The Foreigner on the Periphery

The dragons had begun infiltrating Earth a few days ago.

Following the Committee's collapse, interdimensional traffic surged to unprecedented levels. One of the two layers of the Dimensional Wall had vanished.

Previously, dispatching a Jump Ship required the Committee's approval and a jump code issued by them. Through this system, the Ancient Race controlled the movement of people and resources across dimensions. Even by their own estimation, it was a highly efficient means of domination.

However, it did not take long for the Dragon Race to notice the disappearance of that barrier.

"Huh? We can... dock our Jump Ships without a code now?"

All that was required now was a mutual agreement between the departure and destination points.

Thanks to this, Earth's Terminals also enjoyed a boom. In a dimension that already handled a massive volume of extraterrestrial trade, suddenly locking down the borders was a surefire way to cause economic arteriosclerosis. Unless long-term preparations had been made in advance, like those of the Ellahu-Praga Church, a prolonged dimensional Lockdown was impossible.

Furthermore, the ripples of what Minjun had set in motion at Yongreung were still spreading across the globe.

"- Mana Crystal market prices have surged another 250% compared to last month."

Consequently, countless Jump Ships docked in countries all over Earth.

They carried extraterrestrial dragons under disguised identities.

"Track down Asif-666!"

Minjun's Space Mothership boldly revealed itself in various places across Earth, hovering in the sky for ten to twenty minutes before vanishing again. It was only natural that the three-eyed ones were spotted on the ground at each of those locations shortly after.

Since the governments of each nation had been notified in advance, the feared incidents never occurred. For instance, even if a spaceship suddenly appeared over London, no fighter jet squadrons scrambled to open fire, nor did British Immigration Office agents demand dimensional travel permits from the three-eyed ones.

Of course, they could not stop terrified citizens from abandoning their livelihoods to hide in basements or hoarding bottled water, canned food, and toilet paper in preparation for the apocalypse.

The extraterrestrial dragons, watching from the shadows, were baffled.

"What is Asif-666 thinking? Did he bring a Mothership just to scatter those fanatics all over the planet?"

"Using a Space Mothership as a mere planetary transit vehicle? And a troop transport at that? It could circle this kind of planet hundreds of times in a single day. That goes far beyond overkill."

"It's probably to show off to the Earthlings. A threat that if they touch the three-eyed ones, Photon Cannons will immediately rain down from the sky."

"But don't those three-eyed bastards look like they're searching for something? This is the planet where Asif-666 served his final sentence. He might have hidden something important back then."

"He can't find what he hid himself, so he's making his subordinates do it? I find that hard to believe."

Unable to fathom Asif-666's goal, the extraterrestrial dragons agreed to leave the fanatics alone for the time being.

"If we mess with them for no reason, Asif-666 will go on high alert. Besides, what useful information would grunts like that have?"

Furthermore, they had no certainty that whatever Minjun was searching for held any value to them.

In the end, they focused solely on tracking the Mothership. Meanwhile, they waited for more dragons to arrive—all the warriors dispatched from the twenty-five allied dimensions.

And finally, the moment arrived when a sufficient number had gathered to take on a single battleship.

As if the heavens were helping them, the Space Mothership, which had not stayed at any one coordinate for long until now, came to a halt right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And for a while, it showed no signs of moving again.

"Did he finally find it?"

"That's none of our concern. Come on, let's begin!"

Concealed by Magic, the dragons surrounded the Mothership, maintaining a considerable distance.

"First, we set the trap!"

Those who had lived through the war knew all too well the terrifying power of the Photon Cannon. A direct hit could instantly claim the life of even an Ancient Dragon. Moreover, nearly a thousand years had passed; its performance would only have improved.

If they were detected first by an enemy wielding such immense firepower, they were doomed.

"We need to bind its mobility first. Put up the barrier!"

Coordinating via telepathy, they chanted a joint incantation.

It was not a simple method where thousands of dragons chanted the exact same spell together. Like architects dividing up the design and construction of a building's various functional parts, they focused on their assigned segments, constructing the spell as if building a castle.

Preparing in agonizing tension over the fear of discovery...

Flash!

"It's done!"

They had finally completed it.

Vwoooom!

The magic circle took the form of a convex icosahedron overlapping a concave one—it looked like a star sharing its vertices inserted inside a twenty-sided die.

Stretching out for dozens of kilometers in every direction, it dominated the space and completely enveloped the Space Mothership.

"Block all nearby communications!"

The one issuing that command was the Dragon Lord of Dimension #95-481, Atil-Ben.

It was to prevent the target from sending out a distress signal to other worlds or contacting Earth's Dragon Lord, with whom he had formed a friendly relationship.

Outside the completed barrier, Atil-Ben offered a sinister smile.

'Your carelessness has finally bitten your neck, Asif-666.'

The barrier they created was not merely a physical or spiritual obstacle meant to imprison their opponent.

It selectively blocked the flow of energy.

Simply put, attacks poured from the outside in would pass through without resistance, but it maximally suppressed any energy traveling in the opposite direction.

Even if the Mothership turned its muzzles outward and fired its Photon Cannons now, the blasts would not be able to properly pierce the barrier. Instead, the energy would scatter wildly inside it. It would be equivalent to self-destruction.

"Attack!"

The thousands of dragons hiding in the skies above the Pacific Ocean finally revealed themselves.

And a river of light and heat began to flow through the sky.

"Don't stop! We cannot let our guard down!"

Even though their strongest weapon, Asiph-1, was currently absent, their opponent was still a space battleship.

Atil-Ben and the rest of the dragons poured out every ounce of their strength. Instead of unleashing a diverse array of spells and abilities, they channeled their Magic into a single incantation.

A nuclear fusion spell mimicking the Committee's Photon Cannon.

This was the source of the shockwaves and magical pressure felt by the people on land.

The magic had just activated, yet the heat was already boiling the seawater below. The atmosphere around them evaporated, warping their vision, and waves of Magic so intense that even dragons struggled to endure them surged violently. It was this powerful even outside the barrier, where the spell's destructive force was only felt indirectly.

It was self-evident just how much damage the trapped target would sustain.

"More! Don't stop!"

How long did the onslaught continue?

Craaack!

Joy flashed across Atil-Ben's face.

Finally!

"Everyone get ready!"

At that instant.

Even a few of the dragons, possessing the most resilient bodies of all, momentarily lost their sight.

The complexly shaped barrier flared up like an angular star, releasing a brilliant light incomparable to before.

A sight like two suns rising in the sky.

The dragons with combat experience knew well that this was the resulting reaction of a Space Mothership exploding.

---!

A moment later, the light faded.

"We did it!"

The barrier was no longer there.

And not a single trace remained of the target they had confined within it. It had evaporated without leaving even a scrap of debris.

Cheers erupted among the dragons. Boisterous laughter and chatter went back and forth, as if the battle had already ended. However, Atil-Ben did not lower his guard. It was premature to celebrate until they thoroughly confirmed it.

"Are there any signs of escape? Scan the area thoroughly!"

"Wait a moment."

The instructed dragon furrowed his brow and scanned the vicinity.

A short while later.

"I double-checked. There are no signs of escape. The battleship has been completely annihilated."

"Excellent!"

Only then did Atil-Ben burst into hearty laughter.

"Our judgment was correct! We couldn't let this opportunity slip by!"

He sent a telepathic wave to Perseen to inform him of the situation. A reply came immediately. It seemed things were proceeding smoothly on his end as well.

Atil-Ben could not stop laughing.

'Ah, thank you, Asif-666. I'd love to express my sincere gratitude, but I have no way of doing that now!'

Today's clean victory was all thanks to the sheer arrogance of Asif-666, who had visited this remote frontier with only a single Mothership.

After taking revenge on the Committee—the mortal enemy of the Dragon Race—on their behalf, Asif-666 had died and vanished before he could even claim the throne of the universe.

'At this point, shouldn't he be called the benefactor of the Dragon Race? I feel like we should even build him a statue. Hahaha!'

Atil-Ben could guess the reason why Asif-666 had made such a blunder.

'He probably never imagined that dragons from so many dimensions would ally with each other in such a short amount of time.'

While an overwhelming technological gap was certainly one reason the dragons were easily pushed back by the Committee in the early stages of the Second War, an even larger reason was the discord caused by dragons from each dimension rigidly asserting their own claims. Just as the previous Dragon Lord had experienced, there were simply too many cooks in the kitchen.

But the dragons were different now.

Using the disgrace of the past as fertilizer, they had formed a consensus that they absolutely could not miss this opportunity.

Thanks to this, representatives from twenty-five dimensions gathered, reached an agreement, and executed this operation in just a single day. Considering the stubborn nature of dragons—who typically took over a month just to schedule a single meeting—it was nothing short of a miracle.

The dragons involved would hate to admit it, but at the base of this rapid response lay fear.

'We must stop Asif-666 from becoming a second Committee!'

The terror and obsession that they could never repeat the humiliation they had endured for nearly a millennium.

'Ah, I'm so exhausted.'

Knowing there would not be a second chance, Atil-Ben and the other dragons had poured in all their strength and were now on the verge of exhaustion. Their Magic consumption had been staggering.

"Hmm?"

Checking over his body amidst the proud fatigue, Atil-Ben suddenly felt perplexed.

Their allies were taking far too long to join them.

'What is Perseen doing? Since we've dealt with Asif-666, there's no need to worry about Earth's Dragon Lord anymore. It's not like he would try to fight us. If he did, Earth would be making enemies out of twenty-five dimensions.'

Just as he was about to send a telepathic message in the direction of his ally...

Prick!

His nervous system, superior to any creature in the world, registered a pain piercing through his head, and...

Pew!

The sound followed immediately after.

"Huh...?"

In an instant, Atil-Ben felt the strength drain from his entire body. His surroundings darkened as if night had suddenly fallen, and total blackness soon seeped in.

And then, he felt nothing at all.

*

"Atil-Ben?!"

The other dragons, similarly depleted of Magic and barely managing to keep themselves suspended in midair, simultaneously witnessed the scene.

The Ancient Dragon who commanded them, Atil-Ben, was plummeting downward, pitching forward headfirst.

Had they been in perfect condition, they might have somehow been able to intervene. But they were deeply exhausted, and the sight was so unexpected that their reactions were delayed.

The dragon lost consciousness and surrendered his body to gravity.

Splash!

"What the? What's wrong with him?"

Some even suspected that Atil-Ben had thrown himself into the ocean on purpose.

Soon, the rolling waves swallowed his draconic form. Only a tiny fraction of the dragons saw something approaching his body as it was sucked into the deep seabed. Spreading out formlessly like ink dissolving in water, it retrieved the limp Ancient Dragon. And just like that, it vanished to an unknown location.

"Wh... what was that?!"

And the dragons capable enough to see that shadow were left unable to testify about what they had witnessed.

Zip! Zip-zip-zip!

Piercing through the surface of the water, a cluster of lasers as thin as needles shot up into the sky. In the blink of an eye, they sliced the air into tiny fragments.

The beams of light selectively struck down the dragons who had made the greatest contributions in shooting down the battleship moments ago, targeting them in order.

The dragons never imagined it could be a Photon Cannon. While the Ancient Race's weapon was undeniably powerful, its output control had limits. Furthermore, no matter how exceptional the marksman, hitting targets with needle-thin precision was simply impossible.

Yet, the impossible was unfolding into reality.

The dragons were far too fatigued. Their magic resistance, having plummeted to rock bottom, crumbled before the needles of light. The ultrafine lasers surging from the ocean bore holes through their targets' skulls, piercing straight through the secret chamber connecting their six brains.

Even if that area was damaged, their brain function remained intact and would heal after a few days, but it caused temporary physical paralysis. This was because their six computing units had lost their connecting links.

Moreover, the exact location of this chamber differed between Fire Dragons, Lightning Dragons, Earth Dragons, and Sea Dragons—even the dragons themselves could not properly distinguish them from one another.

Yet the lasers currently shooting up from the seabed were aiming at and striking those precise spots with flawless accuracy.

Pew! Zip!

Ssss!

Splash!

The dragons froze before this unimaginable spectacle.

Starting with Atil-Ben, who had commanded the offensive, the Ancient Dragons plummeted into the sea one by one.

Only then did the remaining dragons attempt to flee using Teleport, scraping together every last drop of their remaining Magic.

"Damn it, we're blocked!"

The moment they cast their Teleport spells, the coordinates twisted. It was as if someone was intentionally sending out jamming signals.

At that moment.

Ruuuumble!

All the dragons lost their words and stared down at the ocean.

The surface of the sea, where a considerable number of Ancient Dragons had plummeted and vanished, began to bulge. Soon after, parting the waters, an enormous object surged upward.

A moment later, it fully revealed itself and floated into the air. Seawater flowed down its beautifully contoured surface, cascading off like waterfalls.

Someone staring blankly uttered its name.

"...A Space Mothership?"

But that was impossible. They had clearly witnessed it just moments ago: the explosive reaction of a Space Mothership burning to cinders.

And a dragon highly versed in that type of magic had guaranteed that no one had escaped from it.

While they floundered in confusion...

Whoooosh!

The dragons were collectively seized by an urge to scream.

The exact same event from a moment ago was repeating itself. They doubted their own eyes, but it was far too vivid to be a hallucination. It was not a trick of their brains capriciously replaying the past as reality, either.

The water surface swelled, and yet another ship rose up from the exact opposite position of the battleship that had just appeared.

That sudden procession of ascensions did not stop.

Whoosh!

Whooooosh!

Fountains stretching for several kilometers, or towering ridges sculpted from water, erupted into the sky from all around.

Eventually, the Dragon Race beheld seven Space Motherships surrounding them in a massive circle, covering a far wider radius than the siege formation they themselves had created.

"But how?! They clearly said... there were only traces of one ship!"

Before the Dragon Lords of each dimension made their decision, they had tracked the trajectory of the Mothership departing from Dimension #00-001.

Though it had not used the Terminals, clear traces of Jump Magic were left behind every time 'only one ship' crossed a dimension.

If eight ships had moved—including the one they just shot down—there should have been a corresponding number of traces left behind.

Then how on earth did the other seven ships get here? Unless the Dimensional Wall had voluntarily parted to make a path exclusively for them, it was completely impossible.

As they stared straight ahead, frozen in place...

Vwoooom!

The muzzles of the seven battleships began to glow with blinding light.

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