The fairies belong to a special race.
They aren’t bound by mere flesh; their souls can directly interfere with the world.
They often take on the noble role of cultivating and preserving nature, based on their affinity for the five elements and magic that make up the natural world.
Spirits are souls born from nature, while fairies are a ruling species that can command these spirits.
They are an entirely different species than those pathetic hybrid monster scraps.
[Since when was that the case? Looking at us now, we seem about the same!]
That perception is outdated.
To the fairies dwelling in this lush forest, such tales seemed distant and irrelevant.
One of the fairies, Kali, shrugged with a nonchalant expression.
Her black hair swayed, and the dull, multicolored wings spread behind her folded gently.
[Claiming to be a ruling species feels pretty sad when we’re floundering without a proper foothold…]
[Don’t interrupt others’ thoughts!]
[You’re the one who connected us… Anyway, let’s not think weird thoughts and move again.]
[Ugh…]
Riu, the fairy scolded by Kali, pouted.
As golden hair cascaded down her back, the dull, multicolored wings fluttered, pushing her body forward.
Riu poked her head out from the bushes.
After concealing her presence as best as possible, she meticulously scanned the surroundings for enemies before moving her wings.
– Whoosh!
With quick speed, she flitted between the lush foliage.
For a while, she maintained her guard, worried that her presence might be detected.
Only when assured that everything was fine did she signal others.
[This way!]
– Whoosh!
Once Riu gave the signal, the other fairies followed her path in a line.
Riu’s unique ability was in the flame element.
Remarkably, she had not only the innate abilities of her race but also manifested something uniquely her own.
Additionally, she was adept at blocking and sensing presences, taking on the role of a pathfinder.
[No problem, keep going.]
[Okay!]
Kali trailed at the end of the group.
Among the delicate fairies, she was the most proficient in combat.
Thus, she remained alert from the back to prepare for any potential attacks.
Riu explored the path at the forefront, while the less combat-capable fairies filled the center, with Kali following behind.
Maintaining this formation, they continuously fluttered their wings.
[Stay alert… Stealth!]
Whenever a monster approached, they quickly concealed themselves in nearby bushes.
Sometimes, they even burrowed into the ground or flew up into the thick leaves.
With their small stature, typical fairies found it quite easy.
– Thud, thud, thud… thud… thud…
[…It’s gone.]
[Ugh…]
[My mouth is filled with dirt…]
After the monster passed, they struggled to pull themselves out and set off again.
Such was their desperate combat-avoidance strategy.
And with every cautious move, they had to be mindful of countless presences, making their speed rather slow.
In their hearts, they wished they could just fly freely in the sky.
[But if we’re caught, it’ll be the end for all of us, right?]
[Yeah…]
Unlike on the ground, flying through the open sky felt way too risky without any cover.
The fairy group spent an entire day flying as far as they could while dodging potential battles.
.
.
.
That night.
In the dimly lit thicket, they huddled together for a pitiful meal.
The menu consisted of assorted fruits from trees.
Most of the fruits were smaller than a human fist.
However, since the fairies were equally tiny, it wasn’t much of a problem.
[…It’s frustrating…]
[There’s nothing we can do; we can’t just fight, right?]
Riu frowned thoughtfully while chewing on a fruit that was absurdly large compared to her size.
Her insides felt painfully unsettled.
Receiving that sentiment, Kali replied.
[Winning doesn’t feel like a win. If we catch one, others might come swarming in a panic.]
[I know…]
Riu could take on monsters like those that had just passed.
Though fairies generally had lower combat abilities, basic physical prowess existed.
If they unleashed their elemental abilities to nurture nature, it could be quite deadly.
The problem was that combat would reveal their location to nearby monsters.
While she could defeat a monster, there were times when they encountered those too strong to handle, even in a swarm.
After all, fairies were well-known as premium snacks and living potions for monsters.
If their location was detected and those brutes charged in…
[Ugh, Riu, don’t imagine that! It’s scary enough for us!]
[Coward Riu is scared to imagine… Cut it out!]
[What? No! That’s not my imagination…!]
The terrified reactions from those around made Riu jump.
She had imagined such a scenario, but not to the extent of causing such panic.
However, their exaggerated reactions were all to make fun of Riu.
Although she acted as a leader alongside Kali, there was no exception when it came to these pranks.
Fairies are naturally pure-hearted and mischievous creatures.
Had the circumstances not been so dire, they would all be living carefree and cheerful lives.
[…If only the king were here…]
If there had been a ruler, things would have been different.
At that moment, Riu’s lips quivered with the thought that crossed her mind.
The expressions of the other fairies, having received that sentiment, also turned gloomy.
Fairies are indeed a mysterious race.
While quite talented, typical fairies lack great strength.
When looking at their overall distribution, they were on the lower side.
However, in Riu’s knowledge, past fairies did not live such pitiful lives.
Not just nine, but there were so many that the skies would be stuffed to capacity.
Instead of fleeing in panic from dangers, they all lived in the same hometown.
They had the strength to fend off powerful invaders.
…That was all possible because a king existed.
One who gave birth to fairies, blessed them, erected barriers to fend off outsiders, and birthed knights and soldiers to protect them.
It was all a result of the king’s powers.
But fairies without a king could only grow weaker.
Blessings vanished, and knights and soldiers disappeared one by one.
Eventually, as time passed, they could no longer fend off invasions and were scattered.
Ultimately, they ended up in a situation where they had to live in restricted spaces like this.
[…Enough, forget it.]
A blunt voice broke the increasingly somber atmosphere.
It was Kali’s voice.
With a sunk face, she bit into a fruit.
[The king isn’t here. Even if he were, he wouldn’t help us. So forget it and erase it. We have to survive with our own strength.]
Though her words were extremely cool and resolute for a fairy, no one opposed her, and they all nodded sadly.
None of them needed Kali to point it out.
After all, they had never seen the king nor lived in the Fairy Land.
Born in this space, their only knowledge of the king and the Fairy Land was mere knowledge.
Like fairy tales.
They had knowledge that such a paradise once existed, but it was hard to believe.
Even if they believed, it was a fiction that no longer existed now.
[Hmph…]
But there was no way to suppress the flicker of hope.
Riu harbored a small flicker of such hope.
Could it really be possible that, like a dream, the king would appear and gather the scattered fairies once again?
That such suffering might come to an end like a lie…
[…Stay alert!]
Sweet hope.
Riu buried her head in the ground, bathed in the bitter sense of impending danger.
Kali and the other fairies swiftly dropped to the ground.
– …Thud! …Thud! …Thud!
A presence was felt.
The thudding heavy footsteps from the ground made Riu’s face pale.
It was a presence that felt somewhat familiar, something she had been well aware of lately.
That monster had begun to relentlessly hunt fairies at some point.
It isn’t anything special.
Fairies are always in a position to be attacked, and this monster was just doing what it always does.
What sets this monster apart is that it is an especially powerful individual in this space.
And remarkably, it had been tracking the traces of the fairies with uncanny precision.
If they stayed in one place too long, they risked being detected.
Thus, the fairies, including Riu and Kali, had to change locations daily, facing great threats.
– Growl…! Growl…! Growl…!
Yet it had followed them here.
Despite flying all day without rest.
Riu pressed her lips together with trembling hands.
Kali and the other fairies also held their breaths, silencing their presence.
No worries.
While the monster had come close a few times, they had never actually been caught.
Fairies are skilled at concealing their presence.
By carefully controlling their magic and blending into nature, neither a hybrid monster nor any other could dare to find them.
While it exhausted quite a bit of energy, they couldn’t overuse it, yet it had saved fairy lives countless times in such a dangerous situation.
Plus, the monster couldn’t destroy the surrounding environment.
If it did, the remains of the fairies it had to consume would be spoiled.
So, just like usual, it should eventually move away.
– Thud!
“……”
The presence stopped.
Right nearby.
[…Flee!]
Having made her decision, Kali stretched out her arms.
Drawing the remaining magic within her body, she concentrated it into a ball.
The magic spread as flames.
Riu and the other fairies, now significantly pale, reached out their hands simultaneously.
They converted their magic into wind, pushing the flames bursting forth.
Whoosh! In an instant, the flames engulfed the monster.
The surrounding foliage wasn’t spared either. This was pure magic with a strong output.
From the blazing thicket, they launched themselves out on the opposite side of the monster, wings flapping furiously.
– Graaaaa!
[Ugh?!]
[Huh?!]
[Ugh…!]
The blast that erupted from behind staggered their bodies.
The vibrations felt like they were crushing their insides, sending two fairies tumbling to the ground.
[Quickly…!]
There was no time to recover from the disorientation.
A few wind spirits that had come along hurriedly lifted the fallen fairies.
Riu and Kali rushed to grab them and unfurled their wings again.
[Ahh…!]
At that moment, Ria unintentionally turned her head and locked eyes with the beast.
A huge, elongated head brushing off the flames.
Giant teeth nestled in the gaping maw.
Though it was invisible in the darkness, the flames highlighted its dark scales.
The large, bright yellow eyes.
Within were elongated, sinister pupils locking onto hers.
‘Ugh…!’
Riu’s heart sank.
That terrifying thing was targeting her and her friends.
Clenching her teeth, she pushed herself forward with the wind.
– Raaargh!
– Grrrrr!
– Uughh, uuuugh!
The blasts didn’t end after just one.
With a mighty roar in the deep of night, other monsters started to congregate.
‘Ah…’
Her ears were ringing.
As if raindrops began pouring from a clear sky, the sensing feedback filled her head.
All of them were starting to converge on this spot.
Riu unintentionally opened her mouth.
How did they get detected? She was sure she had concealed her presence to the best of her ability. It was probably pointless to try to hide again; after already being discovered, the chance of being found again was high…
– Raaaargh!
“Ugh!?”
While Riu was mindlessly avoiding monsters emerging from all directions and the chaos of battle,
she felt a heavy blow strike her body.
She was thrown, her body almost crashing into a thick tree trunk.
Riu hurriedly turned her body, clutching the fairy in her arms tightly.
Thud! Her back collided with the tree. Her vision blurred.
Her weakened body rolled near the roots of the tree.
She heard her name being called in her mind.
Riu flapped her wings blankly.
Flying had become difficult.
– Thud!
That familiar, dreadfully persistent presence was approaching.
Riu narrowed her eyes.
As her hazy vision cleared up, the gaping maw of the monster came into view.
Given her tiny stature, the sight made it feel as if the dark night sky was collapsing in on her.
In an inexplicable slow world, that scene was hauntingly clear.
Death was closing in ominously.
[…Ugh, help me…]
As Riu beheld that sight, she instinctively called out for help.
For whom? Riu herself didn’t know.
Was it Kali? Theo? Riu?
Or perhaps the monster? The kin who may be somewhere else?
Or even the long-lost king within her hidden hope?
There was no answer.
– Please, someone help me…!
It could have been her last-ditch effort before meeting her end.
She didn’t act with rationality but rather instinctively—screaming for help towards any being she could reach.
Yet the monster didn’t stop for her.
It closed its gaping maw.
[Nooo!!]
Multiple screams rang in her head.
As the jaw snapped shut, wind battered against her body.
A strange sensation swept from the top of her head to her toes.
Riu tightly shut her eyes, bracing for the brief pain that was about to come.
The monster’s mouth closed.
– Craaaash!
A rasping sound erupted.
‘…Eh?’
Riu thought she would hear the familiar sound of flesh being ripped and chewed, but there was no pain.
– Kkaack…!
Instead, there was a metallic scratching sound reaching her ears.
As Riu blinked out of confusion, she quickly raised her head.
‘Huh…’
Before her, the monster’s maw, now trembling as if blocked, was gaping widely.
Right before those gigantic teeth, a snow-white hand gripping them tightly without a hint of movement.
With abundant vitality coursing through her body, an earth-connected female human extended her fist forward.
And…
‘…Wings?’
From the owner of the snow-white hand sprung three pairs of wings dazzling with multiple colors.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
