TL/Editor: raei
Status: ongoing
Illustrations: none
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This was underground.
A cavern deep below, surrounded by earth and stone on all sides.
So why was wind blowing here?
At this strange phenomenon, Diana and the fairies' heads unconsciously turned toward the wind's source.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
'A spirit?'
Their eyes fell upon a girl with transparent hair rising from the ground that had turned snow-white.
'No, this isn't just an ordinary spirit...'
A unique spirit.
Moreover, one of the highest rank - nearly equal to a Spirit King.
Where had such a being suddenly appeared from?
'Did they form a contract?'
As these unexpected thoughts made the Fifth Princess's eyes waver-
"Chirpy! Did you come to help?" Liushina waved happily at the frost spirit from the front.
But unlike her, the frost spirit frowned.
-I told you not to call me Chirpy!!
After bursting out angrily at Liushina, the frost spirit whirled to glare at Zion.
Apparently upset that he hadn't given her a name yet, letting her be called that.
Zion smiled slightly feeling the spirit's gaze.
He had been planning to name her now anyway.
The frost spirit and that blood dragon.
Though they held similar rank, the difference in their power was immense.
'But there is a way to close that gap somewhat.'
That was giving her a name.
"Sephir."
-What?
"That's your name."
'Se' meaning frost and 'phir' meaning wind.
A name created by combining two dragon words.
Though spoken casually, it was a name chosen after much consideration.
-Frost wind... not a bad name.
The frost spirit - no, Sephir - smiled faintly as she instantly grasped the name's meaning.
FLASH!
Piercing blue light erupted from the spirit's entire body, dyeing the surroundings bright.
The light was so intense that nearby people could barely keep their eyes open.
Then-
GRAAAAAAH!
Had it sensed a threat?
The blood dragon, fully risen from the blood, shot dark red flames toward Sephir wrapped in blue light.
These flames proved their rank by burning through air and space itself as they spread.
"Danger...!"
BOOM!
Along with Diana's urgent cry, the flames struck the queen precisely, dyeing the entire cavern dark red.
But the dragon's breath failed to achieve its goal.
CRACK!
It froze solid the moment it touched the blue light.
The flames hung motionless in the air as if fixed in space itself.
-There's no danger.
As these flames shattered like glass, a figure emerged walking from the blue light.
-Such flames cannot harm me.
A woman in her early twenties with waist-length blue hair so pale it looked transparent.
This was the frost spirit's complete form.
Radiating cold far beyond before, looking down at the blood dragon - she was the very image of the Frost Queen from past descriptions.
'Though even with this she'll still lack power compared to that one... but it doesn't matter.'
Watching Sephir and the blood dragon, flames from Muspelheim began rising from Zion's entire body.
'We only need enough power to inflict damage.'
And Zion never intended to have the frost spirit fight alone.
FLASH!
Transformed into a streak of flame, Zion's form shot past the battlefield of Evil Hands and monsters straight toward the blood dragon.
The dragon turned its head reacting to Zion's movement.
'Time to finish this.'
Perhaps due to its overwhelming base specs?
Looking at the blood dragon still standing despite countless hits, Zion gripped Eclaxia tightly.
He was starting to lack power to maintain Sephir.
Normally this would be easy, but the spirit's second awakening required much more power.
As if reading Zion's thoughts-
GROOOOAR!
The blood dragon roared like a final struggle and gathered all scattered spirit power before its chest.
Since it couldn't land hits on Zion, it planned to blow away the entire cavern.
Space began distorting from the aftermath of power flowing from the concentrated spirit power.
But the dragon's attack never completed.
"I can't let you do that."
CRASH!
A wind arrow almost as large as the cavern that Diana created using all her remaining power struck the dragon's chest.
Though it couldn't damage it, the arrow knocked the dragon backward, disrupting its technique.
CRACK!
Following cold froze the stumbling dragon's legs to the ground, fixing it in place.
And the opening this created-
"Sephir."
Was enough for Zion to finish the blood dragon.
Reaching before the dragon's head, Zion quietly called the Frost Queen.
At his call, Sephir transformed into blue light and began flowing into Eclaxia drawn to maximum.
SCREECH!
Space contracted and air froze.
As the dragon's eyes widened feeling this overwhelming queenly authority- CRACK!
Eclaxia, turned blue, swept horizontally and perfectly beheaded the dragon.
The dragon's head rose into the air, cleanly severed.
The world began freezing along the sword's trajectory drawn belatedly.
BOOM!
The dragon's head fell to the cavern floor with a huge sound.
Diana's eyes wavered watching this scene.
"To think we really won..." she muttered in disbelief.
The result was unexpected even though she had participated in the battle.
Her gaze turned to Zion who maintained his usual languid expression despite just achieving a great feat.
'He's truly incomprehensible. Even though he's my brother.'
This time it wasn't because of mastering the Eternal Emperor's power or summoning a unique spirit.
She truly couldn't understand Zion Agnes as a person.
His composure facing walls anyone would think impossible to overcome.
His calmness and situational awareness maintained in any situation.
And even his charisma and world-weariness as if he had lived countless years as an absolute being.
Could anyone believe someone possessing all this had just reached adulthood?
An enemy would find him terrifying to the point of struggling to breathe, but as an ally he would be more reliable than anything.
'Perhaps with Zion, entrusting the Fairy Forest...'
Diana shook her head to clear the thought arising unconsciously.
Then walking toward Zion who watched the nearly cleared battlefield, she asked:
"What will you do now?"
"Do you need to ask me?"
Zion countered as if it were obvious.
From the start, everything happening in the Fairy Forest was caused by the Demon Tree in this underground cavern.
Now that they had seized the Demon Tree, they just needed to transfer the spirit power and Akenidia's blessing stored within it to the World Tree.
She should be able to handle that much without his help.
"I suppose not." Diana nodded as if already knowing this.
"Then now..."
Just as she was about to turn toward the other fairies-
"Master, Chirpy's eating the tree!" Liushina's shout rang out.
'Tree?'
Only one tree existed here.
Zion and Diana turned their heads simultaneously.
"This isn't a tree but spirit power."
They saw Sephir already creating scratches in the Demon Tree and absorbing spirit power leaking from the gaps.
"My apologies. It just looked too delicious so I had a little."
Despite her words, the amount wasn't small, and the queen's face looked somehow sheepish.
Things seemed to have gone slightly awry.