A Dragon's Fury
The angels of Eden. 211
The accumulated damage had finally rendered the navy nearly powerless. Civilians fleeing the Japanese Empire's all-out invasion of the southern coastline naturally converged on the absolute defense line surrounding the World Tree. The temporary shelters provided by the government were soon overflowing, forcing the authorities to requisition civilian buildings—including the Temple of Erutina and our own home.
“Sister Elisha.”
“Ah, have you finished cleaning?”
“Yes, the bedding has been distributed as well.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The woman smiling gently before me was a nun of the goddess Erutina, one who had remained to guard the temple even after Ekaterina's departure. Once our house was requisitioned as a temporary shelter, the nuns who came to help with the cleaning also began serving meals to the steadily arriving refugees.
“Aren't you exhausted?”
“Serving those who seek the goddess's mercy is never tiring. Besides, elven volunteers occasionally come to assist us.”
“Whew… I hope this war ends soon.”
One small mercy was that the People's Republic of China, still constrained by the Russian Empire's interference, had yet to join the conflict. The European Alliance, having witnessed Japan's indiscriminate invasions in Southeast Asia, had finally decided to intervene, stretching Japan's front lines and relieving the pressure of concentrated attacks. Though still on the defensive, Korea could wield magic freely, whereas Japan—having lost its mechanical soldiers and with its forces dispersed—had suffered equally devastating losses.
While I worried about the war and helped the nuns assist the refugees, several more weeks slipped by. As the fighting intensified, the Korean military—already short on manpower—began to falter despite extraordinary efforts. Anxiety among the refugees grew palpable. The television in the living room broadcast daily reports of victories in an attempt to reassure the public, but the still-functioning internet carried footage shot at great personal risk by those on the front lines, revealing that the lines were steadily collapsing.
Elderly residents huddled before the screen murmured among themselves.
“Didn't you say your son was in that unit?”
“Aye. Chun-seok's with them.”
“Aigoo… I pray he's safe.”
The screen showed a Korean unit under heavy bombardment. Faint protective magic barriers flickered through the dust, but the one-sided assault eventually forced a retreat.
—In the end, they couldn't withstand the bombing… They're retreating! I need to find cover myself!
The hunter filming from hiding rose and began to run, the footage shaking violently before cutting to studio anchors and then to another hunter's recording. The military had begun recruiting civilian hunters as volunteer war correspondents. Skilled at concealment and evasion, these hunters roamed the battlefield, capturing enemy movements and combat situations before transmitting the data back to command. Thanks to them, even in disadvantageous conditions, the military could obtain real-time intelligence and respond efficiently. Broadcasters aired only those recordings approved by the military or obtained independently.
While the adults discussed the grim situation with serious expressions, I handed out snacks to a group of children playing together. One boy tugged on my tail.
“Snake-tail noona!”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Someone's here to see you!”
“Who?”
“I don't know. They're waiting downstairs.”
“All right. Go wash your hands and have your snack.”
“Okay!”
The mischievous boy gave my tail a few playful shakes before dashing off. I wondered who could be visiting—lately, I hadn't expected anyone. Descending to the first floor, I found a familiar face I hadn't seen in a long time.
“Oh? Suho-ssi?”
“Elisha. It's been a while. I missed you.”
Kang Suho approached with long strides and pulled me into an embrace. Startled by the sudden appearance of someone I hadn't anticipated, I asked,
“It really has been a while. What brings you here so suddenly?”
“I had business in another dimension, and when I returned, war had broken out. I've been searching for my women to make sure they're safe.”
“Are the others all right?”
“I wish they were, but unfortunately, the woman who was to bear my child was killed.”
“Ah… I'm sorry.”
He looked deeply grieved. I held him and patted his back. Though I was protected by magical imprints and thus exempt, the death of an ordinary woman under Suho's dragon protection meant only one thing: someone had deliberately shattered that protection to kill her. It signified an attack powerful enough to overcome a dragon's formidable wards—clear intent to murder.
After a moment of suppressed sorrow, he spoke with quiet, simmering rage.
“I could have overlooked humans fighting within my territory, distasteful as it was. But I cannot forgive what was done to my woman.”
“What will you do?”
“I must show them the terrifying price of touching what belongs to a dragon. Watch closely, and see what happens when one incurs a dragon's wrath.”
“Ah, yes.”
With a faint smile, he vanished in a swirl of golden light. Moments later, a colossal golden dragon over fifty meters long materialized in the Korean sky. People stared in confusion and disbelief at the sudden appearance.
“What in the world is that?”
“Is that… a dragon? A real dragon?”
“Mom! A dragon! A golden dragon!”
“Good heavens, what is that thing? Why is it so huge?”
Without even flapping his wings, Suho hovered in the air, surveyed his surroundings, then unleashed a long, thunderous roar toward the heavens.
KUOOOOOOOH!
“Kyaaah!”
“Mommy!”
The shockwave shattered windows and sent objects crashing to the floor, yet no alarms sounded and no military response came.
‘So the Korean government knew of his existence all along.’
‘Even while being pushed back, they seemed to have some hidden confidence. They were relying on the dragon as their final trump card.’
Having finished his roar, the golden dragon beat his wings once and disappeared. What he did next was broadcast on the news. A radiant golden dragon suddenly appeared over the Japanese capital, breathing fire and raining massive boulders from the sky. In less than half a day, an entire nation's capital was erased. Perched atop the ruins, he declared that if the war did not end within a day, another city would follow.
With its leadership vaporized and confronted by a calamity akin to a natural disaster, the Japanese Empire descended into chaos. When the deadline passed, a second major city vanished. Unable to withstand the overwhelming display of force, Japan surrendered unconditionally. The war that had begun so abruptly ended just two days after the dragon's arrival.
‘That's not just a strategic weapon—that's practically world-ending.’
‘An utterly broken existence.’
The sheer mass of his colossal body combined with near-infinite mana allowed for absurdly rapid spellcasting. Space travel at will, dropping building-sized boulders from the stratosphere, columns of fire that melted structures whole, and multiple layers of magical barriers enveloping his form—how could anyone possibly defeat such a being?
‘Unni just gained an incredible backer. At least within the Earth dimension.’
Whether he could freely cross dimensions was uncertain, but within Korea—his chosen territory on Earth—he represented an unimaginably powerful ally.
Having ended the war in a single stroke, the dragon vanished once Japan surrendered, as though his task was complete. Though millions had died in place of one of his women, compared to the countless lives already lost to the war, it felt strangely inconsequential.
While Korea and the defeated Japanese Empire negotiated terms, the dragon responsible for the upheaval appeared at my side once more.
“This should have appeased the grudges of the dead.”
“But do they even know they were punished for killing your woman? You destroyed everything without a word.”
“I instructed the Korean president to relay the message. The new Japanese leadership will understand my intent.”
“Haah… It was shocking, but I'm glad the war is over. If it had continued, even more people would have died.”
“Hahaha, I knew you'd understand, Elisha.”
He moved his hips slowly, gently brushing the hair from my forehead. After our long separation, we continued our conversation while our bodies intertwined.
“Even if I'm safe, I need to be more careful with the other women. We can't let something like this happen again.”
“It was my mistake to grow complacent in a supposedly peaceful world. I knew full well how human malice can erupt at any moment.”
“Don't blame yourself. They started this by waging war and deliberately breaking your protection to kill.”
“Huhu… Your words are comforting.”
He seemed content with a leisurely pace, savoring the pleasure and satisfaction my body provided. After enjoying the slow rhythm, he released inside me, flooding my womb with far more mana than before and filling the magical imprint. He then added a new imprint that would automatically activate protective magic using the stored mana whenever danger arose.
“Now I can rest a little easier.”
“Ahh… Adding imprints stings more than I expected.”
“Since it's carved directly into the womb, some pain is inevitable. I'm sorry.”
“It's all right. It's for my safety, after all.”
“You truly are considerate. I like you even more for it.”
He smiled and kissed my forehead. After spending the night with me, he left the next morning to visit his other women.
With the war over, refugees gradually returned to their homes, leaving me alone once more. After tidying up with the nuns' help and leaving a note for my family, I crossed the dimensional gate with the Korean government's escort, passing through Ryuzan on the way back to Eden.
Due to the chaotic flow of time between dimensions, the several months I had spent on Earth equated to over a year in Eden.
“What exactly were you doing for over a year before finally coming back? Do you want to get scolded?”
“Uwaaah~ There were all sorts of circumstances~”
The moment I arrived in Eden, Kyubey unnie smacked my rear and began scolding me.
“Do you have any idea how worried I was when the girl who went to help with the war didn't return for over a year?”
“I'll explain everything, so please calm down first.”
“Elisha needs a proper spanking.”
Even Maria joined in, insisting I deserved punishment. Only after enduring a lengthy scolding from the two of them was I finally able to recount the events on Earth.
I explained how the war—expected to end once Japan's mechanical forces were neutralized—had continued with a massive invasion, claiming countless lives, until the dragon connected to me had grown enraged and ended the conflict in just two days. It sounded like something out of a novel.
“So the war ended and I came back, but because of the time difference between dimensions, those few months on Earth became over a year here.”
“Forget that for a moment—is that dragon creature actually real?”
“An existence capable of such absurd feats really exists?”
“Yes. He even slept with me just recently.”
Somehow, their interest had shifted entirely from my tardiness to the dragon. With incredulous expressions, they pressed further.
“Why does such a being live so quietly? He could easily manipulate human nations as he pleased.”
“Who knows? Maybe it's simply too bothersome? In a life spanning ten thousand years, human nations are but fleeting moments.”
“Ten thousand years… That's unfathomable.”
“So he goes around sowing his seed to add some excitement to his life?”
“Sowing his seed?”
“He plants his offspring in human women—especially married ones—and has them raise his children. It's a strange fetish.”
“Suho-ssi does have rather peculiar tastes.”
Now that I thought about it, I'd never seen him do anything besides seeking women to impregnate. We'd never even done anything together besides sex.
“Hmm… I suppose he's trying to find vitality through his fetishes.”
“Living for ten thousand years must eventually grow tiresome.”
“Unnie and I are succubi without lifespans. What should we do if we grow weary of living?”
“Why would we get tired? We're too busy having sex every day.”
“Ah, yes. That's exactly the kind of person you are.”
As expected, Unnie was the embodiment of succubus lust—an eternal being who could enjoy immortality as long as there were males to mount her. In contrast, Maria spoke with a grave expression.
“The thought of ruling a nation for hundreds of years sounds like hell. Now I understand why dragons live according to their desires.”
“Oh my, if it's too much trouble, just produce an heir, hand over the throne, and retire.”
“My husband is too busy with war to even think about coming home. How am I supposed to make an heir?”
“Huh? Is Xenuma still at war?”
Goodness—over a year had passed since I left, and they were still fighting?
“Those insane monsters are ridiculously persistent. They burrow underground, multiply in secret, then reappear. It's been dragging on.”
“Still, it sounds like you've won.”
“How could those creatures possibly defeat hundreds of thousands of heavily armed soldiers? Now we're just dealing with sporadic monster sightings.”
Xenuma had triumphed in the war against the monsters and was rapidly stabilizing its newly acquired territories. They were also preparing to deal with the orc tribes in the eastern regions.
“Will the orcs all be killed after all?”
“The basic policy is to wipe them out, I suppose.”
“Umm… I promised Dagon I'd do my best to spare the orcs…”
“Then you'd better hurry. Xenuma needs to stabilize the country as quickly as possible.”
“Right.”
BANG!
“Miss!”
“Ah, Elisa.”
The door flew open and Elisa—looking slightly more grown—rushed in and delivered a kick to my stomach.
“What took you so long to come back!”
“Ugh, sorry, Elisa.”
“Miss needs a proper beating!”
Her body was so weak that the kick barely registered as more than a tickle, but I endured it quietly to let the furious Elisa vent her anger.