The Foreigner on the Periphery

Seoul had come to a standstill.

Cars on the road gradually slowed to a halt. One by one, people opened their doors, stepped out, and looked up at the sky.

People of various species leaned out of buildings to stare in the same direction. They craned their necks back until they almost snapped, gazing upward.

The scene looked as though time itself had stopped.

The expressions on their faces were nearly identical.

"What... is that?"

Shock and terror.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the object that had abruptly appeared in the sky above Seoul.

"A Jump Ship?"

Horrified whispers, heavy sighs, and bewildered screams.

Gripped by instinctual fear, they could only stare in a daze.

Someone muttered in a drained voice.

"Is 2020 really... cursed or something?"

Starting with domestic incidents, a series of bizarre events had already occurred: the mysterious storm on the East Coast, the appearance of a tentacle monster at the Incheon Terminal, and the death of the Ancient Dragon Changcheon.

On a global scale, hundreds of people in Germany had suffered mass delirium and committed mass murder, the tallest building in Hong Kong had collapsed, and key infrastructure in New York had been struck by sequential terrorist attacks.

To cap off such an eventful year, the colossal spaceship appearing over Seoul seemed more than fitting.

Literally the crowning touch.

Everyone was absolutely certain that no bizarre incident this year could possibly top it.

"This is insane."

Amidst the pale winter sky, the craft boasted a crushing presence. Most couldn't even properly fathom how massive it was. They also had no way of knowing it was a state-of-the-art battleship—or that it possessed enough firepower to conquer an entire planet single-handedly.

A moment later.

As paralyzed senses and reason kicked back into gear, the city center was engulfed in pandemonium.

"C-call the police! Report it!"

"What the hell is the government doing? They just let that thing appear right in the middle of Seoul?"

"Should we run? But where?"

People expressed their terror in various ways: shutting their windows and hiding inside buildings, scrambling back into their cars to drive as far away as possible, or simply freezing in place, unable to move.

Of course, none of those methods seemed particularly effective against a strategic weapon capable of laying waste to a planet.

Although the battleship hadn't come to bombard Earth, massive chaos was inevitable.

And as always, cleaning up the mess fell to Jenkinson.

"E-excuse me for a moment!"

Having heard Minjun's explanation, the Ancient Dragon sprinted out as if his tail had caught fire.

He then barked orders at his secretarial staff, who were frozen in place at the same sight.

"Contact the Blue House! Tell them absolutely not to touch that thing! One wrong move and it'll be the end of the world!"

Including the president—who had been elected using political funds from the Jenkinson Foundation—no key figure in the country was free from the Red Dragon's influence.

Thanks to this, the public was soon met with an explanation that not even a five-year-old would buy: that Chairman Jenkinson was welcoming unofficial alien envoys, and their spaceship had been revealed "by mistake."

Jenkinson, meanwhile, began suffering through a flood of telepathic waves fired at him by dragons from all over the world.

In the process, the Ancient Dragon came to a realization.

‘Minjun... you did this on purpose!’

Revealing the Space Mothership in front of everyone had been a highly deliberate move on his friend's part.

*

"No, Lord. So... are you saying Asif-666 is there with you right now?!"

The dragon on the other side of the screen looked deathly pale, and it definitely wasn't just because of his scale color.

"That is correct."

Jenkinson felt the urge to throw away his title of Lord and flee Earth altogether.

It was only a fleeting impulse, of course. He couldn't run away now.

However, the headache crushing his temples was as excruciating as having a dwarven miner digging inside his ear canal, and the whisper telling him to drop everything sounded terribly sweet.

‘Ah, Minjun. Did you... really have to do this?’

It seemed his returned friend hadn't wanted to drag things out.

Normally, the Balaur Council adhered to the principle of carefully selecting a time and place to gather in person. However, today's incident had forced them to ignore their ancient etiquette and convene an immediate video conference.

Thus, Jenkinson was able to explain the situation in front of every dragon on Earth.

At the same time, it served as an opportunity to deliver Minjun's message.

"He emphasized that his visit to Earth this time is for strictly peaceful purposes."

Meaning that while he could trample them all if he chose to, he wouldn't.

Relaying that verbatim would only make the prideful younger dragons spring up in outrage like coiled springs. Jenkinson chose his words carefully.

"Are you saying Asif-666 is looking for something on Earth?"

"From Earth's perspective, we simply need to ensure we don't interfere with him and his believers. Moving the various governments will require the intervention of us dragons."

"He wants our docile cooperation without even telling us what it is he's looking for... Unbelievable."

"The Dragon Race doesn't need to assist in the search itself. We just need to clear the path when they want it, and provide the citizens with a plausible excuse so they don't panic. Exactly like we did in Korea today."

"No one is going to believe it anyway, are they?"

"It would be best to hint to the media that they should at least pretend to believe it. Digging into this... won't do the people of Earth any good."

A brief silence settled among the dragons on the screen.

They were all feeling a sense of unreality so profound it made their heads spin. It felt like an absurd dream.

Someone spoke.

"So the rumors were true after all."

Asif-666 had commandeered a Space Mothership originally belonging to the Committee and boldly displayed it over Earth.

If the Committee were still intact, they would have reacted immediately. Yet the Terminal and the Spirit Realm Communication remained as quiet as ever.

This situation itself confirmed the widespread rumors echoing throughout the dimensional system.

The Committee had collapsed.

"How could this happen..."

Jenkinson spoke firmly.

"It's pointless to resist a Space Mothership with this planet's military forces. As long as the other party is showing a friendly gesture, let's cooperate to the fullest instead of needlessly provoking them."

The video conference was finally about to conclude the way Jenkinson wanted.

Then, one dragon murmured.

"Right up until Asif-666 escaped Earth... Lord, you officially recognized that prisoner as your friend and even made the fact known to those around you."

The one speaking was the Sea Dragon, Callieter. She was a dragon who had stood by Jenkinson's side since the early days of the election and had greatly contributed to his victory.

While she respected the previous Lord's dying wish, she couldn't comprehend his eccentricities, and she now wore a peculiar expression through the screen.

"Back then, a lot of dragons laughed at you and mocked you with words too embarrassing to repeat. They called you a mad dragon for treating a mere human prisoner as an equal to our kind."

A few of the attendees' expressions stiffened.

They were the very ones who had giggled and branded him a lunatic back then.

Jenkinson listened without any change in expression, but his feelings were complicated. Now that he had actually developed multiple personality disorder, he couldn't help but think they weren't entirely wrong.

"But that very prisoner brought down the Committee—an enemy that defeated us centuries ago, even when all of our dragons united to fight them."

Several expressions turned highly uncomfortable once more. Most of them were veterans who had experienced that war.

"Like it or not, the universe's power structure will now reorganize around Asif-666. There will be further conflicts and growing pains in the process, but regardless, he has become the key to determining the dimensional system's future course. It is an undeniable fact, no matter how much we hate to admit it."

Saying so, Callieter stared intently at Jenkinson.

The other dragons finally seemed to grasp why she had brought this up.

"And after his victory, Asif-666's very first external move was to meet the Dragon Lord of our planet."

"..."

"He still considers you his friend, Lord."

Jenkinson did not deny it.

The attendees understood the implications of this and fell into their own thoughts.

"In that case... could Earth's dragons, at the very least, be protected from the impending multiversal storm? That is, if you ask Asif-666 for a favor, Lord."

Of course, Callieter was speaking without knowing the full details, but her words sounded like this to Jenkinson:

‘If you ask him, could Earth's dragons, at the very least, be spared from becoming livestock and food?’

*

While Jenkinson was away.

"By the way, what about Eunseong?"

Among those left in the office, Cathy was the first to bring up his name. Now that her overwhelming emotions had settled, she seemed worried about the other missing person's whereabouts.

Ha Eunseong had disappeared alongside Minjun. While one could assume he had taken the opportunity to flee, Cathy rejected the idea.

It was because of his family.

He had continued to act as the head of his household even after his death, taking care of his two younger siblings. She couldn't believe he would suddenly abandon them all and leave.

"He escaped with you, right?"

"He did."

Cathy's face lit up, if only slightly.

"I knew it. So, where is he now? Did he come with you?"

"We did travel together for a while, but Ha Eunseong is currently missing."

"What? How did that happen?"

"He was blocking a passageway where Talents flow, stuck there like a blood clot. He disappeared while I was trying to rescue him."

"...?!"

Everyone, including Cathy, stared in utter bewilderment.

There wasn't a single word in Minjun's explanation they didn't understand. But how on earth could those words be combined into a single sentence, let alone have anything to do with Ha Eunseong?

"Just... where have you been and what have you been doing all this time?"

Minjun felt the need to start his explanation from the very beginning.

The disguise he had maintained since first setting foot on Earth. He had done it to protect himself, and to protect the people standing before him.

But he didn't feel the need to lie anymore.

Minjun finally said the words he had held back for so long.

"I'm not actually an Earthling."

Cathy wasn't surprised.

"And I'm not a quarter-elf, either."

The reactions of the others were equally unfazed.

Minjun thought it was to be expected. It was easy enough to guess that the person the Committee was hunting wouldn't be an ordinary human.

However, he was surprised that Dong-cheol wasn't particularly shocked, either.

"A long time ago, I fought against the Committee and was captured. My memories were erased, and I was worked as a slave. Even my activities on Earth under a fake identity were on the Committee's orders."

He continued to explain things at a level they could understand.

By the time Minjun explained how a certain incident had helped him regain his memories and escape Earth...

Cathy practically jumped in fright.

"Wait, then. Doesn't that mean you're in incredible danger right now, Minjun?"

She then pointed out the window.

As if to say there were far more pressing matters than the fact that Minjun was an alien.

"Showing up here in a massive spaceship like that... It's like putting up a billboard telling the Committee, 'Here I am, come and get me!'"

She sounded genuinely worried for him.

Not sure whether he should laugh or not, Minjun replied.

"It's fine now."

"What do you mean, it's fine? There's no way the Committee will just overlook that!"

"No, they won't see it."

"Why not?"

"Because they're gone."

"...Pardon?"

Minjun stated plainly, without changing his expression.

"They don't exist anymore."

Stagger!

"B-Boss!"

Dong-cheol supported the swaying Lakefield. "Your legs... they healed... so why?" Dong-cheol looked like he was about to cry, but the elf was far too pale to even reply to his words.

‘Dear god, don't tell me!’

As an alien immigrant, the elf was far more familiar with the organization known as the Committee than Cathy or the others. He fully understood its sheer scale and might.

Information rapidly pieced itself together in his head.

Asif-666 appearing alongside a Space Mothership. The annihilation of the Committee. What those two events meant...

Cathy asked.

"Gone? Did they disband?"

Minjun realized just how slowly news traveled to the peripheral dimensions.

News regarding the Dimensional Center was treated as top secret even among the dragons.

The ordinary citizens of Earth only knew that the number of Jump Ships passing through the Terminal had suddenly increased. They had no idea it was because the Committee's control had completely vanished.

Minjun spoke in a flat voice.

"They fell to ruin and vanished."

"Ah... I see."

Cathy murmured with very little reaction.

"Boss... are you okay...?"

Lakefield suddenly began to hiccup.

"Then, does that mean you're free now?"

Only then did Minjun's expression change.

For the first time, he smiled.

A faint smile.

"I suppose so."

"Wow! Thank goodness."

He quietly stared at Cathy, who was rejoicing as if it were her own business.

Minjun spoke up.

"Speaking of which, I have something I want to give everyone here."

Jeongpal, who had remained silent until now, spoke up for the first time.

"Boss... what are you talking about?"

Seeing the look on his face, Minjun felt a sense of incongruity once again.

"The truth is, everyone here was nearly placed in grave danger because of me."

Following his escape, one of the cards the Committee had considered playing to capture Minjun was a hostage situation. It was an idea they would have naturally come up with.

Anticipating this, Minjun had asked Jenkinson to protect them.

Meanwhile, the priests who had reviewed the Committee's data after the war reported back to Minjun, and he learned that had the war dragged on even a little longer, Jenkinson himself might have been taken hostage.

Thanks to the war ending early, before they could attempt such a scheme, everyone had remained safe.

These people could have found themselves in a horrific situation just for knowing him. If they had been caught by the Committee, they wouldn't have been granted a peaceful death.

After giving them an appropriately adapted version of the story behind the scenes, Minjun explained his reason for bringing it up.

"Ultimately, nothing major happened... but everyone has been trapped in the Lair for a long time because of me. This is also my way of compensating you for that."

However, Minjun's reason for offering them gifts didn't end there.

In reality, he could attach any reason he wanted.

Cathy felt an ominous premonition in his tone.

‘It's as if he's trying to cut ties here... like he's trying to settle his emotional debts one last time. Am I just overreacting?’

Minjun spoke.

"The gift isn't anything grand."

He met their eyes, one by one.

"If you have a wish... would each of you tell me what it is?"

*

"Welcome back."

Yumtus bowed deeply to Minjun as he returned to the Space Mothership.

"...?"

The returned god wore an expression of deep thought.

He stroked his chin in silence for a long time without answering, before finally saying:

"...Right, let's depart."

"Did everything go well with Earth?"

Asiph-1 had remained in Dimension #00-001, so Yumtus was alone with the god.

"I think everything is roughly sorted out. Let's begin the search."

"As you command."

*

In the days that followed, eyewitness accounts poured in from all over Earth of aliens over two meters tall, with skin as white as a sheet of paper and a third eye on their foreheads.

When they occasionally ran into citizens, they displayed an exceedingly polite demeanor and greeted them in the common dimensional language. The short prayers the aliens muttered soon became a hot topic when word spread that they were strikingly similar to those of the 'Dreamland' order, which was already trending on Earth.

Since the various governments of Earth stuck to their story that these beings were an alien diplomatic delegation and issued orders for full cooperation to local municipalities and the military-police, no notable clashes occurred.

Additionally, over those few days, most Jump Terminals worldwide recorded their highest traffic since they were built. It was entirely expected now that the central governing body was gone and free navigation was possible, but Earth's case was a bit unique. The number of spaceships entering Earth vastly outnumbered those leaving it.

In many ways, the entire dimensional system had yet to escape its state of chaos. Even the dragons had chosen to simply observe the situation for now, unable to find their footing. Jenkinson's intentions were, of course, heavily reflected in that decision.

And so, after several days of searching Earth...

"Avatar, we have found it!"

Yumtus had attained the honor of finding what the god desired and offering it to him.

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