Became a Dragon kidnapped by Humans

Ah.

This is starting again, huh.

“…… IF-684 going berserk!!……”

“…… Kuuuaaaaah!……”

“…… Inferior beings… vermin like you dare to interfere?!……”

— BOOMBOOMKABOOM!

Wait a second.

Isn’t this taking it too far?

Because Divine Mode’s active, I can hear everything crystal clear, but dang—this noise level? It’s way louder than anything before now.

I gave up on getting rest ages ago, but now just listening is giving me one heck of a headache.

And Gan Hana’s heart-boosting meds are almost out too.

Sniffle sniffle.

“…… Why the heck is it going berserk…?”

“…… We can’t suppress it!……”

“…… Code Black, Code Black! Level 1 ‘Ball Mung’ decompression… Aaaah!……”

— CREEEEEEAK!

“…… You conniving water snake… talking nonsense as you please, huh?!……”

Ugh.

Something came through loud and clear at the end there.

Why’s that freewheeling-face guy losing his cool so bad?

Could it be because of the thoughts I spread around earlier?

Freewheeling-face dudes are never chill, but this guy seems exceptionally nasty even for them.

For some reason, the vibe I’m sensing…

“…… Help……”

…feels kinda similar to this lil chubby snake over here, ya know?

Nah, must be a mistake.

‘Cause this “vibe” thing is super ambiguous, even for me.

Though their faces are equally unpredictable, this lil’ chubby snake has been around long enough for me to realize how ugly it truly is.

“…… Where… Ancestor…?”

Even though he hasn’t spotted or found my location yet.

No matter how many thought-signals I send him, all I get back is some dumb “Where…” reply.

So I sent him a thought: “I’ll come to you, just wait.”

“…… Confirm… Waiting…”

Good boy, chubby snake.

Hehe.

“…… You orphaned water snake… I’ll burn you alive while you’re still squirming…!”

There’s no way some scatterbrained, anger-management-challenged fatherly figure with a freewheeling face could share vibes with such a well-behaved kid.

Eh? What’s a rage disorder fatherly figure anyway?

The usage makes sense, but… human memory always gives me useless stuff like this.

— PUFFPUFFPUFFBANG!

Not only does he not send any thoughts, he doesn’t seem capable of doing so.

Only I can hear what he’s saying.

— KYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

Screaming from where he sits, hoping everyone else hears him. Such a thief-like attitude.

All freewheeling-face guys annoy me, but…

for some reason, this one particularly irks me.

When I see him next, I’m gonna give him a proper scolding.

Mmm hmm.

I clenched my fist and vowed silently.

Then, click click.

“Huh, capture successful…!”

That predictable voice from beyond the glass.

‘The isolation room CCTV angles are terrible, so I gotta take these epic shots with the camera mom left me. They say attempting to smuggle anything out of Research Facility 4 will result in immediate execution, but I don’t even leave my room anyway….’

And then came the thought-signal.

I glared disapprovingly at the sight. The thought that followed—”cute”—is something I’ve grown used to by now.

Gan Hana.

Aside from the steady heartbeat deep within her chest, she’s a person with zero redeeming qualities.

A foolish, crazy human.

Unlike the black-haired one who comes occasionally, she shows up daily, making her seem decent enough at first glance, but that’s all part of her deception.

Just staying put is helpful.

Maybe she was thinking I’d leave my heart behind and disappear into thin air or something.

Supervisor, you really had it all planned out, didn’t you?

Were the owners of those hearts you brought in as tribute this year all morons like Gan Hana?

Ah. I miss the Supervisor.

“Gyao.”

“That flapping wings thing is adorable…!”

Look at that.

Can’t even pick up the simple two-syllable thought-signal “Open the door,” making me angrier!

“Gyaaaaaak…!”

Ah. This pisses me off as much as a ‘4 Breath.’

Tch.

Seriously.

I pounded on the door.

At first glance, it looks indistinguishable from the pure white wall, but its structure feels different from any door I’ve encountered. Still, if the common understanding is that entrances and exits are called doors in this era, then this is the only door here.

I need to go through this door to fetch the chubby snake.

Would Gan Hana open it willingly…?

Hmm.

…Is it okay if I break it?

I closed my eyes briefly and pondered.

I reflected.

‘Oh mighty ancient being, all this exists for your sake. Feel free to destroy it whenever you’re bored. Hey, stonemasons, hustle up!’

‘Kiieeeeek Lord have mercy on us!!’

‘Gyao!?’

‘Stop whining! Cutting down that stone mountain over there isn’t hard at all. Look, the mighty ancient being is watching you right now, so don’t cause trouble…!’

‘Gya, Gyao….’

… Hmm.

The supervisor said it’s fine, but…

Is it really okay to break it?

Somehow, I feel like destroying this would render countless tears and sweat meaningless.

Tuck tuck.

With just my nails extended slightly in Divine Mode, I poked the door.

What should I do about this…?

‘Huh? What’s this? IF-017’s fingers have grown longer… No, it’s the nails?! Hehe, if we hand her a broomstick now, she’d look just like a cute little witch…’

— Crack.

… Wha?!

Holy cow. Without realizing it, I scratched it upon hearing Gan Hana’s thought-signal.

Oh no.

Sorry, human stonemason friend!

Fortunately, after checking quickly, only four shallow nail marks appeared without any real damage.

Phew.

Relieved, I turned around to see a bewildered fool staring down at me.

“Uh, uh… Is the isolation room entrance supposed to scratch so easily?”

Still, she didn’t notice it was me who scratched it.

Why would I think someone wouldn’t recognize something they saw with their own eyes?

Hmph.

But why call it an “isolation room entrance” when it’s just an entrance?

I let it slide initially, but upon closer listening, unfamiliar words keep popping up.

Human memories remain silent exactly when I need them.

Pfft, whatever. Let’s just keep using the old terms.

Why do humans keep inventing new languages every time I close my eyes for a bit…?

Hold on.

Thinking about language reminded me of a good idea.

A lightbulb flashed in my head, though when did lightbulbs even exist? Is that also from human memories?

Anyway.

“Gyao.”

I clapped once.

Language. Language.

Although I currently can’t speak human words, I perfectly know how to write them.

Even if Gan Hana is too dumb to understand thought-signals, surely she can read written words, right?

She couldn’t possibly be both insane and blind, could she?

If that were true, she wouldn’t qualify to serve as a priestess.

Alright.

My clap was not only a celebration of my brilliant intellect but also intended to focus Gan Hana’s attention.

As expected, Gan Hana stared intently at me.

‘IF-17 looks so confident for some reason… Is she showing off scratching the isolation room entrance…?’

Something feels a bit odd, but as long as she stays focused, that’s fine.

Alright.

Watch closely, Gan Hana.

I began writing on the stone floor in elegant handwriting.

Bring the chubby snake down here.

If there’s a reason you can’t, explain it. I’ll fetch it myself, so open the door.

Otherwise, I’ll handle it myself.

Surely, even if the supervisor praised my superior handwriting, they wouldn’t fail to recognize it, right?

Mmm hmmm.

—–

While a lone junior researcher remained in the quarantine room, an abrupt onset of extreme behavior from a top-tier unknown phenomenon commenced.

Damaging the dedicated special quarantine room, which shouldn’t be so easily broken, was unfolding before everyone’s eyes.

The FPL junior researcher urgently tapped on their smartphone screen to request help from an absent senior researcher.

Dial tone. Click.

Eventually, someone picked up the phone.

The senior researcher who had no choice but to leave their post despite wanting to stay…

– Gamma Rank G-7098 speaking. Received the call.

…Now, they were merely Gamma Rank personnel.

“Senior Jizel! Your great wisdom is needed…!”

– …What is it?

A tone impossible to tell whether it was indifferent or disdainful.

FPL junior researcher Gan Hana found this tone oddly comforting today.

Believing Senior Jizel would undoubtedly know the solution to this… ‘extremely urgent emergency situation.’

Gan Hana rapidly explained the current crisis.

“So, um, I’m observing IF-017 right now, and suddenly IF-017 started drawing weird pictures. Like, moving those tiny fingers around while drawing pictures! Totally adorable. But um, like snakes? And arrows or symbols? She’s still drawing them right now…”

– Wait. Hold on. Before we go further, may I ask one thing first?

“Why are you asking me?”

– I’ll hang up.

“Eeeeh, nooo! Just kidding, just kidding, Senior…!”

A small sigh could be heard from the other side of the phone. Gan Hana, extremely flustered, didn’t catch it.

– …IF-017’s quarantine room isn’t supposed to allow items in without permission, nor is it possible to bring anything in. So may I ask how IF-017 is drawing pictures?

“Well… Her nails grew pointy, and she’s scratching the quarantine room floor with them to draw.”

Gan Hana explained while watching IF-017, who was currently crouched down and enthusiastically continuing her artwork.

– …Scratching the floor? Impossible.

“Um, it’s true though…”

Though outright denial was unexpected, it was followed by an answer.

Muttering continued from the other side of the phone.

– Lies, right? IF-017’s quarantine room is built with materials durable enough to withstand HAARP orbital bombardments by those triangle-eyed bastards, coming right after IF-684’s main quarantine room… All convenience facilities necessary for maintaining spatial specificity in intelligent entity quarantine rooms were removed, leaving it a bare room. That was definitely the case, wasn’t it…?

“Huh? Senior, can you repeat that more slowly?”

– A building that stood firm against direct hits from HAARP orbital bombs. And this act of destruction is for picture-drawing fun…? H, H…?! IF-017, what the hell kind of unknown phenomenon are you… Ah, I shouldn’t have said that, should I? Forget it, why the hell should I follow ^%$%^’s orders…

Somehow, whenever IF-017 gets involved, the usually calm senior completely loses composure.

Of course, anyone would be startled if their conversation partner suddenly acted this way, but this was within Gan Hana’s expectations.

After all, she witnessed the senior’s embarrassing display during last time’s hostility test.

Unbothered, Gan Hana asked,

“What was that last part? Senior? So, what exactly is this drawing thing…?”

– Beep, beep…

“…Se, Senior?”

The subsequent dial tone was far outside her expectations.

Gan Hana froze.

“Uh, uh…”

Gan Hana started thinking simply.

‘Yeah. What can I do anyway? I’m just a rookie researcher who hasn’t even been here for half a year. Not like I can go down there and stop it either. Reporting and calling the security officer is all I need to do.’

Once she thought that, Gan Hana felt relieved.

And began enjoying the situation as it was.

Clap clap clap.

“And our cute IF-017 draws so well too?”

Looking at IF-017 giving her a “cute expression.”

Until the security officer arrived, Gan Hana enjoyed a brief moment of leisure.