The Foreigner on the Periphery

Jenkinson furrowed his brow.

"Are you pushing that ridiculous hypothesis again? That Rod tried to steal his child's body to extend his lifespan and discard his old one?"

"No. That was a massive misunderstanding."

Only then did the dragon mull over what Minjun had just said.

'By whose hands Rod died.'

It was a phrase one wouldn't choose if they believed it was suicide.

Startled, he snapped back to reality.

"Did you find them?"

Minjun deflected.

It was true. Kentius and a few others kept their silence, but the rest of the siblings were still busy chasing down evidence.

"Jenkinson, I don't think Rod ever intended to give the Dragon Heart to his children."

"Stop beating around the bush. Did you find the culprit or not? Who is it?!"

"That will was nothing more than a pretext—a means to pass the heart to the next Rod. He never meant to carve it up and pass it down to his children from the start. Nor did he want to dump it all onto a young dragon who wasn't even an Elder."

"...Why?"

"Rod must have known someone was targeting him before he died. He also knew there was only one 'group' capable of pulling off such an assassination. He left that will because he was certain his children lacked not only the ability to take revenge on such a formidable organization, but even the ability to prove the crime. It set the stage so that his unqualified direct descendants would have no choice but to yield the heart to the next Rod. He gave them a chance, and they failed—giving him the perfect justification."

He would pass his power to a successor capable of leading the dragons against this 'enemy.'

"It means the enemy is so strong, so cunning, and so adept at hiding their tracks that he had to make these preparations."

When Rod's death had first been confirmed, Jenkinson recalled the initial suspect Minjun had named.

"The Committee!"

In the end, they had gone in circles only to arrive back at their very first guess.

"It was those Committee bastards after all! But where's the evidence?!"

"Hold on. Let me correct you. You're half right and half wrong."

"What?"

"The true culprit did infiltrate Earth as part of the Committee, but they didn't commit the murder for the Committee's sake."

Jenkinson quickly grasped his meaning.

"Was it the Kavite?! Are you saying they did it secretly on a racial level without informing the Committee?"

"No, those duck-dick bastards weren't the ones who killed Rod."

"Then, Endelion?"

Minjun shook his head.

The dragon gritted his teeth. If so, there was only one candidate left. Other than the race that had returned after a long absence, waged war, and then vanished again, the only ones capable of such a deed were...

"The Todds!"

"The target of the operatives sent by the Tax Collection Command seemed clear. They were trying to rope Inais in on charges of complicity to prove my tax evasion. But was that really all?"

Did they come to Earth solely for that?

Minjun had bound the soul of the Todd he killed and read its memories.

And he had discovered an unexpected secret.

"When do you think those guys arrived on Earth? Exactly one day before Rod's death was confirmed."

"What?!"

"Those bastards didn't send troops just because of me. Nominally, yes, but they secretly added another mission for their own purposes, keeping it hidden from the Committee Headquarters."

The Kavite likely didn't know this fact, or only harbored suspicions without any physical evidence.

"Those beas—no, a quiet rift has started among the Ancient Races as well. Now that they have the universe in the palm of their hands, cannibalizing each other is all they have left, isn't it?"

The Todds had realized that the Kavite were plotting something strange against the dragons. It made no sense for the powerhouse races of the Committee to be oblivious to something even the dragons of peripheral dimensions had noticed. Through their own independent investigation, they caught signs of the Kavite conducting conspicuous operations on Earth recently.

And they had grabbed onto one massive piece of evidence...

"The Kavite had been monitoring Rod for a long time. They went way too deep—far beyond just keeping an anti-Committee figure in check. Deep enough that Rod himself noticed. The Todds were curious about the reason."

As everyone knew, the Dragon Lord was special. He was a prominent figure even among dragons.

"They say there was no other dragon like Rod, even after scouring the databases of all dimensions."

It was an obvious fact. However, Minjun couldn't explain the reason to Jenkinson. He simply continued his explanation as if he had only learned it through Todd's memories.

"Even though they say all dragon bloodlines are completely mixed now and distinguishing them is meaningless... there was still something different about him. Even the dragons felt it, didn't they? What do you think was the secret behind him taking seventeen lovers and having children over the past few decades? They instinctively felt an intense attraction to him. And with even the Kavite targeting him, the Todds wanted to know his secret."

At those words, uncontainable rage flared in Jenkinson's eyes.

"So, they decided to kidnap Rod."

*

Even dragons who haven't entered hibernation sleep.

However, it was a shallow sleep where they maintained half their consciousness, meaning they could still dream. That was why the Dragon Lord woke up after being plagued by a nightmare.

'It was a dream.'

He saw the ceiling of the bedroom he had been staying in for several days: the master bedroom of the Hong Kong Ritz-Carlton Hotel Penthouse. He sat up. Perhaps his Polymorph was too precise, because his back was drenched in sweat. He checked the clock.

'Did I sleep for an hour?'

It was an unintended slumber. With much to prepare for tomorrow's meeting, he had planned to stay up all night reviewing documents. Sharing a few drinks with his prisoner friend wouldn't have any effect on his body, after all.

Yet he had fallen asleep regardless. The Dragon Lord knew the reason.

'The next hibernation period is right around the corner.'

The one he was about to face would probably be the final hibernation of his life.

And when he woke again, he would live on without any further hibernations until he met his natural death.

He felt anxious. He hadn't informed his kin, but a surprise agenda item would be added to this Balaur Council.

The election of the next Dragon Lord.

He could vividly picture the faces of his kin as they rejected it in disgust, but he had a strategy of his own.

"..."

As he shook off his dizzying thoughts and tried to focus on his work, the contents of his recent dream clung to him persistently.

In his dream, he had seen his deceased parents.

They stared at him with pale faces, screaming in agony. Submerged in darkness and blood, they continually let out inaudible shrieks. Rod had tried, but he woke up without ever understanding what they were trying to say.

In truth, he hadn't personally witnessed his parents' end. The eyewitnesses who fought alongside them on the front lines guaranteed that the couple couldn't have survived. The more tragic fact was that they couldn't even find their bodies. The Ancient Races had 'plundered' them after they died. Consequently, the Dragon Hearts that should have rightfully belonged to Rod fell into their hands.

The fury Rod felt when confronting that memory ran endlessly deep. Just imagining what kind of vile acts the Ancient Races committed after claiming the corpses of two dragons—both far stronger than his current self—made his blood boil.

"Ugh."

Rising from his seat, Rod felt a strange sensation.

It was odd.

"Why do I feel like this?"

A wave of lethargy was welling up from within his body.

No matter how rigorous his Polymorph was, this was too severe.

How long had it been since he was in a state like this...? Ah, right.

It was during the height of the war. Back then, the cornered dragons had swallowed their pride and forged weapons out of dragon blood. The Dragon Lord had also volunteered, drawing and providing a substantial amount of blood. Although he was a core combatant, he couldn't be present on all front lines simultaneously, making it an unavoidable measure. And his blood was exceptionally toxic.

If he remembered correctly, drawing blood once back then meant he would lie there suffering from a lingering sickness all day. The sensation he felt now was similar to that.

However.

'My blood volume is perfectly fine, though?'

Then why in the world...

It was then.

-----!

Realizing something, Rod felt a sense of crisis.

'How did I not notice this until now?!'

The dulled senses that had drifted away slammed into the back of his head belatedly.

The nerves all over his body stood on end. Through the thick glass windows, he could hear the sound of a fierce wind. It was no ordinary natural phenomenon. The gale crashing around the ICC Building, where the Hotel was located, harbored powerful Magic.

Standing at its center, Rod barely managed to analyze it.

'Destruction of evidence and Spatial Condensation!'

By now, all the nearby ghosts, specters, and spirits must have been swept up by the storm and blasted out to sea. It was a force that immense. If someone were to investigate this place later, the magical traces would be completely wiped clean. Peering into the spirit realm would yield the exact same result.

Furthermore, he realized that Teleport had been completely blocked off. The mana flow had been bizarrely twisted, so anyone on the outside wouldn't be able to clearly distinguish it.

And yet...

'Why was I sleeping while things got to this point?'

His body felt heavy.

Far, far too heavy.

'Could it be!'

He looked down at his own hand.

The Ring he had been wearing was gone. It had transformed into mana waves, melting and burrowing into his body. It was now impossible to strip it off even if he tried.

It was the prize he had won just yesterday from a bet with Raymond. The face of the Ancient Dragon he had wholly trusted as a friend flashed through his mind.

'Raymond, what is this? This wasn't here last time.'

'Hmm? I can't quite remember where that came from either. I recently had the slaves organize things, so it seems something that was buried deep got relocated near the entrance. Don't tell me you're picking that?'

'Yeah. It caught my eye.'

When he chose the Ring, Raymond's expression had been one of surprise, wondering if such a thing had really been inside his vault.

Was all of that just an act?

He remembered the words he had once muttered in front of him.

'I am currently searching for a way to avoid death.'

Then, could it be that those exact words... reached them?

Were they relayed to the ones targeting him?

"You're quite stubborn. Any ordinary dragon wouldn't have even been able to wake up."

A voice echoed from the darkness. The Dragon Lord glared with a sweat-drenched face.

And witnessed an unwelcome visitor.

"You...!"

He knew who the other party was. It was a face he had never even imagined he would reunite with in a place like this.

Rod mocked him, feigning composure.

"Are you still alive? They say turtles are long-lived beasts, but even so, your lifespan is quite drawn out."

Poking his face out from the shadows, Todd let out a snicker.

The Dragon Lord remembered him vividly.

They had clashed a few times on the front lines during the height of the war. They had succeeded in beating each other half to death by turns, but in the end, neither was able to completely snap the other's neck. Each time, they lamented that fact and waited for the next opportunity. Ultimately, the war ended with neither of them fulfilling their wish.

The dragon felt his long-standing grudge, fury, hatred, and disgust flaring up once more. As if his emotions had been conveyed completely, Todd reflected them back like a mirror. The only difference was that when they were returned, they came wrapped in an even more relaxed, icy mockery.

"Congratulations. I hear it's twins?"

Rod's face stiffened.

That was a secret none of his kin knew yet. He glared down at where the Ring had been and gritted his teeth.

"Did Raymond really join hands with you lot?"

"Hmph. That Ancient Dragon, foolish enough to hold hands with maggots, probably couldn't even imagine it. He didn't even know such an item was inside his Lair to begin with."

Rod recalled the words Raymond had spoken when he handed over the Ring.

Having amassed treasures for thousands of years and shifted his residential dimension several times, he couldn't remember what route it had taken to end up there. It was a common occurrence for Ancient Dragons overflowing with treasure.

They could have tracked it down by calling the manager to examine the records, but the two dragons decided not to go through that much trouble. Having felt the shame of a 129-game losing streak, Raymond didn't want to call anyone else in anyway.

"The only dragon on Earth harboring a deep interest and curiosity toward Endelion's Magic Tool. A dragon who needed armor for the 'cub' about to be born. A dragon who always played a bet-based game of Go he was destined to win with the same friend every time he visited Hong Kong. Crafting an item that such a dragon was bound to choose was incredibly easy."

Just how many years had they been observing him?

Seeing the dragon gnashing his teeth, Todd smiled with satisfaction.

"Thanks to you choosing it right on schedule and even equipping it under the guise of research... it looks like we can fold the rest of our plans. I appreciate it."

They likely had various traps prepared in addition to that Ring.

Seeing as he even brought up the twins, their plans probably included holding Inais and the egg hostage to blackmail him. A Todd might already be sticking by her side on standby, just in case things didn't go as expected.

"...!"

Inside the vast Penthouse, intruders surrounded him from all sides.

Every last one of them was a Todd.

"The time has come to put an end to our old grudge. If I had it my way, I'd tear you to shreds right here and now, but... I have my own circumstances. You're going to have to come with us."

The Dragon Lord didn't hesitate. In this state, he couldn't unleash his true power. Knowing that Teleport was impossible, he intended to undo his Polymorph and revert to his true form.

The Penthouse was practically the top floor of the ICC Building, and the swimming pool and rooftop club situated above it would be empty right now. If he controlled it as precisely as possible, blowing away only the roof without destroying the lower floors, there would be no casualties...

"...!"

In an instant, the dragon froze.

The moment he tried to release his Polymorph, bizarre mana boiled out from the Ring. And it took aim at his brain in an extremely sharp, vicious form.

The alien giggled with an expression that said he was dying of amusement.

"How is it? Do you miss it? Are the memories flooding back?"

The dragon remembered this pattern. And he lamented.

Ah, if only he had been given just a little more time.

If he had just a few more days to study it, he would have been able to figure out the Ring's true nature. But those bastards... stormed in mere hours after he got his hands on it.

This was a Magic Tool created by the Ancient Races long ago to capture dragons. It was a restraint that, should a bound dragon recite an incantation, would convert the mana in their body into uncontrollable thermal energy, turning them into a pile of ashes. However, back then, it took the form of a massive chain net tailored to a dragon's size.

Endelion, those grotesque geniuses, had advanced their technology in the meantime. It had likely been disguised as 'tentacle ring' armor originally designed for tentacles, capable of freely adjusting its size. Was it a countermeasure for a war that might break out again in the future?

"It's advanced beyond compare to back then. If you recite an incantation in your current state, it will specifically target and neatly fry only the organs that control mana. For your kind... right, that would be the mana brain."

The Todds gradually closed the distance as they encircled him.

The Dragon Lord realized he had no options left.

'With this level of preparation, they could have just killed me. But they're going out of their way to kidnap me.'

A hostage situation?

If they did that, an all-out war would break out immediately. If they wanted to start a war, there were far better ways.

'No, my disappearance will be left as a mystery.'

Rod realized that the true nature of this kidnapping would never be known to the world.

The storm unleashed at the top of the building right now would play its part. That phenomenon was similar to what happened when preparing a massive spell. It was clearly an intentional design. At this rate, it would provide ample ground for the hypothesis that the Dragon Lord accidentally opened the door to the Abyss and vanished while testing a newly created, planetary-tier spell.

'What is the reason they are trying to kidnap me?'

He could only think of one.

It would be the exact same reason the Ancient Races plundered his parents' corpses.

'They want my body!'

Overwhelmed by a sense of crisis, Rod racked his brain.

Was there a way to escape without undoing the Polymorph? A way to call for outside help?

There was none.

If so, was it acceptable to hand this body over to the Ancient Races just like this?

Absolutely not.

The moment he was taken, he was a dead man anyway.

He was not afraid of dying. However, he feared fading away without being able to execute everything he had planned. And...

'No. My Dragon Heart... this, at least!'

The future of his race hinged on it.

"...!"

The Dragon Lord gazed at the storm outside the window. His kin must have already noticed the anomaly and were keeping their eyes on this building. Without daring to approach.

He made his decision.

'I'm sorry.'

He muttered an apology that would never be delivered. It was directed at the entourage staying with him in this building. Those who would be trapped inside the Hotel alongside him, entirely clueless.

'Please... let there not be many casualties.'

At that moment.

Flash!

A blinding flash erupted from the dragon's body. Todd shrieked in horror.

"No... you crazy lizard bastard!"

And Todd was horrified once again. That dragon had definitely just recited an incantation. If so, his brain should have fried and killed him before his Polymorph was fully undone. And even if the caster died, the Polymorph would be maintained for the brief window while the mana evaporated. Taking him alive would be best, but if push came to shove, carrying off his corpse wouldn't matter either.

And yet...

'Crazy bastard! He's enduring it while his brain cooks!'

Todd screamed frantically.

"Just kill him! Kill him and seal him in a sub-dimension—"

In that instant, with all the dragons gathered in Hong Kong watching.

The upper floors of the ICC Building blew apart.

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