“This place is completely different from our forests. Even the hanging fruits are full of poison.”

Hyron and Lydon walked, slowly distancing themselves from the group as they followed the ice butterflies. Lydon glanced around the dim forest, responding half-heartedly.

“The smell is unbearable. The stench of demons is so overwhelming that it’s impossible to locate the enemy by scent. You feel it too, right?”

“It’s no surprise. We’re in the Demon Realm.”

“Yes, we’re in the Demon Realm. Back in the Human Realm, we could track enemies by their scent, but here…… it’s the opposite.”

As they walked further, all sounds of their allies—no voices, no footsteps—faded completely. Hyron slowed his pace, and Lydon, who had been distracted by the ice butterflies, eventually noticed and turned to look at him.

“In this place, the scent of our fairy blood will stand out much more than the smell of any human army. If demons catch a whiff of it, they won’t just ignore us. And if we’re mixed in with humans, we’re basically exposing our position.”

“…….”

“As you can tell from the previous attack, our opponent is quite dangerous. They don’t reveal themselves recklessly, instead keeping their distance with long-range attacks to control the battlefield. ……But if two helpless prey are right in front of them, demons won’t be able to hold back. Arrogant creatures, aren’t they?”

The swarm of ice butterflies fluttered in place, stopping abruptly in mid-air. In front of a tall tree, the butterflies flew up the trunk, and Lydon followed their flight path with his gaze, gradually lifting his eyes.

Passing through the cracked tree trunk, past the bare, leafless branches, and finally reaching the topmost branch—the fragile tip of it—a High Demon stood.

With black hair tied up high and a thin branch hanging from the end of his lips, his skin, dark with a bluish tint, perfectly complemented his deadly gaze.

He swiftly snatched one of the fluttering ice butterflies from the air and crushed it with a squeeze of his hand. Flicking his fingers lightly to shake off the remnants, he looked down, then without hesitation, dropped down.

There was no danger of falling. The demon spread his wings leisurely and landed on the ground.

“Two fairies with no regard for their lives…… It seems the Demon King is blessing me with the joy of a feast to reward me after a long battle.”

Hyron’s gaze fell to the demon’s rifle. It was a special weapon crafted long ago through Demon Realm engineering. Only a select few in the Demon Realm wielded such a weapon.

Hyron had never seen one in person before, but the rifle in the demon’s hands was slightly different from what he remembered. It was much longer than any ordinary gun, and the barrel was abnormally wide. It was clear. The demon in front of him was the one who had taken down Modeleine.

“Step back, Lydon.”

“I can fight too.”

“Of course, you can. But there’s no need to rush in from the start.”

Hyron naturally moved Lydon back and took a step toward the demon.

“I am Hyron, Fairy King of the Pinhai Tribe. Unfortunately for you, you won’t be able to harm any humans from here on.”

“Heh… A Fairy King? How delightful. My name is Alexia Solavis. Before I feast on you, I’ll at least tell you my name.”

With a long tongue flicking across his lips, Alexia raised the rifle with ease like a sword, aiming it at Hyron.

“I’ve heard fairies taste quite good. I wonder…… does the Fairy King have an even more special flavor?”

At Alexia’s taunt, Lydon’s brows furrowed. He instinctively tried to gather his mana, but Hyron’s actions were faster.

“You should refrain from saying such things. I’m more sensitive to provocations than I seem.”

In the blink of an eye, a blizzard-like storm swirled around him, and countless ice butterflies filled the air with their elegant fluttering. The high-pitched sound of glass shards clashing filled the surroundings, as the swarm of butterflies shot toward Alexia.

In the completely white view, Alexia clicked his tongue and soared into the sky. He glanced briefly at the butterflies following him and then aimed the barrel of his rifle downward before rapidly pulling the trigger.

It was a blind, reckless barrage with no aim. However, what came out of the rifle wasn’t a typical bullet.

“A king is a king, after all.”

A translucent, greenish body with sharp features. The strange sound of wind accompanied the entity swinging its sword at the butterfly swarm. It was the souls of humans.

“What…… what is this?”

Garuel, who had been performing healing magic, and the others watching couldn’t hide their shock.

Cadel focused on the dark green energy slowly leaking from Modeleine’s body. It wavered like smoke but had a distinct shape and resembled Modeleine closely. The energy floating above his face revealed his features.

Among the frozen, shocked faces, only Yozen calmly declared.

“It’s a soul.”

A soul. At his words, astonishment flashed across everyone’s eyes. Yozen silently approached Modeleine and pointed ahead.

“The entity up ahead is drawing in the soul. His weakened body will make it hard for him to resist.”

“Up ahead……?”

Cadel slowly rose and looked into the dark forest. Hyron and Lydon, who had followed the butterflies, still hadn’t returned. There was no sign of them either.

‘An enemy who draws in souls…… a demon I’ve never faced before. I can’t let two fairies deal with an opponent like this without knowing how to counter it. I have to go. But……’

Cadel’s gaze shifted to Garuel. Despite Modeleine’s soul being pulled away by an unknown demon, the healing magic showed no progress. Garuel, having abandoned any caution, was now recklessly releasing demonic energy in great bursts.

Should he leave Garuel alone in this unstable state? Garuel had been prone to impulsive actions in such conditions. If something unexpected happened here, Cadel would be the only one capable of calming him.

As Cadel hesitated, Yozen approached him.

“We can still observe for a bit longer. Lydon’s energy is within range. As long as he doesn’t move too far, I can keep track of his condition.”

“……He’s safe, then?”

“Yes. If things turn dangerous, I’ll go.”

Lydon had Hyron by his side. With Hyron’s seal released, he must have been quite powerful, so neither of them would likely be gravely injured. Cadel, managing to gather his thoughts, knelt back down beside Garuel.

“Calm down, Garuel. If Modeleine regains consciousness, he’ll be able to resist the demon’s power. And if Lord Hyron and Lydon meet the demon, there’s bound to be a confrontation. We’ll take advantage of the opening and try to heal him.”

“……Knight Commander.”

“Yes.”

“Could you…… could you hold my hand for a moment?”

Cadel’s attention was drawn to Garuel’s trembling hand, which was touching Modeleine’s wound. His hand, covered by dense demonic energy, was shaking with fear. Cadel gently placed his own hand over it, biting his lip.

* * *

“Ahaha! You’re handling ghosts? That’s quite an interesting power!”

The swirling ghosts formed a large circle. Trapping the two fairies in the center, the ghosts, all with the faces of dead knights, surrounded them.

“This soul…… it looks like the ghost I saw when I dreamed with Cadel. How fascinating.”

Lydon, completely unfazed by the danger, was admiring the ghosts with enthusiasm. He looked like a child visiting an amusement park. Next to his son, Hyron spoke in a deliberately stern voice.

“These may not mean much to me, but aren’t they your comrades who fought by your side? It’s not the time to be so gleeful about them.”

“Hmm, they’re not comrades. I don’t even remember these humans all that well.”

“Show some respect to the dead.”

“……Fine.”

Lydon, who quickly pouted, rolled his eyes and surveyed the situation. The rifle, fired randomly, released dozens of souls. They all appeared to be humans Alexia had personally killed.

‘Using the humans he killed in this way? Then I’ll probably meet that Modeleine soon enough.’

As for Lydon, whether Modeleine lived or died didn’t matter. He would quickly lose interest. However, Cadel and Garuel would surely be saddened. He couldn’t stand seeing Cadel upset, and he certainly didn’t want to see Garuel sad.

‘It would be easier to just take care of this quickly. Well, I can’t do anything unless my father gives me a chance to fight.’

Hyron had even prevented Lydon from intervening when the ghosts surrounded them. He often disliked when his son used magic. Even when passing down secret techniques that only the bloodline of the Fairy King inherited, Hyron would repeatedly warn him to avoid using them.

For some reason, Hyron had always shown restraint when it came to Lydon, despite Lydon having fought countless battles among humans.

However, Hyron thought differently.

‘Lydon has grown a lot, but he’s still young. Alexia Solavis is a strong foe. It’s my duty as his father to protect him.’

To Hyron, Lydon was always that troublesome little kid. If Lydon refrained from using magic, there would be fewer opportunities for him to get caught up in battles. Hyron wanted Lydon to live quietly, hiding his strength as much as possible. His sense of duty to protect his son and his cautious paternal love were clear. Even though Lydon might find it annoying, Hyron had no intention of changing his mind.

“You’re not looking very scared. Even though you’re surrounded by such terrifying ghosts. Are you still too slow to understand my technique? How foolish.”

Alexia, who had slung his rifle over his shoulder, taunted. When Hyron didn’t respond but continued to observe the ghosts, Alexia spat out the stick he was chewing on and lightly took to the air.

“If you don’t understand, I’ll have to show you. Just how terrifying my technique is. Sometimes being too kind can be a problem.”

Hyron, who was about to fly after Alexia, paused. The souls surrounding them began to spin violently. Their speed was so fast it almost seemed like they were one giant whirlpool, with their shapes collapsing into the vortex.

The whirlpool rose higher and tighter, pressing in on the two fairies. At the top of this spiraling mass, Alexia, aiming his rifle at them, smirked.

With a bloodthirsty grin, he aimed at Hyron. His finger on the trigger showed no hesitation. And the next moment.

Whoooooosh!

The souls, now part of the whirlpool, shot out all at once, reaching for Hyron with impossible speed. Their numbers were too many to count, and they were faster than bullets, making it nearly impossible to discern with the naked eye.

“Father……!”

The souls that shot out all clung to Hyron’s body. Their green claws twisted, tightening with a savage force as if trying to devour his flesh. The ice barrier, unable to withstand that crushing power, began to crack.

In response, Lydon hastily began gathering his magic, but.

“Stay still. Just stand there quietly and hold your breath.”

Hyron rejected his help. He silently endured the ghosts’ assault, neither retaliating nor reinforcing the barrier. He merely gazed upward at Alexia in the sky.

“What are you looking at, hmm? The pretty little fairy king.”

How powerful could the soul of a fairy king be? Just the thought of it made Alexia salivate. Gathering dozens of insignificant souls was nothing compared to collecting a single useful one. That was why he had been relentlessly chasing after that knight.

“If he’s as sharp as that knight, this could be troublesome.”

In any case, the knight had already taken his attack, so it was only a matter of time before his soul was drawn in. Until then, Alexia would enjoy a new soul.

Alexia, grinning with a wicked smile, looked at Hyron, bound by the ghosts. The ghosts finally shattered the ice barrier and began digging into Hyron’s body. Their claws didn’t wound him, but instead, they started drawing out the deep green energy from inside him. That was the soul of the Fairy King.

“Why not try shaking it off? The longer you wait, the weaker you’ll get.”

Alexia mocked, raising his voice in a deliberately taunting warning, but Hyron ignored the trivial advice.

‘If I force it off, part of the soul the ghosts are holding onto…… the energy will be torn away. They’re trying to gradually weaken me and kill me slowly.’

It was truly a demon-like fighting method. And from the start, Hyron had no intention of dealing with the souls of the humans Alexia had summoned.

“Father, even now……”

Seeing Hyron do nothing but endure, Lydon, unable to stand it, moved forward. But Hyron’s cold gaze swept over him, chastising him without a word. The ice-cold stare made Lydon freeze, and he instinctively took a step back.

Hyron’s firm stance was simply because he was concerned for Lydon. However, to Lydon, this attitude from Hyron brought back somber memories of the past. Eventually, Lydon, who had been about to step forward, hesitated and stayed by Hyron’s side. It was then that Hyron muttered something quickly.

His lips moved in such a way that only Lydon, standing right next to him, could see. There was no way it would have caught Alexia’s attention, high up in the air. Lydon’s eyes widened as he realized what was being whispered. He stole a glance at Alexia and instinctively wrapped a barrier of magic around himself.

“Just as there are ranks among demons, there are ranks among fairies as well.”

Hyron’s pupils froze to a deep, icy blue. The glimmering ice spread, reflecting Alexia’s figure high above. The ghosts clinging to him shook violently, as though they were about to disintegrate at any moment.

“Do you truly think someone like you, a mere High Demon, could be my match? And it’s not as though we fairies have never killed demons. The fact that we haven’t devoured the demons we’ve slain doesn’t mean we are weaker than you.”

The ice that had started from his eyes spread down his nose, cheeks, and neck, soon enveloping his entire body. But this time, Hyron’s movements were freer than before. He froze the ghosts clinging to him and, with a violent burst of cold wind, shot upwards in an instant.

Before Alexia could even blink, Hyron had flown up and seized him by the neck. Alexia’s eyes widened in shock.

“It’s because we are noble. We would rather starve to death than dirty our tongues with the blood and flesh of beings like you.”

Like a transparent statue, Hyron, frozen in beauty, radiated an overwhelming amount of mana. Every time he exhaled, the surrounding area would freeze white with his cold breath. And in front of him, Alexia, who had been caught in midair, remained frozen in place.

“So, don’t try to face a king with such lowly words.”

With a face still marked by fear and shock, Alexia couldn’t even make an attempt at resistance as he solidified into ice. As the cold indifferently settled over the scene, Hyron released his grip, and Alexia’s frozen body plummeted to the ground, shattering into countless pieces.