The Result of the Hostage Standoff (2)
When she coughed up blood, I had no choice but to shout in a hurry.
“Let go of him! You bastards!”
I couldn’t help reacting with such force.
She looked like she might die any second.
The soldiers surrounding her turned toward me, startled by the outburst.
They seemed to be wondering what the hell was going on, but I didn’t have time to explain.
“Return to the front lines immediately. I’ll take custody of her myself.”
“Y-yes!”
There was no way ordinary soldiers could do anything else. Soon, the ones I’d sent away vanished from sight.
I had no idea whether the potion I had would even work on her, but the only thing I could do for the creature who looked as if her breath might stop at any moment was treat her wounds.
As I approached with the hatchling clutched tightly in one arm, she kept reaching out toward me.
I was worried she might attack me, but if the status window’s description was anything to go by, there shouldn’t be any other problem.
I got completely played.
The fact that she could transform into a human form was one thing, but more importantly, she had tied her life to mine. That was a complete checkmate.
There was no other way to describe it than to say the dragon in front of me had played her hand brilliantly.
She must have assumed that if she died, her hatchling would almost certainly die with her.
So while she was holding my child hostage, she chose me—the man who was sending orders to the entire army through a voice-amplification spell—as her mate, in order to preserve her own life.
I didn’t know whether she had seen through the fact that I wasn’t the type to sacrifice myself for humanity’s peace, but her gamble had paid off perfectly.
Just as she had expected, I had no desire to make some noble sacrifice.
I understood now that saving herself meant saving the hatchling, too, and that holding my life in her hands was the most rational way for her to survive.
Thinking about how the hatchling had been dragged into all this, and how her own life was being threatened, it made sense that she couldn’t directly harm me. The only option she had was to choose me as her mate and share her life with me.
We just didn’t have enough information.
And of course we didn’t.
The thing I’d overlooked was the ecology of a species classified as dragons.
For now, there were four things I’d learned.
Of course, I couldn’t say whether these were universal traits shared by every dragon-like race, but at the very least, they seemed to apply to the black dragon in front of me.
1. A dragon can have children on its own, even as a female.
Which meant it was entirely possible that male and female were meaningless distinctions for this species. Considering how few of them there were, that was probably the correct interpretation.
2. Dragons possess some method of taking on a human form.
This definitely wasn’t magic. It was more accurate to call it an innate racial ability.
3. I didn’t know whether it was a covenant, a spell, or another innate ability of the species, but dragons had a way of choosing a mate.
I wasn’t sure whether the target could resist it or not, but the resistance I’d put up was about as useful as an automatic door, so there was no point dwelling on it now.
4. A dragon shares life and death with the one it chooses as a mate.
I couldn’t explain how it worked. But the fact that life was being shared was already established.
My body is the best proof of that.
I didn’t understand it, but they were clearly not simple beasts. It would be more accurate to call them intelligent life-forms with their own culture and way of life—creatures that had evolved along a different path from humans.
In a way, maybe I should call them a superior species.
I now had plenty to research and plenty to think about, but for the moment, saving the dragon in front of me came first.
In a fluster, I tipped the potion in my arms over the wounded area, and slowly, I could see her body beginning to recover.
Of course, the effect wasn’t dramatic.
Given the sheer size of her true body, even her human form seemed to suffer a penalty.
If one bottle was enough to heal an ordinary person, then this dragon would probably need at least several hundred.
She looked like she was still drifting in and out of consciousness, but the small amount of potion seemed to be helping; there was a little more life returning to her eyes.
Her gaze then snapped to the precious hatchling cradled in my arms in an instant.
“Ah... my baby!”
“Kiieeeek...!”
For a brief second, I considered whether I should let them have a touching reunion, but I couldn’t be certain what she might do next, so all I could do was quietly put a little distance between us.
Then a sorrowful voice spilled from her lips.
“P-please... give him back. My... my child... please give me my child back.”
Shit...
“Please, I’m begging you. Give me my child back. Please.”
Don’t cry...
“Please...”
Tears kept welling up and spilling over, raining down like a waterfall.
Anyone looking at this would think I was a total piece of trash.
I had expected her to lunge at me the way Cha Heera would, but maybe she understood her own situation well enough, because she was lying flat on her face.
I’d thought she might try to threaten me with her own life, but this was the exact opposite of what I’d expected.
Even for her, choosing me as a mate must have been a last resort.
So this really is her natural personality?
That was probably right. Her trait description had called her a gentle mother.
Considering she’d lived for over four thousand years and still never once invaded Castle Rock, it made sense to think she really had gone berserk over her child and come here.
Song Jungwook, you son of a bitch.
If I wanted to ease even a little of my guilt, I had no choice but to blame Song Jungwook.
Just as I was at a loss about what to do, one of the Red Mercenary members beside me picked the perfect moment to speak up.
“This person is...”
“She’s probably the monster from earlier. It looks like she can transform into human form as well.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like that...”
“Neither have I. I’ve never seen anything like this being possible. I suspect the reason she invaded Castle Rock was for this child.”
“I-I see.”
“We’re in the middle of a defensive battle. For now, I’ll take custody of that monster—no, of that woman. As for the situation on the walls...”
“It looks like most of it has been cleaned up.”
“That’s a relief.”
Even while I was talking with the mercenary, she kept desperately reaching out to me and pleading in that pitiful voice.
Honestly, it was hard to ignore.
Even in her monster form, some corner of my conscience had been prodded over and over, so seeing her like this in human form made it only natural that I wavered.
Before I knew it, painful little scenarios kept rising in my head.
From Diarugia’s perspective, the whole thing must have been absurd beyond belief.
Not only had her egg been stolen out from under her, but the hatchling born from it had been used as a hostage, and she’d been beaten to the brink of death by humans.
“P-please, give him back.”
“......”
“My baby... Mama’s here. Mama...”
“......”
“Everything will be all right. You can relax. Baby... you can relax now.”
“......”
“Baby...”
“Kiieeeek...!”
Honestly, I wanted to avoid the option of giving the child back, but when she looked like that right in front of me, it was hard to turn away.
Her whole body was already a wreck.
I did briefly wonder whether, once she had the hatchling in her arms, she might manifest her true body and smack us from behind, but...
Impossible.
The Diarugia in front of me had already lost most of her combat ability.
The potion I’d poured into her was only first aid, after all.
Given that she believed her child might be the next one to die if she herself died, nothing dramatic would happen the moment I let her hold the hatchling.
Even thinking ahead, it probably wasn’t a bad idea to let her hold him once.
We needed to maintain a good relationship from here on out.
I didn’t say anything else.
Slowly, I moved the hatchling from my arms into hers, and soon her own body—still too weak to move properly—was seen clinging tightly to her child.
“Baby... my baby!”
“Kiek!”
The mercenary beside us naturally said what anyone would say.
“Are you sure this is all right?”
“There shouldn’t be any other problems. She’s already lost almost all her combat ability, and nothing’s going to change just because she’s holding her hatchling. If anything, it’ll help her emotionally.”
“I see.”
She already seemed much calmer than before.
After hugging the child tightly, she did keep glaring at me warily, clearly afraid I might snatch him away again, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of doing anything else.
She was more composed than I’d expected.
I felt like I could probably have a conversation with her.
Slowly, I opened my mouth, and her face, turned toward me, came into view.
She was definitely strange. Not just because of the two large horns on her head, but because even her eyes were nothing like a human’s.
“Can you understand what I’m saying?”
“......”
“Excuse me?”
It took a little while before she answered.
“I can understand...”
“That’s a relief. Then I think it would be best if I introduced myself first. My name is Lee Kiyoung.”
“Diarugia...”
“Well, it seems there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding between us. I’d like to explain a few things, but I don’t think there’s time for that right now. For the moment, you’ll need to cooperate with our control.”
“......”
“You may not believe me, but we’re not the ones who stole your child. From our point of view, you were the one who attacked us first.”
“......”
“If you don’t cooperate with our control, I may have to use somewhat rough methods. Of course, I’m saying this on the assumption that the child will remain completely safe throughout the process. I promise that no harm will come to him.”
“A-human promises can’t be trus...”
“You don’t get a choice about whether you trust me or not. You’re in a position where you have to follow my lead.”
“Ah...”
It was only natural that she kept casting suspicious looks my way.
If I were in her place, I’d doubt everything around me too.
The next moment, I was looking at her once more with my Mind’s Eye.
I needed to understand what kind of person she was if I wanted to talk to her properly.
Huh?
It had been a long time since I’d seen a normal trait.
Because her existence itself had been so dangerous, I’d worried she might be one of those types like Jung Hayan or Cha Heera, but her trait was far more normal than I’d imagined, and that surprised me.
This is good.
I still hadn’t properly grasped the situation a moment ago, but the instant I saw her trait, all sorts of thoughts flooded in.
A gentle mother by nature, with an innate trait called A Tree That Gives Without End.
Just how long had it been since I’d seen a personality and disposition this normal on this continent? I couldn’t even remember clearly.
It was only natural that the thought Isn’t this insanely good? would cross my mind.
Once I considered the dragon’s stats and abilities, it was hard not to feel suddenly reassured.
The fact that we shared life, too, was incredibly favorable for me.
I still didn’t know whether my lifespan would increase or not, but Diarugia was in a position where she had to live for the sake of her child.
If I died, her precious child would be thrown into danger helplessly. Which meant that maybe she, more than I, would be the one who had to worry about my life.
The ability to create a monster wave, her enormous mana, high intelligence, iron-hard horns and tail, and the breakthrough force that had smashed through the western wall all at once.
“Got played” felt like the wrong expression.
It was more like I’d stumbled onto some unbelievable stroke of fortune, and of course that sent the corners of my mouth curling upward.
Dragon’s Spouse!
And now I’d gained five mana points that would have been difficult to raise on my own.
And that’s not all.
Who in the world would get the chance to study a living dragon as an alchemist?
If I managed to secure her cooperation properly, I could probably get all the scales or horns I wanted for free. A living test subject was far harder to get than a dead corpse.
Of course, considering that our lives were now linked, there were limits to how rough I could be with her, but there was no denying that she would be useful.
The distorted expression on my face was replaced by a smile in an instant.
Stunned by my sudden change in attitude, Diarugia looked at me with an expression of complete confusion.
Lifting her body slightly, I quietly took hold of her shoulder. She flinched a little, but I could feel her body being drawn up anyway.
“I’ll keep my promise.”
“Yes...”
“A lot of humans died on our side, too.”
“......”
“Of course, I understand the situation, but both sides were in a position where there was nothing they could do.”
“Yes... I understand.”
“For now, I’m going to place you under custody. Of course, from our perspective, this is just window dressing, but appearances matter. I hope you can understand that we’ve made many concessions as well.”
“My child...”
“You don’t need to worry about your child’s safety. Hahaha.”
“......”
“He’s my child now, too. Puh-heheh.”
My last words were whispered softly into her ear.
In the middle of everything, she seemed to only now realize what I’d done to her, because I could see her face drain white with my own eyes.
Of course, I thought it would be better to keep this between just the two of us.
There was no need to pick at a scab and make it bleed.
But the love for a child blooming in my heart was real.
I wasn’t the one who’d been outmaneuvered here.
It was Diarugia.
Daddy will treat you well!