The Bright White Dragon
“What the hell. Why would I listen to a single word of that? And who do you keep calling a kid?”
I walked toward her with one hand still in my pocket.
“You looking to die?”
“Uh—Unnie!”
“Stay back.”
I snapped it sharp enough that Ha-eun flinched and scrambled out of the way.
Maybe she figured nothing she said would get through to me right now.
“….”
“Hah. And you. That smell’s foul.”
I caught Park Ha-yeon’s chin and forced it up as I spoke.
Lately there had been no shortage of humans pulling stupid stunts. Maybe I’d been playing nice so long that word had gotten around I was an easy mark. And with that self-proclaimed Demon King bastard already souring my mood—
On top of which, this scent…
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Thud!
“Get on your knees and try that again. And drop the goddamn casual talk. It’s pissing me off.”
A familiar scent of soul. One I’d only ever smelled in the previous world.
“…My apologies. I shall offer my regrets. That said, this manner of speech is beyond even my control.”
Whether she’d read my anger or not, Park Ha-yeon at least offered an apology. Still talking down to me, though.
Hmm. Should I just beat the manners into her first? Nothing in this world is impossible—
Ssshh—
The moment I reached out, a chill of mana brushed against me. Whether it meant to protect the woman in front of me or simply warn me not to come closer, I couldn’t say. I smirked.
“Aha? So you’ve contracted with someone.”
“….”
“Who’s the contractor? I’ve got a pretty good guess.”
“The Bright White Dragon… it is said.”
“Is that so?”
According to what Zehar had told me last time, more than a few of the ones from the world I’d come from had crossed over to Earth. Looks like that white one was among them.
“Tsk. No wonder your speech sounded exactly like that bastard’s. Contract effect, huh?”
I tightened my grip.
“Then how the hell did someone like you manage a contract with that one?”
The Bright White Dragon was high enough on the ladder to carry an epithet. Ordinary people couldn’t even get near. Nowhere near my level, of course—but still. A dragon of that caliber, contracting with a mere human?
“…That I cannot say. That one has designated it as taboo.”
“Useless nonsense.”
Why had that bastard suddenly started moving on Earth? Going as far as forming a contract with a human? It used to be a quiet dragon that did nothing but sleep—except for the occasional scrap with me.
“I shall say it again. I have no intention of harming Ha-eun—”
Thud!
“Shut up. I didn’t ask. The fact that you showed your face in front of me means you want another territory fight, doesn’t it?”
I crushed down harder with gravity and looked at Mikhail.
“And you—add ‘pissing me off’ to your list of crimes. I’ll be taking that Holy Sword.”
“You can’t—”
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I forced the mana inside me into holy power. The Holy Sword rattling behind Mikhail’s back—
Tuk—
—flew to me as if choosing me over him.
“What—!”
“Looks like the Holy Sword picked me too.”
Tak—
It settled lightly into my hand. I took the scabbard in one hand and the hilt in the other, then applied a little pressure.
Shiiing—
The blade that had never drawn for Mikhail revealed itself.
“How in the world…!”
A pure white blade. It glowed softly, as if tired of rotting away inside its sheath. The fact that I could hold it directly meant it wasn’t an imitation artifact like Berne’s.
◈ A blade imbued with sacred power.
◈ It cuts down evil with ease.
Treasure “Holy Sword of ■■■” acquired.
Treasure Collection Rate: 6%
“If you want it back, prove you’re the more rightful owner.”
I looked down at Park Ha-yeon, still smashed into the floor.
“And go tell the Bright White Dragon—or your family, whatever. Keep pushing me and I’ll kill every last one of you myself.”
“….”
“H-Ha-yeon Unnie…”
“…What can we do? We are not a being that can stand in the way. Mother told me as much.”
Even so, she was family of a sort. Once I released the magic, Ha-eun helped Ha-yeon to her feet.
“Mikhail. Let us go.”
“What?! But—”
“There is nothing to be gained by standing here like this. And was this not a mess of your own making?”
“….”
“I did hear of this from Mother. She told me to be careful should I ever meet the Golden Dragon. It is… even more startling than I expected.”
Ha-yeon looked at me as she said it.
“Child. You have formed a bond with Ha-eun.”
“None of your business.”
“I ask that you protect that bond. That is all I have to say for now.”
She let out a breath.
“You said you were curious about the gods of this world, did you not?”
However.
Maybe my image was already too thoroughly rotten.
“My mother… the Bright White Dragon… bids you come.”
“Bids me come? Who does that low-rank bastard think—”
“….”
“You’ve got some serious nerve. If there’s something to say, tell it to come itself.”
Nothing polite came out of my mouth. Lately, humans and dragons alike—too many of them were climbing over my head.
“Ha-eun, we’re leaving.”
“Ah, um… th-that… y-yes…”
Besides, I’d already gotten what I came for. A Holy Sword made for a pretty good haul today.
Thud, thud—
I turned and started out of the building. Neither of them followed.
Whooooosh—
“Terra, maybe you should learn how to wash yourself?”
“I-I wash with sand…”
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you not to.”
“I-I’ll try harder…”
That evening, I sighed as I dried and combed Terra’s hair. Earlier I’d been irritated enough to just snatch the Holy Sword first and ask questions later… but thinking about it now, was this okay? From my perspective it didn’t matter, but strictly speaking I’d just robbed another hunter of their gear. I was considering whether I should properly contact Kim Sang-chul when—
Ding-dong—
“Hm?”
The doorbell rang out of nowhere. I checked the intercom.
“Mmmnya… Unnieee~”
“Ha-eun…?”
Ha-eun stood outside with fried chicken in both hands.
Click—
I opened the door.
“Hehe, I bought chiiicken…”
“Ugh, the booze smell… Did you drink?”
The reek of alcohol hit my nose hard enough that I grimaced. This kid could barely handle liquor in the first place—
“Just come in. If I kick you out you’ll go cause a disaster somewhere.”
Ha-eun shuffled inside, set the chicken down, and locked eyes with Terra. In that instant—
Sssrk—
“Eek?!”
“Ehehe, Terra’s so cuuute~”
“What does this human think she’s— Let go!…”
She latched onto Terra and started ruffling his hair into a complete mess. Watching the carefully combed strands explode into chaos, I sighed all over again.
…I’d just finished brushing that.
“What is all this. Why so much chicken…”
Rustle—
“Wait, there’s beer too?”
“I wanted to drink with Unnie, hehe~”
“You’re already halfway gone—and you want more? You’re going to be a wreck tomorrow, you know that?”
“Aiiik! What’s a dragon doing worrying about stuff like that?! You chicken?”
“…You’re not getting out of bed tomorrow.”
I still didn’t really know what this was about, but I hadn’t had anything for dinner. Maybe this worked out…?
“Terra, you come too.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I fixed his thoroughly ruined hair and handed him a drumstick.
“So. What’s going on, Ha-eun.”
“Hiiing, do I need a reason to come see you?”
“Your face is screaming that there’s a reason. Who’s it about?”
I cracked open a beer as I asked. She clearly hadn’t been drinking alone.
“Weeell… I had a little with Ha-yeon Unnie.”
“With that woman?”
“Yeees.”
Suddenly?
“It’s just… the truth is… Unnie got so mad right away that I couldn’t say it, but…”
“Yeah.”
“Ha-yeon Unnie isn’t a bad person…”
Huh.
“Even when I got thrown out… she was the only one who opposed it…”
Ha-eun took a swig of beer as she said it. Someone who hadn’t exactly gone out of her way to help her under normal circumstances—but when the family cast her out, she’d been the one to speak against it.
“That doesn’t make her a good person. And the Bright White Dragon she contracted with isn’t a good dragon either.”
By human standards, I probably wasn’t a good dragon myself. But still…
“That bastard survives by absorbing souls.”
“Absorbing…?”
Even by my standards, it was a piece of work.
“Yeah. And where’s the best place to harvest a ton of souls at once? A whole nation.”
It spent its days sprawled out sleeping, and whenever it got hungry it invaded a country and wiped it off the map. I’d clashed with it more than a few times over that. There was even an incident where it decided it wanted to taste the souls of its own kind and started killing dragons one after another.
“….”
“I’m not saying that has anything to do with your sister Park Ha-yeon. But if they’re bound by a contract…”
There was no telling what it might do. Pure threat level, it was more dangerous than the self-proclaimed Demon King. And Bright White—that bastard would have recognized me too. Coming here had basically been to confirm it was me.
“I can’t just look the other way.”
Ha-eun nodded, looking bitter. Fair enough—this was basically her last blood relative she could still talk to. How she chose to handle it was her call.
“Then… could you at least hear one message she asked me to pass on?”
“What is it.”
“She said the procession is about to begin. I don’t really know what that means, but she said Unnie would.”
“Procession?”
“The Wild Hunt. That’s what she called it.”
The Wild Hunt…?
“Wait… shit, don’t tell me even a phenomenon itself crossed over…?”
“That kind of…”
This… was a little dangerous. If it came through the Bright White Dragon, I couldn’t just write it off as a lie. The way that bastard absorbed souls, the Wild Hunt pulled souls into its procession. In a sense, they were rivals.
“…Park Ha-yeon. Do you have that woman’s number?”
“Ah, yes…”
“Give it to me.”
It left a bad taste, but I needed the details on this one. And more than that—
If it really was the Wild Hunt, that meant the king who led it had crossed over to Earth as well.
“The smell of treasure is thick.”
I was going to need a proper look.