episode_0031

As time passed and Seohyun still hadn’t arrived, Hangyeol sent him a message on his phone.

But the guy still didn’t show up. And class was about to start any minute now.

‘What’s he doing? Skipping? No, he’s not the type.’

Just as he was thinking that—

BOOOOM!

—SCREEEECH!

“Wh-what the…?!”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know! It’s just—some loud noise…!”

A sudden explosion sent the students, who had been sitting down for lecture, turning their heads toward the outside.

That was when Hangyeol realized something had happened.

A sudden roar. People screaming.

Something unusual was going on.

Hangyeol immediately left the classroom. Well, so did the other students.

He ran. To find out what was happening.

It probably had something to do with Seohyun. That guy was freakishly diligent—no way he’d be late for class.

A guy who was pathologically obsessed with attending class suddenly not showing up? Something must’ve happened.

And judging by the explosion and screams, it was definitely related to a Variant.

Once outside, he headed toward the source of the commotion.

Not too far from the humanities building, he saw something with the head of a goat.

And standing against it—Seohyun.

The two seemed to be exchanging words, but Hangyeol couldn’t make out what they were saying.

The goat-headed creature looked furious.

Suddenly, it conjured black flames, forming a terrifying fireball. If a normal person got hit by that, they’d be reduced to ashes in an instant.

Hangyeol felt cold sweat trickling down his back.

‘…Can he even win against that?’

He knew the breath attack Seohyun had shown before was no joke.

But that black-flame fireball the goat-head created didn’t seem like a joke either.

The heat radiating from the black flames made sweat pour down his body.

Hangyeol felt he needed to get out of there. No way was he sticking around to get caught in the crossfire and die for nothing.

If Seohyun was standing his ground like that, he must’ve been confident.

Just as he was about to turn and leave—

He saw Seohyun exhale, stretch out his palm, and absorb all the black flames.

‘…Guess I worried for nothing.’

With a strange sense of relief, he turned to run again. But then—

OOOOM—!

Suddenly, the ground trembled violently. Then, Seohyun’s body became enveloped in light. The sphere of light grew larger and larger, sending shockwaves that shook the surroundings.

“What the hell is that now…?”

Frozen in place, Hangyeol stared at Seohyun. The light emanating from his body expanded to a monstrous size.

Like a skyscraper.

And the moment the light faded, he saw it.

“…A dragon.”

An impossibly massive, oppressive dragon covered in black scales.

A dragon so terrifying that just looking at it made his knees buckle, his legs losing all strength—Seohyun’s true form, nothing like what he remembered.

The demon stared at the being before him.

When he first heard about the appearance of a draconic Variant, he was sure he could defeat a dragon.

After all, he was a demon. And the powers he wielded were immense.

He could control the flames of hell, and nothing—Variant or otherwise—could withstand them.

The first people he killed after becoming a demon were his parents.

Surprisingly, his demon parents were kind people. They just weren’t well-off.

The demon resented that. He blamed them for everything that had happened to him.

Becoming a Variant didn’t make him inherently evil—because he was already twisted from the start.

He believed his parents had ruined his life by giving birth to him, so he killed them.

As they died, they apologized to him.

The demon couldn’t care less.

Now, he had the power to rule the world as he pleased.

After killing his parents, his next victims were his boss and coworkers at the company.

He was full of grievances, twisting others’ words to fit his own narrative.

He took advice as sarcasm, genuine concern as nosiness, and discipline as petty authority.

His boss, who had done his best to help him despite his mistakes and looked out for him as a junior, was reduced to ashes by the demon’s hand.

His coworkers met the same fate.

They were good people, rare as they were. But just by being associated with him, they became targets of his warped inferiority complex and died.

That was how the demon killed so many after his transformation.

Too many to count. The authorities tried to stop him, but they failed.

Even the Variants sent to capture him turned to handfuls of ash in his grasp.

So he thought the dragon would be no different.

He was sure he could capture it and make it his slave.

Its face was pretty enough to play with, and it seemed to have plenty of useful abilities.

But… the moment the demon laid eyes on the colossal dragon, he realized something had gone terribly wrong.

It wasn’t just its size that made him feel oppressed.

Its sheer presence was terrifying.

Just looking at it made him want to press his forehead to the ground and kneel in submission.

The pressure was so overwhelming he couldn’t stay sane. His entire body trembled like a leaf.

At the same time, he realized:

This was no mere dragon.

It was something beyond—something he couldn’t even dare to define.

Then, he felt the dragon’s gaze meet his.

The moment their eyes locked, he couldn’t help but bow his head.

Though no voice spoke, his mind, his very soul, whispered to him—prostrate yourself before this being.

If he didn’t, he would die.

That was the feeling he got.

Fear consumed him. He felt like he had defied something that should never be defied.

The only thing he felt when their eyes met was death.

The pressure grew heavier and heavier.

Dragon Fear.

An oppressive force that, under normal circumstances, would’ve crushed every living thing within hundreds of meters—yet it was focused solely on the demon.

He thought he could resist to some extent, but even when he closed his eyes, he could still feel the dragon’s gaze.

In those enormous eyes, he wasn’t a demon—just an insect.

His mind was crushed.

And then, he died.

That was his last thought.

I focused my Fear on the demon. If I unleashed it recklessly, I’d instantly become a mass murderer, killing countless people.

Then, I watched as his body trembled violently before going still.

He was dead.

His body lived, but his mind was gone.

Did it have to come to this? But… this was the right choice.

If someone innocent died while transporting him, what then?

If I half-heartedly spared him and more victims suffered because of it, I’d never forgive myself.

I knew killing was wrong, but if I didn’t, he would’ve inevitably slaughtered countless people.

I saw his true nature.

And it was ugly.

Maybe even uglier than a demon’s.

The moment our eyes met, I knew.

If I let him go, he’d vent his humiliation by killing someone else.

He had piled up too much karma, and now, he was crushed beneath its weight.

That was how I chose to see it.

Suddenly, I felt a little afraid of myself.

The fact that I remained calm after killing someone made me realize I was no longer human.

I thought I’d feel at least a flicker of hesitation, even for a heinous criminal… but there was none.

Nothing.

Like crushing a bug.

From the dragon’s towering gaze, the world looked pitifully small.

I can’t get used to this.

The moment I do, I’ll truly stop being human.

Even after this transformation, I still wanted to live as a person. The world belonged to humans, after all.

And there was no guarantee I wouldn’t end up like that demon.

I didn’t want to force humanity to kneel beneath me.

If humanity pooled its strength, maybe they could even capture and kill me.

So I wanted to live as a human.

I didn’t want to become a fugitive, nor did I want to be separated from my family.

A bitter taste filled my mouth. I relaxed my body.

The overwhelming power coursing through me began to gather back into the depths of my being.

At the same time, my perspective lowered.

Returning to my human form, I felt strangely empty.

…Ah. My clothes.

They were all torn.

Even if they were Jinha’s specially made clothes, they couldn’t withstand the dragon’s massive body.

My phone was probably gone too.

Well, this was awkward.

For now, I covered myself as much as possible with my wings and tail.

This should do. Someone will come to check the situation, and I can just ask for clothes.

…This was beyond embarrassing.

Not that anyone would get any weird ideas seeing me like this.

A dragon the size of a sports field had just appeared in the middle of campus—who’d even think that?

Then, something squirmed and clung to my body.

…Huh?

Looking down, I saw it was the clothes Jinha had made.

The fabric, which should’ve been torn to shreds, was gradually reattaching itself to me.

Before long, it returned to its original, perfectly intact state.

…And my phone, which I had no idea when I’d even grabbed, was safely tucked in the pocket.

It was almost miraculous. At this point, these clothes were practically a divine artifact.

Just as the clothes fully reformed, I noticed someone approaching.

Who else?

Agent Choi Jeongho.

“…This is?”

“The demon.”

“What happened to him?”

“His body’s alive, but his mind is dead. He’s a vegetable now. Just… think of him as dead.”

“….”

“I had no choice. If I left him be, countless people would’ve died. I could’ve restrained him, but even if I handed him over to you, he’d have broken free and escaped. And then… you know what would’ve happened.”

“I understand. And… thank you. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, but also not fine.”

“….”

“Technically, I’m a murderer now. Am I going to trial for this?”

Agent Choi shook his head.

“No. That won’t happen. This was an authorized summary execution. It was an emergency, and we came here intending to kill him ourselves… though we probably would’ve been the ones dying.”

He gave a bitter smile.

“That’s a relief.”

“…You’ve been through a lot.”

“By the way, the higher-ups won’t stay quiet about this. They’ll see me as a threat.”

“Yes. But I’ll do my best to convince them you’re not a danger. I have that much authority.”

“That’s another relief. Still… this is going to be a headache for a while.”

In the distance, I spotted people running toward me.

My younger sister, Seo-ah, and Hangyeol.