Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Our Other-Dimensional Selves (5)
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According to Suryun's words.
In this dimension, about 100 years had passed since my death.
I knew the average lifespan of a dog was around 10 years.
Yet Mangmung, at 100 years old, was still alive in this world.
"Mang… Mang…"
And he had grown to my height.
I stroked Mangmung as he rubbed his face against my cheek.
"Mangmung, you're alive?"
"Mang mang…!"
Pant pant.
Was Mangmung happy to see me, whom he'd thought was dead?
His massive tongue wildly licked my cheek.
Lick lick.
"Mang mang-! Mang mang-!"
"Mangmung, too much drool. Are you washing Daddy?"
"Mang mang mang-!"
Lick.
Mangmung seemed thrilled to see me after so long.
I felt like a giant lollipop.
*It's been nearly 100 years since he last saw me. He must be overjoyed.*
Yeah.
Lick away.
Doing my best to ignore Mangmung's enthusiastic licking, I turned my head toward Suryun.
"Mangmung, how is he still alive, Suryun? Didn't you say 100 years have passed?"
Suryun made a face like she was repulsed by me.
"…That's disgusting drool. And of course Mangmung lives a long time. He became a spirit beast while living with us."
Spirit beast.
Mangmung, who had half-inherited dragon mana to become a spirit beast.
It was only natural that such a Mangmung would have an extended lifespan.
"And Mangmung's better at magic than you, Dad. Way smarter than dummy Dad."
"No way am I dumber than a dog."
"It's a fact, Dad."
Was Suryun's claim really factual?
"Mangmung."
"Mang-?"
"Stop that tongue."
I grabbed Mangmung's enormous tongue and shoved it back into his mouth.
Then I commanded Mangmung.
"Mangmung! Try using some magic!"
"Mang-?"
Magic is incredibly difficult.
It requires manipulating mana and constructing spell circuits, so no one of average intelligence could possibly—
"Mang mang mang mang-!"
At that instant.
A stream of cold water poured down over my head.
Splash.
"…"
"That's the sprinkler spell Choryun taught me. Basic of the basics."
"…No way."
In the future, Mangmung would be smarter than me?
I'd end up dumber than a dog.
This reality was harder to swallow than my own death.
"This is a dream! Impossible!"
Kraaack-!
As I cried out against the unacceptable truth.
Suryun spoke to me as if dumping cold water on my head.
"No, it's not a dream—it's reality. You being dumber than Mangmung is reality. Choryun becoming the World Tree is reality. And your death in the future is reality too."
So.
Suryun had snuck up close and was wiping the drool off my cheek with water.
"Accept reality, Dad. It'll make things easier for you."
Slurp.
With that, Suryun suddenly licked my cheek with her tongue.
My brain short-circuited at the abrupt action.
"Wh-what the—"
"My long-lost Dad, finally back. I can't stand anyone else's spit on him."
Zing!
Suryun shot Mangmung a slight glare.
"Maaaang…"
"Watch yourself next time. Protect your master properly."
Tsk.
Suryun left that little warning and wiggled her finger, floating me into the air.
"Hwaryun's a ways off. I'll take you to her, Dad. Just stay put."
"W-wait a sec! What about Mangmung?"
"…Mangmung never leaves this spot. That dummy guards his master forever, even though she'll never come back."
"Guards his master…?"
I whipped my head around to look at Mangmung.
He sat beneath the black World Tree, waving a front paw at me.
His tongue lolled out in a grin—he looked thrilled to see me after all this time.
Suryun explained in a cold tone.
"Mangmung's always waiting here for Choryun. Just like his master, he's a dummy through and through, past and present. Even knowing she won't return. He waits his whole life."
There was a strange warmth woven into Suryun's voice as she said it.
"That's enough about Choryun. Let's go see Hwaryun, Dad."
"…Right."
And so, guided by Suryun's magic, I floated away from Choryun, suspended in the air.
As the distance grew.
Mangmung steadfastly held his post beneath the black World Tree.
He lay low, eyes closed.
As if desperately hoping his master would one day open her eyes and return.
Even as time wore on, Mangmung kept protecting his master—and longing for her.
***
No dragon is born a Black Dragon.
They become Black Dragons after a long life filled with immense trauma.
According to Dragon GPT Suryun.
"Black Dragons are all twisted. Not right in the head."
They come to hate others and seek their annihilation.
Turning Black Dragon instills destructive tendencies.
So what happens if the naturally violent Hwaryun becomes a Black Dragon?
KABOOM!!
A massive explosion echoed from afar.
Suryun blocked my path forward.
"Don't go any closer, Dad. I masked our presence with magic, but one step more and she'll spot us."
"…Okay."
I backed off at Suryun's words.
But watching Hwaryun rampage ahead made it agony to stay still.
"GRRAAAAH-!!"
Hwaryun bellowed from the distance, laying waste to the land.
She had already left Korea behind, demolishing all of Asia.
Suryun watched her as she explained.
"Hwaryun lost control after turning Black Dragon. Swore to kill every human. I tried stopping her, but it just put my life at risk every time."
"…She ended up like that after I died too, huh?"
"Yeah. Turned Black Dragon in a single day."
Suryun furrowed her brow.
"Of course she did. Hwaryun watched you die right in front of her. Then blamed herself for it."
*My power was too weak, so Dad died.*
*I was too weak to protect Dad.*
*It was my fault for trusting humans.*
"She snapped, turned Black Dragon, and started rampaging."
"…"
Hwaryun had witnessed my death up close.
She must have seen it as her own fault.
Her self-blame and hatred had twisted her into a Black Dragon.
"…That's why she looks so tormented."
Hwaryun's scales had gone from vivid red to a black-tainted crimson.
She spewed black breath, obliterating everything nearby.
The girl who'd brimmed with confidence now seemed to loathe herself more than anyone.
"…"
"If it's too painful to watch, let's head back, Dad."
"…No."
My daughter was suffering like that.
I couldn't just turn my back on her as her father.
"…"
I had to burn this moment into my eyes.
Because if I died after returning, my daughters would suffer just like this.
To ensure it never happened again, I had to sear this sight into my memory.
"…Don't go making empty wishes."
Suryun watched me and murmured something profound under her breath.
I had no idea what she meant at the time.
***
Cozy nest.
A nest where a bright sky stretched beyond the window.
The kids sat in front of the TV, staring blankly at the black screen.
"Hey, Yi Suryun! When's the TV turning on?! You said you'd show us something!"
"…Pipe down, Hwaryun unnie. I told you, I need to concentrate."
Suryun sat primly, eyes closed, hand resting on the TV.
Choryun spoke to Mangmung perched on her lap.
"I wonder what unnie Suryun is up to, Mangmung. Doesn't it worry you she might be wasting our time?"
"Ma, mang mang…!"
Mangmung gave a shallow whimper of agreement, wary of the fallout.
As Suryun focused with her eyes shut.
Ding-!
"It's on!"
"It's working!"
Light flickered into the pitch-black TV screen.
But it remained a blank void.
"…What's wrong? My spell formula's perfect."
The calculations were flawless and precise, yet the outcome was off.
Hwaryun snapped in irritation.
"You said trusting you would let us see what Dad's doing!! So why's nothing showing up!!"
"…The frequency's perfectly synced to Dad's mana. Linked to the TV medium. It should connect."
Tremble tremble.
Frustrated, Suryun jiggled her leg.
"Why no connection? It should work even across dimensions. This won't do."
Just to be sure, Suryun pulled up her A-Pad and searched the internet.
"The internet knows everything. A search might give answers…"
"Outta the way! When it's busted like this, you fix it like so!"
Thud thud!
Hwaryun lunged at the TV in a huff.
She reared back and slammed her fist into the perfectly fine set.
"Pound of terror!"
Crash!
The screen began to glitch and flicker.
"Ooh! It's working! One more—"
"H-Hwaryun unnie, stop! It's gonna break!"
"Mang mang-!"
Thankfully, Choryun and Mangmung intervened in time, saving the TV's life.
While they guarded the set.
Suryun hit on a hypothesis amid her deliberations.
"…No way."
"No way?"
"No way?"
"Mang mang-?"
The kids crowded in, faces alight with curiosity.
Suryun shooed them back with a wave.
"…Back off. You're crowding me."
"Hmph, then hurry up and spill it!"
"It's just a theory, okay… My spell's flawless. Perfected it in boredom after grinding every game. Dad's mana frequency locked in perfectly. Hooked to the TV medium, we should be peeking at Dad."
Except.
"No link to Dad. That leaves one possibility."
"Why so wordy! Just say it!"
"…"
It irked her a little.
Still, Suryun laid out her hypothesis.
"If Dad lost his life… the connection might fail."
"…"
"…"
"Mang mang…?"
The nest went deathly silent at Suryun's theory.
Without a word, the kids headed to their rooms.
They each fetched their backpacks and declared.
"We're all on the same page, right!?"
"Yes, we're thinking exactly alike!"
"Then let's go! Time to find Dad!"
They'd had a bad feeling ever since Dad left the house.
Now his mana wouldn't connect—an ominous sign.
The dragons couldn't stand for it.
"Pack meat in the bag! Sausages too! I'll add rice!"
"Dad said it: if you lose something, just find it again. I'm just off to retrieve our lost Dad."
"Okay, Mangmung, into the bag too! We're embarking on a trip to find Dad together!"
The kids stuffed their bags with gusto.
They packed their favorite essentials and finished prepping for the journey to find Dad.
"Let's roll! To find Dad! School can wait till sports day kicks off!"
To find Dad.
To reclaim their lost Dad.
The kids slung on their backpacks and marched out of the house.
"But how do we board the train?? It said there's an S-Rank Dimensional Gate there."
"…Internet search'll tell us."
"What, it'll work out somehow!"
Of course, that journey was set to be plenty perilous.
And so the three little dragon sisters set off on their Dad-finding quest.
With no clue what the future held.