Chapter 98 - Freedom’s Bliss

Chapter 98: Freedom’s Bliss

Was completing the imprint really a good thing? Kyle pondered. Currently, the situation seemed favorable to Muell. Whenever the dragon nodded eagerly, something trembled in its snout.

“Open your mouth. You didn’t swallow it already, did you? Spit it out, come on.” Kyle said to Muell, feeling his head pounding.

The dragon opened its mouth wide. Between its dozens of spine-chilling fangs, there were lumps of metal crushed like potatoes.

Kyle’s eyes narrowed. It was the same situation he had encountered in the mana operating room. He shot a moving person, but when he drew nearer, only the fragments of metal remained.

Is it a bewildering spell?

Psychological magic, which used mana in the air to disrupt the human brain, was one of the most intractable spells.

Even Eleonora Asil, branded as the greatest genius, struggled with it. Hence, the opponent couldn’t possibly be from Yulem. There was no explaining Kyle’s bizarre situation if it was not caused by such magic.

No matter how sophisticated a machine is, it couldn’t appear like a human being. The enemies Kyle had been chasing throughout the dawn were all living and breathing people, but all but one of them transformed into scraps of metal.

While Kyle dwelled on the mystery, the black dragon, which spat out everything in its mouth on the deck, ascended into the air again. It seemed to return to its master.

Eventually, Kyle heaved a deep sigh. There was nothing he could be certain of now. First, he must return and review the recording. Once Park Noah’s safety was guaranteed, the government seemed to have no choice but to comprehensively assess the results of the terrorists’ arrest.

“I must go…” The dragon was so excited, but what kind of expression does that woman have now? Kyle tied the man, who was crouching beside his feet, to the pillars of the staircase inside the ship, and then walked hastily toward the deck on the fifth floor.

*

Park Noah was confronted with an unexpected difficulty. She couldn’t go down from the mast.

“Oh, Mu, why aren’t you coming…”

For the first time, she knew she had an extreme fear of heights. It wasn’t a problem when she ascended on top, she only fixed her gaze upward, but as soon as she stepped on the stairs to come down, she felt tremendously nauseous.

In addition, she was afraid that she would cause another accident if she touched something wrong. In the end, Noah had no choice but to sit still on the mast and wait for Muell to return.

As she glanced at her surroundings, a sharp beep suddenly rang from her feet.

Ring!

“Oh my god!” Noah jerked at her feet and found a radio. It was a two-way radio that was used by the workers who managed the mast. Noah swiped and pressed the round button in the center of the machine. Then, a voice erupted with a static sound.

– Status.

Even though it was only one word, Noah was relieved of tension. She responded, “It’s alright.”

– But why is your voice like that?

“Because my mind is so exhausted. Are you okay with that?”

– It’s perfect.

“Are you injured?”

– …Yes.

Kyle’s answer was muffled. Confused, Noah was about to ask again, but Kyle spoke first.

– I need to clean up below, so stay a little longer. You’ll be in a lot of trouble if you come down now.

“Is that so?”

Hundreds of passengers on the ship gathered on the deck, raising their heads at her side. Noah then quickly hid within the mast and whispered into the radio. “Hey, sir. Why don’t you arrest me?”

– I didn’t know you wanted to be in jail.

“I don’t. You weren’t seen with me and Mu… Won’t you really get fired?”

– You used to say that you’d hire me if I was.

“That’s true. Still, it’s a little bit too much to be dismissed from a job that offers a bright future because of me.”

– You’ve got all sorts of unnecessary worries.

Kyle brushed it off as insignificant, but Noah knew it was a big deal.

A dragon appeared on the sea, and the dragon’s master was Eleonora Asil. Noah stared into space, wondering what would become of her now. She gazed at Muell flapping his wings in a distance, worn out. Kyle seemed to be watching the same scene.

– But Miss Noah, why is Mu so excited that he’s sweeping the ocean?

“…It must have been very frustrating even if he didn’t say anything. Can’t we just leave him a little like that?”

Muell danced on the seas, bringing chaos to the still waters. He dipped his body to the ocean, rose, and then circled the sky, and glided across the waters once again. Noah could feel the sense of freedom the child was enjoying — he now savored the liberty he couldn’t have for weeks.

Over the radio, Kyle sighed and laughed.

– The dragon is excited, and humans are going to die. Anyways, Miss Noah. Thank you for your hard work. A sloth like you must have gone through more than you can endure.

“…I’d like you to quit if you’re picking a fight.”

– I was going to hang up anyway. When you get down, I’ll give you a cup of cocoa, so stay a little longer even if you’re scared.

The radio cut off at the end of his words. Kyle must have sensed that she was curled into a ball, afraid to look down.

Then, Noah looked out to the horizon again.