Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Dragon Fear
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Han-gyeol sent a message to Seo-hyun on her smartphone since he still hadn't shown up even after some time had passed.
But he still didn't come. Class was about to start any minute now.
'What the hell is he doing? Skipping? No, that's not like him.'
She was thinking that when—
Kwaaaaang!
-Kyahhhhh!
"What, what is that……!?"
"What happened?"
"I don't know! There was just this huge noise……!"
With the sudden explosion, all the students who had been settling into their seats for class turned their gazes outside.
That was when Han-gyeol had a bad feeling that something had happened.
A sudden explosion. People's screams.
Something ominous was going on.
Han-gyeol left the classroom first. Actually, all the other students did the same.
Han-gyeol ran. To find out what was going on.
It had to be related to Seo-hyun. That diligent guy would never be late for class.
A guy who was obsessively fixated on attending every lecture, skipping class? Something must have happened for sure.
And judging by the explosion and screams right now, it was definitely something involving a mutant.
He headed toward the source of the commotion outside.
Not far from the Humanities Building, he spotted what looked like a goat-headed figure.
And facing off against it was Seo-hyun.
The two seemed to be saying something, but Han-gyeol couldn't make out the words.
The goat-head looked furious.
Suddenly, it summoned black flames and created a terrifying fireball. If a normal person got hit by that, they'd turn to ash in an instant.
Han-gyeol felt cold sweat dripping down his back.
'……Can he beat that thing?'
She knew full well that the breath Seo-hyun had shown before was no joke.
But that fireball made of black flames didn't look like a joke either.
The heat radiating from the black flames was already making sweat pour down.
Han-gyeol felt he needed to get out of there. He had no intention of getting caught up and dying pointlessly.
The fact that Seo-hyun was facing it head-on meant he must be confident he could handle it.
Just as he thought that and turned to leave—
Seo-hyun let out a sigh and extended his palm, absorbing all the black flames.
'……Worried for nothing.'
With a strange sense of relief, he started to run away again. But then……
Wuuuung-!
Suddenly, the air around them vibrated, and the ground shook. Then, Seo-hyun's body was enveloped in light. The orb of light began to grow larger and larger, sending shockwaves rippling through the surroundings.
"What the hell is that……?"
Han-gyeol froze in place and stared at Seo-hyun. The light originating from his body was expanding to an enormous size.
Like a decent-sized skyscraper.
And the moment the light faded, he witnessed it.
"……A dragon."
An enormous, intimidating dragon covered in black scales.
Seo-hyun's true form, one that made his legs go weak and his knees buckle just from looking at it, radiating a pressure so overwhelming that it erased any memory of his human shape.
* * *
The demon stared at the being before him.
When he first heard a dragon-type mutant had appeared, he'd thought he could easily take it down.
After all, he was a demon. And the powers at his command were immense.
He could wield the flames of hell, and nothing—mutant or otherwise—could withstand them.
The first people he killed after becoming a demon were his parents.
Surprisingly, his demonic parents had been good people. They just hadn't been well-off.
The demon resented that and blamed them entirely for his miserable life.
Mutating hadn't made his heart particularly vile. It had always been twisted to begin with.
He believed his parents had ruined his life by bringing him into the world, so he killed them.
As they died, his parents apologized to him.
The demon couldn't care less.
Now he had the power to bend the world to his will.
After his parents, he killed his boss and coworkers at the company.
He was full of complaints about everything and always twisted others' words in his mind.
He took advice as mockery, sincere concern as meddling, and guidance as nagging.
His section chief, who had gone out of his way to help cover for his mistakes and look after him as a junior, ended up as a pile of ash at the demon's hands.
His coworkers suffered the same fate.
Those rare good people died simply because they crossed paths with him, becoming targets for his warped inferiority complex.
In that way, the demon had killed quite a few people since mutating.
More than he could count on ten fingers. The authorities tried to stop him but failed.
Even the mutants sent to capture him turned to ash in his grasp.
So he'd figured a dragon was no big deal.
He could catch it and make it his slave.
It had a decent-looking face, perfect for toying with, and seemed to have plenty of talents.
But the moment the demon laid eyes on the massive dragon, he knew something had gone terribly wrong.
It wasn't just the size that intimidated him.
An overwhelming presence.
Just looking at it made him want to slam his head to the ground and kneel in prostration.
The pressure was so intense he couldn't withstand it in his right mind—his entire body trembled like a leaf.
At the same time, he was certain.
This wasn't just some dragon.
It was something higher up the chain, something he couldn't even comprehend.
In that instant, the demon felt their gazes meet.
The moment their eyes locked, he had no choice but to bow his head.
No voice reached him, but his mind, his soul, whispered to prostrate before the being ahead.
If he didn't, he would die.
That's what it felt like.
Fear consumed his body. It felt like defying something he shouldn't.
The only thing he sensed from that gaze was death.
The pressure he felt was growing stronger.
Dragon Fear.
Normally, it would crush all life within hundreds of meters, but now it focused solely on the demon.
He tried to resist somewhat, but even with eyes closed, he felt the dragon's gaze.
In that massive gaze, he was nothing more than an insect.
His mind was being crushed, dying.
That was his final thought.
* * *
I focused the Dragon Fear solely on the demon. If I unleashed it recklessly, I'd become a mass murderer who killed countless people in one go.
Then, I watched his body tremble violently before going still.
He was dead.
His body lived, but his mind was gone.
Did I have to go that far? I wondered, but…… it was the right call.
What if someone innocent died while transporting him?
If I spared him half-heartedly and it led to needless sacrifices, I couldn't have forgiven myself.
I knew killing was wrong, but if I didn't kill him, he would have massacred countless others inevitably.
I'd seen his essence, so I knew what he would do.
His essence was ugly.
Perhaps uglier than any demon.
The moment our eyes met, I knew.
If I let him go like this, he'd vent the humiliation of being crushed by me through murder.
He had accumulated far too much karma, and it simply crushed him in the end.
That's how I decided to think of it.
Suddenly, I felt a bit scared of myself.
My calm rationality after killing someone made me realize I was no longer human.
Even for the worst villain, I'd expected some hesitation…… but there was none.
Truly, no emotion at all.
Like squashing a bug.
The world looked pathetically small through the eyes of this massive dragon.
I mustn't get used to this gaze.
The moment I did, I'd truly become something inhuman.
Even changed like this, I intended to live as a human. The world belonged to humans.
There was no guarantee I wouldn't turn out like that demon.
I had no intention of making humans kneel at my feet.
Humanity might even band together and kill me if they tried.
So, I planned to live as a human.
I didn't want to become a fugitive or be separated from my family.
My mouth tasted bitter. I relaxed my body.
The immense power coursing through me gathered back deep inside.
At the same time, my viewpoint lowered.
Back in human form, I felt empty.
……Ah, clothes.
They were all torn.
Even Jin-ha's specially made clothes couldn't withstand my dragon body's size.
My smartphone was probably gone too.
This was awkward.
For now, I covered myself as best I could with my massive wings and tail.
That should hide everything. Someone would come after hearing about the incident, and I could just ask for some clothes.
……This is mortifying.
Of course, no one would get weird ideas seeing me like this.
A dragon the size of a sports field had just appeared in the middle of campus—who would?
That's when something slithered over and clung to my body.
……Huh?
Looking down, it was the clothes Jin-ha made.
The shreds, torn into thousands of pieces, were reattaching to my body.
Soon enough, they reformed into my original everyday outfit.
……Even my smartphone was neatly tucked in the pocket—who knew when it got there.
It was miraculous. At this point, it was practically a divine garment.
As the clothes finished reforming, I saw someone approaching.
Who else? Agent Choi Jeong-ho.
"……That's him."
"The demon."
"What happened?"
"His body's alive, but his mind is dead. He's a vegetable now. Just think of him as dead."
"……"
"It couldn't be helped. If I'd left him be, countless people would have died. I could have subdued him, but even if I handed him over to you, he'd have broken free easily and escaped. And after that…… you know what would happen, right?"
"I understand. And…… thank you. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, which is the problem."
"……"
"Technically, I'm a murderer too. This won't go to trial or anything, will it?"
The agent shook his head at my words.
"No. Nothing like that will happen. What you did qualifies as summary execution—it was an emergency, and we came here intending to kill him ourselves…… Though we would've been the ones dying."
He gave a wry smile.
"Good to know."
"……You did well."
"By the way, the higher-ups won't just let this slide. They know exactly how much of a threat I am, don't they?"
"Yes. But I'll do my best to convey to command that you're not a danger. I have that much authority."
"That's a relief too. Anyway…… things are gonna be a headache for a while."
In the distance, I spotted people running toward me.
My little sister Seo-ah and Han-gyeol.