Chapter 136: There Are No Bad Dragons in the World (8)
"A player?"
Min-jun turned his head. Ha Eun-seong's gaze followed him.
There, a man sat with a blank stare and a faint smile on his face. Ha Eun-seong could immediately tell he was a dragon the moment he saw him. Given the situation, he decided to ask the question he had been holding off.
"Who exactly is that dragon, and why is his condition like this? And is it alright to discuss this with him nearby? Even if he can't hear my side, he should be able to hear the agent's story."
Min-jun replied calmly.
"Ah, it's fine."
The agent tapped his head with a finger, then picked up a frying pan.
Ha Eun-seong was shocked to see this.
"No way?!"
"Just as you thought."
Realizing how terrifying the frying pan, which he once revered as humanity's hope and a revolutionary tool for cuisine, could be, Ha Eun-seong wore a horrified expression.
"For now, go back to your body and hide within my barrier."
"…Alright."
After Ha Eun-seong vanished through the wall, Min-jun looked at Kentus.
"Now, listen carefully."
A short while later, Min-jun sensed two presences arriving slightly later than Ha Eun-seong and stepped outside the residence. Taking in the cityscape, he sighed.
'If you're going to make a move secretly, at least do it properly. These idiots never do anything right.'
The trap he had set up was clumsily done. It was a pity to be forced to fall for such childish traps.
"Min-jun?"
He heard a voice calling him. Min-jun turned his head to see a strange female elf among the crowd. It was the dragon Ha Eun-seong had seen.
At that moment, the magical energy around them surged like a storm.
'Hurry up. The others will notice and intervene.'
Despite the effort, the spell, which Min-jun saw as clumsy, activated slowly.
The elf's expression gleamed with joy. A face of achievement. The exhilaration of a predator that had caught its prey sparkled.
Boom!
At that moment, the polymorphed dragon's magic circle activated.
Light surrounded them from all sides.
The surrounding scenery changed in the blink of an eye.
The teleportation magic circle deposited Min-jun in a secluded forest. It was a considerable distance from the bustling center of New York City, in the state-owned forest of New Jersey.
'They went to some effort.'
The constant noise of car horns and construction work in New York City had vanished as if it were a lie, replaced by the silence of the forest.
Min-jun confirmed that there was no one else nearby. He knew full well what was happening, but he complied because both sides agreed on one thing: they did not want a commotion in the middle of New York.
He looked at the man and woman wearing elf and troll disguises.
Dragons each have their preferred bodies and appearances. However, these two did not match any faces Min-jun knew. They were clearly acting to mislead other observers.
Min-jun asked as if he knew nothing.
"Where did you come from?"
The dragon in the elf disguise smirked with a sardonic grin.
"Pretending to be calm, huh."
Min-jun's attempt to remain composed was seen as obstinance. The dragons could not even imagine how Min-jun was perceiving the situation.
"I assume no lengthy discussion is needed."
The man standing behind, Bogor, kept silent. The conversation was led by Hallisnaim. She pulled out a piece of paper from her chest and threw it in front of Min-jun. It was held rigidly in place, as if coated.
Min-jun, who had been glancing at it absentmindedly, said:
"Are you asking me to sign this?"
"Yes."
Min-jun, who once worked in South Korea's education sector, murmured quietly.
"…Even the Eulsa Treaty wasn't this bad."
It was an extremely unfair contract.
The contents were simple. An irreversible agreement transferring ownership of all the inheritance Min-jun had inherited from Lord to the two dragons who signed at the bottom of the contract.
Min-jun looked at Hallisnaim and said:
"This is a threat."
"You're quick to catch on. Good. With that perceptiveness, you should understand that you have no choice but to sign."
The dragon summoned magical power. The air around them hummed. It was an attempt to overwhelm them with the difference in hostile power. But Min-jun found it laughable.
"What will you do if I don't sign? Will you kill me?"
"Don't underestimate us. We know you're a prisoner. We know you can't be killed due to the committee. But don't forget, there are countless ways to torment you without killing you."
"Have you ever heard of the crime of property destruction?"
"You fight among yourselves, curse each other, and inflict injuries, yet you manage to survive the purge. We could make your life a living hell, just barely keeping you alive. And… shouldn't you think about those around you as well?"
How come these guys always have the same repertoire?
Min-jun sighed deeply. He used to get so enraged during the Edelrines, but now he was just annoyed. What had changed was not the situation but Min-jun himself.
He looked at the contract again.
In fact, there are ways to just seize it without leaving any legal documents. Nonetheless, leaving such trivial evidence meant they were also cautious.
"Do you know who is behind me?"
"Jenkins? That nasty old dragon who calls his minions friends? He's too busy with publicity. He's stuck in Hong Kong. Do you think he would fly to the other side of the world just for a prisoner like you?"
Hallisnaim thought. It would be enough to make him sign the contract, even if it had to be done forcibly before any other competitors or Jenkins arrived. The inheritance would officially be transferred.
The Draconic Code, which constrains their actions, was created to protect the dignity and rights of dragonkind. However, even an ancient dragon could not steal treasures that had already become Hallisnaim's property for the sake of a prisoner whose true race was unknown.
She smiled.
"You're just stalling for time."
Min-jun did not deny it.
"Yes, that's correct."
"You're doing something pointless. Do you think Jenkins will come all the way here because of this?"
Zzzzt!
The magical waves filling the surroundings became more intense. The intangible shards piercing the air became thicker and sharper, slicing through in every direction. Invisible blades shredded the space around them.
They wrapped around Min-jun's wrist, trying to force him to sign.
Min-jun looked at the dragon's attempts with disdain and said:
"You're misunderstanding. Who said Chairman Jenkins is waiting?"
That fool was too busy right now. He had no intention of calling him for such a trivial matter.
"…?!"
At that moment.
"Huh?"
Bogor, who had remained silent until now, spoke for the first time.
"H-Hall...!"
Instead of responding verbally, Hallisnaim conveyed her message telepathically.
=Oh, what now?! Just wait a moment, even if it's frustrating. I said not to kill him!=
"No, that's not it…"
Bogor pointed his finger toward the sky. Only then did Hallisnaim turn her head to the blind spot she had missed due to her position.
She widened her eyes.
There was a small speck in the sky. What had started as smaller than a fingernail gradually increased in size. As time passed, the sharp contours became clearer and more prominent.
Something was approaching at an extremely fast speed beyond the horizon.
The siblings identified the object simultaneously.
'A dragon!'
Hallisnaim clenched her teeth.
'Damn it, have the observers already arrived? How? I spent days preparing that magic circle… The disturbance was perfect. It should have taken at least several tens of minutes for a dragon, not an ancient one, to track…!'
But it couldn't be an ancient dragon getting involved in such a minor competition, could it?
'Who could it be?'
Moments later, Hallisnaim confirmed the answer.
'Kentus?!'
He was the eldest among the half-brothers Lord had left on Earth.
He was approaching at a furious speed, revealing his true dragon form.
'Damn it!'
The siblings took to the sky. Their human forms shattered as they transformed into dragons.
Hallisnaim's body was covered in jade-green scales and elongated like a serpent. She reverted to her dragon form, the brain dragon. Meanwhile, Bogor, who was beside her, became a massive black-scaled fire dragon. An immense figure not befitting his age.
The traces of their father, Lord, were barely noticeable in their appearance. Dragons usually inherit the form of their mother overwhelmingly. For a child with a fire dragon like Hallisnaim's father and a brain dragon as her mother, the characteristics of the brain dragon were prominent.
In contrast, Kentus, the fire dragon flying toward them, showed a bit of Lord's genes. His scales were adorned with graceful stripes in distinct colors—gold, reddish-brown, and scarlet—like a tri-colored dragon. It resembled a dragon sculpted from three different colored modeling clays.
Hallisnaim sent a telepathic message.
=Wait, stop! Kentus. We captured this prisoner first!=
Kentus did not respond. Following orders, he soared through the air with fierce hostility in his eyes.
Seeing the approaching dragon, Min-jun felt slightly disheartened. He was breaking his mentor's instructions.
'To think I'd end up doing what the dragon enthusiasts used to do.'
As a dragon enthusiast, he wasn't particularly fond of dragon fights. His mentor's admonition echoed in his ears.
Remember, if you treat a mute beast like a toy and handle it recklessly, you won't be able to use it.
He muttered a silent plea. Please forgive me just this once.
Then he sent a mental command toward the incoming Kentus. It was a clear, two-syllable order.
Kentus, recognizing the command, opened his mouth.
Only then did Hallisnaim realize the situation was turning strange. She thought Kentus was coming so swiftly to capture the prisoner. But this trajectory…
She cried out.
=…This crazy dragon!=
She tried to cast a spell late, but Kentus was faster. Judging that he had approached sufficiently, he unleashed his magical power in an explosion. The air behind Kentus's wings erupted. And then.
"Kyaaaah!"
Kentus bit down hard on Hallisnaim's neck!
Above Min-jun, in the airspace of the national forest, a dragon fight unfolded among three dragons.
"Kyaaaah!"
Bogor, who had allowed the initial attack on his own side, finally snapped back to reality and charged. But his trajectory to ram into Kentus was too straightforward. Kentus, with Hallisnaim's neck in his jaws, soared upward and began to shape a spell.
A massive magic circle expanded, and meteor-like fireballs rained down.
Boom! Boom boom!
Screech!
The magical projectiles exploded one after another on Bogor's black scales, sending up flames and smoke. The chemical substance seeping into the gaps between the scales made the black dragon writhe. It was like having thousands of needles shoved under one's nails. He thrashed in agony.
Meanwhile, Kentus, still holding Hallisnaim like a trophy, created some distance. He descended, landing diagonally in the burning forest. Then he slammed the elongated brain dragon against the ground with great force. Very vigorously.
Thus, the scene of whipping with his mouth unfolded.
Whish!
The sound of the air tearing.
Crash!
A deafening noise followed as trees were shattered and the ground was split.
Even as the brain dragon struggled on the ground, Kentus did not release his grip on her neck. It was a relentless will and terrifying strength.
Kentus continued to lash the earth with his body and head. After repeatedly striking the innocent land and forest, he finally opened his mouth.
Thud!
Hallisnaim's head fell weakly to the ground.
…Twitch!
The battered brain dragon twitched intermittently. It was like an eel wriggling on a dried-out rice paddy.
At first, Min-jun doubted if it was rigor mortis, but he could see the lingering vitality. Following orders, Kentus had not killed her.
The moment he confirmed that.
"Kyaaaah!"
Bogor, having barely cleared away the magical gas and flames, charged at Kentus.
The two dragons clashed with a heavy collision sound. Scales and chunks of flesh rained down like meteors.
The brothers, sharing half their genes, fought with equal ferocity, biting, battering, and whipping their tails at each other.
Seeing this, Min-jun realized the situation was slightly different from what he had expected.
'What's with Kentus… Why is he so weak?'
His plan to settle this as a dragon heritage dispute was falling apart.
< 136. There Are No Bad Dragons in the World (8) > End