Became a Dragon kidnapped by Humans

Under the bright sunlight of a pleasant spring day.

Kan Hana was enjoying a picnic by the lakeside, her blanket spread out.

“Wow….”

Kan Hana couldn’t help but marvel.

The endless, radiant lake in front of her eyes was incredibly beautiful.

Though this was the first time she had seen it, it gave her a comforting sense as if she’d returned to her hometown.

Kan Hana couldn’t help but smile in happiness.

“It’s a waste to enjoy it alone.”

Kan Hana glanced to the side.

Right beside her lay the most beloved presence, lying down meekly.

IF-017.

Or rather, ‘Loo.’

It also sounded like ‘Luge,’ but the name ‘Loo’ suited this adorable creature much better.

“Loo, let’s get closer and take a look!”

Kan Hana picked up Loo, ready to head toward the lake together.

But something was strange.

No matter how much Kan Hana stretched her hand, she couldn’t reach Loo at all.

Though he was clearly right beside her, it was as if an invisible wall blocked the way.

Just as Kan Hana was perplexed,

Loo suddenly got up and headed somewhere.

When Kan Hana tried to follow, her movements were inexplicably slow.

“Uh… uh?”

As Kan Hana stretched out her hand again,

Loo was already long gone.

Kan Hana cried out in despair.

“No!”

When she realized Loo was gone, the lake that had seemed so beautiful now looked like a fish cake without red bean paste.

Under the still pleasant spring sunlight,

Kan Hana fell to her knees helplessly.

“I’ve been abandoned by Loo….”

As she muttered those words, her heart felt as if it was being torn apart.

Tears streamed down Kan Hana’s cheeks.

Then,

Something approached and consoled her.

It was Loo.

There was no mistaking it—definitely Loo.

“Loo? … Huh!”

Kan Hana, brightening, looked up—and froze in shock.

The tiny flame holding onto her finger.

It was unmistakably Loo.

A flame, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand—this was Loo.

The flame-elemental Loo was gently nibbling on Kan Hana’s finger.

Kan Hana looked around in astonishment.

Flame Loo wasn’t just one or two.

They frolicked together at Kan Hana’s feet, hopping around, and when they got bored, they flew around Kan Hana in circles.

Their endearing forms looked just like fairies out of a fairy tale.

“Wow…!”

Kan Hana carefully touched flame Loo with her hand.

The flame Loo, who had been nibbling her finger playfully, met Kan Hana’s gaze.

Then it grinned and slid softly up her fingertips.

Though it disappeared right in front of her eyes, Kan Hana soon realized.

The flame Loo who had just been playing with her fingers was now inside her heart.

The playful but earnest flame Luus gradually entered Kan Hana’s heart one by one.

“… Haha.”

Excessive warmth. Unparalleled cuteness.

Despite being drenched in sweat, Kan Hana couldn’t help but smile foolishly under the coziness.

—Clomp, clomp.

Then it happened.

An overwhelming heat was felt somewhere.

A calm voice could be heard amidst the heat.

“These children behaving so well is unprecedented.”

Kan Hana shielded her eyes and looked toward the source.

She was like the Sun.

“It’s hot…!”

Even though about a hundred flame Luus were frolicking around Kan Hana, the one over there was on an entirely different level.

There stood a woman surrounded by innumerable flame Luus.

Kan Hana couldn’t help but be astonished.

All the flame Luus were fixated solely on the woman, unlike the ones near her, which mostly played around.

The woman glanced at Kan Hana with an approving look.

“You are the High Priest beginning this generation. The Great Ancient Being resides in the city, nearby.”

Her attire resembled something from thousands of years ago, but her dignified posture and wise eyes didn’t match her initial impression.

The woman, who seemed familiar despite being strangers, spoke to Kan Hana.

“Young Sajejang. Please… take good care of our Luge.”

“Huh?”

Kan Hana didn’t have time to respond.

The moment the woman finished speaking, flames enveloped her, and she vanished somewhere.

Kan Hana, left alone in the barren land, questioned the emptiness.

“…Who were you?”

At that moment,

A warm and soft something pressed against her cheek.

“Ah…?”

When Kan Hana looked to the side, the flame Loo was beaming with mischief.

Watching the naughty flame Loo scamper away, laughing,

Kan Hana absentmindedly touched her tingling cheek.

Her complicated thoughts cleared up.

All of the flame Luus who earlier had looked at the woman with admiration,

Why were they all smiling playfully now when they looked at her?

Feeling as though she’d lost, Kan Hana chased after them.

“Y-you… stop running!”

Kan Hana laughed joyfully, chasing after the flames.

Though she lost them effortlessly in the end as they suddenly started running across the sky,

The words they chattered in a playful tone, ‘Judgment!’ and ‘Heavenly Punishment!’ were a bit off,

But she thought,

“Well, they’re cute, so that’s good… isn’t it?”

“Though I can’t run, how is that fair? Haha…”

Kan Hana ran for quite some time under the warm sunlight by the lakeside.

——

“Uuuugh….”

The serpent with its head bowed down couldn’t look up.

For the one serpent that had grown up in the bright daylight of Loch Ness, the preceding event was too overwhelming.

Even if it was meant to deliver a bead!

Especially the Progenitor responsible for such tangled mess was absolutely tranquil, leaving the serpent merely frustrated.

“No, Tonton-i Snake. The purification is pure. What you feel is merely bias.”

“Lie?”

“How can you say it’s a lie? The worst descendant in the world doubts the Progenitor. Is Tonton-i Snake the worst descendant in the world?”

“What? Denial! Denial! Progenitor! Truth!”

The Progenitor, deceiving the foolish snake.

The serpent sensed the intention behind the will.

The Progenitor clearly didn’t care about the previous incident at all.

Doubting if something was wrong with itself, the serpent slightly moved its fins, which were stuck to its face.

The sight that caught its slightly revealed eyes was the radiant Progenitor charming the foolish snake.

“Hehe. That’s good. Tonton-i Snake is just too simple and lovable!”

“What… meaning?”

The completely innocent words and actions might lead one to believe they belonged to someone of the same age as the serpent, were it not for the mature wings and strangely shining horns.

The Progenitor.

Such a Progenitor, who was supposed to have roamed for countless years.

“What kind of Progenitor is this…!”

The serpent could distinctly feel its long-held fantasies crumbling to pieces.

Clearly, in the bedtime story it had listened to from its mother every night, the Progenitor was the highly majestic and incredible divine entity of their race.

But there was no trace of such dignity in the Progenitor who was now rubbing cheeks with Tonton-i’s belly.

She had handed over the bead so casually.

“What?”

“Why? Should I rub some more?”

And the atmosphere so naturally radiating from her.

It was surely the Progenitor spoken of in words alone, but.

“Eh? That’s not what this is about!”

The serpent could only stand astonished at the continuous peculiar behavior, both earlier and now.

There seemed to be someone who used to restrain things next to them, but with that someone gone, it felt like things were running wild.

The serpent grumbled.

“Progenitor, don’t you care who I am or where I came from?”

“Well, probably all’s well with how you showed up…”

“Waaaah…! What is that??”

Despite nearly flipping out in anger at the completely heartless response from the Progenitor,

Puffing its cheeks, the serpent sent a mental message.

“I arrived to deliver a hello message from Loch Ness. Mom told me to come and deliver it.”

Priorities over feelings at the moment.

That was the reason the serpent had sought out the Progenitor all the way from Loch Ness.

“I came to deliver Mom’s message asking if you’re doing well in the city and if life is peaceful.”

Finally, the message of good health was delivered.

The serpent was overwhelmed by how long it had taken for such a small matter to be conveyed.

“That’s nice… seems like you can survive outside the city too.”

The progenitor slowly nodded.

But then there was no further continuation of the thought.

“Is that it? I went through so much trouble? To find you, I scoured every lake in the world and even got captured by the biped beasts!”

The serpent flapped its fins as it expressed its frustration.

Back in Loch Ness, everyone would coo and comfort the serpent with “aww” after seeing such behavior.

The world outside Loch Ness, however, seemed a bit more ruthless.

“Biped beasts? Those creatures are called humans.”

Not only did the Progenitor not comfort the serpent but also corrected and questioned it.

In response, the serpent wildly shook its head.

“No! They’re biped beasts! Naughty biped beasts hit and captured me. The channel didn’t open, and I couldn’t escape. After so much hardship, I came here expecting praise!”

To the serpent, they were all “biped beasts.”

There wasn’t a single “human.”

Except…

There was one lying there midway who was suspiciously hard to categorize as either human or biped beast.

Still, due to all the strange arguments and the Progenitor’s cold shoulders, the serpent was incredibly annoyed.

To this,

The Progenitor became serious.

“Did they hit and capture you? Really?”

Although the Progenitor’s gaze had not a hint of hostility towards the serpent, just pure inquiry, the unintended pressure overwhelmed the entire vicinity.

Startled, the serpent averted its eyes.

“Huh? Maybe… probably not them. But biped beasts with similar skin color exist.”

“Do you mean their clothing?”

The seemingly dispassionate Progenitor was terrifying.

Involuntarily trembling, the serpent nodded.

What had felt so easy with the Progenitor just moments ago now seemed completely changed.

The horns of the Progenitor now radiated ominously instead of beautifully.

“…I see. Not all the ones in black jackets are followers. Then waiting for a day was unnecessary…”

The Progenitor’s anger was icy.

If it was for the Progenitor to avenge the serpent, it would have been delightful; however,

It was something the startled serpent couldn’t fully comprehend.

“Thank you. Your information was truly helpful in making my decision.”

The Progenitor’s mental message.

The serpent could feel it.

Something was about to happen.

“Since all who heeded not my summons… You have forgotten to bring me comfort and have not helped me forget my hunger. Therefore, you have lost the right to look up to me.”

Through the progenitor’s eyes, the serpent sensed something immense.

Just so vast, impossibly huge, beyond all measure.

The serpent couldn’t describe it.

“The single eternal light that brightens the deep abyss will no longer shine upon you. To avoid becoming prey, it’d be wise for you to depart now. This is my final mercy.”

The message spread.

Though the biped beasts hadn’t realized anything was amiss yet, the serpent was paralyzed with a sense of dread that came out of nowhere.

Even for the serpent that considered the very bottom of Loch Ness its living room,

Such depths of water were too terrifying.

“Fear…! Help…!”

“Waaaah… Progenitor, you’re scary!!”

The serpent huddled together with the foolish snake who somehow got close and shivered uncontrollably.

And then,

“Ripples. You are no longer my followers.”

Upon the Progenitor’s final words, the serpent began hiccups, whimpering.

The sharp eyes of the Progenitor approached,

Worsening the serpent’s hiccups.

Involuntarily, the serpent sent a message,

“Sorry, sorry… Progenitor, I didn’t mean to act spoiled and make a mistake…!”

The serpent closed its eyes tightly against the approaching presence,

And opened them again in surprise when a gentle hand stroked it softly.

The Progenitor was smiling, somewhat bemused.

“Not that… you’ve both been exceptions all along. I made it clear from the beginning, right? This applies only to those who did not heed my call…”

The serpent felt its fear melt away like melting snow.

The terrifying presence had long disappeared.

And the Progenitor’s eyes shone with the same pure gaze from before.

The serpent laughed and embraced the Progenitor.

“Progenitor…!”

Though feeling guilty towards Mom, the Progenitor’s embrace was much warmer than Mom’s.

Something flat got squashed between the serpent and the Progenitor, but

Since it was soft and inconsequential, the serpent ignored it.

“Choke! Being crushed! Help!”

——

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