The Gold Dragon's Betrayal
"Looks like you've been eating well over here. Your bones have a real shine to them."
Emilton grabbed Canteas and spun him around, laughing.
Even from the hug, a greasy smell had been rolling off him.
"And why do you keep getting smaller? At this rate you're going to end up a hundred and thirty centimeters."
"You looking to die?"
At Canteas's jab, a vein jumped on Emilton's forehead.
Being a hundred and fifty centimeters was already a sore spot — why did he always have to pick at it?
She turned.
"Our Emperor. You've gotten younger."
"It just kind of happened."
Do-ha smiled and pulled her into a hug of his own.
Seeing a friend on Earth felt almost too good to be true.
"How long has it been?"
"Not that long for me."
Do-ha shrugged.
From what Canteas had told him, ten years had passed since he'd vanished.
"Hey, hey, you lunatic! How long has it been since I disappeared?!"
"Fifty years."
"Oh, come on. Stop screwing around."
"Pfft. Five years. It's been five years since you suddenly vanished from the palace."
"Whew… thank god."
Canteas let out a long breath of relief.
He'd been terrified it might have been decades.
And for good reason — his soul was currently transferred into another body. The longer he stayed separated from his original form, the more unpredictable the side effects might become. There was no research proving anything would go wrong, but that didn't mean he could afford to take chances.
"I was wondering where you'd gone… and you were in another dimension this whole time?"
"Because some mad emperor decided to summon me…"
Canteas shot Do-ha a look.
A few months ago, the man had yanked him out of a shower with zero warning.
"So what you used to say was true?"
She searched Do-ha's eyes.
He had always claimed, now and then, that he wasn't from their world. Every time, his friends had written it off as a bad joke.
"Yeah. I just came home."
"I'm glad."
"About what?"
"That you're alive."
All of them had believed Do-ha died fighting the Demon God. He never returned, and the Demon God Cult and the demons had vanished along with him.
"So does that mean Belhart is going to start trading with Earth now?"
"Who knows?"
"With Gates opening up, contact seems like only a matter of time."
"In your world you call these portals Gates, right?"
She looked at the black Gate.
"I heard earlier you came through on the Emperor's orders. Did Dimerof ask you to?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"…?"
Her eyes flickered for a fraction of a second, and Do-ha's narrowed.
Hadn't she just said that?
Forty years together meant he could read her from the sound of her breathing alone. And the reverse was just as true.
"…Is something wrong?"
Her voice had trembled — just barely. The same bright, teasing voice that was always full of mischief had shaken.
"…"
"What is it? What's going on?"
Canteas sensed it too and turned toward Emilton.
"The truth is, Dimerof didn't ask me to come. I crossed over on my own."
"…"
"Do-ha."
"Tell me."
"Depnius… betrayed us."
"…What?"
Do-ha's pupils jolted wide.
Depnius — the Gold Dragon — had betrayed his comrades?
Why?
For what?
What could possibly be worth that?
That was the same bastard who had fought the demons to the bitter end, ready to throw his life away.
"After you disappeared, the demons and the Demon God Cult vanished without a trace. Then, five years ago, remnants of the Cult started showing up one by one across every continent — and one day Depnius appeared at their head, commanding them."
In the end, the North Continent had fallen into the Demon God Cult's hands.
Depnius had been strong enough to be hailed as a future Dragon Lord. No one could stop him. With the Cult at his back, there was even less of a way to hold the line.
"The Emperor… no. Dimerof is dying."
"…Depnius did that to him?"
"Yes. He took a fatal wound trying to protect Tunrad. And… Tunrad is dead."
The blacksmith academy Tunrad had founded sat on the North Continent, so when the Cult advanced, it had taken the full brunt of the assault.
"…"
Do-ha's fist clenched tight.
Hearing that Tunrad — his friend, his comrade — was dead sent strength surging into his knuckles. A cantankerous old dwarf, sure, but warmer and more full of heart than almost anyone. And Tunrad had always been the one to reach out to Depnius first.
"Honestly, the reason I crossed into another dimension was to see if there was anything that could heal Dimerof. I never expected to find you."
"Is treatment impossible? If he's dying, that means he's still alive. You can't heal him? Canteas said you hit Seventh Circle after I left."
"It's not just me. The other Tower Masters can't treat him either. Whatever Depnius did, his power is still lingering in Dimerof's body… and that power keeps blocking our mana. Healing is impossible."
To treat him, they would first have to purge Depnius's power from his body. But no one left could drive out a dragon's mana. Baek Do-ha was gone, and at the time Emilton had only been Sixth Circle. Asking Namgung Je-u — who had reached the Hwa-gyeong — for help was too dangerous; internal energy and mana were natural opposites. In theory a dragon could have expelled the power easily, but the moment Depnius appeared, every dragon had gone into hiding. Whether they simply wanted no part of the conflict or had sided with the Demon God themselves, no one could say.
"I'll go."
Do-ha finally spoke.
Right now, he was the only one who could save Dimerof.
"…At your current level?"
"…"
Emilton had already sensed that Do-ha's power was nothing like before. She shook her head with a bitter smile. In this state, he couldn't drive a dragon's power out of Dimerof's body. One wrong move and he might put his own life at risk as well.
"I don't want to lose two friends on the same day."
"Canteas. Help me. There's a Gate to Belhart now — you can return to your original body."
"My power is black magic, so I don't know how much use I'll be… but I'll try."
Canteas nodded.
His mana wasn't ordinary mana. But he had spent years researching dragon power — driving it out should be within reach.
"…Can you do it?"
Emilton looked at him, worry plain in her eyes.
Eighth Circle power certainly made it possible. But as he'd said, black magic wasn't exactly suited for healing work.
"You're the one doing the healing. I'm just clearing out the dragon power. Don't try to dump the whole job on me."
"…Thank you."
At Canteas's joke, Emilton managed a smile.
She still hadn't found a treatment — but she had, against all odds, found someone who could make treatment possible.
"By the way, how did this Gate get made?"
"I didn't make it."
"Then who?"
"The Demon God Cult. Until recently they were going berserk building portals nonstop. Things have quieted down a bit thanks to the Namgung Family."
Namgung Je-u had taken the martial artists of his house and gone around smashing Cult strongholds. The Namgung Family had paid a heavy price for it.
"…"
Something clicked into place, and Do-ha's eyes went cold and still.
The reason those bastards kept opening Gates.
They're gathering Demon God Cult members from other dimensions.
And by pure chance, Earth and Belhart had been linked.
A light tap on his shoulder.
"I'm heading out. See you later."
While Do-ha was still lost in thought, Canteas clapped him on the shoulder.
"You're coming back?"
"All my game consoles are on Earth. I have to come back."
"Alright. Go on, then."
Do-ha snorted a quiet laugh and waved him off.
Do-ha's room.
A low, continuous rush of energy filled the air.
Seated cross-legged, Do-ha was drawing in the surrounding qi at a ferocious rate.
The Demon God Cult…
His fist clenched hard.
Those insect bastards had killed his friend and were expanding their power — and they had dragged Depnius into it.
Why the hell did you betray us, Depnius?
They had only fought side by side for fifteen years, but that dragon had pulled them out of danger more times than Do-ha could count. He had even stripped away Do-ha's old prejudices about dragons.
So why had he changed? Why side with the Demon God and kill his own friends to do it?
It's driving me insane.
Do-ha kept circulating his energy, then slowly opened his eyes.
Internal energy and mana were overflowing — but his realm itself was blocking the entrance. He couldn't push any further.
Then —
A soft rush of displaced air.
"You're back. How did it—"
The moment Canteas returned, Do-ha rose from his seat.
Something was wrong.
"Why are you still in that body?"
"…The Soul Change failed."
Canteas's face had gone blank with shock.
"What?"
"My original body was still there, so I cast the Soul Change magic right away."
But his soul wouldn't enter it. Something held him like chains — he couldn't leave his current body. Whether the original form was rejecting him or this fragile skeleton was gripping his soul too tightly, the Soul Change spell had failed dozens of times.
"What do we do…?"
"Don't worry. We'll get you back—"
"If I can't return to my original body, Dimerof is in danger… What do we do?"
"…"
Canteas wasn't disappointed about failing to reclaim his power. He was worried about Dimerof's life. His eyes, his voice — every part of him was fixed on that one fear.
"Yeah. You're definitely my friend."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Don't worry. I'll find a way."
Even back in Belhart, he had always found the answer.
And then —
Scratch. Scratch.
A strange sound reached them.
"Where is that coming from?"
Do-ha looked around.
Something being cut? Or scraped?
"Is Grandfather doing something?"
"Grandfather went fishing with a friend."
"Then where is this sound coming from?"
Canteas scanned the room as well.
It was close — and it wouldn't stop.
"Don't tell me… here?"
Following the noise, Do-ha's gaze locked onto the subspace vault.
He stepped closer.
"It's coming from in here."
"From the vault??"
Canteas tilted his head.
That vault only held mana stones and monster remains.
"…No way."
"N-no… it can't be."
The same thought hit both of them at once, and they shook their heads in unison.
If something could make noise through a subspace barrier, there was only one possibility.
Do-ha grabbed the handle. The lock clicked. The door swung open —
And something shot out at blinding speed.
Wings beat hard.
"Oh my god."
"Ah, damn it…"
"Pii!"
A dragon.
And not just any dragon — a Black Dragon, so rare that living specimens were nearly priceless.
"Pii!"
It streaked through the air.
"Hey— hey!"
The hatchling shot straight at Canteas and rubbed its body against his face. He recoiled in pure panic.
What the hell was this lizard doing?!
Was it the imprint — did it think he was its mother? But Do-ha had been the first one it made eye contact with.
"C-congratulations?"
"Congratulations my ass! Get this thing off me!"
Canteas kept dodging the hatchling as it licked his face. Even as a hatchling, it was a dragon — the force of its lunges was no joke.
"A dragon hatching… you almost never see that…"
Do-ha shook his head, then looked back into the vault — and his eyes lit up.
"What? What is it?"
"…Dimerof. I can save him."
"How?"
Do-ha reached into the vault and pulled out a Dragon Heart.
"I'm heading out for a bit. Keep that baby dragon company."
He would have liked to take Canteas along, but the hatchling looked determined to stay glued to him. Going alone would be cleaner.
A rush of wind —
"Hey! Hey! Take this thing to Belhart with you!!"
"Piii!"
Do-ha's form vanished in an instant. Canteas was left staring into empty air with a hollow look, while the hatchling — apparently in excellent spirits — kept looping around the room.