The Foreigner on the Periphery

The more he thought about it, the more plausible the idea seemed.

‘There are other pests that show similar tendencies, even if they don't attack as aggressively as Kavites.’

Toads were a prime example—a typical problem that arose while improving dragons. They, too, were instinctively drawn to the abundant life force harbored by the livestock.

Exterminating toads was even trickier; whenever they felt threatened, they would hide in the lakes. Unlike Kavites, which could be dealt with by digging up the ground and freezing them whole, he couldn't just boil or freeze an entire lake to catch toads. Doing so would harm the other creatures. Ultimately, one had to dive in and kill them one by one. It was exactly as tedious as it sounded, so people often just gave up.

‘So it would be best to engineer it so no one but us can consume it.’

Of course, it would need to be most harmful to Kavites. They were the most annoying pests of all.

‘Wait a minute.’

His thoughts flowed without interruption.

‘Then, what about among themselves?’

Granted, this only happened due to extreme negligence and poor management by the owner.

He wondered if his idea could be a way to entirely prevent such accidents. It would ensure that a dragon wouldn't covet another, even if they weren't fed separately or their feeding was a bit neglected.

‘You guys must be drawn to it for some unknown reason too. Especially a Dragon Heart... eating one extends a lifespan drastically. Instinct is truly fascinating. How do you know without anyone teaching you?’

However, making a dragon's blood act as a poison to other dragons was incredibly difficult. It was tantamount to living with poison inside one's own body. One wrong move, and their immune systems could completely collapse.

So, he quickly changed his approach.

‘No, I need to mess with their minds.’

The problem was that he couldn't place the dragons of every farm under a strict, complex command structure like the ones he personally managed. In other words, he couldn't perfectly dominate the minds of all the dragons in the world.

Therefore, to realize his idea, he needed a much more intuitive keyword.

‘Love?’

What if he carved a taboo into their blood—a decree that because dragons loved other dragons, they could never eat one another?

‘No, that isn't enough.’

This was a plan meant for situations where the livestock's emotions couldn't be controlled one hundred percent.

It was impossible for a dragon to constantly love all other dragons. They hated and fought each other, too. Not many people knew just how fiercely these beasts fought over affection. If they showed an appetite toward dragons they didn't love, it would ultimately be no different from the current situation.

A different concept was needed.

A reason why a dragon must not eat another dragon.

Regardless of whether they liked or hated another dragon, loved or despised them. An absolute reason they could not take a bite. A reason why they must never hunt down and devour a perfectly healthy, living dragon among themselves out of greed for a Dragon Heart.

“...!”

Just then, something flashed in his mind.

He chewed on the thought, examining it. Would it really be possible?

He was doubtful.

‘With their intelligence, it would be hard to perceive... It feels like too high-dimensional of a concept.’

It seemed like a problem he needed to ponder longer. He turned his head and looked at Adkiel. The creature, which had been rubbing and scratching its back against the stone floor out of boredom, noticed his gaze and bounded over like a shot. At times like this, the dragon's senses were almost supernatural. Instead of scratching the beast as it purred and begged for a touch, he asked a question.

“Adkiel, would it be possible? If you considered yourselves to be such precious and noble beings... could I instill the concept that you must never eat each other?”

Could he pass down morality genetically, making them think that way from birth?

Adkiel tilted its head. This time, it really didn't seem to understand. The dragon bobbed its head repeatedly, as if wandering through a maze of difficult words, before finally giving up and letting out a loud snort. A fierce gust of wind poured over his face, whipping his hair and sticking it to his forehead like spiderwebs. Peeling the strands away with his fingers, he laughed.

“I was just talking nonsense. Come on, let's get moving again. Time to find our lost dragon.”

Feeling the stroke under its chin, Adkiel purred in satisfaction.

   *

Dotes rushed urgently into his superior's office.

“Representative, have you seen the urgent dispatch sent from the Committee Headquarters?”

“I'm reading it now.”

The Princess of Endelion stared straight ahead without turning her eyes to her subordinate. To summarize the urgent instructions from the headquarters, they were to blockade every Terminal located across Earth. Save for one—New York.

There was a reason the largest jump terminal on Earth was the sole exception.

“It's an unprecedentedly large-scale troop deployment... the likes of which this dimension has never seen in its history!”

Dotes's voice was pale. His feathers trembled bleakly.

“It seems they intend to track down the escaped prisoner... to root out and execute Asif-666 early.”

The princess recalled the expression of the captain of the Offshore Tax Evasion Tracking Unit she had faced yesterday. When he heard the news that all the unit members conducting operations in two separate locations had been killed or gone missing, his face looked as if his soul had left his body. After he frantically stormed out of the office, she had no idea what had become of him.

Whatever happened in the meantime, the command center had decided to deploy a massive number of soldiers and equipment via the New York Terminal.

In order to arrest him.

‘He must not be caught, but even if he is, surely there won't be an execution order.’

She mentally dismissed Dotes's speculation. But instead of kindly explaining it, she issued a directive.

“I see the command center's support request has arrived as well. Prepare everything exactly as they wish.”

She almost added that there was no need to help them too enthusiastically, but she held back, feeling it would make her inner thoughts too transparent.

In truth, managing prisoners and arresting escapees wasn't her job. The reason she hadn't made official contact with her ex-husband was also because she had no direct involvement with the prisoners. Given the nature of their relationship, she needed to be cautious.

After Dotes left, she made a gesture equivalent to a faint human sigh. She then fixed her gaze on empty space.

Flash! Flicker!

The footage collected by the Committee's artifacts, which surveilled corners of the planet secretly from the Earthlings, unfolded before her. Unlike decades ago, it was now a star where diverse races and various intelligent beings lived together.

She saw the figures of people. Was he hiding somewhere in one of those countless cities? Or in some remote backwater where no one ever set foot?

Or had he already escaped to another dimension using some unimaginable method?

Del felt a boiling anxiety and worry. She also felt a deep sense of responsibility for how terribly things had gone wrong. If only she had noticed the command center's movements sooner and tipped him off... would the outcome have been slightly different?

Was there even any point to her coming all this way in the first place?

Tormented by self-reproach, Del stared at the screen. She knew it was unnecessary and meaningless, yet she couldn't stop. She focused her observing gaze on the humans. The pedestrians on the streets. The people sitting in offices, shops, and homes. She filtered out everyone but the humans.

Amidst her regret and sorrow, she felt a slightly different shade of displeasure. The emotion that visited her whenever she looked at mammals... especially the human species... had faded thinner than in the past, but it hadn't disappeared completely.

‘Just where... are you right now?’

Recalling the man in her memory, she engraved the countless scenes and expressions from their past into her mind.

She agonized over Minjun's whereabouts.

And she repeated to herself.

‘There has never been anyone else like you since.’

She remembered the moment she first met Minjun, back when he had used the name Cain.

Del felt disgust even toward the human body that bound her own soul, yet she had no such reaction when she looked at him. Then and now, Del could not see souls. Nevertheless, the moment she took Minjun in with her eyes, she felt the illusion of a bright flash of light radiating from him.

The Princess of Endelion thought that the moment had been like a miracle.

For her, who had been conceived as an Endelion and possessed an Endelion's soul... it was a mysterious moment that allowed her to overcome the limits of her species.

Minjun had made her surpass her limits.

‘Wherever you are... please be safe.’

With a prayer, she briefly closed her eyes.

   *

Looking for a runaway dragon.

It was a poster slogan he had frequently seen during his childhood living in the city's facility.

Back then, the lifespans of his kind were much shorter than they were now. It was before dragon farms had developed on a massive scale. Even so, dragons had been incredibly vital beasts and a source of food. ‘We don't even have enough dragons to eat, and people keep them as pets at home?’ He remembered grumbling and glaring with resentful eyes.

Only now could he finally understand how desperately they must have searched for their dragons back then. Until today, he had never wandered and searched this long for a single dragon. In those days, when the level of technology was much lower, there must have been many cases where people couldn't find them even after days of strenuous effort.

‘Though, I'll still manage to find mine before the day is out.’

As he muttered this while walking, he—

“...”

—slowly reduced his walking pace.

“No, this guy?!”

He muttered under his breath.

“Don't tell me he made it all the way here?”

An ominous premonition crept over him. That feeling soon manifested into reality.

He froze.

He finally brought his steps to a complete stop.

“The barrier...”

Damn it, damn it!

A surging wave of self-reproach washed over him.

Even the moment he first saw the tracks leading near his master's grave, he hadn't worried much, thinking it unlikely. He had set up the barrier there himself and judged that there was no way a dragon could cross that wall.

He had forced himself to look away from the anxiety crouching in a corner of his mind. He had tried desperately to shake off the thought.

In truth, ever since he laid his master to rest in the tomb, he had not visited this vicinity a single time. In other words, he had never once maintained or repaired the barrier.

The result of that neglect was laid out before his eyes.

“It's torn.”

The barrier was broken, leaving a hole large enough for a dragon to pass in and out.

He let out a deep sigh. This was the consequence of consciously avoiding and ignoring visits to the grave.

Now that this had happened, he had to fix the barrier. No, first, he had to go inside. And before the dragon could wander into a truly dangerous area or touch something it shouldn't, he had to catch it...

“...”

At the same time he thought this, he recognized another massive problem.

He did not want to go inside.

As he stood there in a daze for a long while...

“Growl?”

Adkiel shoved his back in the most exquisite manner.

Thump! Thump!

The clever creature realized that a territory it had never set foot in since birth lay out there just beyond. The gold dragon couldn't hide its excitement and dashed forward. Then, it threw its body right through the hole in the barrier.

And then, it turned back and barked at its owner.

“Growl! Bark!”

It hurried him.

Asking what he was doing standing there, telling him to hurry up and come.

Urging him to quickly explore the world beyond.

A faint scoff escaped him.

A dry smile spread across his lips. He decided not to agonize over it any longer.

‘Even inside the barrier, the grave is sealed in two layers. There's no way it managed to reach that far.’

Of course, there was a possibility that the second barrier had been breached as well, but...

He decided not to obsess over the worst-case scenario right from the start.

Shaking off his rather lengthy inner turmoil, he finally took a step forward.

And with deeply reluctant steps, he walked into the barrier.

   *

“...Should we take a quick break here?”

“Growl?”

Adkiel blinked as if puzzled.

His resolve did not last long. The direction of the tracks left by the dragon was consistent, and they only drew closer and closer to the grave.

He still wasn't mentally prepared. So, he pulled out an excuse to stall for a moment.

“You're tired, aren't you?”

“...Growl?”

Adkiel did not agree with its owner's words, but it decided to pretend it did.

The dragon sat next to the magic brazier its owner had set up and stared intently at his face. Ignoring that gaze, the owner was lost in some unfathomable, deep thought.

Adkiel hadn't forgotten that it had already eaten its daily ration of feed today. However, when taking such a long walk, and taking a break in the middle, the owner wasn't usually so strict. Today was a special case. Therefore, it felt it would be acceptable to demand a little extra feed as a special treat.

“Rumble?”

The dragon walked over to him as he sat on the ground in silence, and then plopped its front paw right onto its owner's right knee.

But there was no reaction. Adkiel felt confused. ‘What's wrong with this guy today?’

He wasn't normally like this. Just as the dragon was thinking it might be okay to purr once more in protest...

“Ah, sorry. I spaced out.”

He pulled a feed bowl out of thin air, making Adkiel the happiest dragon on the planet, and then laid back on the grass.

In the dusky sky he stared into, a sea of stars spread out before him.

He knew that the exceptionally bright light sources among them were actually satellites, not planets. They were part of the security system the administration had prepared just for him.

There was the option of asking them to find the dragon's whereabouts for him, but he quickly erased that option from his mind.

He had long ago ordered the government never to break the peace of his rural life unless he spoke to them first. Thanks to that, they had been left in a state of sheer impatience for a very long time. If he were to initiate a conversation now, they would probably fire off celebration cannons among themselves, cheer wildly, and latch onto that lifeline. All just to squeeze in one more word and listen to his voice for even a second longer.

Just imagining it was exhausting.

And in the first place, besides the small damaged section, the barrier was still intact, so they wouldn't be able to see inside from out there anyway.

He counted the stars in silence. Suddenly, he recalled the words his master used to say. He found himself slipping into reminiscences about his master unusually often today.

“When I was young, our tribe believed that when people died, they became stars in the sky.”

Even during his own childhood, their kind died off in countless numbers, but it must have been even worse when his master was young. It might have been an era where something like ‘average life expectancy’ actually existed. A time when they had to experience enough deaths to even calculate an average.

His master was the person who had lived the longest out of anyone born in that era.

And yet, even a master like her couldn't escape death in the end.

He recalled their first meeting.

“You will do nicely.”

The position of successor to the most respected among the dragon herders.

At the time, he couldn't understand why he had been picked out of all the children in the facility. Then, his master had asked him.

“What do you think is the most important virtue required to raise a dragon?”

Thinking of the instructors at the facility, he seemed to have answered like this.

‘You have to be able to make the dragons follow your commands well.’

“And how do you make them follow commands well?”

‘You have to make the dragons fear and respect you.’

“That method isn't wrong, but the best way... is to make the dragons love you. So that they voluntarily follow your commands even without the immediate threat of a cane or a whip. So that they feel the utmost happiness in obeying your words.”

His master had spoken these words with a voice that carried a deep resonance.

“I can see that quality in you. You are a child who will transcend the limits of species and be loved.”

The master who had spoken with such conviction was now no longer in this world.

He asked himself:

Would their kind ever be able to transcend the shackles of death?

Someday... would they be able to grasp perfect eternal life?

Thinking of his master, he felt a faint sadness once again. A calm and gentle...

Gentle...

“Damn it!”

No, that sadness was absolutely neither faint nor quiet.

He felt the limits of the self-hypnosis he had painstakingly maintained for so many long years.

And then he felt the sadness whipping around him like a tidal wave. He felt like he would suffocate from the gnawing longing eating away at his insides. Uncontrollable emotions swept and clawed at the bottom of his heart.

‘My master lived long enough.’

Was it truly enough?

‘She's already dead. It can't be undone.’

Could it truly not be undone?

After the days they had spent together, he recalled the time he lived half out of his mind after she passed away. He could remember about half of what happened back then, while the other half remained a blur.

He earnestly wished for it. That she could return. So that she could join the perfect eternal life system that would someday be completed.

‘It's already in the past.’

Struggling to shake off his lingering regrets, he gazed up at the stars.

And in the depths of profound sorrow, he mourned the woman in his memories.

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