< 66. 21st Century Robin Hood (20) >
***
As the bomb exploded inside the skull, Changcheon’s snake-like body sagged. It was about to fall down due to gravity, but Jenkinson, who had flown in, caught it with magic.
Changcheon is dead.
Minjun was breathing heavily, hanging from a corpse floating in the air.
‘It worked!’
You did a great job today too.
A moment when a sense of accomplishment fills your body.
=Minjun?=
Someone is calling a strange name.
He felt no need to answer, for it was not his name.
=Minjun?=
But the moment the echo in my head was relayed once more.
“······!”
The prisoner succeeded in regaining consciousness from a long-lost memory.
“······this!”
He swept away the shadow covered in blood. The rippling darkness disappeared and his body was revealed.
It felt like I had woken up from a drunken stupor. But there was no blackout. The thoughts that had dominated my mind and the sensations that had flooded my body while I was consumed by old memories were still vivid. Even the thrilling moment of piercing the dragon’s brain.
Fragments of the past and the present meet and become confused.
At this point, Minjun couldn’t help but feel confused.
‘I… what on earth did I do to make a living before I was caught?’
I know that I am strangely knowledgeable about dragon ecology. I can tell when my next molt is just by looking at a single fallen scale. I thought it was strange that I could even memorize the anatomy of a python-type dragon, which is rare, but I just assumed there must be a reason for it.
But I never imagined that the reason was because in the old days, dragons were slaughtered and eaten.
Minjun thought of a legendary monster that even the oldest elder dragon in the entire dimension treated as a ghost story.
‘Eating Dragon Tribe?’
When I looked back at the background knowledge that I had taken for granted while I was lost in my memories, I realized that it was incredibly bizarre.
‘A market where the flesh and blood of dragons are sold at a price? Since the beginning of history, such a thing has happened···.’
Minjun’s expression hardened.
Yes, there hasn’t been one since the beginning of historical times.
Then what about the ancient times when there were no written records?
=Minjun!=
At the third call, Minjun finally raised his head. Jenkinson was looking at him with wavering eyes.
=······.=
The red dragon formed various words in his head and then erased them again.
This wasn’t the first time he had joined forces with him to fight.
However, this is the first time I’ve seen a dragon ‘captured’ in this way.
‘This is more like··· than··· an execution.’
After that, I tried hard to shake off the words that came to mind. It was also unavoidable that I felt uncomfortable associating them with each other.
‘This is the first time I’ve seen this guy make an expression like this.’
Also, Minjun’s face, revealed after the shadow disappeared… looked very ecstatic and happy.
Like someone who has just found his calling.
It was a liveliness that was hard to find in the faces of prisoners who worked reluctantly because they did not want to die.
=Are you okay?=
As I continued talking, the dull look in Minjun’s eyes returned. His dreamy expression also disappeared.
The face that had seemed the most vibrant and happy in the hundreds of years I had known him had returned to its usual indifferent state.
=This is the first time I’ve seen you make that kind of expression.=
“hmm?”
Minjun asks.
“What do you mean?”
=······No way.=
When the dragon avoided answering, the prisoner returned to his usual, stiff conversation. He pointed to the sky with his chin.
“Let’s say you deliver the finishing blow.”
Jenkins agreed with his words by reaching out and completely crushing Changcheon’s head.
Kwajik!
There is no need for the other dragons to know the details of how this dragon died. This is also for Minjun’s sake. There is no good in spreading the reputation of being a dragon slayer.
Minjun should be known only as someone who can assist the Elder Dragon. If the inmate starts to be controlled by other Elder Dragons, it will be difficult for him to operate in this world, so Minjun also wanted to be buried.
“Oh, and.”
Jenkinson’s leverage with Minjun is now severe. He is literally over-indebted. To make matters worse, this incident has increased his debt even more.
So Minjun could make his request confidently.
It was about the property of Changcheon.
Since he died without an heir, the inheritance would be distributed in some way, but of course, there was something else that Minjun was most concerned about right now.
“The one million talents stolen from Changcheon, can we keep their whereabouts unknown? Officially.”
Jenkinson asks, puzzled.
=Since that ghost has already absorbed it, it’s the same as not being able to find it, right?=
“I think I found a way to retrieve it?”
=?!=
How to separate talent from soul again.
Even Minjun didn’t know until this morning. That is, until he observed the test run of a certain complex magic circle.
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His demand was simple: He could take away the talents he had combined with Ha Eun-sung, and then he could swallow them himself without reporting them to the committee.
It was a risky move, but Goryong had no choice but to comply.
Because it was the demand of the great creditor.
“I won’t talk about the rest here, but first, let’s go to the Heavenly Rare…”
It was when they were about to move.
=No… No!=
A mad wave of spirit flows out from Changcheon’s corpse. Minjun frowns.
“I thought it might be like this, but···.”
=?=
Jenkins, who has no kinesthetic abilities, has yet to see or hear.
Swish!
The spirit body began to separate from the body of Changcheon, which was hanging like a rope with its head broken off.
She died and did not attain perfect enlightenment. If you think about it, Changcheon also suffered a rather horrible death. And the more painful and cruel a death is, the higher the probability of becoming a ghost.
=Ryuho! Ryuho!=
An imperfect soul like Ha Eun-seong who cannot maintain a complete self and is left with only runaway thoughts.
“No, rather, did it go well?”
Just like when we interrogated the ghost of the Red Star member, we might be able to find a link to the Cavite through that ghost.
Minjun, who had made up his mind like that, tried to control her with his necromancy, but it wasn’t easy. Even when dragons became ghosts, they still had powers superior to those of humans.
“This won’t do. I need to lock up the exorcist or whatever somewhere…”
But in the meantime, the ghost had completely left his body and began to move with only one purpose in mind.
=Ryuho!=
The freed spirit flies towards the ground.
The altitude was so high that there were no ghosts around to send to fetch her. It was only natural that people who climbed up here rarely died.
‘No, even if we summon a lot of them, we won’t be able to defeat even one Heavenly King. The best thing to do is to set up an exorcism circle.’
Jenkinson’s eyes widened when I told him the situation.
=I see! We can catch him and interrogate him.=
The massless spectre of the heavens flew away at a speed faster than an airplane, but there was no need to worry about its destination.
“Let’s teleport like this and go to the Heavenly Lair.”
***
Ha Eun-seong had no choice but to admit that his thoughts were too shallow this time too.
The elf, unable to resist his threats wearing the dragon skin, attempted to dismantle the exorcism circle, but soon discovered that it was under a protection that even the chief researcher himself was unaware of. It was Changcheon’s own hand.
“I can’t solve this!”
Then the ghost moved the dragon’s body and banged, bang! bang! to break the wall. If it didn’t work with his head, he would try to break it with his body.
Boom! Boom… Crack!
Then he stumbled and fell again. Ha Eun-seong rolled around on the floor and got up grumbling.
=Miss, what is it!=
“Huh? Huh?!”
A researcher from behind shouted in confusion.
“The barrier!”
=?!=
Only then did Ha Eun-seong realize why he had fallen. The barrier that had imprisoned Ryu Ho’s ghost had suddenly disappeared.
=Why now?=
The researcher shuddered.
“This must be because… the magician who created the barrier died!”
=What did you say?!=
I couldn’t believe it.
Changcheon is dead?
No matter how great that agent was, Ha Eun-seong honestly didn’t think his chances of winning were high. That’s why he tried to get rid of Ryu Ho with his own hands. Because he thought Chang-cheon would come back alive.
Ha Eun-seong feels a sense of emptiness.
=What? It was a waste of effort?=
It means that there was no need for him to take over the dragon’s body and put on a farce of staggering around.
Hurrr!
=Changcheon! Changcheon! Forgive me···. Please!=
Beyond the pierced exorcism, the ghost began to writhe madly. If it continued like this, it might fly away and disappear somewhere.
‘If that’s true, then there’s no reason for me to destroy that ghost…’
He is worried.
‘No, but shouldn’t we at least check? Is he really dead?’
There was no room for such thoughts to continue.
Of course, it is not for the purpose of proving death, but because the person mentioned in their conversation appeared in person.
=Ryuho!=
Whatever the intention, it was ultimately the most certain way to prove it.
=?!=
Ha Eun-seong felt his heart sink for the second time today.
The unpleasant sensation of being in the body of a human woman in the early morning, and now in the body of a three-meter tall reptile.
Suddenly, a giant ghost appeared through the rare wall where the exorcism had disappeared.
“Changcheon?!”
A bizarre scream burst out of the elf researcher’s mouth. Only then was Ha Eun-seong able to be sure.
‘He’s really dead!’
It was hard to believe even though I saw it with my own eyes.
‘What on earth does that agent do?’
A human really defeated a dragon!
So, Ha Eun-seong decided to stop what he was doing. Instead of entering the barrier, he observed the ghost of Changcheon.
The sight of the ghost that had just died was horrifying. The spirit that had recreated the state just before death was covered in every kind of scar imaginable. The flesh was torn, burst, cut, torn, burned… It was a sight that clearly revealed the malice directed at the heavens.
And it was ambiguous whether to call it the Hwa-ryong-jeom-jeong or the opposite, but the place where the dragon’s two eyes should have been was empty. With tears streaming down its cheeks, the spirit faced Ryu-ho with a spiritual sense rather than a visual one.
=Ryuho! Ryuho!=
At a much younger age, a ghost who had died long ago answered the call.
=Changcheon!=
Contrary to expectations, Ryu Ho did not run away. It was as if he knew that no matter where he disappeared to, the karma covering his body would not disappear.
And Changcheon acted according to the will left in his soul without even the ability to understand the meaning of his actions. Ha Eunseong’s expression distorted when he saw that sight.
‘That thing… will be incredibly hot!’
Since there is no talent in contact, they cannot hurt or destroy each other, but the spirit body can also feel mental pain.
Changcheon wrapped his spirit around the burning Ryuho like a snake coiling around its coils. Then, he repeated his name over and over again as if he would never let go again.
=Ryuho, Ryuho!=
Contrary to what many people might have guessed, it was not Changcheon’s will to accompany Liu Hu there when the disaster of Sacheon occurred.
Ryu Ho married a powerful old dragon, but because of the gap between them, he was often ridiculed. The sarcasm that Ryu Ho’s greatest achievement in life was seducing the old dragon with his youthful appearance and delicate body tormented him.
As their marriage continued, such feelings combined with the dragon’s characteristic sense of entitlement about his age, and he became impatient.
The request to follow the war of the dragons was due to the wish to become a strong dragon as soon as possible.
Despite Changcheon’s attempts to stop him, Ryuho persisted and eventually went with him to the dangerous battlefield. He felt that he could not miss this opportunity. The spectacle of dozens of ancient dragons fighting together would not be seen again for hundreds of years.
Just observing such fights is a great learning experience. It was very meaningful to see how they exploited each other’s weaknesses, what kind of magic they used, and how their magical power was utilized.
Although Changcheon was not pleased with her husband’s thoughts, she thought that she could protect him with her own abilities. After all, she would be watching from a distance from the front lines.
And as a result, the dragons who gathered to punish Ryuhodo, Changcheondo, and Sacheon’s Goryeo all misjudged.
The fight was not fought in a sensible manner that would have allowed the young dragon to be brought in.
The Goryeo dragon who had made Sichuan his territory had set a trap with the plan to exterminate all other Goryeo dragons in order to liberate the Chinese people.
The moment the nuclear warhead storage burst into flames and fused with magic to cover the land, the caster and several of the dragons caught up in it were killed. Those who survived were left with only their own lives to spare.
Unlike the foreign dragons who couldn’t see the scene and were talking nonsense, it was not a situation where Changcheon could save her husband even if she took action.
Of course, Ryu Ho did not survive.
=Changcheon! I was wrong! I···. It’s hot. It’s too hot. Please, save me!=
Goryong suffers as she is exposed to the intense heat her dead husband emits from his entire body.
But that didn’t lessen Ryuho’s suffering, as the dragon coiled around his soul and protected him like armor.
Ha Eun-seong muttered without realizing it.
=How could a woman who cherishes her husband’s soul so much… think of mercilessly destroying other people’s souls?=
As Ha Eun-seong was staring blankly at the two ghosts for a moment, a voice was heard from behind him.
“So you were here.”
=Huh?!=
He turns his head in confusion.
There was Minjun and the Red Dragon.
While Yong-i was looking at the couple ghosts with complicated eyes, Min-jun approached.
“What, why did you enter that body?”
=Ah··· That’s it.=
Ha Eun-seong hesitated and talked about his plan. He was not so bold as to reveal the fact that he had taken action in advance, thinking that Min-jun would definitely die.
Minjun, who had been looking at him like that for a while, said.
“Ryuho, you weren’t thinking of destroying that poor dragon soul, were you?”
=······.=
Ha Eun-seong had no way of knowing that this was also a violation of the Dragonic Code. It was fortunate that they came before it was put into action.
And above all···.
‘It must have taken a huge amount of talent to annihilate the dragon’s soul. It’s fortunate that you came quickly.’
Minjun was thinking from a more selfish perspective.
=Ah, I… Then I’ll come out of this body.=
At that moment, Ha Eun-seong did not notice that Lee Chae was passing by Min-jun’s eyes.
“Just wait a minute. If you come out like that, that dragon… will die.”
There was no lie in these words.
=Huh?!=
“You know I’m a warlock, right? I can see the life force in that body right now.”
=Yes···.=
“It seems like Changcheon kidnapped that dragon and sprinkled a lot of salt on it beforehand.”
=What is that?=
“I killed him before I cooked him properly. I made the connection between his spirit and flesh as weak as possible so that Ryuho could easily take it. He wouldn’t die if he was in the life support machine, but it would be difficult for his spirit to control his body. Has that spirit awakened now?”
Ha Eun-seong said after contemplating his inner self.
=No, there is no response.=
It was different from the previous cases where he had been possessed. He felt like there were two souls in one body, but this time the master’s soul did not express itself in any way.
“That dragon isn’t even from Earth. It was kidnapped from outer space. We barely managed to rescue it, but if it dies, the moral gentleman over there will be incredibly angry.”
There was no lie in these words.
“So, stay still for a moment and stay in that body until that dragon soul is fully restored.”
Ha Eun-seong asked hesitantly.
=Uh, how long?=
Minjun looked at the glass tube that Ha Eunseong had broken and the magic circle around it. He was thinking of modifying this equipment a little bit and using it to separate talents.
But while the ghost was moving in the dragon’s body, it fell over, hit something, and swung its tail around at will, so there was almost nothing it could do.
He said to Ha Eun-seong.
“Just wait a month.”
He said it would give him enough time to rebuild the magic circle.
=Well, then in the meantime, I···.=
Minjun said with a calm expression.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll be protecting you for a while. I’ll be providing much tighter security than that red dragon’s safe house, so you don’t have to worry about something like today happening again.”
Ha Eun-seong hesitated for a moment, but eventually had no choice but to nod.
There was a way to ignore everything and escape in spirit form, but I was afraid of what might happen if I did that.
The opponent was an agent who had even killed a dragon.
Of course, it was reasonable to assume that the Red Dragon that came along had a big role to play, but it didn’t change the fact that Minjun was leading all of this.
Minjun let out a sigh of relief as he looked at Ha Eunseong, who was convinced and making a promise.
‘It would be better for me to keep it until the talent is safely recovered. If possible… It should be in a ‘material’ frame for easy control. After extracting the currency, Ha Eun-seong and the dragon can separate and go their separate ways.’
I have already reached a telepathic agreement with Jenkinson. It was reasonable to postpone the return of the kidnapped dragon until after it had fully recovered.
Although his intention was to help a poor family, the thief who ended up stealing a million talents will be under Minjun’s protection for a while.
And in this situation where the owner of the stolen goods is dead, Minjun plans to intercept it.
If I had to give an excuse, there was a plausible one. After all, I couldn’t collect the commission fee while Changcheon was alive.
You should receive the money you deserve.
Minjun could roughly guess how much talent was left in Ha Eunseong’s soul. It had probably been used a few times and consumed, but the original capital was one million talents. No matter how much it was stolen, there would still be more than 950,000 talents left.
It was a sufficient amount of money for the commission that was not recovered.
< 66. 21st Century Robin Hood (20) > End
