Chapter: 554
The pollution that started in the Fairy Forest seeped into the land over a long, long time.
Even a barrier created by Erginius himself couldn’t stop the pollution that had burrowed deep into the land.
The surrounding woods were consumed by the Evil God’s energy.
The beasts that resided there turned into monsters.
Dungeons sprang up here and there, either being conquered right before going berserk or going berserk repeatedly.
In the gradually expanding territory, the inner area was becoming a magical labyrinth.
This land is it.
In the game, you could receive a commission from the lord guarding this territory and wander around the inner areas.
There were several dungeons with difficulty levels clustered together, making it perfect for a quick grind.
Later, it was revealed that there were more efficient locations, and it was abandoned because this place was quite annoying.
As time passed, the pollution level from the Evil God’s energy rose, making it almost mandatory to include clergy in the party. Even without that, the phenomena created by the energy left behind by the Dark Evil God forced us to consume, far from efficiency.
That said, this place isn’t the only source of something. Moreover, having stepped foot in this location, I understood.
This isn’t a place to stay long.
Even though we haven’t reached the center yet, the Evil God’s energy is already thick.
Staying in a place like this for long would definitely cause mental issues.
I can see why the lord right next to the Fairy Forest was troubled.
The reason for actively cooperating this time makes sense too. It’s a ticking bomb right next door, after all, you never know when it might blow up.
“It feels like the witch’s forest from a fairy tale,” Arthur said as he stepped on dried leaves, causing Joy, who was behind him, to nod.
“It feels like soon the trees will talk, crows will call, and an eerie laughter will echo from somewhere.”
“Then will we get stuck in the witch’s stew?”
“…How strong does the witch have to be for that to be possible?”
Before answering, Arthur glanced over our faces, tilted his head, and spoke while looking at me.
“If it’s a strength like Sir Benedict, it might be possible, right?”
“I’d rather not face such strong enemies.”
“Doesn’t that sound interesting?”
“Lady Kent, we’ll be dead before we find it interesting.”
“Is that so?”
As mentioned earlier, this forest is certainly not a place to smile while moving forward, but our party remained calm.
Simply put, there was no way for the Evil God’s energy to seep into our surroundings.
I, as an Apostle of Lord Jushin, was scattering divinity in the front, while Phoebe was cheerfully laughing and dispelling darkness from the back.
The disgust that most people should feel could not exist here.
“Sloppy fox. This is.”
“I was prepared.”
“Then do it before you talk. Why do you keep bothering me? Is my voice that charming? Want to record it?”
“Uh… I’ll pass on that.”
Furthermore, Joy, who had learned how to respond to phenomena caused by the Dark Evil God from Erginius, was even erasing the phenomena created by the Evil God’s energy, so there was no issue moving forward.
Of course, problems still remained. This place filled with the Evil God’s energy is a location brimming with monsters.
Entering this place with just the five of us meant we had to be prepared for encounters with monsters.
However.
[Strange. The monsters don’t seem to have any inclination to come this way.]
Today was different. Clearly, the monsters lurking in this forest were not approaching us at all.
Although I had visited this forest countless times in the game, this had never happened before.
‘Is it because of the divinity that Phoebe and I have?’
[That can't be. Those monsters are inherently subordinates of the Evil God. If they sensed divinity, they would have targeted us instead of fleeing.]
‘Then.’
“It means the Fairy Queen’s influence is rising higher than expected.”
The sloppy fox, which had been resting on my shoulder, yawned widely and hopped down to the ground.
“I’ve never seen a fairy, but I heard they were close to phenomena. If we are born of the will of the forest, then they were the forest itself.”
“What does that have to do with this? Sloppy fox.”
“If they are the ones that are the center of the existence playing in nature as part of the forest, then it stands to reason they would have a significant impact on the forest, wouldn’t it?”
…Oh. That’s the sound.
[Lucy. Monsters are approaching this way.]
‘I sense it. The beings that were circling outside until just a moment ago, why are they—’
“It seems I am the unwelcome guest. I had been hiding my aura, thinking something like this might happen, but at this point, it seems I’m just a nuisance, so I’ll take my leave.”
While saying this, the sloppy fox placed its feet on the barren ground and lightly hopped toward the edge of the forest.
“When you meet the Fairy Queen later, please tell her about me. I’d love to see a beauty like her.”
As soon as the sloppy fox left, I felt the monsters start to move following her. Just as the fox said, she was indeed the unwelcome guest in this forest.
So, the Fairy’s hospitality began the moment we set foot in the Queen’s domain.
The other friends seemed to have sensed the phenomenon that arose as the sloppy fox bowed its head and were staring at the spot where she had left.
“If what Lina said is correct, it means the power of the Queen is stronger than Erginius had speculated.”
While Erginius had speculated that the Queen’s authority only reached the interior of the barrier, the current phenomenon was completely denying his assumption. The Queen’s power reached well beyond the barrier.
<…There’s no way she would make such a mistake in this regard.>
‘Couldn’t it be that she’s just been stuck underground for a long time and her senses have dulled?’
[If that's the case, it would be a blessing.]
‘What does that mean?’
[Let’s just head towards the vicinity of the barrier. Once we get there, we should be able to understand things properly.]
Do you not want to say anything uncertain? You always say you dislike it, yet you continue to speak in that tone.
Well. Forget it. I verified the path through the map yesterday. The forest I knew hasn’t changed much.
Moreover, I confirmed that no monsters were approaching, so taking the shortest route shouldn’t be a problem.
“Shoddy folks. Follow me.”
Even with increasing my pace considerably, my friends naturally followed behind me without questioning it.
I even felt a playful urge to increase my speed a little more to make them trudge along.
Could it be that the training we’ve had every day is shining through?
Since everyone seems to still have some leeway, let’s increase our speed some more. If we want to finish this today.
The sense of crisis sounded the alarm. The iron wall raised its voice.
[No need for attacks. Just block.]
Grandpa casually uttered those words.
It’s not “no need for attacks,” right? You need to leave time to counterattack, don’t you!?
A rock came flying in from the dark inner part of the forest.
It was a simple attack, but the power behind it was different.
The rock, flying like a projectile, had the strength to crush a person.
I could take it with my whole body, but that would create an opening.
Reining my strength downwards, I deflected it upwards!
Boom!
I could see the rock bouncing up, but there was no time to relax.
There were plenty more lurking in this place.
The dried-up roots of the trees that hung limply tried to grasp at our ankles from underground.
Before I could try to crush them, Frey drew her sword and slashed all the roots away. The blade, looking more like the wind than wind magic itself, gave no chance for the roots to do anything.
If Frey dealt with that, what’s next? Those suspicious powders flying in from all directions.
“I won’t allow it.”
Rather than dealing with the pressure generated when swinging weapons, Arthur cleared the powder away with his own magic.
He’s gotten faster at using magic than before. I don’t know what methods he used, but at this rate, he might be faster than Joy.
Alright. If that’s the case, I can leave the minor things to those two and deal with those who dared to stir things up.
“Pierce through!”
As the magic circle of Joy filled with magic power, the surrounding darkness faded away. What appeared over the dried trees were beings with grotesque appearances, like what I had seen in Ganshu’s trial.
They weren’t fairies that blended well with flowers, but moths lurking in tales of witches, seeming ready to abduct people at the command of a witch.
The only difference being that these creatures were much smaller than what I had seen before.
– Hehe.
– It’s people. People.
– So many good and pretty people.
– Let’s play.
– Let’s play together.
“Is this really a place with a witch?”
“Gross.”
“Hey. Lucy Allen. Do you know something?”
“Useless prince. If you keep using your head for decorations, you’ll always be useless. Think about where we are a bit.”
“…Fairies? Those things?”
It’s understandable to find it hard to believe. They look more like demons risen from hell than fairies.
But it’s the truth. They were originally the fairies that dwelled in this forest. I can assure you because I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
I don’t know why these creatures that should be sleeping in the Fairy Forest are out beyond the barrier, but since they are appearing right before my eyes, I cannot deny reality.
– I noticed.
– As expected, good people.
– Let’s play. Let’s play.
– What prank should we pull next?
– Wind’s whoosh?
– No, it should be whoosh whoosh!
– Whoosh whoosh has been overdone!
Wow! They’re treating us like complete toys. I genuinely dislike that. I’m the only one who can treat my friends as toys and play with them!
Hah. Fine. If they want to play, I’ll play with them. Of course, the one pranking will be me, and the toys will be those moths.
Just as I was about to step forward, wanting to speak to them with divinity in my voice, Phoebe stepped ahead of me.
“Hello, fairies. I’m really glad to meet beings that suit the fragrance of flowers so well.”
– Flowers?
– Us?
– There are no flowers here!
– There were, but not now.
– Are you an idiot?
“Perhaps that may be so. But everyone, isn’t playing tricks on an idiot fun?”
– Right?
– Isn’t it?
– You know it well!
– Not an idiot but not smart either!
– What shall we play?
– What shall we do?
The voices of the fairies, tainted by the Evil God’s energy, were something I couldn’t cheerfully listen to, but Phoebe wore a soft smile throughout.
A warm smile full of goodwill. Did they catch on to that? The fairies gathered around Phoebe, chattering excitedly.
I never thought they’d be able to communicate. I assumed they wouldn’t listen at all while pretending to talk.
Is it different from the corrupted fairies I saw before?
Watching them laugh brightly with villainous voices makes me feel oddly ambiguous.
Hmm. Even without doing anything, things are getting resolved.
It’s a good thing if it turned out well, but it feels like… something. Something!
[She won with her character.]
‘When did I ever win with character against Phoebe?’
[That might be true. Perhaps back when we first met. But that girl is now in a state that can only be called an adult.]
Well, whatever. I don’t have to do everything forever.
– So pretty!
– Like a flower!
– Want to dance around!
“No, everyone. I’m far less than even a roadside weed compared to that young lady. Look. Just standing still and smiling feels like the sun has come down, doesn’t it?”
– The sun?
– I don’t like it.
– Annoying laugh, so annoying.
– Not much.
– Just a kid.
“…Regardless, that line alone…”
“Saintess. This isn’t the time for that.”
“Y-You’re right.”
Phoebe lightly cleared her throat, adjusted her neck, and looked at the fairies.
“Before we play, may I ask a few things?”
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