The Foreigner on the Periphery (English Translation)

18. Three Ways to Kill a Boss (15)

The face of the man who turned around was completely different from the photo Minjun had seen.

It was no surprise that the spirit couldn't find the real one, not the homunculus. Changing appearances was a simple task for them. Most things were that easy for them.

"Jang Taejoon."

When Minjun arrested Edelrinus, he had a feeling. Now that the troublesome dragons were taken care of, he thought everything else would be easy. But, as always, his instincts were brutally wrong.

She was not even close to being one of those "troublesome dragons."

A far more terrifying troublemaker, a dragon plotting unimaginable crimes, had been hiding in this world.

Minjun calmly informed him of the facts.

"We just conducted a raid on your lair at the immigration office."

The lair's owner was estimated to be just under Elder age. The chairman of Jenkins had directly led the immigration agents and reinforced the barrier Minjun had set up. This was to prevent the magic alarm from notifying the owner that the lair had been breached.

Teleporting a large number of people from Seoul to Sokcho, seizing everything in the lab, and analyzing it with both magical and non-magical methods took less than an hour. That was the power of the great dragon and the organization he led.

"Is that so?"

The dragon, whose real name still couldn't be determined, responded half-heartedly, as if he wasn't interested.

"We've also identified the virus you were working on in there."

Among the agents the chairman brought, there were experts outside of Minjun's field of study. They had immediately identified the nature of the 'prototype' inside the freezer.

It was a virus that replicated and injected the characteristics of ISP.

A plague seed that would only infect dragons and cause symptoms.

The fact that Jang Taejoon had hidden in this dimension called Earth was similar to how a Society member might choose an Orc community as a hideout. The dragon population was small and this backward, forgotten corner of the world seemed to have a low chance of detection.

"The research appears to be incomplete," Minjun continued.

The virus's characteristic—the 'host range' that would only affect dragons—was finished. However, the design for the symptoms it would cause after infection had not been fully completed.

Jang Taejoon didn't deny it. He slowly nodded and replied.

"Yes, I ran out of time."

For some reason, he had been planning to leave Earth soon. There were signs of preparations to move out in his lair, and the computer records showed that the research had been paused not long ago.

"Even though you didn't succeed, the attempt itself is a crime. It's a major offense that cannot be excused as a mental illness. Therefore, from this moment forward..."

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

Minjun nodded quietly.

"If you weren't, why would a dragon plot something like this against another dragon?"

"It's possible. I hate dragons."

Minjun's eyes flickered as Kim Yeonju's words about Jang Taejoon crossed his mind.

'I always knew he was a dreamer, but… when he started talking about "social pollution" and other weird things, he really sounded crazy!'

Jang Taejoon shifted his gaze between Minjun and the blonde man standing beside him, then spoke.

"I know. You think it's meaningless for me to say that because you're a dragon too, right? You think it's just self-hatred? No, it's not about some petty emotion."

He asserted.

Gradually, the man's tone, which had been dry, began to warm and gain color.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I finally came to a conclusion. I was preparing slowly to put it into action."

His voice was still far from steady, though it had grown more heated than before.

Minjun felt an unpleasant heat in his words.

It was approaching madness.

"Dragons are pests that destroy the social ecosystem of all dimensions. They are the root of all evil, born unable to cooperate with other species."

There were humans on Earth who thought similarly—those who called themselves environmentalists. These people believed that the most abundant human beings should be eradicated so that livestock for food would decrease, carbon emissions would drop, and plastic production would reduce, thus saving the Earth. Even after the spread of magic stones, they were dissatisfied.

But even those environmental groups never resorted to terrorism and massacres. It was madness.

But this dragon was preparing to execute such an act.

Because of the belief that dragons were the main cause of social pollution, worse than environmental pollution.

'He's completely lost it!'

Minjun clicked his tongue inwardly, though his expression remained unchanged.

Jang Taejoon spoke vehemently.

"Think about it. Dragons are like poison to the social and economic systems! Everything is so easy for us. How many dragons in this world have official citizenship? Less than a thousand! And about 60% of them haven't chosen to live in seclusion. Look at how those few dragons are manipulating this world!"

Kim Yeonju's words were right.

Jang Taejoon was a dreamer.

A very dangerous one.

"Regardless of the form of society, dragons can simply take control!"

There was a twisted heat in his voice.

"Absolute monarchy? We just take the throne with our terrifying magical power and abilities no other species can compete with. Democracy? We win all the votes with our charisma and understanding of mass psychology. Theocracy? We use the 'Detect Divinity' spell to wrap an entire planet, kidnap the one who's been blessed the most by the gods, and make them our puppet Messiah. Dragons always do it this way!"

It was true.

The reason there weren't dragon presidents on Earth wasn't because they lacked power, but because they had long realized that money was a more efficient and powerful weapon, so they focused on business instead.

"We've accepted several waves of immigrants into this world. They're all living mixed in some way! Sure, there's conflict, and signs of stratification, but it's not an unbreakable wall. Over time, things improve. But dragons are different!"

He spoke fiercely.

His voice had grown rougher.

"Other species are like different kinds of paint. Given time, they mix. But dragons are like oil. No matter how many drops of oil you put in water, it won't mix, and it will form a layer on top. Just like oil keeps water beneath it, dragons keep other species beneath them and control them. That's the nature of dragons!"

Minjun cut him off.

"Jang Taejoon."

He had no time to listen to the rambling madness of this dreamer.

What concerned him now was something else.

A species like a dragon could not enter a dimension quietly like Etrella. The committee would be monitoring them closely. Furthermore, Minjun had all the personal information about every dragon that had entered Earth.

However, the man in front of him wasn't in his database.

"How did you enter Earth?"

Jang Tae-jun made a face as if he had steeled himself.

Then, he quietly stood up.

"I can't tell you that."

"Then, I'll change the question."

Finally, the time had come to end this long day.

He spoke in a dry tone.

"Jang Tae-jun, can you submit evidence here and now that you have obtained valid Earth citizenship or have been issued a legal residence permit to stay on Earth?"

Then the dragon bared his teeth and said.

"No, I don't have anything like that."

Min-jun gripped his dagger and muttered a spell.

The air trembled as a massive curtain formed around the harbor. Fortunately, there were no fishing boats or pedestrians around. What Min-jun was creating now was a complex barrier that amplified the cognitive distortion barrier Jang Tae-jun had used for obscuring his presence, hundreds of times over, while also absorbing magical shock.

As he finished preparing, the blonde boy who had remained silent up until then spoke for the first time.

"Who were you waiting for here?"

Jang Tae-jun's usual chattiness was locked tight on this subject. Min-jun's companion asked as if interrogating him.

"I saw that you were preparing to leave. Normally, when you come to Earth or leave Earth, you can't avoid the committee's attention. Especially since you're a dragon. This plan would be impossible without the confidence to avoid surveillance. That means you must have someone working with you for a long time."

His tone turned cold.

"Speak. Who is it?"

Jang Tae-jun still refused to answer. There was no hesitation in his gaze. His determination was firm.

The blonde man furrowed his brow.

"Is that so?"

The next moment, the man who had been interrogating Jang Tae-jun disappeared.

It was the moment Min-jun completed the barrier, large enough to conceal a greater space around the harbor.

Whoosh!

Min-jun lifted his head slightly and looked up.

Most of the sky within his sight had vanished. Instead, there was a large, red, and imposing fortress. Had the outer distortion barrier not concealed it, the creature that appeared would have forced all the citizens of Sokcho to take a look. Its body was like the sharp edge that had cut the setting sun.

It had been a long time since the Elder Dragon had returned to its true form outside, and it emitted a mental shockwave like thunder.

=If you refuse to answer, we'll have no choice but to capture you and find out.=

With a pale smile, Jang Tae-jun stared at the Red Dragon.

There were six pairs of enormous wings, motionless, fixed in the sky. Twelve eyes, filled with intense determination, glared down at him.

Jang Tae-jun naturally avoided the elder dragon's gaze.

"I see, I was curious how you found me. I walked here from the lair, over 10 kilometers, changing my form along the way."

His eyes looked over the harbor, the street, and the distant coastline.

"I didn't have much time left, so I wanted to keep it in my sight a bit longer."

He looked back at the dragon in the sky.

"So it was a magic from my kin. You used my blood to track me? Well, since the lair's already been raided."

That was how they were able to track him all the way here. Only dragons could use such a spell, leading the caster towards the dragon's owner using blood or other body parts.

The Red Dragon, Chairman Jenkinson, had asked Min-jun to help with this operation. The reward offered on the spot was, of course, far greater than when it had been with Edeliness, and Min-jun accepted.

'It's been a while since I've fought two dragons in one day,' he thought, as he continued to focus.

'How long has it been since I fought alongside a dragon?'

Jenkinson spoke with thunderous force.

=I advise you one last time, will you surrender?=

Jang Tae-jun answered by transforming his human form.

=Foolish.=

Jenkinson growled like thunder.

Min-jun turned his blade towards himself.

The black-scaled dragon pressed down on the air with its massive body, ready to strike.

The two and one collided, exploding with a flash of light.