C374 - The Fourth Tomb of Temar (1)
It was because of belief.
The belief that her elder sister Lueth would always make the 'right decision' as queen made Shil drop the dagger.
Shil gritted her teeth as she looked at the fallen dagger.
Fresh crimson drops dripped from Lueth's neck.
The fairies following Shil also reluctantly lowered their weapons, as if they had no other choice.
They all seemed very disappointed with Shil.
"Shil, my little sister."
Shil just stared at the fallen dagger without responding.
"For now, it may be difficult for you to accept, no matter how I explain it to you. However, I believe that someday you will understand my decision. Now, go back the way you came."
Shil turned around and left.
As Shil started to leave, the fairies also began to move, seemingly without any other option.
Hah~
Lueth let out a sigh as she watched the forest beyond which Shil and her group had departed.
It was a sigh mixed with unease and a sense of relief.
The relief did not come from the fact that she had not been stabbed by her sister and her family's swords.
"Fairy culture is really amusing. They unsheathe their weapons, seemingly ready to kill the Queen, but with a few words, they turn and leave... Haha."
From the darkness of the forest behind Lueth, a person revealed themselves and spoke.
The individual's face was not clearly visible due to a tightly pulled hood, but they wore a black robe adorned with Runcandel's black sword emblem.
"Lokia."
Lueth turned around and spoke the person's name.
Lokia Ganesto.
She was one of Runcandel's ten great Knights, an unrivaled mage when it came to pure magic.
"In Runcandel, no, even in the human world, it's unimaginable. Still, I'm glad. If they had really intended to harm you, I would have killed them all without exception."
As Lokia spoke and let out a chuckle, Lueth's eyes narrowed.
"Are you enjoying this situation?"
"Yes, it's amusing and cute. It's like watching children playing at war. Well, Lueth-nim, you were impressive. You didn't even flinch when you had a dagger at your throat. No, was it because you trusted her so much?"
"Think what you will."
"Honestly, if the dagger that touched your neck had gone in even half a nail more, I would have killed her immediately. I had endured it my way, but if I had killed her, I would probably have earned her resentment, Lueth-nim."
Lokia continued to speak with a slight smile.
"However, earning Lueth's resentment is better than arousing the anger of our patriarch. From now on, do not undertake such reckless actions without consulting the patriarch. If I hadn't taken it upon myself to be your escort..."
"I never asked for an escort."
"That's the problem. That's why, being a perceptive person, I followed you. Anyway, if I hadn't been your escort and the fairies fleeing had stabbed you, the patriarch would have been furious. It wouldn't have ended with just a few of the rebels dead."
Temar is a good person.
That was his nature.
But can someone remain good even after losing their own people?
Runcandel's patriarch would not be so pusillanimous.
"In my opinion, you really put the entire fairy tribe in danger. Just as your sister said."
Lueth had nothing to say.
Lokia gave her an affectionate pat on the head, as if she found her adorable.
"Let's go back. Oh, and from today, you are the Chief Steward of Runcandel. The patriarch has ordered me to inform you about it."
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After that day, Shil and the fairies who followed her left the Primeval Forest.
And they fell into oblivion.
Starting with five members of the Fairy Tribe on March 4, 797, in just a few years, the existence of all the fairies in the world had been forgotten.
It was because Runcandel had been defeated.
Although they had been forgotten, their forms still lingered in the world.
However, they weren't truly alive.
Their forms were.
To others, the forms of the forgotten fairies appeared dark and eerie, like shadows.
But no one paid them any attention.
Whether walking through bustling cities or traversing forests teeming with all kinds of wildlife, no one noticed them.
No one cared about the forgotten fairies turned into ghosts.
They were as insignificant as passing wind, completely unnoticed.
Even the fact that Shil and the forgotten fairies were lingering around was just instinct; they couldn't even communicate with each other.
Hearing, reading, or remembering the words or text of the forgotten beings was impossible.
Feeling emotions was the same.
The forgotten fairies roamed through time like empty shells, their emotions replaced by a sense of emptiness, like flowing air.
Such were the forgotten beings.
Existing but not existing, incapable of making any impact on the world, unable to communicate with anyone.
There could be no more horrifying punishment than this.
The fairies, along with those crushed by Zipple's power, were paying a cruel price.
"Oh."
In the midst of that timeless, immeasurable time...
Shil and the fairies heard a voice...
A voice...
A phenomenon that would have been completely ordinary before being forgotten now caused the two eyes of the forgotten fairies to open for the first time.
They opened their eyes and saw their transformed, shadowed appearance.
As they regained consciousness, they realized the dire situation they were in and trembled with despair.
All of this led them to turn their heads in the direction from which the voice had come.
"Oh."
And what appeared before the eyes of Shil and the fairies was a woman even darker and larger than their shadowy forms.
"Jojo, look at all the little orphans."
The woman looked at the fairies with great interest. Although her face was not clearly visible in the darkness, the fairies could sense that she was smiling.
And even though they had never seen her before, they were able to discern her name.
"Heluram," said Shil.
She had learned the name of that Witch while fulfilling her duties as a Fairy before being forgotten.
Upon hearing that, Heluram let out a satisfied laugh.
Haha~
As her laughter continued, Shil and the fairies clung to hope.
There is someone who recognizes us.
There is someone who can help us exist again.
For the forgotten fairies, harboring that hope was natural.
Even if the other party was a legendary Witch who had caused numerous catastrophes in the world.
"How did you end up like this?"
"Zipple erased our existence from the entire world."
"Do you feel it's unfair?"
"Yes, it's unfair."
"Why?"
"We... We haven't done anything wrong."
In responding, Shil felt shame.
She couldn't immediately understand why she felt ashamed. So, she pondered for a moment and soon arrived at an answer.
She had abandoned her elder sister and distanced herself from those fighting against Zipple.
Faced with that fact, she felt stifled.
It almost seemed better to have been forgotten, to have felt nothing at all.
Heluram saw through Shil's thoughts.
It seemed like she knew the entire story of Shil and the forgotten fairies.
"What a pathetic response."
Even in the face of such a derogatory comment, Shil and the fairies couldn't reply.
Moreover, they just wanted to appear decent.
They wanted somehow to present themselves well to Heluram and regain their existence in the world.
The shame and self-loathing for betraying the Queen and their kin would fade over time if they could exist once more.
"Do you repent?"
Shil and the fairies nodded.
"A while ago, you said you hadn't done anything wrong, but now you speak of repentance. I have a question for you."
"Tell me..."
"Certainly and inevitably, a similar time will come again. At that time, what kind of decision will bold beings like you make?"
Heluram looked Shil in the eyes. Energy and a black aura emanated from her hands.
Shadow Energy, a power known only to Solderet and his Contractors.
Mana and shadow strength intertwined, forming dozens of threads that wrapped around the fairies.
Woo, woo...!
The appearance of the fairies wrapped in threads was changing.
Bodies that had become as dark as shadows were regaining their original colors, and the distinctive red hair of the Fairy Tribe flowed down.
Shil and the fairies could only shed tears as they looked at each other.
They felt as if they had returned in their complete forms after eons.
However, just as tears began to trickle down their cheeks.
The fairies had to experience their appearances changing once again.
"This... can't be!"
"It can't be!"
The fairies' bodies contorted.
The red hair ruthlessly fell like the fur of a sick animal, and their harmonious faces grotesquely transformed, appearing monstrous.
Their limbs twisted eerily, and a metallic sound echoed in their necks.
Their appearance had become so horrific that they looked like rotting corpses, plagued by disease.
Then, the transformation momentarily stopped.
"This is your true form."
Heluram briefly commented and waved her hand once.
Then, the threads began to move again, and the appearances of the fairies began to change once more.
Their bodies shrank to the size of a child's head, and tiny wings sprouted from their backs.
Swish, swish, the wings made a cute sound as they moved.
It was an appearance that most people would find endearing.
However, the fairies felt humiliation.
"How amusing. You haven't done anything wrong, but you repent. Moreover, you were filled with the desire to exist again and now you're also experiencing a luxurious emotion like humiliation."
"What have you done to us?"
"I have given you a chance. A chance to exist again in the world."
Heluram grabbed Shil. And on her back, Heluram attached a pair of especially large wings.
"From now on, you will be their Queen. When a similar moment you've regretted so much happens again, I will watch over the decisions made by bold beings like you."
Moments of regret.
Moments when she betrayed her own and didn't confront Zipple.
If such a situation repeats someday, what decisions will Shil and the fairies make?
Heluram was precisely curious about that.
"Don't forget this difficult lesson."
Heluram released Shil and continued speaking.
"Furthermore, as you've become so inferior compared to before, you will have to think diligently to survive. Now, be off."
The fairies didn't even dare to look at Heluram.
As soon as Heluram's words were finished, the fairies turned around and flapped their wings.
In this way, they regained their existence and wandered the world once again.
Several more years passed until they found a sanctuary called the Wantaramo Forest.
By that time, most of the fairies, except for Sheila, had forgotten much of their memories of when they were true fairies.
They had regained existence only through Heluram's power, not their true "form."
What they had forgotten wasn't just memories of when they were true fairies. Except for Shil, or rather Sheila, most of the fairies were slowly forgetting even the actions and words that Heluram had bestowed upon them.
Because it was boring...
Life that continued without purpose, meaning, or hope was a series of boredom.
So, they found pleasure in killing the humans who ventured into the forest, and that was enough for them.
Only Sheila contemplated her future as Queen.
Sheila's contemplation ended when a human arrived in the Wantaramo Forest to deliver Solderet's message.
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