Chapter 305 – Land of Disaster (Four)

Through the howling sandstorm, Ray and the children pressed forward.

Dolls and toys like balls, thrown toward the Disasters that charged like starving beasts, were swept up in flames and lightning, vanishing without a trace.

Kekekeke!

Within the Disasters, innocent laughter echoed like a chorus.

“Philip, the direction?”

“This way is correct. We are currently moving northwest.”

The sky was not even visible, let alone what lay directly ahead, due to the thickly gathered Disasters.

A feeling of time becoming tangled.

It was impossible to grasp how long they had been moving.

They simply recited songs and stories like incantations, advancing only in the direction the Compass needle pointed.

How long had this bizarre procession continued?

Tap.

Ray suddenly stopped walking.

He looked back and asked Philip.

“That was the last book, right?”

“…Yes, the book I just finished reciting is the last one.”

The situation could not be called good.

Due to ongoing rescue efforts along the way, the procession had swelled to nearly 20 people.

But there were no more songs, stories, or small toys to throw to buy time against the Disasters.

─More! More! Tell us more!

─Why? Why did you stop? You have to play with us more!

As the urging voices pressed, the movements of the Disasters began to grow rough.

If they had known books or toys would be used this way, they would have prepared a much larger quantity.

But Ray felt no particular regret.

Dwelling on the past was useless; being faithful only to the present was the boy’s way.

He cast a calm gaze around, assessing the situation.

‘If we try to make the Disasters retreat through persuasion.’

Impossible.

The Disasters were creatures whose actions bordered on obstinacy, not beings with whom logical conversation was possible.

‘Fighting and defeating them might be better.’

Each of the Disasters surrounding them boasted such immense scale and power that it was hard to imagine humans daring to confront them.

Yet, he felt it was worth trying.

The Mana constituting the Disasters had far more seams than ordinary Magic.

In other words, there existed room to create fissures in the phenomenon.

The probability of getting hurt was high, but it was a far better judgment than standing still and being swallowed by the Disaster.

“Philip─.”

“Yes.”

“…….”

“Hey, what? The situation is urgent. Weren’t you about to say something?”

Ray, who was about to explain his plan, suddenly closed his mouth and stared somewhere.

Beyond the thick Wall of Disaster.

An orange light was flickering.

It floated in the air like a firefly, giving the impression it was watching them.

Vrrrm!

Feeling a strange sensation in his chest, Ray summoned the Orange Shard, confirming it was vibrating strongly.

Ray instantly intuited the identity of the orange firefly.

“Philip, Veronica, do you see that light over there?”

“Where? What light?”

“I found it! That orange light over there!”

Following Ray’s pointing finger, Philip also managed to spot the light.

“It’s like the Queen of the Fairies.”

“The Queen of the Fairies?”

“Yes. The Guardian who protected Orea’s Tears, the Orange Shard of the Rainbow, that we obtained at the auction. If we go over there and talk, we might be able to resolve this situation.”

A rapid exchange followed, and Veronica and Philip agreed with the possibility Ray raised.

But.

“How do you plan to get through those flames and lightning?”

“Veronica, if I run at full speed while under your Ward, it should work. I won’t be able to avoid getting hurt, but anyway─.”

“Anyway?”

Veronica’s eyes lit up as she guessed the next line.

Under the tense atmosphere, Ray, who had been meeting her gaze, finally spoke.

“Because even if I get hurt, you’ll heal me.”

“Why do you always think about getting hurt first! Huh? Huh?”

“It hurts, Veronica. I wish you’d realize your hand is as spicy as if it were clad in Enhancement Magic.”

Philip spoke up just as Veronica’s palm was slapping Ray’s back as if in reproach.

“I’ll lure the Disasters away.”

“Veronica, it’s an undeniable fact that thanks to your Healing Magic, my actions can achieve high efficiency. Ouch, hold on a second. Lure them away, you say?”

“It wouldn’t be so annoying if you’d just say it!”

“Yes. If I lure the Disasters elsewhere even for a moment, the probability of you, Ray, reaching that firefly without getting hurt will increase.”

The slapping stopped.

Veronica asked Philip.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I’m serious. I’ve always wanted to be helpful to our party. I’m sorry. While you two were risking danger roaming the wastelands, I was always staying in the Sector.”

Flustered, Veronica looked back at Ray as if seeking his opinion on the situation.

“…….”

Ray quietly gazed at the emotions residing in Philip’s Vessel.

He had known for some time that Philip harbored guilt and regret toward the party.

He also knew that for Philip, who was shrewd with calculations, it was like a debt he felt he must repay to move forward.

‘Learning to drive and shoot was probably part of that too.’

In fact, Philip had been providing help to the party on an indescribably large scale through means like money and business management.

He himself must know that.

But Philip’s tightly knotted emotions now indicated that citing such points would not persuade him.

‘Unlike me, Philip is rather stubborn.’

It would be nice if he were less stubborn and more obedient like me.

After a brief contemplation, Ray decided to respect Philip’s feelings.

“Method of luring?”

“The Disasters have an attribute of being drawn to fairy tales, old stories, songs, toys, and such. If I shout loudly that I’ll tell them an interesting story, they’ll definitely swarm around.”

“But we’ve read all the books we have. That means we have no more stories to tell.”

Philip grinned.

“We can make them up. Forgot? I’m the man who navigated the turbulent back alleys with nothing but the gift of gab.”

The preparations were made quickly.

Philip went to the rear of the procession and shouted loudly.

“Hey! You all! I’m thinking of telling you an awesomely fun story starting now! All of you, gather over here!”

The Disasters, whose movements had been growing violent, reacted and swarmed around Philip.

Disasters still existed on the path toward the firefly, but their numbers had decreased significantly.

‘This should be enough to try.’

Veronica’s White Ward gently enveloped Ray’s body.

He watched the flame storm, and the moment he spotted a gap within it, he kicked off from his spot.

Thwump──!

Following his rapidly changing field of vision, hot embers scattered like fragments.

He ran without stopping, passing through the flame storm, and various Magics constituting the Disasters behind it successively collided with the Ward.

Crack!

The moment he crossed over the Wall of Disaster, the Ward shattered perilously.

Beyond the hazy sandstorm, the firefly was showing panicked movements.

Ray closed the distance in an instant and cupped his hands toward the firefly.

‘Got it.’

He opened his hands.

There was nothing.

“Huh?”

What? I definitely caught it.

When he turned his gaze, the firefly was bouncing away not far off.

Thereafter, a frantic chase unfolded within the sandstorm, and on the 22nd ‘I really caught it this time,’ Ray was finally able to hold the firefly in his hands.

‘This time, I really caught it.’

And at that moment.

Fwaah!

With a bright light, his vision changed.

What unfolded before his eyes was not a wasteland with a blowing sandstorm, but a green field with a wind full of floral fragrance.

Startled, he looked around.

Here and there, Fairies carrying lights of various colors were flying about, and especially at the far end of his vision, a massive number were gathered around where Philip and the children were.

“Who are you?”

At the voice, Ray turned his head forward and saw the Fairy held in his hand.

A dignified appearance and attire.

Orange Mana flowing within her body.

Ray could intuit that she was the orange light he had been chasing.

“You were the firefly from a moment ago?”

“Firefly? How very rude. First, please let go of this. My body hurts a lot.”

The Fairy tapped Ray’s hand, which was holding her, with her fist.

Of course, there was no impact, but Ray released her for the sake of smooth conversation.

And then.

“Let me go. Just now, I wasn’t running away; I was gliding once to spread my crumpled wings.”

“Sorry, but I don’t think I can be fooled twice.”

The Fairy was caught again.

“I’m Ray. You are Orea, the Queen of the Fairies, right? I caught you because I want to talk. First, where is this place? Have we moved to another dimension?”

“How do you know my name… We didn’t move. Only what we see has changed.”

Only what we see has changed?

“You mean this scenery I see now is all an illusion?”

“That’s right. A kind of… one in which we Fairies, who have a mission, live our entire lives trapped within.”

A voice tinged with melancholy somewhere.

Turning his head, Ray realized that the movements of the swarms of Fairies flying around Philip and the children matched those of the Disasters he had seen in the wasteland until just now.

“It’s not that someone installed Magic separately; the Fairies themselves became the Disaster?”

“You have good comprehension. Yes. However, the children don’t know they have transformed into a magical phenomenon. They are simply enjoying themselves, playing happily their whole lives within a beautiful dream.”

“…….”

Ray was somewhat bewildered.

He had never imagined the Fairies would have constructed the Land of Disaster through such a sacrificial method.

“There was no other way. There was a place we had to protect, and to maintain a lifelong defense, there was no better method than that.”

“A place we had to protect.”

It must refer to the sealed Ruins.

“Yes. We have a place we must protect even at the cost of our lives. We cannot allow anyone to enter. So, you shouldn’t be here now either. Go back.”

Orea quickly added.

Since she sensed no malice from him, if he had merely taken a wrong step, she would help persuade the children so he could return to where he came from.

“But there must already be someone who passed through.”

“…Did you come chasing that person?”

Ray nodded.

Orea said self-deprecatingly.

“A man with tangled emotions like a Thread and a rock imitating a person… He already passed through. It was an unavoidable incident that occurred while I was resting. But it’s okay. I don’t know what his purpose is, but what you’re worried about won’t happen. There will be strong gatekeepers in the place he arrives at after passing through here.”

Ray curtly refuted.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“That man possesses stronger conviction, desire, inferiority complex, and will than any human I’ve seen. He intends to absorb the power of the sealed Indigo Guardian, and there’s a high probability he will achieve his goal.”

Orea’s eyes widened.

“You know of the Guardian’s existence… You are no ordinary human, are you?”

“Send me to the next place, to the Ruins. I have to stop Indiago.”

Between their locked gazes, more passed than in hours of conversation.

Orea turned her head to the side and spoke with a confused heart.

“…I understand your will. But it’s impossible. After my crown was stolen, I lost much of my power and became unable to control the children as I wish. That means I cannot clear a path for you or move you to the Seal site in an instant.”

A stolen crown.

Ray recalled an old legend attached to Orea’s Tears.

Hundreds of years ago, something stolen from the Fairy Queen by some adventurer.

Vrrrm!

Without a word, he summoned all the Rainbow Shards he possessed.

Orange, yellow, green, indigo.

Jewels of brilliant Radiance drifted in a circle through the space between them.

“……!”

It did not take long for the Fairy Queen to intuit a certain fact.

Watching Orea’s expression slowly crumble, Ray thought.

Perhaps, if it were the Rainbow, it would not be saying this now.

“Long time no see, Orea.”

Vrrrrm!

Mana gushing from the Orange Shard began to take the form of a crown above the Fairy Queen’s head.

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