Chapter 143: There Are No Evil Dragons in the World (15)
Kwang!
At that moment, the gaze of most of Hong Kong's citizens was riveted to one place. The anomaly capturing their attention was unfolding atop the city's highest peak, Austin Peak. From the former Victoria Peak, 500 meters above sea level.
Kwarung!
Kwang! Kwang!
Dark clouds gathered from all directions. If the usual speed of clouds could be compared to a leisurely walk, their movement now was akin to a full sprint. It was as though a powerful magnet had been embedded at the summit of the mountain. The black clouds, like clumps of iron filings drawn by immense magnetic force, gathered across the sky.
Meanwhile, the massive thunderclouds intermittently flashed with blue lightning. The formation looked like a decalcomania, with the clouds and the mountain reflecting each other. The image was folded in half at the mountain summit and then unfolded. The upper part was painted with dark clouds, and the lower part with shadows and forests.
Hong Kong's citizens were not unfamiliar with this phenomenon. However, it was far from being a comforting or welcome sight. They knew well that the owner of that mountain was also the master of their city. The city's lord was known for creating bizarre natural phenomena as a sign to prevent outsiders, including those of their own kind, from approaching.
A contract appeared before the great dragon. Min-jun could guess its contents without looking, as it would likely be similar to what Hallisnaim had presented.
"I will give you one last chance. Sign it."
In that instant.
Swoosh!
A handle suddenly rose up through the air to Min-jun's right. Its shape was ambiguous, making it unclear whether it was the handle of a weapon or a tool. The top of the handle was still in the void space. Min-jun grabbed it and commanded through telepathy.
"Sword."
Obeying the command, the frying pan transformed. The metal pan in the void space changed into a blade.
Only then did Min-jun pull the handle out. As if drawing from a transparent scabbard, the black blade revealed itself from the base. Moments later, the void space fully manifested the sharp dagger.
Seeing this, Raymond made a face of disbelief.
"Does the committee really go to such lengths for a prisoner? I heard it's been hundreds of years since you began your slavery, but I didn't think you were this foolish."
The great dragon signaled Kentius with a nod.
"Kentius, knock that foolish alien down. I don't want to get my hands dirty."
Raymond Wong had no doubts. He was sure Kentius would obey his command.
The authority of the great dragon was absolute. He knew that a young dragon like Kentius would be defeated in a confrontation with the great dragon.
Raymond presumed that once he had erected this barrier and demonstrated his resolve and persistence, Kentius would abandon the inheritance. He didn't know what kind of deal Kentius had made with the alien, but there was no way he would risk defying the great dragon for a mere criminal.
However.
"······!"
Kentius's eyes glinted oddly.
The great dragon sensed something was off.
"Do you dislike it?"
Kentius's body was bathed in a golden light.
"····You!"
Before the great dragon could finish speaking.
Kwak-kwaang!
A tremendous roar shook the area.
The ceiling of Raymond's mansion exploded. Screams erupted from the staff employed here, and dust and smoke mixed with the dark clouds, spreading out. The fierce winds at the mountain's peak scattered the debris and fragments all around.
The three in the room quickly moved. They all rose up into the cloud-covered sky. The one who had caused this sudden turn of events was Kentius. The dragon with three-colored scales unfurled his wings and glared sternly.
Where his gaze landed was a furious brain dragon.
With deep blue scales covering his elongated, serpent-like body, Raymond Wong had reverted to his original form, shouting with flames in his eyes.
"This little bastard is really pushing it!"
The brain dragon shot lightning between his antler-like horns.
The battle between the two dragons began as they clashed in the air.
It appeared to be an uneven fight. Kentius, smaller in size, darted around to avoid the enormous great dragon, but Raymond's attacks grew more intense with time. The great dragon tore through the dark clouds, launching attacks like flashes of lightning piercing through black cotton. The lightning bolts at the tips of the dark-blue threads burned like fiery streaks.
The great dragon controlled the lightning to avoid completely incinerating the young dragon. Kentius struggled to evade with all his might, but some of the bolts struck him. Each electric shock nearly knocked Kentius unconscious, only for him to regain his senses. The telepathic messages from Min-jun roused him. Raymond's anger grew as the young dragon continued to resist.
"Don't make me angrier!"
He growled, snapping.
"I tried to keep you in one piece for the sake of my connection with the lord, but you keep testing my patience!"
Kentius shouted back, as if rejecting the idea.
"Is this what someone who attacked a friend's son to steal an inheritance has to say?!"
"This bastard…!"
Even if he didn't intend to kill, wouldn't it be acceptable to at least cripple him?
As the brain dragon raised the intensity of his lightning, another enemy quickly approached. The brain dragon detected the attempt with a sneer.
'Such an obvious trick!'
Until now, he hadn't attacked Min-jun because he thought dealing with Kentius was the priority. He hadn't forgotten about the alien, though.
'Do you think I'm that easy of a target?'
It seemed that Min-jun was targeting his blind spot, approaching from behind. Enveloped in writhing shadows, he resembled a summoning entity of dark magic.
The brain dragon's keen senses detected the density of the shadows. While impressive for a non-dragon species, it wasn't comparable to that of the great dragon.
Raymond smirked. Without turning his head, he began to direct a round of lightning towards the back of his neck.
Just as he was about to fire the tangled flash towards the alien.
"······!"
The great dragon realized something was wrong.
Pat!
Like a burst booster, the convict's speed and trajectory suddenly shifted.
Wrapped in shadows, Min-jun transformed into a black arrow. Approaching what seemed to be an attack on the dragon's back, he instantly changed direction.
Just moments before, both Kentius and Raymond were positioned at twelve o'clock. Now, Kentius was at the nine o'clock position relative to Min-jun, and Raymond remained directly in front.
Min-jun sheathed the blade he had aimed at the great dragon. He transferred it to his left hand and, with his right hand, grasped the air, summoning a silver frying pan. At that moment, the lightning tangled in the air was prepared to fire.
Min-jun smiled. He positioned the frying pan defensively, revealing its wide surface.
Just before the lightning struck him.
"······!"
Raymond's eyes widened.
Instinctively, he felt a threat. The reason was unclear. He didn't understand why Min-jun would use orichalcum to make a frying pan, but it was still orichalcum. No matter how magical the metal, it couldn't perfectly absorb the great dragon's lightning. Moreover, he had prepared enough lightning to thoroughly fry the convict.
Nevertheless.
Crackle!
In the final moment, Raymond Wong twisted the trajectory of the lightning.
The lightning, which had been writhing like a serpent, diverted from hitting the frying pan in Min-jun's hand and instead veered off in all directions.
Min-jun clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"You're quick to pick up on things, aren't you?"
Min-jun's assault continued unabated. The lightning that had been obstructing him now avoided him on its own, leaving no more obstacles in his way.
Min-jun gripped the dazzling silver frying pan tightly and charged at the dragon's head.
"Craaaa!"
The great dragon instinctively assessed the situation.
The young dragon, darting through the clouds like a slippery eel, was less dangerous than that dark magician!
He opened his mouth. A powerful urge filled his mind. He felt he shouldn't unleash lightning. An irrational whisper changed his attack. Instead of spewing lightning, the great dragon lunged at Min-jun, ready to bite him.
In that moment, as the dragon's head and the shadow monster closed in.
Min-jun swung the frying pan with a sharp trajectory!
Kwajik!
"······!"
Kentius, who had been desperately fleeing, felt something brush past his cheek. The dragon's scales, harder than metal, were torn, and blood trickled down his jaw.
'···What is this?'
Frozen by the scene before him, Kentius forgot the pain.
The silver streak created by Min-jun shattered the great dragon's jawbone. What had grazed Kentius like a bullet was likely a fragment of the jaw, a scale, a tooth, or a bone splinter. Shredded flesh and mandible fragments struck in all directions like shrapnel.
"Kaaaaaaa!"
With the lower jaw blasted away, the dragon's long tongue was exposed. Blood and various bodily fluids bubbled and frothed from the exposed throat. Hearing the dragon's scream, Min-jun felt a pang of sympathy. Although it was morally right to finish it quickly, killing the dragon wasn't an option right now.
Shadows from Min-jun's back extended like branches or vines. The black tendrils wrapped around the dragon's body. At the same time, he settled on the struggling dragon's neck.
'The anti-magic power is still strong.'
Despite the agony and horror he hadn't felt in centuries, the sixth brain's instinctive shield remained intact. This was not enough for Min-jun to achieve the desired effect.
He applied more force.
Min-jun, in his shadow monster form, extended his tongue—a writhing, black appendage.
Thunk!
It pierced the brain dragon's neck.
The dragon, now half out of its mind, thrashed in the clouds. It seemed disoriented, unaware of its location. It collided repeatedly with the barrier wall it had created. Min-jun, undeterred by the impact, clung tightly to the dragon's back.
When he had captured Cheong-cheon, he had driven his tongue into the skull and exploded the pressure inside to kill.
But today, that wasn't an option.
Instead of shaping his tongue like a drill endoscope towards the skull, Min-jun expanded its surface, turning it into a thick straw-like structure. He inserted it into the dragon's carotid artery.
Gulp! Gulp!
Hot liquid poured into his mouth in rhythm with the stabilizing beats of his heart.
Feeling the warmth filling the emptiness, Min-jun realized he was alive.
It felt like he was truly coming to life.
The once-familiar vitality enveloped his entire body. It was as if he was leisurely immersed in warm water or sprinkling moisture on dry earth, with each cell swelling. He felt exhilarated. A pleasant throb invigorated his entire being. It was like a festival in his mouth.
Realizing he was being drained alive, the great dragon regained a sliver of sanity.
'This… this crazy bastard!'
But it was too late.
'Could he be making a spell with my blood as a sacrifice?!'
The great dragon couldn't even imagine.
The vast amount of blood he had lost was not being used by Min-jun for dark magic.
He was simply drinking it.
Feeling his vitality surging, Min-jun retracted his tongue. That was enough. Shadows sprouted from his lower body like a tail. He wrapped the handle of the frying pan—now a dagger—around the tail's tip.
Swoosh!
He lashed his tail like a whip, driving the blade into the dragon's nape—the very spot he had pierced with his tongue moments earlier.
--------!
The brain dragon erupted in a frenzy of lightning. His whole body emitted blue flashes. The restraint of not killing the opponent had long since evaporated from his mind.
Yet the convict withstood the lightning resolutely. The impact was trivial compared to when he had captured Cheong-cheon. Min-jun realized he was regaining strength, and his recovery speed was increasing.
With this realization, Min-jun coiled his body like a beast before its prey. His shadow-wrapped legs swelled massively.
He concentrated the power and then.
Exploded it.
Min-jun charged with all his might!
"Kararaaaa!"
Min-jun raced across the dragon's back, his dagger embedded in its flesh. The path he ran along split the dragon's skin. Though the blade was less than a centimeter wide, it cut through the resilient hide, stretching the wound like it was being pulled from both sides. It was like applying a razor to the swollen mucosa.
The wound followed his movements, exposing the deep red muscles beneath. It was like a red carpet marking Min-jun's steps. The scaly, untraveled skin wriggled, twisted, and shook as it changed direction. But it couldn't stop his charge. Min-jun intuited that this method would be more effective than stabbing the dragon hundreds or thousands of times with the dagger, and his intuition proved correct.
The dragon's eyes began to grow increasingly hazy.
Chapter 143: There Are No Evil Dragons in the World (15) – End