Seoul Dragon - Chapter 31

As time passed and Seohyun still hadn't arrived, Hangyeol sent him a message on his smartphone.

But he still didn't come. This was right before class was about to begin.

'What is he doing? Skipping? No, he's not the type to do that.'

Just as he was thinking this.

BOOM!

"Aaaah!"

"W-what's that...!?"

"What's happening?"

"I don't know! Just, suddenly that sound...!"

With the sudden thunderous noise, the students who were sitting in their seats ready for the lecture turned their attention outside.

Hangyeol had a premonition that something had happened.

The sudden noise. People's screams.

Something ominous seemed to have occurred.

Hangyeol left the lecture hall. Actually, other students were doing the same.

Hangyeol ran. To find out what was happening.

It must be related to Seohyun. That diligent person wouldn't be late for class.

A person who was pathologically obsessed with classes, not coming to class? Something must have happened.

And judging by the thunderous noise and screams, it must be related to a mutant.

Once outside, he headed toward the source of the commotion.

Not far from the Humanities College, he saw a figure with a goat's head.

And there was Seohyun, confronting it.

They seemed to be saying something to each other, but Hangyeol couldn't hear what they were saying.

The goat-headed figure seemed enraged.

It suddenly raised black flames and created a terrifying fireball. If an ordinary person were hit by that, they would instantly be reduced to ashes.

Hangyeol felt cold sweat dripping.

'...Can he beat that?'

He knew that the breath Seohyun had shown previously was no joke.

But the black-flamed fireball that the goat-headed figure was creating seemed no joke either.

Sweat began to pour down due to the heat emanating from the black flames.

Hangyeol felt he should leave this place. He had no desire to get caught up and die for nothing.

Seohyun's confrontation must mean he has confidence in himself.

Just as he was about to leave with that thought.

He saw Seohyun sighing and extending his palm, absorbing all the black flames.

'...I worried for nothing.'

With a strange sense of relief, he again moved to flee. But then...

WOOOONG-!

Suddenly, the surroundings vibrated, and the ground shook. Then, Seohyun's body was enveloped in light. The sphere of light began to grow larger, and the shockwave it produced shook the surroundings.

"What is that now...?"

Stopping his movement, Hangyeol looked at Seohyun. The light that started from Seohyun's body was growing to a tremendous size.

Like a tall building.

And at the moment the light disappeared, he witnessed it.

"...It's a dragon."

An incredibly massive and imposing dragon covered in black scales.

A dragon that emitted such a massive presence that just looking at it made one's knees weak and legs give out, with no resemblance to Seohyun's usual appearance.

The demon looked at the being before him.

When he first heard about the appearance of a dragon-type mutant, he thought he could easily defeat the dragon.

After all, he was a demon. Moreover, the powers he could wield were immense.

He could control the flames of hell, and when wielded, neither mutants nor anything else could withstand them.

The first people he killed after becoming a demon were his parents.

Surprisingly, the demon's parents were good people. They were just not affluent.

The demon resented this and blamed his parents for what he had become.

He didn't become particularly malevolent when he mutated. Because his nature was fundamentally flawed to begin with.

He believed his parents ruined his life by giving birth to him, so he killed them.

As his parents were dying, they apologized to him.

The demon didn't care about such things.

Because now he had obtained the power to control the world as he pleased.

After killing his parents, he killed his boss and colleagues at his company.

He was generally dissatisfied and distorted other people's words.

He took advice as sarcasm, sincere concern as unnecessary interference, and discipline as condescension.

The boss who tried to help him as much as possible and took care of him as a junior was reduced to ashes by the demon's hand.

The same went for his colleagues.

Those rare good people died as targets of his twisted inferiority complex, simply by being associated with the demon.

In this way, the demon killed quite a lot of people after his mutation.

Too many to count on ten fingers. Authorities tried to stop him, but they couldn't.

Even mutants who came forth to capture him were reduced to ashes by his hand.

So he thought the dragon would be no different.

He believed he could capture and use it as his slave.

The face was quite nice, so it would be good to play with, and it seemed to have many talents.

However... the moment the demon's eyes took in the massive dragon's form, he felt that something had gone terribly wrong.

It wasn't just the size that made him feel intimidated.

A terrifying presence.

Just looking at it made him feel like he should bury his head in the ground, kneel, and bow down.

The pressure was so intense that he couldn't bear it in his right mind. He felt his entire body trembling like an aspen leaf.

At the same time, he was certain.

This was not simply something you'd call a dragon.

It was something beyond that, something he couldn't dare to define.

In that moment, the demon felt his eyes meet the dragon's.

The moment he met the dragon's eyes, he couldn't help but bury his head.

Though no voice was heard, his mind, his soul, was whispering to bow down to the being in front of him.

If he didn't, he would die.

That's the feeling he had.

Fear pervaded his body. He felt as if he had gone against a being that shouldn't be opposed.

Meeting its gaze, all he felt was one thing: death.

The pressure he felt was growing.

Dragon fear.

A pressure that would normally crush to death all living beings within a radius of hundreds of meters was concentrated solely on the demon.

The demon thought he might be able to resist to some extent, but even with his eyes closed, he couldn't help but feel the dragon's gaze.

In that massive gaze, he was not a demon but merely an insect.

His mind, being crushed, dying.

That was his last thought.

I concentrated my fear on the demon. If I were to spread this indiscriminately, I would instantly become a mass murderer who killed countless people.

And I saw his body trembling and then stopping.

He was dead.

The body was alive, but the mind was dead.

I wonder if I had to go this far, but... this was the right thing to do.

What if, while he was being escorted, some innocent person were to die?

If I were to forgive him halfheartedly, and innocent sacrifices were to occur because of that, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

I know that murder should not be committed, but if I didn't kill him, he inevitably would have massacred many people.

I saw his essence, what he would do.

His essence was hideous.

Perhaps, even more so than a demon.

The moment our eyes met, I could tell.

If I were to let him go like this, he would resolve the humiliation of being trampled by me by killing someone.

He had accumulated too much bad karma, and he died crushed by that karma.

That's what I decided to think.

Suddenly, I became a bit afraid of myself.

The calm rationality despite having killed someone makes me realize that I've become a non-human entity.

Even for the most heinous villain, I thought I would feel at least a moment of hesitation... but there was none.

Truly, there was no emotion.

As if squashing a bug.

The surroundings viewed through the giant dragon's eyes were so small.

I felt that I shouldn't get used to this perspective.

The moment I get used to this perspective, I would truly become a non-human entity.

Despite this transformation, I intended to live as a human. Because the world belongs to humans.

There was no guarantee that I wouldn't change like that demon.

I don't think I would make humans kneel at my feet.

Perhaps, if humanity were to mobilize its power, they might be able to capture and kill me.

So, I intended to live as a human.

I didn't want to become a fugitive, nor did I want to distance myself from my family.

I had a bad taste in my mouth. I released the power from my body.

The overwhelming power that coursed through my entire body felt like it was gathering back deep within me.

At the same time, my perspective lowered.

Returning to human form, I felt the emptiness of my body.

...Ah, clothes.

All my clothes were torn.

Even Jin-ha's clothes couldn't handle the dragon's massive body.

My smartphone would have disappeared somewhere too.

This is a bit awkward.

For now, I covered my body as much as possible with my giant wings and tail.

This should be enough to hide. Then, someone will come to report the incident, and I can just ask them to bring me a set of clothes.

...This is incredibly embarrassing.

Of course, no one would have strange thoughts looking at me like this.

Who would, after a dragon as big as a playing field was just in the middle of the university?

It was then.

Something wriggled and attached itself to my body.

...Huh?

When I checked to see what it was, it was the clothes Jin-ha had made.

The clothes that should have been torn into thousands of pieces were gradually attaching to my body.

And not long after, they returned to their original, intact casual wear.

...Even my smartphone, which I don't know when it was collected, was safely tucked in the pocket of my clothes.

It was miraculous. These clothes were close to having divine powers.

Just as the shape of the clothes was completing, I saw someone approaching me.

Who else could it be?

Agent Choi Jeongho.

"...This is."

"That's the demon."

"What happened to him?"

"His body is alive, but his mind is dead. He's become an idiot. Just... think of him as dead."

"..."

"It couldn't be helped. If I had left him alone, many people would have died. I could have subdued him, but even if I did and handed him over to you, he would have easily broken free and escaped. And what would come next... you know well, right?"

"I understand. And... thank you. By the way, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, which is why I'm not fine."

"..."

"After all, I'm no different from a murderer. Shouldn't this go to trial?"

Agent Jeongho shook his head at my words.

"No. That won't happen. In a situation like just now, immediate execution was authorized. It was an emergency, and we came here with the intention of killing him too... although if anyone died, it would have been us."

With that, the agent smiled bitterly.

"Then that's a relief."

"...You've done well."

"By the way, I don't think the higher-ups will just let this be. They're probably aware of how much of a threat I could be."

"Yes. But I'll do my best to convey to my superiors that you're not a dangerous individual. I have that much authority."

"That's also a relief. Anyway... it's going to be troublesome for a while."

I spotted people running towards me from a distance.

It was my sister Seoa and Hangyeol.