The Red Dragon

The forest vibrated under the dragon's roar.

Koharu walked through the trees, her heart racing.

Ahead, she saw the colossal beast—and beside it, a dark-eyed man.

“Wait… are you Max?” she asked cautiously.

— I'm Shana's friend, — Koharu said .

The man clenched his fists.

— Liar. — he replied angrily.

"Kupi saw it all. He saw every humiliation she suffered in Atorin. This city will pay." he continued.

Max began to change. His body expanded, his veins bulged. His pupils turned red.

— I'm going to kill you! — Max said angrily.

He advanced. The first blow was a direct punch. Koharu crossed her arms and felt her bones vibrate.

Before she could react, Max appeared behind her, and a kick to the back sent her crashing to the ground.

(He's incredibly strong... and fast. I need to check my HP.)

The interface flashed in his mind.

HP: 72 / 136

(Damn… I lost half my life. I need to escape… think… no… everything is spinning…)

The vision went dark.

Koharu fell unconscious.

Max approached, impassive.

He gave her a light kick to the stomach just to see her react.

Nothing.

He grabbed her by the hair, lifting her off the ground.

— Now I'm going to finish you off. — said Max.

But suddenly her eyes opened.

A mocking smile appeared.

— You lost, idiot. — said Koharu

A blade appeared in his right hand, a luminous sword.

The blow went through Max's chest, causing blood to gush out.

"If you could make me bleed a little… know that I can make you bleed a lot more. After all… I'm a hero," Koharu said confidently.

(Oh, damn… I said too much! And I wanted a knife, not a sword!)

Koharu laughed nervously.

—Sorry! I confused class with desire! Hehe … —Koharu said.

Max stepped back, touching the wound.

His body returned to normal, but his eyes still burned with fury.

— Kupi! — he shouted .

"Don't use fire. It might hit Shana if she's in the city. Kill her with your claws!" Max ordered .

The dragon roared. Its wings beat loudly, kicking up leaves and dust.

The claws came down, ready to slash.

But before they reached Koharu, a shadow stepped in front of her.

The blow was brutal. The ground shook.

— FUJIMOTO!!! — shouted Koharu.

Fallen, covered in blood, I still managed to smile.

—At least… this time… I did something useful. — I said with a smile on my face.

The sound of Koharu's breathing mixed with her sobs.

She held me, crying desperately.

And then… everything changed.

A white light exploded from Koharu's body.

The night sky opened up as if day had returned.

His eyes were completely white, without pupils, without any human glow.

Kupi roared and tried to strike her with his claws…

Nothing happened.

He tried to throw fire, but the flames enveloped Koharu, but dissipated without leaving any marks.

She raised her finger and touched it to the dragon's belly.

The giant roared and fell, as if his body had been disconnected.

— … I-impossible … — Max murmured.

Koharu held Kupi's huge body as if it were weightless, spun around, and threw him into the sky.

The ground cracked.

As he prepared to deliver the final blow, something intercepted the dragon in mid-air, Transmons appeared and held him back.

And then… Shana appeared.

The wind blew her blue hair. Her eyes shone with sadness and determination.

(I can't believe it... They put their daughter in another dimension and even used the sealing technique before transferring her...)

(Is she… heir to the race of Gods? Or just another victim?)

— Koharu — Shana said, firmly.

"I'm going to stop you now. Before I lose the chance to heal you, Max, the dragon… and Fujimoto," Shana said with complete determination.

Koharu responded only with energy shots.

The explosions lit up the forest.

Shana dodged each one lightly.

— Impressive… — he whispered.

"What you'd expect from someone from the deity clan," Shana continued whispering.

—But now it's my turn. — Shana said with a serious look.

Shana disappeared in a blink.

He appeared behind Koharu, kicking her in the back.

Koharu spun around, ducked, and retaliated with a kick to the queen's face.

Shana laughed.

"I'm loving this. Even unconscious, your instincts are perfect. But... let's end it here," Shana said .

She raised her hands.

— Demonic Orbs!

The black spheres flew and attached themselves to Koharu's body.

They flashed and exploded.

Koharu fell, unconscious.

Shana staggered, exhausted. Her demonic form began to crumble.

—That's not a lack of HP... just tiredness...—he muttered.

"I need to heal the three of them… and Kupi," Shana said.

Max appeared from the trees and caught her before she fell.

She looked at him, surprised.

—I thought the dragon ate you… — he said, panting.

Max laughed, tears in his eyes.

"I thought about you every day. I thought I'd never see you again," Shana said emotionally.

She smiled, moved.

“First, let’s heal you… and the dragon… and them,” Shana said .

—Why help Kupi? — asked Max.

Shana smiled wearily.

"Because he protected you the whole time, didn't he? So… he's my friend too," Shana replied.

Max cried, clenching his fist.

— You're still the same Shana as before, — Max said emotionally.

She just nodded and began the ritual.

A green light enveloped the field, healing Koharu, Fujimoto, and Kupi.

"Let's sleep here in the forest," Shana said , sitting down.

"The place is secured," Shana said.

“You put demons on watch, didn’t you?” Max asked .

She smiled.

—As always, you understand me. — Shana replied.

He took me in his arms and placed Koharu on his lap.

Max laughed.

—You still have that habit of using your lap as a pillow, — Max said .

“My mother did the same when I was a child,” she replied , with a distant look in her eyes.

The dragon, now small and round like a giant cat, lay down beside it.

— Good evening, Shana, — said Max.

— Good evening, Max. — Shana said.

The morning light woke us up.

Shana and Max were already standing.

"Don't those two ever wake up?" Max complained .

"Leave it. After everything you've been through, you deserve a break," Shana replied , smiling.

I woke up slowly.

When I realized it, my head was in Shana's lap.

Koharu was also on Shana's lap, but on the other side.

— …What?! — we said at the same time, jumping.

Shana laughed.

—Finally the couple woke up. — Shana said laughing.

— C-couple ?! — we shouted together.

Koharu crossed her arms, her face red.

"He may be nice, but he'd have to be less shy for me to think that," Koharu said.

—And you should be less proud! — I retorted .

— Hey, stop! — Max shouted .

"Have you started fighting this morning?" Max shouted again.

Shana laughed, resting her chin on her hands.

— Leave it, Max. They're just like that. I'm used to it. — Shana said.

After everything calmed down, Shana told Koharu the whole truth—about her origins, her escape, and the seal.

Even though she was scared, Koharu chose to trust her.

Max explained that he had been taken in by the dragons after saving a hatchling—Kupi himself.

"My master is amazing!" said the dragon excitedly.

Koharu and I blinked in surprise.

"The dragon… speaks?!" Koharu was impressed.

Kupi nodded proudly.

— Yes! My name is Kupi! — replied the dragon.

Shana gave a warm smile and hugged us.

"From now on, we'll be a group. We'll look out for each other... and face whatever comes our way," Shana said .

She raised her hand.

— Transmons ! Find the nearest town! — Shana ordered the transmons .

The creatures disappeared into thin air and returned minutes later.

— We found it. Lilebel, the city of lights. — they said .

I looked at the faces around me, Koharu, Shana, Max, Kupi, and felt, for the first time since I arrived in this world, something I could call hope.

— Then that's where we're going. — he said .

Shana smiled.

And so, we headed towards the next city, not knowing that the real destination began now.

The days before we arrived in Lilebel were filled with pure exhaustion and training.

We defeated some monsters along the way and as a result, our levels went up.

Koharu was the first to notice.

"Hey, Fujimoto! Can you see our status?" Koharu asked.

— Of course. — I replied , activating the mental menu.

Before I could begin, Max frowned.

—Wait… what is “status”? — Max asked.

Shana sighed and began patiently explaining the concept of levels, attributes, and skills.

When he finished, Max just scratched his head.

— I see… I think. — Max said .

Smile.

—Then let's see how we are doing. — I said.

Hidden Observatory – Activate.

Name: Melria Shana

Class: Priestess

Level: 19

Attack: 112

Defense: 165

Intelligence: 167

HP: 195

Speed: 135

Magic Attack: 145

Magic Defense: 182

Name: Yui Koharu

Class: Heroine

Level: 10

Attack: 142

Defense: 142

Intelligence: 134

HP: 159

Speed: 166

Magic Attack: 189

Magic Defense: 146

Name: Satoru Fujimoto

Class: Hero

Level: 11

Attack: 126

Defense: 111

Intelligence: 149

HP: 106

Speed: 161

Magic Attack: 121

Magic Defense: 121

Name: Nelman Max

Class: Adventurer

Level: 21

Attack: 277

Defense: 207

Intelligence: 226

HP: 217

Speed: 202

Magic Attack: 212

Magic Defense: 212

Shana crossed her arms, satisfied.

— Max has some very strong attributes, — said Shana.

Max laughed.

—Even I was surprised. — Max said.

"My little love is powerful, isn't he?" Shana joked, giving a slight smile.

I tried to contain my laughter.

—Wait, you called him “ love— ”? — I asked laughing, but was interrupted by Koharu.

"Shut up, Fujimoto," she replied immediately, her face red.

— Sorry, hehehe … — I said with a laugh.

Max cleared his throat.

— Shana's right. These things can't leak to anyone, — Max said .

Koharu snorted.

"You're all there exchanging affection, but you forgot we need to find a place to live," Koharu said rightly.

“Don’t worry,” Shana said confidently.

"We have enough coins," Shana said with a smile on her face.

And so, after hours of walking, we saw the golden glow of Lilebel City, known as the City of Eternal Light.