Master and Disciple
"Hmm... What shall I do with these naughty children?"
The woman who had so lightly subdued the two fairies tapped a slender finger against her lips, considering the matter as though it were some pleasant little puzzle.
"Haa... What are you even doing here?"
The man draped over his fairy's back let out a long sigh at the woman still lost in thought.
"Master."
"Why, I came to check whether my dear disciple has been doing his homework properly, of course."
"Haa... So that's why you suddenly appeared in my dream. I should've caught on then. Hailin? Let me down."
"Yes, Master."
Chae Gillard slid down from his fairy's back. The aftereffects of the major technique he had used still lingered, and he staggered the moment his feet touched the ground. Hailin rushed to support him, but he waved her off.
Once he had steadied himself, Chae looked at his teacher. The look was anything but warm.
"How is the operation progressing?"
"It was going smoothly. Until you showed up, Master."
"Oh my? How hurtful. Here I was, worrying day and night that my dear disciple might be suffering in this heat — that he might even be crying because he missed his teacher so terribly."
"If you're going to lie, Master, you might at least wet your lips first."
"Ah, caught me."
She flashed a cute, sheepish little grin — the kind of smile that would have enchanted any man who didn't know who she really was. Chae's expression did not change in the slightest.
"That's your handiwork too, isn't it?"
He pointed behind them. In the distance, the resurrected Kutlanka was tearing across the battlefield. The woman put on a wounded look.
"That's so mean, Chae. Why is it that whenever something happens, you always suspect me first?"
"Because whenever something happens, you're always the one behind it. Anyway — that is your work, isn't it?"
"Well, it is... but still, you're being so cruel, my dear disciple."
"Haa..."
Chae sighed at his teacher's playful reply. Just as he'd thought. Kutlanka's resurrection was her doing — his teacher's, that woman's.
"The fact that you're here means... you intend to make certain Plasma dies in this place."
"The Witch Queen's limbs are best severed while you still have the chance. Do you have any idea how much damage those people have caused us?"
She grumbled to her disciple the way one might complain to a friend. Chae's face twisted.
Judged by appearance alone, she was a beauty who could topple nations. Her skin was as fair and smooth as white jade. A sensual figure hid beneath her violet-tinged cloak, and every time she exhaled, the scent of flowers drifted on the air.
Unless a man preferred other men — and perhaps even then — her charm was enough to captivate anyone. That was Chae's teacher.
On top of that, within the organization both teacher and disciple belonged to, she ranked among the five most powerful. Plenty of people would have killed for even the shallowest connection with her.
The only ones who could speak with her this casually were her fairy and her disciple, Chae.
But the gaze Chae leveled at the pouting woman was ice-cold. And deep within those cold eyes, a flame far hotter than any fire magic he had ever wielded was roaring.
His hands, clasped behind his back so she couldn't see, were clenched so hard they had gone white.
Don't tell me... has she figured out my plan?
She had said she meant to kill Plasma because it was best to cut down the Witch Queen's forces whenever the chance presented itself.
But Chae did not believe that was the whole story. This woman always hid a secret inside another secret in every word she spoke.
...The Witch Queen's power can't be allowed to weaken. Not now.
Chae had a goal that defined his entire life: to burn the teacher standing before him to death with his own fire magic.
He wanted to burn this woman the same way she had burned the people he loved. That was why, of all the paths available to him, he had chosen the path of a fire mage.
But he was also a pragmatic man. Honestly, he was not sure he could achieve that goal even if he lived until the day he died of old age.
And for good reason — the woman was an absurdly powerful mage.
That was why Chae intended to enter the Witch Queen's service.
The Witch Queen was one of the ten greatest archmages on a continent where superhumans were as common as grains of sand, and even this detestable woman could not afford to let her guard down around her.
This was a little-known secret: the Witch Queen's fairies had currently left their master's side and were traveling the south, sabotaging this woman's plans at every turn.
The Witch Queen could stand against her. That was why Chae needed to join her ranks — and why he could not let Plasma die here.
"...Master."
"Hmm? What is it, my dear disciple?"
Having reined in the emotions that had been blazing like wildfire, Chae called out to the woman beaming at him.
"Would you reconsider killing Plasma?"
"Huum~? And what is this about? Care to explain in detail, my dear disciple?"
Even though Chae had spoken in direct opposition to her will, the woman showed not the slightest hint of displeasure. If anything, she looked at him with genuine interest.
"Killing Plasma here would certainly deal a blow to the Witch Queen. But we would suffer losses even greater than that."
"And why is that?"
"Killing Plasma is like cutting off the Witch Queen's arm. But you know this well, Master. The Witch Queen is a mage. And for a mage, an arm is neither here nor there."
If Plasma died, the Witch Queen's forces would be significantly diminished. Raising a fairy to 7-Star was extremely difficult.
But the Witch Queen's personal power would not decrease in the slightest. Even if her fairy died, she would remain a mage so powerful that rivals were nearly impossible to find.
"Hmm~ Go on."
"We need to keep the Witch Queen from becoming wary of us. We should face a Witch Queen who has let her guard down — not one who is on high alert. The damage we would take otherwise would be enormous. So we should abandon this place and let the Witch Queen keep basking in her victories."
"Heheh. My dear disciple."
"Yes, Master."
"Do you have any idea how many resources we have invested here? Plasma is already a rat in a jar. We have made every preparation to catch that rat, and now you are telling me to throw it all away just to keep the rat's owner off her guard?"
"That is what it takes to gain something greater than what we would be giving up."
"Something greater? And what would that be?"
"The Witch Queen's head."
"Letting the rat go will not exactly hand us the Witch Queen's head on a platter."
"Which is why I intend to enter the Witch Queen's service."
"Huum~? You yourself, Chae?"
"That's right."
The woman looked at her disciple as if this were all terribly entertaining.
"I have already prepared the plan. As soon as this battle ends, I can join the Witch Queen's ranks through Plasma. I have already arranged everything. I will infiltrate the empire that is the Witch Queen herself. I will watch her every move, and at the critical moment, I will shake her from the inside. Even the Witch Queen cannot fend off every enemy pouring in from both within and without."
"Well now... that's an interesting idea. Bring down the Witch Queen from the inside... Can you do it, Chae?"
Chae spoke the woman's name.
Member of Palos's Bird
Supreme Commander of All Southern Operations
She was a member of Palos's Bird, operating in the southern underworld, and the overall commander of every operation conducted in the south.
For reference, the Palos's Bird fairy Alan had killed alongside the Blood Father King had been none other than this woman's fairy — Montblanc Kirios's fairy.
"....."
"....."
"Nh...!"
Perhaps because he had spoken her name aloud, Montblanc's gaze turned icy as she looked at Chae. He stood still, waiting for her decision, and his fairy — sensing some nameless dread — began to tremble.
After a moment, Montblanc opened her mouth.
"Very well. Do as you wish, my dear disciple. When my disciple shows such burning determination, what kind of teacher would I be to stand in his way? Aah~ Still, what a waste. We poured so many resources into raising those bandits."
Montblanc's eyes returned to normal. She beamed and approved Chae's plan.
"And Master."
"Yes?"
"I have one request."
"A request? From you, to me? Oh my, how unusual. This is only the second time you have ever asked me for something, isn't it?"
Chae, about to speak, froze at her words. The first thing he had ever asked of her was to spare his family.
But Montblanc had only granted half that request. She had burned his parents to death right in front of him. And she had only spared his younger sister.
"Go on. It's my disciple's request, so I'll grant it. After all, this teacher of yours can do anything."
"...Among the Masters fighting the resurrected Kutlanka, there is one named Alan Han."
"Alan Han?"
"Yes. Please bring him into Palos's Bird."
"Huum~? My dear disciple is just full of surprises today, isn't he?"
"He's a useful one. Sharp mind, and more than anything, he has something in his hands that you cannot see. If we raise him well, he will play a major role when the Bird spreads its wings of steel."
I'm sorry, Master Han.
Even as he praised Alan, Chae apologized to him inwardly.
He was not asking to bring Alan into Palos's Bird because of his talent. He simply wanted to divert even a fraction of Montblanc's attention away from himself.
In other words, Chae was dragging Alan into this of his own accord, just to split Montblanc's aggro.
"Something invisible in his hands... How intriguing. Alan Han, you said?"
Montblanc nodded, a suggestive smile curving her lips.
"Very well. It's my disciple's request, so I'll grant it. Once this battle is over, I'll take him with me."
A shiver ran through me.
"Ugh... Why the hell did I just get the chills?"
I had been diligently firing Wind Arrow skills at Kutlanka when my whole body shuddered. A wave of cold had washed over me like someone had just thrown open a freezer door. Weird. I still had plenty of mana left.
"What's wrong, Master?"
"It's nothing. More importantly, the attacks seem to have died down, haven't they? And Plasma still isn't showing up."
It wasn't my imagination. Compared to the start, the barrage hitting Kutlanka had clearly thinned out. Chae Gillard had done his part and said he needed a short rest, so him sitting out was fine — but it felt like everyone else had slacked off right along with him.
On top of that, our only lifeline, Plasma, showed no sign of coming this way. Were Salmus and his crew really that strong?
Tsk. If these were fairies I'd raised myself, this would've been over a long time ago.
I found myself missing the 10-Star fairies from my main account and my alts more than usual today. If even one of them had been here, I wouldn't be busting my ass like this.
"Hurry the fuck up already, Plasma, you son of a bitch!!!"
Cursing the Plasma who still wouldn't come, I kept firing off Wind Arrow after Wind Arrow.