Chapter: 561
The day of the operation had arrived. After Lucy and her group entered the forest at dawn, Muir stood at the forefront, glaring into the woods with fierce eyes.
Not only was he leading the owners of multiple forests, but he was also one of the oldest forest lords, recalling how beautiful the Fairy Forest once was.
Hence, he harbored greater worries than others as he looked upon the decayed forest.
The power of the Fairy Queen is immense.
In the past, when she was awake, her authority extended to every forest in the world.
So if this plan fails, every forest on the surface would be in danger.
As much as he wanted to dive in there himself,
Aha! A filthy mutt caked in dirt can’t come inside the house! Just wait pitifully outside. That’s fitting for a beast like you!
Thinking of the face of the child who had once helped him enormously and was now about to help him again, Muir clasped his huge hand over his face and sighed.
She is capable of miracles.
Closer to myth than anyone else in this world.
So, he thought it was okay to believe, but a part of him couldn’t shake off his unease.
“Muir-nim.”
Hearing Lina’s voice, Muir snapped back to reality, retracting his protruding claws and turning his head sideways.
“What is it?”
“Can you reach the others staying in different forests?”
“As long as they’re not too far.”
“Please exchange communication every hour. The first place anomalies occur will likely be the forest.”
Nodding, Muir requested to contact the other forest lords and then gazed back into the woods.
“Muir-nim, you know how beautiful the forest used to be, right?”
“Yeah. The Age of Mythology was when the forests were more beautiful than ever.”
This isn’t just a story limited to the Fairy Forest. The nature of the era when gods and humans frolicked together flourished beyond comparison to today.
This was because various gods provided good influence to the forests.
Moreover, much more magical energy lingered in nature than it does now.
And the fairies reached out their caring hands beside nature.
“What kind of person was the Fairy Queen? When I asked Lucy, she just said she’s a chicken coop.”
“A chicken coop? What kind of expression is that?”
“Maybe she means she smells like a hen?”
“…Is that really her? Did something go wrong?”
As a powerful wolf who was the lord of the forest even in the Age of Myth, he certainly wasn’t someone who could earn the fairies’ favor.
The fairies reportedly said, “She looks too scary!” “I feel like I’d get eaten!” “No way!”
Anyway, aside from her appearance, he had no disqualifications, and he had once gotten the chance to meet her through the Fairy Queen’s favor.
“When I first saw the Fairy Queen, what struck me was her purity.”
“Was it white then?”
“I’m not sure if that makes sense. Well, there are those among humans who fight fiercely over what ‘evil’ is.”
Some say that what was full of good at birth gets stained with darkness while living in the world, while others argue that what was born with evil drunk in learns rules through this world.
From Muir’s perspective, he thought it sounded utterly useless, but there’s merit in listening to their claims. In such times, he could borrow their words.
“The Fairy Queen was born pure and has lived eternally pure. The unsettling expression of ‘chicken coop’ has no place here.”
Because she was born pure and could not be tainted, unlike the fairies.
The existence of the Fairy Queen is one that can remain pure even while knowing the world.
Realizing this filled Muir with immense awe.
Though this story holds no meaning now that she has been tainted by darkness, he still hadn’t forgotten that feeling of inspiration.
“I actually want to ask about her appearance, not all of this.”
Muir, reminiscing about the distant past, had enthusiastically begun to speak, but Lina’s response was sharp. Yes, he had always been like this beast.
“…I don’t think there’s anyone among the living I’ve seen on earth more beautiful than her.”
“Even more than Lucy?”
“Are you referring to Young Lady Alrn? Hmm… Uh, hmm.”
Not having compared others based on their appearance before made it difficult. He could only answer that both were beautiful.
Seeing that Muir took a while to respond, Lina let out a small laugh and opened her mouth.
“Alright then. We’ll meet again soon, so I’ll be the one to assess then.”
“Do you really think we can meet her again? The Fairy Queen, who has been consumed by the evil god’s influence for hundreds of years?”
“Of course.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Lucy can’t stand leaving the unfortunate behind.”
With affection glowing in her eyes, Lina’s words caused Muir to subtly turn away and smile at her sparkling eyes.
The child, who once regarded all things in the world merely by their value, now seemed to harbor personal feelings.
It’s a positive development. Is it because of the love of the gods that this also exists?
…Of course, Lina’s attitude towards Lucy Alrn tends to be a bit—no, considerably excessive, but she’ll surely learn to rein it in with time.
For now, she’s just clumsy.
Just clumsy, right?
Isn’t she doing such things knowing she’d be hated?
I just hope I’m not wrong in my good misconceptions.
“Muir-nim.”
“Um?! Ah, I was not thinking of anything. I wasn’t doubting anything.”
“What are you talking about? Over there.”
Following Lina’s finger, Muir turned his head and confirmed something was amiss with the barrier of the Fairy Forest.
Energy was flowing out. Was the Fairy Queen’s dream being interrupted?
“Go inform the knights. The time for battle is approaching.”
“I’ve already contacted them. I’m quite capable, you see.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Being overly capable, I also know you thought of me as a pervert, Muir-nim.”
“…Is there any proof I thought such a thing?”
“There’s none, but I believe the conscientious Muir-nim wouldn’t lie.”
Lina wore a playful smile reminiscent of someone else, but to Muir, that smile felt more like terror. The intimidation captured in her expression was entirely different.
“I hope you’ll bring me another gift next time.”
“If you’re talking about jewelry, ha, r-right. I’ll do my best.”
*
“Erginus-nim!”
“I know. Get ready.”
Feeling the black energy flowing from the forest, Erginus completed his meditation and stepped outside.
The forest, eerily silent and grim like a graveyard, began to thrum. The Fairy Queen’s dream was being disturbed.
“Your Majesty, wasn’t it asked to request the shard to kill yourself?”
Erginus understood that too. That was the easiest and most realistic solution.
“But then, if that’s how it’s going to be resolved, then we wouldn’t wait hundreds of years.”
Choosing that option should only happen as a last resort.
Until then, he had to fight with everything he could muster. Though it’s not something he should say, given that all the burdens were left for future generations.
“May a miracle occur.”
Offering prayers he hadn’t even said during the Age of Myth, Erginus headed toward the wizards of the Partran.
It was time to prepare for war.
*
– Hey! The queen is so pretty!
– Right! More fragrant than any flower!
– I always want to be by the queen!
– I want to see the queen smile forever!
Biting her lips tightly, Joy suppressed the urge to vomit at the fairies who were endlessly praising the queen, akin to Phoebe chattering about Lucy.
Perhaps it was because she’d learned how to cope with illusions from Erginus. Behind their dazzling appearances, the ugliness was visible.
The seemingly bright smiles hare hid vacant doll faces underneath.
The pure voices emitted by the children were veiling something horrible.
The refreshing forest was, in fact, shrouded in darkness, and there was nothing genuine among the life residing here.
No. The very notion of life doesn’t exist.
The forest, long dead, only served as hell, trapping the souls of the deceased.
…There’s no way others can’t feel this.
Not to mention Lucy. Phoebe also bore the divinity of the god. Kent Young Lady and Professor Karl were both martial artists who had reached a certain level, so they should feel the dissonance as well.
Even the Third Prince likely sensed it in some way. He tended to bite down hard when he was in a bad mood.
Everyone felt this dissonance.
And yet, they were all smiling along with the fairies.
I’m not the only one who feels like throwing up here.
Phew. It’s okay. I’m used to feigning calm in any situation.
I struggled to manage my expressions every time trouble erupted because of Lucy in high society!
Compared to that, this is nothing. Yeah.
After a moment, Joy, following her friends, suddenly stopped as she sensed an aura from inside.
It wasn’t merely awful or disgusting.
The aura that lurked inside was the very essence of the evil god.
It was thicker and more ominous than the demon sent by the evil god as a proxy during the academy attack.
Is the Fairy Queen in there?
“Joy.”
Just as Joy swallowed nervously, Arthur spoke up beside her.
She almost choked with surprise but managed to push down her panic, trying to appear composed while waiting for Arthur’s words.
“You know you can’t give Lucy Alrn the chance to voice her opinion. Who knows what will happen?”
“I know that well, Prince Third.”
Right now, Lucy was keeping quiet, listening to her friends’ advice, but none expected that Lucy would stay quiet to the end.
If Lucy could keep a lid on her mouth, her reputation wouldn’t be in the gutter.
“The lead in conversation should rest with the Saintess, while we support from the back.”
“That seems best. The fairies show the greatest favor to Phoebe.”
“I will do my utmost, albeit lacking in capability.”
Those who felt the Fairy Queen’s energy all shared their thoughts in meeting for a countermeasure.
“Hello, everyone.”
But all of that became meaningless the moment the Fairy Queen showed herself.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had guests.”
Her presence was as if she had gathered all the darkness inscribed in the night sky.
So dark that one couldn’t even glimpse what lurked within.
Erginus had said the Fairy Queen was infinitely close to divinity, right?
He was correct. The darkness before me was infinitely closer to being an evil god.
“Greetings. I am the Fairy Queen, the mother of all fairies that exist in this world.”
The Fairy Queen smiled and spoke, yet Joy couldn’t see her smile.
The darkness enveloping her obscured everything, making it hard to even comprehend her words.
It wasn’t just Joy. Everyone present felt similarly.
The darkness held within the current Fairy Queen was terrifying enough to touch the essence of life.
This was what they called a being from the Age of Myth—an evil force that heroes once faced.
It was undeniably threatening.
Nothing compared to the monsters encountered in the dungeons.
Even the dragon seen during the academy attack wouldn’t reach this level.
It’s terrifying.
I’m scared.
I want to flee.
I want to drop to my knees and beg for mercy.
I want to sob uncontrollably.
Standing before such a horrifying presence makes me wish to bite my tongue instead.
“An…”
But hey. How long can I just stand back, leaving everything to Lucy?
I came all this way because I wanted to stand beside my friend.
Blocking Lucy, who was about to step forward, Joy forced her trembling hands to tranquilize with magic before bowing her head before the Fairy Queen.
“Greetings to you, o ruler of all purity, whiteness, and tranquility. I am Joy Partan, the sole daughter of the Partran Duke family, one of the five dukes of the Soladin Kingdom, and a disciple of the great wizard Erginus.”
“…Disciple of Erginus?”
“Indeed, your Majesty.”
I have come to convey a message to you on behalf of my noble master.
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