Editor : Amethyst00



Whoosh—Clack! Crackle!

The forest burns.

The ancient woods that had been home to countless elves over the ages were consumed by fire.

The Fairy Forest in the south held a particularly special meaning for elves.

Long ago—

It was the place where the first pact between the Fairy King and the Elf King had been made.

To elves, it was sacred ground.

So sacred, in fact, that many elves would return here to give birth, even if their children were conceived in foreign lands.

This forest was not only special to the elves—it was deeply precious to the fairies as well.

For countless generations… the fairies had lovingly nurtured it.

To them, it was like a second homeland, after Fairy Land.

Now it was burning, consumed by a horrific monstrous being.

The daughter of the Monsters Queen Sillatna—the Spider Princess Taratnia—was setting it ablaze.

"The Fairy King has fallen!"

"She took the Ring of Life, the king's treasure!"

"Where is the Elf King?! Why hasn't he appeared?!"

"I heard Elf King Ergen died fighting Tartaros!"

"Then surely a new king has been chosen!"

"Why are the High Elves breaking the ancient pact?!"

Panic spread among the fairies.

Their sacred forest was burning.

And yet, the Elf King did not show himself.

Not just the king—even the revered High Elves remained absent.

Fairy King Grawin had lost his right hand while trying to stop the Demon Queen's army.

In the process, the Ring of Life—treasured by the fairies—had also been stolen.

Everything was going wrong.

"The Elf King rejected the pact with the Fairy King!"

"Balharun has surrendered to Tartaros!"

"How could they?!"

"To abandon a bond that lasted thousands of years so easily!"

Urgent voices cried out.

Balharun—the city of the High Elves.

The seat of the elven elite and true rulers of elves across the continent.

They had betrayed them.

The betrayal of Balharun meant the High Elves had abandoned the world.

"Oh Fairy King!"

Grawin appeared before the fairies, his face pale.

"Father…"

Sylord looked at his weakening father with a face full of despair.

Grawin was dying, cursed by Sillatna.

"Is there truly… no hope left…?"

He looked up at the gray sky and felt despair.

Fairies were powerful magical creatures.

But stopping the endless flood of demons and monsters from Tartaros with only the remaining elves and fairies was impossible.

They needed a powerful army—but Balharun was lost.

"Is the world truly doomed like this…?"

"I don't like that answer."

Just as the Fairy King spoke of despair—

Someone boldly contradicted it.

A beautiful elf, still youthful in appearance.

"And you are…?"

"My name is Luna Luminance."

The elf who introduced herself as Luna showed Grawin a staff.

"Polyum…!"

The magical staff that had long symbolized the Elf King.

Though it had been ages since Polyum last acknowledged an Elf King—

It remained the symbol of elven royalty.

That this young elf possessed it—and had been acknowledged by it—was astounding.

"Are you the new Elf King…?! Then the elves haven't abandoned us after all! The surrender was just a rumour! Where is the army, new king?!"

Grawin beamed with joy.

Luna shook her head.

"No. I'm not the Elf King."

"…"

"So I don't have an army."

"Then… how do you have Polyum?"

"Oh, this?"

Luna smiled.

Grawin found her smile strikingly beautiful.

"It looked useful, so I stole it."

"Stole it?"

Grawin's mouth dropped open at her next words.

"Well, since Polyum acknowledged me, that makes me its rightful owner, doesn't it?"

She grinned shamelessly—but she wasn't wrong.

"Then… I suppose you are the rightful next Elf King."

"I don't plan to become a king."

"What?"

Grawin looked bewildered as Luna said,

"Balharun's surrender… is true."

She looked grimly at the graying sky.

"When King Ergen died, the High Elves chose betrayal, even though they could have fought. The other elves will no longer follow the High Elves. Nor will they rally under a king."

"…"

"The fall of the Fairy Forest… can't be stopped right now."

The elves no longer had the strength to resist the darkness of this age.

"You would abandon your homeland?"

"I'm saying we need to retreat, for now. If we stay, more fairies and elves will die."

Though their conversation was brief, Grawin sensed Luna was different from other elves.

Elves never abandoned their pride.

And this forest was a cornerstone of that pride.

Yet she was willing to abandon it to save lives.

'In times like these… perhaps someone like her is exactly the leader the elves need.'

But the elf before him refused the crown.

"What do you want to become, then?"

"A star."

"A star?"

"Yes. A shining star in the night sky. In other words, someone far greater than the Elf King."

Grawin looked at Luna's smiling face and thought,

'I may have just met a ridiculous elf.'

Young Sylord, watching from nearby, had a different thought:

'She's incredible.'

Even in such despair, she hadn't lost her radiance. To him, she was dazzling.

"Luna Luminance."

"Yes?"

"Form a pact with me."

"I'm not the Elf King, though?"

Traditionally, only an Elf King could form a pact with the Fairy King.

That was long-standing tradition.

"There's no reason to follow that anymore."

With those words, Grawin made a pact with Luna.

"O bearer of the pact."

"Yes?"

"May I see your hand?"

"Reading my fortune?"

"Something like that."

Grawin chuckled.

Luna offered her hand.

Even as the Monster Queen's army approached, Grawin studied her palm seriously and said, "Oh dear, no luck in love."

"I don't think I'm the type to fall for strange men."

"It's not about him being strange. You'll likely deal with a lot of emotional headaches."

"Hm?"

The elves and fairies preparing for evacuation gave them incredulous looks.

A moment later—

Grawin smiled.

"Luna."

"Yes?"

"This child is my successor."

"…?"

"He's the true pact-bearer who will walk the future path with you."

"What about you, Lord Grawin?"

"I will not leave this forest."

"Father!"

Sylord looked shocked.

"I will remain to ensure the elves can safely evacuate until the very end."

Grawin smiled.

"That is my pact."

"But the High Elves… we broke the pact. You needn't uphold it…"

"No. It must be done."

Seeing Luna flustered, Grawin spoke firmly.

"I'm fading anyway."

He had been poisoned by Taratnia and cursed by the Monster Queen. His body was wasting away.

"It's not a bad choice to stake what little time I have left on the future."

"…"

Grawin smiled.

"You must help the elves and fairies escape."

"…Yes."

Luna nodded and began aiding the evacuation with magic.

"Father…"

"Sylord."

Grawin looked at his heir.

"As my successor, be the pact-bearer to that girl."

"There is… hope, right?"

"…"

Grawin closed his eyes at the boy's desperate question.

The Fairy King had the power to glimpse the future.

But he had not used it—it was a costly power, and knowing the future of others was rarely pleasant. Still, Sylord knew.

Grawin had seen Luna's future earlier.

"When the Monster Queen's army invaded the Fairy Forest, I glimpsed the future."

Grawin looked at the gray sky.

"The world had ended."

Sylord gasped.

"It should have ended…"

Grawin smiled faintly.

"But I couldn't see that girl's future."

He looked at Luna's back as she cast great magic with ease despite her youth.

"You couldn't see her future…?"

"That means she'll carve her own path."

"…"

"She is hope—one who has the power to change even the future of a doomed world, my son."

"Yes, Father."

"Do not despair. As her pact-bearer… dream of a future where fairies once again nurture this world."

"Yes."

That was the first meeting of Sylord and Luna.

Luna tried desperately to save the world, leading the elves.

But she couldn't do it alone.

Luna was always bold.

But Sylord saw it—

Like a wilting flower, hope was fading from her eyes. Slowly, despair consumed Luna. To rekindle hope, she gathered the strength of the elves to reclaim the Fairy Forest.

Then—

They appeared.

The foolish one and the surviving hero.

"Sir Leo?"

At Melina's voice, Leo opened his eyes.

It was dawn already.

Leo pulled off his blanket and sat up.

"You were dreaming, weren't you? You don't usually sleep that deeply."

"How do you know I was?"

"Normally, you wake up the moment I look at you."

Leo rubbed the back of his neck and sat up.

"What were you dreaming?"

"Just… an old dream."

Leo answered calmly.

"Though it wasn't one of my own memories."

"Huh?"

Melina's eyes widened.

Leo glanced toward the entrance of Fairy Land.

'That was Sylord's memory.'

The first meeting with Luna.

And perhaps the first meeting with himself.

'It was disturbingly vivid…'

Leo furrowed his brow.

'During the Lumene entrance exam… when I conquered Albi's world, I received the Fairy King's pact as a reward.'

He had used that reward to form a pact with Kiran.

But the true pact-bearer was not Kiran—it was Sylord.

'Which means, technically, Sylord and I are bound by a temporary contract.'

A pact is a bond of souls.

So Sylord's memories flowing into Leo's mind was not strange.

'The problem is—Sylord is powerful enough that he shouldn't lose control of his thoughts.'

Unease flickered in Leo's eyes.

'Is he in bad shape?'

Just then—

Thud!

The ground shook. Melina's eyes went wide.

Thud! Thud!

From beyond the forest, a grotesque monster appeared.

Melina's expression turned alarmed.

"Taratnia?"

She had been defeated by the Sorcerer of the Mystic Eye, Albi. But this form was different from the one Melina remembered.

Taratnia had survived for 5,000 years, but only because she swallowed the Ring of Life to maintain her existence. Under Luna's hand, she had lost her reason and her noble form, becoming a beast of pure destruction.

But now—

"So this… is what she looked like before Luna defeated her 5,000 years ago."

"Then… is there a hero dungeon appearing in Fairy Land?"

Melina's face darkened.

"…I don't think so."

Leo's eyes glowed with mana.

He saw through Taratnia's true nature.

"It's an illusion."

'Is it related to the dream just now?'

Taratnia had appeared in the dream, too.

"It's a bit too real for an illusion."

"Yes. Because it was created from the Fairy King's memory."

Voom—!

Leo summoned his sword.

"We need to break through the barrier as fast as possible."

Whatever was happening in Fairy Land—

One thing was certain.

'Sylord doesn't have much time left.'

Leo bit his lip.

'I might not get to see him in the end.'