Rizamon.

The massive dragon from the Western Region has a twisted personality.

Although she is the Red Dragon and Fire Dragon, her heart is colder than ice.

Her body is hot, but with a cold heart, it was natural for her personality to have duality.

It wasn’t always like this.

There was a time when she was a small lizard, chattering and enjoying conversation.

She was a young lizard, worried whether the fire at the tip of her tail would go out, sleeping nestled in her family’s embrace.

At that time, her heart was undoubtedly warm.

But as time passed, she began to change.

It was a memory of losing something precious.

When she lost her parents to the Brain Birds, the flames in her heart were extinguished.

While fleeing, she clutched her younger sibling’s hand tightly and encountered the Ice Dragon.

After that, her heart froze.

She lost precious things one after another.

The current her was not bound by past memories.

Rather than what she had lost, she craved to fill something new.

Fiery heat and sparkling treasures.

The Red Dragon began to obsessively cling to them.

She had to make her body even hotter.

She had to gather even more sparkling things.

Only then could she fill the void left by what she had lost.

Only then could she melt her frozen heart.

....

And there was something more important than filling herself.

Not losing what was hers.

Her parents, taken by the Brain Birds.

Her younger sibling, frozen to death by the Ice Dragon.

She could no longer afford to lose anything precious.

That was her vow.

Afterward, she encountered a precious being in the volcano she had found again.

Though she did not resemble her younger sibling, her actions were similar.

She also loved to burrow into the Red Dragon’s embrace.

The Red Dragon swore that she would not let anyone take that lizard from her.

And then.

Once again, a cold wind blew.

It was the chilling cold that had taken her younger sibling away.

The Red Dragon followed her vow.

Even if it meant using slightly extreme methods, she swore to protect what was hers.

* 

The Red Dragon stroked her chest.

“I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

In her dragon form, she had pierced through the crimson scales.

Though the wound didn’t show when she returned to human form, it was clear she had suffered a fatal injury.

She had transformed back into a human during battle, which meant it had become difficult to maintain her dragon form.

But it was not over yet.

The Red Dragon was strong enough in human form to overwhelm Baek Lang.

She would still have enough strength left to fight.

Even if her body broke, she had to move more.

My attack had succeeded, but the Red Dragon had also managed to land a hit on me.

We had exchanged lethal blows, both suffering great damage.

If you looked at appearances alone, it would seem I was in a more dangerous position.

I didn’t know the principle, but as soon as I returned to human form, the wound from earlier was no longer visible.

With my momentum slightly shaken, I had to finish this.

Just as I was about to follow up.

“…I lost.”

She raised both hands.

She acknowledged her defeat.

What was she doing?

Did she have some hidden technique?

Was she stalling for time, hoping all her strength would suddenly return?

…Such a convenient technique probably didn’t exist.

“Why, do you think I would lie?”

Then why was she acting this way?

It was clear she still had some strength left.

Even so, the Red Dragon withdrew her momentum.

“I said something earlier, how can I take it back?”

It was as if she truly intended to acknowledge her defeat.

“The exchange we just had was my perfect loss. My goodness, I never dreamed you would be capable of such an attack.”

Earlier, she had clearly said to end it with one hit.

Did that mean she truly intended to settle this with the strike just now?

Both of us still had energy left, didn’t we?

The Red Dragon chattered, as if feeling relieved.

A myriad of thoughts raced through my mind.

But I decided that listening for a moment wouldn’t hurt.

I could use this time to recover my stamina a little.

The Red Dragon’s golden eyes stared at me for a long time.

I couldn’t tell what emotions were contained in her eyes.

“I thought I could embrace you.”

I could only tell that she looked somewhat sad.

“You embraced me, didn’t you?”

She muttered words whose meaning I couldn’t grasp.

What did she mean by “embraced”?

We had only fought as if we would kill each other.

“It’s now a blurry memory, but I once swore that I would never let anything be taken from me again.”

Plop.

The Red Dragon sat down on a protruding rock nearby.

Her posture was completely defenseless, as if she truly had no intention to fight.

“The bitterly cold chill took everything from me.”

Flame.

A small spark ignited at her fingertips.

It wasn’t a flame for battle.

Her tiny flame took the form of a lizard.

Crisp.

As the Red Dragon clenched her fist, the flame that had illuminated the surroundings extinguished.

“Do you remember when I told you there was something I couldn’t melt with my flame?”

The Red Dragon’s flame could be considered pure fire.

It had such tremendous heat that it could melt even my form as a Breaking Dragon.

“Do you know what that thing is?”

The fur of a Fire Rat.

That wouldn’t be the answer she wanted.

No matter how much I wrapped myself in Fire Rat fur, I couldn’t stop the inside from burning away.

“It’s my heart.”

...Her heart?

Is she really talking about the Red Dragon's heart?

“It froze so coldly that it wouldn’t melt no matter what.”

The Red Dragon continued speaking without waiting for my reply.

“I thought that if I kept raising the flames, if I submerged myself in lava, maybe I could melt it.”

The Red Dragon looked up at the sky.

“It’s raining.”

Swoosh...

The light drizzle lightly cooled the volcano's heat.

“Flowers are blooming.”

The Red Dragon looked at the ground.

Nameless flowers filled the cracked earth.

“The changing seasons naturally melted my heart.”

The Red Dragon's gaze turned toward my face.

“What I needed wasn’t the volcano’s heat, but the warmth of a spring day.”

She continued in a calm voice.

“I just said that as a joke, but I didn’t know if true dragons really existed. Yet, it’s become like this.”

The corners of the Red Dragon’s mouth lifted.

“So, what I want to say is…”

Was that the true face of the Red Dragon?

It showed a bright smile different from what I had seen until now.

“Thank you.”

….

Was she trying to pass over this situation naturally?

I couldn’t forgive the Red Dragon.

I might let go of the torture she inflicted on me.

That was something I could just brush aside.

But what she did to Baek Lang was something I couldn’t overlook.

How could she mercilessly torment someone so much weaker than herself?

Especially when she knew that they were connected to me.

Even now, pretending to be nice wouldn’t make me let it go.

“And I have one favor to ask.”

Flare.

Once again, the flames surged.

What formed was a chain made of the same material that had enveloped my body.

I felt the oppressive heat, compressed to the extreme.

The red chain wrapped around her neck.

Just a little tug would be enough to choke her.

The Red Dragon extended the end of the chain toward me.

“Will you take my core?”

...What?

“I want to reward my little one, but the gold scattered around here is useless.”

The Red Dragon looked down at a partially destroyed golden statue.

“Bringing my core would be the same as asking to be set free.”

I couldn’t simply let the Red Dragon go.

After all, she could flee as she said.

She might ambush me while I was off guard.

…So, was the conclusion I reached to kill myself?

Could she really say that in such a calm voice, without a care?

“I’m satisfied with just feeling warmth for a short time.”

The Red Dragon’s core.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted.

It would surely far surpass the cores of the Odu and the Imyeon birds.

I grasped the end of the chain the Red Dragon offered.

If I just pulled it, I could obtain the Red Dragon’s core.

I would gain tremendous experience as well.

After all, I couldn’t simply let the Red Dragon go.

Why would I pass up the chance to handle such a powerful foe effortlessly?

….

Yeah.

[Would you like to offer the divine belief to 【Red Dragon lv???】?]

One core alone wouldn’t make a profit.

I would have to drain her dry until she became a true dragon to barely break even.

The Red Dragon’s pupils widened.

She looked at me with a slightly surprised expression, then made the usual snort.

“If you’re that stupid, you won’t be useful.”

Thud.

The Red Dragon’s unbroken arm grabbed my hand that held the chain.

“Huh.”

She smiled sweetly.

Swoosh!

The chain I was holding transformed.

The intense heat that had been burning flesh disappeared.

It turned into a single thread infused with the warmth of spring.

Thud.

Only then did the Red Dragon release my hand.

Thus, my hand remained holding onto that thread.

What kind of trick was she playing to make that expression?

I shifted my gaze to the red thread.

Following the thread, my eyes reached its end.

“Little one.”

My gaze landed on the Red

 Dragon’s neck.

The warm red thread was touching the Red Dragon’s neck.

In a different shape than when it was a chain.

“No, should I call you my divine beast now?”

It was like she had put on a collar.

“Please take care of me, my divine beast.”

The Red Dragon smiled once more.

She glanced at her injured arm and then looked back at my face, playfully sticking out her tongue.

It was a mischievous expression, as if she had just scored a hit.

I couldn’t keep up with the fickleness of her emotions.

But one thing was clear.

The image she had shown until now was a facade, and this playful demeanor was her true self.

The warmth of spring melted the cold ice.

But everything was still not over.

“Geh geh gehk.”

I sharply remarked and looked over at Baek Lang’s condition.

…Huh?

“Gek?”

……

“Geh geh geh geh gehk!”

Why couldn’t I speak?