Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Red Calamity
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The red dragon opened its maw and let out a roar.
A shiver ran down my spine.
The latent power of the Dragonkin could be keenly felt on the skin.
“Keep it down! This is a clear violation of disturbing the peace!”
Shin-ju shouted nonchalantly, his face scrunched in a frown.
“Are you the one who's been rampaging in our territory?”
The red dragon growled, its eyes glowing with a phosphorescent light.
Shin-ju calmly looked up at the dragon and shrugged.
“Rampaging? Did it look like we were the ones rampaging here?”
“If this isn't rampaging, what is?”
The red dragon glanced at the state of its three-colored underlings and ground its teeth.
“They started it first, so we simply acted accordingly.”
Shin-ju continued his explanation, the Old Book open in his hands.
“I saw them bullying a blue dragon in that vacant lot, so as an officer, I gave them a little warning.”
The red dragon listened quietly to Shin-ju's words.
“I was just doing my duty as an officer. Anyone hearing this would think I was the one who started trouble, wouldn't they?”
The red dragon turned to glare at the three dragons huddled behind it.
The white dragon flinched and stammered in confusion.
“No! No! Boss! We didn't do anything like that!”
A corner of Shin-ju's mouth lifted as he let out a dry laugh.
*Those bastards. I knew they'd be like this.*
The red dragon turned its head back to look down at Shin-ju.
“Whether they were bullying him or not, the fact is that my kin were attacked.”
The red dragon's mouth began to gape open.
*A breath attack already?!*
Shin-ju gulped, looking troubled.
*That's no ordinary breath.*
Generally, people think of the breath that dragons spew as ‘fire’.
But that's just a creative expression from novels and movies.
The dragons from space don't breathe fire.
A reddish-brown storm began to gather in the red dragon's mouth. And then…
A cosmic storm erupted from its mouth.
Speeder's eyes widened as she blew her whistle at Shin-ju.
As the warning bell of danger rang, Shin-ju calmly tossed the Old Book into the air.
The massive storm flew toward Shin-ju at incredible speed.
The Old Book collided with the storm.
*Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip-*
The book began to shake back and forth, and the red dragon's eyes widened.
It witnessed its own breath get stuck to the Old Book and be absorbed completely.
*Thump-*
The red dragon suddenly shut its mouth.
Having absorbed the cosmic storm, the Old Book fell right back into Shin-ju's arms.
He grinned.
“Thanks for sharing your power with me.”
Shin-ju opened the book in front of the red dragon.
*Kwoooooooooooosh-*
The Old Book began to spew out the exact same breath the red dragon had just unleashed.
The red dragon didn't move from its spot and unleashed another breath attack.
And so, breath collided with breath in mid-air.
As two identical forces clashed, the breaths canceled each other out and dissipated into the air.
In an instant, the surroundings fell silent.
Shin-ju raised his head with a relaxed expression.
“See? Fighting is pointless.”
The red dragon was glaring at Shin-ju, its brow furrowed.
“It doesn't matter how many times you attack.”
Shin-ju spun around and spread his hands.
“And take a look around. What is all this?!”
The area was a complete wreck.
Shipping containers and trash were strewn everywhere from the aftermath of the storm.
Shin-ju pointed a finger at the red dragon.
“Can't you think before you act? What kind of idiot wrecks their own home like this?”
Shin-ju kicked at the trash scattered on the ground.
A large bag fluttered in the air.
“You did all this, you know? Who's going to clean all this up?”
Seeing Shin-ju's dramatic display, the red dragon realized that further attacks were meaningless.
Just as Shin-ju said, attacking would only destroy its kin's home.
It growled as it looked down at Shin-ju.
“What's your purpose for coming here?”
“Police business. I have no obligation to tell you.”
The red dragon glanced sideways at Speeder, who stood beside Shin-ju, hands held up in a guard position.
Her U.C.I.D. uniform caught its eye.
It snorted as if it had a rough idea.
“Aha, so it's about Bio Vanguard.”
Shin-ju didn't deny it.
Since it had already figured it out, there was no reason to hide it.
The red dragon suddenly stretched its mouth into a wide grin and began to laugh.
One of Shin-ju's eyebrows rose.
“What is it now?”
“I understand.”
“Yes, you Earthlings have no choice but to struggle desperately…”
The red dragon muttered incomprehensibly.
Shin-ju looked up at it, feeling vaguely uneasy.
Meanwhile, the red dragon turned its back on him.
“Let's go back!”
“What??”
The tricolor dragons, who had been standing quietly behind, were startled and began to protest.
“But, Boss! We were attacked!!”
The red dragon tilted its head.
“You saw it too. That thing is not something we can handle.”
It discreetly turned its head back to glance at the Old Book.
Then it walked over to the tricolor dragons and whispered quietly.
“…That plan with Bio Vanguard will be executed soon.”
At the word ‘plan’, the tricolor dragons' expressions changed, and they listened quietly.
“Until then, stay out of trouble and keep quiet. It'll be annoying if the cops get on our tail. Especially a human like that…”
“Ah… Understood.”
The tricolor dragons immediately understood and bowed their heads.
Shin-ju tilted his head, displeased.
*What are they whispering about, huddled together like that? It doesn't suit their size.*
After a moment, the red dragon turned back to Shin-ju.
“Alright. We were wrong.”
Shin-ju's eyebrow twitched at the sudden apology.
The red dragon looked down at Shin-ju with a relaxed expression.
“Bullying one's own kind is certainly not a good thing. I'll give them a stern warning.”
The red dragon nodded with a smile.
“What's your name?”
Shin-ju was instantly annoyed.
*What's your name?*
*Ha, this little punk has some nerve.*
He suppressed his irritation.
He rolled his tongue around the inside of his cheek, lost in thought for a moment.
*Should I tell him my name or not?*
*Right. I'll tell him and get some information myself.*
“I'm Park Shin-ju, a Negoti-alien and investigator for the Republic of Korea's U.C.I.D. And you are?”
“Oho! Hahahahaha!”
The red dragon laughed as if it found something amusing.
“No wonder… so that's why!”
It laughed for a while before finally introducing itself.
“My apologies. My name is Alexian Doom Protutsura. As you might know, I'm from planet DRG-3000.”
*What a name…*
Shin-ju let out a small laugh and nodded.
He wanted to ask why it had laughed like that, but since the other party had backed down first, there was no reason to keep them here.
In any case, his current objective was Restprime, not this red dragon.
“Then, as you said, please ensure that there are no more unpleasant incidents of ostracizing or bullying among your kind from now on.”
And he pointed his finger at each of the dragons before him, issuing a warning.
“If something like this ever happens again, or if even a single report comes in, probably a third of the entire LA U.C.I.D. will mobilize.”
Shin-ju narrowed his eyes, pointing directly at Alexian.
“It might not be a big deal to you, but to us, it involves the Dragonkin. Understand?”
As soon as Shin-ju finished speaking, Speeder raised a fist threateningly beside him.
Alexian chuckled as if it were ridiculous and nodded.
“I understand. I'll be careful.”
Alexian turned and began to spread its wings wide.
“Alright! Let's go!”
As Alexian took flight and shouted like a leader, the tricolor dragons hesitated for a moment before following him.
Looking up at the four Dragonkin disappearing into the distance, Shin-ju let out a sigh of relief.
Then he looked down at the Old Book and let out a dry laugh.
“Heh, phew, seriously… If it weren't for my father, I would've been space dust long ago. Phew…”
As Shin-ju chuckled softly, a serious look slowly began to creep onto his face.
*By the way, what was that red dragon muttering to its lackeys earlier?*
*And the feeling that it already knew about not just Bio Vanguard, but even my own existence, as if it were obvious.*
A sense of unease began to sprout in his heart.
He had come here simply to catch an idol who had fled to America, but now it felt like he was slowly stepping into some grand scheme.
Shin-ju formed a hypothesis in his mind.
*Could it be that Bio Vanguard attempted some sort of deal with the Dragonkin, and for some reason, they're now in collusion?*
If that were the case, this would no longer be just an issue within the United States.
It would create discord between other alien planets and Earth due to a violation of the cosmic treaty.
It wasn't just Earthlings who were wary of the Dragonkin.
High-ranking officials from other alien races, who were cautious of the Dragonkin, were interspersed throughout the advanced nations of Earth.
They did not appreciate the desire for domination that lurked within the Dragonkin.
Shin-ju scratched the back of his head, looking troubled.
The conference hall, once abuzz with the proposal to accept the Dragonkin, replayed in his mind.
[“They are a calamity!!”]
Someone had shouted.
[“Refusing them would be a greater calamity!!”]
A man had retorted.
[“Are you trying to start a war?!”]
[“Have you considered how they will act if we refuse them?!”]
At the man's roar, the one who had shouted first fell silent.
[“That is when the real war will begin!!”]
Shin-ju, who had been lost in thought for a moment, bit his lip.
The more he thought about it, the more infuriating those four dragons from earlier seemed.
*Rotten bastards. After all the trouble I went through to convince the others…*
Shin-ju suppressed his anger and closed the open Old Book.
*At this rate, I can't just go back to the hotel tonight.*
*I have to meet Restprime somehow and have a talk with him.*
His expression having softened, Shin-ju turned to Speeder.
[Speeder, I plan to wait here tonight until Restprime arrives. What about you?]
*Tweet! Tweet!*
Speeder blew her whistle as if it were a matter of course and moved her fingers.
[I'll wait with you. The Dragonkin's behavior has been a bit suspicious lately.]
Shin-ju responded to her answer with a smile.
*So Speeder felt it too.*
He felt a sense of gratitude toward her and walked toward the shipping container behind him.
*Bang, bang, bang.*
“Hey! Mr. Kendro! It's safe now, you can come out!”
*Creeak-*
A pathetic-looking blue dragon appeared from inside the container.
“…Are… are they gone?”
“They are. Anyway, I think I really need to meet your father today.”
Shin-ju strode into the huge shipping container without hesitation.
Kendro backed away, flustered.
“Uh, uh…?”
“We'll be imposing on you for a bit.”
From behind, Speeder also entered the container, her eyes wide.
It felt a bit like she was saying, “Pardon the intrusion~.”
Shin-ju's expression was filled with determination.