Chapter 296: Iron Fairy Subjugation (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 296: Iron Fairy Subjugation (6)
“Huph!”
Crash!!
Mateo Jordana threw a heavy punch, his fist surging with rock-aspected mana.
A violent gale and a storm of jagged stones erupted, pulverizing the Iron Knight into pieces upon impact.
“Whoa! Senior Mateo, what was that move?!”
“Stop making a fuss. Let’s move.”
Mateo remained stoic, unfazed by Abel’s wide-eyed admiration.
They were on the first floor of the Iron Sanctuary. The students of Märchen Academy were scattered throughout the area, frantically searching for keys.
Using the notes Isaac had provided, they were navigating the puzzles and traps set for the Academy Clash with relative ease, but…
The Iron Knights were becoming increasingly formidable and cunning, utilizing items to stall their progress and delay the search.
“Hmm?”
“What is this…?”
Abel’s team stumbled upon something on the ground, causing them to stop in their tracks.
It was a black bodysuit, lying at the center of a fresh crater. Since the first floor of the Iron Sanctuary mirrored the Academy Clash stage—excluding the divided zones—the terrain did not possess self-repairing properties.
“A trap? No, it doesn’t look like one.”
“It just looks like… clothes? Like one of those magic training suits.”
The suit was a magical artifact designed to increase its own weight, and this particular one seemed to possess an unfathomable capacity. Just dropping it had been enough to cave in the floor.
Abel strained to lift it with both hands. His face turned a deep crimson as he barely managed to hoist it to his knees, his muscles trembling under the weight. To the other students, it looked like a piece of comedic slapstick.
“Kugh!”
Abel let the suit fall with a heavy thud. The impact sent a dull vibration through the floor and kicked up a thick cloud of dust.
“Who could have possibly left something like this behind…?”
In that moment, Abel recalled the carriage ride with Isaac. For a brief second, the heavy carriage had tilted precariously toward Isaac’s side.
The students looked up at the distant, high ceiling. They could feel it—the oppressive weight of a formidable mana pressing down from above, radiating an intense, cold fury.
“Senior Isaac…”
It wasn’t hard to guess the source. Their gazes drifted upward, toward the top floor of the sanctuary.
*
Slash!! Slash!!
Rachnil parried Isaac’s relentless assault with a whirlwind of blades, forcing Isaac to leap back.
Wounded, Isaac pushed off the ground and regrouped with Dorothy, Kaya, Ian, and Noah. The chilling aura of the [Ice Sovereign] radiated from him in waves.
Seeing the pinnacle of ice magic for the first time, Noah looked at Isaac with pure awe. Could a human truly be this overwhelming without being an elemental king?
The problem, however, was that their enemy stood at the apex of all creatures.
“Unbelievable…” Ian gasped.
Rachnil’s body slowly hovered into the air. Though the onslaught from the [Ice Sovereign] had left his form in tatters, covered in jagged cracks, he did not fall.
[To have driven me this far… you must have faced knights far stronger than the fodder on the first floor…]
“I destroyed them all,” Isaac spat.
[A mere human… has pushed me to this limit. For that, I commend you.]
Rachnil’s grotesquely twisted face glared down at them. Iron mana surged from his form, manifesting into a dense thicket of hovering greatswords. Simultaneously, several nearby Iron Knights were absorbed into Rachnil’s body, stitching his wounds and restoring him to his original state.
“What? He recovered from all that damage just like that?”
“No, the damage is still accumulating,” Isaac said, his voice cold and steady despite Ian’s shock. “Don’t let it rattle you. This place has become Rachnil’s sanctuary. Within their own domain, fairies hold the ultimate advantage. Rachnil is no exception.”
This was the Iron Sanctuary.
Usually, fairies seeking natural order established contracts with local humans to prevent conflict when manifesting a sanctuary. It was the peaceful path. However, Rachnil had forcefully claimed this territory. It was a blatant crime against both order and humanity, but it was a legitimate sanctuary nonetheless.
In this space, Rachnil was naturally the strongest entity.
“Kaya, how is White?”
“The symptoms are showing. Just like you said, she’s developed a high fever.”
“Good.”
It was a sign that the fairy’s power was beginning to manifest. Isaac drew the Obsidian Blade and drove it into the ground. A clear, ringing note echoed as metal bit into metal.
“From here on, follow my lead. Today, we take that fairy down.”
Dorothy, Kaya, Ian, and Noah all nodded, bracing themselves for the final struggle.
*
Meanwhile, outside the Iron Sanctuary.
“Your Majesty, we’ve brought Princess Snow White, but her condition is critical…!”
“White?!”
Refugees had fled to a hilltop shelter to escape the sea of iron consuming the lowlands. In the center of this refuge, the Imperial Knights and Merlin Astrea had delivered Snow White to Emperor Carlos.
Slumped over Merlin’s back, White groaned, her skin slick with sweat from a raging fever.
“Call the healers immediately!”
“Yes, Sire!”
White was laid onto a bed as Emperor Carlos watched his daughter with a look of profound worry. Outside, the building shook from the echoes of distant explosions and magical discharges.
“Why is White in this state? Is it the fairy’s doing? Explain yourself, Merlin Astrea!”
“I apologize, Your Majesty. Ever since the Iron Fairy appeared, the Princess’s body temperature has been rising rapidly. We believe there is a direct connection.”
“Have the Wizard Unit investigate the cause! Use every resource to support the Ice Sovereign inside the sanctuary! We cannot allow the Zelver Empire to be defeated by the whims of a fairy!”
Even the strongest individuals in the Empire couldn’t breach the barrier Rachnil had established. Only Dorothy and Kaya, the kins of Stella and Sylphia, had managed to enter. If they couldn’t support Isaac now, the Empire’s reputation would be in tatters.
“Haa… haa…”
White lay with her eyes clamped shut, her breathing ragged. She could faintly hear the chaos around her, but her mind was a hazy blur, caught between a dream and a waking nightmare.
A sharp headache, like needles piercing her brain, throbbed with every heartbeat. She lacked even the energy to process the pain. A healer arrived and began casting spells, but White’s condition showed no signs of improvement.
“Senior Isaac…”
In the darkness of her mind, the image of the silver-blue-haired boy appeared.
“Princess White?”
Merlin and Emperor Carlos leaned in, their eyes filled with concern. Her face flushed, White squinted up at Merlin.
“Ehehe… I’m alright… I’m…”
“You mustn’t speak, Princess.”
“Senior Isaac is fighting so hard… I can’t let him see me like this…”
With a faint, trembling smile, White tried to push herself up. The healer tried to intervene but hesitated to touch the royal. When White nearly collapsed, Merlin rushed forward to support her.
— You’ll start feeling feverish soon. That’s when it begins.
“I need to… complete the final mentoring session…”
White remembered Isaac’s voice, the memory drifting up from the past.
*
About a month ago, on a moonlit night.
In a secluded corner of the Hydrangea Garden, Isaac and White stood facing each other, their hands joined as they practiced mana mastery.
“White, I have something to confess.”
“…What?”
“I think it’s time I told you the truth.”
The atmosphere was heavy with unspoken tension. The lake, glowing with natural mana, illuminated the night like a vast lamp, casting a soft glow in Isaac’s eyes.
White swallowed hard, her throat dry. In such a setting, with a man as irresistibly charming as Isaac, the word “confession” was enough to make any teenage girl’s heart skip a beat.
“Ah, yes…? A confession…? You mean… your deep feelings? Senior Isaac, to me…?!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ah, nothing! Just making sure…”
White cursed herself for the way her heart fluttered around her mentor. Isaac withdrew his mana, his expression turning serious.
“The truth is, I approached you with a specific purpose. And now, it seems I’ve accomplished it.”
“What purpose…?”
“Listen carefully, White. This is about you.”
That night, Isaac revealed an unbelievable truth. He explained that the Elfieto royal bloodline was blessed by the Night Fairy Nix, and that White was the one most profoundly affected by this blessing. He predicted that the time would soon come when she would need to wield that power.
“…I’ve been making you stronger for this exact moment. Now that you’ve reached a certain level, I—having been in close contact with your mana—have gained the power to oppose the fairies. But you can only share that power with one person. And that person is me.”
“That… I don’t really understand…”
“To put it bluntly… I used you.”
White gasped at his cold admission.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I wanted to eliminate as many variables as possible.”
He spoke with a calm, brutal honesty. White bowed her head, her voice small.
“So… you didn’t trust me.”
“…”
“That’s alright.”
White lifted her head, a bright smile plastered on her face.
“Thank you for telling me. A mentor and a mentee… once the lessons are over, the connection ends. It makes sense that our relationship is just that, right?”
A relationship built on mutual benefit. Paradoxically, that was the kind of relationship that made White feel safe. In retrospect, she realized she had been open with Isaac not because of his kindness, but because his kindness wasn't unconditional.
A strict give-and-take. That was her comfort zone.
To White, trusting someone meant exposing a weakness. Unconditional goodwill was merely a threat waiting to happen—a belief forged after surviving countless attempts on her life by her own mother.
There was a sharp pang in her chest, a flicker of vulnerability, but she pushed it down.
“Honestly, I still don’t quite get it. I’m just a weakling who can’t even stand up for herself. Hehe… I’m just glad I could be of use to you, Senior Isaac.”
“Will you help me when the time comes?”
“That’s cruel…”
“…”
“…After that, I won’t be of any use to you anymore, right? We won’t be together like we used to be?”
“We’ve completed all our mentoring sessions,” Isaac said firmly. “I won’t be teaching you anymore.”
White had always felt that Isaac was looking toward a distant, daunting future—one that made even an archwizard like him show signs of impatience. Perhaps it was just her imagination. How could she understand the mind of someone like him?
The only thing she knew for certain was that she was a burden.
“…Ehehe, you really are cruel.”
White gazed at the beautiful lake. She cherished the time spent with Isaac in the Hydrangea Garden. Those moments were as beautiful as the blooming flowers—and like flowers, she knew they would eventually wither.
She suddenly remembered the embarrassing moment she had clung to him, begging him not to leave. He had promised he wouldn't, and she remembered every word. But now, she realized they were just mentor and mentee, bound only by the academy.
Liar.
Even though he would eventually leave.
White looked back at Isaac and forced another smile.
“Well, it can’t be helped. I believe it’s my duty as a Princess to help you, Senior Isaac. You’ve worked so hard to protect everyone. So, I’m on your side. I’ll do my best to see you smile until the very end.”
“…Thanks.”
That day, Isaac had been annoyingly calm. White kept telling herself it was inevitable.
*
The memory of her mother—the most beautiful woman in the world, shining like a precious jewel—lingered in White’s thoughts. She had adored her mother’s beauty, even when her mother threatened her life. She had loved her until the truth was finally laid bare.
“Merlin…”
“Yes, Princess White.”
The realization that the pocket watch her mother gave her was nothing more than a tool of torment tightened around White’s heart. She couldn't trust anyone. To her, trust was just a prelude to a blade at her throat.
Isaac was no exception. Mentor, archwizard—what did it matter? Though she admired him and sought his affection, if asked if she truly trusted him, she would hesitate.
Isaac had always drawn boundaries, and those boundaries were the only reason she felt secure enough to like him. It was a relationship built on irony.
And this was where it had led.
“Merlin, you won’t leave me… will you?”
White smiled, a hollow, self-deprecating laugh. Merlin averted her gaze.
“Yes. I will not leave you.”
“Hehehe… thank you…”
Lies.
Even you will leave me one day.
You are only here because you were ordered to be my shadow.
“Take me to the window… I have to help Senior Isaac…”
White’s face was devoid of emotion. She simply wanted to do what needed to be done.
“Who’s there?! Kugh!”
Suddenly, a sharp scream and the sound of a heavy impact echoed from the hallway. Merlin snapped to attention, her hand flying to the hilt of her sword. Emperor Carlos glared toward the entrance.
Boom!!
The doors splintered inward, and a blood-soaked Imperial Knight collapsed onto the floor.
A figure stepped into the room. Just one.
“A demon…?”
White’s eyes widened. The creature’s bizarre, twisted appearance left no room for doubt. Merlin sensed the entity’s power and frowned; its aura was reminiscent of the demon from the Alice incident.
The knights and wizards in the room readied their weapons, but the demon merely offered a casual, mocking smile.
[Pleased to make your acquaintance, Emperor of the Zelver Empire.]
The demon bowed with exaggerated courtesy.
[I am Mephisto. I greet you through the vessel of my contractor.]