The Dragon's Arrival
“To think I couldn't escape... the space has been torn open.”
“Hahahaha!! What a surprise, calling me out like this!! Did a dragon show up? Exterminating pests is my specialty, after all!!”
Ziegfried appeared in the central plaza with a boisterous laugh. As expected, he was holding a dragon’s head in his hand. Judging by the fact that he was drenched in blood from head to toe, it seemed he had been enjoying a dragon hunt until just a moment ago.
“Oh! I see a lot of familiar faces!”
Zieg surveyed the gathered group. He looked at the Poacher, then at me, and finally at Cheshire, all with a grin. But the moment his eyes landed on Hilde, his eyes widened, and he offered a deep, soulful smile. It was as if he had met an old, bitter rival—or perhaps as if he’d finally found the rare video he’d been searching for. Once he spotted her, he didn't even spare a glance for anyone else; he stared only at Hilde. He didn't even blink. Soon, an intangible energy erupted from his body, surging toward her. He rejected and ignored everyone else, as if only he and Hilde existed in this world.
“Damn it... why did I have to summon that guy...”
Faced with his soulful smile, Hilde’s expression twisted into a frown. She muttered curses under her breath and prepared for battle.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve searched for you? To meet you again, I’ve half-discarded my mortal fate. I’ve given up on being human...”
“So what!! You crazy bastard!! Who told you to come looking for me?”
“Haha... still as sharp-tongued as ever. That voice... that look... exactly as it was before. I’ve missed you so deeply, Brynhilde. Now, let us finish the dance we left incomplete... Ragnarok may be over, but our story is still in progress...”
Zieg reached for his sword. In that split-second, high-tension situation, my brain raced. ‘If those two fight, it’ll be an uncontrollable disaster... The dragons will be here in a minute... If we fight among ourselves, it’s truly the end...’
If Hilde and Zieg fought, things would go sideways in the worst way. I couldn't let that happen. I shouted at Zieg.
“Zieg!! Not now!! The dragons of the Manma-jeon are coming!!!”
Zieg didn't respond to my call. Perhaps because his affinity was still low, my words didn't seem to reach him. Then, the Poacher, who had been holding Ramec, called out to him.
“Ziegfried!! Now is not the time to be hung up on the past! Why are you so obsessed with that dragon!! And you said you’d help me once!! Keep your promise!!!”
A promise. At the mention of a promise, Zieg finally twitched. Not missing the opening, Hilde spoke up, looking as if she were annoyed to death.
“Look. Now is really not the time... Later... let’s do it later... How about that? Let’s not have others get in our way. And this time, I won’t run away.”
“Are you serious? Swear it on your name, Hilde. Swear that you won’t run away from our destiny.”
“Fine... I promise... I swear it on the name of Brynhilde. Once the pests are gone, I will finish what we started with you.”
“Good... I shall slice up every single pest for you. Not a single one of those who stand in the way of our destiny will leave this place alive...”
Zieg nodded at Hilde’s proposal. The immediate crisis had been postponed. Thank goodness. At least he wasn't going on a rampage. ‘Wait, is that really a good thing?’ I wasn't sure. Regardless, they had reached an accord for now, so that was enough. I just hoped that when this fight ended, Zieg would give up on Hilde.
—*Vwooom...!*
Having put off his showdown with Hilde, Zieg stared at the shimmering air. He had sensed the energy of the dragons approaching. The defensive barrier surrounding the entire Black Market was burning. The air grew steadily hotter. Zieg looked at the Poacher and asked,
“If they didn't have the qualifications, they shouldn't have been able to find this place... Did someone give them the coordinates?”
“I just got here myself, so I don't know the details. But it seems the Dragon King is coming to catch his enemy. The targets are Brynhilde and that kid over there.”
“Kid? Ah, the Apostle of the Manma-jeon was a target too. Yes! Have you been well?”
“Ah... yes. I, I’ve been well...”
“Glad to see you’re unharmed. Long time no see, Cheshire!”
“Hahaha...”
After greeting everyone he knew, he turned toward the tyrant Ramec, who had been standing there, unable to move and just reading the room, and shouted,
“By the way, who the hell are you?”
Ramec just opened and closed his mouth at Zieg’s call. His expression was a sight to behold. When I first encountered him at Drug & Rush, he had been soaked in arrogance, but now, Ramec had been completely reduced to a nobody by the appearance of the Poacher, Hilde, and Zieg. Objectively speaking, Ramec was incomparably stronger than someone like me. The thought of running into a guy like that on the street sent shivers down my spine. He’d probably rip my head off without any resistance. Even with such a gap between us, the only reason I had survived was pure luck. Aside from the fact that there was an exit right behind me, I had survived only because Cheshire had risked her life to forcibly hold him back. If not for that, I would have died in the Black Market and been held in the arms of Kashnakas.
‘That guy probably would have attacked Hilde without hesitation if it were a one-on-one.’
However, we had many people on our side who, while perhaps not at Hilde’s level, were still quite troublesome to deal with, including Merhere and Kekere. Since Ramec was already exhausted from his fight with Killian and Henry, he had chosen to give up the fight and flee. But then the Poacher, who could hold his own against Hilde, appeared to hold him back, and less than a minute later, Zieg had ripped through space to arrive... It was understandable why he was so desperate.
‘Does Ramec think I’m a lunatic?’
From his perspective, I must look like the king of connections. I kept summoning superhumans endlessly, and finally, I’d even dragged in the Poacher and a Dragon Slayer. Regardless, I saw this as my chance, so before Ramec could speak, I shouted at Zieg first.
“Zieg!! That guy tipped off the Manma-jeon about Hilde!!! He tried to sell Hilde out!! That bastard is a lackey of the Dragon King!!”
I knew it from the way Zieg looked at Hilde. That look was the same one the Dragon-Blood Knight Aran had when he looked at Pal-us. A desire to fight. A fighting spirit to clash with the strong. Zieg had probably been lonely because there were few opponents who could fight him on equal footing. And now, he’d met Hilde, a powerhouse of similar strength, and become obsessed with her. So, this would work. If I lied and said Ramec was the one who reported Hilde to the Manma-jeon, I was sure I’d get the reaction I wanted.
“What?”
As expected. Zieg, who wanted to kill Hilde with his own hands, was enraged to hear that Ramec had snitched on her to the Manma-jeon, causing the dragons to invade. He had wanted to play with Hilde a bit longer, and that had been interrupted. While he was infinitely generous to the weak, Zieg was ruthless toward superhumans of his own caliber.
“W-wait. It wasn't me! This is a setup!”
Ramec pleaded his innocence and tried desperately to run, but the Poacher blocked his movements every time. It looked like he needed to cut through the air to move through space, but the Poacher was interfering at every turn, driving him insane.
That was when it happened.
—*Kugugugung....*
Something had entered the Black Market. I knew it immediately. An absurd pressure had swept over me. It was Dragon Fear.
—*Kuaaaaaa!!!!!*
Shortly after, the roar of the monster that had invaded the Black Market echoed through the air.
“They’ve finally entered. I don't know where in the Black Market they landed, but they’ll gather here soon. At least three... no... they keep coming...”
—*Kugugugugung....*
Just as the Poacher said, another one entered. No, it wasn't just one; they kept coming. The dragons were coming. They had already reached the vicinity. Time was up. I had to run.
“Damn it!! Let me go!! I have nothing to do with this incident!!”
“Shut up!! Give it up, Ramec!! It’s already too late to run!!!”
“Kyaaaa!!!”
After mocking him, I immediately summoned Kishiria, Einax, and Apophis in quick succession.
‘The Master of the Binding Palace’ appears on the field!!!
‘A piece of the Evil God’ manifests in the Black Market!!!
‘The God’s Husk’ awakens and reveals its form!!!
Messages poured out one after another. There was no penalty. There was no set summoning time. I had consumed the causality accumulated in the Manma-jeon to summon these three monsters without restriction. First, darkness coalesced, and Kishiria revealed herself. She was scattering a much larger and more ferocious energy than before.
[Kishishi... You’ve summoned me to a fun place this time...]
As she appeared, she laughed, scattering the abyss around her like a spiderweb. Then, the ceiling of the Black Market cracked, and a mind-corroding light poured out. A massive lump of flesh descended from the sky. As if falling. As if looking down upon the world. Gradually, the eyes embedded in the flesh flashed and opened one by one. Soon after, the tentacles wrapped around its body also loosened and began to writhe.
[Ah... finally... a reunion...]
Einax had appeared. Even Zieg, who hadn't reacted to Kishiria, reacted to Einax. He instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword. But he soon realized it was on our side and relaxed his stance. Unlike when I summoned it from the Forest of the Missing last time, Einax didn't attack indiscriminately. The mental attacks had also stopped. It seemed the damage had been greater back then because Kashnakas had borrowed that body to descend by force.
—*Pusssss...*
Finally, the last summon appeared. The air filled with thick, white smoke, which then transformed into a snake coiled in a ring. It was a snake made of smoke.
[To call me... already... I told you not to call me so often...]
Apophis, who seemed to have no intention of moving. That was everyone. Feeling the presence filling the vast central plaza, I grabbed Cheshire’s hand. My job here was done. The dragons were getting closer. No, they had already reached the central plaza!
—*Kwaaaaang!!!!*
“Cheshire!!”
“Got it!! Let’s go!!”
Just as the summoning finished, the dragons reached the central plaza with perfect timing. Cheshire and I immediately moved to the hideout.
****** [Not so fast.] ******
“Huh!?”
In the middle of escaping via teleportation, an arm covered in dragon scales reached out. That arm crossed through space, grabbed my ankle, and began to pull violently.
“Kyaaaa!!! Fuck!!!!”
My body, which was being sucked into Cheshire’s hideout, got caught in a rift of space-time. The pulling force was stronger than the suction. The pressure on my body became extreme. Tears of blood flowed from my eyes, and my ears went deaf, as if they had burst. My trapped leg felt like it was going to be torn off.
“Che, Cheshire!!!!”
“Jun!! No!!!”
—*Thwack!!!*
“Kyaaaaaaaa!!!!!”
Cheshire’s teleportation was canceled. I was thrown down, still held by the ankle. Back into the central plaza, where the dragons and superhumans were in the middle of a fierce battle. Right, there was no way I could have gotten away that easily.