The Foreigner on the Periphery

"A preemptive strike?"

Minjun turned his head. Ha Eun-seong's gaze followed him.

Sitting there was a man with a vacant look in his eyes and a faint smile. Ha Eun-seong had recognized him as a dragon the moment he laid eyes on him earlier. Given the circumstances, he finally asked the question he had been putting off.

'Just who is that dragon, and what's wrong with him? Is it really okay to talk like this with him sitting right there? He might not be able to hear my spiritual waves, but he'll definitely hear what you say, Agent.'

Minjun answered calmly.

"Oh, it doesn't matter."

The agent tapped his head with a finger, then lifted the Frying Pan.

Ha Eun-seong stared in surprise.

'No way?!'

Realizing just what kind of terrifying things this Frying Pan—which he had once revered as the hope of humanity and a culinary revolution—was capable of, Ha Eun-seong looked thoroughly appalled.

"For now, return to your body and hide inside my barrier."

'...Alright, I understand.'

After Ha Eun-seong phased through the wall and vanished, Minjun looked at Kentius.

"Now, listen to me carefully."

A short while later.

Sensing two presences arriving slightly after Ha Eun-seong, Minjun stepped out of the residence. He took in the view of the street and sighed.

'If they're going to strike from the shadows, they could at least do it right. These bastards can't do anything properly.'

They had supposedly set a trap, but it was painfully clumsy. It was just a shame that he had to willingly walk right into such childish nonsense.

"Ye Minjun?"

A voice called out to him. Minjun turned his head. An unfamiliar elf woman was watching him from within the crowd. It was the dragon Ha Eun-seong had seen earlier.

In that instant, the ambient magic churned like a storm.

'Hurry it up already. Other people are going to notice and interfere.'

The spell—which they had clearly put effort into, but still looked incredibly amateurish to Minjun's eyes—slowly activated.

Joy washed over the elf's face. It was the look of someone who had succeeded. The fleeting ecstasy of a predator snatching its prey flashed in her eyes.

Flash!

At that moment, the magic circle laid out by the Polymorphed dragon activated.

Light swallowed everything.

And in the blink of an eye, the scenery changed.

*

The Teleport spell spat Minjun back out in a deserted forest. It was a state forest in New Jersey, quite a distance from the center of New York City where they had just been.

'They actually put in some effort.'

The blaring car horns that choked the narrow streets and the endless, year-round construction noise of New York vanished like a lie, replaced by the heavy silence of the woods.

Minjun confirmed there was no one else nearby. That was why he had played along, even though he knew exactly what they were up to. On that one point, both sides were in agreement. Neither of them wanted to start a brawl right in the middle of New York.

He looked at the man and woman wearing the skins of an elf and a troll, respectively.

Dragons usually had preferred prosthetic bodies and favored appearances. But neither of these two matched any faces Minjun knew. It was a deliberate move to throw off other observers.

Minjun asked, feigning total ignorance.

"Where are you from?"

The dragon wearing the elf's skin gave a sneer.

"Trying to act so calm."

She assumed Minjun was just putting up a brave front and stubbornly maintaining his composure. In reality, they couldn't even begin to imagine how he actually viewed this situation.

"We don't need to waste time talking."

The man standing behind her, Bogor, kept his mouth shut and remained silent. Halisnaim led the conversation. She pulled a piece of paper from her chest and tossed it at Minjun. It unfolded rigidly, as if laminated, and hung frozen right in front of his nose.

Glancing at it half-heartedly, Minjun spoke.

"Are you actually telling me to sign this?"

"Yes."

Minjun, who had once worked in the Korean education sector, muttered quietly.

"...Even the Eulsa Treaty wasn't this bad."

It was an atrociously unfair contract.

The contents were simple. An irreversible agreement transferring the ownership of the entire legacy Minjun inherited from Rod to the two dragons listed at the bottom of the document.

Minjun looked at Halisnaim and spoke.

"This is blackmail."

"You catch on quick. You know exactly what it is. And with those quick wits, you should also understand that you have no choice but to sign."

The dragon drew up her magic. The surrounding air hummed sharply. It was an attempt to overwhelm him by displaying the sheer difference in their hostile power. But to Minjun, it was nothing more than a pathetic joke.

"And what happens if I don't sign this? Are you going to kill me?"

"Don't treat us like fools. We know you're a prisoner. We also know we can't kill you because of the Committee. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't forget that there are endless ways to torment someone without actually killing them."

"By any chance, have you ever heard of the crime of property damage—"

"Even among yourselves, you people fight, cast curses, and inflict injuries without being purged, surviving just fine. We could make your life a living hell while keeping you exactly at the line where you can barely move your body. And... shouldn't you be thinking about the people around you, too?"

Why did they always have the exact same repertoire?

Minjun let out a soft sigh. Back with Edelinis, he had been furious enough to lose his mind, but now he just felt annoyed. What had changed was probably Minjun himself rather than the situation.

He looked at the contract again.

Truthfully, there were ways to just take it without leaving behind this sort of legal document. The fact that they were bothering to leave petty evidence meant they were wary of others watching.

"Do you know who stands behind me?"

"Jenkinson? That Ancient Dragon with the awful taste of calling his own kin his friends? He's too busy gathering votes right now. He's tied down in Hong Kong. Do you really think he's going to fly halfway across the globe for a single prisoner like you?"

Halisnaim figured they just had to force him to sign before Jenkinson or any other competitors arrived. Then, the legacy would officially be transferred.

The Dragonic Code that restricted their actions was, at its core, created to protect the dignity and rights of the Dragon Race. Even an Ancient Dragon couldn't just rob treasures that had already become Halisnaim's property for the sake of some prisoner whose true race was completely unknown.

She laughed.

"You're stalling for time."

Minjun didn't deny it.

"Yes, I am."

"How pointless. Do you really think Jenkinson will come all the way here just because you drag this out?"

Zzzt!

The wave of magic filling the area grew more violent. The formless fragments pricking the air like needles gradually became thicker and sharper. Invisible blades slashed at the surroundings.

They wrapped around Minjun's wrist. She was trying to physically force his hand to sign.

Watching the dragon's attempt as if it were utterly trivial, Minjun spoke.

"You're misunderstanding. Who ever said I was waiting for Chairman Jenkinson?"

Just like that thug said, his friend was extremely busy right now. He had no intention of calling him over something as trivial as this.

"...?!"

At that moment.

"Huh?"

Bogor, who had been completely silent until now, finally opened his mouth.

"Ha, Hali..."

Rather than answering out loud, Halisnaim projected a spiritual wave.

'Ah, what now?! I know you're frustrated, but just wait a second. I told you we can't kill him!'

"N-no. That's not it..."

Bogor uncurled a finger and pointed at the sky. Only then did Halisnaim turn her head toward the blind spot she hadn't been able to see from her position.

And her eyes went wide.

A small stain had formed in the sky. Smaller than a fingernail, it rapidly expanded in volume. As the seconds ticked by, its sharp outline became distinct and prominent.

Something was approaching from beyond the horizon at a terrifying speed.

The two siblings identified it simultaneously.

'A dragon!'

Halisnaim gritted her teeth.

'Damn it, have the ones observing us already arrived? How? We spent days crafting that magic circle... the interference was perfect. Unless it's an Ancient Dragon, tracking us should have taken at least several more dozen minutes...!'

But it wasn't even a Dragon Heart. Why would an Ancient Dragon butt into such a petty squabble?

'Just who is it?'

A moment later, Halisnaim found her answer.

'Kentius?!'

He was the eldest of the half-siblings Rod had left behind on Earth.

He was flying in at a frantic speed. With his true dragon form fully revealed.

'Damn it!'

The siblings launched themselves into the sky. Their human forms melted away as they transformed into dragons.

Halisnaim's body was coated in jade-colored scales as it stretched out long like a snake. She reverted to her physical form as a Lightning Dragon. Beside her, Bogor became a massive Fire Dragon covered in black scales. It was a colossal body that didn't fit his age.

There was barely any trace of their father, Rod, in their appearance. The Dragon Race typically inherited an overwhelming majority of their traits from their mothers. For a child like Halisnaim, who had a Fire Dragon for a father and a Lightning Dragon for a mother, the traits of a Lightning Dragon were far more prominent.

In the case of the incoming Fire Dragon, Kentius, a hint of Rod's genes was at least visible. His scales, divided into different color zones with flowing stripes, gleamed in gold, reddish-brown, and bright crimson. A tricolor dragon. He looked as if three different colors of clay had been mashed together and sculpted into the shape of a dragon.

Halisnaim projected a spiritual wave.

'Wait, stop! Kentius. We caught this prisoner first!'

Kentius didn't reply. Exactly as ordered, he simply tore through the air with fierce hostility burning in his eyes.

Watching the charging dragon, Minjun felt slightly conflicted. It was because he had broken his master's dying wish.

'To think I'd end up doing exactly what those underground dragon fighters used to do.'

As a dragon lover, he wasn't the type to enjoy dragon fights. His master's warning echoed in his ears.

"Keep this in mind. Just because they're beasts that can't speak doesn't mean you can treat them like toys and abuse them."

He muttered words that would never reach his master: "Please forgive me just this once."

Then, he drove his will straight into the mind of the approaching Kentius. It was a command composed of two syllables carrying a crystal-clear meaning.

Registering the command, Kentius opened his jaws.

Only then did Halisnaim realize something was terribly wrong. She had thought Kentius was rushing in so quickly to snatch the prisoner away. But this trajectory...

She screamed.

'...This crazy dragon!'

She tried to fire back a spell in a panic, but Kentius was faster. Judging that he was close enough, he unleashed a blast of magic at the very last second. The air detonated behind Kentius's wings. And then.

"Kyaaaaak!"

Kentius clamped his jaws fiercely onto Halisnaim's neck!

*

Above Minjun's head, high in the sky over the state forest, a brutal battle tangled between three dragons unfolded.

"Kyaaaaaa!"

Bogor had allowed his own side to be attacked first right in front of his open eyes. He belatedly snapped out of it and lunged. However, his trajectory to ram his body was far too straightforward. Kentius dragged Halisnaim by the neck and soared higher. In that position, he molded his magic.

A massive magic circle unfurled, and white phosphorus shells rained down like meteors.

Boom! Ka-boom!

Sizzle!

The magical shells exploded across Bogor's black scales one after another, throwing sparks and smoke. The chemical substances that seeped between his scales made the black dragon thrash wildly. To a human, it was a pain equivalent to shoving thousands of needles under one's fingernails. He writhed in agony.

In the meantime, Kentius widened the distance, still gripping Halisnaim in his jaws like a trophy. He dropped his altitude and landed at an angle in the burning forest. Then, as if snapping a wet towel, he swung the elongated Lightning Dragon against the ground. With incredible force.

A spectacle akin to whipping someone using only his mouth unfolded.

Whoosh!

The sound of the air tearing apart.

Smash!

A deafening roar followed, shattering trees and splitting the earth.

Even as the Lightning Dragon slammed into the ground and flailed, Kentius kept his jaw locked tightly around her neck. It was a terrifying display of jaw strength and relentless willpower.

Kentius thrashed his body and head violently, whipping the earth with the dragon. Only after pounding the innocent ground and forest several more times did he finally open his jaws.

Thud!

Halisnaim's head fell limply to the ground.

...Twitch!

The battered Lightning Dragon convulsed intermittently. It was a wriggling motion, like an eel stranded in a dried-up rice paddy during a drought.

For a moment, Minjun wondered if it was rigor mortis, but his eyes could see that her life force hadn't faded. Just as instructed, Kentius hadn't killed her.

The moment he confirmed that.

"Kyaaaaaaa!"

Having barely cleared away the magically produced gas and flames, Bogor hurled himself at Kentius.

The two dragons collided with a heavy crash. Scales and clumps of blood showered in every direction like meteorites.

The brothers, who shared half of their genes, bit into each other, slammed their bodies, and swung their tails with equally ferocious momentum.

Watching the scene, Minjun realized the situation was playing out a little differently than he had expected.

'What the hell... why is Kentius so weak?'

His plan to settle this situation as a fight over the dragons' legacy had just hit a snag.

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