The Hero Returns

A day flew by after that.

Su-hyeun's post became the hottest trending topic in an instant — not only were the title and content simply too stimulating, but the poster's ID was a pretty familiar one as well.

- A Divine Beast? A dragon? What on earth is up with that?

- You know, S-Rank Song Hyeong-gi is supposed to be in possession of a Divine Beast, so maybe related to that.

- Some dude wants to meet Song Hyeung-gi, so he's going with an aggro-ing tactic?

- Doesn't seem that way. Check out the ID. That's Kim Su-hyeun, dude.

- Really?

- Uh, it's for real.

- Son of a... In that case, Kim Su-hyeun and Song Hyeung-gi will meet up? If true, that's freaking huge. Can't a TV station broadcast what those two will do or something?

Most of them were useless comments.

Those raising a ruckus were either unrelated civilians, no-name awakeners or a handful of interested guilds.

Su-hyeun remained sitting in front of the computer while muttering to himself. "Hey, Miru? Looks like we might need more time to find that uncle."

Gurung, gurung—

Miru didn't seem to care either way, as it continued to doze off while wrapped around Su-hyeun's neck.

He didn't even know what to feed this little guy. And Miru only drank water throughout the day. He tried to feed it various different foods, but it didn't eat any.

Ding dong—

It was then that someone rang the doorbell and a voice came in from the outside.

"Bro! Bro, it's me!" The voice belonged to Hak-joon, as it turned out.

When Su-hyeun opened the door, he was suddenly greeted by a large plastic bag filled with stuff pushed towards his face.

"We got takeout," said Hak-joon.

"Hello there."

Yun-seon, standing behind Hak-joon, bowed and greeted Su-hyeun. Meanwhile, Hak-joon craned his neck and scanned the interior. "Ohh, your place is pretty nice. How many square meters is it?"

"That's not important, is it? Come in first."

Su-hyeun took Hak-joon's plastic bag and guided the duo into his home.

He was originally planning to stay home at least for one whole day searching for Song Hyeong-gi, but with a great timing, Hak-joon gave him a call and decided to show up here.

As soon as he got inside, Hak-joon asked for Su-hyeun's permission and started opening up the plastic bag on the dining table. Soon, all sorts of takeout, including spicy rice cakes, Korean sausages, as well as various deep-fried junk foods found themselves sprawled on the table.

"By the way, bro? Where is Miru? We came to see Miru, actually," asked Hak-joon.

"Right here."

"Where?"

Su-hyeun pointed to his neck, prompting Hak-joon and Yun-seon to tilt their heads this way and that before they gasped in sheer surprise.

"T-that wasn't a scarf?" Hak-joon asked.

"It's not even cold outside, and why would I wear a scarf inside the house? This guy's like this because it's asleep."

Gurung, gururung—

Miru was still slumbering away, utterly oblivious to the presence of the visitors. Well, it slept for at least 15 hours a day, so there was that.

Yun-seon's eyes sparkled at the dragon with a body a lot smaller than she expected. She went behind Su-hyeun and discovered Miru's head resting atop his shoulder.

"It's-it's really cute."

Her eyes sparkled even more than before as she cautiously reached out. It seemed that she was wondering whether to touch Miru or not.

Kurung—?

It was then that Miru woke up, perhaps after sensing the unfamiliar presence.

The baby dragon abruptly raised its head and blinked several times, alternating its gaze between Yun-seon and Hak-joon, before flying up over Su-hyeun's head.

Flap, flap—

Kurung, keung—

Miru flapped its small wings and flew above its father's head, then studied the takeout placed on the dining table for a little while.

But then, it soon lost interest and settled down in a comfortable-looking sitting position, with its chin resting on Su-hyeun's head.

"This little guy doesn't want to eat that either," said Su-hyeun.

"What does it eat, anyway?"

"I don't know. It hasn't eaten anything. I'm worried that at this rate, I might end up being a dad who starves his kid."

"A dad?" Yun-seon asked.

Hak-joon followed up. "Where's the mom then?"

Slap—!

Hak-joon's question was rewarded with Yun-seon's slap to his back. He greatly exaggerated how much that hurt, then reached out to the food and began eating it. For a while, these three people including Su-hyeun enjoyed the food and talked about this and that.

"What is Ju-ho doing these days?" Hak-joon asked.

It seemed that Hak-joon was already in a "big bro, little bro" type of relationship with Lee Ju-ho. Without a doubt, he had changed a lot compared to the past. Su-hyeun had no idea that he was this sociable.

"I think he's going through his next trial," replied Su-hyeun.

"That guy, he's also doing his best. I guess."

"What about you?"

"I finished mine yesterday, actually. I was planning to take a few days off."

"Is that so?" Su-hyeun was about to pick up the last piece of deep-fried meat, but then...

Gu-wuwuwuwu—

For a moment there, his body grew heavy, as if the whole studio apartment building was shaking around.

Yun-seon was taken by surprise and dropped the toothpick in her hand. She hurriedly looked around her vicinity. "W-what was that?"

"...What a noisy arrival, that." Su-hyeun said as he pushed his chair back to stand up.

That prompted Hak-joon to stand up as well. "Can I go with you?"

"For what?"

"You know, just curious. Well, he's famous, right? Why? I can't?"

Yun-seon grabbed Hak-joon's clothes and pulled him closer. "Won't it be something dangerous?"

Hak-joon nodded his head and pointed at Su-hyeun. "I'm not going to be alone, you know?"

Despite his assurance, Yun-seon couldn't stop worrying. Even though she wasn't showing it, in all honesty, she found it really difficult to even breathe at the moment. How could she not worry when her boyfriend wanted to go meet the man behind this phenomenon?

"Why don't you just stay behind?" Su-hyeun spoke.

"Ehk? But, why?"

"You can tell that your girlfriend is really concerned, right?"

"But, won't it be dangerous for you?"

"It's not going to get any safer if you tagged along."

"Urgh...."

Hak-joon heard that straightforward answer, lowered his head, and groaned. Indeed, that wasn't the wrong assessment.

Su-hyeun opened the window, not the front door. Yun-seon watched him and wondered what he was doing, only to jump up in fright and cry out. "W-why are you getting out through there?"

Swoooosh—

Su-hyeun disappeared outside the window. Yun-seon hurriedly ran towards the window sill to see where he went. She then pushed her head outside, but by then, his figure had long vanished.

"...Am I still dreaming or did that really happen?" Yun-seon muttered out.

"Let it be." Hak-joon spoke while shrugging his shoulders. "People from that side, they are more like superhumans from movies, you know."

* * *

Ta-dak, ta-da-dak—

Su-hyeun didn't jump down to the ground, but up towards the top of his studio apartment building. The location of the massive magical energy he could sense was none other than the building's roof.

The roof was locked tight and no one was allowed to access it, but a man was waiting for Su-hyeun there. A thirty-something man with a parted perm hairstyle was sitting on a chair found on the roof, busy tapping away on his phone.

"That was quite a racket of an arrival," said Su-hyeun.

"This is the simplest way, after all."

The man, Song Hyeong-gi, shoved the phone in his pocket and stood up. Su-hyeun first confirmed that there was no one around and only then did he ask, "How did you find out about this address?"

He expected Song Hyeong-gi to contact him in some manner, but didn't think the man himself would show up so soon like this.

"Isn't there anything that money can't solve these days?"

Song Hyeong-gi was the last born child of the Song-il Group's owner, the third generation of one of the most powerful business tycoons in South Korea. It'd be difficult to find the word "impossible" in this man's vocabulary.

"...Ah, is that so?" Su-hyeun replied.

It seemed that he found the address through some illegal method. However, that wasn't something you'd mention right in front of the party affected. This was their first encounter, and the first impression certainly wasn't a good one so far.

Song Hyeong-gi wasn't affiliated with any guilds out there, and since he wasn't short on money, he didn't work as a mercenary, either. Therefore, he was the freest of all the S-rank Awakeners.

<<Did he trace my IP address? Then again, finding just one address wouldn't be all that hard for someone like him from the Song-il Group.>>

That was how amazing the power of money could be. Unlike with the Awakeners, who'd always been lone individuals no matter strong they were, a massive pile of cash was capable of mobilizing countless hands and feet.

The only thing capable of making Song Hyeong-gi interested were matters related to Divine Beasts, though.

"I'm sure tomorrow's headlines will be pretty bombastic. A fight to the death between awakeners in the middle of a studio apartment building, something like that. Well, even civilians can sense your magical energy, after all."

Su-hyeun was well aware of the magical energy emitted by Song Hyeung-gi making it difficult for Yun-seon to breathe downstairs. She wasn't hurt, but it was still true that this man's entrance had caused her some discomfort.

However, Song Hyeong-gi didn't seem all that interested in hearing about such things. "Who cares. The dragon?"

Su-hyeun heard Song Hyeong-gi's question and pointed at Miru wrapped around his neck.

That prompted Miru to raise its head and stare at Song Hyeong-gi.

Gya-ong—!

For the first time ever, Miru let out a displeased cry and displayed signs of wariness towards the other person.

Right then, Song Hyeong-gi's eyes sparkled brightly. "I-it really is a dragon?"

"You think I'd lie about something like that?"

"Where did you find this baby? Ah, you said it's from the Divine Beast's Egg."

Song Hyeong-gi's attitude, curt and arrogant only until a second ago, went through a complete transformation. He cautiously walked in closer and met Miru's gaze. "What's the baby's name?"

"It's Miru."

"Hi, Miru. My name is Song Hyeong-gi, and...."

Chomp—

When Song Hyeong-gi extended his hand out and slowly waved it, Miru abruptly pushed its head forward and bit down on the hand.

Despite the fact that its fangs hadn't even properly grown yet, Miru was still a Divine Beast, and blood began dripping down from Song Hyeong-gi's hand.

"He doesn't want to," said Su-hyeun.

"It's okay, that can happen...."

Even though he said that, Song Hyeong-gi immediately became visibly sullen. It seemed that being hated by Miru hurt his feelings.

Before their discussion could get going, Su-hyeun made his stance crystal clear. "I'll say this before we start. I won't give Miru to you, even though I know that you rear Divine Beasts and fight together with them."

"You can relax. Even if you give it up, I won't take it."

"Excuse me?"

That unexpected reply surprised Su-hyeun and caused him to ask that.

Song Hyeong-gi stared back at him as if he was an utter disappointment. "The majority of Divine Beasts recognize the first thing they see as their parents and follow him or her around. For this baby, you're its mom and dad. So, what will happen if it has to stay with me? Can you imagine how hard it will be for the baby?"

He was right.

Su-hyeun heard how Song Hyeong-gi's love for Divine Beasts bordered on being maniacal, so he was slightly concerned about what to do in case the latter began lusting after Miru, but thankfully, it didn't seem like his worries would become reality.

"Is that really your reason?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Of course. Sure, I'd like to take the baby with me with I could. Hey, you. You really don't know anything about Divine Beasts, do you?"

"That's why I wanted to meet you. It's as you said, I know nothing about Divine Beasts, Song Hyeong-gi."

"So, you want to learn more and raise it properly, is that it?"

"That's correct."

"Unlike how you look, you're not so bad."

"What about how I look then?"

"What do you mean, what? Like a gigolo...."

Gya-ong, gya-oh-ong—!

Miru flapped its wings and got angry in Su-hyeun's stead.

"...You look really handsome," replied Song Hyeong-gi, but that didn't seem to be what he wanted to say initially.

Miru looked at Su-hyeun, then rubbed its face against his cheek as if to say, "Did I do well?"

He patted the baby dragon's head and asked Song Hyeong-gi. "Before all that, is it possible for you to find out what Miru's abilities are? And also, what it needs to eat and how I should raise it."

"Hold on. I'm going to summon another kid similar to your Miru."

Song Hyeong-gi drew a large circle in the air with his hand as he replied.

Almost at the same time, the magical energy greatly wavered, and the space was torn apart. A lengthy dragon emerged from the space, its wings flapping grandly.

"Oho."

It was a blue dragon several dozen meters long and almost a meter thick in diameter.

Its splendor was truly magnificent. Su-hyeun was genuinely impressed by this dragon.

<<Will Miru grow up to be like that someday?>>

A giant dragon appearing in the middle of a city was a prime candidate to be mistaken for a monster. So, Song Hyeong-gi hurriedly cast an invisibility skill on the dragon's body and then asked it. "Hey, Yong? Do you know what kind of a baby that dr...."

He couldn't finish his sentence, however, because of the unbelievable event taking place right before his eyes.

Gurururu—

The Divine Beast abruptly summoned here by Song Hyeong-gi, the blue dragon, approached Miru and lowered its head.

It wasn't just Song Hyeong-gi who was taken greatly aback. Su-hyeun also failed to understand what just happened.

"Just where..." Song Hyeong-gi alternated his gaze between the blue dragon and Miru, before asking Su-hyeun, "...Did you find this baby?"