The Foreigner on the Periphery

A burning sting!

"Ouch!"

Ha Eun-seong felt a sharp pain graze the back of his neck, as if someone had molded a fireball into a spike and scraped it against his skin. He raised a scale-covered forepaw—or perhaps a hand—and felt the area. A metallic scrape echoed as the scales on his palm rubbed against those on his neck.

"Why does this keep happening today?"

The phantom pain vanished as quickly as it had come, but the ghost possessing the dragon felt a creeping unease at the phenomenon.

The pain flared in the exact spot he remembered.

The direct cause of Ha Eun-seong's death.

It was where the assailant—a man whose face he still couldn't recall despite seeing it with his own two eyes—had plunged a bizarrely shaped Dagger into his flesh.

The blade lodged in his neck had even remained as part of his spiritual body after he became a ghost.

The brief, fleeting stabs of pain had started right after they arrived in this dimension.

Ha Eun-seong looked out the window. The scenery of the third alien world he had experienced since leaving Earth stretched out before him.

'Could it be somewhere nearby...?'

Dimension #77-102.

Ha Eun-seong didn't know much about this place, Yumtus's Home World, despite traveling with the alien priest for several days and having plenty of opportunities to talk.

There was a reason for that. Whenever he asked about the priest's homeland out of pure curiosity, the conversation inevitably ended with Yumtus aggressively trying to proselytize him. From the priest's perspective, it couldn't be helped; he couldn't explain his home without bringing up religion.

After all, it was a theocracy ruled entirely by the Elahu-Praga Order.

'It wasn't always like that. He said the order unified all the nations a few centuries ago. And then they converted the entire population through "peaceful means".'

Yumtus kept mistaking Ha Eun-seong's curiosity for a genuine interest in their faith and constantly tried to preach the doctrine to him.

The priest knew dragons didn't believe in gods, but since Ha Eun-seong was a human soul inside a dragon's body, Yumtus thought there was a chance. The hope of perhaps becoming the first cleric in the history of the universe to convert a dragon made Yumtus's heart race.

Though, of course, he had failed every time so far.

'But still.'

A society where the entire population believed in the same religion and was ruled by an order.

When he first heard about it, Ha Eun-seong had pictured something like Vatican City. It was the only comparable nation he knew of.

Classic, beautiful architecture and a serene atmosphere. Priests and nuns strolling peacefully down immaculate streets steeped in history. Sunlight pouring down like a blessing from a vast blue sky.

But the scenery Ha Eun-seong actually witnessed upon arriving here...

'I really didn't expect a place like this.'

Outside the window lay a futuristic city straight out of a sci-fi movie.

It looked like what Earth might become in exactly a hundred years. The building where Ha Eun-seong's group was staying seemed quite tall, but the dense forest of buildings stretching out beyond the window was just as high. Ha Eun-seong naturally recalled the cityscape of Hong Kong, where he had once lived in hiding.

Instead of the antique and holy atmosphere he had anticipated, brilliant neon signs flashed across the building exteriors, and holograms painted dazzling images and text across the narrow strips of sky between the skyscrapers. Flying Objects that seemed to be modes of transport wove recklessly through the concrete jungle, spewing exhaust, while the blaring noise from scattered loudspeakers was simply deafening.

Ha Eun-seong couldn't understand any of it, of course, but the visuals and audio mostly consisted of scripture verses or religious proverbs. Contrary to his common sense, they were presented in an incredibly flashy manner.

There was also a device similar to a TV in the room where the group was staying. Ha Eun-seong had turned it on out of curiosity and was absolutely horrified. He swore that in his entire twenty-two years of life and slightly over a year of death, he had never seen a broadcast so graphic and provocative.

On the other hand, the Tentacle Princess, who hadn't fainted this time, watched it with mild confusion. 'What are they doing? Is it like a Bisou on Earth?' she wondered, before calmly understanding the anatomy involved. 'Ah, so that's what's attached to their foreheads.'

In more ways than one, it was a place completely divorced from the pious atmosphere Ha Eun-seong had imagined. That was Yumtus's Home World.

"I have returned. Have either of you found anything uncomfortable?"

The person who poked his head in with those words was Yumtus. He had been summoned by the order the moment they arrived and had just returned after giving a lengthy testimony.

At his question, Dell shook her head slightly with an expressionless face, and Ha Eun-seong started to mumble something before giving up.

In truth, the Elahu-Praga Order hadn't skimped on their hospitality. Even to Ha Eun-seong, who knew nothing of alien etiquette, their attitude was unfailingly polite, and it was clear that great care had gone into the accommodations and meals.

The order had even offered to guide them on a tour outside if they wished. But Dell showed no interest, and Ha Eun-seong had abandoned the idea as well. The atmosphere here, which had assaulted the dragon's sensitive sense of smell the moment they made the dimensional jump, was truly horrific.

"I'm not uncomfortable, but I am curious about something."

"What is it?"

"Is the weather in this city always like this? The fog hasn't cleared up all day."

When he voiced his concern that the people living here must have a hard time seeing the sun, Yumtus smiled and replied.

"Ah! You misunderstood. That is not fog. We call it smog."

"Smog? What's that?"

It was inevitably an unfamiliar word to a young man used to the Korea of 2020.

Earth had largely freed itself from air pollution issues when it began importing Mana Crystals from the Committee in the 1980s. That was why Ha Eun-seong knew about yellow dust but wasn't very familiar with concepts like fine particulate matter or smog.

After listening to the explanation, he made a face of utter incomprehension.

"You 'burn' fuel to get energy?"

"Yes. It's called thermal power generation. I heard Earth also relied on this method in the past."

The concept sounded incredibly primitive and barbaric to Ha Eun-seong's ears.

"Why don't you use Mana Crystals?"

Yumtus divulged a secret unknown to other species.

"Ever since completely 'sanctifying' this planet, the order has continuously lowered our dependence on Mana Crystals in preparation for the future. Every single Mana Crystal has to be imported from off-world by paying Divine Blood... or Talent, as the non-believers call it. It was a decision to minimize unnecessary outflow. Thanks to that, even after initiating a Lockdown and having our Mana Crystal imports completely cut off, our dimension was able to avoid an energy crisis."

"Wait, then what do you burn? Don't tell me it's stuff like wood?"

He asked the question by digging through his memories of historical dramas, but Yumtus's answer defied his expectations once again.

"The vast majority of flora and fauna naturally inhabiting this planet went extinct a long time ago. As you experienced yesterday, the water, sunlight, soil, and air are all incredibly harsh. It's an environment where ordinary living creatures struggle to survive. Even if we wanted to log timber, there are no more trees left to cut down."

Ha Eun-seong was even more baffled.

"Wait, even without Mana Crystals, aren't there other ways? In the old days, they, you know. They used nuclear bombs to make electricity, right?"

It was the poor word choice of an Orc Community native who couldn't tell the difference between nuclear power generation and a nuclear bomb, but Yumtus understood perfectly.

"It's simple. Nuclear fusion or deuterium fuel generation requires grinding massive amounts of manpower, resources, and money into initial facility investment and design. Compared to all that, our current method is far cheaper!"

"...?!"

Ha Eun-seong stared at him as if he were spouting absolute insanity, but Yumtus was telling the truth.

"Long before this world made contact with the Committee, we already knew how to generate energy by burning fuel dug from the earth. The process is extremely stable, and the consumed resources exist abundantly in nature. I say again, you only need to dig the ground to find it. Of course, I am aware there are other methods. If we imported technology from off-world, the efficiency would multiply several times over. However, the decision was made that it was better to save the money... in other words, the 'Talent,' that would be invested there."

"But is it really okay to leave it like that?"

Ha Eun-seong asked, pointing toward the murky exterior that remained dark despite it being high noon.

There was no way it was fine. Hadn't Yumtus just said it with his own mouth? Most wild plants and animals were already extinct.

Yet Yumtus smiled gently, answering with utmost serenity.

"Of course there are problems. But what does that matter?"

The priest recited the religious doctrine that Ha Eun-seong had let go in one ear and out the other countless times.

"Once the gods awaken from their slumber, this false world will collapse and vanish anyway."

   *

The Grand Patriarch, Felix, was in a foul mood.

He and the other high-ranking clerics were waiting for the 'guest' sitting at the head of the conference room to speak. The man had arrived in this dimension yesterday, acting as the leader of the group that the Committee had placed an astronomical bounty on. The order had received him by temporarily granting him the status of a guest.

Felix felt an immense sense of displeasure at the mere discussion of recognizing the man as the avatar. He glared piercingly at the man's emotionless face.

'That wretch is an offshoot of the absolute being we serve?'

The Elahu-Praga Order was a group that strove to most actively receive the love of the slumbering gods.

Furthermore, the race that had met the Prophet, laid the roots of this order, and served as the backbone to expand it throughout the dimensions was none other than the three-eyed ones, the Repatam Tribe.

Because of this, Felix believed that if a god were to send an avatar down to the world, its appearance would have to be modeled after the lepatam.

For the god loved them, and the lepatam were the first race to accept that divine love.

But that man. The one some priests firmly believed without a shadow of a doubt to be the avatar...

'A human!'

It made no sense.

What reason would the absolute being they served have to incarnate in the form of a human of all things?

He examined the man's face once more, as if trying to tear it apart with his eyes. That bland forehead, missing something crucial right where it should naturally be, evoked a physiological disgust in Felix.

He asked himself once again.

'A deficient, lacking creature without a "third eye" on its forehead. Why would a god appear as a two-eyed being? That man is no avatar. Absolutely not!'

Felix vehemently opposed both the claim that this human was the avatar and the doctrinal interpretation that the avatar and the god were effectively the same entity. He was a bishop acting as the representative for the priests who shared this view.

His interpretation of the doctrine was welcomed by like-minded priests, and their voices had grown so loud that even the 'Deputy Pope' could no longer ignore them.

Felix burned with resolve as he looked at the man.

'Now, let's see you prove it. Prove that you are the avatar!'

The black-haired man spoke.

"So..."

His voice was flat, lacking in pitch or inflection.

"The problem is that the Prophet's prophecy telling you to wait until the day of revelation when he returns conflicts with my demand to hand over the Divine Blood immediately. Is that it?"

Minjun directed the question to the alien acting as the order's representative.

"That is correct, Yeh-min-choong."

"..."

The way the last syllable of his name was mispronounced was incredibly grating, but Minjun decided to focus on the matter at hand.

"The Prophet said he would return when 'our' slumber lightens, so you were told to keep the Talent at the altar."

"Exactly. The Prophet was to personally preside over the rite on that day. The ritual to awaken the gods from their slumber."

The Prophet described in the scriptures was the founder of the religion and the sole Pope—the first and last the order would ever have.

That was why the alien representing the order was a Deputy Pope, not the Pope himself.

Minjun sank into thought.

Contrary to their expectations, the Prophet would not be returning intact to preside over any rite.

His soul had been shattered to pieces at the hands of the Committee in the meantime.

Because of that, Minjun had been forced to change his plans in the past.

'I anticipated they might not hand it over right away just because I demanded it, but...'

To think they would actually ask him to prove he was the avatar.

Looking back, the reason Yumtus and the other heretical judges had submitted to him was because Minjun had displayed regenerative abilities, worked Ha Eun-seong like a pack animal, and performed the "miracle" of handling Talent barehanded.

But now, these people wanted something more. They wanted undeniable proof.

Minjun debated between a simple solution and a complex one.

'I could just bulldoze through these guys, march straight to the altar, and raid the Talent...'

Once the conditions were met, these people would dedicate fanatical faith to Minjun.

There was no need to unnecessarily incur the resentment of such a race. If there was a detour, he would take it.

'Alright, then...'

Minjun reached a conclusion. He cut off the Deputy Pope, who had been droning on about scripture verses all the while, and stated bluntly.

"The problem is just that both sides are saying different things, right?"

"...Ah? T-That is correct, but..."

"Then we can just check with the person in question directly."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

The person in question?

Minjun provided the answer to that question by reaching into empty air. With a commanding gesture, he brought something down onto the table they were seated around.

Thud!

The eyes of all the high priests representing the order gathered in the room widened simultaneously.

"W-What is that...?"

"I told you. We'll check directly with the person in question. The very one who made the prophecy, the Prophet from the Book of Asif."

"...?!"

Amidst the general shock, Felix even felt a surge of rage. He glared at Minjun, treating him like a lunatic.

'Is this shameless wretch trying to humiliate our order?!'

He shot burning glares back and forth between Minjun's face and the spot on the table where the item the man had just pulled out rested—a Black Frying Pan.

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