Chapter 8

– Bang!

Noah swiftly dodged the jaws of the approaching monster, which seemed intent on tearing out his throat, while simultaneously pulling the trigger. The sound of the shot echoed as the monster’s shoulder was blown off, but its charging speed did not decrease.

Bang, bang! The consecutive gunshots reverberated as the monster’s body dispersed like mist with each bullet hit, only to regroup at a frightening speed. The monster, transforming its claws into serrated blades, aimed at Noah’s shoulders and legs. Noah stepped back, either dodging the claws or blocking them with the barrel of his gun.

At a glance, it was clear that Noah was being pushed back. However, his expression remained unchanged as he continued to fire his gun.

Bang, bang, bang!

“Foolish human! Do you think you can kill a fairy?” 

The monster, calling itself a fairy, mocked Noah as it swung its claws horizontally. Noah leaned back to avoid the attack aimed at his neck, but the Black Fairy’s hand split into two, one part clawing upwards with ferocious speed, targeting Noah’s eyes.

-Slash!

“Grr!”

Caught off guard, Noah quickly raised his gun to block the claws just inches from his face.

-Crack!

Blocking the force head-on, the side of the gun was deeply scratched, leaving a mark. Noah deflected the claws upwards, but the fairy merely smirked and swung its claws again.

-Crash!

The descending black claws clashed with the gun barrel, creating a loud sound, followed by a grating noise as they pressed against each other with tremendous force.

“Struggle all you want! Let’s see how long you last!” 

The Black Fairy, whose claws were blocked, laughed maniacally as it expanded its body to press down on Noah. The weight on the gun barrel increased, causing Noah’s arms to tremble slightly. Seeing this, the fairy laughed even harder, extending its neck.

“Haha!”

Believing Noah would soon give up, the fairy extended its neck to Noah’s ear, whispering mockingly.

“Don’t you know? You can’t defeat me with mere human weapons!”

Noah, as if annoyed by the noise, clicked his tongue and pulled out a small revolver from his coat, pressing it against the Black Fairy’s forehead.

-Click

Though smaller than the previous gun, it had a peculiar red hue.

“…Indeed, it would be impossible with a human weapon.”

Before the Black Fairy could respond to the realization of the gun barrel against its head, Noah pulled the trigger.

-Bang!

With a sharp sound, half of the monster’s head dispersed like mist. As the form disintegrated and fell to the floor, it wasn’t liquid. Black powder scattered and tried to reform, only to lose strength and fall again.

“Why… why can’t I regenerate?” 

The Black Fairy, panicking, tried to reassemble itself again, but the scattered black powder didn’t move. With half its head missing, it stumbled back, shouting in disbelief.

“Why isn’t it regenerating?”

-Bang, bang!

Instead of an answer, more gunshots followed. Each bullet that pierced the fairy’s body turned its limbs into powder. Finally, with its legs gone, it collapsed to the ground, looking up at Noah in shock.

“What are you…?”

The fairy, glaring with its remaining eye, asked. Noah aimed the small revolver at the fairy’s heart and pulled the trigger one last time. A sharp smile revealed his fangs between his lips.

“Why do you want to know?”

-Bang!

The fairy’s chest was pierced. As its head and heart were obliterated, the black claws swung weakly in the air before collapsing to the floor. The black form, which had been trembling, soon stopped moving altogether.

“No matter how low-ranking, it’s difficult without a special gun…” 

Noah frowned. He had wasted precious bullets. After pushing his disheveled hair back, he put the revolver away and plunged his hand into the fallen fairy’s clavicle. His fingers stirred the black sand until they found something.

It was a small bead, resembling a pearl.

“Just as I thought, it hasn’t been long since it shed its skin. The bead is too small.”

Noah took out a small leather pouch, placed the bead inside, and turned towards the mansion. There was no reason to stay here any longer; he planned to pack up and leave. In the quiet, only the sound of Noah’s footsteps echoed. Small, flickering lights followed him.

“…What is this?”

Noah suddenly stopped as he was heading towards the mansion. He had spotted Regina crouched and trembling behind the garden bushes. His blue eyes gleamed with curiosity.

“…Yes, yes?” 

Regina, who had been staring blankly at Noah, stammered in surprise.

Despite the terrifying monster flying around and the sound of gunfire, Regina had managed not to faint, regaining her senses only now. But she couldn’t understand Noah’s question and just stared at him blankly.

“You must have inhaled the fairy dust. Why haven’t you fallen asleep?” 

Noah asked, looking intrigued, but it wasn’t a question he expected Regina to answer.

“Uh…” 

Regina suddenly realized how quiet it was. As she looked around, she saw the garden shrouded in mist and tiny flickering lights floating within it. 

In the middle stood a platinum-haired man, looking down at her.

Beyond the peculiar man, she saw people lying on the ground. Everyone, except her, seemed to be asleep.

“…What-what is this?”

Regina tried to get up in a hurry but fell back down, her legs numb from staying in the same position for too long. She supported herself with trembling arms and spotted Emma lying nearby.

“Emma!”

Regina crawled to Emma and checked her breathing. She was breathing, albeit weakly. Realizing Emma was merely asleep, Regina sighed in relief and shook her urgently.

“Emma! Wake up!”

But no matter how much she shook her, Emma remained deeply asleep. Regina moved closer, cradling Emma’s face in her hands. She patted Emma’s cheeks gently, calling her name desperately, but Emma remained limp.

“Emma, please wake up!”

-Thud.

Behind Regina, Noah took a step closer.

The sound of his footsteps made Regina freeze. His shoes stopped near her, stepping on the hem of her dress, making her fingers tremble.

Looking back, she saw Noah’s shoes on her dress. She raised her gaze fearfully, tears welling up in her violet eyes.

“How interesting. You must be Miss Regina. Are you not human either?” 

Noah’s shadow fell over Regina’s face. His expression was hidden in the backlight, but a sickeningly sweet scent wafted from him.

The overpowering smell felt like it was smothering her, making her feel like she was drowning in honey.

“N-no, no.”

Regina stammered, trembling. But Noah seemed indifferent as he pulled out the revolver from his coat.

The same revolver that had just killed the monster.

“Now that I think about it, when we met before dinner, you said I smelled sweet. The Black Fairies find my blood to be quite sweet.”

“I-I’m human… human….” 

Regina’s eyes followed the movement of the revolver. She repeated that she was human with trembling lips, but Noah continued his explanation in a flat voice.

“That monster is a Black Fairy. They usually live in the forest, feeding on animals or insects. But once they taste human flesh, they can never return to the forest. They suffer from an insatiable hunger.”

“Y-yes?”

He pointed the gun at the black mass that had been the fairy, stepping closer. Regina instinctively tried to push herself away from him. However, her dress was caught, making her attempts futile.

Regina’s eyes went to Noah’s shoe, which was stepping on her dress. The pristine shoe shone on the dirtied fabric. Her face turned pale. She clenched her jaw to suppress her trembling and looked up at Noah.

“And this gun doesn’t work on humans. It only kills fairies.”

He was now standing right in front of her, looking down. His eyes were a chilling blue. He continued in an indifferent tone.

“So, whether you’re human or not…”

-Click.

The cold, hard barrel of the gun touched Regina’s forehead. She shivered at the metallic touch and looked at Noah with wide eyes.

“I’ll know soon enough.”

Noah, peering into Regina’s horrified violet eyes, smirked and pulled the trigger without hesitation.