The Hero Returns

Blanc closed his eyes for a moment. He knew there would be a reaction like this.

"What's he saying now?"

Su-hyeun lost his patience and asked Blanc to interpret. Blanc hesitated for a moment, then explained what the green dragon had said.

"A descendant of betrayers...?" Su-hyeun muttered.

He frowned and stared at the green dragon. The green dragon didn't avoid Su-hyeun's hard gaze and stared at him in return.

"What? Do you have a problem with me?"

Soon, the green dragon began to talk in a language that Su-hyeun could understand. As the green dragon tried to hold a conversation with him, Su-hyeun took a step forward.

"A problem? Of course, I do," Su-hyeun said, glaring his eyes. "You're insulting my baby."

At Su-hyeun's answer, the green dragon also frowned. The word "my baby" bothered him.

"Did you really raise a descendant of the red dragons?"

"Yes."

"What nonsense! The red dragons once called the descendants of the Dragon King are now treated as a human cub."

"Ha. You're speaking nonsense. Do you think humans are lower than dragons? Why? Because we don't live long like you guys? Or do you think we're too weak?" Su-hyeun looked around the city and continued to speak, "Then what should I call you guys? You guys accept such grody humans' civilization."

"…Are you saying we're less than humans now?"

The green dragon began to spread a murderous spirit from his body. The murderous spirit had highly concentrated magic, enough to choke ordinary people to death. But Su-hyeun wasn't concerned by the magic power of the green dragon. Instead, he raised his magic to compete.

Rumble—

Flinch—

When their energy began to hit each other, the green dragon was surprised and unconsciously stepped back.

<<W-what the hell?>>

The amount and concentration of magic from Su-hyeun got the better of him. The green dragon, who thought of Su-hyeun as just another human, couldn't believe that his magic was overpowering him.

Stomp—

Unlike the green dragon, Su-hyeun stepped forward.

As he narrowed the distance like that, Su-hyeun asked, "Why? Are you scared?"

"You bastard—!"

Whoosh—

The green dragon quickly stretched out his hand to Su-hyeun's neck. It was a very short moment. But Su-hyeun increased the distance between the two and drew his sword out.

"Siegfri!" Blanc shouted in surprise.

But Su-hyeun had already begun to move.

Swish—

The green dragon's eyes flashed as he saw Su-hyeun run quickly toward him.

<<All right! Bring it on!>>

Attacking the red dragon would cause an issue. But nobody would care if he attacked a human. No, rather, some dragons who hated humans may applaud him for his action since they didn't like humans coming to the dragons' land.

Whoosh—

A green flame came out of the hand of the green dragon. A fire able to burn down a whole house swallowed Su-hyeun whole. In that short moment, the green dragon beamed with joy.

<<I got him. I shouldn't have been so scared of him in the first place.>>

But his joy didn't last long.

Whoosh—

A dark blue flame tore through the green flame. And at that moment...

"You shouldn't kill him!" Blanc shouted out.

The green dragon stepped back in surprise at the shout. Meanwhile, Su-hyeun reached his hand out.

Snatch—

"Argg!"

The green dragon, caught by the neck, could see Su-hyeun's sword.

"You're lucky today," Su-hyeun said in a calm voice, holding the neck of the green dragon tighter. "I thought about killing you, but I chose to spare your life."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Su-hyeun lifted his arm. Siegfri struggled, holding Su-hyeun's wrist with both hands. But, no matter how hard poor Siegfri tried, Su-hyeun's hand didn't even budge.

<<What the… Why is he so strong?>>

No matter how strong Su-hyeun was, he was just a human. A human couldn't defeat a dragon in magic. And it was impossible to overcome the strength of a giant dragon with a humans' small body. That was what Siegfri thought and that was why he started the fight. But, in this short fight, he was overwhelmed by Su-hyeun in both magic and power.

"Da…m…n"

Su-hyeun released the green dragon's neck.

"it…Gasp!"

The green dragon fell to the ground and gnashed his teeth. His pride was hurt. But he didn't dare to attack Su-hyeun again. It was clear that the result of any rematch would be the same.

"Let's stop this right now."

Blanc stepped between the two and ended the fight. The green dragon was relieved when Blanc stepped in. And, from that relief, he was sure about his feeling.

<<Do I feel frightened? Because of that human?>>

It was a hard thing to admit, but it was undeniable. He lost the fight, and he had almost died. If Blanc hadn't stopped him, Su-hyeun might have cut Siegfri's head off with that sword of his.

Blanc looked at the green dragon and said, "What is the point in fighting against a human right now? And you'll be condemned by the dragons who were waiting for the descendants of the Dragon King."

"That is…"

"Just go, Siegfri. If you do something wrong, I won't let it go anymore."

At Blanc's words, the green dragon named Siegfri frowned. He stood up, turned around, and walked away.

Blanc looked at the back of Siegfri and thought, <<He's a way better fighter than I expected.>>

Blanc turned and looked at Su-hyeun. He had been surprised as well when he had seen Su-hyeun for the first time. He had even wondered if Su-hyeun was really just a human being, or maybe something else. Su-hyeun had a special aura. And, thanks to Siegfri's hot temper, Blanc was able to confirm Su-hyeun's ability. The results were beyond his expectations.

<<Furthermore…He's a human who survived a war with Fafnir.>>

Su-hyeun's ability was better than any dragon that Blanc knew. He could be compared with orange dragons, which were one grade below red dragons.

<<No… Maybe he's even better than that,>> Blanc thought.

Moreover, Su-hyeun had visited their world with a descendant of the Dragon King, the red dragon. A great storm came to a quiet city.

Act 4

Siegfri strode away. His head was filled with thoughts about the red dragon and the human who came with it.

<<A descendant of the betrayer is back. And he was raised by a human! What the hell was that human.>>

Siegfri clenched his teeth. Events that had just happened were beyond his comprehension. He didn't like humans much because they had a short life and were inferior to dragons. But that man was different. He had a power superior to the green dragon's.

<<Maybe that's why the red dragon is following him. He must have admitted that human is powerful. I have to hurry up and let others know about this.>>

Siegfri thought the red dragon and that human would bring disaster to his world, which had finally begun to stabilize. He headed to the castle in the center of the city. He walked on a quiet path, ignoring some of the dragons he passed on the way, and stepped into the castle.

The castle had open ceilings leading to long stairs. It was a simple structure rather than a complicated and colorful one. The castle was empty. There was no sound, no sign of a living thing, not even a small ant or gnat. But Siegfri knew the dragon living here. And he was the only one who could properly solve the problem.

"I came here to see Sir Carne," Siegfri shouted in a loud voice.

Soon, a voice came from above. "What's going on?"

Tramp, tramp—

A sound of footsteps also came from above. A dragon with dazzling orange scales walked down the stairs.

Siegfri bowed to him and said, "It's been a long time, Sir Carne."

Carne. He was the orange dragon, one level below the red dragons. He was one of the oldest dragons aside from Blanc. In fact, he was the highest elder of the clan, who ruled over the remaining dragons. That was why Siegfri came straight to him.

"It's been a long time, Siegfri. Is this the first time since the last invasion?"

"Yes, I think so."

"So. What brings you to my castle? You once said this place is impious."

"That is..."

Siegfri told Carne about Su-hyeun and Miru, who had arrived with Blanc. Carne knit his brows together as he listened to what had happened.

"Hmm… A red dragon?"

"Not only that, sir. The human with that red dragon was very strong. Probably stronger than anyone in our clan."

"That's hard to believe without seeing it with my own eyes."

<<A human has stronger power than a green dragon?>>

Carne, who had lived for many years, couldn't believe that. There were one or two humans in a generation that could threaten a purple dragon, but that was it. A human who could compete above that level was a rare thing.

<<But he subdued the green dragon… And he did it easily? Hmm. I guess that's why the red dragon is following that human…>>

It was unbelievable that a red dragon followed a human in the first place. The red dragon was the direct descent of the Dragon King. They were not only noble but also had power far stronger than any other dragon. Therefore, the dragons followed the red dragons as royalty, and sometimes treated them as sacred.

"Did you say that the red dragon is still young?" Carne asked.

"Yes, it looked like it's just a few months old."

"No. The Dragon King's lineage grows slower than any other dragons. They grow slowly but steadily and continuously."

"Continuously?"

"That's right. I guess you never saw them before."

Dragons born after the war didn't know much about the red dragons, about who they were, and how much power they had. They had power beyond belief.

"The red dragons are such a being. But even with that power, they still abandoned us," said Carne.

"...Then, what would you like to do?"

When Siegfri pressed for an answer, Carne nodded his head. "I wish I could get rid of them right away. That red dragon is the lineage of the betrayer."

"Then, let's go right now—"

"But, if we do, the clan will split. There are still quite a few dragons who follow the red dragons like a symbol and faith."

At Carne's rational answer, Siegfri bit his lip tightly. What he said was true. That was why Siegfri couldn't gather other dragons right away and kick Su-hyeun and the red dragon out of the city.

"Blanc is one of them," Carne said.

"Yes, I know. Elder. Blanc has been waiting for the descendants of the Dragon King longer than anyone else."

"I'll figure something out." Carne shook his hand and told Siegfri to leave.

Siegfri felt uncomfortable since he couldn't get a clear answer, but soon he bowed to Carne and left the castle.

"A descendant of the Dragon King..." Carne muttered.

The castle became empty again after Siegfri had left. Carne snapped his fingers.

Snap—

Rumble—

A huge eye appeared in the air in front of Carne. It was an eye with a red pupil and a scarlet eyeball. Carne opened his mouth to talk to the eye.

"The king's lineage is back."