Chapter 48

Asad opened his eyes.

'An unpleasant dream.'

He could tell without touching. His eyes and cheeks would be damp with tears.

Asad irritably wiped away the tears with his sleeve. It hadn't been this bad originally, but it had gotten worse recently. To be precise, he had been having nightmares every single night since three days before the selection began. He didn't like any of it at all.

'Can't we just end this selection or whatever quickly?'

Who cares who becomes the mate, he thought. No matter who was more beautiful, wise, or righteous, didn't omegas all do the same thing anyway?

Bearing an alpha's child.

So as long as there was a hole to fuck and seed, and they only bore his children, it didn't matter who became the bride. After all, the purpose was to produce the next generation to shoulder the dragon's duty.

Once the child was born, he would ascend to the celestial realm without looking back. All this talk of dragons being the world's guardians held no appeal and was just bothersome to him.

To be honest, he wouldn't care if the spirit realm collapsed right now. In the case of the human realm, he was deliberately neglecting the evil energy flowing from the demon realm because he hoped it would collapse soon, while for the spirit realm, he was at least doing some cleaning, though reluctantly.

Perhaps what he hadn't received from the previous dragon wasn't just the knowledge a dragon should know, but also the sense of duty as a guardian. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand what was so precious that dragons had strived to protect this world.

The spirits said that Asad was more emotional and impulsive compared to previous dragons. That wasn't wrong. But what they didn't know was Asad's true nature.

Previous dragons had lived with a sense of duty as guardians who must protect this world. However, Asad lacked this sense of duty as a guardian. There was no purpose in Asad's life, and he didn't wish for or want anything.

Asad was empty. His heart was vacant, and it couldn't be filled with anything.

Asad's violent impulses were no different from a bored person carelessly stepping on and killing a passing insect. To others, it might seem like killing insects was his desire... but in reality, emptiness lay at its core.

That's why Asad wanted to go to the celestial realm as soon as possible. For a dragon to ascend to the celestial realm meant becoming a god. There, worldly things become useless. There would be no dragon's duty to protect the world, no spirits nagging him to continue the lineage.

'I guess it would be better to just forget about this selection and make any omega my bride.'

Asad thought of the bride candidates whose faces he could barely remember. They must have all been carefully chosen. They were all dominant omegas, so they would bear children quickly, and it didn't matter which one of them it was.

Except for just one.

Asad frowned as he recalled the black eyes that had stared at him intently.

While he couldn't even remember the features of the dominant omegas that others couldn't take their eyes off of because of their beauty, that human's face was strangely vivid in his memory even with his eyes closed.

Well, it makes sense that an omega he strongly disliked would be more memorable than omegas he felt nothing for.

Asad thought simply as he got up. Since he couldn't sleep, he thought he might as well take a walk. That would be better than lying in bed killing time doing nothing.

However, on this walk, he wouldn't be able to see a human secretly stealing spirit beasts in the middle of the night. Because that human had been unable to get up from their bed for two days now.

'But humans are different from spirits. Their bodies are softer than fruit and break easily. How could it be otherwise for a race that doesn't even live 100 years?'

Suddenly, he recalled what Jet had said before. His footsteps, which had been heading unhesitatingly towards the door, slowed for a moment.

"Lord Asad, where are you going?"

"For a walk. I want to be alone, so don't follow me."

Asad stopped Targan, who had been standing guard outside the door, with a single word and left the main palace. Though he hadn't set a specific destination, this was the dragon's domain. He could be wherever he wanted whenever he wished.

"What the..."

However, Asad was taken aback by the scene that soon appeared before him.

A creaky old floor, windows that rattled with every gust of wind, the smell of mold stinging his nose along with a strange incense scent.

There was only one such place in the entire dragon's palace.

Asad looked down with an expression that couldn't hide his bewilderment. It was a room without even a common candle, but because there were no curtains, moonlight brightly illuminated the interior. The blue moonlight settled on the face of the man lying in bed.

Was it because of the moonlight, or because of his poor physical condition? His face looked even whiter and paler than usual. The black eyes that had seemed as solid as a rock were now hidden between eyelids thickly framed by black eyelashes.

Perhaps because he was used to seeing that face always calmly looking at him in any situation? The deeply sleeping face with a tired look was unfamiliar.

No, more than that.

'Why am I here?'

Asad was perplexed. He was sure he had been walking in the back garden after leaving the main palace... but the next moment when he opened his eyes, he was here.

It was a situation that didn't make sense without magic. However, as everyone knew, the only being who could use magic was the dragon, himself. In the end, it was Asad himself who had brought Asad to this messy place...

Thinking carefully, there was something that came to mind. He had briefly thought of the human while watching the spirit beasts swimming in the pond.

But even so, to come here without even being conscious of it?

"I must be really tired."

Asad muttered, pressing his forehead. It made sense, as he hadn't been able to sleep properly for days due to nightmares. Even though he was a dragon, he had a physical body, so like others, his mind and body would tire if he didn't eat and sleep properly.

In fact, a dragon losing control of magic was quite a serious matter. Magic was a power that could change the rules of the world through will alone. The consequences of losing control of such power would be close to disastrous. For instance, one might end up exterminating all the flies in the world just because a flying insect bothering one's face was annoying.

Fortunately, as this was the first time it had happened, Asad didn't worry too much about it. He simply thought he had used magic unconsciously due to fatigue and brushed it off lightly.

"More importantly, what's this smell?"

Asad frowned at the unpleasant odor flowing into his sensitive nose. The mixture of mold smell and the scent of incense burning beside the bed was enough to make his nose hurt.

It no longer mattered why he had come here. He just wanted to get out of this place with its disgusting smell quickly.

Asad shook his head and was about to use teleportation magic again.

At that very moment, the human's closed eyelids slowly opened.

Asad stood still as if under a spell when those unfocused black eyes looked at him. Without even realizing he was doing so.

"What. Are you awake?"

The human's face, staring blankly at him, looked dazed. Asad glanced towards the rising incense smoke before looking back at the human.

"That's good. If you had died, I was planning to cut off that doctor's hands first. It's too early to die when we haven't even started, don't you think?"

"..."

"Live long. Very painfully."

Asad said coldly. Despite the malice directed at him, the human still wore a dazed expression.

He's really not in his right mind.

Just then, the human's chapped lips moved slightly.

"...o."

"What did you say?"

The human mumbled something, but it was too quiet for even the dragon's ears to hear clearly.

"What are you saying? Speak properly."

"...ma."

"Ah, really."

Asad frowned and snapped harshly as he lowered his head.

"What?"

The human's lips moved, uttering a small sound. It was closer to a moan than words, but as he kept muttering the same thing, Asad was finally able to understand what he was saying.

Helio.

Don't go.

"Huh."

Asad's brow furrowed mercilessly.

Helio? When did he get close to someone with that name?

This damn omega... how dare they mistake me for someone else?

Sparks flew in his golden eyes. Asad impulsively reached out and grabbed the thin neck. Despite the large hand seizing his windpipe, the human offered no resistance. Instead, he stretched out both hands and embraced Asad's neck with all his might.

"What are you..."

Asad couldn't finish his words. Because dry lips came crashing onto his own.