Pip and Elle landed gently on the resin floor in front of Lohan, their tiny figures glowing with a mixture of relief and deep melancholy.
Lohan, still in his crystalline spherical form after the battle, noticed that Pip’s wings, now resembling sharp glass blades, were vibrating at a different rhythm than when they first met.
"Elle and Pip are immensely grateful to the saviors," Elle began, bowing her head as her wings of withered petals fluttered slowly. "Elle hopes she hasn’t offended the saviors by invading your tree..."
Pip did the same, also bowing and keeping his head down, acting ashamed for having invaded their tree.
Lohan and Lisa looked at them with interest, not the least bit offended by the ’invasion’ when they clearly saw that these two little ones were protecting their base from those worms, who were the real invaders.
’Invasion? If they hadn’t come in, this tree would be full of holes and the Astral Chest would probably be getting chewed up by that worm.’ Lohan thought, amused by the fairies’ honesty.
Looking at the trail of mangled carcasses on the lower floors and the resistance they’d shown against the Elite Worm, it was clear that Pip and Elle were no longer the helpless fairies he’d rescued from the Queen Beetle’s cocoons.
"You don’t need to apologize for anything," Lohan transmitted through the mental link, his voice resonating with a deep calm that seemed to reassure the little ones. "In fact, if you hadn’t come in, those worms would have turned our base into a pigsty. You did an excellent job protecting it. But how did those things get here?"
Elle lifted her head slowly, her wings of withered petals fluttering at a more relaxed pace, though her tone still carried the sense of someone who felt they’d made a technical error.
"Elle and Pip had been waiting for the rescuers outside for three days..." the fairy began, looking away. "Elle and Pip wanted to see Halon and Lisa again to thank them properly. But yesterday, the ground around the tree started vibrating in a nasty way. Suddenly, these mudworms came pouring out in droves. They didn’t just want to eat; they seemed to want to live here!"
Pip took a step forward, gripping his small short sword firmly, his eyes shining with the new determination Lohan had noticed before. "Pip saw the worms crawling up the trunk. Pip knew these creatures are destructive and that they were going to ruin the beautiful wood and amber the rescuers had salvaged. Pip and Elle were afraid to go in without permission; Pip didn’t want to be an intruder, but Pip couldn’t let Halon and Lisa’s house be destroyed, so Pip and Elle ran inside and started fighting."
The little fairy warrior looked where the carcass of the Elite Worm that Lohan had just digested lay and spoke. "Pip managed to handle the little ones on the lower floors, but Pip and Elle ran into trouble when that big one emerged from the floor of the main hall. She was too strong for Pip’s blades and Elle’s magic. Pip and Elle could only stand in front of the worm and pray that the rescuers would return soon..."
Lisa, who had been watching the scene with her ears pricked, let out a soft sigh and approached the fairies. "You were very brave," she said telepathically, her tone much sweeter than usual. "You protected what is ours even though you weren’t obligated to do so... thank you very much."
Lohan formed a small, bluish hand and gave Pip an awkward but gentle pat on the head. "Lisa is right. You saved our territory and ensured the tree remained intact. Consider that any ’mistake’ for entering without permission has been more than made up for by your help."
The fairies glowed brightly at the praise, the melancholy on their faces replaced by radiant pride. It was the first time anyone other than themselves had validated the effort and strength they possessed.
However, one detail in Elle’s explanation still left Lohan curious. He looked at the two of them, fixing his artificial eyes on them.
"But tell me something... Why were you waiting at the entrance to the tree for three days?" Lohan asked, genuinely confused. "I thought you’d return to Petal Village after Queen Beetle was defeated. Did something happen in your village?"
Upon hearing the question, the glow of Pip and Elle wavered for a second, and the silence that followed in the Boss’s room was filled only by the soft sound of mana circulating through the tree’s amber.
"Elle and Pip tried to return to Petal Village after the Queen was defeated, thinking that Pip’s freedom would be cause for celebration among the fairies."
Pip took a step forward, clenching his tiny fist. "But Pip was treated with horror. The elders looked at Pip and no longer saw the little gardener of before. They pointed their staffs at Pip and called him an ’abomination.’ They said Pip was tainted by the essence of the Beetle Queen and that Pip no longer belonged to the natural cycle of the forest."
Lohan stirred the jelly, feeling a pang of anger for the little ones. He remembered how the old Pip was considered nothing but a burden by his own kind. Now that he had power, they treated him like a monster.
"Elle cried a lot..." Elle continued, tears of light welling up in her eyes. "Elle tried to explain that Pip was forced to change to survive, but the noble fairies said that Pip now reeked of filth and death, no longer of flowers and dew. Pip and Elle were expelled from the Village under threat of being ’purified’ by the light of the elder fairies."
Lohan and Lisa exchanged glances. The Slime realized that the injustice he suffered in the Lower Zone in the real world was not exclusive to humans; even in the elven and fairy utopias of Elysium, difference was a cause for fear.
"But Pip felt something change while fighting that worm," Pip said suddenly, his eyes shining with a flame Lohan recognized well. "At first, Pip was terrified. But when Pip felt the biting wind beneath the glass wings and the weight of the sword in Pip’s hand, Pip felt a warmth that Pip had never felt while tending flowers. Pip realized that Pip... liked the feeling."
Lisa wagged her tails, intrigued. "Did you like the battle, Pip?" she asked mentally.
"Yes!" Pip exclaimed, his metallic wings emitting a high-pitched sound of clashing blades. "Pip doesn’t want to be the lazy gardener who hides under mushrooms anymore. Pip felt the urge to be stronger, to hone this power the Queen left within Pip. Pip wants to fight to protect this place and repay the saviors for giving Pip a new life, even if that life isn’t what the elders wanted."
Lohan formed a small hand and gave Pip a light pat on the shoulder. The Slime realized that, by saving Pip, he hadn’t just rescued a life, but awakened a warrior.
"Elle and Pip have decided," Elle concluded, regaining her composure. "If Petal Village no longer wants Elle and Pip, then Elle and Pip hope the saviors have some work for Elle and Pip to repay the favor. Pip can handle the defense, and Elle will paint the flowers of this tree so it becomes the most beautiful in all of Mythlorien Forest!"
Lohan vibrated with satisfaction. Having loyal and powerful sentinels who viewed the guild as their very home was an advantage no amount of money could buy.
And considering that Pip’s power had developed from ingesting the Queen Beetle’s power, now that he possessed that power just like her, he could work with Pip not only to make the little fairies even more powerful, but also to better understand and control this power he had yet to explore!