The Dragon God's Arrival
"These clothes are uncomfortable."
"You're telling me. How do humans walk around wearing this stuff every day?"
"Stop grumbling and just follow me quietly, will you?"
Do-ha frowned as he watched Metatron and Baal complain about their outfits.
That's why I told you to just change your appearance with magic.
They had insisted on trying human clothes for themselves, so he had gone out of his way to buy them some — and now they were whining about it.
"By the way, every time I look at you, you're stranger than the last."
Baal narrowed his eyes at Do-ha.
He had stepped away for only a short while, and in that brief absence Do-ha had appeared having already reached the Life-or-Death Realm.
Was that even possible?
Seeing that power, Baal had almost mistaken the moment for a dream.
"What exactly did you do to get that strong so fast?"
For the briefest instant, greed flickered through Metatron's eyes before vanishing.
Even an Archangel could not help but covet greater strength. He knew all too well that only power could protect what mattered.
"Just eat well and train hard."
"What kind of nonsense is that…"
"In all my years, that is the first time I have heard such empty rubbish."
At Do-ha's words, both Metatron and Baal scowled.
If that were all it took to grow strong, every human on the planet would already be in the Life-or-Death Realm. No — forget humans. Demons and angels, with their far longer lifespans, would all be powerhouses by now.
"So why are we at the Association?"
"I need to go to Iceland."
"Huh? Why there again?"
"You could just teleport…"
"I need an official record that I went."
"?"
"?"
Metatron and Baal tilted their heads in unison.
Leave a record? Why?
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Bang!
"Hah… hah… Do-ha-nim, you've arrived."
Sweat beading on his forehead, the Association President flung open the door to his own office and burst inside. His meeting had only just ended when he heard Do-ha had been waiting for a full hour — he had bolted over in a panic.
"You didn't have to rush."
"I-if you'd just told me you were coming… I would have postponed the meeting…"
Making someone like Do-ha wait an entire hour left him deeply unsettled. Do-ha's personality meant he probably didn't care — but the President's nerves certainly did.
"Metatron-nim and Baal-nim are here as well, I see."
"You always look busy whenever I see you."
"Why not become a demon while you're at it? You'd have far better stamina than you do now."
"Are you seriously trying to recruit a human right in front of me?"
"Hmph. Since when did you care so much about humans?"
"Haha…"
As the two bickered, the Association President scratched his head and took a seat. He had seen this routine enough times that it no longer fazed him.
"So, what brings you here? If you'd called, I would have come to you."
"I was already out, so I figured I'd stop by."
"Ah, yes."
"I need you to set up one official schedule for me."
"A schedule?"
The Association President tilted his head. Do-ha normally hated official engagements — he had skipped nearly every major international event because of it.
"I'm going to Iceland."
"You're going there again?"
He already knew about the Iceland incident from Han Jeong-soo, Kang Ji-hwan, and Han Se-ah. And Do-ha wanted to go back?
Could remnants of the Demon God Cult still be hiding there?
"So there are still remnants remaining."
"Less remaining, more newly arrived."
"…Ah?"
The Association President's eyes went wide. Now he understood why Do-ha was heading to Iceland.
At present, Iceland's entire population was dead and its Gates had been left unattended. There were so many of them that neighboring countries alone could not cover them all. Britain and Ireland had been dispatching Hunters, but Iceland was blanketed with Gates — the nation's primary source of income had been mana stones, after all. They had kept even the smallest Gates open, and Hunters from multiple countries were now being sent in.
"Among the dispatched Hunters, cultists will be hiding."
"Exactly. Quite a few of them, I'd guess."
It made sense. This had been a plan the Pope poured his heart and soul into. With that plan shattered in an instant, he would almost certainly have sent a large number of followers disguised as Hunters — if only to reclaim the Book of the Dead.
"But would they really send cultists? The entire world is condemning the Cult right now. I can't imagine them moving so openly under those circumstances…"
Even with disguises, if a single person's identity was exposed, chaos would erupt immediately. Would they take that kind of risk?
"I thought the same thing as you at first, Mr. President."
The Cult's usual pattern was to vanish the moment anything went wrong, so Do-ha had expected them to stay hidden this time as well. But the more he thought about it, the more this situation felt different.
The Pope even used a clone that carried a piece of his own life force.
That meant the operation had been critically important — and after its failure, they would at least try to recover the Book of the Dead. These were not the kind of people who would sit still and accept the loss.
"My guess is they've already moved."
"If Do-ha-nim says so, then they almost certainly have. I'll have everything prepared at once."
The Association President nodded. Do-ha was a playful man, but when it came to the Cult, he never joked — and his instincts had never been wrong.
"If any variables come up, I'll contact you in advan—"
Midway through jotting the schedule onto his tablet, the Association President glanced at Do-ha's face and flinched.
What was that? Why had his expression gone so hard?
Metatron and Baal had frozen at the exact same moment.
"D-did I make some kind of mistake…?"
"No. It's not because of you, Mr. President."
Scrape.
Do-ha rose from his seat in a hurry.
"Just set the schedule and contact me."
"Ah, yes…"
Whoosh!
The moment the Association President nodded, Do-ha and the other two vanished from where they stood.
"Strawberry banana for the customer who ordered~ Your drink is ready."
Swoosh.
"So I just take this?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Thank you."
An old man accepted the fresh fruit juice and strolled out of the shop as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Slurp.
"Oh-ho. To think a drink made from mere fruit could taste like this."
The old man took a sip of the fresh juice, smiled, and nodded. He had only bought one because every passerby seemed to be carrying one — and he found himself thoroughly satisfied.
"This place called Earth grows more fascinating the longer I look at it. So similar to Belhart, and yet so utterly different."
Vrooom.
Honk. Honk.
"Those 'automobiles' as well."
Watching cars race down the road, the old man shook his head. He had absorbed a great deal of knowledge before coming here, and still every sight left him astonished.
"If this kind of technology were mixed with magic — or martial arts… how much further might it advance?"
Swoosh.
Still muttering to himself, the old man turned around.
"What do you think, Absolute One?"
Slurp.
He sipped his juice as he looked at Do-ha standing behind him.
"What are you doing here?"
Do-ha glared at the old man before him.
The Dragon God, Laktakalion.
He was on Earth.
How had he gotten here? Legion was supposed to have been tracking the Dragon God.
"I came because I wished to meet you. I did not know where you were, which was rather inconvenient — so this is a fortunate encounter."
"You call it inconvenient while pouring out killing intent that thick?"
An enormous fighting spirit was radiating from Laktakalion's body. Fortunately, it was the kind only beings of the Profound Realm and above could sense, so ordinary people nearby were unharmed. Of course, if that aura had been murderous intent rather than fighting spirit, every heart in the vicinity would have stopped cold.
"I was giving you a signal so that you could come. That aside…"
Laktakalion narrowed his eyes at Do-ha.
"Just what is your true identity?"
His realm was different from their previous meeting. Still only at the entrance, but unmistakably the Life-or-Death Realm. Completely different from when they first met. What had he done in that short span of time to obtain a Divine Status?
"I have lived for tens of thousands of years, and I have never seen a being like you."
No — there was exactly one.
One existence who had made him wonder just how far that path could go, how high that position could climb.
Jecheon Daeseong — Sun Wukong.
Of every being Laktakalion had ever witnessed, Jecheon Daeseong had been the most alien. But the Baek Do-ha standing before him surpassed even that. Jecheon Daeseong had been unbelievably strong, and his growth had been rapid — yet Baek Do-ha was several times faster still.
"Why did you come looking for me?"
"That is the question I should be asking you."
Zwaaang.
Thud.
Laktakalion opened a subspace, and from within it the unconscious Legion dropped to the ground.
"This one was tailing me, so I caught him and asked a few questions."
"That doesn't look like questioning. That looks like torture."
Do-ha's brow twitched as he looked at Legion, eyes rolled back in his head. He was still breathing, but his condition was far from good.
"I tried a truth-compelling magic, but it seems poorly suited to a dragon with such strong mental fortitude."
In the process of forcing through that powerful mind, something had gone wrong — and Legion's reason had been shattered. He should have just answered honestly when asked.
"I did not kill him, for he is of my own kind. But I will not forgive being followed."
"…"
At Laktakalion's words, Do-ha said nothing and simply approached the fallen Legion.
Thump.
"It is useless."
As Do-ha placed a hand on Legion's forehead, Laktakalion shook his head. A dragon's mind was not something that could be restored. It could not be broken in the first place — and once broken, it could not be mended. Legion's spirit had only shattered because the one who broke it was Laktakalion himself. Anyone else would never have managed the destruction at all.
Tszzzzzzzz.
"Tsk tsk. A pointless effort, even so…"
Laktakalion clicked his tongue and shook his head. The progenitor of all dragons was telling him it was impossible, and still he insisted. Had he always been this stubborn?
"I heard it from that one. He was fulfilling a request of yours, was he not? I understand why you care, but…"
Tszzzzzzzz.
"Ugh… where… am I…"
"?!!"
The light returned to Legion's rolled-back eyes as he regained consciousness — and Laktakalion's own eyes bulged as if they might pop from his skull.
Even he, who had risen to the seat of Dragon God, had judged it impossible. And yet the mind had been restored?!
"You two take Legion and step back for a moment."
"Understood."
Sssk.
Metatron and Baal nodded, then vanished in an instant with Legion in tow. The aura pouring off Do-ha was anything but ordinary.
"Heh heh. What exactly did I just witness?"
"Hey, lizard."
"Lizard? Surely you are not referring to me."
"You don't know my personality very well, do you? I never forgive anyone who lays a hand on my people."
"Was Legion one of your subordinates as well?"
"Even if they're not subordinates — anyone who moves on my behalf is one of my people."
"Though Legion is not, strictly speaking, a 'person.'"
In that instant—
KRAAAAAAAAK!
From beneath Laktakalion's feet, a colossal Heavenly Black Vajra erupted from the earth and seized the Dragon God in its grip.
"Want to play word games? Fine. Let's keep going."
BOOOOM!
A cold smile on his face, Do-ha launched himself skyward — and the Heavenly Black Vajra still clutching the Dragon God shot upward with him.