Noah blinked.
Through the thick trees, the scenery of a quiet city came into view. By now, it was a place that had become very familiar to him.
Seoul.
'A dungeon.'
The system message window was telling him that this place was inside a dungeon. He had never seen a dungeon that looked modern like this before, but the dungeon in Japan last time had not been ordinary either. Because of that, Noah calmly used a stealth skill first.
Even as a support-type, the quantity and quality of Noah's dungeon-clearing experience did not lose out to that of most S-rank Hunters. Ever since he had still been an A-rank Hunter, he had been dragged by Riette—a powerful S-rank Hunter—through every kind of dungeon in every kind of country, and even after growing into an S-rank himself and founding his own guild, he had continued to receive ceaseless requests from other guilds for raid support.
So there was no reason to panic just because he had suddenly fallen into an unfamiliar dungeon. In fact, when it came to survival, Noah was superior to most S-rank Hunters. His direct combat ability might be lacking, but he possessed skills optimized for staying alive.
He could conceal himself with stealth, and flight made escape easy. Since his Poison Resistance was high, it was also easier for him to consume lifeforms from within dungeons, and using poison and curses allowed him to set a variety of traps. On top of that, he could heal himself. Surviving anywhere was the one thing that would not be difficult for him.
'If it were Mr. Yujin, he would've gone either to the rearing facility or to Haeyeon Guild.'
Golden wings spread behind Noah's back. Soundlessly, his body rose into the air. Since he did not know the rank of the monsters in this place, he moved as cautiously as possible even with stealth active. Instead of taking full dragon form, he deliberately used dragonkin form, which was relatively smaller, and beat his wings as though hiding in the shadows of the buildings.
Skimming past the rows and rows of glass windows packed together like scales, Noah swept his gaze below. He checked every alley in detail, but saw no sign of monsters.
Instead—
'…Hunters?'
Two armed Hunters were wandering around below. Noah silently landed atop the railing of an apartment building.
'Raiders?'
Even if a raid party had entered a dungeon first, the gate did not close immediately. Because of that, sometimes a different raid party would cut in afterward.
But this dungeon should have appeared in China, and those people did not look Chinese. Noah turned off his translation item and listened carefully.
"Doesn't it feel kind of cold?"
"It's chilly for autumn."
It was Korean. Noah had not yet completely mastered Korean, but he could understand words like autumn and cold well enough. What was going on? Moreover, the Hunters' behavior was suspicious as well. The relaxed way they were walking down the street did not look like people in the middle of a dungeon raid at all.
Noah watched them carefully for a while longer, then picked up a small flowerpot and threw it toward them.
"Whoa! What the—"
"Did someone drop that?"
The Hunters swiftly dodged the falling flowerpot. Noah's eyes took in the sight sharply.
'Probably B-rank, or lower A-rank.'
Their reaction speed was quick for mid-ranks, but lacking if one were to call them high-rank. There were no signs of other Hunters or monsters nearby. Wings that had been folded spread wide, and Noah's body dropped from the apartment building. His wings caught the wind, floating him soundlessly down over the two Hunters.
The Hunters were still completely off guard. As they traded pointless small talk, Noah let poison seep out toward them. Slowly, gradually, a poison that dulled the body spread through the air—and just before the Hunters noticed that something was wrong, Noah's hand shot out.
"Ghk!"
A hard, scaled hand closed around a Hunter's throat. The Hunter beside him hurried to draw his weapon, but—
Thud!
A thick golden tail slammed brutally into the Hunter's side. Still holding the relatively weaker Hunter in his grip, Noah planted his foot on the throat of the Hunter rolling along the ground and pressed down hard. The Hunter pinned beneath him tried to swing his weapon, but the end of Noah's tail knocked it aside with a sharp crack.
"S-spare me…"
"What were you doing here?"
At Noah's question, spoken after dropping his stealth, the Hunter in his grip quickly answered.
"Just… taking a walk!"
"A walk? In a dungeon?"
"…Huh?"
The Hunter looked baffled by Noah's words.
"T-this is Seoul. Seoul, Korea. Korea."
The Hunter trapped under Noah's foot also nodded with difficulty. Noah blinked as he looked at the two Hunters. These people did not recognize that this place was a dungeon.
'…Is it not a dungeon?'
But for this to be the real Seoul, the streets were far too quiet.
Besides—
"I am Noah Luire."
"R-right, I see."
Neither of the two Hunters recognized Noah. Even though they were Korean Hunters. He had a distinctive appearance, an extremely rare full dragon transformation skill, and in addition, the match where he fought Riette in the A-rank ranking tournament had been broadcast on TV. So the odds that a mid-rank Hunter—not even an unawakened civilian—would not know who Noah was were practically zero.
This was strange.
After tossing the Hunter aside, Noah used stealth again and flew up.
'It's Seoul, but not Seoul?'
The dungeon in Japan came to mind. That place had also been a dungeon, but people had been living their ordinary lives inside it. Was this a similar situation?
Finding Han Yoojin seemed like the top priority after all. He would know something. Noah quickly made his way through the forest of buildings while checking his direction. He ignored the occasional Hunters he saw and kept going. Just as he curved around a towering building—
"What could this be?"
A familiar voice rang out. Noah's body froze on reflex.
Kwaaang!
Someone leaped up, shattering the asphalt. In an instant, the figure shot upward, kicked off the outside wall of the building, and charged straight at Noah. A beat late, Noah's wings flared wide and his claws sprang out sharp, slashing at the attacker. But the other party merely raised an arm and lightly blocked the claws. With a sound like metal scraping over steel plate, a hard hand seized Noah by the throat.
"That's a face I've seen an awful lot somewhere."
A savage laugh burst out right in front of Noah's nose. Black eyes with a bluish sheen. Blond hair streaked with red.
"...!"
Noah's eyes flew wide.
Riette.
Holding Noah by the throat, she slammed him straight into the ground.
Boom! The already ruined asphalt shook once more. Black fragments flew up in every direction. Noah instinctively cast a healing skill on himself and released poison.
"Different wings, different eyes too. Poison?"
"Ghk, what…"
The corners of Riette's lips pulled sharply upward.
"My dead little brother popped back out looking all strange?"
"…What?"
Noah's struggling stopped for an instant. What had she just said?
"D-dead, ghk!"
"That's strange. It feels like it is Faible."
Dragging Noah along like a hunted beast, Riette started walking. Noah's hands, his claws, scraped at the hand and arm gripping his throat, but nothing happened. Only the cloth of her sleeve tore; not even a scratch remained on the skin beneath it.
"This place is strange too. Why am I in Seoul? I haven't come here since after Hyuna left."
Riette said it almost like she was humming to herself.
"It's quiet. Hardly any people. Was it always like this? I'm getting mixed up."
"Noona!"
"Yes, Faible."
"I'm not Faible, I'm Noah!"
"You're noisy."
Riette said it like she was mildly annoyed. As she ambled along without any particular destination, some Hunters approached her.
"What are you—"
There was no sound. The body of the Hunter who had been speaking split clean in two and dropped to the ground. The other Hunters were no different. Without even realizing that their bodies had been cut apart, they scattered into pieces. In the thick smell of blood, Riette paused for a moment.
"Let me ask you something."
She glanced down at the pool of blood gathering at her feet, then hoisted Noah—whom she had been dragging—up over her shoulder.
"Which way was the airport again? I wonder if planes are flying."
"What… what are you talking about?!"
"I have to go home."
Noah pounded his fists against Riette's back and shouted.
"My home is here!"
"Hm? Faible, you've never even been to Korea before, have you?"
This was strange. She was definitely Riette, and yet all she said were incomprehensible things.
"I belong to the kiseungsu rearing facility!"
"The kiseungsu rearing facility?"
"And right now, Noona, you're staying with Breaker Guild, aren't you!"
"What are you talking about, Faible? Breaker collapsed a long time ago."
Noah's voice cut off sharply. His mouth closed, and his brows drew together. Riette had said that her younger brother—Noah—was dead. Breaker Guild had fallen, and she did not know anything about the kiseungsu rearing facility. Also, her hair color and eye color were from before she had acquired the title Twins of Dio Valshesis.
Noah recalled the contents of the system message window.
Christmas Carol. Past, future, present.
Judging by Riette's outward appearance, this looked like the past, but—
'…The future?'
A possible future in which the kiseungsu rearing facility did not exist, and they had failed to clear the Twins of Dio Valshesis. Was that what this was?
"Noona! Don't you have the full dragon transformation skill?"
"Full dragon transformation?"
"I mean the Twins of Dio Valshesis. No, wait—how old are you now? What year is it?"
"It's been two years since you died."
Riette said it lightly.
"Yeah. You definitely died. So how did this happen? You even turned into a dragon species. Was it that lizard bastard's doing? Well, who cares. This time, don't die, Faible."
"Noona!"
"Of course, if you're fake, then I'll tear you apart myself."
At that moment, thunk, Riette ran into an invisible barrier. Her eyes narrowed.
"This is…"
A transparent, hemispherical barrier. Unlike the confused Riette, Noah understood what it meant without much difficulty.
A dungeon zone.
Noah drew in a sharp breath.
'Monsters.'
Riette—and those Hunters from before—were monsters in this dungeon.
Riette frowned and kicked the barrier savagely, but nothing changed. Irritated, she swept her bangs back.
"What kind of bastard made something like this?"
"That's not it…"
Noah's words trailed off. What would happen if he told Riette that she was a monster? Noah could only picture a violent reaction. She might even decide to be true to her position as a monster and try to kill him.
'If it's Noona, she absolutely would.'
So he had to get away before Riette realized it.
"Noona, put me down."
"No."
"I can't run away anyway. It's blocked."
"The one who made that barrier might be nearby. You're too weak, so no."
"I'm not weak! I'm—"
Drawing in a deep breath, Noah shouted.
"I fought you and won!"
Even if Han Yoojin's help had been a huge factor, a fact was still a fact. Riette came to an abrupt stop.
"What kind of absurd nonsense is that? Faible, you?"
"Yes."
"I don't remember anything like that."
"I…"
He could not say the word dungeon.
"I'm Noah, but I'm different from the Noah that Noona knows. I got the full dragon transformation skill together with you, came to Korea, fought you, and won. The Noona I know isn't the Noona you are now."
"I'm not me?"
"The Noona I know is a black dragon with the full dragon transformation skill."
"Then,"
Riette continued in a low voice,
"did my little brother really die?"
"…I don't know. Because I'm alive."
Noah looked down at Riette's back. From where he was now, he could not see her face, her expression. Was she grieving? Was she feeling even a little bit sorry that he had died?
But—
"You're the one who said that if you're weak, dying is only natural."
Grinding his teeth, Noah spoke.
"So of course he died. Because that was Faible!"
Freshly, all over again, what was she mumbling so sorrowfully for? It had only turned out exactly as she herself had said it would.
"But I'm Noah!"
Flap! His wings spread violently. Noah transformed as far as possible into full dragon form. It was not as if Riette would be unable to bear the weight. But if the volume of what someone was carrying suddenly increased, then there would be an opening, however brief, for the relatively small human holding it.
Exactly as expected, Riette's arm loosened for an instant. She could have simply tightened her grip, but if she did that, Noah would suffer major injury. As Noah's body grew thicker and larger, Riette's arm was forced wider, and in that moment Noah reduced his size slightly and slipped free.
Then he immediately flew up into the sky. Riette's eyes lifted to stare at her little brother in dragonkin form.
"It was because I was lacking."
"What?"
"I should've made you stronger. Even if you were support-type, I thought that once you reached S-rank, you wouldn't die."
Noah's expression twisted sharply.
"There are people who are strong even with low ranks! And even S-ranks—even combat-types—can die!"
"But, Faible. As you are now, you can't beat me. If I wanted to, you would die right here."
"It won't be easy."
Noah growled low. Watching him slowly flap his wings and widen the distance between them, Riette smiled, baring her teeth.
"Really? You definitely seem a little different. Come at me, Faible."
"Yes, Noona!"
Noah answered loudly—and turned around on the spot. Riette's eyes went round.
"Huh? Faible?"
"Mr. Yujin would've done this too!"
Of course he couldn't beat her. And since this Riette seemed to be from the future, she even looked stronger than the Riette of the present. He had already been close to the barrier, so Noah slipped past it in an instant before Riette even had time to react. If he could just find Han Yoojin and the others like this—
"Ugh?!"
Noah's body was suddenly yanked sharply downward. Something had grabbed his ankle. Dragged just like that, he slid back inside the barrier. Looking down at Noah, Riette broke into a wide grin.
"You've really changed a lot! But you're still Faible. You still couldn't beat me, could you?"
The transparent cord wrapped around Noah's ankle came loose before he even knew when it had appeared. Noah clenched his teeth and glared at his older sister.
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