Chapter 192: The Fairy's Sword (1)
"That can't be right. No one can find this place without our guidance."
"I have no reason to lie."
"Then... Viola?"
At those words, Viola approached the lake and dipped her hand into the water, checking something. A moment later, she flew back to us with a shocked expression.
"It's gone... It's really gone!"
"Someone took the Fairy's Sword without us noticing? That's impossible...!"
As the fairies fell into confusion, I wrung out my wet clothes and activated my mana circuits to raise my body temperature. Unlike before, I only increased it slightly, just enough to restore my stamina.
"Could it have been taken through proper procedures?"
"But the Queen said she would never remove that sword..."
"Besides, the Queen is still asleep, isn't she?"
As the fairies debated among themselves, I shook off my now-dry clothes and stood up.
"We need to wake the Queen."
Laz spoke firmly, flying right in front of my eyes.
"The Queen? You mean the Fairy Queen?"
"Yes."
I knew a little about the Fairy Queen.
In the past, before fairies became legendary creatures, they played with children in villages and danced in festivals while disguised. During that divine era, they were ruled by the Fairy Queen.
Although she wasn't on the same level as the gods, she was a divine being residing in the material world. Even the true gods respected her, and she oversaw many contracts, serving as their witness.
It was said she even took part in the first contract between humans and demons, playing a role in the creation of both the Holy Sword and the Demon Sword, which acted as mutual deterrents.
"Wait a minute. Has the Fairy's Sword ever been taken out before?"
"Not while we were guarding it."
"The Queen might have removed it herself once. Maybe just once."
There was an almost mythological tale about this.
Long ago, when the Demon King leading the demons was about to be defeated by humans, he sacrificed countless demons to corrupt one of the ancient gods, turning it into their Demon God.
Since direct interference from divine beings violated the contract between humans and demons, the Fairy Queen personally handed the Fairy's Sword—the Holy Sword—to the Arc Knight. The Arc Knight used it to slay the Demon God before returning it to its resting place.
This was part of the Arc Knight's epic, a legend from the divine era, discovered through ancient ruins before human history as we know it even began.
The full details were never completely unearthed, so archaeologists pieced together the story as best they could.
"So the Fairy's Sword is actually the mythical Holy Sword, also known as the Demon-Slaying Blade."
Come to think of it, fairies never had any reason to wield swords.
They could escape at any time if they wanted to. Why would they need weapons?
Any weapon in their possession would have naturally been meant for humans.
"I'll go see the Queen."
Maggie blinked away and disappeared, leaving me, Laz, and Viola waiting near the lakeshore.
'A legendary sword, huh...'
Honestly, I never had much interest in ancient swords or legendary relics.
How powerful could a weapon forged in an era without advanced magical engineering, metallurgy, or alchemy really be?
Just like how early humans viewed bronze weapons as divine, even if an ancient sword was impressive for its time, it likely couldn't compare to modern magical technology, such as the Mana Saver, Nova Lance, or Impact Fist.
In fact, many ancient swords unearthed from ruins containing Arc Knight inscriptions held artistic value but no real combat worth. Their strength and sharpness were inferior even to a well-crafted kitchen knife, making them utterly useless as weapons.
Of course, some materials from that era, like Orichalcum—still considered irreplaceable even today—held immense power. But even then, modern temples were researching ways to refine Orichalcum's purity and repurpose ancient weapons to enhance divine energy absorption and amplification.
So was an ancient sword really that impressive?
Flash!
A short while later, a pink light flickered, and Laz returned.
Behind her was a fairy, slightly larger than the others. While most fairies were barely the size of a human hand, this one reached about my knee. Her translucent form shimmered with iridescent colors.
"Your Majesty!"
"Has she partially awakened?"
The Fairy Queen had appeared before me, yet she still felt strangely unreal.
Behind her translucent form, the scenery of the lake shimmered, and her gaze wasn't focused on us but on something distant and unfathomable.
It was as if her presence was distorted, like a reflection on clear water—empty and surreal.
"Your Majesty! The Fairy's Sword is gone!"
"It looks like it was stolen! We even brought a friend to help prevent it, but it vanished!"
As the fairies clamored in distress, the Queen slowly turned to look at them. Then, her transparent, ethereal gaze shifted toward me.
With the sunlight reflecting off her, casting a rainbow-like glow, she appeared both beautiful and mysterious. Yet, as I met her eyes, I finally understood the source of my discomfort.
'Her eyes are empty.'
Like Lien's eyes before she regained her soul, or like Frederica's original body when it was left soulless—
The Fairy Queen's eyes weren't those of a living being. They merely reacted to stimuli, devoid of true awareness.
"She hasn't fully awakened yet."
"Then what should we do?"
"Shh! She's trying to say something."
The Queen's lifeless eyes moved as she began speaking in an unknown language, her lips forming words I couldn't decipher.
'A fairy's native tongue?'
Yet, somehow, I instinctively understood her meaning.
"She says a friend will help us, and we'll find it soon."
"So she's going to transport us now? I haven't used Fairy-speak in so long; I wasn't sure."
"Then where is this friend… huh?"
Before the fairies could react, a strange, rainbow-colored light enveloped me.
It looked like a shimmering curtain of light, distorting space around me. Familiar with the disorienting sensation of teleportation, I squeezed my eyes shut.
'Ugh… I'm going to be sick again...'
"Urk!"
Last time, it was a short-range teleport, so the nausea faded quickly. But this time, I had no idea how far I had been transported. My ears were ringing, and my stomach churned as if I had altitude sickness. Even though I hadn't eaten, I felt like I was about to vomit bile.
"Damn it! How did the ancients use this like it was part of daily life?!"
After nearly three minutes of retching, I finally regained my senses. It was only then that I realized I was no longer in the Misty Forest.
Instead, I was somewhere filled with the mouthwatering scent of grilled meat.
'Where am I?'
I knew the Fairy Queen had teleported me, but she hadn't given any explanation, nor had she told me where I was being sent.
Poof! Pop!
"Whoa! I didn't expect the Queen to send us away so suddenly."
Laz suddenly appeared beside me, blinking into existence. A faint white and purple shimmer lingered momentarily before fading, suggesting that Viola and Maggie had attempted to follow but failed.
"Looks like the Queen didn't want all of us leaving."
"...But where exactly are we?"
"Not too far from the forest. It's... the place where horned demons roam!"
"...What?!"
Not too far, and demons?
That meant we had crossed the Eastern Front, traversed the wastelands, and arrived deep in demon territory.
"Over there!"
Laz, raising her antenna-like bangs, grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. A short distance ahead, an array of weapons lay on display, and among them, a single, majestic blade stood out.
"...It's beautiful."
I usually favored the Mana Saver, viewing physical swords as outdated relics or emergency backup weapons. But the Fairy's Sword before me was breathtaking.
Its blade glowed subtly with iridescent colors, its hilt was wrapped in a muted black fabric—simple yet elegant—and at the pommel sat a mysterious, transparent gemstone. Without realizing it, I reached out for it, but just before my fingers touched the blade, an instinctual sense of danger made me pull back.
'A barrier?'
A powerful protective barrier encased the sword.
It was a high-tier enchantment, capable of instantly incinerating anyone who touched it unprepared.
The barrier extended about 30 centimeters around the sword, following its shape precisely. While I could recognize it as a protective ward, I had no idea how to dismantle it. This left me at an impasse.
'Can I destroy it with the Mana Saver? No... even if I manage to break the barrier, the explosion could kill me in the process.'
As I pondered my options, Laz suddenly spoke up.
"What are you doing?"
Just as I was about to explain my plan to bypass the barrier and retrieve the Fairy's Sword, I turned to see Laz already holding the sword by its hilt.
'...Fairy Blink. That's completely broken.'
The ability to phase in and out of space at will was already absurd. While fairies couldn't escape if restrained by direct contact, any slight gap allowed them to teleport away. Now, Laz had proven she could also Blink inside a barrier, grab the sword, and teleport back out unscathed.
More shocking was how effortlessly she held the sword.
Despite the blade being four times her size, she carried it with ease, fluttering in the air beside me. This meant the sword was impossibly light. If it was too light, though, it wouldn't carry the mass and velocity needed to deliver strong strikes, making it seem like little more than a toy.
Sure, someone might argue that the Mana Saver's blade had no weight either, but weight was necessary for applying pressure to cut through objects. The Mana Saver compensated by using high-pressure mana and intense heat, making it an exception.
"Ha..."
If retrieving it was going to be this easy, why did we even bother searching for help?
I couldn't help but feel a little let down. The fairies and I had gone through all this effort, only for the retrieval to be absurdly simple. But I supposed it was better than running in circles.
Accepting reality, I took the Fairy's Sword from Laz.
At that moment, a curtain of light began to surround us both.
[...!!]
The thief who had originally stolen the Fairy's Sword was obscured behind the rainbow veil. Though I couldn't make out their features, I saw their silhouette rushing toward us in desperation.
'A demon? Well, it makes sense that a demon would be after something like this...'
A faint glow outlined their figure—perhaps an illusion from the light curtain—but something felt odd. Unlike typical demons, they didn't seem to have any horns.
'Well, it doesn't matter. They failed anyway.'
Raising my middle finger at the unknown pursuer as a parting gift, I let the Fairy Queen's power pull me back into the Misty Forest.