The Foreigner on the Periphery

The young dragon, still bearing traces of his immaturity, shouted in fury.

"Damn it! Split! I said split!"

Along with his shouts, sharp crashing sounds rang out inside the Lair.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The blade of light Kaien summoned struck the jewel again and again, ringing out with a nerve-wracking shriek upon every impact.

Standing close by, Asisphael watched with complicated emotions as he struggled desperately for the better part of an hour.

When he first chanted the spell, Kaien fully expected to see the Dragon Heart split cleanly in two.

Yet...

"Just how hard is this thing, damn it!"

Asisphael, who had kept silent until now, finally spoke up.

"Kaien."

"..."

"I think you should give up."

A brief silence followed.

"Goddamn it!"

Spitting out a curse, Kaien dispelled the blade of light.

In truth, Asisphael had already guessed that he was nearly out of mana. She had purposefully timed her suggestion to give him an out. Kaien stepped back, acting as though he were only stopping because she had asked, rather than because his strength had run dry. Still, his face was locked in a furious scowl.

Conscious of his lover's gaze, he made a dramatic show of his anger.

"What kind of bullshit is this!"

Neither of them had expected such a roadblock.

They had never witnessed a Dragon Heart being inherited, nor did they have any experience handling such a highly concentrated crystal. This was simply the result of two inexperienced dragons putting their heads together.

Asisphael stared at the gem's surface. Despite Kaien's desperate struggle, it didn't bear a single scratch. Devoid of even a hairline crack or the slightest chip, it was just as pristine as when they had first brought it in.

This was the legacy of a dragon counted among the strongest in the universe, not just any Ancient Dragon. It wasn't going to yield so easily.

Instead, the only thing that had cracked was Kaien's pride. Knowing it would only backfire, she refrained from offering to try it herself.

Instead, she said,

"I think this is beyond our power."

Kaien affirmed this with silence.

This was a massive problem. If they couldn't breach the surface, they couldn't absorb the power contained within.

He brought the artifact on his wrist close to it, wondering if there was a hidden barrier, but it drew no reaction whatsoever.

Then, Kaien muttered,

"What if we asked them for help?"

Asisphael's face hardened.

"What?"

"We take the Dragon Heart as it is, escape Earth, and then ask them..."

"You want to ask your backers to split it for us? We cannot hand this over to them, even for a second, Kaien."

She finally brought up a concern that had been weighing on her mind this whole time.

"I think we need to absorb the Dragon Heart before we stow away. Right before we make contact with them. For our own safety."

Kaien grumbled. He had never attended a funeral other than the Lord's, but he had heard that the Ancient Dragons were always the ones to handle the distribution of a Dragon Heart. Now he understood why.

"How the hell do those old fogies even split this thing?"

"They must know a spell that we don't. They have plenty of experience with this, after all."

"Damn it, why don't they ever teach us these things?!"

Kaien spat out his frustration at the Ancient Dragons, who monopolized all the wealth and knowledge.

Even so, they couldn't just take this to an Ancient Dragon either.

"...!"

As he agonized over the problem, an idea flashed through his mind. He stared at the metal object locked around his wrist.

Kaien didn't know any spells to nullify the barriers of the Ancient Race. Yet, thanks to this artifact, he had managed to steal the heart.

"...Right. If we don't know the spell and no one will teach us, we can just use a tool."

"You mean an artifact?"

"A weapon that can slice a Dragon Heart in half. Preferably one that cleaves through space itself. The races that wield Swords forge things like that sometimes."

"But I don't own anything nearly that expensive..."

It wasn't the kind of treasure that dragons their age could acquire or forge on their own.

However, inheriting one was a different story.

"When he was alive, the Lord was famous for collecting all sorts of mystical artifacts, even those from the Ancient Race. There might be something like that among his legacy!"

The inheritance of the Lord's remaining wealth—his financial assets, real estate, and artifacts, everything aside from the Dragon Heart—had already been mostly distributed among his children.

However, Kaien hadn't received the kind of artifact he needed. With a gesture in the empty air, he summoned a massive document scaled to a dragon's size.

"This is the inventory of the Lord's legacy."

It was a comprehensive ledger detailing exactly who had inherited what under the mediation of the Ancient Dragons.

Asisphael and Kaien scoured the ledger with obsessive focus. After a painstaking search, they finally found it—the name of the heir who had received a rare spatial-interference artifact capable of cleaving even a Dragon Heart.

As Kaien confirmed the heir's name, two conflicting emotions flickered across his face.

Anxiety and relief.

Wearing a complicated expression, he spoke.

"...Kentius!"

   *

The firstborn of the Dragon Lord, the tricolor dragon Kentius, had always acted as the de facto leader among his peers.

Recently, however, his behavior had taken a strange turn.

'I don't know what he's obsessed with, but he shuts himself in his Lair all day and refuses to come out.'

This sudden change in Kentius had worked to Kaien's advantage.

Kaien still asked himself even now: if Kentius hadn't suddenly turned into a complete recluse, would his backers have chosen Kaien instead?

If Kentius had been in his right mind, they might have tasked him with delaying the election instead. He had wielded the greatest influence over their generation, after all. If that had happened, the Dragon Heart would have fallen into Kentius's hands. Thank the stars things hadn't gone that way.

"Kentius, open the door!"

The very next day, Kaien and Asisphael stood before Kentius's Lair on the opposite side of Earth.

Since their own abilities weren't enough to cross such a vast distance using Teleport, they had simply bought first-class tickets and flown over.

Even during the flight, Kaien had persistently bombarded Kentius with communication Magic to demand a meeting, but the response was exactly the same as always.

Meaning, he was completely ignored.

"Kentius! It's me, Kaien! I know you're in there, so answer me! Are you really going to do this to me? Out of all our siblings, you and I were the closest!"

That last claim was both true and completely false.

On the surface, the two dragons had maintained friendly ties for a long time. Their strength was roughly equal, meaning any fight between them would leave both sides severely maimed.

Yet, true to their draconic nature, both instinctively knew that the moment one of them showed weakness, the other would lunge for the throat. Being siblings offered no exemption to this rule.

Only after Kaien had raged at the entrance for a good while did a sluggish reply drift out from inside the Lair.

=...I don't want to see anyone right now. Go home, Kaien. Besides, I'm expecting company.=

Kaien scoffed. The excuse didn't even make sense.

How could he be expecting company if he didn't want to see anyone?

"Don't be like this. Open the door! It'll only take a second!"

Their bickering dragged on for quite some time.

When Kaien showed zero signs of backing down, Kentius finally surrendered.

=What is it?=

"I came to make a trade! It's a deal you definitely won't regret!"

A mental wave that felt much like a heavy sigh washed over them, and the entrance to the Lair swung open.

As the couple walked down the corridor, they were amazed by the sheer scale of the Lair, which was far larger than the rumors had claimed. They were equally taken aback by the oppressive, gloomy aura that saturated the space.

'Why are all the Magic lights turned off?'

Continuing forward, the pair finally reached Kentius.

Even in the stifling gloom, his exotic scales stood out. Shimmering dragon scales in vibrant shades of gold, auburn, and crimson divided his body into distinct sections. It looked as though three separate sedimentary layers had been perfectly stacked atop one another.

A damp, miserable voice rang out.

"...What kind of trade are you offering?"

"Don't ask for the details, just lend me an artifact. I'll pay you handsomely for it."

Hearing the request, Kentius fell silent. Even through the urgency of the situation, Kaien couldn't help but be puzzled when he looked into his brother's eyes.

A suffocating blend of despair and utter lethargy clouded his half-brother's eyes. This was entirely unlike the proud, arrogant, and obnoxiously haughty dragon Kaien remembered.

Kentius muttered,

"...Did I inherit something like that?"

"...?!"

Kaien barely suppressed his gaping jaw.

An Ancient Dragon overflowing with riches might say something like that, but not Kentius.

The Dragon Lord's legacy was a crucial stepping stone for a young dragon to build their fortune. They had fought their siblings tooth and nail for every last scrap; it was only natural that they would have every item they won perfectly memorized.

Yet now, Kentius's words sounded like the idle muttering of someone who had lost all worldly desires.

"Why do you need to borrow it?"

Just as Kaien was about to repeat that he shouldn't ask, Kentius continued to mumble.

"Ah, well. It's none of my business anyway."

Kaien couldn't make sense of this situation at all.

'Why is he suddenly like this?'

Regardless, if he played his cards right, he might actually secure the item.

"It'll only take a moment. You'll lend it to me, right? I even brought collateral."

Since most of Kaien's assets were currently frozen, Asisphael had provided the collateral.

"..."

Instead of answering immediately, Kentius fell silent.

Kaien started to feel anxious. His brother had sounded so detached from material wealth a moment ago—was he actually reluctant to part with it? Or was he afraid he wouldn't get it back?

Then, his half-brother finally spoke. In truth, his attention hadn't even been on Kaien this entire time; he had been focused on someone else entirely.

"...My guest is here."

What kind of nonsense was that?

"What?"

"I told you I was expecting company. And you... you really ought to get out of here right now."

"Cut the bullshit. Do you think a lie like that is going to make me leave?"

"You should really listen to me. If what that elf secretary said is true... then the entire reason he's coming here is to ask for my help in cleaning up your mess, Kaien..."

At that very moment, a brilliant flash of light erupted in the middle of the Lair.

Kaien and Asisphael's eyes widened. They were staring at the precursor light of a Teleport directly into the interior of the Lair. This meant that Kentius had deliberately given out his coordinates and granted permission for spatial transit, completely bypassing the entrance.

This was coming from a dragon who fiercely guarded those coordinates even from his own siblings.

'He was actually expecting someone?!'

He claimed to have severed all ties with other dragons and gone into seclusion, yet here he was, inviting another dragon straight into his home?

Flash!

The blinding light flared and vanished.

Kaien forgot to breathe.

"...!"

Another dragon materialized before them through the Teleport.

The moment Kaien saw him, the puzzle pieces in his mind fell into place with a sickening click.

'So this is why he made an appointment even when he wanted to be left alone!'

It was an appointment that Kentius simply couldn't refuse.

Not like Kaien, who was just a nagging nuisance.

"..."

The visitor, who had arrived shortly after Kaien, spoke up.

"Hmm?"

A heavy, resonant voice, completely unique to an Ancient Dragon, filled the room.

His calm gaze swept over the three young dragons one by one before settling on Kentius.

The visitor spoke.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Kentius."

"...You're welcome. It's been a long time."

After exchanging greetings with the utterly defeated-looking Kentius, the Ancient Dragon shifted his gaze to the brother standing nearby.

In that moment, Kaien prayed desperately.

Please, don't let this terror show on my face or my body!

"And."

Wearing an expression of deep amusement, the Ancient Dragon looked at Kaien.

"I certainly didn't expect to run into you here, but this works out perfectly. It might actually save time to just speak directly with you instead of Kentius. After all, you're the entire reason I came to see him in the first place."

The instigator who had riled up the young dragons and caused such a massive disruption in the Lord's election was standing right in front of him.

The Ancient Dragon offered his greetings in a relaxed, leisurely tone.

"It's a pleasure to run into you like this, Kaien."

Feeling his blood run absolutely cold, Kaien barely managed to choke out an answer. He couldn't bring himself to say it was a pleasure.

"...It's been a long time, Jenkinson."

The Ancient Dragon, whose territory encompassed Korea, smiled gently at the insolent little dragon who had thrown such a massive wrench into his plans.

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