Chapter 146: There Are No Evil Dragons in the World (18)
The world as perceived by Min-jun, as an inmate, was always filled with malice and absurdity.
If being thrown into the world without mutual consent was violence, then the birth of an inmate was akin to the most severe form of injury and death. A life of suffering as a slave for a crime one could not even remember. This situation was similar to some religious teachings that claim present suffering is due to original sins from previous lives. It was almost impossible to find a more irrational concept.
Therefore, before regaining even a fraction of his memory, Min-jun's view of the world was thoroughly cynical and skeptical.
Nevertheless, the brief moments of warmth in daily life kept him going. Although anger and despair did not vanish, they could be covered by small joys. Once, Del played that role for him, and after coming to Earth, although in a slightly different form, he found that warmth through emotional connections with those around him.
And the Dragon Lord was also one of those who showed Min-jun unearned kindness.
It was only natural that Min-jun felt mixed emotions and even guilt when he saw the Dragon Lord's corpse, as it triggered feelings from both his past and present selves. The Dragon Lord was his friend. Min-jun realized this acutely only after his death. Seeing the corpse of such an entity and imagining its slaughter was not something a person should do.
But Min-jun also knew that people are always interpreted subjectively. It is difficult to fully grasp the essence of a person hidden beneath a layer of skin or scales from the outside.
Yet, he did not anticipate it would be this difficult.
Min-jun was in anguish.
'Should I continue the Lord's legacy? Isn't the very concept of contributing to his revenge falling apart?'
Upon returning to his hotel room, he plunged into deep thought.
'If Raymond's hypothesis is correct, the Lord's death is likely a suicide.'
Raymond believed it was an attempt to transfer the soul. If it succeeded, it would have transferred to the eighteenth child hidden away, unknown to anyone. The already confirmed seventeen children either did not resemble their father enough or had not yet hatched.
Thus, he intended to use the artifact to find the resurrected Lord and uncover the secret of his success.
'Then what about the will?'
What would happen after ninety-nine days?
Since this was about choosing a course of action, Min-jun first imagined the scenario where he did nothing.
'First, the new Dragon Lord will...'
The election maneuvering among the great dragons was oddly underway.
For some unknown reason, Kallieter had declared her support for Jenkinson. Dragons who owed her, harbored affinities, or were under her command were also with her. Even in sheer numbers, this was already a significant force.
In addition, there were dragon factions originally supporting the Dragon Lord. They had been on Jenkinson's side since the will was made public. Although the Lord had been regarded as an eccentric in life, some young dragons genuinely respected him. It was assumed that these were dragons who had received personal help from the Lord. Unlike other dragons who only cared about themselves, Min-jun knew that the Lord had secretly engaged in such 'charitable activities' during his lifetime. Hence, the current situation was even more confusing. Nonetheless, these dragons also sent their support to Jenkinson from behind the scenes, urging him not to give up or abstain but to continue the deceased's legacy as the next Lord.
Just considering this, he had already garnered a substantial number of votes.
Moreover...
'What if Raymond is added to this?'
He too was one of the prominent candidates for the next Lord.
Min-jun had made such candidates into perfect pawns.
This was a far greater matter than brainwashing thirty-odd xenophobic lawmakers from a nearby country.
'If I can make Raymond abstain just before the vote and then use his influence to sway other dragons to choose Jenkinson...'
Unless choosing a reclusive lifestyle, most of the dragons on Earth were intricately tied in politics, economy, and society.
The primary element determining the direction of these relationships was 'power.'
A single word from Raymond could compel young dragons with faltering businesses to follow his directives.
'With this, isn't the vote already sufficient?'
Min-jun realized he had become something akin to a kingmaker, capable of deciding the next Lord of Earth.
The problem was his uncertainty about whether this was the right course of action.
'Making Jenkinson the next Lord was the deceased's will. Passing the heart to the next Lord was also his intention. Initially, I thought it was about transferring power to a dragon with similar tendencies. But what if it's not?'
Some dragons thought the Lord's heart was a ticking time bomb, a final counterattack to deliver a blow to the ancient race managing the corpse.
Min-jun dismissed this as nonsense. He knew that the Princess of Endelion would not break her vow and steal the Dragon Heart.
But if the bomb was aimed not at the committee but at the successor who would actually receive the heart?
'If something was done to the Dragon Heart, Jenkinson could be in danger.'
Min-jun refocused on the content of the will.
'If the direct descendants cannot find the culprit, the heart will pass to Jenkinson.'
Why were these conditions set?
Min-jun imagined a scenario where the direct descendants found the culprit.
Instead of one of the seventeen known children, an unknown dragon, covered entirely in golden scales and resembling the deceased, appears and claims to be the hidden child.
He visualized the scene where this dragon easily identifies the culprit and inherits the Dragon Heart.
The soul within that body was probably not the young dragon's own.
'...!'
Just imagining it sent chills down his spine.
Although this was all mere speculation for now...
'Then I just need to find the evidence.'
Min-jun decided to focus on the essence of the problem.
If the Lord had killed his children and stolen their bodies, does Min-jun have the right to judge him?
No.
But if Min-jun was also part of the plan he made, and the inherited legacy was also a stepping stone to complete the Lord's plan... if the deceased intended to use Min-jun, was he still Min-jun's friend?
No.
"..."
He made his decision.
"Kentius, I need to see the Lord's body myself."
This was the first thing he needed to do upon returning to Hong Kong, but he had been delayed by Raymond.
"If Raymond's hypothesis is correct, then the Lord's murderer is himself. It was suicide. In any case, if you present and prove that evidence, the will will be valid, and the Dragon Heart will pass to you."
"But, did he really commit suicide? What we saw in the last scene..."
Min-jun understood why Kentius hesitated.
Both remembered the scene of the top floors of a Hong Kong skyscraper collapsing.
The Lord was a dragon who paid attention to even minor details, such as sealing pipes and gas lines when destroying a private vault building in New York. He had prepared meticulously for what would happen after his death.
Min-jun thought it was inconceivable that the Lord would plan to collapse an entire building.
Min-jun said, "Given the Lord's way of doing things, the final act was too messy and unsatisfactory. Perhaps the execution didn't go perfectly as planned. An accident might have occurred in the final stage. Although there is no evidence left around, something might remain on the corpse. I wasn't able to investigate the Lord's body up close that day."
Before leaving, Del had stored the body in the basement of the dimensional jump terminal managed by the committee. Although contact was not allowed, arrangements were made so that any desired dragon could observe it.
However, after discussions among the dragons, a few conditions were imposed.
"To view the body, you need to bring a high dragon as a witness."
"Let's try contacting Jenkinson."
But the last of his dragon friends, the final bastion ensuring that Min-jun continued to respect the dragon's nature, did not respond.
"...He seems busy. Hmm, Raymond is still in a daze."
Raymond, after finishing the interrogation, had asked for permission from Min-jun and collapsed in his lair.
Both he and Kentius had been treated by Yumtus, but the extent of their injuries was on a different scale. Raymond, having expended far more life force, needed time to recover. It was similar to how Choi Seon-ah had taken a while to recover after her treatment.
It was at this moment that Min-jun pondered.
"...Huh?"
Raymond, who had been looking out the window, seemed startled.
"What's wrong?"
Min-jun, following Raymond's gaze, widened his own eyes in surprise.
Ding! Dingdingding!
A majestic sound of music was coming from outside. It was that time of the day again. The daily laser show conducted by the city government. It had been quickly resumed to erase the memory of the ICC building disaster from people's minds and attract tourists again. Of course, this was also influenced by the intentions of the great dragons who ruled Hong Kong.
Rather than coming out to watch the show, a few passersby who happened to see the scene stopped in their tracks. They whispered.
"...Huh? It's back after a long time?"
"Dragons are really something. Even after a building collapsed and people died a few days ago, they're already up to their antics? It's like they're psychopaths."
At that moment, Kentius had already moved close to the window and was shouting outside.
"Leo!"
The being who had disappeared right after they met at the mansion and left no trace was now dancing in the air, having returned to his true form as the brain dragon. He was part of the show, bouncing off and breaking laser beams, decorating the skyscraper skyline with his long body.
Kentius had discovered the identity of his friend today. Originally an experiment occupying a body that had lost its soul. If it had been before, he might have interpreted that action differently, but now it seemed like a desperate act of misery.
Then, something happened.
"Huh?"
Leo's trajectory as he danced in the sky began to change strangely.
He was fluttering over Hong Kong Island, and seemingly judging that he had attracted enough attention, he slowly started to move north. He continued on, piercing through Victoria Harbour.
His head was facing the Kowloon Peninsula, where Min-jun was, but it was significantly to the east of the hotel.
Min-jun tried to gauge what might be in that direction. Several facilities flashed through his mind. And...
"...Wait, could it be?!"
The captain of Korean Air Flight KE681 was as tense as ever.
The plane he was piloting had departed from Incheon Airport exactly 3 hours and 20 minutes ago and was scheduled to land at Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport in about 5 minutes.
Feeling a slight sweat on his palm, the captain cursed inwardly.
'Damn, this crappy airport!'
After Hong Kong was recaptured by the emerging Guangdong Federation, the British-planned new airport construction was canceled, and the famous Kai Tak Airport was still in use today. The airport was notorious among passengers for its outdated facilities and complex layout, but it was infamous among pilots for other reasons.
The captain looked at the runway, which was illuminated by dazzling lights, extending over the water. One final trial remained to reach it. The plane was already descending. KE681 flew precariously above the rooftops of Kowloon Fort and high-rise buildings.
People below would see the plane passing by so low that it seemed excessively large. With such low altitude, it was difficult to distinguish whether it was a crash or a landing.
In such a situation, the captain prepared for a sharp turn.
This was a gateway that had to be navigated every time due to the surrounding terrain. Not only was the area around the runway densely populated and full of high-rise buildings, but the nearby mountain also required acrobatic maneuvers.
Moistening his dry lips, the captain called out the altitude, and the co-pilot echoed it back.
At that moment.
"...?!"
An urgent voice came from the communication device. The two pilots listened intently to the control tower's transmission.
Although they hadn't seen it yet, it seemed that an unauthorized flying object was approaching from across the sea from Hong Kong Island. It was moving at a dangerously high speed toward the Kowloon Peninsula where the airport was located.
The control tower, recognizing this, sent an unusual communication. Instead of giving orders to the unauthorized flying object, it instructed all nearby 'normal' aircraft, including KE681, to turn back.
The captain screamed, "Now?!"
"What kind of crazy...!"
He could not finish his sentence. The co-pilot screamed.
"Look, over there...!"
Finally spotting it with his own eyes, the captain felt even more speechless.
A long object wrapped in blue lightning was approaching. Having already left the radius of the laser show, it appeared to be a moving neon sign in the sky, as if wanting every Hong Kong citizen to watch. The lightning crackled and sizzled constantly over the scales.
"Dragon!"
Right after shouting, the captain saw an even more terrifying sight.
'H... He's descending?!'
Was he planning to land on the runway like an airplane?
But having assessed the trajectory, he soon realized.
The dragon was not heading for the airport but for a nearby facility using similar adjacent land.
"...Dimensional jump terminal?!"
The committee always chooses the hub of the fastest transportation means within the area when installing a terminal for interstellar travel. Since aliens cannot perform long-distance teleportation like ancient races, the most effective transportation connection points are designated.
For Earth, the facility serving this role was an airport.
Thus, the committee had built an artificial island right next to the airport and established the facility there.
The place, named Kai Tak Dimensional Jump Terminal after the airport, was the committee's private property. And Leo, heading there, knew how heavily the committee would punish any criminal attempting to commit terrorism on their property.
End of Chapter 146: There Are No Evil Dragons in the World (18)