Chapter 31
“There’s no need for everyone to get excited. I’m going myself to save time. Cedric, how is the task I asked you about progressing?”
“It’s proceeding smoothly. We’ve secured thirty-three Black Fairy spores so far, and nine of them have successfully become human. The rest seem to still be reluctant to absorb humans, having spent so long in the forest.”
Sasha nodded at Cedric’s words.
“…I see. Still, monsters driven mad with hunger are better than dust-like forms. Please continue. Capture more and humanize them all.”
“Yes. Understood, Sasha.”
“Dust, how cruel…”
“Shh, Asel. You should be quiet when Sasha is speaking.”
Asel grumbled with a hurt expression. Abigail soothed him while looking across at Sasha. She was curious why they suddenly started collecting Black Fairy spores and why they were trying to humanize them, but no one dared to ask Sasha that question.
Their king who was said to have died long ago. And Sasha had lived even longer than him as a Black Fairy. Because of this, the young ones had no choice but to follow Sasha’s words.
Especially now, without a king.
“…The night has deepened.”
Suddenly, Sasha said while looking out the window. At those words, Abigail turned her gaze and saw a white moon hanging outside. Its half-cut shape somehow looked painful, making Abigail feel sad.
* * *
Noah and Regina, who were about to leave, were still staying in the capital. This was because the train tickets to Hoern territory had sold out. With no other choice, they bought tickets for the train leaving early the next morning and decided to stay one more night at the inn they had stayed at a few days ago.
The two were walking to the inn after getting off the carriage. They had gotten off early because the entrance to Capsen Street was crowded with people due to the year-end.
“When we get to the inn, stay by yourself. I have some business to attend to for a while.”
“…Okay, I will.”
Ever since Regina’s finger had been pricked by Noah’s pocket watch, he had been leaving her alone more often. With that watch, it was meaningless for Regina to try to escape.
‘Still, he’s not letting me walk alone on this Capsen Street like last time…’
Whether it was because he had met Sasha here last time, or because he learned that this street becomes dangerous in the evening, Noah didn’t send Regina alone. Unlike the entrance, there were fewer people as they went deeper inside, and only the orange light from the street lamps filled the quiet street.
“…”
Only the sound of their footsteps echoed along the road.
Noah was silent for a moment, planning to investigate what the Light Fairies were hiding, while Regina was preoccupied with thoughts of Margaret’s letter she had received today.
That’s when it happened. A black curtain silently descended over the two as they walked quietly. With a soft gust of wind and the sensation of hair being brushed, Regina suddenly stopped and looked back.
“We meet again, Lady.”
The moment she thought she saw a black coat in front of her, red lips caught her eye. Red lips smiling with soft lines, and eyes shining just as red. It was Sasha, the high-ranking Black Fairy they had met before.
“Uh…”
“…!”
Before Regina could react, startled by Sasha’s sudden appearance without any sign, Noah turned around and pulled out his pistol from his chest, pulling the trigger. However, even the sound of the gun was swallowed by Sasha’s black curtain that spread out, brushing Regina’s ear.
-Thud, thud thud
Part of the black curtain that had swallowed the bullet fell to the ground. Noah’s expression tensed as he saw this. Sasha had just cut off the part of the black curtain that had hardened after absorbing the bullet.
“Ah, I see. Bullets made of blood! No wonder Owen struggled. What an ingenious idea.”
To discard the hardened part immediately – the fact that this was possible meant that their power was on a completely different level from the Black Fairies they had seen so far. As a high-ranking fairy who had lived for a long time, their power was so abundant that even cutting off and discarding a part had no impact.
The difference between them was as vast as dropping a drop of ink into a cup of water versus dropping a drop of ink into a huge lake. Noah swallowed dryly as he glared at Sasha, his gaze stopping on Regina who was awkwardly standing between them.
‘Why is that one standing there of all places again?’
“You have reason to be overconfident in your power. Such blood is truly rare. Quite a thick, sweet scent.”
Sasha said admiringly as they spat out the black power onto the ground, furrowing their brow. Meanwhile, Regina looked back and forth between Sasha and Noah with a bewildered expression.
‘Uh, I think I might be in a bit of danger right now.’
She felt like an insect surrounded by carnivorous animals both front and back. A trivial existence that could be flattened under their feet at any moment. The thought that she wouldn’t remain intact if either of them even brushed against them sent chills down her spine.
“Thanks for the compliment. I guess you’re the rat that’s been tailing us since the train? Did you come looking for us yourself because you want to die a little sooner?”
“Rat? Your expression is quite crude. Will that arrogant mouth of yours only shut when you’re dead?”
As Sasha lowered their hand, the hem of the black coat enveloping their body spread out as if alive and rushed towards Regina and Noah. Regina, who was in front of him, turned pale and held her breath, but fortunately, all the shadows passed without touching even a hair on her. Regina’s hair and clothes were disheveled by the fierce wind that brushed past her.
“Isn’t it a luxury for a monster like you to expect courtesy?”
“Look who’s talking!”
Noah lightly dodged the shadows that simultaneously dug into both his sides and aimed at Sasha. Regina, who was in front, widened her eyes seeing this. She couldn’t believe he would shoot without any hesitation despite her presence.
-Bang! Click, bang, bang!
“Kyaaah!”
Regina screamed, covering her head with both hands. The moment Sasha, who was standing behind her, stepped aside to avoid the gunfire, Noah quickly approached Regina. He grabbed her arm, pulled her back, and shouted urgently.
“Get back!”
Regina, who had been staggering off balance, immediately came to her senses at those words and hurriedly ran behind a street lamp to hide. Taking that as a signal, Noah began firing rapidly as if everything up to now had been mere warm-up.
-Whoosh!
Sasha spread a curtain in front of him to block the barrage of bullets. Despite the deafening noise of bang-bang-bang echoing loudly enough to make one’s ears ring, no one appeared on the street. Clearly, the space had been isolated again. Regina, hiding behind the street lamp, covered her ears tightly and curled up in fear.
-Thud, thud thud thud
Black lumps that had lost their movement fell from under Sasha’s arm. They had spat out all the parts that had become sluggish after absorbing Noah’s blood.
“…The taste of your blood is so sweet it makes me want to vomit.”
The gunfire stopped, and although Noah had hoped for even a slight impact, Sasha appeared unscathed beyond the curtain. They merely wiped their mouth as if they had consumed too many sweets and felt nauseous.
“So this is the difference with a high-ranking one…”
“…Shall we end this game here? I’m quite busy, you see…”
Sasha dusted off their collar with a bored expression.
Noah’s blood hadn’t worked. No, the size of the black power overflowing even after discarding all the parts that had absorbed his blood was enormous. Sasha before him appeared in human form, but to Noah’s eyes, they looked like a massive, undulating black smoke. The vastness of that power made his shoulders tingle.
‘This could be dangerous.’
Noah grinned, gritting his teeth. The thought flashed through his mind that if he made a wrong move, he might be the one to die here.
“Well, I understand why you’re so arrogant despite being young, having such blood. Such a strong poison, it must have easily killed most fairies. But do you think I haven’t eaten hybrids with that much poison in all these long years?”
Sasha stepped forward, treading on the countless black lumps fallen at their feet. Feeling pressured by their aura, Noah drew a pistol in his other hand as well. Sasha merely looked at it as if it were laughable.
“How amusing. Do you think anything will change just because you have two pistols?”
“Well, who knows?”
Sasha mocked Noah’s foolishness. Noah glared at their red eyes filled with amusement with hatred and pulled the triggers in succession.
“You should have realized by now that those guns are useless. You’re more stubborn than you look.”
-Whoosh
Just as Sasha was about to casually block the bullets with their black power as if bored, the bullets flying towards them exploded simultaneously right in front of their face. With a series of bangs, the bullets made of blood shattered into powder and spread out.
“What…!”
Startled by the blood powder spreading thickly around, Sasha quickly covered their mouth and leaped back. Noah had shot the bullets from his right hand gun with bullets from his left hand gun, causing them all to explode simultaneously.
-Bang, bang bang bang!
Noah didn’t miss this opportunity. He shot at the spot where the retreating Sasha was about to land, aiming for the moment her foot touched the ground. With a thud, a bullet lodged into Sasha’s ankle. The bullet that had dug into the shadow was instantly absorbed, weighing down their foot.
“…!”
Sasha, who was about to land, momentarily staggered from the unexpected attack but quickly detached part of the shadow from their ankle. The dented ankle immediately returned to its original shape, but Sasha frowned at the continued barrage of bullets.
Those gunshots were unexpectedly troublesome. Like an annoying buzzing insect by the ear.
“You’re quite something for a bug!”
“An insect the size of a human? Your taste is quite filthy. Or do you only see the same things with your insect eyes?”
Noah retorted sarcastically to Sasha’s words, but inwardly he was gripped by anxiety.
Even at a glance, it seemed Sasha had absorbed quite a few bullets, yet they showed no sign of being affected. He wondered if he could win even if he used up all the bullets he had now; perhaps he might really need to spill all his blood.
“How insolent!”
Sasha’s expression hardened at Noah’s sarcasm. At first, they found it amusing that such a young specimen was acting cocky just because of some poisoned blood, but as time passed, they grew angry. Responding to their anger, Sasha’s eyes turned a vivid blood-red.
