Chapter 337: Dragon and Dragon (1) |
A quiet and elegant garden.
Two women sat facing each other at a small pavilion, a table laden with tea and snacks between them.
“…Red Dragon, was this your doing?”
One of them, a woman with long, neatly styled blue hair, set down her teacup and sighed softly.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play coy. Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Dool is there right now?”
“How would I know what that brute is thinking?”
“Red Dragon.”
The woman with short, red hair frowned and clicked her tongue at the calm accusation.
“Why did you do that? You know this isn’t just about our Golden Island Sect, it’s about the entire world. He’s an important key to our plan.”
“Precisely. That’s why I can’t just trust him blindly. This is a necessary test.”
“A test…? This is the Dragon God’s will. You know that…”
Crash!
Her words were cut short as the table between them shattered.
A sudden silence.
Red Dragon calmly swept the debris aside and spoke, her voice flat and emotionless.
“The Dragon God… Right, the Dragon God. He didn’t even care when our brethren were dying, trying to maintain the balance of this world. And now he suddenly sends us a message, a divine revelation?”
“…It’s not just that. The Dragon God has been sending us ‘Dragon’s Children’…”
“Ha! Dragon’s Children? What a joke. They’re sacrifices. Or does the Dragon God have a… peculiar taste for devouring his own offspring? How… noble.”
“Sarin!”
“Stop. Don’t call me by that name. I am Red Dragon. And you are Azure Dragon.”
Azure Dragon, the blue-haired woman, closed her eyes at the firm rebuke.
The titles representing their respective clans.
They were only granted to the clan leaders.
And now, with their predecessors gone, they had inherited those titles.
“…Fine, Red Dragon. But I can’t just ignore this conflict. I’ve already sent someone to stop them.”
“I don’t care. It’s better if it ends quickly. Well, Dool is quite capable, so the fact that he’s holding his own against that… outsider… is somewhat impressive.”
Red Dragon trailed off, her voice suddenly fading.
Azure Dragon, sensing the unnatural silence, opened her eyes and looked at her companion.
“Red Dragon?”
“…”
She didn’t reply, her gaze fixed on something in the distance, a troubled expression on her face.
Azure Dragon, realizing where she was looking, shifted her consciousness, her vision extending outwards.
Towards the entrance of the hidden realm, where the commotion was taking place.
Where the visitor and Dool were currently engaged in a… confrontation.
‘…What is that?’
The first thing she saw was a massive back, its muscles bulging and rippling.
She thought there was a problem with her vision settings and instinctively tried to adjust them…
…and then realized that wasn’t the issue.
The surrounding scenery was the correct size.
Only the owner of that massive back, a single person, was… disproportionately large.
“What in the world…?”
She heard Red Dragon’s bewildered murmur, but she couldn’t respond.
She was speechless, her mind reeling from the scene unfolding before her.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't just one person who was abnormally large.
Dool, who was facing him, was also quite massive.
But the composition of the scene… it wasn’t what she had expected.
Kaboom—!
She saw…
…a large, muscular man relentlessly beating a much smaller, furry figure.
‘…Well, it’s not entirely one-sided.’
But the difference in their sizes was so vast that Dool’s resistance seemed… pathetic.
It was a display of pure, overwhelming violence.
Azure Dragon, staring at the scene, muttered unconsciously,
“…We need to send more reinforcements.”
“Hmm…”
They both agreed.
____________________
“Kyaaa—! I’ll kill you!”
“Stop! That’s enough!”
“Back away! Grab him!”
“Form a defensive formation!”
The fight was quickly brought under control thanks to the timely arrival of reinforcements.
And amidst the chaos, as the enraged Dool was forcibly restrained, Harley calmly retreated, his body slowly shrinking back to its normal size.
‘Well, it’s strange that they didn’t intervene sooner.’
This was their territory, and he was a guest.
There shouldn't have been a fight in the first place.
‘Either they were slow to react to Dool’s sudden outburst… or…’
…Their superiors had tacitly approved and even encouraged it.
But regardless of their intentions, Harley wasn't complaining.
Thanks to their provocation—.
Munch— Gulp!
…He had enjoyed a satisfying ‘snack’.
‘I made the right choice increasing my size.’
He patted his stomach, a satisfied grin on his face, his body returning to its normal size.
That was probably why Dool was still so angry.
The difference in their sizes had been so vast that a single bite from Harley had almost torn off Dool’s entire arm.
Harley’s 「Voracity」 skill devoured not only flesh and blood, but also the magical energy contained within.
Dool’s regeneration must have been quite taxing.
‘Not my problem. It’s normal for demons to bite each other during a fight.’
He had actually been quite restrained.
The most efficient method would have been to extract his core, his equivalent of a magic stone… but he couldn’t do that yet, so he was satisfied with the new genetic material he had acquired.
He patted his stomach, feeling a pleasant fullness, and began to analyze the changes in his 「Ultimate Evolved Lifeform」.
‘Interesting. The demons of Ganghwange are definitely a new type. Similar to demi-humans and monsters… but also somewhat… spiritual.’
Unlike monsters, whose bodies were optimized for maximizing HP and physical strength, their energy flow was concentrated in specific pathways, like the meridians in humans.
It was probably the foundation of their martial arts system.
‘This will help me complete the Mad Control Heart Technique faster.’
He grinned, feeling his cells adapting, optimizing themselves for energy circulation.
As expected, the exchange of different cultures and biological systems was the fastest path to evolution!
As he flexed his fingers, a satisfied smile on his face,
“Um… Mad Demon-nim? Are you alright?”
…Qingguan, who had been keeping his distance during the fight, cautiously approached him.
“Of course! I just had a light workout, I’m feeling great! Hahaha!”
“Whew, that’s good to hear. So…”
He sighed in relief, then quickly got to the point.
He didn't want to spend any more time with this… unpredictable individual.
“If you’re ready, I can take you to the Azure Dragon now. He would like to formally apologize for the… incident.”
It was a perfect excuse, a chance to complete his mission and get away from this… force of nature.
____________________
The hidden realm, a separate dimension, detached from the human world.
The Golden Island Sect, a gathering of various demons.
‘…‘Demon’ is just a generic term for non-human races in this world.’
It encompassed not only mythical creatures like the nine-tailed fox and goblins, but also divine beasts like the kirin and haetae.
And at the apex of all demons… were the dragons.
“…This is unsettling.”
The red-haired woman, glaring at Harley with narrowed eyes, was one of them.
Red Dragon, standing next to Azure Dragon, who had just apologized for the commotion, stared at Harley intently, her reptilian eyes gleaming with a cold, hostile light.
As if she could see through him.
And then—.
“…You’re a dragon slayer.”
Her gaze, which had been filled with a strange mixture of curiosity and suspicion since their first encounter, now held a clear animosity.
And… a hint of disappointment.
“…Red Dragon.”
“I know, Azure Dragon. But this is different.”
“But he…”
“His strength is undeniable, but that’s all. He’s not even a dragon, he can’t even enter the Dragon God’s temple. What’s the point? He doesn’t even meet the basic requirements.”
“Sigh…”
“This is ridiculous. I had hoped… that the Dragon God still had some conscience! But the key… is a monster who devours dragons and steals their power? Is this some kind of joke?”
Azure Dragon, the blue-haired woman, closed her eyes, a sigh escaping her lips, while Red Dragon continued to rant, her voice filled with rage and indignation.
As if she had been betrayed.
The air around them crackled with tension, the energy fluctuating wildly.
‘What’s going on?’
But Harley didn't care.
It seemed like a complicated situation, but he didn't have time to deal with their personal drama. He had his own problems to worry about.
“Snort!”
He crossed his arms, a bored expression on his face, and tilted his head slightly, as if challenging them to continue.
“Hey, ladies, finish your gossip later. You called me here, so let’s get to the point.”
“What…?”
Red Dragon, her face twisted in anger, turned to face him… but Harley just shrugged and calmly continued.
“I didn’t come all the way here for nothing. So let’s get this over with.”
“Ha!”
Both Red Dragon and Azure Dragon stared at him, their eyes wide with disbelief.
What was he so confident about?
But Harley, who always welcomed a good fight, simply met their gazes, his head held high.
“…I’m afraid this is where our conversation ends. You summoned him, so we’ll allow him to stay for a few days. He can enjoy the scenery and then leave. We’ll even give him a parting gift. But that’s it.”
Red Dragon spoke, her tone softening slightly.
Azure Dragon, who had been looking dejected, nodded in agreement.
It seemed like she had also changed her mind after meeting him in person.
“Tsk.”
Harley frowned, scratching the back of his head, as he observed their reactions.
‘So, the problem is that I ate a dragon and stole its power?’
The High Shaman in Auterica had also noticed it right away.
He hadn't had any problems pretending to be a Dragonborn so far, but it seemed like things were different here.
‘Come to think of it, I haven't actually met any real dragons in Auterica.’
The only dragon he knew, Shri Hartgen, had been confined to his lair, observing the outside world through magic.
The other surviving dragons were probably in a similar situation.
It was surprising that such a thing even applied to him, considering they were from different dimensions.
Weren't dragons and dragons… different species?
‘No, wait. There are countless similar species in different dimensions, like humans.’
It seemed like the gods shared some kind of blueprint when creating their creatures. There were often… uninspired similarities.
It wasn't strange for there to be a connection between dragons and dragons.
‘…Should I just destroy everything?’
He was starting to get annoyed.
He didn't care what they wanted. He was here to gather information.
He had been playing along, hoping for their cooperation, but he could always resort to violence if necessary. He could still get what he wanted.
‘I’m working hard to restore Ganghwange, I can’t keep playing nice.’
As his thoughts turned towards a more aggressive approach,
A sudden thought stopped him.
‘Wait, the problem is that Harley ate a dragon?’
They wanted something from him.
And he didn't meet their requirements.
Then what if someone who did… no, someone who perfectly fit their preferences, appeared instead?
‘There’s no harm in trying. One last time.’
He didn’t hesitate.
____________________
“Huh?”
Red Dragon’s jaw dropped.
“Ah…”
Azure Dragon was equally stunned.
Before them,
Harley, his arms crossed, nodded with a satisfied smile.
And before him,
“Hee hee…”
…A small, blond boy, fidgeting shyly under their gazes, twirled a strand of hair around his finger, a harmless smile on his face.
““Hwang… Dragon?””
Horus, the young Gold Dragon from Auterica, had arrived in Ganghwange.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Note from the Translator
Episode title "용과 드래곤" translates to "Dragon and Dragon" in English.
용 (Yong) means "dragon" in Korean.
드래곤 (Dragon) is the English word "dragon" written in Hangul.
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