Chapter 10: Summon!

It had been several days since the fall of Rain Country.

The Wind, Earth, Fang, and Wing Four Great Clans openly and proudly proclaimed their glorious joint victory, not only carrying out a brutal massacre of Rain Country but also successfully eliminating the legendary Paradise Fairy.

This series of actions was like a sudden storm—swift and fierce, sharp and precise.

Raised arms that very night...

Destroyed Rain Country that very night...

Killed the Paradise Fairy that very night...

One could only say it was indeed a glorious victory, worthy of being called a textbook-level operation; even in the Fairy Kingdom, where war and intrigue ran through all of history, it could probably be counted as a famous battle.

Winning such a fine battle greatly enhanced the prestige of the Four Great Clans—

except, considering there were never many clans in the Fairy Kingdom to begin with.

And after Rain Clan was stricken from the rolls, the number of existing clans was so few it could be counted on one's fingers, so this no longer held any meaning.

After all, when everyone's prestige rose in synchronization, to some extent it meant no one had actually risen.

"But setting the rest aside, for them, the main goal of this war has already been achieved; anyway, the Paradise Fairy has already been killed, so our situation will be much better from now on, at least we won't face a worldwide manhunt and wanted notice..."

Night fell quietly, and the bonfire burned fiercely on the open land.

Xia Zhi sat on the ground, casually tossing dry firewood into the fire, listening to it crackle and pop as it burned, while calmly analyzing the current situation of the two of them.

"Of course we can't let our guard down; we still need to keep an eye out, because this might not be true, and we can't rule out the possibility that the Opposite Side is throwing up a smokescreen. So we'd best keep moving forward next, not turn back, and not return to Onyx..."

He paused briefly, then lightly added a few finishing words—

"Anyway, the Fairy Kingdom doesn't have a custom of collecting corpses, right? You once mentioned that after a fairy passes away, their body returns to the embrace of nature. So we have even less reason to return to Onyx."

Out of a cautious attitude, Xia Zhi believed they should still choose the safest decision.

After all, who knew the true situation on the Opposite Side? What if they were spreading false information, setting a trap, waiting like a tree-stump for a rabbit, specifically waiting for the Paradise Fairy to lower her guard in the illusion and foolishly choose to return to Onyx?

This tactic of hoping the enemy acts stupidly couldn't be called very clever, but it wasn't troublesome either. Especially when the Opposite Side held the advantage, they could arrange things freely; any gain would be an unexpected joy, and no gain couldn't be called much of a loss.

But on their side, if not exactly at the end of their rope, they could certainly be called caught between a rock and a hard place, so naturally they had to be extra cautious.

"..."

"..."

There was no response.

The bonfire burned quietly, its light illuminating the Opposite Side; the girl sat there hugging her knees, her eyes vacant from the grief of losing Orkney.

Still like this...

Xia Zhi sighed quietly in his heart, thinking that just now he could have phrased things more gently, but he hadn't done so; instead, he deliberately displayed an attitude of utilitarianism and indifference, actually wanting to stimulate Vivian.

After all, whether it was anger or sadness, as long as emotion found an outlet, that hatred might transform into powerful motivation.

—In other words, turning grief and indignation into strength.

Although using hatred as the driving force to live wasn't a good thing, it was still better than Vivian's current state; if he didn't fill her soul, which was empty and almost dissipating, with vitality soon, Xia Zhi worried she might not be able to hold on.

But...

It seemed this method wasn't very effective.

Did I say too lightly, or did she simply not hear?

Xia Zhi pondered seriously, casually threw another piece of firewood into the fire, and was preparing to reorganize his words when a slightly hoarse yet faint voice quietly sounded—

"I... know, I won't go back..."

He raised his eyes to look across the bonfire; the girl still maintained her knee-hugging posture, her gaze vacant and hollow, her expression as if she had lost her soul, showing not the slightest sign that she had just spoken.

"..."

"..."

"Vivian?"

He patiently waited a moment, cautiously calling the girl's name.

"... Mm."

After a long silence, the girl slowly responded with a sound.

Although she remained completely motionless, her gaze still so hollow, as if without focus, simply reflecting the flames in the night, the highlight gone from her emerald pupils.

But Xia Zhi quietly breathed a sigh of relief; having a response was good enough, at least her reply proved she was still perceiving this world. Since that night they fled Onyx, she had been immersed in excessive grief, which had almost crushed her directly.

That night, she looked back for the last time, deeply fixed in the picture of Rain Country's flames raging to the sky, as if the roaring fire had directly forged her soul, leaving only a hollow, soulless shell.

At that moment, her tears had run dry, her heart was bleeding.

After the immense grief, only numbness and void remained.

Like ashes after burning.

Her gaze had lost focus, her actions became purposeless; Xia Zhi holding her hand made her move forward, letting go made her stop.

Although they inevitably encountered a few sudden minor disturbances on the road, whether hostile fairies or disastrous entities like Moss, she would knock them down instantly in a cold and direct manner...

But overall, her state was still muddled and confused.

Therefore—

Xia Zhi hoped to cheer the girl up as soon as possible; he couldn't let this state continue.

Fortunately, hard work paid off; thanks to persistent effort, the girl finally showed some signs of response, so the next strategy was naturally to pursue the victory, striving to press the attack with one drum full spirit, to open her closed inner heart...

Let her speak, let her confide, let her vent.

For these procedures, Xia Zhi still had experience, and he was glad his skills were numerous and varied.

After careful consideration, to adapt to Vivian's current state, he needed to think of a more fitting topic. Given that she had already begun to respond, there was obviously no need to rush into using those radical lines, to avoid overstimulation causing the opposite effect...

For example, the conversation strategy he had just envisioned definitely couldn't be used; he had to think of something else...

After all, strong medicine for serious illness.

But now that the other party was starting to improve, administering strong medicine again would be inappropriate, for fear that the other party wouldn't recover quickly enough.

He rapidly turned his thoughts over while holding a small wooden stick, gently poking at the firewood to make the bonfire burn more vigorously, when a strange and slightly eerie idea inexplicably flashed through his mind—

This entire world is piled up from the corpses of fairies; am I currently burning these undead?

Shaking his head, he drove out this bizarre notion, and Xia Zhi forced himself to shift his attention back to the matter at hand, but before he could think of what topic to broach, that slightly hoarse, faint voice quietly sounded again.

"That 'Paradise Fairy' who was captured that night was actually the Queen Consort's own daughter……"

Vivian hugged her knees, gazing at the firelight, and slowly began to speak.

"She is the true princess of the Rain Country; our relationship was actually not good, because she felt my arrival had stolen her things……"

She spoke very, very slowly, as if using this to slowly recall something; that voice which should have been pleasant like a mountain stream was dominated by sorrow, carrying a faint tremolo.

Xia Zhi listened in silence.

He knew that right now he only needed to listen, and did not need to offer any opinions.

The girl was indeed only pouring her heart out, bit by bit narrating; those seemingly numbed words slowly vented her inner depression and grief in the night wind.

"Whenever we met we would quarrel, and the Queen Consort was always very troubled……"

"That night, it must have been her disguising herself as me to lure away the enemies……"

"If those four clans were all certain they had killed the 'Paradise Fairy', then she definitely kept this secret until the very last moment……"

"I…… I……"

Bit by bit, as she spoke toward the end, she suddenly found herself unable to continue; Vivian could only bite down hard on her own lips, the salty taste of blood diffusing in her mouth, yet she seemed completely unaware of it.

—Want to cry?

No, not that; because tears had long since run dry, withered in a corner of her heart……

—Painful?

Perhaps; it is a pain pushed to the extreme, to the extent that it feels like a numbness without sensation……

"……"

"……"

"'Paradise Fairy'…… what exactly does it mean? Is there any difference from the fairies of this Britain?" Xia Zhi waited quietly for a while, then decisively raised a question, interrupting her self-pity.

After the pouring out, her emotions had been vented to a certain degree; now he had to try to divert her attention.

Moreover, this was indeed Xia Zhi's main doubt.

After all, judging by appearances, Vivian's specialness lay in the fact that she was not a fairy of this Fairy Kingdom, but that so-called 'Paradise Fairy'.

Although this description sounds quite mysterious, however, it is an identity symbol sufficient to inspire awe—the Four Great Clans actually joined forces without hesitation, launching a destructive attack on the Rain Country, determined to completely erase all existence connected to Vivian.

This also reveals from the side that on this Fairy Kingdom's land, possessing a 'Paradise Fairy' is no good thing; most likely it incurs the deep wariness and rejection of the majority of fairies.

Silence, stillness.

A certain atmosphere spread soundlessly.

Just like this, a good while passed—

"It is…… an Envoy from Paradise; you can understand it that way: a fairy who drifted from Paradise to the Fairy Kingdom, bearing the mission to save this hopeless World."

Vivian lifted her eyes to look at him, then lowered her head again, burying her head between her arm and knees, and slowly answered this question in a low voice.

"So, your adoptive mother—that Queen Consort's final words about saving Britain, that is the mission you bear as a Paradise Fairy?"

Xia Zhi nodded thoughtfully, then immediately followed up with a question.

And intentionally or not, as if long premeditated, he brought up that Queen Consort's dying wish at this very moment.

Then, he naturally saw that although the girl did not raise her head, her two fists had already subconsciously clenched tight, knuckles turning white from the force.

He did not continue pressing; he blinked, and instead flatly changed the question: "I don't know enough about the Fairy Kingdom's situation; before I just kept heading south, far away from Onyx…… as for now, where do you think we should go?"

Pausing slightly, he pondered and added: "Where do you think can still accept us?"

"……"

"……"

"Probably nowhere……"

The girl answered softly, increasingly realizing her current predicament.

The Rain Clan has already been destroyed……

The Four Great Clans harbor killing intent toward her……

The remaining Mirror Clan's attitude is unknown, but it probably isn't a good choice either, especially at this critical juncture; they are likely also a key target of surveillance; once I approach, I would very easily be discovered……

And after eliminating these options, there really is nothing left; we can't possibly pin our hopes on those innocent Northern Fairies.

Running through it all, Vivian naturally understood that from now on, the only ones she could rely on were herself and the person by her side.

"That really is a Hell-difficulty start……" The person opposite laughed. "Then let's change our thinking; are there any requirements for completing your mission?"

"……"

"……"

"……I have to strike the bell, ring the Pilgrimage Bells of each fairy clan."

"……"

"……"

"Then it seems there's still no shortcut; we can only plan slowly……"

Xia Zhi pinched his chin and fell into thought; although he still didn't know what those Pilgrimage Bells were, what they looked like, they were probably each clan's heavy treasure, and certainly wouldn't let people approach easily.

"Then the most urgent task is to consider increasing our combat power first; if we don't recruit more people, we don't have the slightest chance."

Frankly speaking, with just him and Vivian, the current odds of winning are fundamentally zero.

Vivian still has combat power, but what she faces is practically resistance from the entire Fairy Kingdom; facing that overwhelming power, her personal strength cannot sway the situation.

As for Xia Zhi himself, he is even more useless.

He has self-awareness about this; the opponents he challenged out of extreme boredom in the past were nothing but fierce beasts, animals, United States soldiers and such; in the end they were all on a level mortals can imagine, while the fairies of the Fairy Kingdom……

Heh, this thing is way too magical.

So we have to rope someone in, it's just that——

"The Fairies of Britain are almost all on the Opposite Side, there's probably no hope of winning them over... want to Consider Humans, that should be Feasible, right?"

Thinking seriously, Xia Zhi made a Suggest.

"Humans are too frail, and they're all controlled in the hands of the various Clans..." Vivian said in a muffled voice, Denial this suggestion, then Raised Head.

"I can try to Summon a Heroic Spirit, call upon an Existence from beyond the World to Arrival..."

She recalled that self from Pan-Human History, the Intelligence entrusted to her included Knowledge of systems like Heroic Spirit Summoning, perhaps at that time "she" had already guessed the predicament she would face.

So, first Summon a Heroic Spirit——

Then, like that self from Pan-Human History, begin cultivating Magecraft.

Vivian knew she Desperate needed Mors Strength now; most of the Power of a Paradise Fairy is inextricably linked to those Pilgrimage Bell, cannot unseal without striking them, but she precisely lacks Power, unable to strike them.

Moreover...

She looked at the youth on the Opposite Side...

He needs a framework to establish Mystery, to Pull out the potential within him.

(Chapter End)