< 149. There Are No Bad Dragons in This World (21) >
I'm so thirsty.
This was what Min-jun thought when he visited the seer's house.
The thirst that had started just before leaving Hong Kong followed him persistently. Knowing it would be useless, he asked the orc for a glass of water. Choi Pan-seok had left all employees, including secretaries and housekeepers, at home. The legislator himself offered a glass of water with the utmost politeness.
Gulp! He drank it in one go, but the parched longing around his esophagus didn't fade. Suppressing it with effort, Min-jun spoke in a dry tone.
"Can you explain why the prophecy has been delayed for the past six days?"
Min-jun had instructed to update the prophecy once a day. However, the messages received over the past six days had been unsatisfactory.
Although Choi Seon-ah had occasionally requested a day or two of grace before, this was the first time it had been delayed for six days. Min-jun did not suspect any issues with the brainwashed Choi Pan-seok. If something was wrong, it would likely be on Choi Seon-ah's end.
The seer cast an anxious glance at her stepfather. Choi Pan-seok smiled brightly, as if it was an immense honor to meet Min-jun again. She shivered anew.
"There is no excuse. I thought it was important that the prophecy was not miscommunicated, so my daughter and I have been analyzing it together, trying to understand if there were any additional clues in the future scenes. We wanted to ensure there would be no harm to you from any misinterpretation."
The last part sounded like flattery or empty words, but Min-jun knew it was sincere.
In any case, preventing harm to him was a condition that came with planting the suggestion.
But there was still an unclear part...
"Is it true that the interpretation took six days?"
Choi Seon-ah explained what had happened during the delay. The same future scene had been shown for several days. This piqued Min-jun's interest.
"At first, it was seen vaguely, so it was hard to understand. Gradually, the scene became clearer."
"As you know, prophecies can sometimes be realized exactly as seen, but they are often expressed through symbols and metaphors. This case is definitely the latter. It should not be interpreted as it is. My daughter has seen thousands, even tens of thousands of prophecies, and we have interpreted them together. Please trust the accumulated empirical knowledge."
Min-jun felt his thirst intensify, whether it was due to his mood or not.
"What was the interpretation?"
"We tried hard despite the delays, but we couldn't confirm any more details. Based on the scenes we've seen so far, the interpretation is…"
The orc lowered his voice and leaned his shoulder towards Min-jun. Min-jun's expression grew serious.
Choi Pan-seok spoke with an expression as if revealing a tremendous secret.
"Exactly 94 days from now, you will become the de facto ruler of this world, dominating all the powerful figures from behind the scenes!"
"...."
After a brief silence.
When Min-jun spoke again, his voice was slightly cracked.
"...What?"
The orc spoke seriously.
"I understand that you might be shocked. We were too."
Choi Seon-ah nodded in agreement with her father's words. She looked as though she found it hard to believe, even though she was the one saying it. At the same time, she seemed unwilling to believe it.
"But we couldn't interpret it any other way."
Choi Seon-ah had already witnessed Min-jun completely brainwashing Choi Pan-seok.
If it was possible with one person, it might be possible with multiple people.
The most suitable interpretation was that all the world's powerful figures would be brainwashed. Of course, dealing with 'real dragons' as shown in the prophecy would be a different matter.
"No, wait. Wait a moment."
The severe thirst had now brought on a headache. Min-jun frowned.
"Be more specific. Just say exactly what you saw."
"But, as I've already explained, prophecies…"
"I'll judge whether the interpretation is correct or not, so just say it without filtering."
The moment Choi Seon-ah started to stammer out the explanation.
"...!"
Min-jun felt his throat close up.
He barely managed to ask again, in a very tired voice.
"A shadow?"
"Yes. And that shadow… affects the dragons' brains…"
Min-jun couldn't help but acknowledge the seer's skills once again. And because of that, he had to harbor doubts about how exactly that future would come to pass.
Choi Seon-ah was describing in detail the dragon slaughter methods that Min-jun had once used.
"Jenkinson, thanks for helping out even though you must be busy."
"I can spare this much time for you. Besides, after hearing such shocking news, I couldn't help but come running."
After verifying the prophecy, Min-jun had no time to organize his thoughts and immediately went to Jenkinson's lab. He had timed it to coincide with his friend's schedule. For the sake of the great dragon who had returned to Korea just for him, amidst his busy schedule.
He temporarily set aside the incomprehensible prophecy and the future where Earth would become a dragon slaughterhouse. Instead, he decided to focus on what needed to be done right now.
"I heard you're working with Kentheus. Is he in Korea too?"
"Yes. I left him behind today."
Jenkinson hesitated and asked.
"With his personality, he wouldn't have been very restrained in front of you. But accepting the job… is he perhaps setting up a trap to ambush you?"
"..."
Min-jun didn't respond. Jenkinson looked uneasy.
"Please, don't be too harsh. He's not a bad kid by nature."
Min-jun changed the subject.
"Have you thought about the hypothesis I mentioned? Still not believing it?"
Jenkinson snorted.
"Of course not. Rod isn't the kind of dragon who would do that. I'm certain. However, I can't guarantee he didn't have hidden offspring. He had so many children in his lifetime, so it's possible there could be one or two hidden. But that he is Rod's new body? That's nonsense."
"You'll find out soon enough whose theory is right."
"I'll give it a try since it's your request, but I'm not sure if I'll find anything. By the way, you're drinking a lot of water today. I usually don't keep drinking water in this space, as it's only used by me."
"Oh, it's fine. This is enough."
Min-jun placed the empty water bottle down.
The thirst seemed to be psychological. Even so, drinking something eased it a little, so Min-jun continued to drink.
Among dark magic, there are curses that suddenly increase body fluids and disrupt electrolyte balance, and curses that turn spilled blood into water, but he didn't want to expend dark magic just because he was thirsty.
Min-jun took out the bloodstained concrete fragment from his pocket.
"It's Rod's blood."
Jenkinson took it with a low hum.
Then, he touched the control panel with familiarity and muttered a few incantations. While waiting for the preparation to be complete, Min-jun looked around the lab.
This was a space recently dedicated to dragon spider research. To use as an experimental catalyst, Jenkinson had drawn an appropriate amount of dragon blood and stored it here. The liquid in the transparent containers covering the walls was that. While it was a small amount for a dragon, it would be sufficient for a smaller-sized species like humans or elves to drown in.
Min-jun thought. Drowning in dragon blood… that's quite a luxurious death, in many ways.
As he entered the lab, the thirst that had been intense suddenly became even more severe. Now, his throat was sore.
-Roar!
The bottom of the glass container filled with blood opened.
Splash!
A large amount of blood was sprayed into the air. Min-jun swallowed dryly. His throat felt like it was splitting.
The dragon blood formed a mass in the air instead of creating a pool on the floor. When Min-jun signaled that it was enough, Jenkinson stopped the spray.
Towards the mass of blood droplets, magnified thousands of times, Min-jun muttered an incantation. And he gripped the ceremonial dagger tightly for the first time in a long while.
Thud!
He brought the black blade down on his bare left arm. His arm went limp, and the air was filled with ominous waves. His skin turned like dry tree bark. In an instant, his left arm twisted like a mummy.
Rumble! Rumble!
The red orb in the air shifts. Protrusions resembling blood-made nodules emerge from its surface, approaching and touching the bloodstains on the fragments.
What happened next was beyond the discernible range of the naked eye. However, Min-jun knew that things were proceeding as intended.
This too was a form of curse. A curse that alters the nature of blood to that of someone else's.
This magic could be used to leave false evidence to mislead pursuers or to attack opponents. The latter case would involve imagining what happens in the body when the blood flowing through one's veins is suddenly changed to someone else's.
"Is it working well?"
Jenkins asked.
"Perfectly."
Min-jun nodded.
He chose this magic not only for the two previously mentioned purposes but also for another reason.
The bloodstain on the fragment of the dragon lord was very small and already dried up, losing its vitality. In such a state, it couldn't be used as a magical catalyst. So, Min-jun decided to reproduce the blood in a viable state.
Fresh dragon blood was chosen from Jenkins. The information left in the bloodstain can be likened to a dye, while Jenkins's live blood acts as the solvent. The process involves dissolving the former into the latter to color it with the dragon lord's essence.
The anticipated result was simple. The dragon lord's blood, with its life force intact, would be transformed into the dragon lord's blood.
"Now."
In front of the transformed dragon blood, Jenkins recited a spell.
A spell only dragons can use.
Psssh!
The moment the magic was completed, a subtle power spread around. Min-jun sensed it, knowing it would slowly sweep over the land and sea, eventually covering the entire planet.
"Again, since I'm not the real owner of this blood, the effect might not be perfect. The most reliable result would come from the dragon lord performing the spell himself, which, of course, is impossible."
Jenkins activated a spell to find the direct descendants of the dragon lord. Due to the limitations of the caster, it was a somewhat imperfect spell. Min-jun nodded.
"Any clue, no matter how small, would be useful."
"I'll let you know when the results come in. I'm not sure if it will be as clean as you want. Now..."
Jenkins looked at the significantly reduced blood clump. There was still a little left after the spell was used.
"What should we do with this?"
Hearing this, Min-jun reflected once more on how unique Jenkins was as a dragon.
From drawing his own blood for experiments to asking a non-dragon race about the disposal of dragon blood, Jenkins's actions were far from typical dragon behavior.
Moreover, asking a non-dragon about the disposal of the dragon lord's blood was unusual.
Min-jun was about to say he would keep it but then suddenly changed his mind.
"..."
Suddenly recalling something, he adjusted his thought.
"If you have time, could you run one more experiment with that?"
"With what?"
Min-jun pointed to one of the devices in the lab. Jenkins had previously shown him how to operate the device.
"Ah, you're interested in that?"
It was a device that projected various magical patterns onto dragon spider blood and analyzed the results.
Min-jun had read the traces etched in the blood from that day. Data from long ago started with the phrase "Livestock Traceability Information Access."
It was a response not seen in modern dragons like Jenkins.
"The dragon lord was one of the oldest dragons."
He recalled how the dragon lord's will began.
The testator "Ager-Fishco-Kois-Hallekiah-Ryubrai-Azel-Azel-Seknat-Kois-Ager" (residence: Los Padres National Park, 6750 Santa Maria, California, USA) is a dragon who inherited the honor and will of the great ancestors and composed this will with a complete and sound mind. I leave the following wishes based on pure personal hope and desire, free from any undue external pressure.
The unfamiliar words constituting his long name.
Dragons speculated that these were names of ancient dragon races. Listing the names of ancestors as middle names is not uncommon across dimensions.
But Min-jun knew the truth.
These words were not names but numbers used long ago.
The numeral system was slightly different, but...
"Ager-Fishco-Kois-Hallekiah-Ryubrai-Azel-Azel-Seknat-Kois-Ager."
When converted to modern language, this long name of the dragon lord roughly translates to:
"1-7-3-4-5-2-2-9-3-1."
It seemed that the dragon lord's name was influenced by the livestock classification number from ancient times.
"That faint memory was from an era when social and cultural practices were preserved... In today's terms, the dragon lord was one of the greatest dragons."
Psssh!
As Jenkins placed the dragon lord's blood-transformed dragon blood into a container and performed the procedure, the same phenomenon repeated.
Magical waves focused in one place. The dragon lord's blood reacted to it, reflecting distorted magical waves. The device read the waves and displayed them on the monitor.
Both men focused their gazes on it.
"Hoo?!"
Jenkins exclaimed.
He had never analyzed dragon blood other than his own and the dragon spider's. It was natural, given the lack of willing dragons. Thus, he was hopeful of discovering something new and his eyes sparkled.
"This is similar to the reaction of the test subject from before!"
"..."
"My database still shows no matches. What do you think? Is it still unreadable text?"
Min-jun had no time to answer. He focused intently on the monitor.
The magical waves were displayed on the screen.
It was similar to the dragon spider's case. Min-jun could read it.
The beginning was similar.
Livestock Traceability Information Access
Entity Identification Number: Unknown
Origin: Unknown
Slaughterhouse: Unknown
Slaughter End Date: Unknown
Processing Facility: Unknown
Genetic Information: Fire Dragon-241 Model (Breeder: Latuma, Registration Year: 6210) / Purebred Verified
※ Genetic damage is severe, restricting accurate information access.
But this time, it didn't end there.
Following the ancient information etched by the kin, a new string of characters followed. Jenkins tilted his head in confusion.
"There's much more information than with the dragon spider. Is it because the dragon lord was a proper dragon? But why didn't I get such a response before?"
Jenkins muttered, while Min-jun read the wave patterns.
Unlike before, they were quite crude. It was like a child who just learned to write showcasing their uneven handwriting with many grammatical and orthographic errors. It was also blurred and distorted, unlike the pristine etchings of primordial races.
However, Min-jun could still read and interpret it.
"Wait. These mixed magical patterns in the middle seem familiar."
Jenkins felt a vague sense of déjà vu but couldn't pinpoint it exactly.
The new magical waves following the livestock information carried someone's fingerprint. Min-jun clearly remembered whose it was.
"The dragon lord!"
His eyes moved rapidly. Min-jun understood what the waves represented.
It was a kind of letter.
A message hidden within the dragon lord's genes.
By stimulating this, the dragon lord had started writing the opening of a letter for 'someone' who would confirm its content.
Min-jun read it, and the dragon lord's voice echoed in his ears like an auditory hallucination.
The dragon lord's question was simple.
Who are you?
< End of Chapter>