Ch.77The Green Lady (1)

# The Green Lady

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find a more fitting name for her appearance. She and I conversed for a very long time.

She smiled, saying she didn’t know where to begin, and slowly started unraveling her story—which was indeed incredibly long and elaborate.

The true nature of this place, her identity, the nature of my magic and the fox, and even the twisted fate that bound us all.

Though her tale was exceedingly long, her voice was as soft as silk, and her manner of speaking was so calm that it made the listener comfortable while simultaneously possessing a strange, captivating quality. Because of this, I was able to stand in place and listen to her story until the end.

First, this place where I existed was neither heaven nor hell, but the world of spirits.

More precisely, she said it was her sanctuary within the spirit realm.

When I asked how I came to be here, she looked down at the yawning fox on her lap and said:

“This little one brought you here.”

The fox.

According to Sister Maria’s theory, magical power has different characteristics for each person, and since she was born with exceptional talent in magic, I believed her words without question.

Until recently, I had thought my fire magic simply took the form of a fox, nothing more.

But looking at this little fox that emerged from my fire magic, it seemed the matter wasn’t so simple.

I hadn’t paid much attention to it while I was dying from magical contamination, but it was clearly strange for magic to possess its own consciousness and behave like an actual animal.

Of course, there were similar magics like creating golems and such, but those were merely puppets following their master’s commands, not showing signs of individualized consciousness like this one.

“This child is a spirit too.”

“A spirit? Like a spirit of flame or something like that?”

The lady shook her head.

“It’s not specifically a fire spirit. It just appeared through your flames. Think of it as your guardian spirit—that might be easier to understand.”

Honestly, I was confused.

A spirit?

Such an unscientific, non-magical, and non-religious entity was something I’d only heard of in children’s fairy tales.

When I questioned her, the lady nodded and said that indeed, those who could communicate with spirits were extremely rare.

“Before you appeared, it was two hundred and thirty-seven years ago that a child named Malice could handle spirits. And before that, it was one thousand three hundred and fifty-two years ago.”

I was surprised not only by these staggering numbers but also by the familiar name that came from the lady’s lips.

Malice.

A sage and great magician recorded to have existed about 200 years ago.

He was also the only person to receive the Staff surname before Sister Maria.

The story of how he built a massive castle in a single night was quite popular among children who dreamed of becoming magicians, so it was a name I had known since childhood.

Since no magic existing in the current world could build a castle in a single night, some magic scholars researched Malice in hopes of finding lost magic, while others dismissed it as an exaggerated legend.

So, it wasn’t magic but commanding spirits.

Having learned a truth that would cause an uproar in academic circles, I nodded in admiration.

“And Ash, you too are a spirit mage like him.”

“…”

I couldn’t give any answer.

Never once in my life had I thought such tremendous power resided within me, so I didn’t know how to respond.

The lady, seeing my bewilderment, murmured, “That’s understandable.”

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

“It’s not unreasonable for you to feel that way. To communicate with spirits, one needs not only talent but also the right environment… It would have been impossible for you to awaken this ability on your own while living among people. So I hope you don’t blame yourself.”

“…No, it wasn’t me, but my sister who—”

“Your sister showed exceptional talent in magic, didn’t she? That was her calling.”

“…”

“Your path was meant to be here, Ash.”

The fox, which had come down from her lap, approached my feet and rubbed itself against my calf.

I slowly bent down and lifted the fox with both hands.

The fox, seemingly satisfied, gave a strange smile before curling up in the palms of my hands.

“Ash, it really likes you.”

When I looked up at her voice, the lady continued:

“If the fate of this world had flowed as it was meant to, a child who received this information directly from the Goddess should have appeared to tell you this truth. You were destined to realize your true power and stand alongside your sister, protecting the hero as you vanquished the Demon Lord. If that had happened, your sister… no, most of those countless people would have survived.”

“…What did you say?”

I couldn’t help but doubt my ears at her shocking statement.

As if seeing right through my disbelief, the lady spoke calmly, yet with a voice full of regret:

“Don’t doubt it. You heard correctly.”

“…”

“I cannot know what happened outside this forest where you and the hero lived, but somehow fate was twisted. You lived without knowing your power, and among the hero and companions who arrived in this forest, there was no child who could hear the Goddess’s will.”

Indeed, I had heard of this before.

The biggest difference between the hero parties recorded throughout history and the party led by Silvia:

Among Silvia’s companions, there was no Holy Maiden.

The Goddess Church of this era failed to produce a Holy Maiden.

Though the cause was unknown, I had heard from the Count that the church’s influence had weakened considerably because of it.

The Green Lady shuddered as she spoke:

“With neither you to hear the spirits’ voices nor that child to hear the Goddess’s voice, I could only watch the hero’s companions die without being able to convey this twisted fate to anyone.”

“…”

“It was a horrific, sad sight. Everyone, including your sister, met a terrible death, and despite achieving his mission, the hero became trapped in this forest.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and bowed her head.

It was as if that scene was still vividly replaying before her eyes.

Perhaps it was because I had the power to communicate with spirits, as she claimed.

I could feel the immense sadness she was experiencing.

“Spirits… even though I am the Queen of Spirits… without someone to wield that power, we cannot influence reality… I could only wait… wait for you to come to me…”

Indeed, how could she not be sad?

She is the Spirit Queen of this Reclining Tree Forest where Silvia and I lived.

She must have witnessed everything—the Demon Lord’s castle being built at the edge of this forest, the forest becoming contaminated with magical corruption, the hero and his companions dying, and even countless others perishing as they passed through this forest.

And she must have seen Silvia and me, cursed by the Demon Lord, brutally murdering innocent people.

She could only watch helplessly, with tears of blood in her heart.

Yet even as I felt her immense sadness, I somehow felt a tightness in my chest.

I cried out the indignant questions that rose in my mind:

“You mentioned fate?”

“Yes.”

“Are you saying that even you, the Queen of Spirits… and even the Goddess… that both of you great beings couldn’t prevent fate from becoming so twisted?”

“…Yes.”

“Just because a Holy Maiden couldn’t appear… my parents, Sister Maria, and Laila… they all died. And Silvia too… so terribly…”

“I’m sorry… truly regrettable.”

“If divine beings don’t watch over us, if even the great gods cannot correct humanity’s twisted fate, how are we mere humans supposed to overcome it?!”

“…Oh, Ash. That’s not true. That’s not true at all.”

I felt a boiling frustration rising within me.

At some point, the fox had disappeared from my palms.

Perhaps it had returned to my magical energy.

I clenched my empty hands into fists and let my arms drop.

At the same time, a distorted voice came from my lowered head:

“If you created fate, if you made humans follow it like puppets, you should have at least protected it.”

The Green Lady slowly rose from her chair.

Each time her feet, with just a thin branch attached, touched the ground, massive roots emerged from the ends of her legs to support her.

She walked slowly toward me, one hand on her chest, the other reaching for my shoulder.

When her hand finally touched my shoulder, she bowed her head and spoke in a somber voice:

“…Ash, it’s natural for you to feel that way. I understand your anger. Please forgive my incompetence.”

“…”

“But if you’ll allow me to explain, even I, and even the Goddess, couldn’t be certain where this fate began to break down. Even the god of the demon race was surprised by this broken fate.”

“…What did you say?”

“The Demon Lord who opposed the current hero wasn’t the Demon Lord that fate had ordained. Neither I, nor the Goddess, nor even the Demon God anticipated this situation.”

“…”

“Just as humans deviated from fate through numerous corruptions and aberrations, something similar must have happened among the demon race… But please know that we never abandoned or neglected humanity.”

Her voice was filled with anguish.

The Green Lady confessed a shocking truth in a sorrowful voice:

“Recently, the Goddess broke the rule against contacting humans to try to fix this twisted fate and left a warning for the Pope… And as punishment, she lost her divinity. She might return someday, but…”

“Wait… does that mean the Goddess doesn’t exist right now?”

“…Only minor beings like me remain to try to salvage the situation. Of course, all I could do was wait…”

The Green Lady gently patted my shoulder and slowly raised her head.

When our eyes met, I pressed my lips shut.

The kindness and gentleness had disappeared from her expression.

Instead, her face was filled with determination, solemnity, and a fierce, resolute intensity.

“And finally, the wait has borne fruit.”

“…”

“Ash, you appeared in my forest on that rattling carriage. Like fate.”

“Ah…”

“I’m sorry about Laila… She was such a lovely child. One destined to be loved wherever she went…”

“…”

Ah, Laila.

Perhaps her death was predetermined at the moment this tangled skein of fate, twisted from who knows where, became knotted.

She simply sank, swept away by this massive wave of destiny that fiercely approached me.

Truly, was it as good as if I had killed her myself?

As if reading my thoughts, she shook her head and said:

“But now that you stand before me, the moment has come when the souls of all those who lost their lives in this twisted whirlpool of fate will finally become meaningful sacrifices.”

“Meaningful? At this point, what—”

“Although you couldn’t awaken the dormant power within you yourself, thanks to the magical corruption that invaded and festered in your body stimulating your talent, we have met. Now is the time to set everything right.”

“Set right? What are you talking about? It’s already over. The Demon Lord is dead. My family is already dead, Silvia suffered for far too long, and this cursed story is already heading toward its end—”

“No. That’s not true.”

The Green Lady abruptly cut off my words.

Then, with a hardened expression, she slowly opened her lips.

The most terrible sentence in the world flowed from between her yellow lips:

“The Demon Lord is not dead, Ash. Silvia failed.”

.