<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 133>
There is a being.
From the moment of birth, this being breathes mana and naturally comes to understand magic.
Naturally, as if it were something that must surely be.
This being creates magic from unseen natural phenomena. From erupting lava, to raging storms, and even from the fluttering cherry blossoms.
To this being, learning is unnecessary. To this being, everything in the world is fundamentally magic itself.
This being has no need for the established rules of magic manifestation—it can manifest magic merely through its will.
The progenitor of magic.
The source of magic.
The absolute ruler of magic.
We call this being…
‘Dragon.’
At the peak of the High Castle, the ‘Dragon Lair.’
A handsome man with golden hair and azure eyes sat crossed-legged in a throne.
“…”
The man is none other than the Red Dragon.
The absolute ruler of the American West and its Guardian Spirit.
Yet now, Red Dragon’s expression is far from pleasant, all because of a human—Park Ki-hyuk’s reflection in a mirror.
“I don’t like it.”
How dare someone enter his domain and refuse to even make a greeting?
Certainly, bowing should be the first action.
It has been days since this human arrived in America, and yet there’s not even a glimpse of him.
“I really don’t like it.”
If the human were busy with something important, it might be understandable.
Humans, after all, are imperfect creatures with finite lifespans of less than a century, despite their infinite potential. Moreover, they often waste their lives maintaining connections with others.
For humans cannot stand alone—it is most pitiful.
From Red Dragon’s perspective, as a being who is complete on his own, humans are nothing short of pitiful.
Thus, he could forgive Park Ki-hyuk’s rudeness. After all, he had just arrived, and Red Dragon understood the need to establish connections. It would not be bad for Park Ki-hyuk to create bonds here, for he would eventually become the ‘disciple’ of this place.
Still, Park Ki-hyuk was doing none of that.
“Human is nothing like that.”
No new connections?
No adaptation to the environment?
None of it.
He spends all day playing with Park Bom, that childish human, and Jin Yu-ri, a woman who emits a disagreeable stench.
Occasionally, a competent merchant named Optimum joins in.
On the first day, he even dressed in strange clothes at a theme park and paraded around with them. On the second day, they claimed it was ‘shopping’ and spent the day at a department store.
See for yourself. In the video now, Park Ki-hyuk is laughing as he swings his arms while riding a tilted Viking ship with Park Bom and Jin Yu-ri.
Finding happiness in the lowly amusements made by humans…
It’s disappointing. Simultaneously, he feels pitiful watching such a human and waiting for him.
If only he could immediately drag Park Ki-hyuk here and ask him.
What made Gigant so desperate to desire you?
But he cannot.
Even Red Dragon cannot easily manipulate this human, who is being watched by both Yggdrasil and Gigant, two Guardian Spirits.
“Distasteful.”
He’s watching.
To the overly proud Red Dragon, this reality is most displeasing. As the discomfort lingers, his resentment towards Park Ki-hyuk continues to grow.
Yet despite this, Park Ki-hyuk shows no interest in him, with no plans to visit.
An endless battle of wills.
Ultimately, it was Red Dragon who made the first move.
Through Kim Yeon-hee, he officially sent an invitation. This happened on the exact seventh day after Park Ki-hyuk arrived in LA.
They finally meet.
Red Dragon, harboring intentions, meets Park Ki-hyuk, who lacks any thoughts, at the ‘Dragon Lair.’
Just then.
“Is that you?”
What does this mean?
Their first greeting is simply “Is that you…”?
When a bow and an apology—”I apologize for being late”—would have been necessary, he says “Is that you?”
Crack.
Red Dragon’s emotionless demeanor finally wavered as his brows creased.
And he resolved.
He must surely educate this arrogant human.
“Hmm… why is he suddenly acting like this?”
Did he eat something wrong? His expression is really off.
Surely it’s not because I muttered to myself before greeting him, right? Nah, it can’t be that.
If he knew he was a Dragon, he shouldn’t be this petty.
Anyway, that’s not important now.
Before, I mentioned the material that surpasses mana. I’ve found it—it’s right in front of me.
Dragon.
Isn’t this the clearest material that surpasses mana?
Worthy of the title ‘Master of Magic,’ each part of the Dragon’s body contains immense mana, yet does not transform into magic itself.
“Claws, nails, scales—there’s nothing to discard.”
In the old days of the Empire, there are many folk tales where a Dragon playing as a human would gift their claws or scales in gratitude.
This isn’t a joke.
In ancient academic journals, it’s written that Dragons often did such things because of their long lifespans and the resulting ennui. They were simply bored, and they moved around a lot.
The Dragon’s scattered nails became renowned swords in the hands of famous heroes, becoming legendary over time.
Though, the somewhat peaceful relationship between humans and Dragons from the past completely broke down during my time, leading to the emergence of ‘Evil Dragons’—but that’s an irrelevant story for now.
“Couldn’t I at least get a few scales or nails, without asking for bones?”
Thinking that, I took a seat.
“First of all… it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Red Dragon, the master of this land.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Park Ki-hyuk.”
“Nice… to meet you?”
“Yeah, nice to meet you. I’m also glad to meet you.”
“I am Red Dragon.”
“I know. I’m Park Ki-hyuk.”
“Huh…”
He responded with casual speech, and all Red Dragon could do was laugh nervously—”Haha…”—then stare coldly, observing me as if I were some peculiar life form.
A gaze that seemed to wonder how far I would dare to push things.
It’s true, as Gigant had mentioned.
“The pervert from the West is absurdly arrogant. He thinks the world revolves around him.”
“His greed knows no bounds. He sees everything within his territory as his own—land, humans, everything. That’s why the West is closed off; he controls all the Gates.”
“He was saying you’re going to the West, huh? Uh… I hope you don’t go. If you do, be careful. By the way, I did talk a lot about you in front of him. You know, he has this… um… yeah, he has inferiority complexes! He’ll want to take you from me because I showed interest in you.”
Still, I thought Dragons wouldn’t be that bad. But no, it turned out to be true.
An emperor suddenly comes to mind.
That guy who thought the entire empire belonged to him, insisting everyone must be united under him.
To me, the emperor and this Red Dragon sitting in front of me are not very different.
And people like them, if you bend too easily, they’ll end up standing on your head within no time.
My pride won’t allow that.
“You’re the one who wanted to see me, right? If you called me here, it must be for a reason. But here you have me, and you can’t even offer a cup of tea?”
“…”
Red Dragon glared coldly at me before waving his hand. Instantly, wine appeared, elegantly served in old-fashioned wine glasses.
As I was about to comment on how alcohol could affect muscle loss, I decided just to take a sip. Better not to cause trouble now.
“Alright then. Let’s talk. I heard you did something with Gigant. What exactly did you do?”
“I took some classes.”
“What kind of classes?”
“Optimization, and some other things.”
“Optimization? Did that cursed one even teach you such a skill? Didn’t you receive Gigant’s War Armor?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Then do you have War Armor?”
“I had one, but not anymore.”
“But why? Optimization is a technique designed to handle Gigant’s War Armor, so why are you learning it when you don’t have one?”
“Why not? I just wanted to learn it.”
Crack.
A crack appeared in Red Dragon’s otherwise emotionless face.
“…Show proper respect, human. I respect you to this extent.”
“Well, what I want to say is—do you show respect with casual language? And you do it on the first meeting? Even kindergartners don’t do that these days.”
“It feels like you’re making me itch.”
“If that’s how you feel, I apologize. But why am I making you itch? And why do you keep referring to yourself in the third person? It makes me uncomfortable.”
“…You’re crazy.”
Red Dragon chuckled, took a sip of wine, and continued.
A being of this nature wouldn’t give up, so he must have plans to deal with me later.
If that’s the case, I welcome it too.
Amidst this icy standoff, the conversation continued.
He subtly probed me.
“I know you spent time with Gigant at Gigant Factory. Did you see something called ‘Mantle’?”
“Yeah, it was shown to me. You call it wings, right?”
“…That originally belonged to me. That cursed Gigant woman stole it.”
“Well, it seems to me neither you nor Gigant can be the true owner of it.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. I don’t play mind games like you. I say things as they are, so take it at face value.”
“Hmph… let’s see how far you can be arrogant.”
He even tried to lure me in with his greatest achievement in artificial spirits.
“Are you not interested in learning artificial spirits? To be frank, this technology is a revolution in spirits.”
“True.”
“You recognize it? Of course you should. The concept of creating spirits to control others is not something a normal human could easily come up with.”
“No, what I mean is—the embarrassing part where you brag about it yourself.”
“…”
“What is this? You made artificial spirits to project your influence into the human world, didn’t you?”
“Gigant told you, did she?… Did I say that?”
“No, but it’s clear when you look at the general situation. Gigant sends out Alpha Gears; you send out artificial spirits to snatch lands.”
“…”
“Are you seriously thinking I don’t recognize your spirits? I was just testing how far you’d go. But, is it really appropriate to follow me even to the restroom? Or, are you possibly…”
“…Shut up.”
“Anyway, both of you should know your limits. Didn’t you get a warning from ‘God’? In my view, your current state is rather precarious.”
“Misunderstanding. My artificial spirits wouldn’t dare because of such a trivial reason…”
“Hey, since you’re called Dragon, don’t make excuses—it’s embarrassing. Better to admit it quickly like Gigant did. You look cooler that way.”
Seeing that none of this works, he even tries to pull out a ridiculous bluff.
“I saw the magic you use. It was called ‘Apocalypse,’ right? It was a splendid magic for a human but had many weak points. Let’s research it together.”
“To be honest, you can’t interpret Apocalypse, can you?”
“…That’s nonsense!”
“Can you swear on your ‘name’?”
“…”
“Time is precious. Let’s have meaningful conversations, alright?”
Come to think of it, Red Dragon and I don’t have compatible traits.
From my perspective, not necessarily, but definitely from Red Dragon’s point of view.
You see, he’s an expert in magic, and I’m also deeply involved in magic, right?
Gigant’s magical engineering was an entirely new field to me, so her knowledge and experience were things I could learn from.
But the Red Dragon in front of me?
There’s nothing to learn.
Actually, we are beings who have seen the end of magic through different paths. It’s not a teacher-student relationship but rather a partner to share achievements with.
If Red Dragon had been more cooperative, we could have had a much more productive discussion, just like how Yggdrasil and I became friends.
That would have been beneficial to both sides.
But look at what he’s doing now.
Eighty percent of what he says is self-praise, with “I am, I am” attached to every sentence. Can you imagine having a constructive conversation with such an irritating individual?
‘Do all Dragons think they’re the same?’
But if you think this Red Dragon in front of you is similar to the Evil Dragon Tylus, who led me to d*ath during the old days of the Empire, that would be a huge mistake.
The Evil Dragon Tylus was at least over 8,000 years old—an Ancient among Ancients.
Whereas, him?
‘Probably just a Worm-class dragon.’
Whatever you look at, he’s barely out of the Worm stage, just now pretending to be a true Dragon.
In the eyes of a dragon, it’s like a barely twenty-year-old kid talking in the third person.
How pitiful does that make him look to me?
“Since you don’t seem to have anything to say, I’ll leave.”
“…I can’t tolerate this at all.”
“Next time, if you have questions, come out. Gigant sends her ‘eyes’ outside, right? You can do something similar.”
“Fine, I’ll make this the final offer. Work under me.”
“In that case…”
At that moment, a smile surfaced on my lips.
Red Dragon, who has been rubbed raw, is in for the punch I’ve been planning.
“Let’s make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“Let’s bet.”
I pointed at Red Dragon.
“If you win, I’ll work for you.”
Then I pointed at myself.
“If I win, give me your nails.”
Red Dragon isn’t stupid. Being one who has seen the essence of magic, he caught my intentions accurately.
“You’ve intentionally antagonized me.”
“Not antagonized, but yes, intentionally.”
“Good, let’s add something to the deal.”
He pointed his finger at me.
“If you win, I’ll give you ten of my nails. But if I win, you’ll obey me without question for a year.”
“Alright, deal accepted. Add another year, that’s two. Plus 100 kilograms of scales. Call?”
“Call. Plus 100 kilograms of scales and claws for one more year.”
“Alright, deal. That’s three years then. Add an additional two years for a total of five, and I’ll throw in the shedding of my wings.”
At that moment, Red Dragon slammed the table, trembling.
“All-in. I’ll bet my whole body. But if I win, you’ll be my slave for twenty years.”
“Ah-ha~”
In response, I invoked magic.
Around the table where we sat, a hexagram appeared, and sheets of mana-filled paper emerged, densely inscribed with text.
Commonly known as:
Contract of the Mana
An oath that mages make by staking their mana against one another.
The moment it appeared, cracks formed on his face—not of anger but of confusion. It was as if he were asking how I knew about this magic.
I just smiled as I placed my palm on the Contract of Mana.
“I, Park Ki-hyuk, shall become your slave for ‘my entire life’ should I lose this duel against Red Dragon.”
“…”
“My everything’s on the line now. What will you put up?”
Back away if you’re scared.
