Sergeant Kalinga Norn never relaxed. Because Sergeant Kalinga Norn never relaxed. He didn't have time to count his stress pills or rely on them.

And he certainly never had time for downtime. Stress wouldn't kill you half as fast as the demons would, or the green skins. Oh, the green skins! Out of the two, he actually found the latter the more terrifying. The demons were just... just a beast, hungry, ravenous beast. But the Orcs… No! No, never relax!

That's what he was thinking, that was what he was reminding himself of when he noticed it, the sound. He was behind a recently set up fortifications when they first invaded this city.

There were plenty of noises in the air due to the many armored vehicles that were driving around here. But this noise was not the warbling buzz of the engines, or any machines, and it wasn't even the repeated, shuddering booms and blasts of the artillery.

It sounded almost like... almost like jets, or rather, Dwarven mech suits! At the realization of this, Kalinga, who had been sitting on a crate, listening to his squad babble on about inconsequential things, threw himself back, scattering his rations from his lap and hands as he snapped out his sniper rifle, holding the rifle up, starting to sight it even before his back thudded against the hard floor beneath him.

"Raid! Aerial Raid!" Kalinga bellowed, opening fire even as the first syllable left his mouth.

His squad did as he did, throwing themselves onto their backs or knees as they aimed up, firing before they even knew what they were firing at, not questioning the well-honed instinct of their sergeant. But he knew. Looking up, his vision was filled with three things: the bright blue sky which framed everything, the gray and silver shapes of the buildings around them, stretching as if to hold that vast tapestry up above them, and the white and yellow armor of dozens of descending dwarves. They had scaled the surrounding buildings, using them as cover to get far above them before descending in a surprise raid. While some squads near them took his hint and did as his men did, not nearly enough aped his reaction to make a large difference.

A squad of Dwarven Thunder Warriors opened fire using their mach cannons, each set to maximum charge.

The sergeant rolled and scrambled after having unloaded a hefty spray of gunfire into the sky, narrowly avoiding the returning fire sent at him. Looking around, he spotted a parked set of vehicles less than twelve meters away, a truck and an APC Wolfhound. He grinned a manic grin, and then flinched as a nearby pile of munitions took a stray shot and exploded, wiping out the eight men who had been standing around it. But none of his men.

"Alright you lazy sludge, up to the APC, now!" He bellowed, scrambling to his feet, sniper rifle clutched in both hands. He didn't look back to see if his men were following; he didn't survive out till now by being the kind of man who looked back. He just had to trust that they would follow, or trust that they were better off without those who could not follow. He ducked his head as the dwarves broke over the top of the secondary base, splitting into squads of six and sweeping about, hunting the human soldiers below them with sprays of focused fire.

"Where's the damn commander?!" cried one of the soldiers.

"How the devil should I know?!" yelled Kalinga as he came to the door of the APC. He looked at it again, his eyes growing wide. Most of the armored vehicles had .50 calibre machine guns mounted on top of them, which would have been helpful enough. But not this one, this one had a beautiful AFMG-1! It only made his spirits fall all the harder as he tried the door and found it locked.

"Shit!" He cursed, turning back to face his squad. "Alright, try all the doors, hurry it up!" he called, and his men scrambled to try, but no sooner had they started pulling on handles before they were noticed.

Terron and Jalasta both died, peppered suddenly by a shower of blue magic energy bolts. They jerked and spasmed with each shot, their bodies cooking even as they fell. Kalinga took aim at his sniper rifle and fired, and for the first time, noticed with growing horror what effect his shots were having. One of his shots struck a mech in the forearm.

That is a .50 BMG round from an anti-material rifle he fired! Normally, that bullet would have been enough to blow the arm clean off!

But instead, the white armor wrapped around his bicep turned black and began to smoke and deform like burnt plastic. The man shuddered, clearly feeling it, but also clearly retaining the use of his struck arm. Kalinga's next shot struck another in the back, and this one did not even react, his armor blackening in a foot-wide circle and smoking like the armor on the other mech had.

"Fuck!" The Sergeant cursed. "Cover cover cover! Get under that truck, now soldiers, move!" he screamed as he saw the dwarves in their mech suits coming back around, with friends. His men stopped pulling on the doors and broke into a full run, chasing after Kalinga as he dove and slid on the hard ground, the last of his men narrowly avoiding a cascade of blue bolts which pinged and sizzled against the hull of the truck above them. They were crammed underneath the profile of the truck-like APC.

"...They are surrounding us, they are going to land!" Kalinga barked. "Roll around you wretches, rifles out! All directions, make a wheel damn it!"

His men obeyed, scrambling around each other in a tangle of bodies as they arranged themselves in nothing you could call a circle, but something certainly approaching 360 degrees of coverage.

Then they waited, watching, listening. All around them they could see, but more than that, hear the carnage being meted out to their fellow soldiers. Perhaps if their anti-Air guns had all still been operational, this kind of assault could have been averted!

But many minutes prior, the enemy artillery had begun lobbing rounds at them. They seemed unwilling to strike certain targets, perhaps because of the buildings in the way, but that only left them with three of their eight anti-air defenses intact when the attack had started.

And as soon as the dwarven mechs had gotten near enough to the ground, those defenses had become their first targets. The sounds of explosions rolled through the hidden human soldiers, deafening some of his squad, and shaking the ground beneath them.

"Damn, that'd be the tanks on B patrol." Said Private Granger, who had gotten lucky and was laying on top of more of his squad than were laying on top of him.

"Oh God, this ain't right! You saw their armor? Drank my shots right up it did!" said Private Remmon, who was trembling despite the three bodies pinning him, struggling to keep his sights steady.

Private Janus groaned angrily. "Oi, Farnus, get your damn boots out me ars-"

The dwarves landed, guns held and ready to be fired, but the soldiers fired first. Now, Kalinga could not claim his men were veterans. Not all of them, anyway. He, Janus, Galla, and Turquoise were all veterans, at least by now, but his squad was a hefty mix, even before they had been further mixed in with all the other regimental units after invading this city.

But if there was one thing he could claim, it was that his men were well drilled, because he drilled them himself!

No shots flew wide, and those that missed their mark were quickly compensated for, the gun flashing like tactical strobes, pegging the dwarf surrounding them many times in mere mili-seconds.

More importantly, Kalinga and the more experienced members of his squads had aimed for the grenades. He was pleased to see, just before he landed his own shots, that once blackened, the midget’s armor seemed to provide them with no protection at all. The tagged dwarves screamed only briefly, shins, thighs, and arms bursting into superheated explosions of blackened gore before all being swept away by the explosions of the grenades in their hands, or going off right beside them.

Two dwarves did manage to roll their explosives under the Taurox, something Kalinga managed to catch from the corner of his eye.

"Two hot ones under the truck, toss em toss em!" He yelled, lips moving as quickly as they could while still being understandable.

Three of his men, Private Yara, Private Jordan, and Corporal Turquoise, scrambled out on hands and knees from under the vehicle, making a dash for other cover. Other covers they never reached. Yara was dolt, and she had chosen to try to run for the overhang at the walls, which would have barely provided her any real cover at all!

What's more, she had to cross several meters of open terrain, and doing so was an invasion to get shot, an invitation many of the hairy midgets took, peppering her with their magic blue bolts.

At least her death seemed quick, unlike Private Pigvet, he ran for the vehicle bays. Perhaps because he had scrambled out after Yara, or perhaps the dwarves had simply known it was coming, but the mech troopers did not open fire on him. Instead, three speeding shapes suddenly swept through the open ground between the bays and the armored vehicles.

What Kalinga had initially taken to be missiles, were actually midgets on giant mechs, and while two missed him, the center one clipped the running soldier, sending him spinning and broken to the ground, where he lay, stunned for a moment before he began to scream. For whatever reason, the dwarves did not feel inclined to finish the work of their speeders.

Ah, but the true tragedy lay with the Corporal, for Turquoise had not been running like a coward, but had been using the opportunity provided by the two others to make a dash back to the APC. It had not been the mech troops that killed her, but simply sheer rotten luck. Private Farnus had just been doing his duty, just doing as he had been instructed. He had no way of knowing that Corporal Turquoise was going to make a run for the vehicle.

Had no way of knowing that he was going to toss out the enemy explosive right out into her path. The explosion went off, and Turquoise was sent flying, colliding with a thud and a crunch into the side of the APC, falling to the ground and remaining there, completely still.

"I-I-" Farnus began to say.

"Stow it Farnus, you didn't mean it. Take your crisis on your own time, and help me save those who are left." Kalinga ordered.

"B-But sarg-"

"I said stow! Another word and I will blame you for that! Now eyes out! I'm assuming from that fact that we are all still alive that we cleared all of those hot potatoes, yeah? Squad Report!"

"C-clear!" Said Farnus.

"Clear!" said Galla.

"Good here." Said Granger.

"Oh God, Oh heavens, c-clear!" Stuttered Remmon

"Clear." Said Janus.

"Right. God, that's half the damn squad already! You lot better not disappoint me any further by tossing out your lives so cheaply! You copy?!"

"Y-Yes, Right Sarg!"

"Copy!"

"Copy Sarg."

"Oh god, spare me, spare me…"

"Damn right, Sarg."

"Alright, now shove it! They'll be back, so keep your eyes sharp while I try to figure this out!" Kalinga barked.

He looked out and around from under the vehicle. It didn't look good, the sergeant couldn't spot any lines being drawn anywhere near them. If their forces were rallying somewhere, it wasn't where they were at, and he had a sneaking suspicion that every second they stayed trapped under this truck only made them more and more isolated from the rest of their forces. He could still see men fighting and dying, but it was little more than a frenzied route. His eyes found the body of his corporal again, and he swallowed hard.

What had she been thinking? Had she really gambled her life on the chance that the APC’s passenger door would be open? No, he couldn't believe that Turquoise had been far too clever for that, she had survived a demon attack during the New Year Tragedy, and she always had a plan.

He looked at the APC again, trying to see what she had seen, and nearly smacked himself when he spotted it. The turret, the heavy gun turret sitting at the top of the APC… Its hatch was open!

"Remmon, Galla, pop smoke and toss' em out, east and west! We are going to rush the Wolfhound!" Kalinga ordered.

"But it's locked!" Janus said.

"The damn doors are locked, but the turret hatch is open! I'll get up there and open it all the way, then hop down. Everyone move down the damn APC, make room for everyone else! We are getting the hell out of here. You slugs ready?!" Asked Sergeant Kalinga.

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"Aye sarg!"

"A-Aye"

"Damn right!"

"Then pop the damn smoke and get ready to move on my mark!"

They did as ordered, and he waited, listening to the smoke hissing as it escaped the two canisters, watching as the edges of his sight were quickly filled by the shifting clouds of smoke. He waited and waited, taking his best possible mental image of the vehicle, its rear facing towards him. And then, gathering his courage and energy into an explosive burst, he began to advance.

"Move move!" He called.

First, he crawled on hands and knees until he was sure he was out from beneath the truck, and then he climbed to his feet and began to run. He let his rifle hang from his harness by its shoulder strap, both arms extended out in front of him, cushioning his body as he ran into the back hatch of the APC.

Knowing it was locked, he blindly fumbled in the smoke, moving to the right side and finding the tank treads of the vehicle. He dug his fingers into the seams in the rough tracks and hauled himself up and out of the smoke.

Briefly, he had a clearer view of the battle. It was every bit as bad as he had feared. The fact that he and his squad had been attacked when they were cycled out to eat and rest told him that it was likely that the whole camp had been hit by this attack, and these small dwarves in their giant mech suit knew how to identify and prioritize targets.

He didn't waste too much time ogling their sweeping strikes and lightning-fast mech suits. Instead, he climbed over to the hatch that led into the APC and pried it all the way open. He climbed inside the tight confines of the APC, getting down into the wider, main body of the vehicle and getting on one of the machine guns mounted onto the sides.

The Sergeant peered through one of the thin slits in the armor, which provided him with just enough sight of the outside as he swiveled the weapon on its mount and began to fire. His crew began to drop in, one by one, and while Janus took a shot in the left shoulder and dropped into the APC, cursing and spitting, he was alive, and that would have to do.

"Remmon, take a look at Janus, and be quick. I need you both on these machine guns!" Kallak spat.

"Galla, get up in that AFMG-1 Magebreaker and start laying down some real fire! See if you can't clear our way out!"

She nodded and climbed back up into the turret controls without another word.

"Farnus, get in that driver's seat and wake this thing's spirit. We need it to get us out of here before we are overrun!"

Farnus nodded and scrambled into the driver's seat, humming something to himself as he began to put his training to work.

"Granger, get your hands on the rifle opposite me! You, me, and Galla are going to buy Farnus enough time to get us out of here!" Kalinga said as he turned away from them, looking back through the slit in the armor and taking aim.

He began to fire, and soon Granger and Galla joined him, though it was the latter that made the biggest difference by far. As Galla loaded the belt of heavy mithril rounds into her AFMG-1 gun and sealed the doors above her securely, her magic turret suddenly transformed into a blistering storm of thundering death. The iconic barking of red laser-like tracers filled the air in a near hum of continuous output. Galla smiled to herself and then screamed triumphantly as she began to strafe the line of bolts across the hovering and flying dwarves nearby.

She felt as powerful as a juggernaut, armored within the confines of the turret controls, feeling the bucking power of the weapon in her hands. She watched as flying dwarven mechs, in both pristine white armor and blackened, smoking armor, became nothing but sprays of limbs and organs as she dragged the snaking trail of her weapon across every cluster of the dwarves she could spot.

Meanwhile, Kalinga and Granger, as well as Remmon and Janus soon after, speared the dwarves out of the sky with focused volleys of machine gunfire. Their counter-attack was going well, but they had no hope of actually driving off the whole assault with just one APC.

"Farnus! Movement! Now!" Kalinga roared from his position on the machine gun.

"I-I can't! It won't move!" The soldier called back, panic riddling his voice.

"Why the hell not?! Don't tell me this thing doesn't have fuel for it!" Kalinga said, looking down at one of the bulbous fuel tanks, which partially protruded from the floor near his feet. He kicked it, and the sound it made didn't sound empty.

"No Sarg, it isn't that at all! This APC is keyed to a specific driver around here, it won't start without their accessing code."

The Sergeant wiped his face, feeling himself aging to death by the second.

"Then start guessing codes!" Kalinga ordered.

"W-What?!" asked Farnus, incredulous.

"You heard me, private! Either you get this thing moving, or we all die in this box! So start guessing!"

Farnus looked down at the console before him, particularly the number pad he had to use to dial the code in. He felt all the blood draining out of him as he swallowed hard.

"Oh God, please have mercy upon us, who seek only to do your will. Please send upon us a miracle, and awaken this vehicle to ferry us to safety...in your holy name I pray…" The young soldier began to mutter as he typed in his first of many attempts, trying to ignore the more and more desperate sounds of his comrades behind him.

"Oh god, in your name I pray, please send salvation onto the servants of your will…" He continued as he began the second attempt.

————————————————————————

The teleportation sigil flickered and vanished, leaving Riley and his team standing in the heart of a lush green forest. Thick canopies stretched above them as the sunlight pierced through the clouds in scattered golden beams. The air, rich with the scent of damp earth and fresh leaves, carried the soft rustling of branches and the distant calls of birds, compared to the chaos they had barely escaped.

Mason groaned as he rubbed his temple. “Well, that was a hell of a ride.”

Woods exhaled as he took in the surroundings. “Yeah, but at least we’re not getting chewed on by that Hydra.”

Polities remained silent as his sharp eyes scanned the unfamiliar terrain.

Ronald and Mara, meanwhile, approached cautiously, both eyeing Riley and his team with expressions somewhere between curiosity and disbelief.

Ronald spoke first. “So… you’re human.” It wasn’t a question, just a stunned realization.

Mara crossed her arms. “All of you?”

Touching his face and realizing it was shattered during their battle against Scyllary, Riley sighed, knowing this conversation was bound to happen sooner or later.

“Yeah. Every single one of us, except for Polities. He is an elf. The rest of us were born human.”

A silence fell between them. The weight of that truth settled like a heavy stone in Ronald and Mara’s chests. To them, humans were weak, manaless, barely more than cannon fodder. And yet, these same ‘weak’ beings had fought beside them, saved their lives, and wielded power that even seasoned mages respected.

Ronald clenched his fists. “That… doesn’t make sense. You fight like warriors blessed by the gods themselves.”

Mara let out a sharp breath. “I should be furious. I should feel betrayed.”

Riley met her gaze, unflinching. “But?”

She hesitated as her inner prejudice was warring with the reality in front of her. “But… you’ve proven yourselves. Over and over. It shouldn’t matter, and I won’t let it.”

Riley smirked faintly. “I’m fine with that. Even though your family owns some human slaves, people can change.”

Ronald let out a gruff chuckle. “Hah. Humans, huh? Maybe you lot are just built differently.”

With that settled, the group pressed forward and searched for any signs of civilization. The hours passed in steady conversation, discussing the Hydra, the teleportation magic, and the odd stillness of the forest. There were no Magic Beasts, no signs of predatory creatures. It was unnatural.

Then, they found it.

A cave, its entrance draped in glowing vines. Inside, deep within the cavernous expanse, they stumbled upon something breathtaking, a sprawling underground garden. Flowers of every hue glowed with soft luminescence, towering mushrooms stretched high, and crystalline streams wove through the moss-covered ground.

“This place is…” Tavish trailed off, feeling awestruck.

“Beautiful,” Belinski muttered as he stepped forward.

But it wasn’t just the garden. Beyond it, the cavern opened into a vast beach-like expanse inside a cave, with waves crashing upon the rocks present at the beach, and Riley could see water constantly creeping to the sea shore from a short distance off.

It reminded him of the beach back home, though this place was deserted.

Well, almost deserted.

"You can undo your cloaking. I can clearly see you." Riley spoke up, looking in a particular direction to his far right.

Just as he said, there were about three people standing there, though there was a certain barrier that covered them from sight.

It was useless against his perception, though.

"You have good eyes." A voice echoed forth, and from the invisible layer that existed, three figures emerged.

Just as Riley expected… They were Fairies.

All three were exquisitely beautiful, all dressed in attires that could only be described as gorgeous, albeit crude.

Their hair had neon-like colors, but the one that stood out to him was the hair of the Fairy at the center. It was bluish green, and her attire matched it well, exuding an air of elegance he couldn't ignore.

Everything about the Fairy at the center captivated him. She was incredibly beautiful, almost more beautiful than literally all the female elves and humans he had seen.

She wielded a white wooden staff, and while her demeanor was stoic, slowly turning into a frown, she still looked incredible.

Other than looks, though…

'What is this smell? It's so good.'

She literally smelled like an entire field of blooming flowers condensed into a single essence, though somehow it felt stronger than that. The aura that came from the lady at the center dominated all the rest, and so did her scent.

'Are all Fairies like this?' He wondered, snapping himself back to his senses as he watched them approach.

But then, he remembered something, which is that Price, who is a half-dragon was with him, and he recalled an information from Ronald that Fairies and Dragons despised each other

He immediately turned to look at Price, who, thankfully, had already transformed into his full human form.

‘Thank God,’ Riley sighed in relief. The last thing he wanted right now was a fight.

Especially with fairies.

"My name is Aurora El Slaviarai. The two with me are my sisters, Lila and Lali," the Fairy Queen introduced herself with a smooth yet commanding voice.

Riley gave a small nod in acknowledgment. "Ghost. We’re just lost travelers." He gestured toward his group. "With me are Mason, Woods, Polities, Belinski, Ronald, Mara, and Pice."

Aurora’s gaze sharpened. "Pice?"

Riley tensed. Has she noticed?

Fortunately…

"Weird name," Was all Aurora commented on, then moved on.

‘Phew.’

But then her eyes locked onto Ronald, and her demeanor shifted with a cold and unforgiving look.

"But I do know who you are, Mr. Ronald Rumpan," she muttered, her glare sharp enough to cut.

Ronald chuckled sheepishly. "Haha… hi."

Aurora was not amused. "We were preparing to leave for Fairyland, but then we sensed your presence. Mr. Rumpan, you made us a promise. You swore, no matter what happened, even if a dragon stole the goods, you would deliver. It has been weeks."

Riley could see her strengthen her grip on the staff, and nothing about her demeanor spoke of friendliness.

Despite the Fairies being courteous, it didn't automatically make them friendly.

He kept his expression neutral but subtly expanded his awareness.

'She's has her guard raised, huh? I can even sense ten other fairies that are hiding a far distance off. It's best I don't mention that, though…' His thoughts trailed.

The atmosphere was a little too tense for his liking, but it couldn't be helped.

Riley slightly glanced at Ronald, who slowly nodded at him.

"We ran into… complications," Ronald admitted. "But we did bring something that should satisfy you. That is, if you also have the promised payment."

He stepped forward and pulled a small pouch from his coat. Inside were several Spatial Rings, each filled with the Magic Artifacts the Fairies had requested.

‘Over 10,000 artifacts in total… The original order was for 100,000, but this should be enough for now. Ronald really went all-in on bulk buying, huh?’ Riley mused.

Aurora scoffed. "Do you take us for beggars?" She motioned to one of the fairies behind her.

Riley raised his brow and felt a bit slighted.

'What's her deal? Didn't she ask us the same thing?' The way he saw things, the Fairy before him had a serious attitude.

Even if she wasn't in a good mood, that didn't mean she could bring it into business.

One of the assisting Fairies behind Aurora, Feyi or Feyu, Riley didn't quite remember the name, handed over a sack to Aurora seemingly out of nowhere.

Of course, for Riley who had already noticed the sak under several layers of concealment, it didn't look that way at all.

"Here, as promised. There are high-end minerals and Mana Crystals of the cumulative value of the items you are exchanging." Aurora raised the sack and gave Riley, and he also returned the favor and offered her the small pouch.

"You don't mind if I examine the goods, do you?"

Riley casually asked the moment took the sack away from Aurora's hands. Naturally, the pouch that was previously with him now belonged to them.

'It feels considerably heavy. I should check, though…'

"Hmph. Do as you please." Aurora responded, but what struck Riley most was the look in her eyes, controlled, yet brimming with something dangerously close to hatred.

‘Why does she seem so pissed? Ronald told me the Fairies were tough negotiators, but he never said it was this bad…’

He glanced at Ronald, who only shrugged.

Riley felt like something had definitely happened to make them like this. But for now, he let it slide and opened the sack.

Riley opened the large sack before him and noticed the goods. He appraised on one hand to confirm the quality, and on the other hand to see if the Fairies noticed him using his ability at work.

At the very least, that would allow him to know if they are aware of him using it.

'Oho! These are incredibly pure Mana Crystals! Far purer than anything we have here…' Riley looked at the shining gems before him.

It wasn't just Mana Crystals, though.

The Fairies had Orichalcum, Mythril, and Adamantite in insane numbers.

'This is really…'

Not just samples, HUGE quantities. Enough to outfit an entire battalion with magic rifles and mithril armor.

Riley felt his smile widen as he anticipated the future. In the meantime, it seemed the Fairies were also done with their analysis, and so the leader spoke up promptly.

"Not all of them are here, but seems enough I guess. This concludes our deal."

Aurora's voice was stone cold, a lot less thrilled than Riley expected. Even after a successful trade, she wasn’t pleased, but Riley filed that away for later.

"Hey, Riley, are we seriously giving away so much to those pixie girls?" Pice muttered with irritation.

Riley only smiled. "Don't worry."

Before he could say more, he caught the sudden shift in Aurora's expression. Her eyes widened, not in fear, but in shock.

"You… Y-you…?"

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Uh… what’s wro—"

"Why is that abomination here?"

A chill ran down his spine. He followed her gaze, straight to Pice.

Riley’s eyes were wide in shock. 'What…? How did she know?'

He took another look at Aurora's face, the look she gave to Price was that of disgust and slowly growing rage.

"You brought a Dragon with you?" she spat venomously. "I should thank you for capturing such a wretched creature of nature. You’ve saved us the trouble."

Riley’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. "What the hell do you mean? He’s just like any other human beneath—"

"You stay out of this, filthy human," Aurora snapped as she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "Our deal is done. Take your things and leave."

Her voice was icy, final.

"You will leave the dragon here, however. He has questions to answer, none of which are the business of humans."

Riley’s frown deepened. ‘What the hell is her problem?’

He turned slightly, catching Pice’s tense posture. The half-dragon had wisely kept his form fully human, but it seemed it hadn’t been enough.

Riley clenched his jaw. "You're gonna have to do better than telling me," he said coolly.

He tossed the sack of goods to Ronald, who caught it effortlessly. Then he folded his arms and planted his feet on the ground.

Aurora’s expression darkened further. "You dare defy me?"

"I believe I already told you to leave him and return to your vile settlement, wherever that is,” She stepped forward, radiating disdain. "Or I should have known. You’re working with that thing."

Aurora's frown deepened, and she gave Riley an intense glare.

Despite all of this, however, not an iota of her beauty was sullied. In fact, Riley thought she looked even prettier when she was in a terrible mood.

'Ahh… what am I thinking?' It was an inappropriate thought to consider at the moment, and he quickly chastised himself for it.

"Why don't you make me… bitch?" Riley responded with words of his own.

He was never very good at coming up with insults, so he merely spat out what came to his mind first. It felt good, letting out a tiny bit of his frustrations on the fairy, but he knew that it came at a cost.

'I guess it's too late to form a cordial relationship.' The flustered look on Aurora's face told him that much.

Riley didn't blame himself for speaking out, though. The fairies started it, and it was clear that they were not interested in any kind of mutual understanding in the slightest.

They were arrogant, rude, and extremely insensitive people just like many of the elves in this damn world, though it seemed like they would be the exact opposite merely based on their appearance.

It annoyed Riley to the core. He simply stood his ground and waited for what Aurora would do in response to his words.

Aurora’s expression twisted into a sneer. "You bald inferior monkey with no proper cognitive function," she hissed. "You dare address a Fairy in such a manner? Words like those are meant for lower creatures like your kind."

For some reason, Riley felt the insult seep into his soul, and it hurt him more intensely than the people here in the Third Civilization Zone.

Aurora continued. "Imbeciles like you should know their place and do as they are told. I have shown you more kindness than you deserve. Take it and leave while you still have my understanding, fool."

Riley inhaled deeply, trying his hardest to exercise full control, but Riley was also aware that he could kill the Fairies simply based on the intense intent they were directing towards him.

Speaking of intent, Riley could feel immense bloodlust coming from behind him. He swiftly turned to Ronald, Mara, and the others and rapidly shook his head.

“Everyone, stay back, will ya?” he smiled with a raised hand.

They hesitated, but nodded, knowing what will happen and stayed back. Aurora scoffed. "Why are you still here, fool?" She took another step forward as her gaze locked onto Riley.

Any second now, and the fairy could attack him. He had to prepare for whatever they could dish out and ensure they made the first move so he was justified in his actions.

"Is it because of that abominable vermin?"

That's right. He had to patiently wait until they raised their powers against him…

"Creatures like that should not exist,” she spat. “Their kind should never have been born, just like you, inferior monkei-"

WHOOOSH!

Aurora barely had time to react before Riley moved.

In the blink of an eye, he was in front of her.

"Hey…" His voice came as a threatening whisper.

His eyes were wide open, and his clenched fist drew just inches close to Aurora's face as he stared with nothing short of the intent to pummel her.

"...Shut up, racist bitch!"

Bam!!

At a speed that even surprised the Fairy Queen, Riley swung his fist towards her, but a barrier held against him which caused rainbow energy to spark.

‘T-this human…!'

Aurora was shocked by what currently stood in front of her, occupying the range of her sight.

The human in the black clothing, Ghost, had left his position and appeared before her before she could even think to react.

She had never seen a human that fast.

'Even that wolf man was not this quick!' Her thoughts echoed, remembering Fenrir, leader of the Mercenary Gang.

At the very least, Fenrir seemed to be a leader. This man, in sharp contrast, not only appeared like an errand boy of the ExRump Corporation, he is merely a human.

This sort of power wasn't meant to be wielded by species like him.

'But so what…?' Aurora grinned to herself.

No matter how fast or strong he was, her Ashen Staff's automatic barrier would protect her from all kinds of harm, so it wasn't like she was in any danger.

He couldn’t touch her.

‘He’s only fast. He can’t possibly—’

KRRIIAAKAAA!

A sharp splintering crack shattered her thoughts.

Aurora barely had time to comprehend what was happening before—

BOOM!

His second punch smashed through the barrier like glass and crashed into her face.

A deafening shockwave erupted from the impact and the two fairies behind her were instantly pushed back by the sheer pressure of the landed blow and their wings buzzed frantically as they tumbled through the air.

That wasn't all, though.

"Uguooh!" Aurora let out a loud grunt as she felt her body pushed backwards.

Blood flowed from her nose, and her head spun circles as everything in her body experienced instant confusion.

Fairies were naturally peaceful people.

They were pacifists.

As a result, it was very rare for them to get the opportunity of experiencing pain.

Her body, one that had known nothing but grace and beauty, was reeling from a pain she had never experienced before.

Aurora, in all her life, had only ever experienced pain three times, two of those times being when she tripped and fell as a child.

Well, this sensation was nothing like tripping and falling.

That was like thousands of years ago.

This time, however, was far, far more painful.

WHOOSH!

Aurora's body flew a distance and landed on the ground, sliding through dirt for a meter or two before finally stopping.

For a few agonizing seconds, everything was still.

Then—

"Lady Aurora!"

"Lady Aurora!"

Lila and Lali rushed to her side, like the kind sisters they were. Both of them had tears in their eyes as they observed the slightly swollen face of their beloved older sister.

It caused a true stain on her beauty.

"LADY AURORA!" More cries erupted as the ten hidden fairies exposed their position and flew toward her in a crying frenzy.

'N-no! Stay back and hide!' Aurora wanted to yell at them, but her lips wouldn't move properly.

She was still recoiling from the attack, and so it was difficult to move her body talkless of forming coherent words.

All of this humiliation was thanks to one man…

"Y-YOUU…" Her glare rested on the imbecile who placed her in such a degrading state.

He stood a couple of meters from her, hands folded as he stared at her in his all-black attire. His cracked mask prevented her from seeing his face, but more than anything, she wished to rip the thing off his face and pummel it until everything about him became a bloody mess.

'A-ah… calm yourself, Aurora.' She told herself, a bit surprised by her violent thoughts.

The fairies around her helped raise her back to her feet, and her staff supported her as she stood. Nothing but pure hatred radiated from her eyes as she glared at the impudent human, Riley.

"U-urgh…"

Pain still shot around her face, but it was subsiding. Her body slowly began to recover, and within a few more seconds, her appearance was good as new.

The blood and snot was gone, and the swollenness had also vanished.

Aurora was as good as new; well, except for her gown, which was already stained thanks to her landing so disgracefully on the ground.

'Never again…' She growled as she stepped forward.

"What? You want to get beaten up more?" Riley asked in his impudent tone, and it infuriated her to the core.

'This… this VERMIN!'

Aurora was bursting with rage, and she indeed desired to rip him apart limb from limb, but she had to control herself.

This human, this filthy human, was dangerous.

'He was able to break the barrier cast by The Ashen Staff. He also moves faster than my eyes can keep up with.'

Clearly, this wasn't an ordinary enemy.

'I never imagined a human could wield such power. At this level, he could definitely handle a Tier-3 Transcendent with that kind of power…'

To deal with someone so tricky and strong, Aurora had to rely on the perfect counter to strength.

"[Nature Magic: Sleepy Garden]."

The earth trembled as a massive willow tree instantly emerged from the ground, taking its place behind Aurora and unfurled its ancient branches like a divine sentinel. Flowers appeared all over the ground in a mesmerizing sea of color, creating a garden in a single moment.

Multiple colors filled the area, creating a landscape of beauty around the fairy queen.

'With this, no matter his strength or speed, he'll be disarmed.' She smiled as she looked at Riley, who was already trapped among the flowers.

'The other man doesn't seem like anything special, so if he tries to assist, he will also encounter the same fate.'

Then, Aurora's gaze went to the dragon who stood and watched like the fool that he was.

'I was initially upset at these people due to the potential of their cooperation with the Dragons…'

The fact that the ExRump Corporation was in possession of the Magic Artifacts that should have been taken away by the Dragon meant there was a high chance that they were working for or with the Dragon.

The chances of them slaying the Dragon who stole the Magic Artifact was slim, and it was even slimmer to think that a Dragon would be working under them or as their partner.

That meant they were the ones working for the Dragon.

'I ignored all of that due to desperation, and since they are merely weak barbarians, I decided to forgive their transgressions and overlook things this one time.'

‘Yet… all of what I'm assuming is true.’

At this point, Aurora could ignore it no longer. She won't let any of them leave.

And worse of all, she can't stand any longer from these people.

Especially those humans in their pitiful disguises. She already knew they were humans.

Because for one, humans had a foul stench.

Fairies secreted sweet-smelling aromas from their bodies, just from existing. They were servants of nature, so this was to be expected. The greater a Fairy’s potential, the sweeter the aroma, and the stronger a fairy was, the more intense it was.

But other races not only didn't have this sweet aroma, but theirs was somehow the inverse case for fairies who met them. Their potential was incredibly low, so rather than having a sweet smell, they stank.

But for humans, they stank SO much!

Apart from their smell, they were ugly.

Compared to the incredibly beautiful people of the Elven or Fairy Race, humans were not very attractive.

Their potential was so abysmal that their bodies gave off a foul suffocating stench. Even the most handsome human would be barely passable in fairy society, and their ugliness was only made worse by their reek.

It was only natural that fairies despised them.

Compared to other races, Fairies have the most distaste towards humans. Just by looking at them alone naturally get them disgusted.

Fairies couldn't help their gag reflexes, and they certainly couldn't help their dislike for the freaks of nature that were humans.

They were an unnatural race.

A mistake.

Humans weren't even born in this world until 2000 years ago. They shouldn't exist at all, and in order to restore nature to its proper path, the only just thing to do would be to erase them.

Yes… erase them entirely.

That way, Nature could be appeased and the world could return to its rightful state.

And best of all, get rid of that stinky smell that is corrupting the environment.

But she couldn't have ordered a complete extermination if it wasn't for the other races that used them as their slaves.

A satisfied sigh escaped Aurora’s lips. ‘Yes…’ she always dream the day that once the humans were wiped from existence, the world could finally return to—

Her breath hitched.

Her gaze snapped back to Riley.

He… he didn’t stink.

How was that possible?

'Well, it doesn't matter.' Aurora leaked out a sigh as she looked ahead and narrowed her gaze on the masked man.

'I've captured him. We'll kill all of them especially the dragon and investigate who he is before putting him out of his misery.'

"What are you thinking about right now?" A voice suddenly emerged from behind the dark mask.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

‘H-huh…? Had he just—?’

It surprised Aurora, causing her to take a step back almost instinctively.

Riley tilted his head, his cracked mask betraying no emotion. "Surely, you don't think this much will be enough to stop me, do you?"

Aurora's eyes widened as she heard the words of Riley.

Her blood ran cold.

‘No… no, this should be impossible!’

[Sleepy Garden] was one of her most powerful spells, 2nd-Tier Transcendent Nature Magic. A single breath of its enchanted pollen could subdue even the fiercest warrior.

And yet—

He was still standing.

Still awake.

Still mocking her.

Aurora’s lips trembled. “H-how are you still standing?!” she yelled, both in shock, and a slight hint of fear.

Riley sighed sharply, as if bored. "What a foolish question. But I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, since it came from a foolish woman."

The response caused Aurora to feel a certain sting in her heart. Not just her body, but her pride, had been damaged by this man.

…This mere human!

"Your power is simply too weak."

Something snapped.

“Silence, vile human!” she shrieked. “Be silent and fall into slumber!”

Mana erupted from her body and sent a pulse so strong the air itself trembled.

‘If this much isn’t enough… then—!’

The massive willow tree behind her began to extend its multiple branches as they prepared to attack.

Dozens of vines, thick as serpents, slithered through the air, ready to strike.

Aurora’s lips curled into a wide unhinged grin.

‘If I can’t put you to sleep… I’ll just break you!’

The vines coiled with their tips sharpening into spears.

‘I’ll crush your bones.’

They twitched, aching to lunge.

‘I’ll smash your body apart.’

The air grew thick with her violent intent.

‘I’ll squish you until you’re nothing but a bloody mess! And as long as you’re barely breathing… I won’t have broken my word.’

Aurora bared her teeth as her eyes gleamed with sadistic glee.

"DIE, HUMAN!"

With a flick of her wrist—

The vines lunged.

"A fool using foolish power. You consider your power absolute, failing to realize that there exists something above it…" Riley spoke, but Aurora wasn't willing to listen.

"By the time I'm done with you, YOU'LL BE BEGGING FOR DEATH!"

With a wave of her staff, the massive branches charged towards Riley at breakneck speed, easily piercing everything in its path as it neared the target.

All of a sudden, almost as if the branches were frozen in time, they halted their charge.

Without exception, they stopped moving. Like time itself had rejected their movement.

Aurora’s breath caught in her throat. “W-what? N-no way…!”

The branches shuddered, but no matter how much force she willed into them, they would not move an inch closer to their target.

As Aurora muttered this, shocked by all respects by what she was seeing, the words of Riley came once more. "I’ve finished analyzing something."

Aurora’s mind reeled. “A-analyzing?”

"The essence of your willow tree." Riley took a slow step forward. "While you wasted time in thought, I collected a sample… and replicated it."

Aurora’s heart pounded. “...What?”

A rumble.

A shadow.

A presence so vast it swallowed the entire battlefield whole.

Before she could even process the shift in reality, the true tree emerged.

A colossal willow tree.

Towering over a thousand meters tall, its massive trunk split the cave’s ceiling as though the very earth submitted to its growth. Its sprawling canopy devoured the evening sun, shrouding the land below in an inescapable darkness so thick it felt absolute.

Aurora’s knees buckled.

Her own willow tree and her pride, which was barely fifty meters tall, began to tremble. Its branches withered, its roots recoiled, and the massive epitome of nature that stood before her quenched any vestige of defiance he had left.

'Ahh…'

All her sisters had slumped to the ground, instantly rendered unconscious, merely due to the presence of the Tree.

Her own Willow Tree shuddered, its branches shivering as they fell to the ground in defeat. It recognized the one before it as unquestionably superior.

Before her very eyes, the Willow Tree fell asleep.

‘T-this… this can’t be real…’

She fell to her knees and gripped the dirt with trembling fingers, viewing the flowers that painted the air, not just the ground with their amazing colors. The petals created a three-dimensional canvas of astonishing beauty.

A beauty beyond comprehension.

A beauty she could never dream of replicating.

Then, she saw the man of darkness. He stood directly in front of her. She hadn't even noticed when he closed their distance.

As she gazed upon him, viewing his amazing work of nature in the background, she felt into a reverie.

'Who is he?’ Her thoughts scrambled, grasping for an answer, any answer. ‘A Divine Being? No! Im-Impossible!'

The Oracle was the only being acknowledged as Nature’s true speaker. To even consider this man as comparable was—

'No… THAT IS BLASPHEMY!'

But, it was impossible to think of him as anything else as she stood before his magnificent presence.

'It makes sense why he was able to break the defenses of The Ashen Staff and he wasn't affected by my [Sleepy Garden]... if he is indeed, but…'

Aurora felt her mind getting fried, just thinking about the man before her, she felt her body grow weak in his presence.

And then…

She smelled it.

The scent.

The sweetest, most potent, overpowering, divine aroma she had ever experienced in her entire existence.

Her pupils dilated.

She was… overwhelmed.

'T-This… IT'S TOO MUCH!'

She felt like she was going insane, just from processing the sweet and intense flavor that came from Riley.

Drool fell from her mouth, and snot dripped from her nose. Tears streamed down her face and she felt her vision grow dull as her entire body trembled, struggling to process the sheer magnitude of his presence.

Aurora was falling unconscious, and she knew it instantly.

'... O-Oracle… why did you not tell us of this being?' Her thoughts flowed as she closed her eyes and fell into the soft embrace of flowers.

She could not smell the aroma of the flowers, or anything else for that matter. Only the man's scent filled her senses.

It completely overrode her mind.

'I have transgressed… against a Divine One…'

————————————————————————

Riley stared down at Aurora’s completely broken face, feeling… mildly guilty.

‘Seriously, why do I keep making my enemies have those weird looks?’

Her slack expression, the drool, the unconscious body sprawled in a bed of flowers, it was all too familiar after he literally stuck up his big black sword right up into a Hydra's ass and exploded white energy within.

‘I only replicated the essence of that tree and made a seed. I didn’t even do anything yet.’

And yet, the mere manifestation of his spell had knocked everyone out cold.

He sighed, shaking his head.

‘I just wanted to flex a little. Now they’re all unconscious… and I can’t just leave them like this.’

As much as he wanted to, he thought against it.

After a brief moment of deliberation, he turned to the others.

“Alright, guys. Let’s loot whatever’s useful and get the hell out of this shithole.”