Chapter 194 – Chapter 40: To the North #3
There were five pieces of light. Felicia stared at the pieces of light sitting on Sylvia’s thigh and gulped.
“This…”
“It is the rumoured fairy. It is like the fairy of the first fairy king.”
It was Amita who spoke in a heavy tone. They had climbed up the podium and was now staring at the pieces of light. Sylvia smiled faintly.
“Amita truly has a discerning eye. Yes, it is divided into several pieces, but it is a fairy.”
It was different from common fairies. Despite losing its shape, this was actually the fairy of the first fairy king. Sylvia slowly moved her hands and touched the pieces of light with her thin fingers. It gave off a warm magic power with no signs of wickedness at all.
“I saw it before losing consciousness and felt it immediately after waking up. Maybe it was the first fairy king who told me.”
The first fairy king was glad. The specter had attempted to destroy Sky Forest with the fog which had been prepared to defend it. However, Sylvia didn’t think that was the true fairy king. After all, he was someone who had tried to defend the dark elves even after death.
Sylvia had heard the voice of the fairy king at the last minute. It wasn’t a mistake nor a hallucination created by a desperate mind. It had been the fairy king’s voice. After nearly destroying Sky Forest with his own hands, he sent a message of thanks for stopping him.
“Sky Forest has lost the power of the fog. The source of magic power which enriched Sky Forest is gone. But if there is some contained in this fairy… I think I can regain half the strength.”
As the magic fog disappeared, the Dark Elves’ Palace also lost all its magic power. The restoration of the palace was necessary for Sky Forest to function properly. Sylvia picked up one of the five pieces. There was one sole piece shining green among all the gold pieces.
“Shutra, this is your share.”
As Sylvia placed the piece in the air, a mysterious thing happened. Although he didn’t use any magic power or Telekinesis, the green piece fell toward In-gong’s palm.
“Can you tell after touching it?”
Sylvia asked, and In-gong nodded. He really felt it the moment he touched the piece.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Shutra?”
Felicia stood next to Sylvia and asked about what Sylvia was saying. Clearly, Felicia had a few questions. In-gong grabbed the green piece lightly and answered,
“This piece of the fairy is tinged with my magic power.”
Every magic had its own colour and attributes. The magic power of the fairy king was gold while this piece was green. Not just the colour but the nature of the magic power was the same as In-gong’s.
“It might be the impact of the last strike or a gift from the fairy king… Only the heavens know the truth, but I think it is the latter.”
According to Sylvia’s belief, it was a gift the fairy king left behind for In-gong.
‘Conquest.’
The white woman whispered from In-gong’s soul. In-gong grabbed the piece of light and used his magic power. Then the piece shone with a bright light and became a solid green gem. Everyone let out a cry of admiration as the mass of magic power crystallized in front of them. There was a look of delight on Sylvia’s face.
“The piece of fairy contains powerful magic… I think it would be nice to add it to the various spells that Shutra has.”
Sylvia had gained some insights into In-gong’s magic power after last night’s fight. Everyone nodded at her words while Amita, who was in front of the throne, jumped down and shouted,
“I-I’ll add it! Let me do it! This Amita is a professional!”
Amita ran down the stairs excitedly and stopped in front of In-gong.
“Let me! Yes? I’ll do it!”
“U-Understood. I’ll leave it to you. Calm down.”
At In-gong’s reflexive words, Amita sighed while their eyes shone like lanterns.
“Heok, heok. You really will leave it to me?”
‘Master, the pig raccoon has become a strange racoon.’
Green Wind whispered in a teasing tone. In-gong agreed as he saw the greed in Amita’s eyes.
“Just a glass, right?”
“Sob, sob. How about two glasses?”
Amita’s reason for doing this was to get the Heavenly Wine. In-gong struggled for a short moment before nodding. Sometimes a carrot was necessary.
“Okay, two cups.”
“Yah! I’ll put it on Earth Quaker. Then it will be perfect!”
Amita chanted and their tail waved as In-gong handed over the piece of fairy. Daphne normally took good care of Amita, but she could only sigh this time. However, Sylvia just laughed at the pleasant sight. She was exactly like Felicia, but as she was also a queen, and her every act was more elegant.
“Well, is it been organized now?”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
In-gong apologized with an embarrassed face. The way he talked to her had changed because this was the palace of the dark elves.
“Shutra, it is okay to call me Omamama.”
“Yes, Omamama.”
It was uncomfortable with 4th Queen Elaine, but it was easy with Sylvia. Unlike Elaine who was completely different from Caitlin, Sylvia was like Felicia on the inside and outside. Since their talk had been interrupted, In-gong pulled out the Heavenly Wine he had prepared for Sylvia. Amita waved their tail again, but they didn’t rush forward.
“Thank you, I’ll drink it well.”
Now that In-gong had presented the gift to Sylvia, there was only one thing left.
“Omamama, I have something to say.”
Sylvia’s expression changed as In-gong’s voice became low and serious.
“Tell me, Shutra.”
In-gong took a deep breath and talked about his guess regarding the fairy king. He mentioned the various places in the Demon World which had been attacked by those with a purple aura as well as the guardians who had lost their lives. Then he went on to talk about the threats of the Knights of the Apocalypse which had already been reported to the Demon King’s Palace.
After listening to In-gong’s story, Sylvia was upset.
“Indeed. There is also Amita’s feeling. That is quite a story.”
The dark elves suffered huge damage because of this incident, and that wasn’t limited to just physical damage. The first fairy king was a spiritual guardian for the dark elves. So, to have such an existence wanting to destroy Sky Forest, it had a tremendous mental impact on the dark elves.
“I will look for the various causes behind this. If I figure out why, then I will tell Shutra.”
“Thank you.”
As In-gong bowed, Felicia looked at Sylvia’s complexion and said,
“Omamama. I think you should go to your room and rest now…”
Her voice was full of worry, and Sylvia nodded slowly.
“Shutra, you should also get a good rest. Felicia, there is no need to follow me. Take a rest for the day. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Omamama.”
Felicia replied, and Sylvia left the office with her maids. The group walked out a few minutes later, and someone was waiting for them outside the office.
“Is it finished?”
The person was Caitlin, who was waiting with Seira. Felicia rushed over to them and touched Caitlin’s body as she asked,
“Caitlin, are you okay? Are you hurting anywhere?”
“Yes, yes. I’m fine.”
Caitlin had fainted in front of Felicia after using aura excessively. So, Felicia’s fussing was understandable. Felicia’s and Caitlin’s sisterly actions improved the mood, while Carack headed toward Caitlin.
“Princess, I heard that you tasted Prince.”
Caitlin flinched at the surprise attack. Felicia blinked with confusion when she saw the visible reaction.
“Tasted Shutra? What are you talking about?”
“Uh… t-that is actually…”
Caitlin hesitated before explaining what had happened with In-gong. In-gong turned red, while Felicia’s eyes narrowed.
“Hmm, I see. Yes, something like that happened. So? What was the taste?”
At Felicia’s question, Caitlin glanced back at In-gong before whispering in Felicia’s ear.
“Uhh, I see. Is that so?”
Felicia sent In-gong a meaningful smile before whispering to Caitlin again. Then Caitlin looked at In-gong again.
‘What are they talking about?’
He wasn’t sure, but it smelled dangerous. In-gong adjusted the skill Divine Scent to try and hide it.
&
While In-gong’s group was talking with Sylvia, Chris searched for Silvan’s room. Sepira, who was guarding Silvan’s bed, was disconcerted by Chris’ visit, but Silvan was different. He faced Chris with a blank face, unlike his usual self.
Instead of approaching the bed, Chris stopped in the middle of the room. He stared at Silvan, who was lying on the bed due to the overuse of magic power, and then fixed his gaze on the right eye which was covered by an eyepatch.
“The fairy… can you control it?”
It was an unexpected question. Sepira gulped. The fact that Silvan had the fairy was a secret which only a few dark elves knew. Yet the prince of the lycanthrope’s words suggested that he knew about it.
It was Chris who first came to the crashed Black Flame Dragon. Did he see the fairy at that time? No, even if he saw it, how did he know it was the fairy? The fairy was just a superstition among the dark elves. Sepira’s expression became complicated as many thoughts passed through her head. However, Silvan just replied in a calm voice,
“Thanks to Shutra.”
Silvan didn’t say anything else, and Chris didn’t ask. He just stared at Silvan for a while and frowned.
“Rest.”
Chris said in a low voice before turning and leaving the room. Silvan watched Chris’ back with half closed eyes. Rather than explaining to Sepira, he lost himself in old memories.
&
The change at Sky Forest had been passed onto the Demon King’s Palace.
The capital of the dark elves, one of the strong supporters of the Demon King’s Palace, had been devastated, so the palace couldn’t pass over this news. There were many discussions among the nobles of the palace, and measures were prepared in order to help the dark elves.
Additionally, In-gong’s actions became a hot topic. It wasn’t just Chris who was reminded of the captains when In-gong defeated the demonic god. There were some who said the story was inflated, while others believed 9th Prince would become the next demon king. The strength of 2nd Prince wasn’t easy to beat either.
While the palace was in an uproar due to Sky Forest and In-gong, the dwelling of the demon king, deep inside the castle, was quiet.
The demon king, who had refused the requests of the queens to visit and was resting alone, opened his eyes slowly. There was a visitor in the quiet space which In-gong had visited once.
“Sword Duke.”
“I heard about it on the way. 9th Prince really seems to be driving the incidents.”
The sword duke had appeared without any noise. The king shrugged and answered lightly,
“It is a good thing that the child was around when the incident occurred.”
What would have happened if In-gong hadn’t been there? It was very lucky. Or maybe it was all due to In-gong’s presence.
“Demon King, do you see something in the flow of fate?”
“I can’t be sure. Rather, Sword Duke, what is happening?”
The sword duke seemed like he always appeared suddenly, but that actually wasn’t the case. He always had a reason for showing up before the demon king. As the guardian of the Sanctuary, it was unthinkable that he was leave it for no reason.
“I’ve found the specific location of the Arch Lich, Shutenberg. He seems to be hiding in the north.”
It was the north once again. The demon king felt like he was seeing several streams of water become one.
“Are you going to go?”
“It is my role as the protector of the Sanctuary.”
He had to eliminate any threats to the Sanctuary. Originally, it was a naturally mission which he didn’t need to report to the demon king. However, the sword duke visited the demon king because he had a request.
“Demon King, can I bring the princes?”
He didn’t mention specific names, but the demon king understood. Maybe this would be when Zephyr’s and In-gong’s fates intersected.
“I will allow it.”
“Thank you. I will come back with good news.”
The sword duke disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. The demon king turned his weary body and stared at a distant place. However, it wasn’t at In-gong and Zephyr in the northern direction. There was one more person possessing a destiny as strong as the previous two. What would result from this intersection of fate?
The demon king recalled the face of 5th Queen Semita Ignus. Then he looked away from the flow of fate for a moment and lost himself in his memories of her.