an unfortunate change in genre

Part 14

Choi Han chose violence.

It wasn't really an option, if you really thought about it. Anyone else in his shoes would have done the exact same thing.

Besides, he didn't need to justify himself to a nonexistent audience.

Normally he might have had some mercy on the bandits who misguidedly chose him as their target. Perhaps just incapacitate or maim them a little so that they would think twice before committing crimes in the future. Choi Han didn't have many of the sensibilities from modern Korea left inside of him but he still liked to behave sensibly.

He wasn't a murderer, he'd never once killed a person. Although some of the violence might have resulted in life long injuries that would cripple his opponents for the rest of their potentially short lives, he usually reserved that level of unforgiving brutality for members of Arm or other monsters of inexcusable character.

It was an inexcusable crime to look at the baby dragon in his care and call him a monster.

Choi Han's revenge had been swift and cruel, swaddling the black dragon to his chest so that he wouldn't be exposed to too much violence.

"Choi Han?" The black dragon squirmed in his grip, his small voice only inspiring Choi Han to put a rather definite conclusion to the fight. Sure, none of them would walk again and some of them might have difficulty speaking after Choi Han forcibility shut them up with a blow to the throat, but if you really thought about it they had it coming.

Choi Han began walking away from the groaning carnage before answering the baby dragon who looked up at him with deep blue eyes. "Yes?"

"...am I a monster?"

Choi Han's heart tangled painfully. The look on the black dragon's face was complicated. Injured pride making the child want to indignantly cry in denial but a deep fearful insecurity that he would only ever show to Choi Han peeking out behind his strength and intelligence.

"No." Choi Han smiled softly, resting his forehead against the black dragon. "They were the monsters."

The baby dragon brightened up a bit at the reassurance, nuzzling against Choi Han's face and closing his eyes and he rested peacefully in his arms.

He could fly or walk, he wasn't so young that he couldn't at least do that much, but the black dragon liked how it felt being carried by Choi Han. The man gave him a feeling of peace and familiarity that the black dragon was loath to let go of. He could leave anytime he wanted, reject humanity and live like a dragon. One time he'd even tried to do so in an indignant fit over Choi Han telling him 'no' over some inane issue.

But he didn't get far before he wanted to return. And of course Choi Han had followed him stealthily, keeping an eye on him to protect him.

They were a strange and tiny family but they were undeniably and irreplaceably family.

The baby dragon stayed hidden most of the time that they spent in towns and cities but Choi Han didn't have a lot of money so mostly they camped out in forests and mountains anyway. Choi Han had decades of experience living off of the land and dragons were naturally inclined to take care of themselves.

That was why they were only made aware that someone was searching for Choi Han years after the search had begun.

"Choi Han? Where are we going now?"

The pair were heading through mountainous territory and towards a city at the bottom of a valley. Choi Han was familiar with the route having traveled it so many times before. This was the black dragon's first time though, he was still only six months old.