“————Huh!?”
“Are you awake, Miss?”
Lulu woke up on the hard back of Levi, the armored woman.
“Hey, where is Chrono!?”
“He went ahead.”
And now, we were on our way back to the base in the forest of the second layer. At this point, I had no desire to chase after Chrono for a legacy or revenge.
“Lulu… lost, huh…”
“Yes. You took a punch to the jaw and were knocked out in one hit.”
In front of Lulu, who had completely lost consciousness and collapsed, stood Chrono, battered but certainly on his own two feet, with enough power left to deliver the final blow. From the moment that scene was established, the match was decided.
And Lulu read that scene through telepathy from Levi and confirmed her own defeat.
“I-I lost… Lulu lost…”
It was a dazed murmur that seemed unbelievable, mixed with sobs.
“Ugh, uuu… uaaaahhh…”
The once unruly fairy girl, Lulu, who had become the highest bounty in Karamala, was now, for the moment, letting out cries appropriate to her youthful appearance.
Without the need for telepathy, Levi was more than aware of Lulu’s feelings.
Lulu possessed extraordinary abilities as a fairy. There was no one who could stop her head-on.
Since Lulu was born 13 years ago, she had never lost.
No matter how hard-fought, she had always succeeded in repelling her opponents. She had never knelt, never collapsed, never had her life and death held in someone else’s hands.
That strength, and those victories, had continuously supported Lulu’s arrogance and pride.
She believed she was the strongest in the world, and thus lived without hesitation, free and reckless.
However, the assurance of that freedom through being the strongest had shattered. She had lost to Chrono.
Her first-ever defeat shook not only Lulu’s pride but also something deeper within her heart.
“Uuu— aaaaaah! I lost!!”
However, the sight of Lulu finally bursting into loud tears without hiding her voice was reminiscent of a girl her age.
“Such precious, pure tears from my lady. So precious.”
“Shut up, I’m not crying! Lulu’s not crying!”
While being lightly thumped on the head by her small fists, Levi’s expression relaxed with satisfaction at being able to see a new side of her cute lady.
Lulu was still 13. It had been too long to know defeat, but it was not too late. She sincerely felt it was good that Chrono was her opponent.
He was a kind man. He didn’t take the title of hero for nothing.
Even while getting battered, he had claimed victory without laying a scratch on Lulu.
Lulu should only be left with the bitterness of defeat.
She must avoid the miserable end that a loser typically faces, the humiliation and despair.
“…Next time, I won’t lose.”
“Yes, indeed.”
For now, all that mattered was that Lulu grew from her first-ever defeat.
Unaware of Levi’s thoughts, Lulu resolved herself, straightforwardly, for a rematch.
“————Ah, Lily-san, look! A fairy!”
At that moment, a cheerful voice echoed through the tunnel of the massive Crystal Cave.
What appeared before Lulu and the others was a trio of party members.
They were more akin to a glamorous idol group singing and dancing in a vision than adventurers—three beautiful girls.
Levi was taken aback at a glance. The level of beauty was astounding.
“Could it be, your little sister?”
The blue-haired witch with mysterious golden eyes made no effort to hide her voice.
“By size, there’s no doubt she’s half-human, half-demon.”
An albino girl with large silver ponytails spoke flatly, her expression resembling a doll.
To say she was a beauty who would make one do a double-take was an understatement, but it was the dazzling figure of the third girl following behind that captivated both Levi and Lulu.
“Sister? I have no such thing. She probably came from another spring.”
The platinum-blonde little girl with emerald eyes lazily turned her gaze toward them. More importantly, the two pairs of wings sprouting from her back were unmistakably evidence of her being a fairy.
Similar to Lulu, but clearly different. She was a fairy girl.
From the moment Levi laid eyes on Lulu, she believed this girl to be the most beautiful in the world, abandoning all her missions and positions to serve her. Yet, even her loyalty wavered for a moment.
Such overwhelming cuteness. It was almost violently adorable.
“Ah! I shouldn’t, with my lady around…”
“Huh? What are you looking at, huh?!”
Ignoring Levi’s conflict, Lulu barked at the rude glance thrown her way with her usual attitude.
She had already regained some magical power during her unconsciousness.
Radiating the strong glow of her ‘Fairy Barrier,’ she floated off Levi’s back and stood defiantly before the beautiful party.
“That girl has quite the attitude. Was Lily-san like that in the past?”
“There’s no way! I refuse to acknowledge her, so devoid of grace, and I certainly don’t want to acknowledge her as a fellow fairy. Perhaps she’s even this place’s boss monster?”
“Hey, I can hear you, idiot!!!”
Though she had just lost to Chrono, the yankee quality in Lulu had not changed at all. The clear provocation in the words hit her, and even more so, a strong will stirred, instantly raising her anger.
Receiving that direct angry shout, the fairy girl—Lily directed a cold, contemptuous gaze toward Lulu, one unfitting of her young appearance.
“————Hey, what’s with that look? Are you picking a fight with Lady Lulu, you little brat?”
“To think one who has received power from Your Majesty the Queen would speak in such a detestable manner… Truly, it’s frustrating.”
Lily recognized Lulu at a glance.
She understood that, like her, Lulu maintained her girlhood form by possessing the ‘Red Crystal Ball.’
It seemed that unlike Lily, there was no limit to her transformation time. Whether to call it talent or an increase in compatibility due to continuous possession was uncertain.
In any case, Lulu had been active in the outside world longer than Lily, who had emerged from the Fountain of Light—merely possessing continuous transformation ability made her combat prowess superior to Lily’s.
“If you apologize and cry right now, I might let you off the hook since you’re just a kid.”
Lulu also realized this while looking at Lily.
The youthful appearance was proof of limited transformation time. Just chatting fluently took energy.
As a fellow half-human, half-demon fairy, the two were clearly on different tiers.
“Humans, you know, were once monkeys.”
“Huh?”
“Monkeys are stronger than humans. They use sharp fangs and claws as weapons and protect themselves with fur.”
What was she suddenly talking about?
While fairies could understand each other through telepathy, words weren’t necessary. Conversely, they could also reject such contact. Lily wasn’t revealing her true feelings at all right now.
Therefore, Lulu couldn’t comprehend what she meant.
“In a fight, humans can’t match monkeys. They’ve discarded their fangs and claws, lost their fur, and their strength has weakened.”
However, that was only if they were unarmed and fighting one-on-one. Ordinary humans couldn’t contend with wild apes.
“But monkeys can’t possibly fight against humans.”
With blades sharper than fangs, and armor tougher than fur, humans created their weapons with their wisdom.
Using intelligence as their sole weapon, humans built civilization in the world, not merely as wild animals or monsters.
“It’s foolish, isn’t it? For a monkey to bark at a human, displaying their teeth and screeching to suggest they’re stronger.”
In essence, it was mere provocation.
Standing naked in only the radiance of her all-encompassing ‘Fairy Barrier,’ Lulu had nothing to wear or possess.
In contrast, Lily was adorned in a frilly black dress like one standing on stage as an idol in the challenging fourth-level dungeon.
Which one was the monkey and which one was the human?
“I’ll kill you!!!”
Had she ever felt this ridiculed before?
Lulu’s already low boiling point instantly shattered its limits.
“Wait, please, Miss! They’re probably quite powerful. It’s dangerous to confront them here—”
“Shut up, Levi! I can’t forgive her! We’re both fairies, and that makes it even more unforgivable!!”
“Yes, you’re a fellow fairy. I can’t overlook that barbaric attitude.”
As Lulu fervently flickered the brilliance of her ‘Fairy Barrier’, Lily merely glimmered faintly.
Amidst the depths of the Crystal Cave, two fairies with similar appearances, yet fundamentally opposing, faced off.
“Fiona, Sariel.”
“Fine… I can’t help it, Lily-san.”
“Understood.”
Without even turning around, just by calling their names, the other two party members understood.
Similarly, Levi, Lulu’s companion, couldn’t say anything further as she had no choice but to step back at Lulu’s rage, which was seldom seen.
With the unfazed fairy girl Lily wearing a cold expression, the fiery fairy girl Lulu glared at her.
The silence between them stretched on for a moment.
“Haaaaaahhh!!!”
Radiating brilliant light, Lulu lunged in, full blast right from the start.
There was no mercy or compassion between fellow kindred. This was a serious strike. Lulu swung her death-dealing light sword with the intent to turn her opponent to ash.
“‘Meteor Sword: Betelgeuse’!!!”
The striking azure light blade, swung wide, transformed into a gigantic blade capable of engulfing even little Lily’s body.
Just how much magical power was imbued in it? It was a sword imbued with incredible heat so intense it seemed ready to vaporize anything without leaving a trace.
In response, Lily merely raised her small hand and calmly uttered one word.
“————‘Fairy Killer’.”
In an instant, the enormous shining light sword vanished.
As if it had been nothing more than an illusion, it left not a single trace behind.
“…Huh?”
A perplexed voice echoed, forgetting even the burning red anger.
Lulu had no idea what had just happened.
Her magic had dissipated.
The proud light magic, the overwhelmingly powerful inherent magic of the fairy race.
Using it should have been as natural as walking on two legs or flying on two pairs of wings.
Such a given had vanished.
It was incomprehensible.
With a stunned expression, Lulu stood frozen.
“Bang!”
With a cute wink, a single ‘Light Arrow’ shot forth from Lily’s outstretched index finger.
Though it seemed a feeble shot that could hardly kill even a goblin, it exploded at close range against the maiden’s delicate skin.
“Uaaaaah!?”
With the heat and shock of the light bursting at her chest, Lulu screamed and collapsed.
It was a sensation unlike any she had ever felt before.
No wonder. Lulu had always been protected by the ‘Fairy Barrier’ that boasted overwhelming defense. The first time it was completely breached was just earlier, when she received Chrono’s final strike.
This was different from the gentle blow that had stolen her consciousness.
The burning pain was engraved deep, and Lulu could do nothing but cry out in agony.
“How pathetic. After such loud barking, this is all you amount to.”
“Ugh… Ah, why… the barrier…?”
What truly surprised Lulu was not the disappearance of ‘Meteor Sword: Betelgeuse,’ but that ‘Fairy Barrier’ had disappeared simultaneously.
Only after experiencing pain and sustaining an attack did she realize.
There was nothing to protect her.
It had always been as natural as having air to breathe, yet the light barrier that should always have been there was nonexistent.
“Do you understand now? Your foolishness?”
“Ugh, ugh… damn it…”
Despite holding back tears of pain, Lulu forced herself to sit up and thrust her arm forward.
However, there was not a hint of light held within her palm pointed at Lily.
“Damn it, why… why can’t I use my power?”
“I wouldn’t know, your head seems too dull for that————”
Another ‘Light Arrow’ assaulted Lulu.
With little lethality, it flew slowly enough to allow for some evasion. Yet, as it approached, Lulu was filled with dread, anticipating the pain to come.
No matter how she wished for ‘Fairy Barrier,’ it would not manifest. All she could do was cross her arms reflexively before her face.
“Uaaaaaahhhhh!!!”
With an explosion of light, Lulu’s body rolled once more.
Her body, stripped of all light protection, became dirtied by the ground she rolled on. As her form, literally naked, lay shamelessly on the ground,
“Lady!”
Levi’s desperate attempt to rush in faltered at her first step.
“……”
Clad in a navy blue robe and holding a black cross spear, Sariel stood to block her.
She hadn’t even aimed her spear yet. Merely standing in her way was enough.
Yet that was more than enough to prevent Levi from taking another step.
There were no openings. Conversely, if she showed any vulnerability, she would be pierced in an instant.
Realizing that her opponent possessed equal or greater power than her, Levi had her movements completely sealed.
And without any outside help, the strong winner was poised to deliver the final blow to the weak loser in a cruel, yet entirely natural conclusion.
“Ugh, huff…”
Having collapsed, Lulu no longer showed signs of rising.
Lily walked over calmly and leaned down to stare at her face, yet she couldn’t muster a word or any action.
“You are unworthy.”
As Lily’s cold gaze poured down upon her, the dirtied soles of her shoes descended as well.
“Ugh!”
Even a light stomp from Lily’s small weight caused Lulu, the defenseless naked girl, to gasp in pain against her abdomen.
Yet being trampled by Lily felt more humiliating than painful, and Lulu’s body could not move.
Not a single thought of her own could be materialized. The worst situation she had never even imagined had violently forced its way into reality.
Facing the brutal truth, Lulu finally realized there was nothing she could do.
Yes, this was true defeat.
The despair of the one who had been vanquished.
“Uuuuuuuaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!”
Finally, she could only curl up and weep.
In response to her thoroughly childish appearance, Lily smiled gently and declared, “Then from now on, live more gracefully. The Fairy Queen Iris is always watching over us, so you must not display such undignified behavior.”