Became a Dragon kidnapped by Humans

After giving up on trusting the senses that had gone blank, how much time had passed?

Chilled by the water soaking his body, Long Weilan, commander of Siegfried Unit, opened his eyes.

Plop, plop.

The floor was already dotted with puddles.

Weilan climbed atop a suitable piece of debris and looked up at the sky.

Though he had clearly seen the clouds part like the Red Sea, now the sky was filled with pitch-black clouds that poured down a torrential rain.

Shivering, Weilan pulled his coat tighter around himself.

Though the coat had basic waterproofing as standard equipment, no matter how tightly he held it, the wind cut through.

The gale was strong enough to make even his waterlogged hair whip around.

Weilan stared as a bolt of lightning struck near the rooftop of the research facility.

“A typhoon, huh.”

Rumble—

One by one, the unit members regained consciousness at the sound of thunder.

Weilan counted each nearby person, one by one.

Despite the tremendous explosion, only one was missing – E Research Director.

“Hmph.”

Weilan let out a bitter laugh.

Even with the assistance of his arm, which featured technology so advanced the term “over-technology” was insufficient, movement had been nearly impossible.

Yet somehow, she had vanished without a trace.

“What happened?”

“Why isn’t the anti-entropy value showing up?”

Weilan silently listened to their conversation.

There was no mention of anything E Research Director had said, which wouldn’t be surprising given the massive explosion that followed – it would be strange if anyone even remembered a single word she’d spoken in passing.

The explosion.

Weilan recalled the past – the events that had occurred at the IF-017-1 annex base when he was of Beta Rank.

IF-017’s Ascension mode.

IF-017, appearing in that form.

Even so, it was completely different from those creatures.

IF-017 couldn’t have known about the Level 3 ‘Gram’ loaded into Weilan’s arm.

Despite that, it showed no signs of hostility whatsoever.

“Is it really so different from those useless creatures…?”

Weilan brought his intact hand to his soaking wet hair.

He couldn’t quite remember the sensation of IF-017’s hand reaching out to touch his head, but…

Was it because he had let it rest there for so long?

If anything, the firm tactile sensation from IF-098 ‘Tsuchinoko’ remained vivid on his fingertips.

Amidst the heavy downpour,

Weilan quietly muttered as he glanced up at an intact containment chamber, which somehow still floated in the air despite the chaos around it.

“…IF-017, ‘Dragon’. What are you thinking?”

It had been a while.

I was walking slowly, letting the rain fall on me.

Since long ago, it always rained after I spat fire.

And when it did, some random knowledge from my human days about rising heat and convection currents would pop into my mind, though I really didn’t need such information, especially since there was not a single follower sending thanks for the rain given to them.

The damn things…

Beneath the rain, the heavenly fire inside me was still burning fiercely.

Because the heavenly fire had dried my entire body, I was still dry even amid the rain.

– Squish. Skritch.

Every puddle I stepped on dried up and disappeared.

Seeing my toes couldn’t even get wet, it felt like the lake I couldn’t dip my feet into was mocking me.

I wasn’t particularly… in a good mood.

So…

“Gyahooook.”

Either speak up and get out of the way immediately, or say whatever it is you need to say and then move.

I’m about to blow any second now.

I was annoyed by the gray-coated human who was blocking my way.

I had seen them the first day I awoke here.

Something about this gray-coated woman felt suspicious.

Normally, when you see someone up close, it should become clear why they seem suspicious, but…

I couldn’t quite make it out now since everything was so blurry.

“Um, is there anything strange about me… Hmm. Should this be okay…?”

The human, who had been hesitating, then crouched down in front of me and took out some kind of cylinder.

As soon as what looked like a lid opened, a noxious smell wafted out.

Ah… another offering.

That nasty mercury, arsenic, lead trio again.

Why do humans like those so much? And this cylinder seemed even more toxic.

I’m not feeling well, yet they’re offering this as tribute.

What is this supposed to be?

Exhaling a deep sigh.

No, I can’t exhale right now. In my current state, instead of breath, flames would come out.

Since flames would be bad, I was about to pass by ignoring it all.

“Uh, what is this…? Erm… Ahh, I can’t lie… So, this is called Level 3 ‘Gram’…”

I stopped briefly upon hearing those suspicious words from the human, though not really expecting to get an answer to my unspoken inquiry about what this was.

The human seems to understand my thoughts.

Though I really hadn’t been expecting such an answer, and the reply was beyond imagination.

“It’s like… a chest-opening soda drink!”

Though the face saying it looked a bit awkward…

Ah well, it’s not like I can see it clearly anyway.

Though, I seem to have heard something more important.

Are they really saying that drinking this will clear the chest? Nine out of ten things about the purported effects of offerings humans describe tend to be exaggerations.

Well, maybe. What have I got to lose?

Since it definitely wouldn’t work if it were bad for me.

I opened my mouth and moved closer.

Hurry up and pour it in. Quickly. Efficiently.

“Um? Ah, okay. Yes…”

Then the suspicious human, as if making a decision, brought the cylinder to my mouth and poured its contents in.

-Gulgle gulgle gulgle.

Hmm…

Um, this is…

Too noxious!

-Pfft.

It exploded in my mouth!

For heaven’s sake. Can the term “explode” even be used with offerings?

Ugh…

It seems the explosion reached just below my jaw, making everything feel numb.

This isn’t right.

Is this really an offering? Isn’t this more like an assassination attempt by a heretic?

As I glared, the suspicious human mumbled, avoiding my gaze.

“Did I do the right thing…?”

What is this person thinking?

Why are they looking elsewhere while talking to me?

Following the suspicious human’s line of sight, I turned my head.

Ah… whatever.

Were you talking to that over there? Not important.

“Uh, you shouldn’t be looking over there yet…! Well, just rest comfortably and wait. It won’t take long!”

Apparently, they didn’t expect me to follow their gaze, as the suspicious human quickly left.

What kind of person is this?

“Gyaaooo…”

Meh.

Focusing on this trivial matter is less important than calming my immediate nausea.

Though the offering was extremely toxic, now that I’ve swallowed it, it seems my stomach has somewhat eased.

Just a little bit, though.

What was that about the chest clearing up? At best, it’s like scooping out a single cup of water from a lake.

I clutched my still-constricted chest.

The churning sensation that makes it hard to focus on anything else.

I’m exhausted.

Even as I lay down with a thud because I didn’t want to walk anymore, I had to suppress the urge to throw up.

My vision involuntarily narrowed.

Tinnitus rang in my ears.

As I turned my head to look for Tonton-i Snake, I was already too tired to move and had to send a mental message instead.

Tonton-i Snake, are you there?

I’m very tired. Can you come here?

Fortunately, a response came from somewhere fairly close.

‘Progenitor. Tired? Rest.’

I could feel Tonton-i Snake getting closer.

Even though it was a short time by human standards, waiting those few moments felt like an eternity.

Finally, Tonton-i Snake came close enough to find me.

‘Progenitor? Progenitor?! Progenitor!!’

Beep beep beep—

Tonton-i Snake approached, jumping excitedly, making beeping sounds with each leap.

It would have been quite amusing if not for the tinnitus.

As Tonton-i Snake licked my cheek from where it approached my face,

Heehee, that tickles… What are you doing?

‘Progenitor…! Death? Refuse! Refuse! Bad fire.’

Eh?

What does that mean…?

Though, to exaggerate, I do feel so uncomfortable I could die, but it’s just that my stomach is upset. It’s not life-threatening, and it’s not because of Gwangcheol-i either?

Tonton-i Snake seemed about to burst into tears, so I wanted to comfort it, but lifting my hand seemed too tiresome.

Tonton-i Snake.

Rather than standing there, can you support my head?

Just for a second.

‘…Agree! Progenitor. Death. Not allowed!’

Then Tonton-i Snake resolutely crawled under my head.

A soft cushioning sensation was felt as a sound of “Kwoeeeengg” was heard.

Phew. Now I can bear it a little better.

I closed my eyes.

I wanted to deactivate Divine Mode, but I feared I would surely collapse if I let my guard down, so I refrained.

But say…

Why is there a sound like something melting near Tonton-i Snake’s head?

‘Nngh, nngh.’ The labored breathing sound coming from Tonton-i Snake’s side keeps buzzing.

‘Us. Endure. Progenitor. Hard.’

There’s no need for the Thousand Fires to be this difficult.

Tonton-i Snake showed endurance against the heat for my sake, but something seemed off to me.

Why is it so hot?

Now that I focus, I can feel heat emanating from outside my body somewhere.

Though I haven’t thrown up since lying down and calming down a bit…

Why is there nothing coming from my mouth?

Listening carefully to my surroundings,

It was hard due to the tinnitus, but thanks to Thousand Fires’ presence, I could somewhat make out what was happening.

Nothing’s coming from my mouth…

Hm?

It’s coming from my jaw…

Ah. It felt a bit prickly under my jaw earlier, didn’t it?

Though unclear, some sort of melting substance seems to be leaking from below my neck.

What should I do?

Could it be leaking quite a bit? I asked via intent.

‘Endure. Possible. Rest! Progenitor! Rest! Stability!’

It seems to be fine.

Well, that makes sense.

No matter how extremely exhausted I am, this is Divine Mode, not nightwear, so if it were leaking significantly, I would have noticed sooner.

In that case, that’s fine then.

I’ll just let it heal on its own.

I’m really going to take a rest.

Though subtly, it seemed as if the sound of melting could be heard, cutting through even the sound of torrential rain.

And subtly, it seemed as if the cries of humans begging for mercy while fleeing from the flames could be heard.

In the end, everything was drowned out by the “Peeeeiiii” of the tinnitus, leaving only silence.

“Uh, it’s me. E. I’ve taken the call.”

“Is His Majesty the Dragon okay? The whole area is melting! Um, I’m fine, but this is ultimately your research facility… If things continue like this, everyone except the two snakes will burn to death. It’s fine? This is fine? Ugh, I’m not sure about that.”

“You’ve been found out… I’ve done everything right, so why don’t you go pray for now? Yeah, understood. ■■■… Can we see each other for a long time?”

Alone in the empty space, a containment chamber floating in mid-air.

It remained intact despite being scorched by Dragon’s Breath, but was roughly torn apart by IF-017’s Breath.

E, with hands clasped in prayer, directed them toward the containment chamber.

“Yeah. Please recognize me, new recruit…!”

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