Chapter 62 - Even I Can't Do That

The moment Minjun got home, he collapsed onto his bed, utterly exhausted. His clothes were covered in dirt and even blood, hardly fit to lie down in, but he was in no state to care. He had tried to act as though he was fine in front of Sia and Rokan, though he was far from it. All the strength had drained from his body. His head spun, and pain tingled through him in one place after another. The fact that he still felt this bad after drinking an elixir—a potion with the best healing effects available—showed just how dangerous his condition had been.

“I wonder if Sia's all right...”

Just as Sia was worried about him, Minjun couldn't help worrying about her. He hadn't heard a detailed explanation of her rampages, but she had said the pain she felt during one continued even after it stopped. He considered calling her, but if she had fallen asleep, he would only interrupt her recovery. So he decided to wait. Rokan would know better than anyone how Sia was doing; Minjun wouldn't contact them until Rokan contacted him first.

Then again...

'I managed to use dragon speech again.'

He had escaped danger in circumstances much like those in which he'd first used it, and by much the same process. Was it mere coincidence, or an inevitable result born of the “will” that underlay dragon speech? There was a great deal to think about, but Minjun tried to sleep first. His body and mind were both too exhausted to think about anything else.

Three hours after Minjun fell asleep, he sensed someone nearby and woke.

“... Rokan?”

“Yes. Are you feeling any better?” Rokan asked.

If Rokan was here, Sia had probably made it through the worst of it.

“I think I'll be fine after some rest.”

“I'm sorry. I only stopped by to check on you, but it seems I've woken you.”

“Not at all. Thank you for looking in on me. Oh, how is Sia?”

Startled awake, Minjun no longer felt sleepy. He turned on the light so they could talk for a while. Rokan settled on the floor and answered him slowly.

“She's better than she was at first. The pain has eased, too. If she rests properly for about a week, I don't think there'll be any serious problems.”

“... That's a relief. When Sia first started to lose control—”

Minjun stopped and lowered his head, as though he couldn't bear to recall it.

“I'm sorry to bring up such an unpleasant memory, but could you tell me what happened? If it's too difficult, you can tell me later.” Rokan spoke gently, doing his best not to pressure him.

“No. I'll tell you now.”

After drinking a glass of water, Minjun told Rokan what had happened.

Rokan had suspected some of it, but hearing the full account made it clear that Minjun's survival under such terrible conditions was a miracle in itself. Minjun was an ordinary human who had only recently become a B-rank hunter. Not only had he survived Sia's rampage, which even dragons struggled to contain, he had stopped it. How had he pulled off such a miracle in a situation where his death would have been no surprise?

“Maybe it's because Sia gritted her teeth and held on. She must have been fighting desperately to keep from hurting me.”

“Yes, that was likely part of it. Even so, your coming back alive is nothing short of a miracle. Thank you again—for coming back safely, and for easing Shasha's pain.”

Rokan rarely bowed his head to anyone, yet he bowed in gratitude to Minjun, who was far below him in standing.

“Rokan, you don't have to...”

“No. When someone helps you, it's only right to thank them.”

Minjun was deeply uncomfortable having Rokan bow to him, but in the end, he accepted his thanks.

Then Rokan asked, “By the way, Minjun, how on earth did you stop Shasha's rampage?”

“What?” Minjun tilted his head. Hadn't he just told Rokan that he'd stopped it with dragon speech?

“Couldn't I just... stop it with dragon speech?”

Sia hadn't explained her rampages in detail, so Minjun had thought stopping one wasn't entirely beyond a dragon's power. He'd assumed that if Rokan had been there, he could have brought it under control much sooner.

“No. Even I can't stop Shasha's rampages.”

“... What?” Minjun's voice rose before he realized it.

“... Then how did you stop Sia's rampages before?”

“We couldn't. We had no choice but to hold out until they ended. The most we could do was nullify her uncontrolled spells... or put up a barrier to keep Shasha's magic from escaping the area.”

As the memories returned, Rokan sighed, his expression bitter. Minjun stared at him, stunned by the revelation.

Then if the other dragons hadn't been stopping Sia's rampages all this time, had she suffered through that terrible pain for a full twenty-four hours each time?

“... My poor Sia. How much must she have suffered...?”

His eyes reddened and filled with tears. He had never felt the pain she endured almost like an annual ordeal, but to think she had suffered for so long through something so terrible that nothing could stop it.

“That's why I asked. You're the only one who has ever stopped Shasha's rampage, and I hoped to find a clue. Perhaps we might discover a way to stop them completely, rather than just temporarily.”

“I wish I could help Sia... but I really don't know how I did it.”

As with the first time he'd used dragon speech, he had simply tried to speak it with all the desperation he felt, and it had worked. That was all.

Rokan nodded as though he'd expected that answer. “If anything comes to you later, tell me.”

He began preparing to leave. Minjun didn't seem to be in a condition that warranted serious concern, and Rokan had learned everything he needed to know about what had happened.

“Rokan.”

“What is it?”

“I'll do everything I can to make sure nothing like today happens again.”

After what he'd been through, and after hearing Rokan's account, Minjun felt that his dragon speech was distinctly different from other dragons'. He didn't know exactly what the difference was, but there had to be one. Otherwise, how could he have stopped Sia's rampage, even temporarily, when they couldn't? He had no idea yet how to use that difference, or what direction to take to grow stronger. But of one thing he was certain: if he could someday use dragon speech freely, he would be able to prevent another tragedy like today's before it happened.

“I'll do some research, too,” Rokan said. “I'll see how I can help you reach your goal sooner.”

* * *

Deep in the mountains, in a secluded dragon's lair, two dragons chatted over tea.

“I can still vividly remember how I felt then. It was more thrilling than any game of mine has ever been.”

“Agreed. I could see why humans can't stop watching those outrageous soap operas.”

The handsome, white-haired man sipping his tea at leisure was Evan, a white dragon who had vehemently condemned Sia's choice at a recent gathering of dragons settled on Earth. Across from him sat Yuria, a black dragon with dark skin, black hair, and amber eyes. The two were companions from the same dimension, which they had left for modern-day Earth. Now they were discussing what had happened at the gathering.

Yuria wasn't as fiercely opposed as Evan, but she, too, disapproved of Sia's intention to make the Pact of Eternity with a human.

“Even if she was human in a past life, that doesn't justify making the Pact of Eternity with one.”

“A past life is a past life. This life is this life. I can't understand why she's so obsessed with a bond from a previous life.”

“Or she might be lying. Perhaps she thought claiming she'd been human before would sway everyone.”

“If so, she's stupid enough to be called a disgrace to dragons.”

They snickered over their insults, but the mood soon turned serious.

“We can't just watch one of our own go down the wrong path. Don't you agree, Yuria?”

“If there's anything we can do before that disaster happens, we ought to roll up our sleeves.”

“The question is how.”

“It's not as if we can just kill that human.”

If killing Minjun would have solved the problem, they would have done it long ago. To them, killing a novice hunter who had only just reached B-rank would be effortless. But dealing with the consequences would be another matter. They would make outright enemies of the dragons who disagreed with them, and there was no telling how Rokan and Sia might retaliate. They wanted to avoid that.

“... But even if we can't kill him... couldn't we toy with that human a little?”

Yuria smiled slyly, and Evan replied, “What are you thinking this time?”

“That I should serve justice to dragon society by breaking up a poor, unsuspecting human and a foolish dragon ruled by her perverse desires?”

“I'd like that too, but we'd better stay out of it for now.”

Evan considered it safer to slowly shape public opinion until the couple split apart. Yuria, however, had a different idea.

“Why not just stir things up a bit without getting caught?”

“Yuria, what exactly are you planning?”

“Hmm. I was thinking I might seduce that human boy.”

“I've thought it before, but you really aren't normal.”

“Surely I'm more normal than a member of the red clan who fell in love with a human?”

Evan let out an incredulous laugh. Yuria licked her lips like a predator eyeing its prey.

“I have to ask, Yuria. You're not in love with that human yourself, are you?”

“Don't be ridiculous. I've just found a more interesting toy than the ones I usually play with.”

By human standards, Yuria lacked nothing in looks, ability, or wealth. Most human men would probably surrender both body and heart to her advances.

Her plan was simple: seduce Minjun until he developed feelings for her, then lead him into cheating. Once he cheated on Sia, she would gather proof and discreetly let Sia find out. That way, Yuria could have her fun and drive apart the arrogant human and dragon who intended to step together into forbidden territory.

“Be careful the old fossils don't catch you.”

“Don't worry. Isn't the rule that no one interferes with what happens during a game, so long as it isn't a matter concerning the clan?”

She would subtly drive a wedge between Minjun and Sia without giving the other dragons grounds to criticize her. What expression would that red dragon wear when she saw her human lover fall for Yuria?

Imagining the scene however she pleased, Yuria the black dragon smiled slyly.