Episode 45
The moment he saw the man in the darkness of the desert, Jeon felt gooseflesh spread across his entire body.
The man was like a mirage upon the desert.
He was clearly standing right before him, yet it felt as though he did not belong to this world.
Jeon knew that his instinct was not wrong.
This was an unknown land untouched by human footsteps.
Probably, the only humans to have entered this place were Jeon and Deiodeun.
Even the two of them had reached this place only after a fierce struggle.
Deiodeun was a transcendental expert who had surpassed human limits, so he had not sustained any serious wounds, but Jeon had cheated death several times over.
Therefore, deep scars that would never fade were etched across Jeon’s entire body like brands.
Yet on the man before his eyes, there was not even a trace of injury.
The skin revealed between his clothes was so eerily pale that every blood vessel showed through.
Above all, a man walking alone through the desert possessed no equipment whatsoever.
He wore neither armor nor a robe like Jeon, nor did he possess a sword called Keureion like Deiodeun.
Nevertheless, the fact that he could stroll leisurely through the desert night as though taking a walk meant he was an immensely powerful expert.
Such a powerful expert had appeared without warning.
Surely, he had not come with good intentions.
Jeon asked cautiously,
“Who are you?”
“A traveler passing through these parts. I spotted a light from afar and came to investigate.”
“So your name is?”
“Haieltun.”
In that instant, Jeon felt the blood throughout his body turn ice-cold.
“Then you're a dra… gon?”
“For now, I am merely a passing guest. There is no need to be so on guard.”
The man who had identified himself as Haieltun formed a faint smile.
At that moment, Deiodeun opened his mouth.
“This lizard bastard sure has some nerve….”
“That is too much. Even so, I am a dragon by name; to compare me to a mere lizard.”
“So you really were hiding here.”
“Hiding? What would I have to fear to hide? I have simply resided here since long ago.”
Even in the face of Deiodeun’s killing intent, Haieltun replied with a nonchalant expression.
“So what brings you here? Lizard!”
“The address is a trifle grating, but I, being magnanimous, shall overlook it. If uninvited guests came to your home, would you sit idle? I am no different. Uninvited guests have arrived in my home, so I came out of curiosity.”
“Uninvited guests? Us?”
In the darkness, Deiodeun’s eyes blazed fiercely.
Even at his mad gaze, Haieltun remained composed.
“Is this not what one calls an uninvited guest—one who acts so discourteously? Or does the term carry a different meaning on Earth?”
“You are the uninvited guests here, you lizard bastard! After terraforming Earth, who was it that tried to force us to migrate?”
“I do feel somewhat apologetic about that. But we could not help it. Keurasiaseu, who attempted to terraform Earth, is a being above even gods. At least in our world, he holds such status. Who would dare object to his actions?”
“Just like a lizard bastard, you have a disgustingly long tongue. But in the end, aren't you the same kind of lizard?”
“If you evaluate me as standing on the same level as him, I can only be grateful. But I dare not compare myself to him. In our world, he is an existence equal to the Creator. He merely chose a shell similar to ours for convenience.”
“So what is it you want to say? Did you come here to brag about how great Keurasiaseu is?”
“Your hostility and belligerence are truly remarkable. Enough to make this body tremble.”
Haieltun smiled at Deiodeun.
Contrary to his words, his expression was not tense or intimidated in the slightest.
He spoke.
“Think of it as merely a natural disaster beyond your control. Like a typhoon, or an earthquake. Then you might live a little more at ease.”
“So you're telling me to just turn around and go back now?”
“A politely offered suggestion.”
“You fucking piece of shit, that's easy for you to say since it's someone else's problem. Could you forget and live on?”
“Unfortunately, forgetting is not a blessing granted to me. But I believe I could bury it and live on.”
“Your tongue's the only thing alive, wagging away. That's why you're a fucking retard. Let's see if you can still babble that insane bullshit after I tear your tongue out.”
“Hmm! I must decline. I can convey my meaning through telepathy magic, but it is far more convenient to speak with a voice, you see.”
Haieltun approached Deiodeun nonchalantly.
Jeon watched Haieltun while holding his breath.
Haieltun naturally walked toward the corpse of the Sand Demon.
“Oh! A Sand Demon. I am quite fond of them as well. One might call them a delicacy.”
Rip!
He reached out and tore off a handful of the Sand Demon’s flesh. Then he chewed noisily.
In Haieltun’s appearance, there was not an ounce of dignity to be found.
Without realizing it, Jeon opened his mouth.
“Um, that's mine.”
“Hmm?”
“I caught it, so shouldn't you ask permission before eating it?”
“Haha! Is that so? My apologies!”
“If you're really sorry, how about giving me something?”
At Jeon’s nonsense, Haieltun pretended to seriously ponder before opening his mouth.
“It would be rather difficult to give you my belongings, but if you happen to survive, seek out the rocky mountain a hundred kilometers north of here. There is an unowned dungeon there, with quite a few useful items.”
“A dungeon?”
“With your abilities, you should be able to find it without difficulty.”
“What exactly is this dungeon? How can such a thing exist?”
“Hmm! An interesting question. You are the first to ask me such a thing. Simply put, the dungeon is a fragment of Kurayan. It should have perished along with Kurayan’s destruction, but due to the aftermath of the terraforming and its backlash, the remnants were isolated within the rifts of time and space.”
“So you're saying it's the dregs of Kurayan?”
“You have a talent for explaining difficult things very simply. You would make a fine Chimera.”
“Excuse me?”
“Not at all! You might think of it as a treasure trove left behind between Kurayan and Earth. There are quite a few useful items to be found if you search well.”
“Then the demonic beasts inside?”
“They too are remnants of Kurayan. Pitiful things, isolated in the rifts of time and space, unable to perish.”
He spoke thus, but his face did not look the least bit pitiful.
Jeon did not know, but dragons were originally such beings.
Existences who had stood at the pinnacle of the world called Kurayan.
Aside from Keurasiaseu, nothing stood above them.
Not even the beings called gods.
Gods could exist only when there were those who believed in them.
When belief gathered to form a divine nature, only then could they exist as gods.
Therefore, when the world called Kurayan perished and most of its people and other races died, the gods too could not help but be annihilated.
In contrast, dragons could live as complete existences on their own without such things.
Even without faith, they could wield one hundred percent of the power they had demonstrated in Kurayan.
They were absolute existences even in Kurayan, and they could live as absolute existences on Earth as well.
Haieltun continued.
“I hold in high regard that you defeated my Guardian, Akarukeu, and came all this way. But that is not my only Guardian. Rather, he is closer to a failure. My true Guardians are far stronger than he.”
“So what are you trying to say, you lizard bastard!”
“Have I not been saying so from the beginning? Go back. Then I shall forgive you. I am a magnanimous dragon, after all.”
“You fucking lizard bastard!”
“Hearing those words repeatedly sours my mood. Utter them once more, and even you shall not be forgiven.”
“Forgiveness, my ass… You don't even have the guts to come yourself, sending a puppet instead….”
“What?”
Shiiing!
In that instant, Deiodeun swung Keureion.
Haieltun tried to dodge in surprise, but he could not avoid Keureion.
Srrk!
With a horrifying cutting sound, Haieltun’s body was split in two.
Haieltun’s torso tumbled about, upper and lower body separated. Yet no blood flowed from the severed parts.
Deiodeun looked down at Haieltun and spoke.
“I knew it. Cowardly lizard bastard. Sending a fake to babble nonsense. Your kind are all the same. That's why I can never forgive you.”
“Haha! I did not expect this. Still, your will is clear to me.”
Haieltun laughed even while cut at the waist.
At the grotesque sight he had never seen before, Jeon’s expression turned slightly pale.
Deiodeun raised Keureion high and spoke.
“See you soon, you crazy lizard bastard!”
Sthk!
Keureion stabbed straight into Haieltun’s head.
Only then did the life fade from Haieltun’s entire body.
It was Deiodeun’s ability, the Authority of Death, that granted perfect death.
Deiodeun withdrew Keureion and spoke.
“Sending a mere Chimera to make threats.”
“This was a Chimera?”
“That’s right! The cowardly lizard bastard didn't have the guts to show himself, so he sent an artificial lifeform. Kkak! Ptui!”
Deiodeun spat phlegm at the Chimera.
Jeon silently watched the scene.
* * *
“Kuhk!”
As Haieltun opened his eyes with a groan, scales clashed and produced a strange noise.
Shhrrrk!
From head to tail, he measured a full 150 meters, his entire body covered in blinding golden scales.
Two horns protruded from his head, and a pair of wings lay folded neatly against his torso.
His four legs were thick and sturdy enough to support the enormous underground cavern.
Haieltun raised his massive body and blinked.
The severing of the link with the Chimera had inflicted no small damage to his soul.
Then the woman standing before Haieltun spoke cautiously.
“Are you alright?”
“The connection to the Chimera has been completely severed. It seems it was true that he possesses the Authority of Death.”
Haieltun shook his massive head and spoke.
“The Authority of Death, you say?”
“Yes! To think a mere human possesses the Authority that only Keurasiaseu held even in Kurayan. Astonishing.”
Haieltun looked down at the small woman.
Her upper body was human, but her lower body was that of a spider.
It was Chimera magic—grafting different lifeforms together to create a new being.
One of his specialties was researching various lifeforms to create Chimeras.
Even in Kurayan, creating Chimeras was a forbidden domain.
No matter if one was a dragon standing at the pinnacle of Kurayan, if they touched Chimera magic, they faced sanctions from other dragons.
Because of that, even Haieltun had not dared to think of creating Chimeras in Kurayan.
But Earth was different.
Unlike Kurayan, there were no sanctions here.
The dragons who had crossed over to Earth were too busy establishing their own territories to pay any attention to the lives of others.
Thanks to that, Haieltun was able to focus on Chimera magic, which had always interested him.
The spider woman right before him, Ibeulriseu, was also one of the Chimeras created in that manner.
Created by fusing a human and a spider, she possessed both the intelligence of a human and the cunning of a spider.
Therefore, she had been entrusted with the important position of managing his lair.
Ibeulriseu kept her head bowed as she studied Haieltun’s mood.
Haieltun’s lair was made entirely of gold.
The walls, the ceiling, the floor—all were gold.
Although most of the surface had turned to sand due to the terraforming backlash, the deep underground veins remained intact.
As befitting a Gold Dragon, Haieltun had made his lair in a vein abundant with gold.
Within his Golden Lair, he researched Chimeras to his heart’s content.
To create Chimeras to his liking, Haieltun brought women of various races to his lair, polymorphed himself, and mated with them.
The offspring thus obtained were combined with demonic beasts to create Chimeras.
Ibeulriseu was also a Chimera created through the same process, and the Guardians protecting the lair were all Chimeras as well.
He was extremely reluctant to leave his gold-filled lair for the outside world of sand. Thus, he had sent a Chimera in place of his true body, and now this mess had occurred.
“Deiodeun!”
Killing intent stirred in Haieltun’s golden eyes.
He was enraged at Deiodeun, who had dared to kill his avatar.
The Chimera created as his avatar was very special.
Because it had been made as a vessel to house a portion of his soul, it could wield a dragon’s Authority. Therefore, it could not be killed through ordinary means.
The severing of the link signified the Chimera’s perfect death.
The ability to inflict perfect death upon the Chimera meant that he could also inflict death upon Haieltun himself.
How a mere human had obtained such an Authority was unknown, but it was clear he posed a great threat.
Haieltun commanded Ibeulriseu.
“Move the Guardians.”