The Mad Dragon Descends
I settled into a lotus position and began circulating my energy. ...... No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't energy circulation in the traditional sense. Demons couldn't artificially amplify their magi through forced cultivation. It only grew by stealing from other souls or naturally expanding as one grew stronger. So this wasn't cultivation at all.
It was simply controlling the magi already inside my body while tempering my mind and spirit. If I had to classify it, it was closer to energy practice. Really, it was just meditation.
...I'm bored.
In truth, I wasn't meditating because I wanted to. This was homework. Namgung Sim had ordered it. He said that if I couldn't calm the excitement that overtook me the moment a fight began, then concepts like intent and mental imagery were meaningless. I needed to properly train my mind and body.
After those words, Namgung Sim refused to respond no matter what I said. Even when I shoved a sword in his face, he wouldn't so much as glance at me.
Hmph. Regina is sulking. So that's how it's going to be? Fine. I don't need you either. I'll ignore you completely until you speak to me first.
Let's see who wins this battle of patience.
How dare you discard me? Wrong. I discarded you first.
He probably thinks I have no friends. I have plenty of friends. There's Gwang Geom from the Jeomchang faction in Murim Reincarnation, and Hwa Geomja from the Hwasan faction. Not to mention Kallan the Sword Ghost, or even Leona from the Holy Church.
......
Wait. Do I actually have no friends?
At that moment, the door to my room burst open violently and Bella strode in. A sweet fragrance washed over me, thick and familiar.
"Miss."
Bella! That's right! I have Bella! And all those cute succubus maids too! Things I have that Namgung Sim doesn't!
Hehehe.
I was laughing inside when Bella spoke with an oddly cold, sunken expression.
"Miss. Lady Lilith is calling for you."
"Huh?"
Mom? Why?
I took the hand she offered and stood. Her body scent tickled my nose. It seemed much stronger than usual. Had she put on perfume?
* * *
There's a saying that mothers know everything. They simply pretend not to. This was exactly what that meant.
"Daughter."
"Yeah?"
"Stop pretending to be pretty."
"Hng."
I wasn't pretending. I was born this way...
"Mom knows you've been sneaking out of the mansion almost every day recently."
"...Yes."
"You've never left the mansion before, so you must have felt stifled. Mom understands completely."
Something was different. Mother's aura had sunk low and heavy.
"I didn't call you here to scold you. I just... felt sorry, so I wanted to give my daughter a present."
"A present?"
"Yes, a present."
When Lilith rang the bell on her office desk, Bella entered again, this time carrying an even thicker sweet scent and dragging a large bag behind her.
"A bag? Is my present inside that bag?"
Mother smiled faintly and shook her head. Hmm...?
What was that enormous scythe Bella was holding? Some kind of self-defense weapon? ...Does that even make sense? It's way too big. Something feels off.
But what could I do? Thinking was too much trouble. She must have a use for it if she's carrying it around.
"While you were sleeping, Mom discussed with Bella what to give you. Would you like to hear?"
"Yes... I'd like to hear."
"Our daughter... you'll be entering the Academy soon anyway. So before that, how about we send you on a little trip?"
A trip?
"Yes. You're close with Bella, aren't you? She's traveled all over, so... think of her as a guide. Something like that."
This was all so sudden.
"It would be good for you to broaden your horizons before entering the Academy... and you seemed rather restless lately. What do you think?"
Yeah. Well. It doesn't matter. A trip sounds nice. And since Bella's coming too, I won't have to worry about the annoying details. Sounds good.
"Bella has already packed your things. You can leave immediately."
Already? The pacing here is incredibly fast.
Bella, who had been standing beside me, approached and took my hand. It was cold. She gently pulled me along.
What is this?
Something felt deeply unpleasant.
"Daughter, be careful out there."
Okay. I'll be back soon, Mom.
After leaving the office, Bella led me by the hand through the completely empty corridors. We continued walking even after exiting the Succubus Mansion. This was the opposite direction from the Stigma Zone I usually visited. It was the road toward the capital.
......
As we walked together in silence, a man approached from the opposite direction. From the horns on his head to his hair and the cloak wrapped around him, everything about him was pitch black.
He looks familiar.
Extremely familiar. If I thought about it a little longer, I was sure the memory would surface.
Ah, whatever.
Thinking was far too bothersome. The man passed us without a word and continued toward the mansion.
We kept walking. We walked for a long time. Led by Bella's hand, following the sweet scent that wafted from her.
"I feel strange."
"What do you mean?"
Had Bella's hand always been this cold? The scythe she still carried in her other hand also seemed wrong. I couldn't pinpoint what was off, but everything felt wrong.
I quietly reached for the Blue Dragon Sword at my waist, wanting to stroke its blade. But my hand grasped nothing.
"What?"
Did I leave the Blue Dragon Sword behind? Hmm... it probably doesn't matter. I must have forgotten it while meditating.
...No.
It did matter. This was strange. There were too many strange things.
"Bella."
"Yes, Miss."
"Are you hiding something from me?"
Bella flinched. It was only for an instant, but I didn't miss it.
"How could that be, Miss? Your strange mood is surely just excitement about the trip."
......
This was wrong. Everything was wrong. There were far too many inconsistencies. It felt like a waterlogged sponge had been stuffed inside my skull. My head felt damp and heavy, making thinking incredibly tiresome and difficult.
But I had to. My instincts had been sounding alarms for a while now. This situation was clearly abnormal. I need to get out of here.
Let's go over everything one by one.
Why had I left the Blue Dragon Sword behind? I had definitely placed it across my legs while meditating. There was no reason to leave it when going to Mother's office or departing on a trip.
Mother's attitude had been strange too. If she knew I'd been sneaking out, she should have scolded me. That was what Mother normally did.
Today's mother... looked terribly sad.
The same went for Bella. She was different from usual. She seemed rushed, as if something were chasing her. Why had the mansion been completely empty? During our exit, I hadn't seen a single maid in the corridors or any of the rooms. It had been deathly silent.
And the mansion had never allowed men inside. So who was that familiar-looking man heading toward it?
The strangest thing is this trip itself.
A journey decided with no prior notice. The luggage was already packed. Suddenly leaving with only Bella. The scent of her body as she held my hand was far stronger than usual.
Scent. Bella's scent.
"Ah."
The moment my thoughts reached that point, the fog clogging my mind vanished in an instant. My head cleared completely. I turned to look at Bella, who was still gripping my hand tightly. When our eyes met, she smiled sweetly.
"Bella."
"What is it?"
"You deceived me."
The hand that had been pulling me flinched. She widened her eyes and tilted her head in confusion. It was incredibly cute.
"Pardon?"
I stopped walking. Once again, I reached to my waist. The Blue Dragon Sword's blade settled naturally into my grasp. My mind had fully awakened. It felt like I'd been wandering through a hazy dream and had only now opened my eyes.
"...Miss."
"Bella."
I slowly approached and embraced her. Bella's hands rose slightly as if to return the hug, but after a brief hesitation, they fell back to her sides.
......
"Bella."
"...Yes."
"Don't wear perfume from now on."
......
"The scent is too strong for my taste. It gives me a headache."
I gently stroked Bella's hair—she was slightly taller than me—then released the embrace. Her face came into view. Her expression was complicated. She looked like a lost child who didn't know what to do. I wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
"...I'm sorry, Miss."
"Bella really is an idiot."
Trying to hypnotize someone whose specialty was mental attacks, when she was a succubus. Still, I could understand. She must have been that desperate.
Now I understood everything. Why the mansion had been empty. Why Mother had suddenly tried to send me away under the pretense of a trip. Why Bella had used a hypnotic ability she'd never mentioned before to urgently take me away. It was like she was evacuating me.
"Wow. I've been curious about this for a while, and the answer comes like this."
The question I'd had ever since learning this world was Dust Saga. Why had I never seen my mother, Lilith, in the game?
The Succubus Queen. The Demon King's wife. A 7th circle archmage. Not a single one of those titles was ordinary. She was more than qualified to appear in the original story and play an active role. Yet she never had. She was only mentioned a few times through Regina's dialogue in the story.
"So you're going to die today."
When I turned around, the mansion was visible in the distance. Aside from its silence, it looked no different from usual. But the sky above it was not.
Floating in the sky over the Succubus Mansion was something I'd never seen before.
"A rift."
It was the same dimensional rift I'd seen in the North. But this one was incomparably larger than the one from which Honcheon Noeje had emerged.
"Looks like a dragon might pop out."
Why wasn't Mother running away with me?
It's obvious.
There were only two possibilities. Either she was confident she could win, or there was something in the mansion she had to protect even at the cost of her life.
"Ah. That man from earlier. I remember now."
I had completely forgotten because I'd never actually met him in person.
"...Father."
The apex of all demons, the Demon King himself, was there right now.
Interference-induced escape confirmed. Fate avoidance protocol has failed.
Searching for alternative measures.
......
Failed.
Critical Event: Lilith Serakir Death Event has begun.
3 seconds until the manifestation of the Mad Dragon, Seiar.
2 seconds.
1 second.
The Mad Dragon, Seiar manifests!
...May your journey reach a brilliant conclusion.