on the dalant, shouted out.
"Jenkinson, how much is it all together?!"
=Ah! Just a moment.=
Jenkinson, having regained his focus, turned his head.
Originally, the operators had a mountain of tasks because they had to manage everything through a golem without free will.
Jenkinson, who had been tapping on the dashboard through the summoned objects, showed signs of confusion.
=······Huh?=
"What's wrong? How much is it?"
Min-jun had already completed his own estimation. Even considering the dalant consumed by Ha-eun-seong, it shouldn't exceed 100,000 dalant. Given that the principal was 1,000,000 dalant, there should have been at least 900,000 dalant remaining.
Therefore, the telepathy from the dragon was like a thunderbolt to Min-jun.
=······Altogether, it's 720,000 dalant.=
"What?!"
Min-jun's eyes flashed with anger.
"Check again! That can't be right!"
=No, it's accurate, Min-jun. The extraction was perfectly completed, and there's no dalant left in the soul. The dalant you have now is... 720,000.=
Whoosh!
Min-jun glared at the fattened dragon, or more precisely, at the soul within it.
"What... did you do in just one month?!"
Ha-eun-seong, even though dead, felt a life-threatening danger from the gaze.
It seemed as if the agent was ready to strike at any moment.
=I didn't do anything! I only watched TV in that basement for a month...!=
"Then why has the dalant decreased by an additional 180,000?!"
Hisss!
Angry spirits gathered behind him.
=I swear, I did nothing! Please, believe me!=
But Min-jun's eyes were filled with distrust.
< 77. Hell of Distrust (5) > End