Chapter 172: Lijamoun
Lijamoun.
The enormous dragon from the Western Lands had a twisted nature.
Though she was a Red Dragon and a Fire Dragon, her heart was colder than ice.
Her body was hot, but her heart was cold, giving her an inherently dual personality.
It wasn’t like this from the beginning.
She used to be a small lizard who loved to chatter.
A young lizard who would anxiously sleep nestled in her family’s warmth, worried whether the fire on her tail would go out.
Her heart was undeniably warm back then.
But over time, it gradually changed.
It was the memory of losing something precious.
When her parents were killed by a Thunderbird, the flames in her heart extinguished.
While fleeing with her younger sibling, she encountered an Ice Dragon.
From that moment, her heart froze solid.
She lost precious things one after another.
Now, she was no longer bound by memories of the past.
Instead of mourning what she had lost, she yearned to fill the void with something new.
Blazing flames and glittering treasures.
The Red Dragon began to obsess over them fanatically.
She needed to make her body burn hotter.
She needed to gather even more dazzling treasures.
Only then could she replace what she had lost and fill herself once more.
Only then could she thaw her frozen heart.
...
But there was something more important than filling herself.
It was ensuring that nothing of hers was ever taken away again.
Parents separated from her by the Thunderbird’s attack.
A younger sibling frozen to death by the Ice Dragon’s cold.
She could not bear to lose anything precious ever again.
That was her vow.
Later, in the volcano she returned to, she met someone precious.
Although this one didn’t resemble her younger sibling, their behavior was similar.
This lizard, too, liked burrowing into the Red Dragon’s embrace.
The Red Dragon vowed never to let anyone take this lizard from her.
And then.
Another cold wind swept in.
The same piercing cold that had taken her sibling.
The Red Dragon followed through on her vow.
Even if she had to use extreme methods, she would protect what was hers.
The Red Dragon stroked her chest.
“I didn’t expect it to be like this.”
She had been pierced through her ruby scales in her dragon form.
Though the wound was invisible now that she had reverted to her human form, it was undoubtedly a grave injury.
Changing back during battle suggested she could no longer sustain her dragon form.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Even in human form, the Red Dragon was powerful enough to overwhelm Baekrang.
She still had enough strength to keep fighting.
Even if her body was breaking, she had to keep moving.
Though my attack had landed successfully, the Red Dragon’s blow had also struck me.
It was an exchange of life-risking strikes, leaving both sides gravely injured.
From an external perspective, I probably looked worse off.
For some reason, her wounds weren’t visible after she reverted to human form.
Now that her momentum had faltered slightly, I had to finish this.
Just as I was preparing a follow-up attack, she spoke.
“…I lost.”
She raised both hands.
Acknowledging her defeat.
What was she doing?
Was she hiding some other technique?
If she stalled for time like this, would her strength suddenly recover?
…No, there couldn’t be such a conveniently powerful technique.
“Do you think I’d lie to you?”
Then why was she doing this?
It was clear she still had strength remaining.
Yet, the Red Dragon withdrew her momentum.
“I’ve made my declaration; I can’t take it back now.”
As if she truly intended to admit defeat.
“The skirmish just now was my complete loss. My, I never imagined you were capable of such an attack.”
Earlier, she had said we would settle it in one exchange.
Was she seriously saying the outcome was decided by that last strike?
Even though we both still had strength to fight?
The Red Dragon spoke as though relieved.
I was filled with a whirlwind of thoughts.
But I decided it wouldn’t hurt to listen to her for a moment.
After all, it would give me a brief chance to recover my strength.
The Red Dragon’s golden eyes gazed at me for a long time.
I couldn’t discern the emotion reflected in them.
“I thought I could embrace you,” she said.
Her words carried an inexplicable sadness.
“But you were the one who embraced me.”
She murmured something incomprehensible.
What did she mean by “embraced”?
We had done nothing but fight fiercely to kill each other.
“Long ago, I swore I would never let anyone take what’s mine again,” she said.
Thud.
The Red Dragon sat down on a protruding rock nearby.
Her posture was entirely defenseless, as if she truly had no intention of fighting anymore.
“That unbearably cold frost stole everything from me.”
Fwoosh.
A small flame flickered at her fingertips.
It wasn’t a flame meant for combat.
It took the shape of a small lizard.
Crack.
When the Red Dragon clenched her fist, the flames illuminating the surroundings extinguished.
"Do you remember when I told you before that there was something even my flames couldn’t melt?"
The Red Dragon's flames could be described as the embodiment of fire itself.
They were powerful enough to melt the dragon scales I had evolved as a Paryong.
"Do you know what that thing is?"
The fur of the Firelight Beast.
But that’s not the answer she was looking for.
Even if one wrapped themselves in the Firelight Beast's fur, it couldn’t prevent the insides from burning.
"My heart."
…Her heart?
The heart of the Red Dragon, no less?
"It was frozen solid, unable to melt no matter what I did."
Without waiting for my answer, the Red Dragon continued speaking.
"I thought that if I kept raising my flames, or if I submerged my body in lava, I might be able to melt it."
The Red Dragon looked up at the sky.
"And then the rain came."
Whoosh...
A gentle drizzle began to cool the heat of the volcano.
"And the flowers bloomed."
The Red Dragon looked at the ground.
Nameless flowers filled the cracked earth.
"Naturally changing seasons melted my heart."
The Red Dragon's gaze turned to my face.
"What I needed wasn’t the heat of a volcano, but the warmth of spring."
She continued in a calm voice.
"I just said it as a joke, not even knowing if something like a true dragon really exists. Yet, here we are."
The corners of the Red Dragon's mouth lifted into a smile.
"So, what I’m trying to say is…."
Was that the true face of the Red Dragon?
She showed a bright smile, so different from what I had seen until now.
"Thank you."
….
Was she trying to move on naturally like this?
I couldn’t forgive the Red Dragon.
I might overlook the torture she put me through.
That was something I could suppress and endure alone.
But I couldn’t forgive her for hurting Baekrang.
To mercilessly torment someone far weaker than herself.
Especially when she clearly knew he was connected to me.
Even if she acted kind now, I couldn’t let it slide.
"And I have one request."
Whoosh.
The flames rose again.
What was created this time was a chain made of the same material that had once wrapped around me.
I could feel the extreme, condensed heat radiating from it.
A red chain coiled around her neck.
It looked as though just a small tug would tighten it around her throat.
The Red Dragon extended the end of the chain to me.
"Will you take my core?"
…What?
"I want to give a reward to my little one, but the gold scattered here is useless."
The Red Dragon glanced down at a half-destroyed golden statue.
"Bringing out the Purple Bamboo Elixir would be no different from asking you to let me go."
I couldn’t just let her leave.
As she said, she might run away.
Or worse, she could attack me when I let my guard down.
…So her solution was for me to kill her?
She was saying such things in a calm voice, as though it were nothing.
"For a brief moment, I felt warmth, and that’s enough for me."
The Red Dragon's core.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted.
It would surpass even the cores of the Oduza or the Human-Faced Bird by far.
I grasped the end of the chain she held out.
If I pulled it, I could take the Red Dragon’s core.
I would gain enormous experience as well.
After all, I couldn’t simply release her.
Why refuse the chance to deal with such a formidable foe without expending more effort?
….
Fine.
[【Red Dragon lv???】Would you like to offer her Gecko Faith?]
Just taking one core wouldn’t be enough.
I needed to squeeze every last bit out of her until I recovered my investment.
The Red Dragon’s pupils widened.
She looked at me with slightly surprised eyes, then let out her usual nasal snort.
"You’re too soft for your own good."
Thud.
The Red Dragon’s unbroken arm grasped the hand holding the chain.
"Hmph."
She smiled her usual enchanting smile.
Clink, clink!
The chain I was holding transformed.
The scorching heat that had burned my flesh disappeared.
It turned into a single cord imbued with the warmth of spring.
Thud.
Only then did the Red Dragon release my hand.
As a result, my hand remained holding onto the cord.
What kind of trick had she pulled to wear that expression?
I shifted my gaze to the red cord.
Following the cord’s length, my eyes reached the end.
"Little one."
My gaze landed on the Red Dragon's neck.
The warm red cord was wrapped around her neck.
It was a collar, different from when it had been a chain.
"Or should I call you Lord Divine Beast now?"
It looked exactly like a leash.
"Take good care of me, my Lord Divine Beast."
The Red Dragon smiled brightly once again.
She glanced at her injured arm, then looked back at my face and stuck out her tongue slightly.
It was a playful expression, as if she had caught me off guard.
I couldn’t keep up with her mercurial emotions.
But one thing became clear.
The demeanor she had shown so far was a facade, and this playful appearance was her true self.
The warmth of spring had melted the cold ice.
But it wasn’t over yet.
"Ke-ke-kek."
I’d scold her briefly and check on Baekrang’s condition.
…Wait?
"Ke-ek?"
……
"Ke-ke-ke-ke-ke-ke!"
Why couldn’t I speak?