Aside from the heirs, the other dragons murmured among themselves, burning with curiosity.
"Come to think of it, why is that prisoner still here?"
"I heard Jenkinson of South Korea brought him. He's an invited witness to the Balaur Council, so no one has kicked him out."
"But we can't proceed with the council like this. Is there really a need to let him stay at such a sensitive gathering? He isn't even a dragon. Worse, he's a Committee prisoner."
"Still, since he was mentioned in the will, kicking him out feels a bit..."
Meanwhile, the hostility rolling off the heirs grew even sharper.
Though they didn't voice it aloud, similar thoughts crossed their minds.
'The private vaults scattered across New York are practically annexes to Father's Lair. They're dispersed treasure troves. Every single one is protected by the highest-grade barriers, so whatever is hidden inside couldn't possibly be ordinary. And he's handing them over to a prisoner?'
'We can't ignore a will proclaimed before the entire Dragon Race. For now, it's best to let that bastard inherit it. Whatever accidental misfortune befalls him afterward will have nothing to do with the will.'
While they were lost in their respective thoughts, the Dragon Lord's will continued.
"The following pertains to the succession of the Dragon Lord. As the representative of Earth's dragons, I have gladly undertaken my duties until now. The Dragon Lord is a crucial position that coordinates and gathers the opinions of our kin within this dimension. Therefore, I advise that a successor be elected swiftly upon the confirmation of my death."
"However, it is a pity that there are rarely any kin willing to volunteer for the role. If there are no applicants, it is faster to simply designate one."
"I recommend the Fire Dragon class Red Dragon, Jenkinson (12 Pyeongchang 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea), as the candidate for the next Dragon Lord. I judge him to be a talent capable of making up for the inadequacies of my tenure; he is an excellent dragon lacking nothing in experience, attitude, character, or intellect. I entreat the voters to give this deep consideration."
Jenkinson's eyes bulged as if they were going to pop out of his head, and a gasp escaped his parted lips.
He hadn't imagined in his wildest dreams that the Rod would leave behind instructions regarding a successor in his will.
Let alone recommending him as the next Rod?!
A commotion rippled through the other dragons.
"Jenkinson? Why him of all people?"
"Their styles were quite similar. ...In a bad way, that is."
"You mean that eccentric habit of calling things like elves and humans his friends? By that logic, even a cockroach could be a dragon's friend."
"We accepted it from the Rod because he was so ancient, but Jenkinson? He's a bit unreliable."
"Then what are we supposed to do? Are you going to take the position?"
"...No, I'd rather not."
"It's a position everyone hates taking anyway. It's a relief the Rod put it in his will like that. We can expect Jenkinson to burn with a sense of duty and jump right at it."
The will moved on to the next topic.
"Finally, I deliver my instructions regarding the disposal of my corpse."
The heirs held their breath.
This was the main event.
Out of the astronomical wealth possessed by that Ancient Dragon, the most valuable asset was his corpse.
"I wish for my body to 'fundamentally' be handled according to the Dragonic Code."
"Phew."
"Yeah, of course."
Relief spread among the heirs.
Abiding by the Dragonic Code meant his children would divide it equally.
The deceased had possessed a bizarre and unpredictable temperament, but it seemed he intended to follow common sense regarding the most important matter.
"For reference, I clarify that the children born before I came to Earth have waived their inheritance rights by mutual agreement. Therefore, any dragon born after midnight on December 24, 1945, Earth Standard Time, who can prove they are my biological child, may claim rights to my corpse. The criteria for determining biological children will also follow the Dragonic Code."
No dragon noticed Minjun's expression contort strangely at that moment.
They were all too deeply focused on the will.
"However."
Then came a bombshell declaration.
"The Dragon Heart shall be an exception."
"...!"
The heirs felt the stinging betrayal of being repeatedly stabbed in the back today.
What? The Dragon Heart?
Why make that an exception?!
That was the most precious item in the Ancient Dragon's entire legacy...!
"I ask for my children's understanding once more. Due to special circumstances, my Dragon Heart cannot be shattered into pieces, nor should it be."
The heirs suppressed the urge to spew violent curses. There were simply too many Ancient Dragons around for them to act out. Instead, they howled internally.
'That's complete bullshit! The Dragon Hearts of other Ancient Dragons were split and shared perfectly fine... why is yours the only one that can't be!'
Without returning an answer to that question, the recorded Magic message continued calmly.
"Even so, joint ownership of the Dragon Heart is impractical and unsuited to the nature of the Dragon Race. Therefore, I wish for the Dragon Heart to be possessed by a single heir in its complete and perfect form."
If so, which of the seventeen heirs would claim it?
Unable to even breathe properly, the dragons waited for his next words.
"Among the various wills I have prepared, the condition for 'this one' to activate is my unnatural death. Thus, I demand a thorough investigation into the truth of my death, and I want revenge. I shall bequeath my Dragon Heart to the heir who makes the greatest contribution to that process."
One of his children finally lost their temper and exploded with resentment.
"Father! Just what are you...!"
It was a scream that could not reach him.
Meanwhile, the other dragons watched the situation spiral in an unimaginable direction. It was an unprecedented, utterly bizarre will. The onlookers were just as incapable of guessing the Rod's intentions. Up to this point, however, their mindset was akin to watching a fire on the opposite shore. It was merely interesting because it wasn't their problem anyway.
But in the very next moment, that psychological distance collapsed.
"The deadline for the investigation and revenge is set for ninety-nine days from today."
"The division and transfer of my corpse will commence in ninety-nine days, once the owner of the Dragon Heart is decided; until then, not a single scale may be damaged. To prepare for the possibility of an heir attempting to ignore my will, I have arranged for a separate 'corpse custodian' to seal my body until that time."
"Should none of the heirs fulfill the conditions within ninety-nine days, or if it is judged that no meaningful contribution has been achieved..."
"The ownership of the Dragon Heart will transfer to the next Dragon Lord."
"...!"
It was the moment the eyes of every dragon gathered in the venue flashed with greed.
The heart of Earth's oldest dragon.
A treasure among treasures, originally intended to be gifted only to the children who shared his blood.
Now, the opportunity for even a dragon with no blood ties to obtain it had just opened up.
"Wait, this makes no sense!"
The heirs screamed desperately.
Then, they appealed to the Ancient Dragons acting as witnesses.
"Complete the investigation and revenge in ninety-nine days? It's impossible. Father was the most powerful Ancient Dragon on Earth. The only entities capable of harming him are ultimately...!"
He couldn't bring himself to finish, but everyone thought of the word he had omitted.
Most likely, the Committee was involved.
"And you'll give the Dragon Heart to whoever contributed the most? Who will objectively measure and judge that? The premise itself is nonsensical and unfair. Think about it. What exactly are we supposed to do? Should we storm the Committee Headquarters right now and commit terrorism? Or should we kill off that tentacle monster that supposedly just arrived at the Earth Representative Office?!"
It was then.
"Hold on!"
An Ancient Dragon cut off his rant.
-------!
The older the dragon, the faster they noticed the anomaly. Hardening their expressions, they all looked up past the horizon.
'What the—these old fogeys?!'
The heir felt a surge of irritation.
'Even if they're Ancient Dragons, is it fine to just cut off someone's speech right in the middle?! What I was about to say next was the main point!'
Amid his childish anger, the heir raised his head a beat late.
"...!"
In that moment, the young dragon completely forgot the words he was about to say.
*
=What on earth is going on outside?=
The youngest of the four brothers sent out a mental wave with a sullen face.
However, the other three brothers merely kept their silence with stiff faces instead of replying.
They were in a safe house somewhere in Hong Kong, prepared by Jenkinson's subordinates. Just like their accommodations in Seoul, it was equipped with everything the boys needed, and initially, the brothers had had no real complaints. They didn't know why they had come here, but they went along with it. Up until now, everything had worked out this way anyway.
But an anomaly had occurred at dawn yesterday. At that hour, the other three—excluding the youngest—suddenly woke from their sleep. They had noticed an aura ferociously encroaching upon the city.
Soon after, when an earthquake shook Hong Kong, even the Fourth finally woke up.
After that, Jenkinson's employees left the brothers with instructions to stay put, and no one had returned since. In truth, there was no need for such a request. The doors were tightly locked anyway, so the boys couldn't leave even if they wanted to.
=Ah, damn it. Why are all three of you not answering?=
The youngest grumbled.
But his three older brothers were all distracted by their own tasks and had no luxury to reply.
A moment later, the eldest, who had been focusing near the door, opened his eyes.
=I can't hear Mom's voice. The barrier must have just wavered briefly back then.=
Until dawn, they hadn't known at all that their mother had been transferred here with them.
It was the eldest who had detected the faint mental wave. Right after the earthquake at dawn, he sensed a familiar feeling and shouted, "Mom, it's Mom! That was Mom just now!"
Thanks to that, the brothers learned she was nearby. But they hadn't heard anything since.
Disappointed by the eldest's reply, the youngest turned his gaze aside. The second and third brothers were there, eyes closed in concentration. They were checking the situation outside using their respective Supernatural Abilities.
Seeing that, the Fourth pouted his lips. He was irritated.
'Just when will I get abilities like that?'
The third brother was the first to open his eyes.
=Phew.=
He let out a sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Then, he shook his head.
=It's no use. There are too many barriers around us. They seem similar to the one blocking the place where Mom is.=
The third brother had tried to send spirits to scout the surroundings. But both the location where their mother was presumed to be and the vicinity where the earthquake occurred had something powerful blocking the spirits' approach.
Ultimately, they were isolated from both of the things they wanted to know.
Now, their only hope rested on the second brother. The brothers' gazes gathered on him.
A moment later.
=...Gasp!=
The second brother's eyes shot wide open. His expression was dire.
The brothers asked urgently.
=How is it! Do you see something?=
=Did you send an animal near Mom? Did you see her?=
=Or did something else happen outside?=
The second brother answered without even pausing for breath.
=No, I couldn't send even a single rat near Mom. It's completely blocked off by walls.=
=Then what? What did you see?=
The second brother had awakened Druid characteristics.
Like the third brother's spirit affinity, it was an ability with almost zero chance of manifesting in a dragon. To a dragon, other beasts were nothing more than meat. And a desire to listen to the voices of meat naturally rarely sprouted.
Having beaten those slim odds, the second brother conveyed the situation reported by the animals outside.
=Right now, outside...=
Among the animals in Hong Kong, the species with relatively free movement—such as sewer rodents, mountain bats, and coastal seagulls—had already fled far away when the building collapsed.
Nevertheless, there were animals remaining in various parts of the city center. Most were pets raised by the citizens. The second brother had communed with them.
Having already endured a horrific dawn trembling in fear, the animals had now fallen into a state of frenzy once again.
Across the city center, dogs, cats, and pet birds shrieked in terror. Their sensitive senses had picked up on something.
Translating their meaning, the second brother spoke with trembling lips.
=Something... something huge and dangerous... is coming here!=
At that moment, darkness covered the window.
*
A sudden twilight blanketed Hong Kong in the middle of the day.
A massive object approached from afar, erasing the horizon. Instead of suddenly revealing itself over the city center, it chose to appear in the distance. The point where Teleport spat it out was over the sea surface, dozens of kilometers away from the city.
Following that was a steady yet extremely rapid approach. The flying object crossed the sea, flew past Hong Kong Island, and approached the Kowloon Peninsula. It moved at an astonishing speed. Enough to cause confusion in one's sense of distance.
Its flight left a colossal trajectory that no one on the ground could miss.
"Kyaaaaak!"
"W-What is that!"
"Report it, call the police!"
A blotch akin to the shadow of a solar eclipse covered Hong Kong's skyscrapers one after another before spitting them back out into the sunlight a moment later.
There were entities who received a shock just as great as the ordinary citizens who witnessed the scene.
Dragons.
Whoosh!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Reflexive reactions followed.
Most of those who soared into the sky the moment they laid eyes on that entity were Ancient Dragons. In their minds, that flying object remained as a memory akin to a scar.
Like live loaches tossed in salt, the dragons leaped up one after another. Having experienced war, they instinctively undid their Polymorphs and reverted to their true forms. Winged reptiles blanketed the sky.
Then, the flying object, approaching slowly from an even higher altitude than them, finally stopped in the sky above the collapsed ICC Building's ruins... the place where the Gold Dragon's corpse lay.
It was a mass of tentacles with a radius of six kilometers.
"...!"
From afar, the citizens of Hong Kong gazed at the spectacle with devastated eyes.
They had already suffered through the massive earthquake and the collapse of Hong Kong's tallest building in quick succession.
Amidst a terrible sense of unreality, the scene from dawn was reenacted. Countless dragons covered the sky. It was a sight that made their vision go dark and their heads spin.
Furthermore, this time, one more thing was added.
A bronze tentacle monster writhing above the swarm of reptiles.
An abyss-like sphere mounted in the center of its body looked down upon the ground, carrying emotions that were hard to fathom.
"...Dear God!"
Taking in the sky, the citizens felt a chill brush the backs of their necks.
It was a pale premonition that today might perhaps become the day of Hong Kong's annihilation.
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