10001 Nightmares Party

[Fic] and still the mountain stands (Solo Leveling)

Summary:

City official Woo Jin-Chul is investigating whether that dragon who recently plonked down outside the town is a danger to the city.

Notes:

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Work Text:

The dragon rears up, wings fanning out widely. It casts a long shadow over the ground; the wind harsh in his ears as the wings begin to beat softly. The trees and shrubbery bend from the wings’ force, the sky almost entirely blotted out by this one, singular gigantic beast.

Woo Jin-Chul holds a hand over his eyes, squinting as the sunlight strikes the beast's wings and hits his eyes, a zigzagging attack that is made all the worse for it. He almost hisses, his vision momentarily blurred out by spots of red and green. Still, he stands against the wind, bracing his feet on the forest floor as he coils his body tightly to exert strength.

He grimaces softly as the wings finally stop beating, and the winds calm. “What have you come here for, mortal?” a powerful, dark , voice asks.

Jin-Chul waits a moment before lowering his hand, squinting as his eyes readjust to the light. The dragon is still massive, still clinging to the top of the trees and making him feel small, insignificant, like an ant. This thing could step on him and squash him like a bug , Jin-Chul knows.

Shaking his head a little, he finally licks his lips, straightens his back, and says, “I am here on behalf of the Hunter Association’s Monitoring Division. I have some questions for you, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Monitoring Division…” the beast peers at him with a dark gaze, throat beginning to rumble. It lowers its long neck slightly, the head—as wide as Jin-Chul’s torso—facing him squarely.

“Yes, the Monitoring Division,” Jin-Chul confirms. His grip on his bag clenches, and he hides his hands behind his back, clasping them together in a smooth movement. Keeping his shoulders carefully back and his neck steady, he raises his gaze to rest on the beast’s nose as he adds, “It is merely a standard questionnaire to prevent unnecessary aggression.”

The dragon hums, a noise that makes steam rise from its mouth. The mouth is parted just enough for Jin-Chul to see glimpses of teeth in the darkness; sharp, deadly things. But he doesn’t allow his attention to waver.

“Ask your questions, then,” the dragon says, head lowering further. It gazes at him steadily, with clear eyes that have reptilian pupils. 

Jin-Chul pulls out his notebook from his bag, elegantly grabbing a pen on the way. He rubs the tip on the paper until the ink begins to flow, and surreptitiously takes a steadying breath. Holding it in while he pretends to look for the right page, he, at last, lowers the notebook a little and asks, “What is your name?”

“Sung Jin-Woo,” the beast answers, instantly, quickly, with no hesitation. 

Jin-Chul’s eyebrows furrow. He notes, “It’s a human name.”

“Yes.” No explanation is offered, and Jin-Chul doesn’t want to press. He instead writes it down, watching the dark blue characters take shape on the thick, yellowish paper. He eyes the next question, glancing quickly at the dragon in an attempt to gauge its mood.

But it’s a dragon. He really can’t tell anything from it.

Clearing his throat again, Jin-Chul asks, “Are you claiming this city as your territory?”

The dragon’s eyes peer at him, staring right through his very soul. He stands his ground, waiting for a response. If this goes badly… the bloodshed won’t be contained to just this city, he knows. They’re strong, the Hunter Association, yes, and they’ve got some capable people. But for a dragon? They’ll need to call in outside assistance, need to call in the guilds . And for the chance to kill a dragon…

The guilds will fight. And if this dragon, this Sung Jin-Woo, is strong enough, there will be nothing left.

They can’t afford to lose the guilds.

“My sister lives here,” Sung Jin-Woo says after a long moment, and Jin-Chul raises his gaze again, unknowing of when he lowered it. He licks his lips and adjusts his grip on his pen, shaking it a little to get the ink flowing again.

“Is that a yes?” he asks, to be absolutely sure . (He’s here precisely to prevent misunderstandings, after all.)

“Yes,” the dragon answers. It sounds pleased, voice rumbling slightly as it speaks. The head rises a little from him, giving him a moment to breathe, something he hadn’t realized he’d stopped at some point. Feeling his chest expand as the air forces its way down his throat and into his lungs, Jin-Chul nods and dutifully notes that down. So Jin-Woo considers the city his.

That is—something.

“Okay,” Jin-Chul finally says. He snaps the notebook closed; there’s no reason to continue with this farce until the Chairman gets here. So for now, he asks, “Would you consider allowing the Chairman of the Hunter Association to negotiate for this city’s right to self-rule?”

The dragon hums, yet again a rumbling sound. It travels through the air and strikes his bones, making him shiver. The air seems to darken for a moment, the shadows stretching in the corner of his eyes. Jin-Chul doesn’t look, doesn’t break his sight away from the dragon—he can’t afford to show weakness and he doesn’t know what counts as such to dragons. So his vision doesn’t stray, and he doesn’t look at the vaguely threatening forest around him.

Does he hear growling? Probably, but it won’t help him. So he ignores it in favor of waiting for Jin-Woo’s response.

“Your chairman is a powerful man,” the dragon says at last. Jin-Chul nods, and Jin-Woo continues, “If he wishes to negotiate, I wouldn’t stop him.”

That was… unexpectedly easy. Jin-Chul’s eyebrows furrow, but he merely says, “I’m glad. Then I’ll get it set up.” He pauses here as he considers the dragon’s great size. Hesitantly, more so than is dignified for a person of his status, he asks, “Would you like the meeting to take place here?”

“No, I’ll come to the city,” the giant, massive, dragon who is still blotting out the sun says.

Jin-Chul can’t think of a way to phrase it delicately, and so he just says, “I’m afraid you’re too big for that. Our city wouldn't survive.”

“It’s not a problem,” Jin-Woo murmurs, his eyes losing focus. Jin-Chul’s eyes narrow as the magic that surrounds the dragon begins to weave through the air. Sparks of blue light occasionally burst into being around it, strong enough to make his eyes sting. He hisses softly as the space in front of him then seems to, briefly, not exist . The stark darkness that faces him is so overwhelming that his head pounds when he looks at it, and pressure grows behind his eyes.

Closing his eyes, he takes a deep, steadying breath.

When he opens his eyes again, there is a man standing before him.

Tall, with an overwhelming presence that suffocates him. Flaky black hair that wisps around his face to an unseen wind, the howling darkness retreating from him as it quietly rebreaks the universe. Pale skin and dark eyes, and he still seems to loom just as much as he did as a dragon.

“I understand,” Jin-Chul mutters, blinking as his mind tries to piece together what just happened. The shift was so antithetical to the world itself that he fears it might have torn his head open a little.

The dragon, man , approaches him. “Good,” Jin-Woo says, sounding unconcerned by it all. Black smoke seeps from his skin, dripping down his body to pool on the forest floor. The ground where the smoke settles darkens, bleeding black and seeming to absorb the darkness into itself. The sudden sunlight is just as mystifying; it seems to flicker around him for a moment.

The dragon keeps walking until it stops right in front of him, barely a meter of space between them. The pressure on his shoulders is great, a steady and unnatural push . For a second, Jin-Chul forgets how to breathe as those inhuman eyes meet his own.

“Shall we go?” Jin-Woo asks, voice noticeably unexcited. He’s laidback all of a sudden, hands stuffed in the pockets of dark clothes. His eyes go half-mast as he stares at Jin-Chul with a gaze that must surely see everything. 

(There is a strange sensation growing in his chest, an unspooling of heat beginning to breathe through him.)

He blinks, regaining control of his faculties. “You want to go now?”

“Yes.” Jin-Woo tilts his head and says, “No time like the present.”

Lowering his gaze to the forest floor again, Jin-Chul’s mind churns. The Chairman would doubtlessly make time for a dragon and this is the highest priority work. And if the dragon decides that it doesn’t like them, that it would rather just burn them all to the ground, there isn’t much anybody can do to stop him. 

Licking his lips, Jin-Chul looks up again and says, “Okay. Let’s go.”

Sung Jin-Woo smiles at him, and the air pressing on Jin-Chul lightens at last. He drags in a shuddering breath and clenches his hand, feeling the muscles straining. Breathing out calmly, he nods and waits to see what the dragon will do now.

It doesn’t take long for Jin-Woo to begin to walk in the city’s direction. They’re on a mountain, one overlooking the city. From here, Jin-Chul can vaguely make out the city through the thick trees and the high grass. The sun above them is sweltering, still hours to go until it settles back behind the mountain.

Halfway down the mountain, a darkness begins to seep out of Jin-Woo again. It takes shape mere moments later, assembling into some kind of puppet. One seemingly made entirely out of shadows. Jin-Chul’s heart skips a beat, and he freezes as he watches the shadow walk up to the dragon that had so effortlessly created it .

Jin-Woo murmurs something to it that he can’t hear, despite his relative strength as a Hunter. His eyebrows furrow, but he keeps his curiosity to himself.

“Sorry about that,” Jin-Woo says as he turns back toward Jin-Chul, the shadow swiftly disappearing amongst the trees. Jin-Chul’s eyes follow its progress for a second before he tears it back to the humanoid dragon.

“Summoner?” Jin-Chul idly asks, absentmindedly noting it down in his mind.

Jin-Woo smiles, somewhat sheepishly, and says, “I suppose so.” He pauses here, head tilting in a considering fashion, before he begins to walk over to Jin-Chul. Jin-Chul stands his ground, determined not to be the reason this whole mission (literally) goes up in flames. 

“Do you like this boss of yours?” Jin-Woo asks, shoving his hands into his coat’s pockets. He rocks softly on the balls of his feet, and the dichotomy between human-him and dragon-him is dizzying. Like this, he’s still taller than most humans, but he doesn’t quite manage to tower above him in the same manner as the dragon shape did. Somehow, the uncanny looming he was doing mere minutes before has vanished, and it’s almost the most unsettling thing about him so far.

Jin-Chul has to blink to clear his thoughts to remember what was just asked. “Yes, I enjoy working with him,” he says, clearing his throat and coughing quietly. He brushes a stray pale hair strand behind his ear and forces his head not to duck .

(He can’t appear weak.)

Jin-Woo’s eyes are so dark, but they glint with an internal light that can’t possibly be mortal. His stance is so relaxed that it’s frightening, the power that still curls around him almost sleepy in the way that it pokes at Jin-Chul. Jin-Woo doesn’t do anything to reign his power in, doesn’t attempt to keep it under control or hide it from Jin-Chul. 

He shivers as he feels the power wash over his skin again, feels the soft nudges to his face. It pulls gently on his hair, the strands curling under the attention. The shiver curling up his spine is too distracting, and so he focuses instead and very determinedly does not notice Jin-Woo’s small smile.

This is business. That’s all it is.

Clearing his throat, Jin-Chul says, “I’ll lead the way, then.”

“Please,” Jin-Woo says, tilting his head toward the city. Jin-Chul inexplicably hesitates for a moment, his eyes going from Jin-Woo to the city and back again. Gulping, he forces his feet to start moving again, and he walks on ahead of the mighty dragon in human form. The awareness he has of Jin-Woo behind him is startling—it’s a constant itch, a constant pressure on the back of his neck, a constant shudder up the length of his spine.

He curls his hands into fists by his sides, subtly speeding up and trying to ignore the pressure on him, around him. It’s not overwhelming, and he doesn’t notice it at all.

It’s just business.

That’s all.

“You know, I haven’t been here long,” Jin-Woo says at some point, when Jin-Chul is in the middle of vaulting over a fallen tree log. The dragon sounds relaxed still, an amused lilt to his voice. He doesn’t speak loudly, but the voice nevertheless carries through the air, seemingly with no effort at all.

Jin-Chul doesn’t allow himself to be startled. “We have people monitoring such things,” he says, raising a hand to cover his eyes as the trees get farther apart and the sun is brighter. Squinting, he tries to see the trail he used to get here.

“Right, you’re the Monitoring Division,” Jin-Woo's silky voice says, and Jin-Chul glances over his shoulder at him. Jin-Woo is looking right at him, dark eyes eerily dark even in the sunlight. The forest seems to almost be bending away from him, the sun’s rays folding off his skin like striking it would be a mortal offense. The wind is quiet, nearly entirely absent now, in stark contrast to the force that nearly whipped him off his feet before.

Jin-Woo stares at him, his gaze as sharp as his teeth. There is a small smile on his lips, and his magic flickers around Jin-Chul still. 

It is a dark, suffocating, smothering sensation.

Jin-Chul looks away first. His lips purse and his back straightens. “Let’s keep going,” he says, briefly pressing a hand over his quickly beating heart.

This is fine. Everything is fine . It’s just business, and he has absolutely nothing to worry about. And anyway, surely a powerful being such as Jin-Woo won’t even remember Jin-Chul, once they return to the city and Jin-Woo meets the guilds’ bosses.

So it’s fine.

Really. It is.

It’s fine .

Pressing a hand to his eyes, he sighs deeply, his chest constricting sharply with the motion. He feels the breath rattle through him, feels it cut his throat on the way up. He glances over his shoulder at Jin-Woo, the dragon’s feet stepping so lightly on the forest floor that he almost seems to float over the ground. 

The dragon is still staring at him, and he meets Jin-Chul’s gaze for a heartstopping moment. It sears into him, the darkness and the light and the overwhelming power momentarily crushing him, and then it all eases when Jin-Chul looks ahead again.

He clears his throat, says, “This way.” 

Everything is fine. 

They keep going.

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#Fandom: MISC - Books #Post Type: Fic #Rating: Teen #Status: Complete #Tag: AU #WC: 1000-5000