< 166. Hate to Hate (4) >
Even after the story ended, Jenkinson remained in shock for a while.
He stood with a posture that seemed half-broken, slowly raising his hand. He hesitated as he tried to cover his mouth, and then, with his hand still in the air, muttered with a puzzled expression about where he should place it.
"Lord..."
Minjun watched as his eyes slowly turned red.
"Oh my god, Lord. You..."
There were plenty of dragons mourning the death of the Dragon Lord.
But dragons crying over the death of a dragon who was practically a stranger?
Minjun couldn't recall any instances of that, even after searching through his memories.
Even the memories seemed to resist, showing him the image of Adkiel instead. Despite his daily interactions with Adkiel, who had been consumed by a monster and turned into a rag of death, the guiding dragon showed no signs of sorrow. He just lost interest upon realizing there was no Dragon Heart.
Of course, the dragon from that time was not the dragon of today. The former was a lawless and violent contrast. Yet Minjun kept thinking about Adkiel.
"Now it all makes sense. He was trying to protect his own corpse. To keep it from falling into the hands of the ancient race."
So the Dragon Lord endured the agony of burning his brain to release the polymorph.
"Yes, Jenkinson. The scene of the ICC building collapsing was witnessed by all the dragons gathered in Hong Kong. The site where Lord crushed the building. They could not possibly steal the body in front of so many witnesses. Their only option was to escape unnoticed."
Minjun continued.
"The reason they targeted Inaes, too, turns out to be simple. They were keeping an eye on her from the beginning, planning to take her hostage if needed. However, even after Lord's death, they did not withdraw from the Amazon."
"Why?"
"They seemed to be desperate to steal an egg carrying his blood. They planned to hatch it in a controlled environment and then research it..."
"What the hell!"
Jenkinson swore with words that were difficult to describe.
Minjun heard such rough language from his friend for the first time in hundreds of years.
He paused before continuing.
"But they eventually gave up on that plan. Looking at the cases of other children of the deceased, it seemed like a pointless endeavor. However, the fact that they were close to Inaes, from the perspective of the committee rather than the Todd race, was fortunate. They intercepted the entire tax evasion plan by monitoring communications."
If it had been near Minjun, they would have been caught, but since it was in Inaes's lair, it was possible. Ultimately, they decided to focus on the committee's work after failing in their secret mission within the race.
Proving the tax evasion charges against Asif-666.
The reason they brutally tormented Inaes in the deep jungle while keeping her alive.
"It seemed like a form of desecration, close to a grave insult. An emotional outburst. Knowing that Lord was already dead, they expressed their anger and hatred by viciously killing the dragon's lover and child, who had troubled them in the final moments..."
"Those bastards should be boiled alive in sewage!"
Jenkinson shouted furiously.
"I understand! This needs to be shared with everyone. But we need evidence to persuade the dragons!"
"The evidence is already in front of your eyes."
"What?"
Was Minjun going to testify in front of them himself? That would be quite risky in this situation.
Or...
"I see."
Jenkinson realized a beat too late.
Although he couldn't see it, Minjun could see that there were entities here.
=Ah, it hurts... it hurts...=
=You promised! So please, at least... I don't care what happens to the rest. Just release me.=
=No, me! Not the others, me...! It hurts. It's painful. Please... send me where I need to go. Release me. Let me drift away!=
=I hate it. It's hateful. I can't endure it.=
=Ah... Ah... Aaaaaaah!=
Minjun thought it was fortunate for Jenkinson that he couldn't see the chaos unfolding behind him.
Being killed alone was already a condition of a terrible death.
Moreover, when Minjun had exorcised the Todds, the conditions were horrific by any race's standards, and the resulting spirits swirled on his shoulders.
They had their tough shells half-torn off, bellies scraped open spilling their entrails, heads smashed with eyes dangling, blunt fingers and webbing crushed into thick, meaty masses, and bodies half-burned and half-crushed, snarling and biting each other in agony.
Spirits tangled and burning like flames.
=Send me away, please!=
Among them were even some spirits that were very close to being summoned directly to the spirit realm instead of becoming wraiths.
But Minjun didn't miss even that. Although it seemed impossible just days ago, he had bound them without hesitation, and their souls had become wraiths.
He was not surprised. It was something he had done long ago.
"The testimony will come from these creatures."
Jenkinson paused before speaking again.
"It would be better to gather the dragons, wouldn't it? How long can wraiths be held? I remember they didn't last even an hour before."
"Time is no longer an issue."
So much had changed.
Swallowing his groans, the dragon said.
"It's embarrassing to say it myself, but there will be arguments that we cannot help a fugitive just because the ancient race killed Lord."
"I told you. This is no longer a matter of a few dragons; it's a matter of the entire race's survival. No dragon can be free from here."
After all, the ancient race was an enemy to all dragons, and among them, the Cabites and Todds had ventured into very dangerous territories.
The crucial difference was that while there were no captured Cabites yet, Todds had been obtained. Therefore, they could be used to motivate the dragons.
Minjun recited the most important information salvaged from Todd's memories.
"Those turtle bastards have a rough idea of Cabites' plans. They have viruses to infect dragons, tricks to manipulate dragon souls, attempts to mix with other races. All these seem to be plans to 'weaken' dragons in some way and 'modify' them as desired."
"Yes. Lord thought so too, and I agree."
"They intend to steal Cabites' research results by any means. The secrets of the dragon race. They targeted Dragon Lord as the key and the ultimate goal is..."
Minjun paused to choose his words.
"You know, right? If Cabites hates dragons, then Todds hate them even more."
The Todd race, having fought the most battles and caused the most casualties, had an anger incomparable to other races. Even more obsessively enraged than the defeated dragon race, it could be considered a trait of their kind.
"They plan to take advantage of Cabites' plans. Suppress dragons, seize everything they had, and then..."
If Cabites thought they could use dragons as tools.
"...Ultimately, they aim to exterminate dragons."
Todds believed that the world no longer needed dragons.
"Hello, is anyone there? Are you still there?"
The chained brain dragon asked anxiously, looking through the glass wall. Though he couldn't see outside, someone outside could see him.
Soon, someone answered as the dragon had guessed.
"Yes, what now?"
A dull voice.
It was Asif-26,188,280, William Evans.
As soon as he arrived on Earth, the convict unexpectedly found himself assigned to monitor criminals at the terminal.
"Can I ask you one thing?"
The dragon, struggling to turn his chained neck, spoke.
Of course, it could be ignored. But William happened to be quite bored. And despite being a mad criminal, the curiosity of encountering a 'real Earthling' for the first time made him interested.
"What's that?"
"Are you a convict?"
There was no reason to keep it secret at this point. He confirmed it with silence.
"I have a question about you."
Expecting some obvious answer, he asked.
"Do you like your current body?"
Oh, that's quite a novel question.
Among the very few civilians who knew his identity in the past, none had asked such a thing. William pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Not particularly. But I do have an interest in experiencing bodies of other races."
For example, trolls or, though it's impossible, 'dragons'.
"That voice. You are human, aren't you?"
"Well, at least that's what my body is right now."
"So, you've never experienced another body, which means you've only used a human form until now?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"But you find it tolerable?"
"Rather than finding it tolerable, there isn't any significant aversion to it from the start."
The dragon's expression changed abruptly.
"······?!"
William didn't have much experience with dragons. He had been assigned to track down a dragon criminal during his first posting, but he was excluded from the team, which was mostly composed of senior prisoners. He hadn't been involved in that legendary scene where sulfuric acid was poured over the skin that had just molted.
In any case, reading a dragon's expression wasn't easy for him.
Still.
'That dragon, is it really enjoying this?'
There was no room for misunderstanding.
The dragon, who used the name 'Leo' on Earth, was clearly very pleased.
The voice dripping with excitement and anticipation.
"I see. If it's not unbearable or intolerable, then that's good enough. The prisoner is happy."
What? No, wait. What?
It was so absurd that a choking sound escaped his throat, which apparently got transmitted through the microphone.
"Is that not so?"
"Are you kidding? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"If it's that level, then it's a happy life for me. According to my standards."
"No, no matter how you put it."
"Do you know? I did some research too, and although there are too many secrets in that field to know for sure, there's a story that not a single prisoner has committed suicide. Is that true?"
William racked his memory.
Even so, there should have been at least one.
'Wait a minute?'
No, there were none.
At least among the cases he had encountered, none had taken extreme measures during their confinement period. Although there were cases of prisoners who met their end due to unforeseen accidents, no one had made an extreme choice during their confinement.
'On the contrary, there were those who committed suicide after regaining their freedom.'
William remembered a colleague from his first posting. She was loved by the citizens of the Republic and known by the nickname 'Mother of All,' but she committed suicide as soon as she regained her freedom.
Her sobbing echoed in his ears.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
The Committee kept silent, but her fellow colleagues could guess the truth.
Yet, they could never truly fathom her feelings.
What kind of emotion did she feel when she realized that she was the one who had originally cast the people she sought to save into that terrible hell?
"I admit that calling it happiness is an overstatement. It's an exaggeration. But it's better than this. Still, not everyone is always happy, right? Living is a pit of unhappiness, and we endure it by basking in the fleeting sunlight. That's enough."
William felt he should be angry or should at least rebut something.
But as he reflected on himself.
'Well, I'm just paying for my crimes. I'm not going mad because I don't want to do this right now.'
Had he ever wanted to avoid work?
The more work you do, the closer you get to freedom. You repay your karma through work.
"Even so, it shouldn't be voluntary. I can't understand you at all."
"I've heard that as time goes on, mental problems arise. But that should be after at least a few hundred years, right? I haven't even lived a hundred years yet. So, it's better than my current situation. As long as it's not being a dragon."
He repeated quietly.
As long as it's not being a dragon.
"So, how many hundreds of years did that prisoner who escaped this time endure? Do you know?"
Leo asked with an air of expectation.
However.
"He passed the 700-year mark back then, so now he must have surpassed 800 years."
"Have you met him?"
He had worked with him in Ashtal and had recently exchanged letters. William had informed him of the Earth posting a few months ago. He had expressed a desire to take on a troll body this time and had grumbled about why prisoners didn't get dragon bodies.
He hadn't anticipated this situation coming up.
"I worked with him. At that time, he went by the name 'Cain.'"
"I see."
"He used a peculiar name here. Let's see… Yes, 'Minjun.'"
At that moment.
"What? What did you say?!"
Seeing the dragon's face change in an instant, prisoner William muttered.
He had no idea what expression that was supposed to be.
In the darkness, Minjun reviewed the conversation while waiting for someone.
'Minjun, there are still a few questions remaining. From the will, it seems like Rod placed immense significance on his heart. But could it really be a weapon that could change the tide of the fight against the Committee?'
'There's another mystery. This unidentified cube he left me.'
'And if he viewed the ancient species as enemies, what's the meaning of entrusting the corpse caretaker to Endelion?'
Whoosh!
Meanwhile, he saw a spirit flying in from afar.
Seeing it, Minjun recalled the words Jenkins had said just before parting.
"I have one last thing to say. I tried to protect the people you cared about in every way I could. To prevent the Committee from harming them. But I'm sorry. I couldn't find one of them."
"Oh, that guy? Don't worry."
"What? No way?!"
Minjun saw the person Jenkins had been so worried about.
The reason why the dragon with Korea as its domain was deeply concerned was twofold.
First, because he considered him one of 'Minjun's people.'
Second, because, no matter what the contents were, the shell he was currently using was a dragon.
= I've figured out the general structure of the lair, Agent. =
Ha Eunsung, who had been dragged all the way to Hong Kong without understanding what was going on, recounted the structure of the lair in detail.
"Good, that's enough."
The owner of the lair, Roybert, had been alternating between Hong Kong and this place recently, and today he happened to be staying here.
That dragon had run for the position of Lord and could be classified as a pacifist. Of course, that was a positive way to put it; his main argument was, 'Let's not provoke a situation where the value of assets the dragons hold on Earth plummets by unnecessarily breaking the peace mood.'
Moreover, he was a dragon who had already been predicted by Jenkins to throw an opposing vote to everything Jenkins advocated and would push the atmosphere by dismissing any future testimony from spirits as 'memories of a subordinate spirit, hence unreliable.'
'Jenkins will create an atmosphere to get the dragons to help me. I'm just assisting Jenkins in that.'
He held a dark-hued sword in one hand and a silver frying pan in the other. And he advanced toward the lair's owner.
"Alright, Roybert. It's time for dinner."
< 166. Hate to Hate (4) > End