The boy had asked the fairies if they wanted to continue the fight. It was abundantly clear that he didn't want to continue the dispute; after all, he'd already seen that they weren't easy opponents. When he finished speaking, the fairy queen answered without hesitation.
"No, I'm not going to fight you," he declared, looking at the human or what appeared to be a human with a mixture of disdain and curiosity.
The white-haired boy caught the charged tone in her voice. It was clear the sovereign was still resentful, probably because of her connection to the cube he'd destroyed. Now that things had calmed down, he decided to ask the question that had been tormenting him:
"Why do you hate the apostles so much?" The question came out with more force than expected. It seemed strange to him that all the powerful beings he encountered harbored such irrational hatred toward them, and even more so that they constantly mistook him for one.
The fairy queen frowned as if someone had scratched glass. Her expression instantly darkened, as if a torrent of bitter memories had invaded her. Her small body began to emanate an involuntary thirst for blood, and the Mana she had until then contained threatened to overflow. The boy watched her closely, confirming that her hatred toward the apostles was not exaggerated.
After a few tense seconds, the queen regained control. When she spoke, her voice was cold but steady:
"They brought the Fairy race to the brink of extinction," he declared, his wings glowing eerily.
Noticing the intensity of his anger, the boy clarified:
"I'm not an apostle. So I'd appreciate it if you'd stop looking at me like you want to tear me to pieces."
"So if you're not an apostle , why did you kill Vaelgorath?" the queen asked, lacing each word with enough venom to kill a dragon.
"Is that what the talking cube was called?" the boy replied, stalling for time while he searched for the best way to justify himself. He knew he needed a convincing explanation to avoid another conflict.
"You killed him without even knowing who he was?" The queen's question made the air around him thicken. The hatred building in her small body was so palpable that the boy feared that if the situation escalated, he might accidentally activate his Authority.
"You're missing the point," the young man said, adopting a serious tone. "It was your 'beloved' Vaelgorath who provoked me. He dug his own grave by trying to deceive me. So don't try to blame me."
The queen paled, then blushed violently at the emphasis on 'beloved.' Her face turned the color of a ripe pomegranate.
"Vaelgorath was not my beloved! You are insolent!" she cried, though the tremor in her voice betrayed that she had touched a raw nerve. "It is only natural that he should demand to know why you murdered our benefactor, is it not, my children?" The other fairies nodded solemnly, though several exchanged knowing glances, as if they knew their mother's hidden feelings only too well.
"Fine, I believe you," the boy relented, raising his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "Your resentment is understandable. But let's get one thing straight: this place belongs to me. I earned the right to the black cube when I defeated your benefactor. It would be tedious if every time I came here I had to dodge your assassination attempts, so we need to establish rules."
As he spoke, his eyes scanned not only the queen but her entire entourage. He focused especially on one fairy in particular, the one he reckoned could perceive fragments of the future. It was time to put things in order.
"Rules? With Vaelgorath 's slayer? You must be delusional!" the queen spat, causing several of her daughters to flinch.
"You may refuse," the boy replied, his smile barely reaching his eyes. "But consider this: I can banish all of you from this place with a mere thought."
'D, can you really eject them from the bucket?'
- YES, IT IS POSSIBLE, BUT KEEP IN MIND THAT FAIRIES WILL APPEAR IN THE ELF KINGDOM.
'That would be a disaster.'
The last thing the white-haired boy wanted was to unleash these supernaturally powerful creatures into elven territory . He knew a single enraged fairy could raze entire cities. However, he needed a solution to keep them under control.
After thinking about it for a moment, an idea occurred to him: to use the apostles as bargaining chips.
"If we come to a mutually beneficial agreement," he proposed, "I promise you that if I find an apostle , I will hand him over to you to do with as you wish."
The queen stood still, as if someone had stopped time. When she came to, her expression had changed completely.
"Explain yourself. How do you plan to capture an apostle without dying in the attempt?" he asked with genuine interest mixed with skepticism.
"Why do you assume they're stronger than me? Do you have that little faith in me?" the boy replied, feeling his pride erode.
"My intuition tells me you're not at their level," he declared with irritating certainty.
"Well, I won't know if I can beat one until I have him right in front of me."
The queen crossed her arms and began to float in circles, as if weighing her options. Finally, she made a counterproposal:
"If you're serious, I offer you this: in exchange for your promise, we'll lend you our strength and cease hostilities. We'll be temporary allies. But only if you meet certain conditions."
The boy blinked, surprised by the unexpected turn.
"I'm listening. What are those conditions?" he replied cautiously.
"The conditions would be: first, it is forbidden to absorb the Mana of this world; second, it is forbidden to drain the life energy of this world; third, it is forbidden to order the fairies around; fourth, it is forbidden to harm us; fifth, you must eliminate that anomalous creature; sixth, you will deliver the flower of nature to us; seventh, a magical contract will seal our agreement. By signing it, you will bind yourself to each of the conditions I dictate, including the promise to hand me over to the apostles that your destiny reveals to you."
The boy was so stunned that for a moment he could only open and close his mouth. When he regained his voice, his voice dripped with sarcasm:
"Hey, shitty fairy," he snapped, his blue eyes darkening dangerously, "Do you think I'm going to accept those ridiculous conditions?"
"Aren't they fair?" she asked with a false innocence that was insulting.
"They are an abuse!"
"What part bothers you?"
"All!"
The queen clenched her small fists, but before she could reply, the boy continued. The boy realized he wouldn't come to any agreement with the fairy, so he gave up trying to avoid a fight. A confrontation was inevitable, so he made one last proposal that would decide the fate of the fairies: "Fairy Queen, swear loyalty and serve me, or die under the weight of my power." The threat echoed throughout the room.
After the boy's statement, the atmosphere became tense again. It was more than evident that if they didn't reach an agreement, a confrontation would erupt within minutes.
The fairy queen tried to impose her abusive conditions, but unfortunately, the boy wasn't willing to tolerate it. Her demands were absurd, and behind them lay clear malice. Analyzing the situation coldly, he had nothing to gain by accepting. It would be more practical to expel them from the cube, or ultimately, eliminate them. This second option seemed the most viable.
The white-haired, blue-eyed boy had already thought about it: if he wanted to dominate these beings of immeasurable power, he would have to endure certain sacrifices.
"How dare you?" The fairy queen's voice dripped with rage.
"Decide wisely," the boy replied, staring at the little fairy clairvoyant.
Meanwhile, his mind was already making plans. The first step would be to eliminate this little fairy who could see the future. Leaving her alive would be a strategic mistake. He could visualize the disastrous outcome: a prolonged, exhausting battle...
Then D's voice echoed in his head:
- MY LORD, IT WILL TAKE US APPROXIMATELY 175,200 HOURS TO ELIMINATE THEM ALL.
' What ?'
- YES. ACCORDING TO WHAT THAT FAIRY HAS VISUALIZED, THAT WOULD BE THE TIME NECESSARY FOR A DEFINITIVE VICTORY.
'Wait, how do you know what he saw?'
- I'M READING YOUR MIND.
'Isn't it dangerous to do that around them?'
- NO. WE'RE SAFE IN HERE.
'If we kill that fairy who can see the future, could we shorten time?'
- YES, BUT IT WILL BE DIFFICULT.
Things wouldn't be easy. Even his own partner admitted the difficulty. No matter how hard he looked for alternatives, no ideal solution emerged. His need to appear strong and invincible prevented him from retreating; he was already entrenched in that role.
It wasn't long before the queen broke the silence.
"As you wish. If you seek war, you shall have it," he declared, releasing a torrent of Mana so dense it saturated the air.
"Then die with your daughters," the boy retorted. A primal bloodlust emanated from him, chilling the fairies' skin. They all felt that predatory instinct, that desire to kill, that made them instinctively retreat.
In an instant, the queen disappeared and reappeared in front of the boy. But he didn't flinch; in fact, he seemed to have anticipated it. The fairy raised her right hand, preparing her most lethal Ignio attack, but just before launching it, her daughter stepped between them.
"If you insist on this, you'll have to kill me first, Mother," said the little gray-eyed, silver-haired fairy. Her determination was unwavering.
The queen gritted her teeth, stopping the multicolored flames that danced on her fingers.
"Why?" he asked, his voice thick with frustration.
"I told you. You can't win. You'll only be delaying the inevitable," the young woman replied, without taking her eyes off the flames that threatened to consume her.
"Do you want us to surrender? To submit to your will, to be humiliated and then discarded like garbage?"
"Mother, trust me. He is not our enemy."
The queen looked back and forth between her daughter and the boy before bursting out:
"Naive girl! Even if he isn't our enemy, he is an enemy to this world. Look at the proof before your eyes!" He pointed angrily at the monstrous creature. "That guy you're defending created that abomination. It's a species alien to this earth, and worse yet, he used a flower blessed by nature to create it. That thing should have been erased from existence by now! That alone shows how dangerous it is."
"Thanks for the compliment," the boy chimed in ironically.
"Shut up!" the queen snapped.
"Mother…" the little fairy pleaded, falling to her knees. "Please don't condemn us to extinction again. I don't want to see my sisters die… I beg you." Tears glistened in her eyes as she bowed her head.
Seeing her like this, the queen felt a sharp pain in her chest. Something she couldn't control.