Jenkins frowned in distaste.
"Are you trying to push that absurd theory again? That the Lord tried to extend his lifespan by taking his child's body and discarded his old one?"
"No, that's a huge misunderstanding."
The dragon finally reflected on what Min-jun had just said.
'Who killed the Lord?'
If considered a suicide, it was a sentence he wouldn't choose.
Startled, he snapped back to attention.
"Have you found it?"
Min-jun changed the subject.
"The Lord's direct heirs are still busy searching for the killer, aren't they?"
That was true. While Kentius and a few others maintained silence, the remaining siblings were still busy chasing evidence.
"Jenkins, I think the Lord never intended to pass the Dragon Heart to his children from the start."
"Stop evading the issue. So, have you found the culprit? Who is it?!"
"That will was just a means to pass the heart to the next Lord. He never intended to split it among his children. He didn't want to pass it even to one young dragon who wasn't an Elder."
"...Why?"
"The Lord must have known someone was targeting him even before his death. He knew that only one 'group' could make such an attempt. He was certain his children had neither the capability to seek revenge against such a formidable organization nor to prove the crime. The unqualified direct heirs had no choice but to concede the heart to the next Lord. He gave them a chance, but they failed, creating a justification."
Handing over power to a successor capable of leading the dragons and fighting the 'enemy.'
"So, the enemy is strong, cunning, and leaves no trace."
Jenkins recalled the first suspect Min-jun had mentioned when he confirmed the Lord's death.
"It's the Committee!"
In the end, they had returned to the initial guess.
"Indeed, it was the Committee! But, where's the evidence?!"
"Hold on, let me correct you. Half of what you said is right, and half is wrong."
"What?"
"The real culprit infiltrated Earth as part of the Committee, but they did it for their own purposes, not for the Committee."
Jenkins quickly grasped the meaning.
"Is it the Kavaites? They acted secretly on a tribal level without informing the Committee?"
"No, it wasn't the Kavaites who killed the Lord."
"Then, Endellion?"
Min-jun shook his head.
The dragon gritted his teeth. If not the Kavaites or Endellion, then the only remaining candidate was...
"Todrog!"
"The ones sent by the Tax Collection Command were clearly targeting me. They were trying to implicate Inayis in my tax evasion. But was that really all?"
Did they come to Earth solely for that?
Min-jun had bound the soul of a Todrog he had killed and read its memories.
And he discovered an unexpected secret.
"When do you think they arrived on Earth? It was exactly the day before the Lord's death was confirmed."
"What?!"
"They didn't send forces just because of me. Although that was the official reason, they secretly added another mission. They had their own purpose, kept secret from the Committee headquarters."
The Kavaites might be unaware of this or might have only suspicions without evidence.
"The Kavaites... no, even among the ancient races, a quiet rift was beginning. They had conquered the universe, and now they were left only to cannibalize themselves, right?"
The Todrogs had noticed that the Kavaites were plotting something unusual against the dragons. It would make no sense for the Committee's powerful races to be unaware of something that even the peripheral dimension dragons were aware of. They had detected that the Kavaites were engaging in conspicuous activities on Earth recently.
And they had found a significant piece of evidence...
"The Kavaites had been monitoring the Lord for a long time. They went beyond merely controlling anti-Committee figures and delved too deeply, even enough for the Lord to notice. The Todrogs were curious about why."
As everyone knew, the Dragon Lord was exceptional. He was a standout among dragons.
"There was no other dragon like the Lord in the entire dimension database."
That was understandable. But Jenkins couldn't explain the reason. Min-jun continued as if he had only learned this through the Todrog's memories.
"Although all dragon bloodlines have mixed and distinctions are meaningless now... there was still something different. Even dragons felt it, right? What was the secret behind creating seventeen lovers and having children over decades? It was an instinctive, intense attraction. Even the Kavaites were targeting him, so the Todrogs wanted to know his secret."
Hearing this, Jenkins's eyes flared with uncontrollable anger.
"So, they decided to kidnap the Lord."
Even dragons not in hibernation sleep.
However, it was a shallow sleep, half-conscious, and thus they dreamed. The Dragon Lord's nightmare was the reason he woke up.
'It was a dream.'
He saw the ceiling of his room where he had been staying for days. The master bedroom of the penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong. He sat up. Perhaps the polymorph was too detailed, as his back was damp with sweat. He glanced at the clock.
'Did I sleep for an hour?'
It was an unintended sleep. He had much to prepare for tomorrow's meeting, so he planned to stay up all night reviewing documents. The glass of wine shared with a friend would have no effect on him.
Yet he had fallen asleep. The Dragon Lord understood why.
'The next hibernation period is just around the corner.'
The upcoming one would likely be his last hibernation.
When he woke up again, he would continue without another hibernation and eventually meet a natural death.
He felt anxious. Although he hadn't informed his kin, he would introduce a surprise agenda at the upcoming dragon meeting.
The election of the next Dragon Lord.
He could already picture the faces of his kin, horrified and refusing. But he had his own strategy.
"..."
As he shook off his disorienting thoughts and tried to focus on his work, the content of the dream lingered.
In the dream, he saw his deceased parents.
They looked at him with pale faces, screaming. They were cloaked in darkness and blood, constantly emitting inaudible cries. Despite his efforts, the Lord woke up without understanding what they were trying to say.
In reality, he had not witnessed the final moments of his parents. Witnesses who fought alongside them on the front line were certain that the couple did not survive. Even more tragic was the fact that their bodies were never found. The ancient races had 'plundered' the dead. Therefore, the Dragon Heart, which should have been rightfully the Lord's, was also taken by them.
The anger the Lord felt upon confronting that memory was profound. Imagining the vile acts the ancient races, who had claimed the bodies of two dragons stronger than himself, might have committed with them made his anger surge.
"Ugh."
As the Lord rose from his seat, he felt a strange sensation.
It was odd.
"Why is this happening?"
A sense of helplessness was welling up inside him.
Even in polymorph form, this was severe.
How long had it been since he felt like this? Ah, yes.
It was during the war. At that time, cornered dragons set aside their pride and used dragon blood to make weapons. The Dragon Lord had also contributed a significant amount of blood. Although he was a key force, he couldn't be present on every front simultaneously, so it was an unavoidable measure. His blood had particularly strong toxicity.
He remembered that after a blood draw, he would often spend the whole day suffering and lying down. The current sensation was similar to that time.
But.
'The blood volume is normal?'
So why...?
At that moment.
-----!
The Lord sensed a crisis.
'Why didn't I realize this until now?!'
The dull sensation that had been fading hit him sharply on the back of his head.
His whole body's nerves were on edge. He heard the sound of fierce wind cutting through thick glass. It was not a normal natural phenomenon. The fierce gale sweeping around the ICC building, where the hotel was located, was infused with powerful magic.
The Lord, at the center, managed to analyze the situation.
'Evidence destruction and spatial condensation!'
All the surrounding ghosts, spirits, and elementals would have been swept away by the storm and thrown into the sea. It was that powerful. Later, any magical traces left behind would be completely erased. The same would apply to the spirit realm.
He also realized that teleportation had been completely blocked. The flow of magical energy had been intricately twisted, making it indistinguishable from the outside.
But...
'Why was I asleep until it reached this point?'
His body felt heavy.
So heavy.
"No way!"
He looked down at his hands.
The ring he had been wearing was gone. It had dissolved into his body as a magical wave and integrated into him. It was now impossible to remove it, even if he wanted to.
He had won it just yesterday in a bet with Raymond. The face of the ancient dragon, whom he had trusted without doubt, flashed in his mind.
"Raymond, what is this? It wasn't here last time."
"Hmm? I don't remember where it came from either. Recently, I had the slaves reorganize things, and it seems something that was deep inside was moved to the entrance. Did you pick it up?"
"Yes. I'm intrigued."
He recalled Raymond's surprised expression when he chose the ring from his vault.
Was that all an act?
He remembered something he had muttered in front of Raymond once.
"I'm currently searching for a way to avoid death."
Could that statement have reached them?
Had it been conveyed to those targeting him?
"Quite tenacious. Most dragons wouldn't be able to break this."
A voice came from the darkness. The Dragon Lord glared with his sweat-soaked face.
And he saw an unwelcome visitor.
"You…!"
He recognized the figure. It was a face he hadn't imagined meeting again in this place.
The Lord feigned calmness and taunted.
"Still alive, huh? I know turtles are long-lived creatures, but even so, your life is quite long."
From the shadows, Todd emerged, grinning.
The Dragon Lord clearly remembered him.
They had clashed several times at the frontlines during the war. They had each managed to half-kill the other in turns but had never succeeded in fully finishing off their opponent. Both had resented the fact and waited for the next opportunity. Yet, neither achieved their goals before the war ended.
The dragon felt old grudges, anger, hatred, and disgust flare up again. Whether the emotions were transmitted directly or not, Todd reflected them back as if in a mirror. However, when returned, they were wrapped in a more casual and cold mockery.
"Congratulations. You're the twin, right?"
The Lord's face stiffened.
That was still a secret unknown to any of his kin. He looked down at the ring and clenched his teeth.
"Could it be that Raymond has joined forces with you?"
"Heh. The old dragon who is too foolish to join forces with maggots wouldn't have imagined it. He didn't even know such an item existed in his lair."
The Lord recalled Raymond's words when he handed over the ring.
Raymond, who had collected treasures for thousands of years and changed his residence dimension several times, did not remember how it came into his possession. Such things often happened with dragons overflowing with treasures.
Although it might be possible to trace it by calling a manager to check the records, the two dragons decided not to bother with that effort. Raymond, shamed by his 129 consecutive losses, did not want to involve anyone else.
"The only dragon on Earth with a deep interest in Endelion's magical tools. A dragon needing armor because of a newly born 'child.' A dragon who always played the same predictable game of go with a friend whenever he came to Hong Kong. It was easy to create something that such a dragon would pick."
How long had they been observing him?
Todd smiled satisfactorily as he watched the dragon grit his teeth.
"Thanks to you picking it out as expected and even studying it, I think the rest of the plan can be put aside. Thank you."
It seemed he had prepared several traps beyond just the ring.
Given that he mentioned twins, there was likely a plan involving blackmail with Inais and the egg as hostages. Todd might already be waiting by her side, preparing for any possible complications.
"…!"
Within the vast penthouse, intruders surrounded him from all sides.
All were Todds.
"The time to end old grudges has come. I would like to tear you apart right here, but… I have my circumstances as well. You'll have to come with us."
The Dragon Lord did not hesitate. He knew he couldn't use his true strength in this state. Knowing teleportation was impossible, he tried to revert from polymorph and return to his true form.
The penthouse was essentially the top floor of the ICC building, and there would be no one at the pool or rooftop club above. If he could control the situation as precisely as possible and blow only the roof away without destroying the lower floors, there might be no casualties…
"…!"
The dragon froze for a moment.
The moment he tried to revert from polymorph, strange magical energy surged from the ring. It was aimed at his brain in a very sharp and brutal manner.
The alien grinned with evident pleasure.
"How does it feel? Doesn't it bring back old memories?"
The dragon remembered this pattern and lamented.
If only he had been given a little more time.
If he had had just a few more days to study, he could have figured out the ring's nature. But they had attacked just hours after he obtained it.
This was an ancient magical tool created by the old races to capture dragons. When a bound dragon cast a spell, it would transform its internal magical energy into uncontrollable thermal energy, turning its body into ashes. Back then, it was in the form of a massive chain net tailored to dragon sizes.
Endelion and those bizarre geniuses had advanced the technology in the meantime. It was likely disguised as a 'tentacle holder' armor, originally designed for tentacles and adjustable in size. Perhaps it was a contingency plan for future wars?
"It has advanced beyond comparison. If you cast a spell in the current state, it will selectively cook the organs that control magical energy. For you… yes, it would be like a magical brain."
As the Todds surrounded him, they gradually closed in.
The Dragon Lord realized there were no remaining options.
"If they were prepared to this extent, they could have killed me. But they are still attempting to abduct me."
Hostage situation?
That would lead to an all-out war immediately. There are better ways to start a war.
"No, my disappearance will remain a mystery."
He realized that this abduction would never be known to the world.
The storm unleashed at the top of the building would help cover it. It resembled phenomena occurring when preparing a massive spell. The design was clearly intentional. With this, it would be plausible to suggest that the Dragon Lord vanished while testing a new planetary-level spell, opening an Abyssal Gate.
"Why do they want to abduct me?"
Only one reason came to mind.
It must be the same reason why the ancient races stole his parents' bodies.
"They want my body!"
In the midst of the crisis, the Lord tried to think.
Was there a way to escape without reverting from polymorph? Any way to call for help?
None.
Then, could he surrender his body to the ancient races like this?
Absolutely not.
Once captured, he was as good as dead.
He was not afraid of dying. But he was afraid of disappearing without executing everything he had planned. And…
"No. My Dragon Heart… this, at least!"
The future of his race depended on this.
"…!"
The Dragon Lord looked out at the storm. His kin would have noticed the anomaly and were watching the building. They would not dare approach.
He made a decision.
"I'm sorry."
He muttered an apology that would never be conveyed. It was for the attendants who stayed in the building with him, trapped inside the hotel without knowing anything.
"Please… may there be few casualties."
At that moment.
Boom!
A dazzling flash burst from the dragon's body. Todd gasped and shouted.
"No… that crazy lizard!"
Todd was once again stunned. The dragon had definitely cast a spell. In that case, the brain should be cooked before the polymorph was fully dispelled. Even if the sorcerer died, the polymorph would remain during the brief period when the magical energy evaporated. It was best to capture him alive, but taking the corpse would be acceptable if necessary.
However…
"Crazy bastard! Holding out even as his brain cooks!"
Todd panicked.
"Just kill him! Seal him in a pocket dimension…"
At that moment, in the presence of all the dragons gathered in Hong Kong.
The upper floors of the ICC building exploded.
<165. Hate to Hate (3) End>