TRPM 233

chapter 233

After hearing the news that Alex had disappeared, I first sent Lee Ha-eun home and immediately headed to the scene.

There, I saw both the police investigating the area and the Night Eagle guild.

“Ah, Artist! You’re here!”

“……”

In the meantime, a young police officer noticed me and shouted loudly, drawing everyone’s attention to me for a moment. Since I hadn’t sneaked into the scene, they soon returned to their investigation.

“Any special information?”

“Yes! The culprit didn’t even try to hide their crime and left without dispersing their magic! Thanks to that, a psychometry user confirmed the culprit’s face, and they are currently drawing a composite sketch!”

“And Alex’s whereabouts?”

The calm-looking officer, not the one shouting, answered this. I didn’t know him, but it’s easier to deal with someone calm than someone loud.

“Ah, the culprit also took the Chinese people from both the police car and the victim’s car.”

…So, the culprit disappeared with everyone except the police. They probably left the officers behind to prevent being tracked deliberately.

“Can we track them?”

“Yes! We’re tracking the vehicle through nearby surveillance cameras!”

“…But it will take some time. There aren’t many cameras in this area.”

Hearing that, I let out a quiet sigh internally. Time, as expected, is the main issue. I thought I should have placed some kind of protective barrier on Alex in advance.

“Master.”

As I left the scene, Yeon Mi-rae, Alex’s superior, approached me.

“Why?”

“…I can sense Fafnir.”

“Explain in detail.”

I turned to look at Yeon Mi-rae.

Fafnir… meaning Alex’s familiar?

“For some reason, whenever Fafnir is summoned, I feel hostility toward him, though weak.”

“Hostility… that’s probably due to the ritual performed when summoning Fafnir.”

I recalled when Alex first summoned Fafnir.

‘Originally, he intended to summon Cheongryong, one of the Eastern guardian beasts, not Fafnir.’

But Alex modified the magic circle to use not only his magic but also the energy of Mi-rae and me to summon a dragon, so he decided to summon another entity instead of Cheongryong.

[(I need to slightly modify the magic circle.)]
[(Huh?)]
[(Cheongryong is a sacred beast. Mixing different energies might not be ideal.)]
[(Something that comes to mind is Fafnir or the Red Dragon of Revelation. What do you think?)]

So, runes and lore related to Fafnir were embedded into the magic circle.

[What? You want me to take the role of both Sigurd and Siegfried?]

Then, Yeon Mi-rae was placed in the position of Sigurd and Siegfried, who killed Fafnir.

‘So, it’s natural that Mi-rae, as Sigurd and Siegfried, feels hostility whenever Fafnir is summoned.’

It wasn’t intentional, but it worked out perfectly for the current situation.

“Direction?”

“Not just direction; I can pinpoint the location. So…”

Yeon Mi-rae took out her smartphone and opened a map. After zooming out as much as possible, she pointed to a specific location. Not zooming in, but out.

“I can sense Fafnir here. It feels like he’s intentionally sending signals to me…”

“Wait, here?”

“Yes.”

I asked repeatedly if the location she pointed out was accurate. The place she indicated was in China, not Korea. Does this mean the culprit who kidnapped Alex is Chinese?

“No, now’s not the time for that.”

Thoughts can wait until after Alex is rescued.

“I agree with rescuing him, but how are you planning to go to China…?”

“…Yeon Mi-rae. Close your eyes, block your ears. Wrap yourself in magic so that your body cannot perceive the surroundings.”

“Uh…?”

She blinked for a moment but did as instructed. Her entire sensory perception was sealed with her magic. Confirming this, I lifted her with one hand, drew my sword with the other, and swung it.

Swish…!

My sword split the space, creating a rift. Seeing the rift, I sheathed my sword and leaped inside.

“!$@^%)#@”
“!%@(&(!@”
“%@$)(#@$”

Familiar presences greeted me.

‘There are so many…’

I’ve sliced through space and entered rifts before, but today there seemed to be unusually many entities inside.

‘Well, I am planning to travel a longer distance than usual.’

Naturally, the more distance I travel, the more entities appear inside the rift. Realizing this minor but unimportant fact, I flew through the rift toward the opposite side. Less than a minute after entering, I emerged outside.

‘Yeon Mi-rae, restore your senses.’

I sent her the mental command. Her magic vanished, and she blinked as she took in her surroundings.

“…Where is this?”

“China.”

“…How long was I sensory-sealed? It doesn’t feel like much time passed. Surely not hours?”

“Not that long. About one to two minutes. More importantly, Fafnir’s location?”

We had reached roughly near the area she had pointed to, though it might not be exact. I told her to pinpoint Fafnir’s exact location.

After some initial confusion, she realized prioritizing locating Fafnir was essential, so she focused and determined the location.

“…Fortunately, not too far. That direction.”

“Good.”

I leapt in the direction she indicated, and she followed, searching for Fafnir. After only a short time of what felt like high-speed flight…

“…There! There he is!”

“Ah, yes.”

We had found Fafnir. Our senses also detected Alex and those near him, though their condition wasn’t good.

‘And in front of Fafnir…’

Our gaze moved forward. Before Fafnir, in his usual small form, stood a massive dragon.

“…That dragon is surely…”

“Yes, probably the one causing a stir in the news recently.”

However, my meditative insight allowed me to see its essence.

“It seems it sacrificed combat efficiency and practicality just to appear large and impressive.”

“Really?”

“You’ll understand once you get used to meditation.”

Yeon Mi-rae preferred strengthening through internal power and training rather than meditation, so she hadn’t discerned the dragon’s essence.

“Enough. I’ll handle Fafnir; you rescue Alex.”

“Yes.”

I channeled internal power to Fafnir. As if waiting, he grew in size and began smiling.

Krrrr…

He gathered the energy I provided and…

KRAAAAASH…!

He unleashed it as a fire-elemental breath.

“Wow.”

The blast didn’t just hit the dragon in front but also destroyed the facility beyond. Fafnir likely wasn’t miscalculating, so those inside were probably enemies.

‘Looks like Yeon Mi-rae also rescued Alex…’

Alex’s safety could be considered secured. The only issue is that our unauthorized entry into China could cause future trouble.

‘We illegally entered another country and killed several Chinese people…’

This facility looked designed to stage and film dragon battles.

‘It’s likely connected to some high-ranking official in China.’

Killing subordinates and destroying the facility might bring trouble. It wouldn’t scare me, but it could affect people around me.

“…Might as well erase all traces of our presence.”

I decided to burn the facility completely, even residual magic, so nothing could be traced. Preparing for meditative evolution, I said:

“Artist?”

“Wait a moment. I’ll burn this place completely, then we’ll leave.”

Alex, supported by Yeon Mi-rae, and the now-small Fafnir were behind me. I concentrated, igniting flames.

“Get back!”

Feeling a rapidly approaching presence, I warned and shot flames at it.

Bang…!

The approaching entity easily blocked the flames and landed ahead.

Thud!

He stood silently, then spoke.

“(I came to identify who harmed our sect’s disciple… and…)”

A man with black hair, dressed in dark martial attire, his eyes entirely black. Radiating intense energy, he smiled fiercely.

“(I didn’t expect guests from Korea.)”

I knew who he was. Not just me, but Yeon Mi-rae and Alex likely knew as well.

‘All-black appearance, a member of the New Religion.’

The strongest awakened being in China, and the most famous.

[Before my regression, I considered calling myself a Heavenly Demon using story powers, but it would have made me look insane.]
[Plus, someone actually called themselves a Heavenly Demon before, so I gave up.]

Heavenly Demon.