༺ Subjugation of the Floating Island (2) ༻
「Clairvoyance (Neutral Element, ★7)」
Thanks to my days as a ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ sweat, I could roughly track Ian’s whereabouts. I used [Clairvoyance] to roughly scan the area where I thought he would be.
A place lined with old temple columns…
In the center of it all, a black-haired boy, Ian Fairytale, stood on a yellow brick road.
A vivid rainbow stretched above the Floating Island.
In the center of the Floating Island, a dazzling scene was proudly displayed by an emerald-colored palace.
Above it, a statue of a sun radiated brilliantly, hovering weightlessly while spinning around.
Ian summoned a Tyrannosaurus-like dinosaur familiar, Rex, and drew the sword sheathed at his waist.
He held his breath, gripped the sword with both hands, and assumed a combat stance, as a drop of cold sweat trickled down his face.
As someone with excellent senses, he would quickly realize that there were enemies all around him.
Soon enough, various white wolves and raven-like monsters erupted from the ground. Their eyes emitted a red light as they opened their large mouths and revealed sharp teeth.
At the center, a white witch-like monster that wore a pointed hat sprang out of the ground.
Her head was torn apart to form the shape of a mouth. But because it couldn’t be completely ripped away, the flesh connecting to the upper and lower lips stretched like cheese.
‘Minions of the Floating Island…’
They were all magical beasts created by the earth mana of the Floating Island.
When the witch demon pointed at Ian with her staff and gave the command to attack, the horde of wolves and raven demons charged toward him.
At the same time, Cherubim’s Necklace, which was hung around Ian’s neck, began to radiate light.
One swing.
Ian swung the sword imbued with divine power horizontally, cutting down all the minions of the Floating Island with a blade made of light.
‘That’s what I’m talking about!’
Keuhhhh. How beautiful.
Is this really the same Ian Faintingtale from before? The Master Fainter?
Obtaining Cherubim’ Necklace certainly had a significant effect. After all, the item has dramatically enhanced Ian’s combat power.
Ian’s familiar, Rex, transformed into a larger form of a Tyrannosaurus.
And with it, streams of flames elongated like wings on both sides of its mouth.
Ian rode on Rex’s back and began to rush towards the center of the Floating Island.
He probably noticed that the Floating Island was trying to use a spell that was at the level of destroying an entire country. As such, he decided to prevent it by going towards the center where the most potent magic power could be felt: the Emerald Palace.
The mana emanating from the Floating Island belonged to a demon. Ian, who possessed the light element, could probably feel its eerie mana and must have judged that only he could deal a significant blow to this demon.
“Heuh…”
“…?”
Hearing a queer sound, I release [Clairvoyance] and turned my head towards the noise.
A girl with light-green pigtails was still blushing in embarrassment, just as she was before.
She was biting her lips, almost as if she didn’t know what to do with herself. Holding hands with me seemed to be more stimulating for her than the formidable enemies before us.
…Well, It was understandable. The emotions that came with holding hands with your crush for the first time were indescribable after all.
‘Still, isn’t she way too embarrassed…’
I thought about saying something but decided not to. Honestly, this was better than being overwhelmed by the majesty of the Floating Island.
Kaya and I were still on our way to the Floating Island while riding a light green wind over the sea.
If I looked back, the vast island where Märchen Academy was located seemed tiny beyond the fog.
For reference, Kaya and I would not be detected from Märchen Academy because of the dense advection fog and the massive mana of the Floating Island.
Even in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, the academy staff couldn’t stop Mateo from flying straight to the Floating Island due to this exact reason.
Oh, by the way, they only knew he left thanks to Amy’s report
The transparent barrier deployed on the grounds of Märchen Academy was used to detect external intrusions. However, because it was entirely absorbing the mana of the Floating Island, it would likely be rendered useless.
Therefore, the academy’s staff were probably overwhelmed with student control and countermeasure preparations against the Floating Island.
Step–.
Kaya and I reached the edge of the Floating Island’s cliff and landed.
As I let go of her hand, Kaya sighed, “Eut, ahh…”, as if she was a kid who had lost her favorite toy.
“Kaya, we’re here.”
My words snapped Kaya back to her senses.
She turned her head towards the front.
“Sir Isaac, this is…”
Only then, did Kaya see the magnificent view, as her jaw dropped and her eyes widened.
A vivid rainbow, the Emerald Palace, and the sun statue floating weightlessly whilst spinning around.
The mysterious fog reflected beautiful colors.
A yellow brick road crosses a poppy field.
At first glance, it resembled a fairy tale landscape that stimulated the spirit of adventure. In stark contrast, right behind us was a perilous cliff that would plunge us into a raging sea.
It felt like we were stepping on the boundary between a fairy tale and reality.
“I thought it would be a mundane scene, but it strangely beautif-”
“Let’s go.”
“Ah! Y-yes!”
Similar to how a poisonous mushroom looked pretty, this fantastical land was as dangerous as it was beautiful.
We were once again carried by the wind, quickly following along the yellow brick road.
“…!”
Suddenly, white dwarf monsters with pointed hats popped out from the yellow brick road and poppy field. Seeing this, I came to a screeching halt, as if slamming the brakes of a car.
All the dwarves were dressed in blue robes.
[Phantasmal Munchkin] Lv: 95
Race: Demon
Elements: Dark, Earth
Danger: Medium
Psychology: [Wants to eat away at your sanity.]
[Kekek… Welcome to the country of Munchkins…!]
Before the bastard in the middle of the dwarf demons, A.K.A. Phantasmal Munchkins could finish his greetings…
I sent ice mana into my right hand and released ice crystals and pale blue mana akin to cigarette smoke.
Chrrrrak──.
As I prepared to fight, my unique characteristic [Hunter] activated.
[The demon has been recognized as an enemy.] [The unique trait [Hunter] is activated!] [Your level and stats are temporarily greatly enhanced!] [Your skill tree temporarily becomes +10!] 「Frostfire (Ice Element, ★4)」
Hwarereuk──────!!!
I deployed a magic circle and waved my hand lightly, unleashing a cold light blue flame.
The frigid flames spread widely, incinerating everything in its path, including the Munchkin horde and the entire surrounding landscape.
The vast poppy field, which had been swaying aimlessly in the wind, instantly froze.
And the horde of Phantasmal Munchkins, who were no longer a match for me, were reduced to dust in a truly demonic fashion.
As I waved my arms to dissipate the cold flames, my unique characteristic [Hunter] was deactivated. My body became significantly heavier and my surging mana subsided.
The landscape before me had changed from a fantastical land to a freezing wasteland.
“Y-you’re incredible, Sir Isaac…!”
As I casually swept away the ice crystals that had formed around me, Kaya gazed at me, practically beaming starlight from her eyes.
As expected, that reaction is way too burdensome…
For reference, the amount of [Frostfire] I released just now was nothing when considering my [Hunter] state.
In my [Hunter] state, my mana recovery speed was exceptionally high. In this place, demons would continuously pop out, so the mana I spent on [Frostfire] would be quickly replenished.
“But what was that just now?”
“Demons. They’re minions of this island. Don’t ever talk with them.”
“Huh…?”
If someone talked to the minions of the Floating Island, this place would become a true fantasy world that deluded that person’s mind.
The mental attacks of demons had no effect on Ian, who had the light element, and I had strong mental resistance, so I could somehow break free.
However, for Kaya, it could be a serious issue.
Even if she managed to regain her senses somehow, at that point, the curse of the Floating Island would have already taken effect.
When someone fell into the Fantasy World, the appearance and speech of the Floating Island’s minions changed exclusively for that person.
And in order to return home, they would have to go on a heart-pounding journey to find the great wizard Oz, who granted any wish. It was something that Dorothy had experienced in her childhood.
Finally, when they reach the center of the floating Island and find the great wizard Oz, they would have their own happy ending, but…
‘Their real self dies.’
By the time they reached Oz, the curse of the Floating Island would have already eaten away their life force, causing them to lose their life.
That’s right. This piece of shit land was a sentient life form with complete intelligence and it was a demon who played with humans as if they were dolls.
“Let’s depart again.”
“Y-yes…!”
「Wind Generation (Wind Element, ★1)」
Whoooosh───!
Riding the light green wind, Kaya and I took flight towards Ian once again. As expected, it was significantly faster than just running.
Of course, flying with the wind imposed a considerable burden on the caster’s mana. However, if Kaya’s mana ran low, she could always switch with Dark Kaya and utilize blood mana to replenish if necessary.
Anyway…
‘By now, they’ve probably figured out that I’m here.’
In my current [Hunter] state, I was stronger than the rare genius Dorothy herself.
Even if the academy’s staff was having a difficult time detecting other mana because of the Floating Island’s overwhelming presence…
There was no way that they wouldn’t notice my immense mana, which practically rivaled that of the Floating Island.
‘They are probably in a frenzy, saying that the ‘Black Monster’ has appeared.’
It didn’t matter that much though, since I had already reached the Floating Island.
Additionally, during my [Hunter] state, my mana fluctuated very briefly, so it would be difficult to track my location anyway.
The only thing I was worried about was them discovering how I had flown to the Floating Island with Kaya.
In an emergency like this, if two students were spotted leaving the academy, the academy’s staff would undoubtedly try to bring us back.
Ugh, just thinking about it gave me a headache.
Anyway…
‘Ian, hang in there buddy.’
I checked on Ian using [Clairvoyance]. He was riding on Rex while dashing down the yellow brick road and defeating enemies with his sword of light and fire.
I’m so proud of you, Ian Fairytale. Go forth! Wipe out the demons with your own hands.
‘I’ll try to support you in whatever way I can.’
And in the end…
…I’ll fuck up this overgrown mound of dirt
Since I had already dealt with Heinkel the Hoarder, who would have blocked Ian’s way, there should be no problems for him.
As such, I just had to eliminate the Floating Island’s minions.
And if Ian reached the Emerald Palace and sent [Apostle of Light] flying towards the Floating Island’s core, ‘Oz’…
‘Objective 1 would be accomplished.’
[Kekek… Welcome to the country of Munchk-]
Hwarereuk───!
After casually bodying the Munchkin with [Frostfire], Kaya and I continued heading towards Ian.
