< 86. Hell of Distrust (14) >
"Night has fallen, Father."
Joachim turned his gaze from the darkened window. The severed head of the alien placed on the table slowly blinked its eyes.
"Will you now spread nightmares across this city?"
=...=
The decapitated head silently stared at its adopted son.
"Yes, I'm aware. Was it since we left Frankfurt? Strange incidents have been happening in every city we stay in. People who dream nightmares and then commit murder."
He emphasized a particular word.
"That's right. They specifically dreamt 'nightmares.' This must be related to the miracle of your resurrection, right?"
Then, as if reciting a prayer, he murmured, "As they are submerged in their happiest dreams, let them be stained by nightmares. So their sleep will become shallow."
The archbishop still did not respond.
"You still have no intention of speaking, I see."
But he also didn't deny it.
"Please, as you have done until now, spread your miracles across this city as well."
=Are you trying to lure Kaliether here?=
Joachim didn't hide his intentions.
"Yes. This is practically the front yard of her lair. Even if she's away right now, if something like this happens near her child's location, she'll have no choice but to drop everything and return."
=You could incur the wrath of a dragon.=
"Don't you understand how dragons think by now? The reason she's been so passionately investigating this case isn't because innocent lives were lost. After all, it's only a few hundred non-dragon lives."
Despite this, there was a reason Kaliether was deeply interested.
"She was shocked by the mere fact that an unknown power appeared within her domain. But once its nature is revealed? Power with uncertainty removed becomes a useful tool from that moment on. Kaliether will surely take an interest in 'us.'"
Joachim's goal wasn't simply to request protection under the sponsorship agreement with the church. It was to use this opportunity to renegotiate the contract with the dragon into a stronger form.
The priest looked at his adoptive father.
"Kaliether will protect us. The inquisitors won't be able to take you away."
Minjun looked out the window. The chaotic day in Bremerhaven had finally come to an end. The red glow had completely faded from the night sky, leaving only a dark blue canvas.
"The number of people on the streets has decreased to a manageable level. Shall we head out?"
At that moment, his phone rang. The caller was Claire. Instead of using a message spell, her boss had sent her as a messenger from the other side of the world. After checking the message, Minjun clicked his tongue.
The Committee has finally approved the inquisitors' descent to Earth. It happened about three hours ago. It took some time to gather the information since Kaliether is away. They've probably arrived at the Frankfurt terminal by now.
Their first move after crossing into this world would be to visit the Earth parish.
So, would the bishop that Minjun interrogated hand over all the information to them?
'He will. Fearing the voices of dissent, he'll probably leak it secretly. His goal is to quickly hand over the 'head,' resolve the conflict, and then renegotiate with the main body.'
This meant they didn't have much time before they arrived.
'I need to hurry.'
At that moment.
The convicts, having reached a consensus, were keeping watch on Minjun's hotel from a distance.
"Hey! I see something!"
One of the convicts, who had been watching with white flames in his eyes, noticed something unusual. He was monitoring the changes in the spirit realm overlapping with the hotel room in the real world.
"It's a teleportation spell. He's finally making a move."
Everyone observed Minjun's actions with tense anticipation. They saw him casting a spell.
Then, it happened.
Flash!
"What the?!"
A violent storm erupted in the dimensional landscape. The fluorescent flames, which had been swelling gently, suddenly exploded. Minjun had done this intentionally. Instead of completing the teleportation smoothly, he scraped at the magic forcefully, like striking a metal blade against a stone.
Naturally, sparks flew. To a wizard observing the spirit realm, it was like witnessing a lightning strike right in front of them. The violent burst of colors flooded the room. The flash was enough to damage the observer's spiritual sight.
A scream.
"Aaagh! My eyes!"
After the afterimages of various colors had swept away, the convict found the hotel room empty.
"He teleported!"
"Track him!"
Everyone turned to Asif-1,319,552. He was the one who had confidently said he could track Minjun's teleportation anywhere unless he was a dragon, by observing the spirit realm.
However...
"...Damn it! It's clean, no trace!"
Of course, curses and sneers followed.
The convict mumbled in confusion.
"This shouldn't be happening... Does he have some unique ability we don't know about?"
He couldn't guess that the secret was simply years of accumulated experience and concentration.
"Find him!"
The convicts immediately dispersed and began searching the city. None of them thought to dive underwater and search there. Thanks to this, Cassie swam away quietly to the ocean floor, unnoticed. It wasn't until she had disappeared that the pursuers found traces. But they weren't Cassie's.
There was a problem, though.
"The traces split into two different directions."
Two trails of movement, both shrouded in concealment spells.
"Why didn't he just teleport again?"
The reason for leaving traces was quickly guessed.
"That arrogant bastard...!"
The convict with the shortest identification number ground his teeth.
It was a challenge: catch me if you can. The reason for splitting into two was to divide the pursuers' forces.
But on the other hand, this was also a positive sign. No matter how strong Asif-666 was, it meant he couldn't handle this many people all at once.
"Even so, it's a shallow trick."
He quickly gave orders.
"Since he's playing it this way, we're changing the plan."
Instead of waiting for Asif-666 to go after Joachim, they would strike him first and force him to spill the information.
He also suggested capturing hostages at the same time, splitting the convicts into two groups to cover both trails. Since it was impossible to tell which was the real one, they would split evenly.
It didn't matter even if both were decoys. They could be used as hostages. However, it didn't seem likely that both were decoys.
'Knowing his character, he wouldn't set both of his companions as decoys and run off alone. He's probably hidden one with teleportation and is using the other as bait. The new face who appeared recently is likely the decoy, not the long-time secretary. It means they're capable enough to buy time while fleeing.'
"Alright, spread out! Once you capture the decoy, subdue them quickly and regroup with the other team."
In his view, Asif-666's plan wasn't particularly clever.
How long would it take for the team chasing the decoy to finish their task? At most, five minutes?
After subduing the target, they could immediately return to the team pursuing Asif-666, so splitting their forces didn't actually weaken them.
'He underestimated us.'
The traces led in two different directions—one to the east, the other to the west.
The convicts pursuing the western trail soon spotted a figure flying through the air, concealed by an invisibility spell.
Ordinary people wouldn't have noticed something passing through the night sky, but these were convicts. Though they couldn't see its exact form, they were certain that something was flying through the air, tearing through the atmosphere.
"Damn, this must be the decoy."
The wind and the remnants of the spirit realm hinted at it. The flight speed was noticeably slowing down. The trajectory was also slightly wobbling, not forming a straight line.
"There's no way Asif-666 would get tired so soon. This must be a weaker ability user than expected. Attack! Be careful not to kill them!"
The convicts unleashed their spells in unison. Most of them were designed to break through the target's invisibility and protective barriers.
Whether it was due to measures taken by Asif-666 or not, the barrier, which had been stubbornly holding up, eventually shattered under the barrage of attacks. The sound of something solid breaking was followed by the collapse of the concealment spell.
And as soon as the pursued target appeared in the night air...
"...An elephant?"
They saw something they hadn't anticipated.
A massive elephant was flying through the sky. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say it was slowly falling.
"No, that's not an elephant. That's...!"
Just as someone was about to continue speaking—
Boom!
Rumble!
The target, who had been flying over the forest outside the city, finally crashed to the ground. It rolled, pushing aside the earth like a bulldozer, uprooting trees in its path.
=Aaagh! Ouch, ouch, ouch!=
The convicts who had followed quickly descended to the ground. They watched as the massive figure, now covered in dirt, twisted its body and struggled to stand up.
And someone, in disbelief, spoke.
"No way."
In a voice unsure if it was right to label what they saw with that word.
"...A dragon?!"
There were many characteristics of a dragon: the long neck, the unique scales, the horns, wings, and tail. Yet, the reason the pursuers first thought of a hippo or an elephant was simple.
"Where in the world would you find a dragon that fat?!"
From behind, the broad, massive backside didn't resemble that of a dragon at all.
"But it is a real dragon!"
There were no signs of polymorphing. Eyes filled with tension focused on the creature. The convicts were confused. They were chasing a decoy sent by Asif-666, so why was there a dragon?
Rumble!
As the dragon, likely boasting the highest body fat percentage in the entire dimensional plane, rose to its feet, the convicts froze for another reason.
'What the hell, who is that?!'
People often feel fear in the face of the unknown, but what the convicts felt was more than that.
They exchanged telepathic messages quickly. Who is that? Does anyone know? I have no idea!
For convicts assigned to Earth, memorizing the details of all dragons residing on the planet was a basic requirement. Yet, this dragon before them was a stranger. As far as they knew, no such dragon existed on Earth.
So, what kind of dragon was unknown even to the convicts?
It was a dragon that had never attended a Dragon Council meeting—a dragon that was so fiercely protected by its race that even its photo hadn't been released, a dragon considered extremely delicate or flawed by their standards.
A dragon that had never left its parents' lair, known only by its birth, but no one knew what it looked like.
Such dragons are called hatchlings.
'A hatchling? Then the parent must be...'
There was no need to think hard. Considering whose territory this was...
'It's Kaliether's hatchling!'
The dragon before them didn't display the typical traits of a sea dragon like Kaliether, but if it took after its father more, it wasn't so surprising. However, there was a bigger issue with this dragon's appearance than whether it was a sea dragon or a fire dragon.
A dragon covered in layers of fat? There was no such dragon in existence. It wasn't normal. Yet, if such a creature did exist...
The convicts reached this conclusion in their minds:
"Kaliether must have given birth to a deformed child!"
Dragons, immune to diseases and possessing the strongest bodies among all species, do have a weakness.
That weakness is the extremely low probability of giving birth to a mutant. Being creatures of immense pride, dragons tend to confine such offspring within their lairs, treating them as hatchlings and not revealing them to the outside world, even after they reach a certain age.
Of course, if the convicts had more knowledge, they would realize that this was not a deformity but rather pure fat, and that the dragon didn't need the same level of protection as a hatchling due to any disability. Unfortunately, none of them were experts.
"Gasp!"
Fear spread through the air. Someone even began chattering their teeth in terror, as the dragon, looking down at its foreleg, muttered telepathically.
"Ah, damn it... I'm hurt?"
The dragon was staring at a loose scale that had been ripped off and was dangling. As it looked at the injury, it murmured.
"...Should I call Mom?"
"W-wait a moment!"
The convicts felt the world around them turn dark.
According to the Dragonic Code, dragons are obligated to seek revenge on anyone who harms them without just cause. And if the victim is a hatchling, dragons become particularly irritable and paranoid, often reacting with extreme violence.
Would an enraged Kaliether care about something as trivial as 'property damage'? Especially when it was their side that struck first?
If they tried to claim self-defense, the Council would likely accept some compensation and then abandon the convicts to avoid further conflict with the dragon.
"Hold on, l-let's talk first!"
They realized that this situation was a trap laid by Asif-666.
"What a terrifying individual. To set a trap using a hatchling, knowing they might face the wrath of an ancient dragon if anything went wrong! How did he even manage to lure it out of the lair?"
As the dragon looked at the convicts, who were now visibly anxious, it responded.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Ha Eunsung was inwardly surprised as the situation unfolded just as the agent had predicted. It was, of course, Minjun who had pulled off the scale. For the first time, Ha Eunsung realized that dragons could shed tears, not just when yawning, but from pain as well.
"Maybe I'm a natural at acting? They're completely falling for it."
Meanwhile, the convicts visibly relaxed when they saw that Ha Eunsung was willing to engage in conversation. They also noted that the dragon's demeanor toward non-dragon species was uncharacteristically clumsy for a dragon.
"Right. Mutants often have mental disabilities too. This hatchling must be intellectually deficient. If we handle this carefully, we might just get through this."
< 86. Hell of Distrust (14) > End.