A neatly cultivated and tidy garden.
In a small pavilion, two women sat facing each other with a snack table in the center.
“…Red Dragon, is that you?”
One of them, a woman with long, neatly styled blue hair, put down her teacup with a small sigh and spoke up.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb. Do you really think it’s just a coincidence that Do-ol is over there right now?”
“Who knows what that guy is thinking?”
“Red Dragon.”
At that calm questioning, the red-haired woman across from her frowned and lightly clicked her tongue.
Her reaction was practically one of agreement, and the other person, silently looking at her, took a deep breath and shook her head.
“Why is that? You know, right? This is not just for our Gonmudo but for the entire world. He will be a crucial key for that.”
“That’s exactly why. We can’t just proceed trusting someone unproven for such an important task. This is the minimum verification needed for that.”
“Verification? This is a directive from the Dragon God. You know that…”
BAM!
Her calm words were interrupted by the sound of the snack table crashing down.
A sudden silence filled the air.
The Red Dragon casually pushed aside the remnants of the table and opened her mouth calmly.
“Dragon God… right, the Dragon God. The one who didn’t bat an eye while countless of our kin died to maintain this crumbling balance, only to throw a few words our way like some benevolent deity now.”
“…That’s not all, right? The Dragon God has been looking after the ‘Children of the Dragons’ for a long time…”
“Ha! Children of the Dragon. What a laughable term. Rather than children, they’re sacrifices. Or does the Dragon God have a hobby of eating her own children? Truly an impressive figure.”
“Sarim!”
“Enough. Don’t call me by that name. I’m the Red Dragon now. You’re the Blue Dragon.”
At her firm words, the woman with blue hair, the Blue Dragon, gently closed her eyes.
Representing each clan, that name was only allowed for the representatives of those clans.
Now, with everyone who was above them dead, it had also become the name that they inherited.
“…Yeah, Red Dragon. Anyway, we can’t let this conflict with him escalate any further. I’ve already sent people to try and mediate the fighting.”
“I don’t care. There’s no point in dragging out the ruckus. Well, still, Do-ol should be decent enough; just standing up to that guy means something at least…?”
The Red Dragon paused mid-sentence.
At the unnatural silence, the Blue Dragon opened her eyes and tilted her head.
“Red Dragon?”
“…”
There was no response to her question.
In her gaze, which seemed to be looking somewhere distant, there was an inexplicable confusion.
Noticing where she was looking, the Blue Dragon quickly shifted her focus elsewhere.
To the entrance of the island where a scene of commotion was likely unfolding.
To the spot where the guest who had been invited and Do-ol, the headache of the realm, were.
‘…What is that?’
The first thing she noticed was a broad back covered in dense muscles.
Instantly thinking that the focus of her vision was mistakenly zoomed in, she adjusted it without another thought and then realized…
That wasn’t the real issue.
After all, the surrounding scenery looked exactly as she initially thought.
Except for one person.
The owner of that enormous back that filled her field of vision.
“What the heck is that…?”
At that moment, the Red Dragon’s exasperated voice brushed past her ears.
But the scene before her left her speechless, and she could not react to that statement.
To be precise, it wasn’t just that one person who was enormous.
Facing him, Do-ol also had a sizable physique, which the Blue Dragon was familiar with.
However, the layout was significantly different from what she had initially expected.
CRASH—!
What she saw there was…
An adult male of large stature unhesitatingly slapping a fuzzy humanoid that barely reached his chest.
‘No, upon closer inspection, it isn’t entirely one-sided.’
But the difference in size was so drastic that Do-ol’s resistance merely looked pitiful.
It was pure violence that visually captivated and overwhelmed!
Lost in staring, the Blue Dragon muttered unconsciously.
“…I’ll need to send more children if I want to break that up.”
“Umm…”
Of course, no one disagreed.
*
“GRAAAH—! I’ll kill you!”
“Stop! That’s enough!”
“O-oi, back off! Grab him!”
“Set up barriers!”
Sudden intruders intensified the conflict before it could escalate further.
And while the frenzied Do-ol was forcibly calming down in that chaotic situation, Harley quietly stepped back, gradually shrinking his size to his original form.
‘Well, thinking about it, it’s surprising it took this long for them to arrive.’
This was their stronghold, and Harley was the guest.
Ideally, there shouldn’t have been a fight to begin with.
‘Either this was a mishap due to Do-ol’s sudden actions that they couldn’t frame quickly, or they’re backing this up secretly.’
Whatever their intent, he had no complaints.
Thanks to the other side initiating the fight first—
GULP—!
Harley also had a satisfactory ‘bite’ to enjoy.
‘It was definitely a good call to increase my size.’
Now back to his original size, he rubbed his now satisfied belly and nodded happily.
In fact, Do-ol’s current rampage was also due to that.
The size difference was so stark that just one bite on the shoulder area had almost torn his thick arm apart.
Thanks to his superb regeneration as a body-type monster, his arm would recover soon, but Harley’s Devour gobbles up all that contains mystic power.
The recovery process likely drained quite a bit of his energy.
‘Not that it’s my concern. When monsters tussle like that, they might bite each other. Haha!’
Actually, there was no guarantee that it would end here.
The most straightforward and efficient method would be to take their magical essence known as inner dan, but since that wasn’t feasible right now, collecting new genes was enough.
As he casually patted his belly, he began to observe the ‘ultimate evolving lifeform’ that had finally begun to respond.
‘Interesting. The monsters of Ganghwan Realm are indeed a type I’ve never encountered before. They seem similar to other races yet also appear as monsters. They somewhat feel like spirits too, perhaps…’
Unlike monsters that developed to maximize their bio-energy, this one had a distinct energy circulation pathway central to them.
This was likely the foundation of their martial arts system replacing human blood vessels.
‘This could make completing the Tyrant of Madness that much faster.’
He felt his bodily cells evolving into a form more suited for energy circulation and twisted his mouth into a grin.
After all, the exchange of various civilizations and ecosystems is the true shortcut to evolution, isn’t it?
As he smiled satisfactorily, clenching and unclenching his fists…
“Excuse me, Lord Tyrant? Are you hurt in any way?”
Earlier, while keeping a distance during the brawl, Cheong Gwan approached cautiously.
“Of course not! On the contrary, I felt great because I broke a good sweat! Hahaha!”
“Phew, that’s a relief. So, about that…”
He sighed in relief at Harley’s nonchalant attitude and immediately broached the main topic.
Staying with this man any longer felt like a death wish.
“If it’s alright, can I take you to see the Blue Dragon immediately? She wishes to formally apologize regarding this incident.”
That message sent from above was a perfect excuse.
He could quickly wrap up the task and escape from the eye of this storm.
*
The Ganghwan Realm, situated far removed from the continents ruled by humans.
Goldmudo there was a group where various monsters gathered.
‘In reality, the term monster encompasses all non-human races.’
It included not just kumiho and dokkaebi, but also mythological beasts like kirin and haetae.
And at the pinnacle of all these monsters stood the Dragon.
“…Something feels off.”
The red-haired woman with a frown, now looking at Harley, was one of them.
After hearing the Blue Dragon’s apology for the commotion they had caused in the place they were brought to, the Red Dragon, boldly seated beside her, glared sharply at Harley with her red reptilian eyes.
It was as if she were trying to pierce through his very being.
Then—
“You’re a Dragon Slayer, aren’t you?”
The moment they met, her uniquely nuanced gaze slowly turned into a clear hostility.
Along with a sense of disappointment for some reason.
“…Red Dragon.”
“I know, Blue Dragon. But this is a different issue, isn’t it?”
“But he…”
“Sure, I acknowledge his strength, but that’s it. It’s better to be a normal human who can’t even enter the Dragon God Shrine; what could he possibly do? It’s a fundamentally impossible condition from the start!”
“Haa—.”
“Unbelievable. I had some hope. I thought at least the Dragon God had a bit of conscience! But the key turns out to be a monster that ate a dragon and stole its shell? Are we being made fun of?”
The blue-haired woman, the Blue Dragon, could not bring herself to reply, closing her eyes with a sigh, while the Red Dragon continued to vent her fierce anger.
As if feeling betrayed by something.
The energy in the surrounding area shifted, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere.
‘What’s with them?’
Of course, Harley didn’t care about such things at all.
It looked like there was some complex history involved, but with so much going on in his own mind, why would he care about others’ issues?
“Hmph!”
With a snort and arms crossed, he glanced at them with a sullen expression.
“Wow, save your chatter for when you two are alone. What’s with calling a busy guest and doing this?”
“What…?”
As the Red Dragon, who had been venting her anger just moments ago, turned to him with a twisted expression, Harley continued calmly without flinching.
“I’ve got other things to do, so do you think I came all the way here for kicks? Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?”
“Ha!”
In response to his bold demand, both the Red Dragon and the Blue Dragon looked at him in disbelief.
What could give him the confidence to act this way?
However, since trouble was always welcome, Harley held his head high, meeting their gaze.
“…Sorry, but the conversation ends here. It’s true we initiated this call, so you’re allowed to stay for a few days. Enjoy the sights and leave at your leisure. I’ll even prepare a gift for you. But that’s it.”
As Harley stared calmly at them, the Red Dragon spoke more gently.
Beside her, the Blue Dragon, who had let her shoulders droop in disappointment, also did not add anything further.
Now facing him directly, it seemed her feelings were no different from those of the Red Dragon.
“…”
Their ambiguous reaction left Harley frowning as he scratched the back of his head, trying to sort through his thoughts.
‘From what I understood, it seems the issue is that I consumed the dragon and forcibly took on that role, huh?’
Well, it was something that the Great Mage from Auterica recognized at a glance.
However, up until now, pretending to be a dragon had caused no problems; but here, something felt different.
‘Oh, I’ve never actually faced a real dragon during my time in Auterica, now that I think about it.’
The only dragon he knew, the Elder Dragon, was holed up in a lair, only observing the outside world through magic.
The other dragons still remaining likely shared a similar situation.
What struck him as surprising was that such roles and issues could apply even across different dimensions.
After all, weren’t dragons and eastern dragons different races?
‘No, that’s not it. Humans too, there are so many similar races across dimensions.’
Could it be that these gods share ingredients when creating their creations, leading to one or two generic elements popping up here and there?
Assuming there is some correlation between dragons and eastern dragons wouldn’t be that strange either.
‘…Should I just overturn everything?’
By this point, he was starting to grow tired of it all.
Whatever they wanted, he just came here to collect information.
All this cooperation he was providing was merely to smoothly complete his objectives; if he enforced a strong response, claiming what he wanted wouldn’t be impossible.
‘Right. I’ve been trying my best to restore the Ganghwan Realm, and I shouldn’t have to keep tiptoeing around. I’ll just do what I do…’
As that extreme thought crossed his mind, suddenly—
Another idea flashed through.
‘Wait a minute, the core issue is that Harley consuming the dragon is a problem, right?’
They had something they wanted from him.
But Harley failed to meet that condition.
So, if someone could meet those conditions… No, surpass them, a talent that perfectly aligns with their preferences could step in to take over?
‘There’s no loss to me. Just one more time.’
The decision didn’t take long.
*
“Ha?”
The Red Dragon’s jaw dropped as she stared blankly.
“Ah…”
The Blue Dragon was equally dazed.
Their gazes locked onto one spot.
In front of Harley, who was nodding blissfully with his arms crossed.
“Ehehe—.”
Feeling shy under the concentrated attention, a little golden-haired girl fidgeted with a finger through her hair and flashed a harmless smile.
““…Golden Dragon?””
It was the moment when Horus, the young gold dragon from Auterica, had early arrived in the Ganghwan Realm.
