The Foreigner on the Periphery

Rumble!

At that moment, the gaze of nearly every citizen in Hong Kong was glued to a single location. The anomaly captivating them was unfolding at the summit of the city's highest mountain, Mount Austin—the former site of Victoria Peak, five hundred meters above sea level.

Cra-crack!

Boom! Crash!

Dark clouds gathered from all directions. If their usual drift was a stroll, this was a full sprint. It was as if a massive magnet had been planted at the mountain's peak, drawing the black clouds across the sky like clumps of iron filings.

The massive layer of thunderclouds sporadically sparked with blue flashes. Once it fully formed, the cloud mass and the mountain mirrored each other like an inkblot. It looked like a painting folded in half along the summit and then opened back up—the top half painted in dark clouds, the bottom colored in shadows and forest.

The citizens of Hong Kong were not unfamiliar with this phenomenon. However, that absolutely did not mean they welcomed it. They knew well that the owner of that mountain was the owner of their city. The master of Hong Kong often created bizarre weather as a warning, forbidding the approach of any outsiders—including his own kin.

A contract appeared before the Ancient Dragon. Minjun could guess its contents without looking. It probably wasn't much different from the one Halisnaim had presented.

"I will give you one last chance. Sign it."

Shing!

A handle pierced through the empty air to Minjun's right. Its shape was ambiguous, making it impossible to tell what weapon or tool it belonged to. The rest of it had not yet been pulled from subspace. Minjun gripped it and issued a telepathic command.

‘Sword.’

Obeying that command, the Frying Pan changed its form. The metal pan resting inside the subspace transformed into a blade.

Only then did Minjun pull the handle outward. As if drawn from a transparent scabbard, a black blade revealed itself from the base up. A moment later, the subspace completely spat out a sharp Dagger.

Raymond watched this with a dumbfounded expression.

"Do you really think the Committee would go that far for a prisoner? I heard it's been several hundred years since you began your life as a slave, but I didn't expect your brain to be that slow."

The Ancient Dragon jerked his chin toward Kentius.

"Kentius, beat that stupid alien down. I don't even want to dirty my hands."

Raymond Wong had no doubt at all that Kentius would obey.

The authority of an Ancient Dragon was absolute. Furthermore, a young dragon like him knew perfectly well that standing against an Ancient Dragon meant certain defeat.

Raymond assumed that the moment he threw up this barrier and displayed his resolve, Kentius had given up on the inheritance. He didn't know what kind of deal Kentius had made with the alien, but there was no way he would stand against an Ancient Dragon for the sake of a mere criminal.

But then.

“...!”

Kentius’s eyes gleamed strangely.

The moment the Ancient Dragon sensed something was off.

"I refuse."

A golden light washed over Kentius’s body.

"...You!"

Before the Ancient Dragon could even finish speaking.

Kaa-boom!

A deafening roar battered the surroundings.

The entire ceiling of Raymond's mansion blew away. The screams of his staff echoed through the air as dust and smoke billowed up to mix with the dark clouds. The biting wind at the mountain's peak eagerly scattered the debris in all directions.

The three combatants moved in an instant, soaring up into the cloud-swallowed sky. The one who had spearheaded this sudden turn of events was Kentius. The Fire Dragon, his scales a mixture of three colors, spread his wings and glared fiercely.

At the end of his gaze was the furious Lightning Dragon.

A long, snake-like body covered in dark blue scales. Raymond Wong, having returned to his original form, roared with flames in his eyes.

"You little brat, you've completely lost your mind!"

The Lightning Dragon sparked lightning between his deer-like antlers.

The two dragons collided in midair, and the battle began.

At first glance, it seemed like a one-sided fight. The smaller Kentius darted around, dodging the massive Ancient Dragon, but Raymond's attacks only grew fiercer. The Ancient Dragon tore through the dark clouds, pressing the assault. He looked like a flash of light stitching through a ball of black cotton. The needle attached to the end of the dark blue thread spewed blazing lightning.

The Ancient Dragon restrained his lightning strikes so as not to completely incinerate the young dragon. Kentius dodged with all his might, but a few bolts still struck him. Every time an electric shock slammed into his body, Kentius would half-faint before jolting back to his senses, kept awake by Minjun's telepathic waves ringing in his head. When the young dragon refused to go down, Raymond grew even more furious.

"Do not anger me any further!"

He snarled.

"I tried to capture you as unharmed as possible out of respect for my ties with Rod... but you continue to test my patience!"

Kentius shouted back as if telling him to stop spouting nonsense.

"Is that what someone who attacks his friend's son to steal an inheritance should say?!"

"You little punk...!"

Even if he couldn't kill the boy, surely leaving him half-crippled was fine?

That was the moment the Lightning Dragon made his decision and increased his lightning output.

Swoosh!

Another enemy rapidly approached. Sensing the attempt, the Lightning Dragon scoffed.

‘Such an obvious trick!’

The only reason he hadn't attacked Minjun yet was because dealing with Kentius took priority. He certainly hadn't forgotten about the alien.

‘Did you think I was such an easy opponent!’

Minjun flew toward the back of Raymond's head, probably thinking it was a blind spot. He was completely covered in writhing shadows, the unique summon of a Dark Mage.

The Lightning Dragon's sharp senses detected the density of the shadow. It was an impressive level for a non-dragon, but not nearly enough to match an Ancient Dragon.

Raymond snorted. Without even turning his head, he coiled a ball of lightning behind his neck.

Just as he was about to fire the tangled flash of light straight at the alien.

“...!”

The Ancient Dragon realized something was wrong.

Fwoosh!

Like a thruster firing, the flying prisoner's speed and trajectory suddenly changed.

Wrapped entirely in shadows, Minjun became a black arrow. Having approached as if aiming for the back of the dragon's head, he twisted his body in a flash.

Just a moment ago, Kentius and Raymond had both been at his twelve o'clock. Now, Kentius was positioned at Minjun's nine o'clock, while Raymond remained directly in front.

Minjun withdrew the blade he had aimed at the Ancient Dragon, shifting it to his left hand. As he grasped the empty air with his right, a silver Frying Pan was summoned into his grip. That was when the lightning tangled in the air finished preparing to fire.

Minjun smirked. He raised the Frying Pan like a shield, exposing its broad surface.

Right before the lightning struck down at him.

“...!”

Raymond's eyes widened.

He instinctively felt a threat. He couldn't understand why. He didn't know why anyone would forge a Frying Pan out of Orichalcum, but it was still just Orichalcum. No matter how incredible the magic metal was, it couldn't perfectly absorb an Ancient Dragon's lightning. Moreover, he had prepared more than enough lightning to properly fry the prisoner.

And yet.

Crackle!

At the very last moment, Raymond violently twisted the trajectory of his lightning.

Instead of striking Minjun's Frying Pan, the snake-like lightning deflected in all directions.

Minjun clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Bastard's got quick instincts."

Minjun's charge still hadn't stopped. Since the lightning meant to block him had moved out of the way on its own, there were no obstacles left.

Gripping the silver Frying Pan as it emitted a brilliant radiance, Minjun lunged straight for the dragon's head.

"Krararara!"

The Ancient Dragon instinctively made a judgment.

Rather than the young dragon fleeing like a loach through the clouds... that Dark Mage was the greater threat!

He opened his mouth. A powerful urge filled his head, warning him not to breathe lightning. A whisper that defied logic altered his attack. Instead of spewing a lightning strike, the Ancient Dragon shoved his massive maw toward Minjun, fully intent on chewing him to pieces.

The moment the dragon's head and the shadow monster drew incredibly close.

Minjun swung the Frying Pan in a crisp, clean arc!

Crunch!

“...!”

Kentius, who had been fleeing desperately, suddenly felt something brush past his cheek. Dragon scales harder than metal tore open, and drops of blood trickled down his jaw.

‘...What is this?’

Frozen by the sight before him, Kentius forgot his pain.

The silver arc Minjun traced crushed the Ancient Dragon's jawbone. Whatever had grazed Kentius like a bullet was likely a scale, a tooth, or a shard of bone blown off by the impact. Mangled chunks of flesh and mandible fragments peppered the surroundings like buckshot from a Claymore mine.

"Kaaaaaaaargh!"

With his lower jaw blown away, the dragon's long tongue hung fully exposed. Blood and bodily fluids bubbled and frothed in his bare throat. Hearing the dragon's screams, Minjun felt a pang of pity. Putting him out of his misery in one hit would have been the moral thing to do, but he couldn't afford to kill this dragon right now.

Shadows extended from Minjun's back like tree branches or vines. Strands of black whips coiled around the dragon's body as Minjun landed squarely on the back of his thrashing head.

‘His magic resistance is still going strong.’

Even though the dragon was thrashing in an agony he hadn't experienced for hundreds of years, the shield his sixth brain instinctively projected hadn't disappeared. Like this, Minjun wouldn't be able to get the effect he wanted.

He needed to drain a little more of his strength.

In his shadow-monster form, Minjun stuck out his tongue. A black, writhing tongue.

Squelch!

It pierced the back of the Lightning Dragon's head.

The dragon now thrashed in the clouds, half-deprived of his reason. He moved as if he didn't even recognize where he was, throwing a fit and slamming repeatedly into the barrier walls he had created himself. Paying no mind to the impacts, Minjun clung tightly to the dragon's back.

When he hunted Changcheon, he had driven his tongue straight into the skull just like this and killed her by erupting the pressure inside.

But he couldn't do that today.

Instead of driving his drill-shaped tongue up toward the skull, Minjun expanded its surface area to form a thick straw. He then jammed it right into the dragon's carotid artery.

Gulp! Gush!

Hot liquid poured into his mouth, matching a rhythm that put his mind at ease.

The moment he felt that warmth filling his emptiness, Minjun felt truly alive.

It felt like he was only just beginning to live properly.

A familiar vitality wrapped around his whole body. Every single cell swelled up, as if he were leisurely soaking in warm water or sweet rain were falling on parched earth. He was thrilled. A pleasant pulsation awakened his body with a tingling sensation. A festival was unfolding inside his mouth.

Realizing his blood was being sucked dry while he was still alive, the Ancient Dragon finally regained a thread of reason.

‘You... You crazy son of a bitch!’

But he had already lost a substantial amount of blood.

‘Is he... trying to offer my blood as a sacrifice to cast a spell?!’

The Ancient Dragon couldn't even fathom the truth.

Minjun wasn't offering the massive amount of rapidly draining blood as a sacrifice for Dark Magic...

He was just drinking it.

Feeling vitality coursing through his body, Minjun pulled his tongue out. This much was enough. Shadows sprouted from his lower half like a tail. He wrapped the handle of the Dagger around the end of that tail.

Swish!

Whipping his tail, he plunged the blade into the dragon's nape. It was the exact same spot he had just punctured with his tongue.

--------!

The Lightning Dragon spewed lightning like a madman, emitting blue flashes from his entire body. The restriction against killing his opponent had long since evaporated from his mind.

However, the prisoner firmly withstood the lightning. Compared to when he hunted Changcheon, the shock was negligible. Minjun knew he was recovering his strength and that the process was only accelerating.

With that realization, Minjun crouched down like a beast before its prey. His two legs, wrapped in shadows, bulged massively.

He condensed his power...

And let it explode.

Minjun sprinted with all his might!

"Kaaararara!"

With the Dagger still embedded in the flesh, Minjun sprinted across the dragon's back. As he ran, his tail sliced through the skin along his path. The blade was less than a centimeter wide, but the moment it cut the resilient hide, the tension pulling from both sides tore the wound wide open! It was like taking a razor blade to a swollen membrane.

The wound chased his movements, exposing the dark red muscle underneath—a red carpet decorating Minjun's footsteps. The scale-covered terrain constantly pitched, twisted, and shook, changing direction. But it couldn't stop his sprint. Minjun had instinctively known this would be more effective than stabbing the dragon hundreds of times with the Dagger, and his judgment was correct.

The dragon's eyes gradually began to dim.

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