Ending Maker Chapter 79
Ending Maker Chapter 79
Chapter 26 - Wild Black Cow #2
"So...... all of that is necessary?"
"Yes, we need all of it."
When Cordelia answered with a beaming smile, the Wild Fairy Queen bobbed her head up and down once more.
Sparkle, sparkle.
Truly, sparkle and sparkle.
Rings covered every one of Cordelia’s slender fingers from thumb to ring finger, and even though she already wore a brooch at her chest, she also wore a separate necklace.
It did not end there.
Bracelets.
A belt.
Earrings.
She had even managed to put on anklets despite already wearing boots.
How in the world had she put those on?
Could she possibly be wearing something on her toes inside her shoes as well?
In any case, atop the head of Cordelia, who was smiling brightly amid the glittering ornaments, sat a tiara set with blue gems in addition to her rabbit-ear headband.
Colorful, sparkling, and draped all over.
It was a fashion that ought to have been a horrifying hybrid, but while Yuder was marveling at how Cordelia still looked pretty even like this, the Fairy Queen turned to him with a devastated expression.
"You as well?"
"Yes, me too."
Because Yuder was not much different, after all.
He wore rings on all ten fingers, different earrings in each ear, a necklace around his neck, a belt at his waist, and bracelets on his arms. At his waist, besides the Sword of the Eastern Warrior and the Bicorn horn dagger, he carried a beautiful elven sword, and he had tied another dagger to his thigh with a new strap.
And their clothing.
Cordelia had draped a brilliant red cloak over her back, and Yuder wore a very large purple coat.
All of them were legacies of the High Elves, and whether strong or weak, every one was an enchanted item.
"So sparkly."
"She’s glowing on her own."
"Pretty! Handsome!"
The fairies squealed without a thought, but the Fairy Queen still wore a puzzled expression.
That was only natural, since there was no unity whatsoever among the equipment.
Unlike the fairies, who were complete little tykes, the Fairy Queen was an adult.
To her eyes, it was plainly visible that a ring enhancing the ice attribute and a ring enhancing the fire attribute were canceling each other out.
And yet all of that was necessary?
"It's necessary. Really, really necessary."
As Cordelia clasped her hands together and emphasized the necessity, Yuder finished the sentence in his mind.
'Not now, but later.'
Truthfully, when considered one by one, none of the items were all that impressive.
As the Fairy Queen had seen, many of them canceled each other out.
But what did that matter?
First, grab everything you can.
If there was truly no use for something, they could just sell it.
'Take as much as you can, wherever you can, whenever you can.'
Having leftovers to throw away was always better than struggling because they did not have enough.
'An excellent mindset.'
Yuder nodded to himself, then looked back at Cordelia and the Fairy Queen.
Perhaps because Cordelia's persuasion(?) had worked, the Fairy Queen nodded, albeit with a puzzled face.
"Understood. Then let us go to where the monster is."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"We will live up to your expectations."
When Cordelia and Yuder answered at once, the Fairy Queen's mood seemed to ease a little, and she smiled benevolently again.
"Close your eyes."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You answer so very well. And you are pretty too."
"Thank you for looking upon me kindly."
As Cordelia closed her eyes and acted friendly again, the Fairy Queen's smile deepened as well.
"Now, you may open your eyes."
As expected of the Fairy Queen.
There had been no sensation of movement, but when they opened their eyes, they were no longer in the fairies' forest but inside a vast cavern.
They could not tell whether it was underground or above ground, but it seemed to be a huge hollow carved into a mountain or the earth.
'I saw this in Lord of the Rings.'
Yuder nodded at the look in Cordelia's eyes and examined their surroundings a bit more.
'As expected.'
A single bridge spanned a bottomless chasm, and in the middle of the bridge sat a gigantic demon, hunched over.
'Lacto.'
If the Celestial Realm had its guardian of the tomb, then hell had Lacto.
It was a demon that mainly served as a gatekeeper, and true to its appearance, which resembled a cousin of the minotaur, it was a dull-witted creature that nevertheless boasted terrifying strength.
"Can you handle it?"
When the Fairy Queen asked in a small, worried voice, Cordelia immediately nodded.
"Of course. Just sit back and watch."
At that confident declaration, not only the Fairy Queen but also the fairies who had come to watch from behind brightened.
"Yuder, Yuder. The opponent is a Lacto, so you know what to do, right?"
"I know."
Yuder lightly loosened his wrists, rolled his neck a few times, and spoke again.
"I'm ready. You?"
"Me too."
Cordelia adjusted her grip on Moonlight, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
And at that movement, Lacto reacted.
The creature, which had been utterly motionless as if hardened into stone, flashed its eyes open and looked at Yuder and Cordelia approaching the bridge. It slowly spread its wings and rose from its spot.
"Armed with a double-bladed axe and a large shield. Whip at its waist."
"Judging by its eyes, it looks like a mid-low rank among Lactos."
"Still, a demon is a demon."
"It's a demon, all right."
A being that could casually tear apart ordinary low-grade Demonic Humans.
But though there was tension in Yuder and Cordelia's steps, there was no fear.
And at last, the front of the bridge.
"Keh heh heh...... It has been a long time since I last tasted blood."
An unpleasant voice like scraping metal flowed from Lacto's mouth.
The fairies watching from behind clung to one another in fear, but Yuder and Cordelia were rather relieved.
'That's a line reserved for small fry.'
'Let's just stick to the plan.'
Lacto on the bridge.
Yuder made the first move. He stomped the ground roughly, kicking up a golden whirlwind. As he wrapped it around his entire body and released his energy, everyone, including Lacto, had no choice but to fix their eyes on Yuder.
"Keh heh heh...... You look like you'll put up a good fight."
Lacto spoke, and Yuder grinned. When Yuder took one step forward, Lacto set down its axe and grabbed its whip.
And at that very moment.
Cordelia began to chant a spell. At the gathering of powerful magical energy, the fairies looked at Cordelia in surprise, and Lacto flinched as well, raising its shield.
"Echo of Spells."
It activated. It copied Cordelia's spell exactly and produced another magic.
Surging magical energy.
A rising whirlwind.
Powerful energy radiated from Lacto's entire body. It caused a violet aura to shimmer over its shield, as if to say it would block whatever attack came.
And immediately after.
At that moment when everyone, including the Fairy Queen, held their breath.
Cordelia released the powerful magic gathered in Moonlight. Instead of blasting it at Lacto, she slammed it into the ground!
KABOOM—!
The bridge shook. Black energy waves spread across it, and Echo of Spells made the same magic strike the already-hit area a second time.
KRRRRAAACK—!
Cracks formed. Countless lines were drawn across the entire bridge, as if it had become a spiderweb.
And then Yuder struck down with a palm strike.
As he released the black dragon's energy into the floor, black energy shot up through the gaps between the cracks.
"Uh."
The Fairy Queen spoke, and Lacto looked down at its own feet. Cordelia smiled and waved her hand.
"Bye-bye."
Crash.
The bridge literally shattered and fell, and Lacto, which had been positioned atop it, fell as well.
Screams rang out one after another.
Cordelia nodded with a satisfied expression and turned with Yuder toward the Fairy Queen.
"We defeated it!"
They had taken it down.
Lacto.
Bridge and all.
"Th-th-the bridge is gone!"
The Fairy Queen flew toward Yuder and Cordelia, shouting.
She had asked them to defeat the monster blocking the path, but they had gone and destroyed the path itself.
As the thoroughly agitated Fairy Queen tried to shout something else, Yuder hastily raised a hand to stop her.
"No, no. It's fine."
"What in the world is fine about this!"
The bridge is gone!
As the Fairy Queen unconsciously clutched the back of her neck, Cordelia spoke.
"But fairies have wings, don't they?"
"What?"
"You have wings, so you can just fly across."
Lacto, which had been obstructing passage, was gone.
The bridge was gone too, but since fairies could fly in the first place, a bridge was not strictly necessary.
"Right?"
At that surprisingly logical argument, the Fairy Queen felt dizzy, and Yuder spoke with a smile.
"Fairy Queen, I apologize, but could you step back for a moment?"
"Step...... back?"
"It's not over yet."
The last words came from Cordelia.
She turned to Yuder and abruptly began counting down, and Yuder joined her.
"5."
"4."
"3."
"2."
"1!"
The two shouted at the same time and turned around, and at that moment, a tremendous roar rang out.
"ROOOOAR!"
It was Lacto. Spreading its bat-like wings wide, Lacto soared up with a bellow and glared at Yuder and Cordelia, and Cordelia activated the magic she had prepared in advance.
"Wind Cutter."
Echo of Spells cast it a second time.
Sharp blades of wind flew toward their target. With a slicing sound, they carved a large wound into the joint of Lacto's wing.
"Bye-bye again."
"Holy Cross Thrust."
Yuder launched a Holy Cross Thrust at Lacto.
Struck by the golden cross, Lacto instantly lost its balance, and flapping its now-malfunctioning wings, it plummeted once more.
"AAAAAAH!"
BOOM!
Yuder and Cordelia turned back to the Fairy Queen, who merely blinked before barely managing to part her lips.
"Uh......."
"Let's finish what we were saying. Even without the bridge, fairies have wings, so using this path won't be inconvenient."
"B-but still......."
"And think about it. Now that the bridge is gone, monsters like Lacto won't be able to block the path anymore."
It was a load of nonsense on the level of "bees are gathering in the flower garden, so let's just get rid of the flower garden itself," but the ones listening were fairies.
"Wow! That's true?"
"So smart!"
"Now that the bridge is gone, there won't be any monsters either!"
As the fairies rejoiced, Cordelia smiled brightly at the Fairy Queen, and Yuder spoke again with a smile.
"This is all thanks to you, Fairy Queen."
"Huh?"
"Thanks to you generously providing such precious equipment, we were able to destroy the bridge that was the root of all this trouble."
"That's right, it's all thanks to you, Fairy Queen."
"A round of applause for the Fairy Queen!"
"Waaaaah!"
Yuder spoke, and Cordelia stirred up the crowd.
The fairies, who were naturally excitable, began clapping along when Cordelia started clapping like a seal.
"Long live the Queen!"
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
This was the true art of steamrolling.
In the end, the Fairy Queen had no choice but to smile, however awkwardly.
"Uh...... uh...... y-yes. Well done."
"Wow wow! Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty is so pretty!"
The last one was from Cordelia.
Having been pestered by fairies so much, she now knew them all too well.
"Ahem."
The Fairy Queen was, in the end, a fairy.
She blushed and delighted at being called pretty, and Yuder and Cordelia exchanged glances.
'Looks like it went well, right?'
'Yeah, now we just need to wrap things up.'
The true conclusion of this matter.
But before that, there was still one thing left to deal with.
"Your Majesty, please step back a little."
At Cordelia's words, the Fairy Queen tilted her head but then stepped back, and Yuder and Cordelia looked at each other and began counting down once more.
"5."
"4."
"3."
"2."
"1!" they shouted together.
"ROOOOAR!"
The blood-soaked Lacto thrust its head up. Perhaps injured from the fall, its right horn was snapped off, and blood streamed from its head.
"Grrrr......."
Rage.
Hatred.
Fury.
The creature, which had crawled up the cliff, let out a roar and tried to leap up in one bound.
But that was impossible.
Yuder and Cordelia were already standing in position at the spot where it would place its hands.
"This time for real, bye-bye."
"Farewell."
Yuder roughly stomped on the hand supporting the creature's body, and Cordelia shoved it away with telekinesis.
"AAAAAAH!"
With a pitiful scream, Lacto plummeted once again.
It tried to leave some curse upon Yuder and Cordelia, who wore wicked smiles atop the cliff, but its falling speed was too fast for that.
And then, another BOOM.
"Oh, level up."
"Got it."
Spotting the white rings that had risen near each other's chests, Yuder and Cordelia smiled in satisfaction and turned back to the Fairy Queen.
"We caught it."
"You may rest easy now."
"Y-yes."
The Fairy Queen, who had stammered without realizing it, soon composed herself with a deep breath.
In any case, the monster was gone, so one problem had been dealt with.
But why was it?
Why did this ominous feeling keep lingering?
The answer was right before her eyes.
"Your Majesty."
"Hm?"
"Then let's do the final settlement now."
"Settlement? What settlement?"
"A good settlement."
They had resolved the request, so shouldn't there be a reward?
Yuder and Cordelia stepped briskly toward the leader of the wild pushovers—no, the Wild Fairies—who was instinctively backing away.
* * *
"You're like a demon."
"So do you hate it?"
"No, I love it!"