The Foreigner on the Periphery

Rumble! Crash!

A deafening roar erupted, tearing through the quiet city air.

Everyone stopped their telepathic waves and froze. Minjun stared straight through the darkness at the spectacle.

The explosion expanded with heavy mass. From the top of the building, the observers watched a massive form bloom outward, sending glass, concrete, and rebar flying. It resembled Jenkinson, possessing multiple layers of wings, a smoothly curving neck, two arms, two legs, and a long, extended tail.

A Fire Dragon.

Jenkinson gasped in horror.

"Ah!"

Smashing through the ICC, the entity initially appeared the size of a Hatchling before rapidly growing into a young dragon hundreds of years old. From there, it expanded to the size of an Ancient Dragon of Jenkinson's age, and soon swelled to a colossal scale that surpassed even that.

Minjun knew this was the result of a suddenly deactivated Polymorph. Rod, who had been in the room in human form, had abruptly reverted to his dragon body.

But that was only the beginning. The Elder Dragon's massive body plummeted helplessly. It looked like a beast plunging onto a long, sharp spear. The beast was simply too heavy, however, and the spear not sturdy enough to impale it.

The towering building was crushed beneath the dragon's mass.

The exterior physical barriers, designed to withstand terrorist attacks, could not support the weight of a dragon. Starting from the upper floors, the wards buckled and shattered explosively. Consequently, the collapse took on an entirely different pattern from a natural structural failure.

Like the mythical Tower of Babel, the tallest building in Hong Kong began to fall.

Rumble!

Crushed by the falling dragon, the building crumpled from the top down. If it were a living creature, it was being pulverized from head to tail, shedding debris like plucked scales. An unseen but violent hand seemed to be dismantling it. Sparks and smoke traced a straight line along the path of destruction. It surged downward, further downward, like a lit fuse.

At the end of that fuse lay the only thing here that could possibly outweigh a falling dragon...

The dragon slammed into the ground.

—!

A heart-stopping roar echoed once more.

Rumble!

The earth writhed and shook. A violent tremor swept across the Kowloon Peninsula, lasting for quite some time.

Debris swept in all directions from ground zero. Steel and glass hailed down within the shockwave, leaving gruesome scars on nearby buildings as if they had been strafed by machine guns. Following that sudden violence, a thick cloud of dust settled at a contrasting, creeping pace. It slowly swallowed the earth.

Another string of explosions followed.

Bang! Boom!

Mountainous flames erupted. It was then that the magic field distorting the area around the ICC vanished.

The dragons, who had been staring speechlessly at the spectacle, snapped back to reality. The collapse had only taken a few seconds, but it felt as if years had passed.

"Hurry!"

Minjun and the dragons took flight to manage the fallout. Like firefighters, they poured Magic over the ruins of the building. The blazes were quickly extinguished, but the collapsed structure could not be restored. There was no way to even estimate how many people had died.

And as for the dragon that had caused this explosion...

"..."

It was a gruesome sight.

Minjun looked at the limp dragon sprawled across the sunken earth. He could tell at a glance. There was no life force left in that body.

"Rod!"

Jenkinson screamed. The telepathic waves fired off by the other dragons frantically colored the sky.

Frozen like a statue, Minjun stared at the horribly mangled corpse of the gold Ancient Dragon.

The man he had shared drinks with until just before dawn, the Dragon Lord, lay dead. His body was bent at a grotesque angle. His long tail stretched northwest, spilling over the breakwater and dipping into the sea, while his head was thrown southeast, buried in the rubble of what used to be Austin Road. His twelve wings, slumped to one side, had completely obliterated the entrance to the undersea tunnel leading to Hong Kong Island.

Minjun stared at the ground beneath his feet for a long time. The surrounding high-rises, torn and fractured by the collapse, looked down alongside him. Shrouded in black smoke, the skyscrapers resembled tombstones memorializing the oldest dragon on Earth and the victims dragged down with him.

*

The Princess of Endelion was awake even at dawn.

As her bronze tentacles shifted, a single Sword appeared in their place. Compared to her body, it was a tiny object, no bigger than a single strand of hair. Though, of course, the Endelion lacked body hair.

Observing it, she pondered once more.

'There's no spiritual reaction. It's not an Ego Sword.'

Minjun had secretly sent this Sword and requested her to examine it. She recalled the contents of his confidential letter.

"I'm certain this has possessed several people by now. The last host was disintegrated at the molecular level thanks to the Frying Pan you gave me, making interrogation impossible. But when I examined this Sword right after... there was absolutely nothing wrong with it."

Del had already run several experiments on the Sword. The results matched Minjun's claims.

"Here's what I think. Rather than holding a fragment of Asiph-1 from the start, it just had an ordinary curse on it, and that effect has run its course. Maybe that last attack was just that fatal? Still, I want you to inspect it yourself just in case. Endelion's technology might uncover secrets I couldn't."

There was a limit to the experiments Del could perform on Earth. Thus, the princess planned to quietly send it back to her home dimension. She didn't hold high hopes, but one detail bothered her.

The princess muttered inwardly. 'It took an attack from that Frying Pan and still maintained its shape? Instead of being completely pulverized?'

Of course, Minjun might have subconsciously used his genius instincts to launch a target-selective attack or deploy a probability-manipulating Distortion Field. Those were functions supported by that Frying Pan.

'But I never taught him how to do that.'

She decided to send it off for now, just to be safe.

"Director, I have an urgent report for you."

An alien covered in white feathers requested an audience. Del granted it.

The door opened. A tiny creature, no different from an ant compared to her, walked in. It was a staff member that a middle manager from the Committee had sent along when she was dispatched to Earth. He was a full-time employee who used to work at headquarters, though he wasn't part of the Ancient Race.

Del broadcasted a telepathic wave.

"What is it, Dotes?"

Dotes, having stepped through the door, froze before the tentacled creature that measured six kilometers in diameter. He had seen this sight many times, yet he still wasn't used to it. An instinctive terror welled up within him every time he stood before her. He almost resented Gadwick for dispatching him here. He would have much preferred a furry nematode closer to his own size.

Struggling to compose himself, he spoke.

"It has just been confirmed that Earth's Dragon Lord has died."

Dotes gauged his superior's reaction.

After being ordered to stay by the Endelion's side, he had learned how to interpret their body language. It involved reading eye movements, twitches, the wriggling of tentacles, and changes in epidermal pigmentation.

Dotes, who had been confident in his thorough studies before his deployment, fell into confusion once again upon looking at Del.

Her current demeanor equated to a completely blank expression for other species.

The princess had been like this since their first meeting. It was as if she belonged to a race utterly devoid of emotion. She was as still as a lifeless object and as cold as ice. To someone who understood the fiery, passionate temperament of an Endelion, it was downright bizarre.

Even upon hearing such massive news, she didn't show the slightest hint of agitation.

'Is it a trait of royalty?'

Before the perplexed Dotes, the princess spoke.

"Understood. Please transmit the relevant data. I will review it and issue directives on how to proceed."

"I have already sent it. Then..."

After Dotes left, a tentacle tapped the empty air. A massive hologram materialized. Photos and videos of the Fire Dragon covered in golden scales appeared, followed by detailed descriptions.

The Endelion reviewed the profile of the Dragon Lord who had died today. Then, her gaze settled on a single detail.

— Classified as one of the most prominent hardliners among Earth's dragons. Caution advised.

Since Rod had died, the dragons would have to elect a new representative.

The Endelion scanned the list of potential candidates in the file. Then, she fell into deep thought.

Her contemplation continued until the break of dawn.

*

"Day has already broken. Are the heirs still not fully gathered? Just how long do they plan to leave Rod's body abandoned on the street?"

Minjun asked, sounding thoroughly baffled.

"I don't like this situation either."

A haggard-looking Jenkinson sighed.

He was currently suppressing the urge to fly straight to Africa and rip into an elephant.

"But it can't be helped."

Whether the Balaur Council, scheduled to take place in a few days, would still happen was now uncertain. They had to elect a new Rod immediately, and that wasn't something decided overnight.

Given the circumstances, most of the dragons chose to remain here instead of returning home. They layered Magic over the corpse so no one could touch it.

Taking it upon themselves to act as witnesses, they were currently waiting for all of Rod's heirs to gather. This included those who hadn't come to Hong Kong because they hadn't been slated to attend the council in the first place.

For context, the dragons exempt from attending the Balaur Council were primarily Hatchlings and their mothers.

"There are quite a few Hatchlings among the heirs. The children can't travel, so the mothers who were with them will come as their guardians instead. They're anxious about leaving them alone in their Lairs, so the delay is from them meticulously setting up wards."

Minjun frowned slightly at that explanation.

The two were standing on the rooftop of a nearby building that offered a clear view of the collapsed ICC site. Besides them, dragons were scattered all around, keeping watch over the area.

Minjun looked down. Something that was still hard to accept as reality lay down there.

The lifeless corpse of a golden Ancient Dragon.

With his past and present egos intertwining, Minjun felt a complex swirl of emotions.

"..."

Due to its sheer size, the corpse looked less like the remains of a living creature and more like a topographical feature or a massive structure.

Traffic in the area had been completely cordoned off. Aside from the dragons and Minjun, not even a rat was in sight.

The Ancient Dragon whose territory encompassed Hong Kong had declared martial law. Broadcasters and individuals who had tried to fly helicopters or drones to film the dragon's corpse right before the announcement had faced the Ancient Dragon's wrath.

Meanwhile, given the scale of the incident, the number of casualties was relatively low. The only residential facility within the ICC was a single Hotel, which Rod had rented out in its entirety beforehand. Since it was the early hours of the morning, the office floors were also practically empty.

Without touching the dragon's corpse, the work to excavate those caught in the disaster and rescue the injured from surrounding buildings had already finished by dawn. Considering the scale of the collapse, it was an almost miraculous pace. With hundreds of dragons stepping in directly, there was no room for delay.

Of course, if one looked closely at their motives, it was less about rescuing the Non-Dragon Races and more of a forensic sweep to uncover the truth behind the incident.

"It still doesn't feel real."

Jenkinson, watching the scene alongside him, lamented once more. His face was filled with emptiness and a profound sense of loss.

The dragon muttered in a sorrow-steeped voice.

"How could something like this happen?"

Rod was the oldest among Earth's dragons, and as conventional wisdom held, a dragon's age was largely proportional to their power.

Therefore, Jenkinson found it hard to imagine who could possibly pull off such a feat. A few dragons were murmuring theories about Rod committing suicide, but knowing his temperament, that was absolute nonsense.

Minjun spoke with a dark expression.

"If we're talking about someone capable of assassinating Rod, doesn't it inevitably narrow down to the Ancient Race?"

"That may be true, but..."

It was a possibility he loathed to even speak of.

Jenkinson asked in return.

"They shouldn't be in a position to pull off something so blatantly obvious, right?"

One wrong move, and it could ignite a massive conflict involving other dimensions.

"If it really was their doing, they would have thoroughly hidden the evidence. They must have made their move because they were confident they could get away with it."

That was the Committee's way of doing things.

Of all times, the timing was devastating. Minjun recalled the conversation he had with Rod yesterday.

Flash!

Just then, a light flashed, and another dragon appeared in the sky. The moment she revealed herself, she screamed at the sight of the corpse.

"Rod!"

Minjun recognized her.

She was one of the deceased's ex-wives.

That meant she had also borne his child. He remembered that much, but he couldn't recall exactly which number her child was among Rod's offspring.

"Lepasrar, the child she gave birth to is still a Hatchling, isn't it?"

"Yes. She holds the qualifications as a guardian to an heir."

The reason the Dragon Lord's body was still abandoned at the scene was due to their unique funeral rites.

Unless it was a special case like Jang Tae-jun or Changcheon, it was a rule that had to be upheld.

The reason it couldn't be casually moved was simple. A dragon's corpse was a treasure of immense value in and of itself.

And an Ancient Dragon? That went without saying.

Not only the most precious Dragon Heart, but the scales, bones, blood, and various organs... they were all treated as top-tier sacred treasures in any dimension. It was the same even among the Dragon Race.

For this reason, when a dragon died, the bereaved family did not bury the corpse. Doing so would only tempt interdimensional grave robbers, who grew more thrilled the more impossible the challenge seemed. They didn't burn it, either, because even hellfire couldn't fully incinerate it. Nor did they hide it away where no one could touch it. The inherent value of the corpse was simply too extraordinary to squander.

Therefore, dragon funeral rites took on a form that would horrify any other species.

The procedure was straightforward. When an Ancient Dragon breathed their last, the direct heirs would gather to butcher the corpse, divide it into equal portions, and take their share.

'Rod, I never thought I would have to see you like this.'

Jenkinson stared downward once more, consumed by grief.

It was rare for a corpse to be exposed to the outside world like this. The current situation was the result of a series of abnormal events. Originally, dragons of that age usually died of natural causes and could sense the moment of their passing in advance. They would call their families together and draw their final breath within their Lair.

Now, the order had been flipped entirely. Until all the heirs gathered, no one could touch the body.

After a moment of silence, Minjun asked, as if struck by a sudden thought.

"Shouldn't we summon the extraterrestrial heirs as well?"

"I've already checked on that. Before defecting to Earth, he finalized all settlements and severed ties with his children from other dimensions. I wouldn't be surprised if astronomical sums were exchanged."

"So only the Earth heirs need to gather. How many have arrived so far?"

"Eleven adult heirs who were already in Hong Kong. And four dragons who arrived belatedly as guardians for the Hatchling heirs."

"Then we just need three more to show up."

"No, just two."

"Hmm?"

Minjun searched his memory. He had heard the story just yesterday, so there was no way he was mistaken.

"Aren't there three left? Dragon inheritance rights are strictly reserved for their children, right?"

"Yes, which means two are left. The Dragon Lord fathered a total of seventeen children on Earth. That's counting the illegitimate child that was recently laid."

"...?!"

"So far, fifteen heirs and guardians have arrived, meaning we only need two more. That makes seventeen in total."

Minjun was thrown into confusion. He clearly remembered what Rod had told him at the bar.

"There are eighteen on Earth alone."

He had stated it plainly. He had fathered a total of eighteen children on Earth.

Could he have possibly mistaken the number of his own children?

'There's no way.'

Impossible. Rod wasn't that kind of dragon.

But there was no reason for him to lie to Minjun about it, either.

He asked again just to be sure.

"That last divorce party of Rod's I went to... which number was that?"

"That was the sixteenth."

He had a child with each marriage. Having gone through sixteen divorces, he had fathered sixteen children, making it seventeen if the egg he had with his live-in partner was included. The math added up perfectly.

'So why did Rod tell me there were eighteen?'

Suspicions began to swell.

'Could it be?'

Why would he say such a thing to Minjun just hours before he died?

His expression grew complex.

'Does he have a hidden child on Earth?'

But why hint at it to Minjun, who wasn't even a dragon? A secret not even his kin like Jenkinson knew?

Of course, it could have been a slip of the tongue. Accidentally blurting out a secret to Minjun that he had hidden from the other dragons...

'Nonsense. That's not it.'

Minjun shook his head.

'He wasn't that careless.'

Then there was only one conclusion left to draw.

Rod had an intention behind saying that.

'But...'

From start to finish, the situation was full of incomprehensible mysteries, yet this was the part that baffled Minjun the most.

He simply couldn't guess why a dragon would need to hide their own young.

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