#70 Guardian Deity
[Hum hum, hum~]
Johanna was in quite a good mood these days. She was from Fairy Tale in Toonworld, having crash-landed on Earth in the most unfortunate way. The fourth princess of the land fairies—that was her true identity.
When she first arrived here, everything had piled up against her in a moment of utter despair. But not anymore. Now, she was thoroughly satisfied with life on this world.
[Oh my, another fruit has ripened.]
She flitted about, tending to the orchard fruits. These were the fruits meant for the Silver White Fang, whom they revered as a guardian deity back in Toonworld. She planned to cultivate them with utmost care and offer the finest to her and her guardian, the Absolute Being.
Under her command, fairies from all directions, swarms of bees, and raptor-like creatures that looked like living chickens bustled about busily. The fields grew ever more fertile, and her own power strengthened bit by bit. Everything was the epitome of peace!
She gazed at the orchard with a bright smile.
[......]
Yet sometimes, she missed her homeland.
[I wonder if Mother and Father are doing well...]
And also.
[My sisters...]
Was it homesickness? She longed for the green, cozy skies of home. She wanted to gaze at those fluffy clouds, bask under trees blooming vibrantly, and feel the gentle breeze rustling through.
[......]
Suddenly melancholic, she crouched beside the world tree sapling, now tall enough to reach her waist. Her home world had been full of these world trees. Vast forests of them exuded a radiant earthly energy.
She quietly pulled out a kyungdan from her bosom that Kang-ho had given her. He supplied them periodically—just the right amount for digestion, so she used them wisely.
'Thanks to the Absolute Being, I recover so much power even without great fairy stones.'
She was truly grateful. As she ate the kyungdan, vital energy surged through her body. Fairy power filled her to the brim, ready to burst.
[Ahhh!]
She flew about, scattering the energy everywhere. She grew a little taller, and her dress became even more vibrant. Just as she reined in the power.
Suddenly.
Whoosh—
At the gate entrance, a little girl appeared. She sat atop a massive Furball.
Krreung—
Furball entered the orchard, lumbering around before setting Seol-a down. Seol-a stroked its forehead, and it licked her in return. Its enormous tongue was three times her size. Seol-a shivered and trembled, then whipped her head away.
Krrung...
Furball bounced around playfully to get her attention. Seol-a soon hugged it tightly—or as tightly as her tiny body allowed, which only reached its nose.
Suddenly.
Seol-a looked around and spotted Johanna, jumping to her feet.
[......!]
“!”
Johanna could tell an exclamation mark had popped up over Seol-a's head. Her tail stiffened like a blade, and she licked her chops—it was obvious.
Time to brace herself. Johanna took a deep breath and flapped her wings furiously.
Today marked her tenth straight win against Seol-a. Time for the real showdown.
Thud thud thud!
As Seol-a charged, Johanna dodged nimbly, weaving through the air.
[Hehehe! Silver White Fang! Your pursuit still lacks bite!]
Johanna taunted from just beyond Seol-a's reach. Seol-a leaped with all her might, stretching out her hand, but missed by a hair.
Johanna's power boiled within her. Pure fairy princess energy spread, infusing life into everything around.
“?”
Suddenly, Seol-a stopped dead and stared at Johanna.
[Hohoho! Victory is mine again, Silver White Fang!]
Seol-a stood still, then pointed at Johanna.
“Huh?”
[Pardon?]
As Johanna tilted her head and descended, Seol-a toddled over and grabbed her dress hem.
“Grow.”
Seol-a enunciated carefully, making Johanna burst into laughter without realizing it. Seol-a rolled her eyes and tried again.
“Grow up.”
[Hehehe. But that's cheating.]
Seol-a's face fell in deep disappointment. Cheating—that was for cowards. She had no choice but to accept defeat.
Suddenly.
“!”
Seol-a tilted her head and pointed at Johanna's chest.
“Huh?”
Then—whoosh! Pop!
She flipped in midair and transformed into a fox. One of her tails, the white one, began glowing brilliantly. Seol-a stared at it intently.
Her tail grew enormous. Resonating with it, fairy power amplified throughout Johanna's body.
[Ah?]
Johanna's eyes widened.
[Aaaah?]
At the same time, Seol-a swished her white tail through the air. Space tore open, warping into a bizarre rift.
In an instant! The tear formed a large circle, like a passageway.
[Uh...?]
Johanna's eyes bulged. Inside, her homeland shimmered.
Fairies gathered from everywhere. One approached as if entranced—zap! A sharp repulsion flung it back. It spun through the air, crashing toward the ground just as Kang-ho entered the orchard and caught it.
He watched the fairy quietly. Infusing a bit of mana revived it, thankfully.
“......”
Kang-ho peered inside. The world resembled a cartoon. A massive rainbow arched across the sky. Beneath the vividly blue heavens, colorful rainbows bridged like pathways, with white clouds hanging like paintings. Cottages like cotton candy clustered cozily, nameless flowers and creatures alive and moving.
Kang-ho stood speechless for a moment, calmly approaching to gaze deep inside.
[Uh, uhhh...]
And then, eyeing Johanna radiating unprecedented fairy power, he asked.
“This must be Toonworld.”
Johanna nodded dazedly.
[Yes... Absolute Being.]
Kang-ho had experienced something similar once before, so he stayed relatively calm.
'What caused this?'
He needed to think it over. The passage to Mu Continent had used druid life water infused with Eternal Crystal as a medium. When it bloomed, Seol-a created the path for some reason.
So what made Johanna the medium here?
As he pondered, Kang-ho noticed tears welling in her eyes.
“I made a mistake.”
This was the view of her lifelong dream—her homeland. Getting lost in other thoughts with it right there was rude.
Zing—
Slipping his hand through the passage, otherworldly coziness touched his skin.
'Medium.'
For some reason, the medium connects with Seol-a to form a path.
'Perhaps.'
Kang-ho spoke carefully to Johanna.
“Can you pass through?”
[Pardon?]
She hesitated, then nodded.
[I'm not sure, but... it feels possible.]
Johanna approached cautiously. Zing— She passed through effortlessly, entering Toonworld.
'I see.'
Kang-ho and Seol-a followed, piecing it together.
'Only the medium and those somehow connected can enter.'
He glanced down at Seol-a.
'Silver White Fang...'
This was Toonworld's sky—Fairy Tale's sky, precisely. Below the lofty heavens lay Fairy Tale's quaint landscape.
And far beyond.
“......”
The sky darkened, gloomy clouds gathered, and something towered ominously in the distance.
A mountain? No, not quite. It snaked like a range, but from afar, it was clear: a corpse of something enormous.
[Gasp!]
Johanna trembled at the sight.
-It was when the Corpse Dragon appeared in northern Toonworld, right? They say it was insane. Without the Silver White Fang arriving alongside the White Fangs, Toonworld would have ended!
Recalling her words, Kang-ho nodded.
“That must be Toonworld's northern Corpse Dragon.”
[Yes.]
Kang-ho, Johanna, and Seol-a descended toward the ground. Excitement filled Johanna's face.
Upon landing, Seol-a hopped down in fox form and dashed off playfully. The air brimmed with earthly energy—a world apart.
'Incredible.'
Kang-ho had never seen such a sight. World tree forests blanketed the world. Even rare on Mu Continent, they were everywhere here. And the overwhelming land fairy energy packed the air!
He glanced aside. A massive cotton-candy-like palace rose grandly, adorned with colorful, cute patterns. At its pinnacle sat a giant gem.
'Fairy stone...!'
[That's the Great Fairy Stone, Absolute Being!]
Johanna explained. It was exactly that—a house-sized fairy stone. Just seeing it felt enlightening.
“Unbelievable...”
Before long, fairies swarmed around Kang-ho and Johanna. These were huge—three times larger than the orchard ones.
Shaaa—
Land fairy energy filled Johanna too. Soon, she grew to human size, about 160 cm, beaming at Kang-ho.
“You've grown enormously.”
[This is my true form, Absolute Being!]
She cried out, hugging him tightly.
[To return home—it's like a dream!]
Fairies gathered around, celebrating the fourth princess's return.
Squeak!
Suddenly, Seol-a ran back from afar, something in her mouth. An incredibly ripe world tree fruit.
Flinch!
The surrounding fairies recoiled in shock. Spotting Seol-a, they froze, descended hastily, and bowed in worship.
“......?”
Johanna spoke up.
[You've met the elusive White Fangs, including the Silver White Fang. In Toonworld, White Fangs are like that.]
Indeed. Meeting the guardian deity was only natural.
Word spread like wildfire—more land fairies flew in, blanketing the sky before bowing to Seol-a en masse. Seol-a tilted her head repeatedly at them.
Meanwhile, large fairies approached from afar. Johanna smiled brightly.
[Those are my sisters!]
In other words, the land fairy princesses.