Editor : Amethyst00



The Fairy King, Sylord, was a truly exceptional being in this current era.

'Well, all three Great Mythical Beasts were originally special.'

They couldn't help but be.

To summoners, those beings were something akin to a romantic ideal—existences comparable to the Elemental Lord for elemental summoners.

'And among them, those called Beast King were even more special.'

Strictly speaking, among the familiars a summoner could call forth, they were the most powerful.

However, in the present age, the exceptional nature of the Beast Kings had faded somewhat.

'Because the lineage of the Phoenix King and Pegasus King was broken with Katariou and Albus.'

Now, the strength of the Flame Emperor and the White Queen existed only in legend.

'Only the Fairy King remains…'

But even then, the people of this age didn't truly understand just how powerful the Fairy King was.

Leo gazed at the entrance to Fairyland and tossed a bundle of twigs into the campfire.

Crackle—Snap!

The sound of the fire crackling rang in his ears.

He took a sausage skewer he had been roasting and handed it to Melina.

"Thank you…"

Melina, caught off guard, hesitated as she received it.

"Why? You're not going to eat it?"

"No, it's just… I was wondering if it's really okay to be camping so leisurely like this."

At her words, Leo chuckled.

"Why not? Moments like this are necessary, too. You've been running yourself ragged keeping an eye on the coronation and the activity of the demons and Hero Hunters hiding in Arhi, haven't you?"

If one were to name the busiest person in the world right now, it would undoubtedly be Melina.

Not only was she burdened with the responsibilities of being the Dragon Queen, she also had to track Tartaros's movements—and support Leo.

Frankly, it wouldn't have been strange if she had collapsed from overwork already were it not for her.

That's why Leo thought she needed some time like this to breathe.

"But still, is it really okay to rest like this? There might be something seriously wrong in Fairyland…"

Melina's face grew dark.

The abnormality in Fairyland had first been noticed when summoners contracted to fairies were no longer able to summon them.

Fairies, by nature, lived in Fairyland.

Even when bound by contract, it was extremely rare for them to remain near a summoner.

'Well, Kiran is a special case since he was exiled.'

The fact that the fairies weren't responding to summons at all—this was a massive anomaly.

It was entirely possible Tartaros had launched an attack.

Melina's gaze turned toward Kiran, who was sitting in front of the fire munching on a sausage as big as his face.

Once he finished it, Kiran sneakily glanced toward Fiora's sausage.

And then tried to steal it—only for a fight to break out.

Leo, pulling out a flyswatter from who-knows-where, smacked Kiran down.

"…So carefree, Kiran."

At Melina's comment, Kiran answered while Fiora pecked at his head.

["Worrying won't change anything."]

Kiran crossed his arms with a sly smile.

["Besides, my dear father is here! Ack! Why the eyes?! You damn feathery pig-nix!"]

He grabbed fistfuls of Fiora's feathers and yanked.

Melina sighed softly as she watched the childish squabble between fairy and phoenix.

"Kiran's right. Sylord is there. Don't let the situation weigh on you too much."

"Is the Fairy King really such a powerful being?"

"So even you can't properly grasp the power of the Beast Kings. Looks like their strength really has been forgotten in this age."

Leo gave a small smile.

Melina's face lit with curiosity.

Like most of this era, Melina didn't know much about the true power of the Beast Kings.

The lineage of the Phoenix King—the Flame Emperor—and the Pegasus King—the White Queen—had ended.

And as for the Fairy King, he hadn't left Fairyland in 5,000 years.

Officially, Sylord's last contract-holder had been Luna.

"When the Age of Calamity began, the very first thing Erebos did was eliminate the Beast Kings."

"What? Why?"

"At the time, we thought it was simply because they were the most powerful familiars… but—"

Leo's eyes narrowed.

"Now I think… it was because the source of the Beast Kings' power resembled 'Purity.'"

"Does that mean their power could oppose the Flame of Calamity?"

"In theory."

"In theory?"

"Back during the final journey, when only Lysinas and I were left… do you know who held off Erebos?"

"Well, you did, of course…"

"It was Lysinas."

"Lady Lysinas?!"

Melina gasped.

"That's right. She held him back alone while I prepared my spell."

Together with her familiars.

"At that time, Lysinas drew out the flames of Katariou—the Phoenix King—to their absolute limit."

That level of summoning was something even Kyle, back then, could never have achieved.

Katariou's white flames had become a sword that cut through Erebos's infernal fire. The lightning of the White Queen, Albus, became a spear that pierced through the Calamity's flame. And the Fairy King's barrier became a shield that could block Erebos's power.

In all of history, only Lysinas had contracted with every Beast King.

Though Leo had reached close to Lysinas's level, he still hadn't caught up.

"That's why… if a summoner equal to Lysinas were to appear again, a being capable of threatening Erebos would emerge."

"…Unbelievable."

Melina's eyes widened in awe.

"That's why the Phoenix King and the Fairy King were wiped out at the start of the Age of Calamity. The previous Flame Emperor died the day Dragonia fell. The Fairy King disappeared the day the great southern forest city of the elves was destroyed."

"What about the Pegasus King?"

"Back then, Albus narrowly avoided being destroyed. But she exhausted too much power fighting Tartaros and entered a long slumber."

"I see…"

"As for the Flame Emperor, thankfully, he had a capable successor in Katariou. And the Fairy King had Sylord, but… he was still quite young at the time."

"How young?"

"Younger than this one."

Leo grasped Kiran's wings with his fingers like catching a dragonfly and gave them a vigorous shake.

"Anyway, that's how powerful the Fairy King is. And Sylord isn't just any Fairy King—he's lived for 5000 years. He must possess power greater than any Fairy King in history."

Such a Sylord was guarding Fairyland.

What Melina was worrying about was probably a fragment of Erebos.

But in truth, with Sylord's power, he could completely suppress even the resurrection of such a fragment.

"Still, what concerns me is… Sylord's lifespan."

He had lived a staggering span of five thousand years.

As far as Leo knew, even during the Age of the Gods before the Age of Calamity, there had never been a Beast King who lived this long.

Of course, beast spirits did not perish suddenly like humans.

When the end of their lifespan approached, there would be signs.

So, even if Sylord's life was near its end, it didn't mean the worst-case scenario would occur immediately.

Leo glanced toward the entrance of Fairyland.

Seeing him like that, Melina hesitated.

"You mean… his lifespan might really be running out?"

"It probably is. Nearly at its end."

"……"

"That's why he must've gone through the trouble of constructing such a complicated barrier."

While the worst had not happened yet, problems could arise at any time.

'For him to isolate the land like this with a barrier and sever the connection with the summoning of fairies… it's most likely due to Sylord's lifespan issues.'

The silent Lich King.

'He probably sent that brat, the Dark King, not only to have me eliminate the impurities with my own hands, but also… more likely, he was aiming for something else entirely.'

"The Lich King must also be suspecting that a fragment of Erebos lies hidden in Fairyland."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. To the Lich King, Sylord's behavior must appear extremely suspicious."

"But still, the fact that Fairyland hasn't been attacked means…"

"It means Sylord's barrier is that strong."

But if weakened by his dwindling lifespan, it could be pierced at any time.

"And that's probably why he strengthened the barrier further once he noticed the signs."

Fwoosh—

Leo looked into the fire.

"……"

Before it became a crisis for the world… this was, to Leo, another kind of farewell.

At that moment—

["Ahem! Don't worry!"]

Kiran approached and puffed out his chest.

["Father will live longer than me!"]

"Why?"

["Because I've cursed him so many times! They say those who get cursed a lot live longer!"]

["What kind of fire-elemental filial piety is that?"]

Elsie, uncharacteristically serious, twisted Kiran's arm.

["He's hopeless."]

Laruel shook her head as Kiran screamed.

Then, Leo rose to his feet.

"Lord Leo?"

"I've more or less finished deciphering the barrier."

"Huh?"

Melina looked surprised.

"Already?"

"I've been cracking my head over it all day. Though Sylord built it to be decipherable at my level… if it were Luna, she wouldn't have needed half a day."

Melina exclaimed in admiration.

"As expected of you, Lord Leo."

She followed behind Leo as he headed toward the entrance to Fairyland.

A few moments later—

Leo and Melina passed through and stepped beyond the outer layer of the barrier.

"As expected, a double-layered barrier. And illusion magic, too…"

Leo narrowed his brow as he stared into the inside of the barrier.

"It's not just ordinary illusion magic. It twisted space and time."

Melina stared at her own hand as she spoke.

"It was an illusion on the level of the Hero's World."

"The Hero's World is a real dimension, so it's in another class altogether… Still, that Sylord. He's acquired some terrifying power."

Leo scratched his head.

Watching him, Melina tilted her head.

"What kind of illusion did you see, Lord Leo?"

"Nothing."

"Huh?"

"The base of this illusion magic is the fairy's illusion, which shows a future that could possibly occur to the person."

Leo folded his arms.

"It's powerful magic, but not of a particularly high class. That's why it didn't work on me in the first place. It was cleverly designed."

"Why's that?"

"Because the key to breaking the illusion is hidden inside the illusion."

Leo's eyes narrowed.

"The Lich King, who holds a fragment of Erebos, wouldn't fall under this illusion either."

This was magic set up while accounting for various scenarios.

"Things have gotten a bit annoying. How about you?"

"I didn't even realize it was an illusion. It just felt like a dream."

"What kind of dream?"

There was bound to be a clue within it.

When Leo asked, Melina hesitated, then smiled awkwardly.

"Just a dream where I was living in the future with a child."

"Doesn't quite suit you."

"Exactly."

"Maybe there's a young dragon you've got your eye on?"

"No way. Besides, the person in the illusion was older than me. And… seemed to have a rather complicated history with women."

"You don't seem like the type to get involved with someone like that."

"I couldn't even imagine it myself."

"Well, it's only a possible future. Don't take it too seriously."

Leo patted Melina lightly on the shoulder and returned to the campfire.

Watching his retreating figure, Melina let out a long sigh.

'What kind of disgraceful illusion is that…?'

She shook her head hard from side to side.

'I must have something weird in my head. I should offer a prayer of apology to Lady Lysinas and purify my thoughts.'