The Yellow Dragon's Pearl (3)
A bright yellow creature, meeting my eyes with large, sparkling orbs and cutely tilting its head.
"Hup."
I uncoiled its long body from my leg, grasped it in both hands, and carefully lifted it up.
Its scales bore a hazy luster from its newborn state, its mane and limbs not yet grown, the swelling on its forehead closer to a tiny nub than a horn, and so on.
Its appearance seemed far too lacking to call itself a dragon, yet even so, the subtle, inexplicable nobility it exuded strongly asserted that it was a being symbolizing mystery itself.
"So, how on earth did you get here?" [Kkeung!]
Hwi-ryeong let out a puppy-like sound ill-fitting for its reptilian appearance, wagging its tail as it licked my cheek.
But thanks to our spirits being connected, I could instinctively understand what this child had tried to say.
"...You just tried it out of curiosity? Because you thought it might work?" [Kyururr—!]
"Well, that's amazing. I never knew something like this was possible."
The baby Yellow Dragon observed the household items with a gaze brimming with curiosity.
I looked down at Hwi-ryeong with peculiar eyes, feeling the strong bond and connection linking us. 'Earth has never been a favorable environment for beings that live based on mystery, like dragons. If there is an exception, only one exists.' Temporarily manifesting in this world through the summoning of an Awakened—a being disconnected from the laws of the world.
Of course, as had been emphasized many times before, the esper ability to summon otherworldly beings had long since become obsolete.
No matter how lofty a summoner had become in another world, once they returned to Earth—a place with extreme restrictions compared to other worlds—they couldn't help but fall to a merely ordinary level.
'But my situation is different. It seems this little one is recognized by the System as a summoned beast. Is it because it was able to be born thanks to the "Pearl of the Yellow Dragon"?' Since it was my summoned beast, various effects such as "Dimensional Barrier Mitigation" would apply to it as well, so I could fully understand the current situation.
Since Horus was me and I was Horus, from its perspective, neither side must have felt very different.
Of course, accepting that this little one was actually here right now was an entirely separate matter.
"Haa."
I looked at Earth's Hwi-ryeong, blinking its eyes innocently as it faced me.
At the same time, I gazed at the baby Yellow Dragon of Ganghwangye sleeping soundly in Horus's embrace and let out a sigh.
'As expected, this seems to have been influenced by my "Avatar," right? No matter how supernatural a dragon is, it doesn't seem like it would be born with such an ability from the very start.'
Small physical bodies existing on both Earth and Ganghwangye.
Of course, they were not identical to my exclusive skill and mechanism.
If pressed, one could call it an inferior version of "Avatar." 'There's no doubt the one remaining in Ganghwangye is the main body. The one that appeared on Earth now... is it a projection of that body into this world?' No matter what anyone said, I was the foremost expert in this field.
Thanks to the insight naturally developed through the repeated evolution of my "Avatar" ability, it didn't take long to grasp the current situation.
'There is only one body that can be projected in this manner. Moreover, there are limits to its range of application.' The biggest difference was that, unlike mine, Hwi-ryeong's ability came with various additional restrictions.
Unless Hesperon, who possessed the "Chains of the Covenant," grew stronger later and summoned it from elsewhere, it was safe to say that appearing here was all it could do for now.
And that wasn't all.
The moment it projected, its main body in Ganghwangye would fall into hibernation and become defenseless, and naturally, the main body would share any damage the linked body sustained; there were various shortcomings like these.
It was inevitably different in many ways from my "Avatar," which could operate the main body and the avatar as completely separate entities.
'Well, Hwi-ryeong's main body is in the heart of Geumodo's headquarters anyway, so there shouldn't be much danger.' Moreover, since the projected body could cancel its manifestation at any time, when a life-or-death moment came, it could simply withdraw its body.
Just as I had avoided numerous crises until now using "Summon Release."
"You're really something, aren't you? And that initiative to immediately put it into action just because you thought it might work."
[Pihihit—! Kkyak-kkyak!]
"...Yeah, yeah. Oh my, you're so amazing."
I smirked and stroked the head of Hwi-ryeong, delighted to receive praise.
This time, I had allowed the sudden intrusion because I hadn't noticed in time, but since the initiative in this relationship lay entirely with me, there would be no chance of it next time.
[Kyahang! Kkyak!]
"Yeah, yeah. Here. Is this what you wanted to eat?"
Well, since it had come to this, it wouldn't be bad to put everything aside for a moment and spend some time with this little one.
I wrapped the fussing Hwi-ryeong around me like a scarf, guided it around my residence, and fed it various snacks.
'It's warm. Though it looks exactly like a reptile, is it a warm-blooded animal instead of a cold-blooded one?'
With a rare guest visiting this large place that until now had been used only by me, I began to feel emotions I hadn't been aware of gently tickling deep inside.
Suddenly, a certain impulse I had thought had dulled welled up within me.
"...Damn, I thought I was fine by now."
Was I actually lonely too?
With multiple bodies, I had thought I'd be fine since my social life was several times that of others, but it seemed there was something that couldn't be satisfied by such superficial relationships.
'Even if only to Taesan... No, no. Now is not the time to grow soft.' It was the moment when the full-scale clash with Beoncheonhoe was just beginning.
Not knowing what espers they would mobilize or what schemes they would employ, I couldn't carelessly create a weakness.
If I carelessly ran my mouth in this situation, I might end up putting my friends in even greater danger.
'It's fine. There are plenty of talented people fighting alongside me against them now. Once everything is finished...'
Lost in thought, I shook my head and turned my gaze to Hwi-ryeong, gently stroking its body.
The time spent together on Earth wasn't very long, but I couldn't keep holding onto this child either.
"Alright, we've played enough, haven't we? Then it's time to head back. They're waiting for you to wake up over there too."
[Kyuung...]
"Well, you can just come play again next time, right? Today isn't the only day."
[Kkyak!]
It had only been a few hours since Hwi-ryeong crossed over to Earth.
But in Ganghwangye, which had a time difference, a full day had already passed.
Dragonkind was a species that slept a great deal by nature, so it wasn't that strange; however, from Geumodo's perspective, which was preparing a festival to welcome the newly born Yellow Dragon, it was bound to be regrettable.
Sssuk.
—Perhaps sensing my feelings, the baby dragon's form, which had quietly nodded, began to slowly disappear.
The warm sensation gradually fading away.
Just before it completely vanished.
Tuk.
—a head smaller than a fist touched my forehead.
And after a brief moment.
I was left alone, sprawled in the middle of the spacious living room as usual.
"......."
For some reason, the house looked emptier than usual.
Standing in the house where a cold silence hung, as if the frantic commotion from moments ago had been a lie, I quietly gazed at the scene.
"Ha! For a newborn to be so impertinent..."
A hollow laugh escaped me for no reason.
The funnier thing was that I actually felt comforted by such an insignificant action.
Is this why people keep pets?
"...Well, it was a bit empty for the space. Maybe I should raise a few as a hobby while I'm at it."
I wish they could be as clever as that little one.
I organized my thoughts roughly and surveyed the situation continuing elsewhere.
The work of sorting the supplies harvested from the Cheonmasin-gyo's warehouse had already finished some time ago.
Starting from divine weapons and artifacts imbued with special power, the inner cores of various spiritual creatures, materials harvested from high-ranking monsters, and even a considerable number of yeouiju.
With those alone, I had secured more than enough items to use as energy.
'It's a shame I couldn't obtain an intact Yellow Dragon's yeouiju, though.' That was unavoidable.
Would the Demonic Cult really have obtained an object of yeouiju's caliber and left it untouched for decades?
The yeouiju contaminated by all sorts of experiments and demonic martial arts training had long since lost their original sanctity and fallen into mere clumps of energy.
'Besides, there was no way Tam, the Cheon-gimaseon who had served as the Demonic Cult's strategist, would have left them untouched either.' Anyway, thanks to that, the energy problem was solved, but unfortunately, I couldn't immediately begin the ritual to hatch the next Yellow Dragon.
The Azure Dragon's biggest problem had been energy as well, so I had only brought that up first, but naturally, that couldn't be the only condition needed to carry out such a grand ritual.
'They say forcing it would only make maintaining the realm more difficult, so it can't be helped. They say more time is needed to reduce that burden.' Perhaps because Hwi-ryeong had given me a moment to refresh my mind.
Only then did I realize I had been growing more impatient than necessary.
This was all likely due to stress accumulated while facing the formidable enemy known as Beoncheonhoe, knowingly and unknowingly.
The more I dealt with them, the more I learned about Beoncheonhoe, the more the shadow of the Lord of Beoncheonhoe standing behind them felt larger—it was inevitable.
An absolute being who holds the reins and thoroughly controls those possessing the power to overturn the entire world and reshape Earth's order at a moment's notice, preventing them from acting carelessly. 'If they hadn't insisted on acting from the shadows for whatever reason, the world would have already long since fallen under Beoncheonhoe's dominion.' That restriction was probably deeply related to the Lord of Beoncheonhoe being unable to use his abilities carelessly.
It wouldn't be limited to just his personal power; the restriction likely applied to the organization built with that power to a certain extent as well.
'And as time passes, the constraints suppressing him are gradually weakening.' He must be traveling through multiple dimensions and destroying worlds for that purpose.
It was true that I needed to settle the score somehow before he completely shook off those shackles.
Fighting one who had become a god of Earth was certainly burdensome, and if things progressed that far, I couldn't guarantee that Korea, known to be my main stronghold, would remain unscathed.
'I can simply hide anywhere since I have the "Dragon Lair," but... the foundation I've built up all this time would inevitably be completely blown away.' All of Korea would immediately become a battlefield.
Nuclear missiles launched from China would turn the entire country into a sea of fire, and the moment I stepped forward to stop them, a full-scale war with Beoncheonhoe would begin.
Someone scheming to drive more than half of all humanity to death wouldn't likely care about the lives of a mere tens of millions.
"Huu, no wonder I can't help but feel impatient in this situation."
But calmly analyzing the information gathered so far, that moment didn't seem likely to come very soon.
At the very least, there should be a few more years.
There's an old saying, "More haste, less speed," isn't there?
Rather than rushing needlessly and ruining things, I needed to respond calmly and sequentially, especially at times like this.
"First, regarding the all-around pressure extending this way. For now, our capable talents are responding well, but..." Not only Howard Industries, which had made a huge name selling madogu across the world, but also the Blood Alliance and vampire organizations everywhere, and the idol group Licorice they had put forward as figureheads.
It had only been a short while since a diplomatic offensive had even been launched against the country of Korea itself. 'Beoncheonhoe probably had a hand in that.' Although they hadn't mobilized direct military force, that alone was no trivial matter.
There was inevitably a huge difference in weight class.
'Still, this much is manageable for now. After all, I reorganized the intelligence organization and gathered subordinate forces for exactly this.' Then what did I need right now?
What did I need right now to overturn the board without being led around by them, and to buy more time?
“Information. About the Beoncheon Society Leader. And about the bastard’s exact objective.”
The information uncovered thus far had all been superficial.
For a fundamental countermeasure—to respond one move ahead of whatever the bastard was aiming for—grasping the more detailed chain of cause and effect was the top priority.
And, by a truly remarkable coincidence.
A method perfectly suited for that had just finished being prepared.***[As a rule, the thoughts and ideals of one who bears a great cause are revealed in the footprints they left in the past.]
A space filled with deep darkness.
At its center, an eerie voice rang out.[I shall dig them up thoroughly. The path you have walked until now.]
And immediately after that.
The overwhelming presence that had filled the darkness vanished as if washed away.***This world had been destroyed.
Demons strode freely across the surface, and humans hid underground to escape them.
The humans who had barely survived only killed and plundered one another over the scant supplies that remained; not the slightest will to resist the demons was left in them.
For all the brave ones who had once harbored such dreams and challenged the impossible had already fallen into Purgatory.
“Kghh! I won’t, I won’t let this stand... I’ll definitely... kill you, Rapua...!”
In this world, being caught and toyed with by demons until one lost one’s life was no different from a natural disaster.
Acquaintances could only lament the victim’s bad luck; they could not even conceive of taking revenge on the enemy.
Because it was impossible from the very beginning.
“Hah, hah... A demon, a demon! If only I can contract with a demon stronger than the one he contracted with...!”
But if another human being was behind it, then the story changed.
If the wildfire that had burned away everything one had was in fact an intentional act of arson, then was not the arsonist who committed it the true enemy?
The problem was that even that arsonist reigned from a position utterly beyond reach—a top ruler of this ruined world.
A demon contractor.
A slave who had betrayed humanity and sold everything he had to a demon.
But in exchange, he was promised wealth and glory while he lived; such a being, no different from a demon’s plaything, was precisely a demon contractor.
“Great being, supreme being. I shall offer up both my soul and my flesh. Please, this grudge that tears my entrails apart...”
As such, there were no small number of people who wished to become demon contractors.
After all, was it truly so unusual to think that the reality one faced right now mattered more than whatever might happen after death?
The young man performing the ritual here now was also conducting a ritual to become a demon contractor with just such thoughts in mind.
Following the method he had painstakingly uncovered after overcoming all manner of hardships and adversity, he lavishly used even the precious materials that had been so difficult to obtain.
But becoming a demon contractor was not an easy thing.
The reason was simple.
Because it was more amusing that way.
The method this young man had obtained was also one of the fake methods demons had scattered with that thought in mind.
A meaningless struggle that was only damned difficult and had no effect at all.
If he had possessed even the slightest talent as a contractor, there might have been the faintest possibility, but unfortunately, he had not a shred of talent.
Gooooo——For that reason.
The phenomenon occurring now was unmistakably an anomaly.
A dense darkness began gathering atop the altar the young man had prepared with such care.
A mist like an abyss through which not a single point of light could pass slowly began to take form.
“Ooooooh! Great Demon of Eternity! Please answer my call—!”
But the young man, who had not even the smallest speck of knowledge about such matters and who, until recently, had been wholly preoccupied with simply surviving, could not know that.
He merely rejoiced that a response had come as he had hoped, and cried out at the top of his voice.[Great Demon of Eternity...? Where did you drag out such a lowly name?]
At that moment, an eerie voice flowed from the center of the altar.
An overwhelming presence, as if all the evil in the world had been gathered into one.[Kekeke, I am the king of all the dead and the ruler of death.]
Under a pressure that seemed as though it would crush his soul merely by facing it, the young man gasped roughly for breath.
He tried somehow to hold on to his mind, but he had reached his limit.
And beyond his consciousness, slowly receding into the distance.
A terrifying voice drifted faintly in.[I am Hannibal Strauss.]