Saving the Great Dragon Sheo (23)

Ian did not even need to guess that the damaged pillar in the middle held the soul of a "human"—or rather, a "Terran"...

So Lubek could not actually be considered human?

What was so special about him that he could be bound here not in the form of a soul, but in the flesh?

"This really is strange."

Ian could not make head or tail of it—but he had a good habit: if he could not figure something out, he absolutely did not dwell on it.

He raised a hand, and the Silver Chip began simulating the director-level authority obtained from the Azure City Laboratory.

Naturally, removing a soul from a Soul-Binding Pillar required authorization—and the Brain Attachment authority Ian had copied from Director Idema was meant for precisely this place.

He came before Sheo—the "Dragon-Binding Soul Pillar"—used his authority, and began communicating with her.

Communication within the world of the mind.

And so, in that instant...

Ian saw a "dragon" so grotesque it defied description.

Could that truly be called a dragon?

Silver-gray scales grew in both regular and reverse directions, displaying an air of utter disorder.

As the dragon before Ian gradually took shape, he saw a dragon head grotesquely enormous compared to its body. The twisted horns growing atop its head resembled decaying coral reefs, while countless bizarre thorn-like tissues were wedged between the gaps in its scales, piercing into flesh and protruding from skin and scales alike.

Cruel thorns even spread across the malformed dragon's eyes, leaving her unable to close them or see. Her dim golden eyes were like those of a statue, carrying the lifeless stillness of something dead, while hollow depressions filled her mouth.

She did not even have teeth.

Ian's heart sank slightly. He had long been mentally prepared and knew Sheo's