Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Rescue and Ambush
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Vwooom!
Riding on the back of Seolbaek, disguised as a baby dragon, we arrived inside the T-4 Gate.
The clouds had completely blanketed the sky and the area around the gate. Since we flew hidden among them, there was no worry of being spotted by the workers below.
Thud!
I slipped into the Molrangtex suit I had brought, feeling its unusually snug elasticity.
It was a slightly modified version of the riding suit from the last time I went dragon riding.
I hadn't added any special new features. I'd just reshaped it to disguise my body type.
'There's always a chance of getting spotted, after all.'
That previous flight had been highly impromptu. Most of the witnesses were civilians, and there weren't any clear videos of it.
In the end, no one would imagine a girl like me being a dragon rider.
But this time, we were flying to a place full of hunters. It wouldn't be strange if one of them had sharp eyes.
That's why I'd modified the Molrangtex for just such an occasion.
'It does feel a bit baggy.'
I'd stretched out the arms and legs long, then filled the empty spaces inside—where my actual limbs didn't reach—with more Molrangtex.
Not just the limbs, but I'd made sure to pad the torso and lower body appropriately too.
Up close, it might look a little awkward, but from a distance, anyone would see me as an adult build.
Whirr!
On top of that, Seolbaek was scattering mana particles around me, making it practically impossible to tell I was a tiny girl.
"Alright, shall we go?"
Groooar!
The dragon, who had been cooped up alone inside the gate until now, seemed thrilled for this long-overdue outing.
With just a couple of flaps of its wings, it lifted into the air.
Whoa... whoaaa!
I securely scooped up Mini, who nearly tumbled off from the motion, and gave the dragon its orders.
"Let's go!"
Shwoooom! We shot out of the gate like a bullet.
We pierced through the thick clouds, and soon Seoul's skyline came into view, with the distant sea starting to appear.
The sea is vast, but with that thick smoke billowing endlessly from one spot, finding our destination wasn't hard.
As if reading my urgency to get there fast, the dragon was pushing beyond its speed limits.
'...It's a bit too fast.'
The constant shwooooom roaring in my ears was so intense I couldn't tell if it was wind or a sonic boom.
Whoa... whoaaa...!
"Mini, don't let go, okay?"
Mini was clinging tightly to one of the protrusions on the dragon's back while buried in my arms.
Honestly, even I was struggling a little to hold on. Good thing I had the Molrangtex on, or I'd probably have blacked out.
Of course, even if I fell, I wouldn't die.
Whirr!
Seolbaek was following right behind, clearly enjoying the speed.
In less than ten minutes, we reached the skies over the waters off Incheon.
The dragon circled slowly around the bridge, and during that time, I handed Mini the Molrangtori I'd brought.
"Mini, ready to get started?"
Whoop!
Mini took the Molrangtori from me, shoved its hand inside, and pulled out...
A massive object.
It was similar to Mini's, but enormous.
None other than the Titan's hand.
I'd put effort into making the Titan able to shed its shell for summoning.
And surprisingly, it could now be disassembled into parts.
Specifically, into hand, foot, arm, leg, head, and torso.
So this was the Titan's right hand I'd brought. Amazingly, without its chest Moonshadow Stone connected, it registered as non-living.
Zzzzt!
Just like with the Mini golems that also used Moonshadow Stones as cores, it could combine with them.
Click!
The huge hand merged smoothly onto Mini's chest.
"How's that? Not too heavy?"
Mini was sweating mana beads like thick sand grains and straining with all its might, given the weight.
Whoop...!
But with mana from me and Seolbaek, it seemed able to manage somehow.
Rescue prep complete.
Below, sirens were still blaring, but the police and firefighters could only stomp around helplessly.
The hunters looked busy dealing with the massive monster too.
No separate rescue team from Hwayeon? All they'd done was toss warming tubes to the workers.
Telling them to swim out would be brutally harsh anyway.
'The water's gotta be kilometers deep.'
Even as Awakeners, they weren't superhuman physically. Look at me—an S-rank, but still all girl.
Anyway, how did Hwayeon plan to handle their responsibility?
Sure, contracts for these projects say they don't cover lives lost but pay well instead.
'...Still too much.'
Had they given up on image management? Or maybe this happened so often they just ignored this side of things.
Whatever.
"Get us closer."
At my command, the dragon began descending. I could feel everyone's eyes turning toward me.
The news drone that had already spotted me buzzed around, trailing right behind.
The water surface was now close. Mini reached out its hand toward the workers.
"Hurry and climb on!"
At my signal, the workers scrambled onto the Titan's palm.
"Hold on to each other! Everyone, grab someone!"
My voice was modulated right now. The same mechanical tone from that one broadcast.
Good thing I'd brought the modulator just in case—I'd almost forgotten.
Bzzz!
I hadn't expected this many filming drones.
There were more drones than people to rescue.
If they were gonna launch this many, why not use bigger ones to save people?
"No more, right?"
"Y-Yes! Th-That's all ten of us!"
Probably the site manager? The guy in the least worker-like clothes was trembling as he answered.
Classic hypothermia symptoms. Everyone else too. They needed treatment ASAP.
Flap!
The dragon headed quickly toward shore. Some got dizzy from the sudden acceleration or covered their mouths as their stomachs churned.
"Just hang in there a bit. If you puke, I'm leaving you behind."
Thankfully, my encouragement got them all through.
"""""Woooaaahhh!!!"""""
As soon as I dropped them off, cheers poured in. Normally, I'd wave and soak up the attention.
'Not today.'
I had something else to focus on.
That monster poking its head up in the distance, battling the hunters.
"A Breaker Whale?"
A usual A-rank sea monster, occasionally A+ variants found. Rare, and every part valuable, so hunters loved hunting it.
I wanted to take it down and snag the loot...
'...But Hwayeon would definitely interfere.'
Loot rights from gate-escaped monsters go fully to the gate's owning guild.
Just look at Zenith Guild—they made bank selling deep-sea escapee corpses.
"Just tame it outright?"
I'd never tamed a non-summoned monster before. But it seemed doable...
Tame it, then lure it far away and sneak it back to me?
'Nah. Even if I got it, nowhere to put it.'
Regretfully smacking my lips as I prepared to head back.
Vwoooom!
"Wh-what?!"
The dragon suddenly twisted. A rough maneuver. Caught off guard, we nearly plummeted into the cold sea.
"Wh-why... Whaaaahhh!"
Even as I asked, the dragon didn't stop thrashing. It bucked even wilder, like some shooting game.
Yeah, shooting game.
Vwooom!
Something invisible was trying to shoot us down with malicious intent.
Whirr!
Seolbaek alerted me, and syncing vision with it revealed the attack.
Vwoooom...! Splash!
A massive mana hand invisible to human eyes. Several times bigger than the Titan's, swatting at us like mosquitoes.
"Whaaaah!"
My vision spun dizzily. Barely focusing, I traced the mana thread from the fingers to the owner.
'...Hwayeon Guild Master?'
The S-rank hunter I'd seen on TV a few times. Hwayeon's Guild Master, Choi Seong-han.
He stood impassively on the bridge, glaring at us.
No one would suspect him of attacking. Without monster eyes, you couldn't see the giant hand.
So the trailing drones probably thought I was just putting on some crazy show.
...A vicious bastard.
Targeting me instead of grabbing the Breaker Whale with that hand?
Did he know I'd come? Or spot me while here for the monster and switch targets?
Whatever. He needed payback. Couldn't just take it lying down.
Directly attacking him would be amateur hour. With all these eyes, it'd look like terrorism.
So I went indirect.
I pulled out a red thread—the one for controlling monsters—and linked it to the Breaker Whale.
Not full taming, but I could puppet it briefly.
Shwoooosh!
I moved the whale as naturally as possible, making it leap from the water.
Its tail, thrashing wildly from the momentum, swung its massive fan-shaped weapon toward...
Boom!
The bridge Hwayeon was building. Choi Seong-han tried blocking with his own hand, but with focus on me, his reaction lagged.
Did that collapse the whole bridge? Or just short?
Dust from the impact made it hard to confirm.
'Whatever, I'll catch it on the news later.'
The dragon ramped up speed instantly, maxing out to shake all the drones, then headed home.
**
[Breaker Whale escaped from gate off Incheon coast culled this afternoon.]
That night.
I lay in bed, watching news on my smartphone.
Rustle. Rustle.
Wearing the one-piece pajamas made from material Baekya gifted—future Molrangmol merch material.
...Not like I wanted to wear it.
Sure, I like cute stuff, but not this much.
Baekya just kept begging for a review, so I was testing it out.
Wasn't that I liked the fit or how I looked in it.
Anyway.
That flight was a huge success. Saved people, boosted image.
[Hwayeon Guild Master joined the cull, but the under-construction bridge mostly collapsed...]
And wrecked their bridge.
Sure, the fight after my tail strike did most of it.
But good results are what matter, right?
"Ehihihi... Serves you right."