episode_0029

There are three main reasons why beings, including fairies, dream.

Firstly, the manifestation of information in the brain and the unconscious. Dreams reflect what you know, projecting things you have dreamed or feared based on that information. Waking up from a dream while in the throes of climax during a sex dream happens because there is no prior knowledge of it.

Secondly, external stimuli. When stimuli are received during REM sleep, they can be incorporated into dreams. Hearing a voice in a dream that you wouldn’t hear in reality and then waking up to find your alarm clock ringing vigorously is due to this.

Thirdly, the intervention of magic or divine beings. Here, divine beings refer to creatures like “wings” that can obtain energy necessary for survival from the worship of believers.

While they can intervene in dreams through magic or divinity, they are limited by the barrier of consciousness (what Cali was trying so hard to overcome) and can only convey very restricted messages. Dreams had by Taemong or Karen before encountering “wings” fall under this category.

The appearance of Murian in Bine’s dream was naturally due to the third factor.

“Hello? It’s your first time seeing someone in a dream?”

Murian greeted Bine gracefully against a background of nothingness, raising the hem of their skirt and bowing with a cold gaze directed at Bine.

Murian wasn’t wearing their usual cloak, let alone a skirt.

“Your taste in clothing is unique.”

As Bine pointed out, Murian was only wearing black hot pants barely covering their thighs and white bandages that slightly covered their slightly protruding chest.

Their pale skin, adorned with eerie black tattoos, was exposed to the world.

“It feels strange to hear such words from you, Bine. After all, the Fairy of Blood doesn’t usually wear clothes, right?”

“I wore this just to accommodate Elza.”

Bine looked down at their attire—a faintly visible white dress.

Having worn it for two days straight, the dress was quite dirty from sleeping, eating, and adventuring.

“You should consider doing some laundry. If you keep wearing it, it’ll get so dirty that you won’t recognize its original color.”

Bine sighed and remarked, “I’ll keep that in mind. By the way, why did you enter my dream? You didn’t come all this way just to talk about clothes.”

“It wasn’t much trouble for me. Dream wandering like this is a piece of cake for me.”

Murian smiled and raised their right hand.

“Besides, I can do things like this.”

When Bine curiously gazed at Murian’s right hand with a slightly cold look, Murian flicked their fingers.

A rift appeared in the white space, cracking and crumbling with a sound akin to shattering glass, revealing an endlessly vibrant blue forest beyond.

“I created a space where you would feel most comfortable, Bine. How do you like it?”

Bine sniffed the air, catching scents of fresh wood and earth. It was the smell of life never before experienced in today’s forests.

It was a vibrant forest brimming with vitality.

“I can’t hear any bird songs.”

Bine responded coolly.

“Um… I didn’t replicate the sounds because it was a bit challenging. Alright! If Bine wishes, I’ll try harder!”

Saying this, Murian formed their right hand into a devil’s horn shape. A green light shimmered from the symbol representing magic that existed even before humanity worshipped “wings,” then vanished.

A wave of sound crashed into Bine’s ears, causing them to clutch their head and writhe in discomfort.

“…You!”

“Oh, didn’t you like it? Was it too much?”

The sound made by Murian was not something one would typically hear in an ordinary forest.

Screams, screams, the sound of a knife cutting flesh, the sound of an axe chopping off an arm, the sound of flesh burning in fire. And screams.

Ignoring the horrifying sounds, Bine rushed towards Murian, shouting.

“Miss Bine. This is inside a dream. It’s my home ground.”

As the target suddenly disappeared, Murian sneered at Bine, who stood facing him dumbfounded.

Bine quickly turned towards the direction where a voice could be heard.

Realizing that attacking again would be futile as Murian would easily evade with the same tactics, Bine refrained from rushing towards Murian.

She simply glared at Murian with fiery, hostile eyes.

“I’m sorry. Seeing Bine’s fierce face made me want to play a little prank. I won’t do it anymore, so will you forgive me?”

Murian said with a bright smile, looking at Bine.

The magic seemed to have vanished as the horrifying sounds no longer echoed.

“….”

Bine stared silently at Murian.

“Yes. I’ll consider it forgiven. Now, shall we have a sincere conversation?”

As Murian flicked his finger again, a human figure wearing only underwear appeared in front of Bine.

It was a human female who seemed to be under twenty, with a bit gagged in her mouth and ropes tightly bound around her arms and legs, depriving her of freedom.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

The human looked up at Bine with fearful eyes.

“She was a wanderer roaming this area alone without any fear. Since she doesn’t carry any identification, she doesn’t seem to be a citizen under Merbia’s protection.

“Miss Bine. Haven’t had human in a while, have you? Seems like it’s been at least three days. Go ahead and enjoy.”

The human whimpered and pleaded for mercy, begging not to be killed, willing to do anything.

“….”

As Murian stated, it had been a while since Bine had consumed a human. The last one was a crazy raider she encountered a week ago, wandering the wasteland muttering to himself.

No matter how bold Bine was, she couldn’t recklessly attack a well-armed group of humans.

“Ugh! Ugh ugh ugh!”

Tears streamed down the human’s face as she begged for mercy. She pleaded to be spared, willing to accept any fate but death.

Bine decided to show mercy to the human.

“…Let her go.”

“You’re not going to eat her? I hunted this meat down with great effort.”

“I’d rather starve than eat what you offer.”

“Are you sure? If you don’t consume human flesh and blood for a long time, you might go insane.”

Bine responded with a glare towards Murian.

“Fine! Even if you regret it later, I won’t know!”

Murian flicked his finger, and the human female disappeared without a trace.

“So, what’s this sincere conversation you’re so eager to have that you invaded my dream?”

“Hmm. Are you telling me to finish quickly and leave?”

“I hope you realize I’ve been very patient. Get on with it.”

“Alright. Shall we talk about an old story then?”

Murian flicked his finger once more.

Just as the white space had vanished earlier, the forest fragmented and disappeared, replaced by a new scenery in the same spot.

“Let me introduce you, Miss Bine. This is where my true self was born!”

Where Bine and Murian stood was a picturesque scene with a lush green field background, featuring a graceful three-story wooden building, creating a somewhat rustic setting.

The wooden structure was built in a late Victorian style favored by fairies living on the border between civilization and nature.

In the front yard of the wooden building, five fairy children were playing, while a sage fairy sat on a rocking chair, watching over the playful children.

The fairy of Sahaeng had a skeletal structure of an insect with four legs covered in fluffy white hair, overall reminiscent of a pure white moth.

“Miho. Do you know who is nestled in the arms of the fairy of Sahaeng?”

Sahaeng’s fairy, called Muri-an, watched over the children with an exceedingly gentle expression, gently stroking something held by its four arms.

“….”

To an innocent fairy from a fairy tale, it would have been terrifying enough to make them gasp and retreat, but Bine, having seen terrifying things throughout her life, though startled, did not flee.

It looked like a clay doll abandoned midway through sculpting out of boredom.

Its dark red flesh barely resembled a baby in some aspects, with a grotesque right eye-like feature on what could be considered its face and a torn-flesh-like mouth gaping askew.

It gazed at the children playing energetically with its right eye, while looking up at Miho with affection in its left eye.

“Is that you?” Bine asked Muri-an, who slowly nodded.

“Yes. After the ‘Arrival of Wings,’ the magical circuits forming my physical body were completely shattered. Just being alive was a miracle. I couldn’t maintain my sanity, constantly fleeing, eventually hiding beneath the rocky underground where Miho’s orphanage was established.

There, I fell into a deep slumber as if dead for a very long time until Miho discovered me in the orphanage’s underground chamber.

Initially, Miho tried to kill me. Perhaps she thought I was a malevolent entity that would harm the orphans she cared for.”

A fairy orphan approached Miho, saying something. Miho smiled, nodding, and the fairy took its hand.

“Anyway, Miho didn’t kill me. I pleaded with all my might. Words often heard from humans during the time our kind ruled over them. Words filled with respect.

‘Hello, Supervisor.’

Miho tried to blast me with magic to kill me, but upon hearing my voice, she hesitated. It was a messy and indistinct voice, as if coming from a distant realm… but it was enough to shake Miho.

In the end, I survived.”

As Muri-an finished speaking, clouds swiftly moved across the clear sky, and the fairies’ movements quickened, then halted.

While Miho remained unchanged, the orphan fairies had grown taller, and some unseen orphans also appeared.

Like the fairies, the being had grown, crawling with its four legs, diligently chasing after the fairies.

“Miho accepted me and cared for me with love, much like how she raised the orphans. Thanks to her, my sense of self flourished and… even love blossomed.

Pure, radiant love for the entire fairy race.”

Miho approached the orphans with a tray full of snacks. They were neatly sliced human liver and lungs.

Approaching the orphans, it fed them the organs deliciously.

Due to its short and blunt arms, it couldn’t eat much. Seeing its pitiful state, one of the moon fairies offered it a piece of liver, which it ate greedily.

Other fairies, perhaps finding it amusing, began feeding it organs. Miho, seeing the organs disappear quickly, went back inside the orphanage to fetch more.

Time accelerated once again, then stopped.

Now standing on two feet, it still hadn’t shed its dark red flesh entirely but bore a form resembling a young fairy, including crude wings on its back.

“Our kind can unconsciously alter their physical forms to match the lifeforms they are interested in. Most of the time, it results in a grotesque mishmash of the creature’s appendages… But there are rare cases where a complete transformation occurs.

Just like Rose and me. Oh, if you’re wondering who Rose is… she’s not important right now. Ignore her. If you’re curious later, just grab any Aelenis and ask them.

Remember only that I once scorned Rose for resembling a human, and that’s all you need to know.”

Time accelerated once again, then halted.

It was no longer a mass of crimson flesh. It was a fairy with wings like a black bat and skin the color of coal.

Vertical slit purple eyes gleefully watched other fairies frolicking alongside it, while a sleek tail ending in an arrowhead-like organ swayed contentedly.

Though somewhat alien, it was a form befitting a fairy.

Vine had never seen a fairy like this before.

“Mino and my fairy friends helped me create a new self. Instead of my previous rigid and lifeless self, I now have the vibrant and dazzling identity of a fairy.

Only now do I understand the happiness that those who labeled our kind as fools and criticized us felt.

Of course, that happiness didn’t last long.”

Vine snapped her fingers.

“Al Inferno.”

The lovely wooden building burned in the evening glow, with human and fairy corpses scattered across the yard where the fairies played.

In the illusion, Vine clutched Mino’s body, wailing. Though the cries were unheard, the anguish on Vine’s face was enough to convey the torment she felt at that moment to Vene.

Vine was far from unscathed herself. Her right bat wing was torn off completely, and due to the black blood flowing from her forehead wound, she couldn’t open her right eye.

“Not a single fairy from our orphanage was dragged into hell. Looking at it objectively, it was the worst tragedy. They were all massacred by human bandits who attacked the orphanage.

I never dreamed I would be slaughtered by humans, but a rather skilled saint led the bandits in.”

As Vine spoke, she pointed with her finger to a distant female human lying on the ground, clutching her arm wounds, adorned in a nun’s habit with a notable peculiarity—her skin and hair color were identical to Mesa’s.

“Only the saint, myself, and…”

Vine gestured towards the fairy lying next to the saint. It was one of the first fairies she had fed organs to, still breathing despite its ribcage being crushed, likely facing death soon like the others.

“It was only Kali.”

Vene instinctively realized. That fairy under the moonlight was the one she had found traces of.

And the brown-skinned saint…

“The saint’s name is Mesa Hieromus. She’s a very distant ancestor of Mesa from Libra.”

In the illusion, Vine gently laid down Mino and approached the saint and Kali, bowing her head.

The saint tried to resist the devil approaching her, but Vine used magic to force her to lie down. After casting an unknown spell on Kali, Vine extracted her barely beating heart. The living heart still pulsed.

“You’re aware that Chainling operates through the fairy’s heart, right? Normally, it’s meaningless unless you recite the incantation and extract the heart yourself, but I used a forbidden method.”

In the fantasy realm, Murian used magic on the Calirang Saint and handed over her heart.

Under the influence of chaining, the saint went into a frenzy, devouring the heart. The body of the heartless Cali began to slowly disintegrate into the earth.

Simultaneously, Murian’s body transformed into black smoke-like tendrils, entering the saint’s mouth along with the heart.

“I forced the Chaining contract without Cali’s consent and also coerced an agreement with this saint.

The contract states, ‘Resurrect Cali at any cost.’

Naturally, the saint had no idea what she was agreeing to.”

Regaining her senses, the saint stood up, realizing she was the sole survivor in this tragedy. She hastily departed the scene after surveying her surroundings.

“Tormented by me, the saint tragically fell from grace… becoming a heretical bishop worshiped by my kin. Although she faced retribution from the winged paladins later, her bloodline persisted resiliently through hardship even after the Day of Tribulation.

Meysa represents the last remaining bloodline of Cali that I know of.

Well, that’s the end of my long story.”

Murian snapped his fingers, and they returned to the forest they were in moments ago.

“Vine, I love all fairies, including Cali.”

Murian extracted wings from his back, causing a gust of wind as they unfurled. The damage to the right wing had been neatly restored.

“And I despise you, fairy princess, for imprisoning the fairies, including those I loved, subjecting them to hell or miserable deaths due to fleeting human kindness.”

“Yet I respect your desire for repentance.”

“Though I loathe you to the point of wanting to tear you apart and throw you into a pit of fire, I also hope you use the ‘key’ you’ve secured to save our kin.”

Murian gazed at Vine with pupils vertically slit, eyes shimmering like the evening sun, blending hatred and admiration, evoking a strange emotion in the viewer.

“Vine, I want to set aside my painful hatred and help you. Our goal is the salvation of fairies, the downfall of humans, and the true rebirth of paradise.

Will you not join me? Vine. Together, we can easily erase insignificant humans from this world.”

While harboring resentment towards the fairy princess, Murian faintly admired the enchanting image of fairy princesses depicted in Mino’s fairy tales.

Thus, she chose to overlook her animosity and offer the fairy princess a chance—to save their kin and seek forgiveness for herself.

In pursuit of reconciliation and alliance, Murian extended her right hand towards Vine, a strong, fairy-like hand with sharp claws.

“….”

Vine gazed at Murian with a cold expression, akin to looking at a mere insect, then swiftly swatted away Murian’s extended hand.

“What is this…!”

And she slapped Murian’s cheek, so forcefully that Murian staggered and fell.