CH 111

Chapter 111

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Fairy And Great Beasts Of The Prairie, Part 21 — In The Sea Of Flames

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

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While Alfiris and the group were in a state of grief, this is the heart of it, where Phalanx used his magic.

「Is he dead, Dragleo?」

「…I don’t know… They say stupid people never die…」

「Was there ever such a saying?」

Doom and Lifeless use levitation magic to search for Dragleo from the sky. The ground was boiling with magma, and it was impossible for them to walk on it. Moreover, as far as the eye could see, the entire area was a sea of magma. The prairie was now a sea of flames.

「Hot, hot, hot! It’s so hot even though we’re so far away from the place.」

「…It’s magic… you could die if you go in there… be careful…」

Lifeless warns Doom, who is flustered by the splattered magma, with a blank look on his face.

「I see… I’ll be careful at best. But this magma ocean… I’d like to take a dip.」

「…I’m not trying to stop you… you can do whatever you want…」

「Can’t you just stop for a second～?」

Doom dexterously spins around and floats through the air, complaining to Lifeless. But as usual, Lifeless never really takes Doom seriously.

「…By the way… where are all the women around you today…?」

「Ahh, as expected the last battle wore them out. I’m letting them do what they want and let them build up their energy. Well, I guess they’ll be back to normal in a couple of months, I guess?」

「…I see…」

Although Doom was supposed to have lost all but Ossyria in the last attack on the Church Of Arnelia, he returned days later with everyone in tow. Apparently, there are abilities of Doom that even Lifeless has not grasped.

「（…Doom is more tricky than I thought… I thought he’d be easier to kill… but I guess Master has brought him into the fold…）」

Lifeless had revised his assessment of Doom a bit, but also raised his guard. Recall Bloody Maria’s words.

「（It’s going to get out of hand sooner or later…）」

It was hard for Lifeless to imagine himself losing a fight on merit, but Bloody Maria is not the type of person to make meaningless jokes. Something had to be done. As Lifeless was thinking these thoughts, he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

「…Ouch…」

「Really? He’s still alive?」

When the two descended near the magma, protecting themselves with ice magic, they found Dragleo with his arms folded, chest-deep in the magma as if he were in a hot spring. But his expression was grim.

「He’s really alive… and soaking in magma.」

No wonder Doom is surprised. Dragleo was not even burned when immersed in the magically created magma. If it were just magma, it would still be understandable even if forced, but magma made of magic even has a magic attribute added to it, so it is the equivalent of being continuously bombarded with fire-based great magic.

While Doom was surprised, Lifeless calmly advised Dragleo, as if he had expected this outcome to some extent.

「You should get up there… it’s going to be tough no matter how hard you try…」

「Lifeless… I guess so.」

Doom rolls his eyes. Doom had never heard Dragleo speak properly before. But Dragleo, without regard, jumped out of the magma with a mighty leap and hopped on top of the remaining rocks at a suitable spot. However, he is still in a niou position with his arms crossed and seems to be thinking.

「…What’s the matter… this doesn’t look like you…」

「Well, yes, but there’s one thing I don’t understand.」

「…?…」

Dragleo asks Lifeless a serious question.

「Why did he sacrifice himself?」

「…Isn’t that what you call love for your daughter… a word I have no connection to…」

「Me too. That love.」

Lifeless also had a watchful messenger attached to Dragleo, so he was somewhat aware of what was going on. However, Dragleo was caught in a tornado, swallowed by a crack in the ground, or eaten by the prairie hell on the way, so he don’t know how many familiars were wasted.

Although he didn’t show it in his expression, there was no doubt that Lifeless was also feeling a lot of pain. Dragleo, unaware of such a situation, received a fist with a bang in his palm.

「Alright! I got it!」

「…What is it…」

「There it is, that beast is fool!」

「…Hey, hey…」

「That’s harsh…」

By「that beast,」of course, he assumed he was referring to Phalanx. Still, even Lifeless and Doom thought that the flame beast would not be rewarded for being called an idiot by Dragleo.

But there was a difference between the two, though, in whether or not they said it out loud.

「I bet even that Flame Beast wouldn’t want to be called a fool by a fool like you.」

「Are you a fool too?」

「Kuh, what did you say!?」

Lifeless controls Doom, who is about to lose his temper when Dragleo calls him a fool.

「…Let me ask you why…」

「Of course you do, but what’s the point of you dying? Love? Nonsense! It’s all about your life, isn’t it? If you really want to help, if you really want to protect, a man would do whatever he can to defeat the enemy in front of him. What’s left when you die? Generally speaking, it’s because he’s weak that he dies. Why should you take responsibility for the life of someone like that?」

「…It depends on the person… but remember, some people are more than capable of protecting themselves…」

「I don’t know how hard it’s for you to understand.」

「…Well, if someone shows up who wants to fight, take them hostage… People are usually pissed off and ready to fight… It’s a lot of fun…」

「That’s not how it works.」

「…That’s just the way it is…」

Dragleo was lost in thought again. Then Doom chuckles.

「Well, the Flame Beast was only a fool. Dying to protect your daughter is not the way to go, that sweetheart… Don’t—!?」

Doom is suddenly hit by Dragleo. Doom is blown into the magma with tremendous force. He was rolling over the magma with the force of a draining stone.

「Don’t you dare make a fool of yourself! He was strong. There’s no doubt about that.」

「…In fact, maybe you need a break too…?」

「Yeah, I think I’m going to have to sleep for a while again. Well, take care of it then.」

「…I’m not asking you to…」

Lifeless shrugs his shoulders. He doesn’t care about the doom that rolled away from him.

「Oh, by the way…」

Dragleo snaps his fingers.

「…What…?」

「That master, though… you better watch out, okay?」

「…What do you mean…」

Now Lifeless asks Dragleo seriously.

「Because, you know, that Master——」

「You still haven’t recovered Dragleo?」

A voice suddenly called out from the sky behind them. Lifeless, who had been completely unable to detect the voice, turned around quickly to see a boy he had only seen once before, when they had met at the ruins. He was that boy who was irreverent to all of them, even though he was new.

「…You… when did you…」

「I don’t care about that. Why don’t you stop that pacing tone of voice? You’re making it hard for me to talk to you.」

「!?」

Lifeless raises the alarm. No one but Bloody Maria and her mentor should know his true nature. Various thoughts go through Lifeless’ mind, but he is interrupted by the words of the boy in front of him.

「And we can’t just leave the prairie in flames like this, can we? We were talking about turning this place into a pasture for the Archfiends, and if we don’t do something about it, it will affect us. And if we leave it too inflamed, the neighboring countries will indeed notice and intervene. It’s a magical effect, and if it’s not, it’s still going to be like this for months.」

「…Y–Yes…」

「You’re still going with that tone… oh well. I’ll handle it here. You are going to take the big guy who is sleeping there and turn around. Seeker’s Village—— Mutrio, was it? You’re not in such a hurry to raid them, right?」

「…That’s true… but how do we put out this fire?」

「It’s easy. Magic for magic.」

「…What did you…」

The boy mumbles something, and a hexagonal crystal forms in his hand, shining faintly in silver. As he let it fall into the magma below, the ambient temperature obviously began to drop. The ground then cooled as they watched, and the magma solidified.

「Here we go. As you can see, the flames won’t go out right away, but… well, they’ll be completely gone in three or four days.」

「Wha—!」

At these words, Lifeless unexpectedly returned to his original tone and exclaimed. The boy in front of him had so easily vanquished the magic that the most powerful Magical Beast on the prairie had unleashed at the cost of his life. As people who practice the same magic, it was unacceptable.

「Who the hell are you, you…」

「Your tone is back to normal, senpai.」

The boy looks back at Lifeless with a blank expression while Lifeless glares at the boy.

「Well, that’s it for me then. I still have a lot of work to do.」

「Wait!」

However, the boy disappeared with the transfer magic as it was. Lifeless left behind.

「What was that about… what do you think, Dragleo?」

「Nugoh, nugooh.」

「…What a hopeless failure…」

Lifeless sighed, but he had things to do later. Now does not seem to be the time to be concerned.

「…It can’t be helped… I’ll deal with that guy later and take care of my own business for now… Huh, am I forgetting something…? Well, whatever…」

Lifeless disappeared with Dragreo, using transfer magic as it was. There was nothing left behind, just a barren expanse of land from where the magma had cooled and solidified.

It will be ten days before Doom, forgotten in the magma, escapes from the cold and hardened earth on his own.