Ch.7676. Alliance (1)

The alliance was established, and the remaining treaty details would be thoroughly handled through internal discussions with the working-level staff.

For Yuna, the High Priestess of the Balhut Cult who needed to maintain a public presence, and Steven, the U.S. special envoy with full authority, their official duties were essentially complete.

Yes, the public business could be considered finished.

“Well then. Now there’s something I truly need to see.”

“See what?”

Steven set aside his role as special envoy and looked at Yuna with an expression full of anticipation.

Seeing this man in his thirties gazing at her with sparkling eyes, Yuna stepped back as if uncomfortable with his eager stare and repeated his question.

“I mean Bahamut, the dragon deity worshipped by the Balhut Cult.”

“Do you believe in him?”

Remarkably, Steven’s side had mentioned Bahamut first.

Since no one had ever brought up Bahamut first in her experience, Yuna’s eyes gleamed slightly as she asked if he believed in Bahamut.

“Some among us still doubt that video, but the Apocalypse has already happened. Why should we be surprised by the appearance of a dragon?”

Steven answered with a bright smile, suggesting that in a world where the fantasy-like end times had become reality, the existence of a dragon or two was hardly surprising.

In fact, there were people in America who doubted the existence of the dragon deity Bahamut.

They claimed it wasn’t realistic, that it was impossible.

‘But when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth! The dragon deity Bahamut exists!’

Like the words of a famous detective, America had investigated the existence of dragons and collected data, ultimately acknowledging that despite how implausible it seemed, Bahamut’s existence was indeed fact.

Though many in the White House still didn’t believe in Bahamut, Steven David sincerely believed in his existence.

That’s why, despite his young age, he had been appointed as special envoy and traveled across the Pacific to visit the Balhut Cult.

‘My actions weren’t wrong!’

Seeing his belief, Yuna once again realized that her actions had not been mistaken!

Yes, after all her efforts, someone from far overseas had appeared who believed in the dragon deity Bahamut!

She would have no regrets in this life!

“Hehe. I knew someone like you would appear eventually.”

“Yes. In today’s reality, we can witness magic and mysteries that defy our common sense. So I sincerely believe in the dragon that appeared in that video spread through Korean communities. Actually, I might have been more disappointed if a dragon hadn’t appeared in this situation. After all, in a fantasy world, there should be dragons—the ultimate beings at the top of the hierarchy.”

Steven mentioned the magic and mysteries displayed by the Awakened as evidence, saying he sincerely believed in the appearance of dragons, the final bosses of fantasy worlds.

He even said he might have been more disappointed if dragons hadn’t appeared, which made Anna sigh beside him.

Dragons, known as the final bosses and supreme beings of fantasy worlds.

And Steven…

“So. May I meet Lord Bahamut in person?”

“O-Of course… Ah, just a moment.”

He wanted to confirm the dragon’s existence with his own eyes.

When he asked Yuna with a truly earnest voice, she almost gave an immediate answer but was barely restrained by the small amount of patience remaining in her mind.

As was her habit, she took out her Scrying Mirror to contact Bahamut and ask for his answer.

She believed that Bahamut, who must be watching this scene, would surely give a favorable response.

[It should be fine. Since we’ve formed an alliance anyway. There might be a need to speak face-to-face with the special envoy.]

Bahamut gave his approval.

It seemed he thought he should speak directly with Steven now that they had formed an alliance with America, so Bahamut granted Steven’s group permission to enter the shrine.

“He says it’s fine. I’ll guide you. Seolhwa, come with us.”

“Yes, Yuna.”

“Oh! You mean you can communicate with Lord Bahamut in real-time?”

Having received Bahamut’s permission, Yuna designated Baek Seolhwa, another dragon priestess, to accompany her, and Seolhwa followed without hesitation.

However, seeing how quickly the shrine visit had been decided, Steven asked with surprise if real-time communication was possible.

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

‘Impossible!? I didn’t sense any magical reaction at all!?’

Anna was the one shocked by this.

Steven’s team had come to this meeting fully prepared, taking countermeasures against interference signals and magic.

Yet Yuna had been communicating with Bahamut in real-time, evading detection by Anna, the magical surveillance agent.

Steven glanced at Anna after Yuna’s response, and Anna shook her head.

As the magical surveillance agent, she couldn’t sense anything even now—no trace of magical energy.

“I see! So that’s how the Balhut Cult was able to prepare in advance? This means our information was being transmitted to you in real-time through Priestess Baek Seolhwa.”

“Yes. That’s why we welcomed you without suspicion.”

“That’s… quite remarkable. Since we’re genuinely from the White House, it worked out fine, but what if we had malicious intentions? Wouldn’t that have been dangerous?”

It felt like all the unease he had felt until now was being resolved.

If they had been monitoring the situation in real-time through Bahamut’s relay, Yuna’s behavior made sense.

Steven expressed with a deflated expression that it could have been dangerous if they had bad intentions, but…

“Lord Bahamut said so. I simply trust and follow.”

“So Lord Bahamut personally vouched for our identities?”

“Yes.”

The dragon deity himself had vouched for Steven’s group.

This meant Bahamut had already understood Steven’s group’s actions and intentions, and Yuna had received this information in real-time to respond accordingly.

Realizing why she had been so rational and quick to grasp the situation, Steven…

“Haha. To think that the dragon deity vouched for us. It’s both exciting and a bit frightening. But I consider it an honor.”

“Shall we depart then?”

“Let’s do that.”

Though he said it was frightening, his eyes were sparkling more than anyone else’s.

With all the minor tricks revealed, Yuna led Steven’s group toward Bahamut’s shrine.

Yuna was accompanied by Seolhwa, another dragon priestess, while Steven brought only Anna as they arrived at the entrance to Bahamut’s shrine.

“I never expected a cave to be here. How fascinating.”

“…Why are there electrical cables and water pipes?”

The path to the shrine had been well-constructed by the Balhut Cult to be comfortable for people to pass through, but the numerous electrical cables and water pipes were a surprising sight.

It seemed out of place for a shrine housing a dragon deity.

Of course, it was also strange to see such large-scale electrical cables and water pipes installed in this mountain valley.

“Haha. Those are lines for Lord Bahamut to supply electricity and water to Gyeongju and Pohang.”

“…That’s fascinating in its own way. It seems this isn’t the kind of dragon you’d find in stories or comics.”

When Yuna explained that Bahamut supplied water and electricity for the Balhut Cult members, Steven remarked with a subtle expression that this wasn’t the behavior of a dragon from comics.

“Are you disappointed?”

“How should I put it… The mystique disappears with these realistic elements, which is a bit disappointing.”

He had secretly imagined a majestic shrine entrance, but the actual entrance was so realistic that the mystical quality he had expected from a noble shrine was gone.

Yes, Steven was a bit disappointed.

“Hehe. Don’t worry. You’ll see that mystique soon enough.”

“Really?”

Yuna told the childishly disappointed Steven not to worry, saying he would soon witness that mystique.

Steven brightened up like a child and asked if that was true, causing Anna to sigh and speak up.

“We’re on a mission, Steven.”

“But we’re talking about meeting a fantasy dragon in person! How can I not be excited?”

“Sigh.”

The official business was over, but they were in Gyeongju on the Korean Peninsula, not America.

Moreover, as the special envoy dispatched here, he should have maintained a dignified appearance, but he was actually excited like a child, so it was natural for Anna, his aide, to sigh.

However, Steven countered that it was impossible not to be excited about meeting a fantasy dragon in person, and followed Yuna and Seolhwa who were walking ahead.

“This is…”

“A chapel for religious activities. It’s a building gifted by Lord Bahamut.”

“Hmm. Such a massive building inside a cave. From a practical standpoint, it would be a meaningless endeavor. Was it really a gift?”

The next thing they saw was a massive structure built inside the cave for the Balhut Cult members’ religious activities.

When Yuna said that Bahamut had gifted all these structures, Steven looked at each building with surprise.

Seeing the magnificent structures modeled after cathedrals and temples, Steven commented that they seemed too precious to be built inside a cave and asked if Bahamut had really gifted them.

“Yes. A priest who witnessed it said that he snapped his fingers once, and miraculously, the building appeared.”

“WOW! I’d love to see that in person!”

Yuna smiled lightly and described the event using the words of the priest who had witnessed it.

When she called it a miraculous event, Steven exclaimed that he would like to see it sometime, and they proceeded deeper into the cave.

“Ah. This way, please.”

“Oh. How mysterious.”

With mysterious flames welcoming visitors to the shrine, they slowly made their way to where Bahamut was located.

“Ugh. Stairs. That looks annoying.”

“Ah. Don’t worry about that. Just stand here.”

However, when they saw the high hill and stairs leading to the altar, Steven made a slightly annoyed expression, but Seolhwa said there was no problem and guided Steven to stand in a specific spot.

Then, a magic circle formed under Steven’s feet, and like an escalator, it slowly began moving toward the altar on the hill.

“Is this magic too?”

“Yes. It’s magic installed by Lord Bahamut for visitors’ convenience.”

“Haha. The convenience is certainly guaranteed.”

Saying that the convenience was indeed guaranteed, Steven arrived at the altar.

“Seven dragons… they’re not alive, are they?”

Finally seeing the seven dragon statues, he was initially overwhelmed but then relieved to realize they weren’t alive.

However, Anna, who was beside Steven, turned pale as she finally sensed an enormous power.

“Oh. My God.”

“Hey, Anna. What’s wrong?”

Calling out to the heavenly God, Anna collapsed, trembling and crying.

She couldn’t maintain her composure due to the violent force she felt throughout her body.

After all, there was an overwhelming presence before her that made her own existence seem insignificant.

“L-Look down. Look down!”

Still, since the other party wasn’t hostile, Anna was able to complete her duty as an agent with what little reason she had left.

She shouted at Steven to look down, and although Steven questioned her frantic cry…

“Down? Huh!?”

Soon he understood why Anna had screamed so desperately.

Beyond the transparent wall, a massive dragon was looking at Steven with a gentle smile.

Bahamut seemed to be smiling playfully, but Steven had no way of knowing that.

He too was startled by the fact that the dragon deity was below them, and stared at Bahamut with his mouth open.

“Welcome to my shrine, strangers from afar.”

“Uh, uh, uh. Uh.”

Bahamut welcomed the visitors with a somewhat playful demeanor, different from his usual solemn appearance, as if trying to hold back laughter.

Yuna and Seolhwa quietly bowed their heads in greeting, and Steven could recognize that the being before him was indeed Bahamut.

However, he couldn’t get his words out.

The dragon he saw before him was so massive and its presence so overwhelming that he felt completely dominated.

“My name is Bahamut. You need not express fear. Isn’t today a joyous day when our alliance has been established?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Y-Yes! It’s a good day!”

However, Bahamut said there was no need to show fear, stating that today was a joyous day when their alliance had been established, speaking in a friendly manner.

As if the pressure had been lifted, Steven and Anna responded to Bahamut’s words with somewhat more relaxed expressions.

‘H-He’s enormous!!!’

Steven finally properly witnessed the magnificent dragon, and the boyish fantasy he had secretly given up on in the gloomy situation of the apocalypse was revived.

Giant robots, no, giant living beings were a man’s fantasy.