"How did we jump from that topic to this conclusion?"
"Well, for various reasons, I've decided not to join either faction."
Since both sides are going to fight, and with all these cleanup missions, we really need to establish our own force. We can't just keep fighting them one by one ourselves. "Instead, let's defeat them all and wreak havoc to our hearts' content!"
"You're definitely leaving out a lot of details," Fairy Tristan said, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at Jiang You. Still, she liked the idea of being able to cause chaos as she pleased. "That suits me just fine. I have no interest in taking orders from anyone else anyway."
"Then comes the problem: what about territory and population?"
Two people hardly constitute a kingdom.
"Very simple—one word: seize!"
After all, Quetzalcoatl and Ereshkigal had already done it. "Steal!"
"But this is all humans here! Where's the Fairy Kingdom without fairies?" Fairy Tristan grumbled, feeling a bit disappointed that the place didn't live up to its name.
"Trust me, these humans are far better than those abstract messes in your Lostbelt," Jiang You remarked again, critiquing the fairies of the Lostbelt. "Since we've landed here, let's start building our force here. We can seize control of this region—the tropical rainforest's resources are far richer than the northern wastelands. By the way, do leopard-men count as fairies?"
Considering his mission to eliminate humanity, Jiang You genuinely needed Quetzalcoatl's power to revive ordinary humans. He had no intention of antagonizing Chaldea yet, though he wondered if resurrecting humanity after wiping them out would still count toward completing the mission to "save" humanity.
[Ur]
This city, originally under the Hero King Gilgamesh's dominion, had been cut off from the capital city of Uruk for a long time after being suddenly overgrown by a tropical rainforest. On the very day the rainforest sprouted, a strangely dressed female deity declared to the city's inhabitants that Ur now belonged to her.
After witnessing several burly men being tossed high into the air and smashed beyond recognition, Ur's residents had no choice but to accept this new reality. At least the goddess offered them protection.
Of course, this came at a price. They had to regularly offer young men as sacrifices, as demanded by the goddess. Sometimes, they would even see the leopard-woman chieftain—the peculiar woman draped in a tiger pelt—carrying a basketful of Uruk soldier corpses on her back as she headed toward the goddess's residence, Eridu.
Though their movements were severely restricted, life remained largely unchanged. Just as the residents settled into their daily routines, another unwelcome visitor arrived today.
The burly Jaguar Warrior guarding the entrance was hurled high into the air, landing with a sickening thud that knocked him unconscious.
"This thing you call an 'elf' is nothing like the real deal!" Fairy Tristan kicked disdainfully at the leg, flicking off the blood splattered on her high heels. "It may resemble the Fang Clan on the surface, but its essence is completely different... Still, it's less grating to look at than a human."
"Listen well, you lowly commoners! Before you stands the flawless, infamously wicked heir to the Faerie Realm, Fairy Knight Tristan! From this moment onward, this territory shall belong to me!"
Fairy Tristan ground her heel into the Jaguar Warrior captain's arm, her cruel smile widening at his agonized screams.
"Of course, you're welcome to resist. I'm quite looking forward to it. Let your wails entertain me!"
"Such a tyrannical declaration. Do you really think you can win people over with that kind of speech?"
In the current situation, subduing the populace by force was indeed the most effective approach. There simply wasn't time for gradual education. Moreover, Gilgamesh's past temperament had been ten times worse than Fairy Tristan's; these people were likely already accustomed to such behavior.
"Question!"
Suddenly, a tiger-pawed hand shot up from the crowd, waving wildly to draw everyone's attention.
"Isn't Tristan a Knight of the Round Table? Why does she call herself a Fairy Knight? And shouldn't Tristan be male? This one clearly looks like a girl!"
"!!!"
Even Fairy Tristan, lacking common sense as she did, knew that people of this era couldn't possibly know about the Knights of the Round Table. The questioner was clearly suspicious, and she braced herself for battle.
"An excellent question! Because this Tristan isn't the Tristan from Pan-Human History!"
The moment that comical tiger paw appeared, Jiang You knew exactly who this person was. Similar to Ishtar's situation, Nagual had descended upon this Singularity by possessing Taiga Fujimura's body, becoming the Jaguar Warrior servant. To distinguish her from ordinary Jaguar Warriors, let's still call her Taiga Fujimura.
"I can't understand a word you're saying!"
Taiga Fujimura leaped forward, her tiger-themed mascot costume making her stand out starkly against the crowd. Though Fairy Tristan's Gothic princess dress and Jiang You's modern casual attire weren't exactly inconspicuous either.
"But if you're here to snatch territory, you'll have to get past this Jaguar Warrior first! Aowww-ya!"
Taiga Fujimura swung her Tiger Claw Staff with ferocious force, the air whistling around her. After a dramatic display, she suddenly leaped high into the air, using the momentum of her descent to hurl the staff at Fairy Tristan with devastating force.
"What's that? So crude! Watch closely—I shall dance elegantly upon your blood!"
Fairy Tristan assumed a combat stance. In Britain, she rarely had the opportunity to unleash her full power and was eager to test her abilities. A harp-bow materialized in her hands, and continuous streams of magical arrows surged forth from its strings, arcing toward Taiga Fujimura in a relentless volley.
"A harp...bow?"
Defying the laws of physics, Taiga Fujimura abruptly halted her mid-air descent. The Tiger Claw Staff spun rapidly in her hands, deflecting every arrow with lightning-fast precision.
"That's barely even a warm-up! Let me tell you, Quetzalcoatl is incredibly strong. Do you really think you can take her territory with that? I advise you all to just go back home, wash up, and go to sleep!"
Fairy Tristan felt humiliated. How dare a comedic character look down on her?
"Jiang You, can I kill her?"
Fairy Tristan had taken Jiang You's words to heart, at least enough to ask for his opinion. Even if he disagreed, it wouldn't stop her from saving the world with lethal force.
"Give it your all."
Fairy Tristan was currently alive, perhaps slightly stronger than her Heroic Spirit form, but any advantage would be marginal. Don't let Taiga Fujimura's comical attire, weapons, and behavior fool you—she was still a genuine divine-class servant, capable of exchanging blows with the Great God-level Quetz. Jiang You doubted Fairy Tristan could defeat her.
"You're useless! Die!"
Fairy Tristan's killing intent solidified. Now she only needed a piece of the Jaguar Warrior's body—even blood or hair would suffice to trigger her curse-killing strike.
"Eek! How terrifying!"
The Jaguar Warrior cried out dramatically.