T/N: Letâs all prepare for some âtruthâ. Youâve been warned!
* * *
Cadel studied the man in front of him, his fiery red hair hanging down to his waist, his body tall and well-muscled, and his eyes a mysterious shade of green that Cadel couldnât quite put his finger on.
He looked exactly like the man Cadel had seen in his dream. As he had vaguely suspected since the Scarlet Dragonâs appearance, the man before him was the Scarlet Dragonâs humanoid form.
âWhat a hassle Iâve gone through.â
In human form, the Scarlet Dragonâs voice was real, not a hallucinatory echo. It was an indistinct, high-pitched voice with a faint sense of boredom and annoyance, as in the dream.
Cadel said to the Scarlet Dragon, who ran an irritated hand through his long hair as he waited by the lake, the same place Cadel had seen in his dream.
âWhat have you done to my comrades?â
âAre you worried?â
âOf course. Did you really harm them? You told me you wouldnât hurt them if I came.â
The Scarlet Dragon rolled his eyes, intrigued by Cadelâs aggressive demeanor.
âWorried, huhâ¦â¦. Thatâs funny.â
Cadel felt strongly offended by the dark mockery on the manâs face. He wanted to ask what was so funny, but the safety of his subordinates was more important.
The Scarlet Dragon shrugged lightly as Cadel pressed for an answer.
âI didnât kill them.â
They were spared. It was a relief, if not a complete relief. Cadel let out the breath heâd been holding and lowered his head. His heart was pounding from all the tension.
The Scarlet Dragon stretched out his long legs and came in front of Cadel. Cadel raised his head at the rapidly narrowing distance and stepped back with a wary look on his face. It was because he remembered the terrible headache he had in his dream. In response, the Scarlet Dragon stopped short, keeping a respectful distance.
ââ¦â¦Why did you call me?â
âWhy do you think that is?â
âHow did you come into my dream?â
âShouldnât the first question be, how did I make you dream?â
How did I make you dream?
Cadelâs mouth dropped open at the Scarlet Dragonâs comment as if he knew Cadel was in a body that couldnât dream.
âIs he even aware of the existence of the system? Is he saying that the interference itself was intentional? How on earthâ¦â¦?â
The Scarlet Dragon calmly accepted Cadelâs suspicious gaze and answered the question Cadel couldnât bring himself to ask.
âYou have powers that are not of this world.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âThough itâs more of a curse than a power.â
The Scarlet Dragon knew about the system.
As soon as Cadel realized it, his breath caught in his throat. He didnât know whether it was anticipation or fear, but his mind was filled with so many things that his vision became blurry.
âHow do you knowâ¦â¦.â
âAt first, I just went there because I was bothered by the power that was in another world. But I found something quite interesting there. It was something I hadnât seen in thousands of years, and it had been a long time since I had seen it in this body.â
Did the Scarlet Dragon in the game say something like this? He had never read the Scarlet Dragonâs story separately, but there was a high probability that it wasnât. At least the Scarlet Dragon, who guided players through events, was always fond of Cadel Lytos, calling him a âblessed child of Godâ. To the Scarlet Dragon, Cadel Lytos was simply an exceptional human hero who could protect world peace.
Cadel took the conversation in stride, trying to calm his chaotic mind.
âWhat do you mean by a curse?â
âThat power is a curse that binds fate.â
A curse that binds fate. As Cadel mulled over his ambiguous words with a stony face, the Scarlet Dragon took a step closer and looked down at Cadel, his eyes glinting with intense interest and a hint of disgust.
Cadel didnât realize it until his long hair cast a shadow in front of him. He froze and started to back away, but the Scarlet Dragon beat him to it, grabbing his arm. He bent down as if to devour Cadel, who was much smaller than him.
âIt is also a curse that kills the soul.â
âWhat do you meaâ¦â¦.â
Cadel tried to pull away from the Scarlet Dragonâs face, but the more he tried, the stronger the tug on his arm became.
The Scarlet Dragon gazed into Cadelâs perplexed gray eyes and heartlessly whispered a cruel secret.
âAre you feeling it? The existence of the soul you swallowed. Itâs stuck here, squirming, unable to die.â
Cadel couldnât understand the Scarlet Dragonâs words. More troubling, however, was the sudden appearance of the system window that had taken over his vision.
[Warning! Abnormal entities threaten the system. We recommend that you do not approach.]
[No data exists for this character. Start analyzing.]
[Time remaining to complete analysis: 02 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds]
The word âWarningâ flashed loudly like a warning light. With Cadelâs vision suddenly turning red, the Scarlet Dragon was still babbling something incoherently.
âIs it a fair price under the contract? Or unilateral looting? How is it that you, from another world, can feast on the soul here? I donât sense that level of power in you.â
The Scarlet Dragon asked many questions, but there was not a single point that Cadel could fully accept. Still, he felt strangely uncomfortable.
Beyond the systemâs warning message, the Scarlet Dragonâs eyes flashed insidiously. Just looking at him made Cadelâs head spin, gave him goosebumps for no reason, and made his vision blur and sharpen repeatedly.
âAnswer me. What is your purpose here?â
âLet me goâ¦â¦!â
The pain was suffocating, and Cadel finally gave in and fired a fireball into the Scarlet Dragonâs chest. At the same time, a searing heat radiated from the ground, despite the protective barrier he had created.
Cadel wrenched himself out of the Scarlet Dragonâs slackening grip due to the attack and clutched at his throbbing arm. His head dropped, and his eyes glazed over.
âF*ck, what the hell? What on earth?â
Apparently, the Scarlet Dragon of this world was a far cry from the Scarlet Dragon of the game. He sensed the power of the system and was intrigued. But it didnât stop there, he also revealed something Cadel didnât know.
Cadel knew he had to listen to the Scarlet Dragon closely, but he hadnât felt well since the system appeared. Every muscle in his body felt like it had been beaten.
Cadel instinctively hugged his abdomen and lifted his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the Scarlet Dragonâs expressionless face. He stood where Cadel had thrown the fireball. There was no sign of pain or panic from the attack. It was Cadel who panicked.
âScalesâ¦â¦?â
Over the Scarlet Dragonâs chest, where the fireball would have struck, a veil of translucent red scales covered it. The Scarlet Dragon stared at Cadel impassively, as if nothing had happened, and spoke in an equally impassive voice.
âIt seems your power is rejecting me. There are a lot of stories I want to hear from youâ¦â¦. So let me help you.â