An immaculately kept garden of modest elegance.
In a small pavilion off to one side, two women sat facing each other with a tea table set between them.
“···Jeongnyong, is that you?”
One of them, a woman with long blue hair neatly pinned up, lowered the teacup in her hand and opened her mouth with a small sigh.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb. Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Dool went there of all places right now?”
“Well, how would I know what that idiot is thinking?”
“Jeongnyong.”
At that calm, steady questioning, the red-haired woman with a bob cut sitting across from her grimaced and clicked her tongue lightly.
In response to a reaction that was virtually an admission, the one quietly watching her took another deep breath and shook her head.
“Why did you do this? You know, don’t you? This matter isn’t just for our Geumodo, but for the entire world. He is going to be an important key to that.”
“That’s exactly why. We can’t proceed by trusting an unproven man with something so important. This is the bare minimum of verification needed for that.”
“Verification? This is the will of the Dragon God Himself. You know that too—”
Kwaang!
Her composed words were cut off by the sound of the tea table shattering.
A sudden silence.
Jeongnyong indifferently pushed aside the wreckage of the collapsed table and opened her mouth calmly.
“The Dragon God... Yes, the Dragon God. The one who never batted an eye while countless of our kin died to maintain the broken balance as the world reached this state, only to toss us a few words now like some act of benevolence.”
“...It isn’t just that, is it? The Dragon God has watched over the ‘Children of the Dragon’ since long ago—”
“Ha! Children of the Dragon. What a funny expression. Not children, but sacrifices, surely. Or does the Dragon God have a hobby of devouring His own children? He truly is a remarkable being.”
“Sarin!”
“Stop. Don’t call me by that name. I’m Jeongnyong now. And you’re Cheongnyong.”
At those resolute words, the blue-haired woman, Cheongnyong, slowly closed her eyes.
Names representing each clan.
They were permitted only to the representative of that clan.
Now that those who stood above them had all perished, these were also names they had inherited.
“...Fine, Jeongnyong. Regardless, I cannot sit idly by and let the conflict with him escalate further. I’ve already sent people to stop the fight, so keep that in mind.”
“I don’t care. There’s nothing to gain by dragging out the disturbance unnecessarily. Well, still, Dool is quite capable, so if he managed to hold his own against him, that alone should be worth something...?”
Jeongnyong, who had been speaking nonchalantly, trailed off.
Cheongnyong opened her eyes at that unnatural silence and tilted her head.
“Jeongnyong?”
“······.”
No answer came to her question. In that gaze fixed on some distant place, there was an inexplicable bewilderment.
Sensing where she was looking, Cheongnyong immediately shifted her consciousness and redirected her sight.
To the edge of the island where the commotion would be in full swing by now. Where the guest she had invited and Dool, the troublemaker of the Spirit Realm, were.
‘...What?’
The first thing she saw was a sturdy back covered in dense muscles.
For a moment, she thought the zoom setting of her “sight” was off and adjusted it without a second thought...
Only to realize that was not the issue.
She could tell because the surrounding scenery she glimpsed was exactly the size she had first expected.
Save for one person.
Save for the owner of that massive back that had filled her field of vision.
“What is that...”
Just then, Jeongnyong’s hollow voice brushed past her ears.
But having forgotten what she was about to say at the scene unfolding before her eyes, Cheongnyong could not respond.
Strictly speaking, that one person wasn’t the only large thing there.
The one facing him, Dool, whose appearance was familiar to Cheongnyong as well, also had an imposing physique.
However, the composition was vastly different from what she had first assumed.
Kwaaahng—!
What they saw there—
Was a massive adult man mercilessly pummeling a fluffy figure that barely came up to his solar plexus.
‘No, looking closely, it isn’t entirely one-sided.’
But the difference in weight class was so extreme that Dool’s resistance only came across as a pitiful struggle.
It was violence in its purest form—overwhelming and captivating to the eyes!
Staring blankly, Cheongnyong muttered without realizing it.
“...We’ll have to send more of the kids if we want to stop that.”
“Mmm...”
Needless to say, there was no disagreement.
***
“Kwaaah—! I’ll kill you!”
“Stop! That is enough!”
“Hey, step back! Grab him!”
“Deploy the barrier formation!”
Thanks to those who rushed in suddenly, the fight was quelled before it could escalate further.
And in the chaotic situation where the thoroughly agitated Dool was being forcibly subdued, Halli willingly stepped back and slowly reduced his body to its original size.
‘Well, come to think of it, it’s a wonder they only showed up now.’
This was their stronghold, and Halli was an invited guest.
Under normal circumstances, a fight should never have broken out in the first place.
‘Either it was an accident caused by Dool’s sudden outburst and they couldn’t respond quickly, or else...’
Their superiors had implicitly allowed and guided it.
But whatever their intention, he didn’t have much complaint.
Because the other side had picked the fight first—
Munch munch
—Gulp!
—Halli had been able to have a satisfying “bite” as well.
‘Good thing I increased my size.’
Now back to his original size, he rubbed his hunger-sated stomach and nodded in satisfaction.
In fact, that was precisely why Dool was still rampaging like that even now.
The size difference had been so great that a single bite to the shoulder had nearly torn off the thick arm entirely.
Thanks to the excellent regenerative power befitting a physical-type yokai, it would be restored before long, but Halli’s “Gluttony” was an innate ability that devoured even the mystique within.
The recovery process was likely consuming a considerable amount of power.
‘Not my problem. When yokai fight, they might bite each other. That’s just how it is!’
Honestly, the fact that it ended at this level was practically a blessing already, no?
The most certain and efficient method would have been to seize the inner core, essentially the yokai equivalent of a demonic core, but since he couldn’t do that for the time being, collecting new genes was enough for now.
Patting his stomach, he calmly observed the “Ultimate Evolving Lifeform” that had begun to react after a long time.
‘Interesting. The yokai of Ganghwangye are definitely a type I haven’t encountered before. Similar to a demi-human species, yet also like monsters. They even seem to have a slight elemental spirit feel to them...’
Unlike monsters that had developed even their terminal cells to maximize biological energy, the prominent energy circulation pathways radiating from a central core were a notable difference.
This was likely the foundation of the martial arts system unique to yokai, replacing the human meridians.
‘With this, I can complete the Gwangje Heart Formula much faster.’
Feeling the cells in his body evolving into a form more suited for energy circulation, he curled his lips into a grin.
As expected, the exchange of diverse civilizations and ecologies was nothing if not the shortcut to evolution!
As he smiled in satisfaction, clenching and unclenching his fist—
“Um, Lord Gwangma? Are you injured anywhere?”
Cheonggwan, who had kept his distance during the fight, approached and spoke cautiously.
“Of course! In fact, working up a light sweat has me feeling refreshed and in a wonderful mood! Bwahahaha!”
“Phew, I’m glad to hear it. That being said...”
He let out a sigh of relief at Halli’s nonchalant attitude and immediately got to the point.
It seemed he felt he wouldn’t die in peace if he stayed with that man any longer.
“If it’s alright with you, may I guide you to Lady Cheongnyong right away? She wishes to formally apologize for this matter.”
For him, the message delivered from above was a perfect excuse.
He could finish his assigned task quickly and get away from the eye of the storm.
***
The Spirit Realm, situated in a plane separate from the continent ruled by humans.
Geumodo, located there, was an organization of diverse yokai gathered together.
‘To be honest, the term yokai in this world is more or less a catch-all for every race other than humans.’
That naturally included gumiho and dokkaebi, as well as auspicious beasts like qilin and haetae.
And at the pinnacle of all those yokai was the Dragon (龍).
“...Repulsive.”
The red-haired woman with a bob cut currently glaring at Halli with furrowed eyes was one of them.
Right after hearing Cheongnyong’s apology for the disturbance at the place he arrived following Cheonggwan’s guidance, Jeongnyong, who was sitting proudly beside her, fixed Halli with a fierce glare, her reptilian red eyes gleaming.
As if she could pierce straight through his inner being.
And—
“You’re a Dragon Slayer.”
The eyes that had watched him with an ambiguous expression from the very first meeting gradually took on clear hostility.
Along with some inexplicable disappointment.
“...Jeongnyong.”
“I know, Cheongnyong. But isn’t this a different matter?”
“But he is...”
“Yes, I acknowledge his strength, but that is where it ends. He’d be better off as an ordinary human. What are we even supposed to do with someone who cannot enter the Dragon God Shrine in the first place? Isn’t this simply an impossible condition from the start?”
“Haaah—.”
“How absurd. I had my doubts. I’d thought the Dragon God might still have a shred of conscience left! But to think the so-called ‘key’ is a monster that devoured a dragon and took its skin? Are you mocking us?”
The blue-haired woman, Cheongnyong, could not continue and closed her eyes tightly with a sigh, while Jeongnyong spat out fierce anger repeatedly.
As if she had been betrayed.
Following that emotion, the surrounding energy squirmed and an oppressive atmosphere enveloped the hall.
‘What? What’s with them?’
Of course, Halli couldn’t care less about such things.
It seemed there was some complicated history, but with plenty on his own mind already, why should he care about other people’s circumstances?
“Kuhng!”
Folding his arms with a snort, he looked at them with a sullen expression and cracked his neck delinquently.
“Jeez, save your chatter for when you’re alone together. What kind of way is this to treat a busy guest?”
“Wha—...?”
Jeongnyong, who had been in the middle of her enraged tirade, turned to him with a twisted expression, but Halli didn’t bat an eyelash and continued nonchalantly.
“I’m busy as it is; do you think I came all the way here for nothing? So let’s cut to the chase, fast.”
“Hah!”
At that brazen demand, both Jeongnyong and Cheongnyong looked at him with bewildered eyes, wondering what in the world gave him such confidence.
But Halli, who always welcomed a fight, simply raised his head high and met their gazes.
“...I’m sorry, but the discussion ends here. We did summon you first, so I shall permit you to stay for a few days. Tour around reasonably and then leave. I’ll see to it that you receive a parting gift. But that is the end of it.”
Jeongnyong watched Halli silently and opened her mouth in a somewhat softened tone.
Cheongnyong, who had been slumping her shoulders beside her in disappointment, did not object to those words either.
Having faced him directly, it seemed her opinion was not so different from Jeongnyong’s after all.
“Tch.”
Halli frowned at their ambiguous reactions and scratched the back of his head, organizing his thoughts.
‘From what I’ve gathered, the problem seems to be that I hunted a dragon and forcibly took its karma, right?’
Well, even in Auterica, the Great Shaman had seen through it at a glance.
Until now, passing as a Dragon Slayer hadn’t been much of an issue, but here, something seemed different.
‘Ah, come to think of it, I’d never faced a real dragon in Auterica.’
Even the only dragon he knew, Shulihartgen, had been confined to the lair, observing the outside only through magic.
The other remaining dragons were likely in similar situations.
More than that, it was surprising that such karma applied even across dimensions.
Weren’t dragons and yong different species to begin with?
‘No. Just like humans, there are so many similar races across dimensions.’
When these gods created their creatures, it was as if they shared source code; it wasn’t uncommon for impersonal elements to pop up here and there.
It wouldn’t be strange if there were some connection between dragons and yong.
‘...Should I just flip the table?’
At this point, everything was starting to become annoying.
He didn’t know what they wanted, but he had come here simply to gather information, hadn’t he?
He had only gone along with their requests to secure their cooperation; if he resorted to force, getting what he wanted wouldn’t be impossible.
‘Right. I’m working so hard to restore Ganghwangye, so how long do I have to watch their moods? Once I do it...’
Just as his thoughts flowed toward the extreme and one side of his mind began to simmer with violence—
A different thought suddenly crossed his mind.
‘Wait, in the end, the problem is that Halli hunted a dragon, right?’
They wanted something from him.
But Halli had failed to meet that condition.
Then, what if someone who could meet the condition—nay, someone who fit their tastes perfectly—stepped up in his place?
‘There’s nothing to lose anyway. Just one last time.’
His deliberation was not long.
***
“Huh?”
Jeongnyong blankly opened her mouth.
“Ah...”
Cheongnyong was equally dumbfounded.
Where their gazes had fallen.
Before Halli, who stood with his arms crossed and nodded in satisfaction.
“Ehehe—”
A little golden-haired kid twisted her body shyly under their focused gaze, twirling a strand of hair with a tiny finger as she let out a harmless laugh.
““...Hwangnyong?””
It was the moment Horus, the young gold dragon of Auterica, arrived in Ganghwangye for early study abroad.