Chapter 53

"...Of course not."

But then why had he slept with the human?

If Asad had killed the human, Jet would have been troubled but not surprised. However, Asad hadn't killed the human; instead, he had spent the night with him. He had even thickly coated him with his pheromones, like a child licking a candy.

If the dragon showed abnormal behavior, Jet needed to know the cause and solution. The reason Jet and Targan were by the dragon's side wasn't simply to serve him.

The power the dragon possessed was so strong that it could easily become a terrible disaster. As his close aides, they had a duty to detect the signs early and prepare for catastrophe.

This was especially true for Asad, who was an unstable dragon. He had a history of turning into a magical beast in the past.

Only a very few close aides knew that Asad had not yet completely removed the remaining evil energy. Or rather, they had no choice but to know?

When evil energy accumulated in his body above a certain level, Asad lost his reason and transformed into a terrible magical beast.

The dragon had a bad temper even normally, but when corrupted by evil energy, it couldn't be described as simply having a bad personality. Most of the horrific rumors about what he had done were actually from when he had transformed into a magical beast.

"...Come to think of it, isn't it about time for you to receive purification from Lord Shinsurial?"

Asad was receiving periodic purification from the scaled tribe leader who had the power of purification to remove the evil energy. Considering that time was approaching, this strange behavior might indeed be a sign of him being on the verge of transforming into a magical beast.

Perhaps sensing Jet's uneasiness, Asad raised an eyebrow.

"I can guess why you're thinking that, but it's not like that. If I were in that state, would this one still be alive?"

...Indeed, that was true. Jet admitted that he had failed to grasp the essence, focusing only on Asad's abnormal behavior.

A dragon corrupted by evil energy is no different from a magical beast. If the dragon had been in that state, the human wouldn't be lying here receiving treatment; he would have been dead long ago.

"I'll say it again, I'm in a perfectly rational state, and this one will never become my mate. I was just momentarily aroused, and so I indulged."

Treating him as entertainment? If that was the reason, there was nothing incomprehensible about it.

Dragons who hadn't yet found their mates tended to seek various amusements, perhaps to fill their innate emptiness, and taking omegas was one of the more common practices.

Asad, who had maintained his virginity until now, abhorring even contact with omegas, was rather the unusual case.

'Has he finally awakened to sex? But why a human of all things?'

Though he still felt uneasy, with the dragon speaking so firmly, Jet couldn't press further.

"...Then we will continue with the selection."

"Do it after this one has recovered a bit. Humans recover ridiculously slowly."

"...Lord Asad, does that mean you will continue to let Lord Nine participate in the selection?"

"Nine? Was that his name?"

So he didn't even know the name. Perhaps his relief showed, as Asad raised an eyebrow.

"Why, should this one not participate?"

"How could there be anything impossible if it's what you desire, Lord Asad? I merely wanted to inform you that Lord Nine received the highest score in the first test. I suppose there's no need to remind you that the one who receives the highest total score from the three tests will become your mate, as I've mentioned this several times already."

"Stop beating around the bush. So you're worried that this human might possibly become my mate, aren't you?"

He had hit the nail on the head. Jet indeed thought that the human should not become the dragon's mate.

Humans were greedy beings. Wasn't the purpose of holding the selection to prevent such a being from becoming the dragon's mate?

The spirits' stance on humans was largely divided into two groups. One was like Fei, the tailed tribe leader, who was curious about them. The other harbored hostility towards humans. Most spirits belonged to the latter group, and Jet was among them.

Whenever humans appeared in the spirit realm, accidents invariably occurred. Naive spirits were deceived, robbed of their possessions or abilities, or even kidnapped to the human realm to be treated as rare spectacles. After seeing and hearing about such situations many times, Jet too had come to dislike humans, though not as much as Asad.

"I'm merely trying to help you choose a good mate, Lord Asad."

"You think too much. Do you think I'm crazy enough to take a human as my mate?"

Asad looked down at the human lying on the bed.

"This is just something I'll play with and dispose of as I see fit. Whatever you're worried about won't happen, so don't concern yourself."

There was clearly no affection for the human in Asad's eyes. Unlike the usual comparisons to the sun or honey, his bright golden eyes, with pupils indistinguishable from the irises, conveyed no warmth or sweetness. Rather, what could be felt was an emotion as deep and sticky as a swamp.

Jet had no doubt that this emotion was hatred.

It seemed he had indeed overthought things, as Asad had said.

Jet's gaze lingered on the human's pale cheek. The human, lying like a corpse with blood-soaked bandages all over his body, looked so deteriorated that he was barely recognizable from when Jet had first seen him.

'To think such thoughts after seeing him in this state. What was I thinking?'

Who would do this to someone they cared about? It was laughable that he had been talking about brides. Asad was merely playing with his prey, like a cat with a mouse.

Even preventing the doctor from touching the human was probably just alpha instinct. Most alphas didn't like others touching an omega they had been with. Being an alpha himself, Jet knew this well. It was something that happened in the realm of instinct, unrelated to affection. Probably when the dragon's pheromones faded from the human's body, he wouldn't care who touched him.

Jet acknowledged his overreaction with an awkward smile.

"It seems I had unnecessary thoughts."

"Not for the first time."

Even the clearly mocking voice didn't irritate him. This time, he had clearly overreacted. Jet bowed his head again.

"We'll take our leave now."

"Go."

Asad waved his hand dismissively, as if telling them to leave quickly. This time, Jet didn't feel uneasy even though Asad was only looking at the human without even glancing their way. He just seemed like a child pondering how to play with a toy.

"What are you doing? Targan, let's go back."

"No, I should stay by Lord Asad's side..."

"Come on, come on."

As Jet pushed the statue-like Targan out of the room, he encountered the winged tribe servant standing in front of the door.

"Why are you standing here? Go downstairs."

Jet showed kindness, worried the servant might face trouble from the dragon's ill temper if he caught his eye. Honestly, he felt sorry for this servant.

'How did he end up presenting a human as a bride candidate?'

On the other hand, he wondered how desperate they must have been to grasp even at a rotten rope.

Though it was said that Kor, the winged tribe leader, had returned to the spirit realm, it was already too late. They had lost their home, and their proud wings had become no more than burdens on their backs.

What happened to the winged tribe was a tragedy. It showed how great a disaster could occur when a dragon went mad.

But the tragedy wasn't limited to the winged tribe. The spirit realm fell into chaos because the dragon had shut himself away deep in the dragon palace, shocked by his mate's betrayal. Magical beasts that had been suppressed by the dragon's energy crawled out into the world, and places permeated with evil energy became lands of death.

If Shinsurial, the scaled tribe leader, hadn't saved the young dragon who had transformed into a magical beast in the human realm, the spirit realm would still be in great chaos.

'Even after that, he's been performing the purification ritual every six months. We would have been in big trouble without Lord Shinsurial.'

Though the purification didn't improve Asad's eccentric personality, it was better than losing his reason and becoming a monster.

As Jet was briefly recalling the past, he suddenly remembered something he had to do and added:

"Oh, I'll send over some medicine for Lord Nine to take later, so make sure he takes it today."

He had forgotten to request this because Asad had chased away the doctor.

No matter how recessive, an omega was still an omega. Though not as much as dominant omegas, there was still a high possibility of pregnancy. He didn't think Asad would have particularly cared about contraception.

'What if the human gets pregnant? Lord Asad really would be in trouble without me.'

Just then, a loud voice came from inside the room.

"Why are you all making a fuss outside? Get lost already!"

Such a temper. Clicking his tongue inwardly, Jet moved his feet.