“Hmmm.”

“Oho.”

“Is that so?”

“Impressive.”

Maybe it was the excitement of being acknowledged by such a great being?

Yongyong couldn’t stop making his appeal, talking non-stop to impress the man.

- “That's right! For me, that’s nothing at all!”
- “When it comes to that, I’m a pro!”
- “Aha haha!”

The joy of being recognized by someone great.

Honestly, it felt strange for a dragon like him to have such an experience.

But given the stature of the other, there was no sense of discomfort.

“Well done.”

“Eh? Yes! Moreover, I’m also... when it comes to magic, well... Ah, that? Easy.”

“…Subspace?”

“Eh! Yes, that’s right!”

Haha. Maybe I was too nervous.

He’s such a kind guy, huh?

“Hehe.”

“It’s nice that you can do so many things.”

“…Eh? Yes!”

Hmm? Something feels off.

What’s with this discomfort?

Suddenly, Yongyong felt a shiver run down his spine.

He quickly looked up at the man, who was smiling benevolently with his incredibly handsome face.

Eh… Is it just my imagination?

“Hahaha. What’s wrong?”

“Ah, n-nothing!”

Shudder—

Yongyong felt a strange chill.

His pupils trembled slightly.

“Right, Yongyong…”

“Yes, yes! Big brother!”

Without realizing it, Yongyong added a bit of enthusiasm.

Jutdak still wore that kind, benevolent smile.

“Our Yongyong, you can do many things, huh? I want to praise you.”

“Eh? Th-thank you?”

“Great! It’s decided!”

W-what? What did he decide?

What’s going on?

A sudden sense of unease crept over him.

A cold, huge hand felt like it was closing in on him without him even realizing it. A sensation like an invisible noose tightening.

No, no!

I don’t know what it is, but I need to avoid it!

“T-thank you…”

“Good. I’m naming you Padak.”

“Eh?!”

Huh? No, no...

Padak, the unpaid slave who just deletes offensive content?

“Why? Don’t want to?”

Jutdak asked, smiling kindly.

Cold sweat trickled down Yongyong’s face.

He didn’t want to accept becoming a free laborer deleting offensive content... and considering he’s a Red Dragon, he thought of all those annoying blue-colored one-trick-ponies…

This was something he couldn’t bring himself to say out loud.

“Our Yongyong, don’t you like it?”

Chill—

Why does that sweet smile feel so terrifying?

But I can’t just let myself be forced into this!

I have to say something to wiggle out of it...!

“No, no! I still have a lot to learn...”

“Haha. No, you’re excellent.”

Teeng!

This feeling of being trapped in a pit!

I can’t escape!

Kraaa!

Yongyong’s mind went blank as he met Jutdak’s golden eyes.

“Mmm, mmm. Very excellent.”

Chill—

Somehow, his praise doesn’t feel good.

Finally...

“Hehe. Thank you!”

Yeah. Unavoidable.

Let’s just accept it.

“Alright, our Yongyong can do this, right?”

“Of course! Hehe.”

“First, for now, I’d like you to be my porter.”

P-porter?

A master of mana, the mediator of the middle realms, the supreme being, the ruler of flames, and you want him to be a porter?

“Haha. You can handle that, right?”

Eh? Well…

“Ah, of course! I’m an SSS-grade porter, after all!”

“Really?”

With that smile, Yongyong took his first step into society.

Teeng—

The signal was unstable, and the community connection kept flickering. The message he had sent earlier seemed delayed too.

Thud—

Huh? It’s off again.

But Yongyong had no time to worry about it.

“Anyway, I’m new here too, so just follow me.”

“…Yes! Yes! I understand!”

New here? Didn’t Jutdak summon me here?

Did Jutdak get involved too? But he didn’t seem like it...

“There’s quite a lot of good materials here, you know?”

“Yes? Yes.”

The bones and skins of monsters didn’t look ordinary.

“Anyway, until the support arrives, there’s nothing else to do, so let’s collect some scrap metal.”

“…Scrap metal?”

Are you seriously treating these terrifying monsters like scrap?

“…”

As he casually strolled, seemingly lost in thought, he tilted his head toward the air.

“Seems like the community doesn’t work unless you’re in your main body?”

Huh? What do you mean by ‘main body’?

What is he talking about?

“By the way, ‘World’ seems to work like this.”

He waved his hand, and the fog in front of them instantly dispersed.

Wasn’t this fog supposed to be impervious to magic?

W-what’s the secret?

Jutdak, where exactly are we? And how can goblins endure Hellfire like that?

Yongyong wanted to ask a lot of things, but for now, he just quietly followed behind him.

---

**Meanwhile.**

Somewhere deep underground in the Galactic Empire's church.

- “Kraaaak!”
- “Kkraaak!”
- “Die!”
- “Taaah!”
- “S-save me!”
- “Please stop! Let me out!!”
- “Hang on just a little longer!”
- “Kkhaak!”

The screams of what seemed like hell.

- “Are you giving up now?”
- “Get a grip! It’ll be over soon!”
- “Hang in there a little longer!”
- “If you pass out, you’ll start over!”

Ten thousand warriors were being relentlessly trained under the direction of the instructors.

- “Follow along! For Emperor Karlstein!”
- “F-for Emperor Karlstein!”
- “Your voices are too quiet! You think you can survive here with that voice?”
- “Repeat after me! Galactic Empire!”

The harsh training tools were almost impossible for the warriors.

Escape was out of the question in the underground caves.

The difficulty was close to torture.

Instructors who were as cruel as demons.

The groaning was inevitable.

- “It hurts!”
- “I can’t take it anymore!”
- “We need to get out of here!”

But the place known as the “Eight Gates of Hell” could only be escaped by dying.

Until they passed through the eight gates, the suffering would never end.

- “Kraaaak!”
- “Kehh!”
- “A-aah, no!”

The ten thousand warriors who had been captured while attempting to assault the Galactic Empire’s church were spending their time in this hell.

The name of the facility had long been erased.

- “Kkhaak! Galactic! Empire!”
- “Galactic! Empire!”
- “Cough! Galactic! Empire!”
- “Ugh! Ugh!”

High-intensity hellish training courses, including forced brainwashing equipment and drug enhancements.

If they could pass the Eight Gates of Hell, they would emerge as perfectly refined elites.

Recently, warriors who had passed through the Eight Gates started appearing one by one, and the strength of the Galactic Empire was growing exponentially.

An elite training ground that combined martial arts and advanced technology.

It was like a factory cranking them out.

“Hmmm…”

A woman, watching the warriors from beyond a glass window, was lost in thought.

She was the leader of the Galactic Empire’s church.

The assistant administrator of the Dimensional Integration Community.

Birdell had been struggling to concentrate.

“…”

“Is something wrong, Miss?”

Namgungjin, usually the calm one, expressed confusion at her mood.

“It’s nothing…”

Birdell couldn’t focus, lost in her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Namgungjin was sweating as he watched the warriors at the Eight Gates of Hell.

What kind of army is this? What are they doing...?

On one side, there were people in capsules undergoing forced brainwashing, and on the other side, mechanical devices injecting them with drugs.

Beneath them, hellish scenes unfolded, with battles to the death.

...

Is this really okay?

But seeing those who passed the Eight Gates made it seem like it might be fine.

Although they looked like mindless machines, showing extreme loyalty was better than dying.

‘It’s better than losing their lives.’

That’s what she had to tell herself.

“Well... Miss, I’ll see you later.”

The central lands were peaceful for now. No force dared defy the Galactic Empire. Unless they wanted to face the flying army of General Kang.

Birdell remained silent after sending Namgungjin off.

“Fire Dragon…”

Hmm. What is this feeling?

Frustration, strangely sharp nerves.

Jealousy?

The broadcast video she had accidentally come across yesterday.

She hadn’t watched it live, but from the summary, she could guess what had happened.

...How dare he.

“….”

How is this even possible?

Anger surged.

She exhaled deeply, shaking off the sticky feelings.

“Jealousy… It’s a new feeling.”

Is this thanks to the transformation?

A lot had changed since the transformation.

It was like peeling away the layers of her mind.

The terrible memories that had weighed heavily on her now felt like something from a distant past.

Now, she could see things more objectively, with more peace in her heart.

Just that change had made the once gray world

 around her fill with color and vitality.

The heavy emotional chains that had tormented her for so long felt like they had been thrown off.

Of course, she wasn’t perfect yet. She had only grown one step forward. Her essence hadn’t changed.

She still found humans utterly repulsive.

At that moment, a message arrived from the person in the spotlight.

“…?”

Birdell’s face froze as she read the message.

This?

It was sent by “Fire Dragon,” but the content was clearly from that person.

“!!”

They asked if she could come to the “World.”

If she could, she should prepare to join the battle.

A brilliant smile appeared on Birdell’s face.

Ah…!

Finally.

Could she meet that person in person?

If so, she couldn’t afford to prepare half-heartedly.

Birdell’s eyes gleamed coldly as she watched the warriors of the Eight Gates.

“I’ll need to train them more if I want to be ready.”

---

The warriors of the Eight Gates of Hell shuddered, feeling a cold, unsettling presence.

- “Kraaaak!”
- “I can’t take it anymore!”
- “Save me!”
- “T-Taaah!”