The Fog Fairies of the Magic Kingdom of Moran (10)
To my question of what they wanted, the goldfish—no, the 'someone' speaking through the goldfish's mouth—answered.
"Stop that child. If left alone, she will slaughter every last one of the fog fairies. They may be nothing more than idle tricksters who wander about and play pranks on those who stumble into this place, but they are necessary to stabilize this otherworld."
"Wouldn't it be better if you did it yourself? From what I've seen so far, your abilities seem quite outstanding."
"If I stepped in myself, things wouldn't end cleanly. That's why I'm telling you. No matter how foul her temper, the fact that she possesses the Eye of the Jewel is proof she is a descendant of my close friend. I have no desire to see blood spilled."
The tone suggested not even the slightest thought of losing in a fight. Given the abilities shown so far, it didn't sound like bravado either. A part of me considered pushing back, but if that really pissed them off and they ended up skewering Princess Laila, it would be a catastrophe like no other. If I let the princess rampage and the cave collapsed from the aftermath, I'd be heading straight for a crushing death. Cooperating obediently seemed like the smart move here.
"I'll give it a try."
"Wise choice. I'll send you over, so stay still."
Is this some kind of spatial teleportation? I wondered. But what happened next far exceeded my expectations.
The goldfish's body began to swell like an inflating balloon. Then it opened its mouth wide toward me.
Chomp.
As I was swallowed into the goldfish's mouth—or to put it more bluntly, eaten in one bite—I thought, Couldn't you have chosen a visually less disturbing method?
Thick, multicolored fog carrying the heavy scent of flowers swirled around the woman in the red dress. The mist was constantly shifting its form. Sometimes it became a giant butterfly scattering scales, sometimes a massive fish swimming through the air, and sometimes a wolf kicking off the ground.
The woman facing it radiated red orbs, blue waves, and silver light from her body, matching its movements with elegant grace. From a distance, it looked like a splendid theatrical performance. But up close, the reality was utterly vicious.
The butterfly's scales carried a toxin so potent that mere contact would melt not only skin but bone. The shockwaves from the fish's writhing could shatter boulders. The wolf's fangs and claws were sharp enough to treat ordinary blades like toys. Each form posed a lethal threat capable of killing a human instantly.
Yet Laila's response was astonishingly calm and precise. The scales burned away before they could reach her, consumed by spheres of flame. The shockwaves failed to pierce the multiple layers of ice shields floating in the air. The fangs and claws shattered against the light of her magic bullets.
While the fog fairy's ever-changing attacks couldn't harm her at all, every successful strike from Laila visibly reduced the fairy's overall mass, carving away at it bit by bit.
A short distance from that brutal battlefield, the air above the vast plain rippled. From within the distortion, a giant goldfish emerged. It twisted in midair to orient itself, then opened its mouth wide toward the ground. A boy was spat out from inside.
The boy, Chrome, wore an extremely displeased expression. The moment his feet touched the ground, he began frantically checking every part of his body. Only after confirming not a single drop of water clung to him did his stiff face finally relax.
Spotting Laila engaged in combat in the distance, Chrome spoke to the goldfish.
"By the way, how did that person even get here? Did you learn spatial movement without me noticing?"
"She simply wrapped her body in a barrier and tore up the entire surrounding ground as she ascended. I have no idea how something so brutish exists."
"...She must really be furious. She shows a fiery temperament from time to time, but never to this extent."
What the hell did she do? Chrome shook his head.
Just as the one speaking through the goldfish had feared, the battle was overwhelmingly in Laila's favor. At this point, it might even be fair to call it a massacre.
"But why isn't it running away? It seems capable of changing forms freely. Couldn't it just split its body and escape?"
"It's not that it won't run. It can't. Look."
At those words, Chrome focused his gaze and finally understood what was meant by "can't run."
A small portion of the fog, which had taken the form of a giant wolf, split off and transformed into a fairy. The palm-sized fairy desperately flapped its wings to escape the battlefield, but once it moved a certain distance from the main body, it could go no further and plummeted to the ground.
Chrome wore a puzzled expression at the sight—resembling a bug sprayed with insecticide—when the goldfish's mouth moved again.
"Fairies are beings that are both life and not life. Unlike you humans or beasts who possess blood and flesh, even moving their bodies, advancing, or even breathing requires magical power. That woman has seized all the mana in the surrounding area and frozen it in place. When gathered into one mass, it can somehow wrest back control and move. But once it splits its body, even movement becomes impossible. That's why it can't escape and is flailing about like that."
The one speaking through the goldfish clicked their tongue in a very human-like manner and continued.
"The more I see, the more outstanding her talent appears. She has not yet received a Star's blessing, yet her actions are no different from those granted the protection of Maok. In terms of innate qualities alone, she seems comparable to my close friend. How can her personality be so wretched? That fiery red hair of hers... There must have been some strange blood mixed in somewhere."
The voice, laced with equal parts fondness and lament, declared firmly to Chrome.
"In any case, stop her before it's too late. If those things are destroyed and this otherworld's stability collapses, the surface world outside won't escape unscathed either."
At the urging tone, Chrome instead asked a question in return.
"Before I go, could you give me some precautions? Like how much physical impact it can withstand, or if having this nearby helps it endure, something like that."
"Hm? It suffers almost no damage from simple physical strikes. And if a natural object imbued with strong magical power—such as a Magic Stone—is nearby, it can absorb that power to recover. But why do you ask?"
"Because it's necessary to resolve this."
Without further explanation, Chrome stepped forward. There were still many things he wanted to ask and confirm, but if he left it like this, that fog fairy or whatever it was would likely vanish without even a handful of ash remaining.
After completing the mana infusion with Blue Light, using magic power for body reinforcement like before had become nearly impossible. However, his original physical abilities hadn't disappeared.
He began sprinting, slicing through the wind. It didn't take long to reach the area where the princess and the fairy were fighting.
"Lady Laila!"
At Chrome's shout, Laila's movements—which had been fiercely pressing her opponent—halted for the briefest moment. Her eyes, no longer their usual sunset hue but resembling blue jewels, turned toward him.
"Chrome?"
Surprise at his sudden appearance. Shame at the belated realization that her actions might have harmed her other companions. Unchanging fury toward the fairy before her. Leaving behind the complex mix of emotions on her face, Chrome shouted the most important words he needed to say right now.
"I'll join the hunt too! Please leave some for me!"
Immediately after, the Attribute Stones held in Chrome's hand were hurled like grenades, striking the fog fairy that had taken the form of a giant serpent. And not just one—several of them.
Boom! Boooom! Kuuuuaaaang!
Each time a mid-tier spell sealed within the crystals was unleashed, the fog fairy let out an indescribable death cry in a language beyond human comprehension.
The bewildered "Huh?" could have come from Laila, or perhaps from the someone watching this situation from afar. Treating such reactions as secondary concerns, Chrome continued advancing. He grabbed several of the small, human-shaped 'fog fairies' that had collapsed on the ground and stuffed them into a leather pouch enchanted with the mana-blocking function he usually used to store magic tools.
The limp fog fairies perked up almost immediately, perhaps influenced by the Magic Stone he had placed inside the pouch beforehand. However, they couldn't escape the mana-sealing effect of the pouch and could only struggle helplessly.
Chrome stared at them for a moment, then swung the leather pouch and slammed it against the ground several times. Seeing the pouch fall completely silent like a dead mouse, he nodded in satisfaction.
In the deep silence, Chrome addressed the gazes fixed upon him from all around.
"Ah, you can continue what you were doing."