The three fairies flew towards the new entrance into the master bedroom.

“Quick, breathe fire into the room!” Rella said and tugged Vur’s hand. “It’s too dark to see. We’re coming, Mom!”

The inside lit up with an orange light and the fairies dashed in. The room was spartan, with a stone bed resting in one corner of the room. A fairy sat on the bed with a chain attached to her right leg, leading into the wall. Her silver hair grew down to the top of her neck. A pair of golden horns, shaped like a stag’s antlers, sprouted from her temples. She wore a grey dress that reached halfway down her shins.

The fairy trio flew forward and tackled their mother, hugging her with tears streaming from their eyes. Their bodies trembled as they wailed and incoherent cries blubbered out of their mouths. The fairies clung onto each other for ten minutes before they separated with red eyes and snot dripping from their noses. Vur stood at the entrance breathing fire the whole time. The fairy queen clapped her hands and the room was illuminated with a pale white glow.

“We should hurry and leave before someone finds us,” Yella said and wiped her face with her sleeve.

Bella and Rella nodded while the fairy queen bit her lip. “This chain…” she said and motioned towards her leg. The fairy trio turned to Vur.

“Please,” they all said at the same time and clasped their hands together with quivering lips. He sighed and grabbed the chain. He pulled against it and the wall started to make cracking noises. A chunk of stone popped off the wall and the fairies cheered.

“We need to take the lodestone before we leave,” the fairy queen said. “I’ll lead the way; please carry that rock for me, human.” The group traversed through the dungeon and arrived at a room with a glowing blue orb the size of a human fist. It was hidden in the corridor going from the lightning elementals to the bedroom. The fairy queen had to use a spell to reveal the entrance. The army of slimes waited outside and the queen flew up towards the orb. She hugged it and her horns let out a myriad of different colors that illuminated the room in a rainbow light. When the light dimmed, the orb was gone and the queen had a sheen of sweat on her brow.

Rumbling sounds rang throughout the dungeon and dust fell from the ceiling. The ground shook and cracks spread along the walls.

“We have to leave now!” The group dashed through the remaining rooms unimpeded, while the objects and slimes inside faded and dispersed into multiple blue orbs of light. They stood outside the entrance to the mana source, gasping for breath. A massive crash echoed through the capital, causing all the windows to rattle. The fairy trio cheered and tackled their mother again. A hemisphere of mist rose up around them and Vur sat on the floor while clutching his head.

“Is he alright?” the queen asked and pat the fairies’ heads as she shook them off.

“He’s just hungover; you can ignore him,” Rella said and held her mom’s hand. “We missed you so much!”

The fairy queen hesitated and furrowed her brow before turning away from Vur. “Is it just you three?”

The fairy trio looked at each other and lowered their heads with trembling lips. “Yes…” Yella said and wiped at her eyes. “Everyone else was h-hunted down by the humans. We t-tried asking for h-help, but no one w-would.” Yella choked and sniffled as she spoke.

The fairy queen brought her hand to her mouth and her eyes grew moist. “I’m so sorry,” she said and flew forward to embrace Yella. “If it wasn’t for my decision that day…”

The three fairies raised their heads and glanced at each other. Their faces split with massive grins. “Just kidding!” Yella said and tackled her mother with her arms wide open. “Everyone’s fine. We were just too excited and couldn’t wait to come save you.”

“You rascal!” the queen said as a tear leaked from her eye. “I believed you!” She head-locked Yella and ruffled her hair with her knuckles. All the fairies burst out into a high pitched laughter that caused Vur to groan and clutch his head tighter.

“This is Vur, Mom,” Bella said as she flew above his head. “He’s the dragon boy who helped us save you.”

“Dragon?” the queen tilted her head to the side and released her hold on Yella.

Bella nodded. “The matriarch imprinted him,” Bella said. The queen’s eyes widened and she flew down to Vur’s face level. She bowed her head.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said. “My name is Stella Arger, queen of the fairies. It’s a shame that I have no valuables to give you as a reward. Would you like some clothes instead…?” She gazed at her naked savior.

Vur shook his head. “Rella, Bella, and Yella are my friends,” he said. “I don’t need a reward for helping them.”

“Awww.” The fairy trio let out a cry and encircled Vur with a hug.

“Then think of it as a gift for a friend,” Stella said. “Wasn’t there anything that you thought was interesting in our home? A slime? A plant?”

Vur tilted his head. “The lightning elementals seem pretty strong,” he said. “Could I have one?”

“Lightning elemental…?” Stella asked and furrowed her brow.

Yella flew next to her and whispered into her ear. Stella’s face flushed red. She coughed a few times and nodded.

“Alright, a lightning elemental it is,” she said while the fairy trio giggled. Her body glowed with a blue light and a buzzing pink egg materialized in front of Vur.

“Infuse your mana into it and it’ll be linked to you,” Stella said. “Take good care of it.” She seemed as if she wanted to say something, but she bit her lip and kept silent.

Vur grabbed it with his hands and infused his mana into it. “It makes my hand feel funny,” he said. The egg buzzed harder in response. “Thank you.”

“You should give it to Tafel when you’re older to protect her,” Rella said with twinkling eyes. The fairies giggled.

###################################################################

Chad knocked on the door in front of him. He wore a black cloak made of shadows. It hid the contours of his body and changed shapes constantly like a fire in the wind.

Dustin opened the door and narrowed his eyes. “Chad,” he said. “I heard you came back. What brings you here?”

“I’m looking for information on a boy,” Chad said. “Human child with golden eyes. I thought you might know something.”

Dustin furrowed his brows. “He’s an SSS ranked adventurer named Vur from Konigreich, the new kingdom. That’s all I know about him,” Dustin said.

Chad nodded. “Thanks. Have fun being the new demon lord.”

“What?” Dustin asked and stared at Chad.

Chad chuckled. “You’ll find out real soon. It’s a shame I couldn’t stay longer. Take care of yourself, Dustin,” he said. A black light enveloped Chad’s body and he vanished.

 

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