Chapter 88 - Fairies and Their Merry Companions
Someone shouted that it was the work of Demon Lord Louis, and someone else, roused by the situation, declared they would strike first, leading to the mass distribution of weapons somewhere in the world. Fight, fight, what are you doing? While you dally, your homeland will burn! Fight now! Kill the Demon Lord, even if it means taking him down with you! The church began ringing its bells, seeking divine protection, which only served to fuel the people's unease. Women sobbed, horses neighed, and the moderates slammed their fists on the round table, arguing that moving troops in this situation was premature; first, they should mobilize all the magicians in the world to decipher the magic circle in the sky. The Chief Court Mage, with a look of resignation, stated that deciphering such an intricate magic circle would require fifty lifetimes. Impetuous youths, weapons in hand, set out alone for the Demon Realm,
and soon, an ominous rain began to fall,
and thus, something began.
＊
Lightning gouged the earth, and a storm raged, the wind so fierce it blew away even the hawks that had sipped on monster blood.
Elenoa, feeling as though she had awakened from a dream within the lake, was slightly dazed, but,
"...Ah."
When carrying a child, one must not soak in water! She felt that was certainly the case, and whether she was quick to realize it or not, Elenoa placed a hand on her abdomen and began walking toward the shore.
The wind whipped the water's surface into a frenzy. Distracted by the child, she climbed onto the shore. Her body, heavy from emerging from the water, collapsed onto its knees with a splash. She no longer had the luxury of caring whether her white one-piece dress was see-through.
—Are you okay?
Focusing on the small amount of magic power within her, she felt a gentle warmth. It remained unaffected by the mother's dire state. Elenoa exhaled, thinking that the child of a Demon Lord and a Fairy must be robust after all. However, judging by the force of the rain battering her skin, she wondered if staying underwater might have been safer.
She looked up at the dark, ominous sky once more. The clouds flowed in a consistent direction, but to a fairy who could fly, it felt unnatural—a movement that seemed forced. It was not riding the wind freely; it lacked the usual character of clouds, possessing an unnatural quality. The darkness was so profound she thought the sun had already set, but the light flickering through the gaps in the clouds told her otherwise.
The spatial relationship between the Demon Realm and this location surfaced in Elenoa's mental map. Furthermore, in the Demon Realm, his emotions influenced the weather.
The atmosphere was swirling around the Demon Realm, affecting the human world as well, which was why things had become so absurd here. She deduced that much.
Having deduced that.
So, what should she do?
Because no matter how she looked at it, there was nothing she could do. What could a single fairy, who had just awakened from a dream, possibly do in the face of a natural disaster of such scale?
As her gaze wandered, she noticed a blue glow in the upper left distance. She thought it might be lightning, but the light did not flicker. There was no sound. Squinting her eyes, she realized the light formed a pattern. Was it circular? Obscured by the shadows of trees, only a part of a gentle curve was visible. Proportional to the violent storm, the blue light grew stronger and stronger.
Elenoa knew the color of that light.
That was likely Louis's magic circle. —Really?
She recalled the magic circle that evoked a sense of 'Death,' which she had seen even during the decisive battle with Hasumi. The thought of how vast a scale it was deployed on was terrifying just to consider.
She remembered that promise. In the event that Elenoa's life ended, or if she did not return.
He seemed intent on killing.
Faithful to the promise, exactly one-tenth of humanity.
"No, no, no, no... eh?" Her inner voice, possessing the most basic vocabulary, leaked out without her even realizing it. The despair of the scene woven by the violent storm, heavy rain, and light was so profound it was almost divine; in other words, it was the realm of gods. It was not a problem that could be solved by having one, two, or ten Heroes. It was right before her eyes, yet still seemed like a lie; this was the end of the world. It was ending. From now on, a hellish landscape of demise or collapse would begin. Surely, people all over the world were looking up at the sky just like Elenoa right now.
But unlike those ordinary people, Elenoa had a connection to the culprit.
—Elenoa—where are you, why did you disappear—although I have your hair, why can I not trace you, where—your presence is gone, where did you go, where, where, even though there is a child— you are alive, right, you are still okay, right, where are you, it must hurt, if I had known it would be like this, I shouldn't have let you go out— if only I had confined you properly— I don't want to see you in such a state anymore— is the child safe— Elie, Elie, please, just be safe—
It was a massive torrent. Voices flowed endlessly, like a faucet twisted off and broken, and Elenoa could not stay still.
He could not trace her via hair because, until just now, Elenoa had been in a place that was nowhere in this world.
But now, she was here.
Even though she was here, he did not notice.
Unfair... unfair,
She dragged her body.
She wanted to faint from the effects of silver and anemia, but right now, she just wanted to return to his side. Although she did not know where he was.
Even if she tried to fly, her wings were wet, her whole body was heavy, and her right wing would not move. The hole in her left shoulder was, of course, not sealed; the silver remained embedded, and bright red blood continued to flow relentlessly.
Drag, drag.
She dragged her feet, her body, her hair.
Leaving dark red traces on the ground.
Drip, splash, dropping water mixed with heavy blood.
"...Louis..."
I am alive. I am okay. She wanted to convey that, but her voice was drowned out, reaching no one. His despairing voice flowed through her head, and the pain made her feel as though she was about to lose consciousness. The light of the magic circle in the sky grew stronger. The violent storm blew against her. Even if her wings had been fine, she surely could not have flown in this weather.
She heard his voice.
—I'm sorry—I made a mistake again, I again—mistook, mistaken, mistaken, mistaken—I hurt you again—I'm sorry—please be alive—mistaken, mistaken, mistaken, mistaken, mistaken, mistaken, mistaken, mistaken, mistaken, mistaken—
She could hear it, yet her voice did not reach him. Only "mistaken" and "I'm sorry" continued to flow toward her.
"Louis."
Water overflowed from Elenoa's eyes.
Tears ran down the cheeks of the fairy, which had no room to get any wetter, but on the ground already damp with blood and lake water, the tear tracks were not noticeable.
"Has my voice become inaudible, too?"
I have a child.
We can surely be happy.
So please, hear my voice.
She curled her back, staring at the ground, her beautiful silver hair covered in mud and blood, a miserable figure that shattered the pride of a Great Fairy.
But the storm did not cease. The light of magic power strengthened, illuminating the area under the cloudy sky in an unnatural blue.
Around Elenoa, who was sobbing and letting out clumsy whimpers,
Wah!
Small compatriots gathered, appearing from who knows where. More than half of them had been blown by the strong wind and crashed into her. A few seemed like they would be blown away without even managing to collide, but Elenoa reflexively reached out and managed to catch them.
They clung to her, or hid in her silver hair or the hem of her skirt, chirping peep-peep.
The lakeside had long been a gathering place for fairies. They had been hiding, frightened by the cataclysm, but it seemed they had come out relying on the high-ranking Elenoa. They all pressed their ears painfully, swaying unsteadily.
Wiping her tears, she asked in a nasal voice, for the time being,
"...What is happening?"
The surrounding fairies answered Elenoa's question one after another.
The Demon Lord is angry.
The Demon Lord is sad.
He is looking for his important mate.
Many humans are heading to the Demon Realm.
Carrying many scary things.
Everyone is scared.
He is angry and shouting.
Humans, suspecting that this cataclysm was the Demon Lord's anger, were gathering to start a war immediately. Carrying many weapons, shouting loudly with roused spirits and anger.
We were hiding, we were scared, they said, shedding tears profusely.
Voices other than Louis's mixed into Elenoa's head. The thoughts of her compatriots.
humans demon lord scary lots
dark
many humans are scared
angry
scary scary scary
demon lord's light
scary help head hurts scary
From the fairies who heard the voices of anger and sorrow in the wind, thoughts connected to her. And thus, it seemed to spread to fairies all over the world, plunging them into a state of panic.
The small companions were frightened by the pitch-black emotions of the Demon Lord and humans.
Amidst the tremendous wind and rain, Elenoa wanted to protect at least them, so she held as many as she could in her right arm, but even she had a headache so severe it made her nauseous. Louis's voice, human voices, the magic circle, the promise; she no longer knew what was what. She did not even have enough magic power to erect a barrier.
Elenoa had nothing left. A rank S in name only, the dregs of a female fairy. The only thing such a self could do, the only thing that could counter this wind, was.
—Voice.
Elenoa thought of one thing.
She looked around. Scattered along the water's edge of the lake, red objects had washed ashore. They were red fruits, rich in magic power, given to her by the fairies from her Parents' Home.
Elenoa put one in her mouth, replenishing her magic power as much as possible. So that it would reach the baby in her womb as well.
And then.
"...Ah, ...—,"
She took a deep breath, and the fairy sang.
The special skill she had once used to put the Stylus siblings to sleep.
"' '"
He should have liked this song.
He should have noticed, even from afar.
—Louis, notice,
—I am here.
But no matter how loudly she sang, she could not contend with this wind. Pushed back by the screams of grudge, sorrow, and fury, nothing got through. A single tattered female fairy could do nothing about the chaos engulfing the world.
—With someone like me, after all.
With herself, who Louis had not trusted in the slightest, she could not reach his raging passion.
At that moment, she remembered that her right hand was clutching something.
"............"
She did not know if it was good or bad that it was here. The Moon Clock was undoubtedly useless for settling this situation. An item with no practicality, merely beautiful. Even that, which she had found by taking the risk of flying out with a desperate resolve, now felt only empty. Tears hit the Moon Clock, sliding down its smooth ring part.
Before handing this over, he would not even find his wife.
I'm tired.
She had never wanted to admit it, but.
And at the same time,
"Ah, enough."
A heat welled up, going full circle.
The single word she let out acted as a catalyst, and the flame deep within her belly swelled.
—To overlook even my voice,
"I don't recall raising such a child...!"
Because this was surely grounds for divorce.
It was Louis's worst betrayal yet.
Even if he was currently lamenting and grieving out of love for Elenoa, even if this was retaliation against humans because of that, she wanted to scream, if you like me that much, then notice me!
—Lament only after you find my corpse!
And then she remembered their existence.
Those who were here. And her compatriots hiding all over the world.
"Everyone."
She spoke. First, to everyone here.
"Will you help me?"
At first, they wore faces that said "eh." But as they understood Elenoa's request, they looked at each other and moved away from Elenoa. They formed a circle around her, who was sitting on the ground, and held hands. So that none of them would be blown away.
Excitement transmitted to her wings, making them tremble.
One fairy directly in front of Elenoa raised her eyebrows sharply,
'Song'
That word, merely two characters if spoken, felt like a tremendous great magic.
The voices, the meaning, everyone's expressions lit a fire in Elenoa's chest. A single word shook her heart, which transmitted to the fairies and spread, the reverberation reaching Elenoa as well, the voices of 'Song' overlapping among the fairies, becoming a large, large swell that they themselves could not control. A sense of security, as if each and every one of them was connected by transparent lines. A sense of omnipotence. Realizing the obvious reality that a song has no meaning if it does not reach,
she took a breath.
And then,
"'—, —'"
Responding to Elenoa's song, everyone sang. Regardless of rank, newcomer or veteran, a mysterious melody that all fairies had known since birth. As fish swim, as birds fly, fairies sing.
At first, it was the fairies by the lakeside.
Then, that emotion spread to compatriots all over the world. Everyone began to sing.
' ' ' '
' '
Sing, sing, sing a song. Let us turn our hearts, strong and urgent like anger, into voices that will not lose to this storm.
No.
It was precisely the anger of the fairies.
The compatriots asked, 'why are you frightening us?' At the absurdity of being involuntarily involved due to their purity. Remembering the fact that they had been oppressed until now.
In addition, Elenoa asked, 'why will you not listen to my voice?' Elenoa was angry at the Demon Lord, who had poured so much love on her yet did not trust her, at the humans who had driven him to this point, and at the entire irrational world.
Sorrow beyond hatred, anger at its end. Weaving together all emotions, it was nevertheless a transparent singing voice.
Realize it.
Let the scream-like wind raging throughout the world serve as a medium to deliver the singing voice.
Pure white anger, a lullaby with all her might, to those who had lost themselves.
Realize it, realize it, realize it.
The essence of the tiny fairies, whom humans had sometimes trampled upon and overlooked.
If they were to fight without understanding why, while losing themselves.
They might as well all just go to sleep.
' '
' ' ' ' ' '
' ' ' '
' '
The fairy's song resonated with sound, voice, wind, and the entire atmosphere. It was not gentle. It was merely a clear, glass-work-like timbre.
Petals scattered by the wind, leaves, raindrops, and sunlight shining through the clouds; now, all of nature was on the fairies' side.
Humans all over the world saw the sparkle of fine particles in mid-air. And then, they lost consciousness.
They stood no chance at all.
Once, the fairies all over the world, having abandoned humans, had simultaneously abandoned their nests and fled in a single night.
What made that possible was their connection 《Telepathy》.
It was a delicate and firm cooperation that had existed long before that of Louis and Elenoa.