Chapter 60

[60] Oppa, Run.

She’d gone through this so many times that she should have grown used to it by now. But she still hadn’t gotten used to the sensation.

Her whole body trembled, and Sia’s heart began to beat irregularly.

The outbursts had become less frequent over time, happening only once every few decades, so she hadn’t been too worried about them.

But of all times, it looked like one was about to happen now.

The last time I had an outburst…

Had it been sixty or seventy years ago?

Come to think of it, it wouldn’t have been strange if another one started soon. She’d been far too careless about it.

But the outburst wasn’t the only thing she’d been careless about.

She hadn’t told Minjun about them sooner. And even when she brought it up today, she should have explained the symptoms and what to do in detail.

The truth was, she’d been too embarrassed to describe the symptoms to Minjun, so she’d glossed over them.

She shouldn’t have.

When her power ran wild, she’d start firing off magic as if someone else were controlling her.

A dragon losing control and unleashing magic everywhere…

It sounded like a disaster, and it really was one.

The only reason no one had been hurt during her previous outbursts was that other dragons had helped her each time.

An elder dragon around Rokan’s age could easily contain the magic she unleashed during an outburst.

The last time it happened, three other adult dragons had contained her uncontrolled magic and kept it from escaping her lair. That was why she’d gotten through it without causing any major damage.

But what about now?

If they’d been outside the dungeon gate, she might have sent Rokan a telepathic message to ask for help. Or she could have used the ring Minjun wore to send him somewhere safe.

The dragons who’d settled on Earth might even have sensed that her energy was unstable and come to help her.

But all three options were impossible while they were inside the gate.

This place was in a different dimension from Earth.

She couldn’t contact Rokan across dimensions, use a teleportation artifact to get outside, or have the other dragons sense her energy.

That left only one option.

Before her outburst began, Minjun had to get through the portal and tell Rokan what was happening.

It might have seemed simple, but Sia knew what was about to happen. She knew it wouldn’t be easy.

“Oppa, run.”

“…Huh?”

Just moments ago, they’d been enjoying a peaceful conversation together.

Now Sia was suddenly frowning and telling him to run. Minjun couldn’t help being confused.

But when Sia cried out again—

“Go get Grandpa!”

Even Minjun, who hadn’t realized how serious this was at first, quickly understood from her desperate shout.

A chill ran down his spine. Without hesitating, he raced toward the portal.

He could tell at a glance that this was beyond anything he could handle.

But it was too late.

Her outburst began as soon as she finished speaking.

Crackle, crackle.

Mana began discharging from her body like electricity.

Minjun hurriedly dodged, but this was only the beginning.

“Please, Oppa, get away…”

Now that the outburst had started, even speaking was difficult.

She had to force every last bit of strength into saying even a single word.

Minjun had stumbled and rolled awkwardly while dodging. Clutching his knee, he turned his gaze toward the portal.

But—

It was already too late.

Most of the magic Sia was unleashing without control was headed toward the portal.

Sia gritted her teeth and tried with all her might to control the spells, but she couldn’t make them obey.

Some of the spells she fired went toward Minjun.

One of the weaker Magic Missiles grazed his clothes.

“Ugh…!”

It had only grazed him, but the pain was already this bad.

Minjun couldn’t control her. He could barely dodge the magic pouring out of her, let alone make his way to the portal.

Sia knew that, too. Tears already streaming down her face, she looked at Minjun.

She thought that today might be her last day with him.

A horrible possibility she’d never imagined—or wanted to imagine—rose in her mind.

“Oppa…”

She still couldn’t speak properly, and the pain throughout her body was worse than usual.

The only thing she could do was fight to hold on to her consciousness and keep her magic from reaching the dungeon exit.

Maybe the pain she felt now was a side effect of desperately trying to steer it away.

But no matter how hard she tried to control the situation, she couldn’t make it work.

Just like all the times before.

“Sia! Sia!”

Minjun shouted her name desperately, but no amount of shouting could bring her back to her senses in this state.

Minjun had only two choices.

He could hold out until Sia’s outburst ended, or he could run as far away as possible.

But he couldn’t just run.

Once the time they were allowed to spend together ran out, Minjun might be affected by Sia’s energy and lose consciousness, just as he had before.

About three and a half hours had passed since he’d met Sia, which meant he had roughly one hour left.

Maybe even less.

Sia’s outburst was exposing more of her unique energy than usual.

That could only reduce the amount of time Minjun could remain in the same space as her.

I have to think this through.

Should he run as far away as possible? Or try to break through the magic and reach the exit portal?

Or was there some other way to escape the dungeon?

None of the three choices seemed right to Minjun.

There was no guarantee that running far away would keep him safe from her exposed energy.

With so many variables to consider, it was hardly a safe choice.

The closest thing to an answer, as far as he could see, was the last option: getting through the portal somehow.

Barely dodging the various spells flying at him, Minjun opened his subspace.

First, he pulled out the Dragon Bone Sword. Then he grabbed every artifact he could find that might be of any use.

Deflecting the spells that continued to rain down on him, Minjun hurled one artifact after another at Sia.

Artifacts that could disrupt magic, restrain her, cure abnormal conditions—even one enchanted with a sleep spell.

But her condition barely improved.

Well, she was a dragon. It was only natural that using these things over and over wouldn’t have much effect.

Even if he charged straight toward the portal, there was no guarantee he’d reach it safely.

Getting hurt was inevitable. He might even die.

Still, it was time to make a decision.

“Sia, trust me. I’ll figure something out.”

No matter what it took, he had to escape and get Rokan’s help.

For both Sia’s sake and his own.

Minjun reached for his subspace.

Maybe if he pulled out every artifact he had and armed himself with them, he could somehow break through.

But—

“…W-what? Why won’t it open?”

For some reason, his subspace wouldn’t open.

It was just like when he’d fought the villains before and couldn’t access it because of one of their artifacts.

Minjun panicked. Sia met his eyes and mouthed something.

He could tell she was trying to say something, but the explosions from the spells she was unleashing drowned out her voice.

Could it be…?

Had one of the spells she’d fired out of control sealed his subspace?

He had no way to know for sure.

But the real problem now wasn’t why the subspace wouldn’t open. It was that he couldn’t access it at all.

That left him with no choice.

“I have to stop her myself.”

Instead of running from the magic, Minjun decided to use Dragon Speech to stop Sia, even if only for a moment.

This was the very place where he’d first succeeded in using Dragon Speech.

Things were different now, and last time he’d been bedridden for days from the aftereffects.

But if the conditions were the same, there was no reason it couldn’t work again.

His body was already in bad shape from the spells that had hit him. Unlike last time, he could really die if he made a mistake.

And the wyverns and soldiers he’d faced back then were nothing compared to Sia.

But I have to do it.

No matter how slim the chance of success—

This was his only option.

He had to survive and hold on to his goal of becoming a dragon.

He had to have the wedding with Sia that they’d dreamed of for so long.

Fired by a stronger resolve than ever, Minjun bit down hard on his lip.

He who is prepared to die shall live; he who is afraid to die shall perish.

With the desperate resolve that he wouldn’t mind dying here, Minjun attempted to use Dragon Speech.

[Stop.]

His only goal was to halt Sia’s outburst, even briefly.

To ease her pain, even a little.

To keep their miraculous reunion from ending in a heartbreaking tragedy.

As Minjun tried to use Dragon Speech, Sia’s face filled with alarm.

He thought she was startled because he was gambling on Dragon Speech.

But that wasn’t why she was panicking.

She could sense that her polymorph form would soon be forcibly undone, revealing her true body.

She was embarrassed at the thought of Minjun seeing her true form, but that wasn’t the problem right now.

If she returned to her true form, the magic and Dragon Speech she unleashed would be far more powerful than they were now.

She was still holding on through sheer force of will, but she wasn’t sure she could keep her magic under control well enough not to hurt Minjun once she returned to her true form.

But Sia could feel it instinctively.

There wasn’t much time left before her human form gave way.

If Minjun’s Dragon Speech worked before then—

If it could stop her outburst, even for an instant—

“AAAHHH!”

Overcome by agony that consumed her entire body, she screamed.

Red light began to gather around her.

It was a sign that she was about to lose control, her polymorph would dissolve, and she would take on her true form.

[Please, please stop!]

His vision began to darken.

Even so, Minjun shouted until his voice went hoarse.

[Stop! Stop! Stop!]

Was it because he was forcing himself to use Dragon Speech with his body in such bad shape?

Cough, cough—

Minjun started coughing up blood.

But even as the mana throughout his body began to surge backward—

He gripped the Dragon Bone Sword so tightly that its hilt cut into his palm, and roared out Dragon Speech.

[Please, that’s enough! Stop, Siaaaa!]

As the words left his mouth, Minjun’s legs gave out and he sank to the ground.

At the same time, the red light gathering around Sia scattered as if by magic—

And every movement of her body came to a halt.