Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"No, don't disturb us, let's eat."

"You, you bastard."

"We're about to get started."

"You're starting to eat? This is the first time I've heard you say that. What do you want to eat? Is it something interesting? Let me see what it's like."

Although the fairy seemed to dislike this young-sounding person, he continued to ask questions as if he didn't care at all.

"It's none of your business."

"Humans, humans who are half like you."

"Start, start!"

"A delicious taste, a pleasant smell, a wonderful flavor."

"The first time I saw it, and the first time I brought it in."

Just from the sound, Avia could already foresee the scene of the fairies tearing his clothes and scraping his flesh to eat him.

He was probably the only human who was taken away and eaten by fairies.

However, one second, two seconds, and now three seconds had passed, but Avia did not feel any tearing or biting sensation on her body.

Instead, after three seconds of silence, the silver-haired boy heard the sound of something falling to the ground, and—

Accompanying this was a sound that sounded extremely heart-wrenching:

"Ah! Finally, I've come here... You are... my... you are... this is my father!"

097: A Request from a Half-Nightmare

"Human, your father."

"Yes, really?"

"You weren't abandoned? That's great."

"But I really want to eat it."

"I'm not kidding, besides, it was my mother who told me this," the voice continued. "You should understand now, right?"

Fairies come from many sources: deities who have been demoted, remnants of resentment from humans or animals, longings with nowhere to go, and beings born from human inheritance. Ordinary fairies rely on human intellect as sustenance to survive.

Pure fairies are beings born solely from the inner sea of ​​the star, and are also deities among fairies, known as the Great Mother or Great Father, existing as a manifestation of the planet's soul.

Therefore, upon hearing that it was the Great Mother who spoke, the fairies all handed Avia over, since in their view, no one would speak such nonsense.

However, Avia wasn't particularly surprised that he suddenly had a child out of nowhere.

Although the fairy's tone sounded heartbreaking, it was mostly a facade. So, this statement was just to deceive the fairies. As for the so-called Great Mother's words, they were probably just empty talk.

"Then I'll take it with me."

The fairy did not accept the Avia offered by the fairies. Instead, it picked up the staff that it had dropped while pretending to be panicked, and used some unknown magic to keep it floating in the air. Then, it hummed a song and waved the staff as it walked around in the world with extremely high magic concentration.

Just when all the fairies thought they were about to be led through that door, this fairy immediately tapped the ground with the head of his staff.

A soft knock.

In an instant, a wave of vibrant colors swept over Avia and the fairy's entire body.

After the waves subsided, both of them disappeared without a trace.

When Avia came to her senses, she found herself back on the island of Avalon in the real world, and she could move her whole body again.

"With such a high concentration of magic inside, a human should have started to crack from the inside after just one breath."

As she said this, she turned around, sitting on the rocky remnant, towards the silver-haired boy who was slowly getting up.

"However, once you pass through that door, your body will dissolve, leaving only your spirit. I've saved you, you know."

Avia was also silently watching the other person, because the face looked familiar, somewhat like a smaller version of that half-nightmare.

"Oh, how are you? You're so happy to see your daughter."

Her lips exhaled with interest, and although her attire was simple, it was a robe woven from the finest fibers.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse shadows of the treetops, cascading onto her long, white hair and her crimson eyes, which resembled flames yet were not quite.

"Thank you so much for your help. May I ask your name?"

"That's boring. I thought you were going to come up with something."

She suddenly looked disappointed, but immediately a smile appeared on her lips.

"If you want to hear my name, I am a hybrid of human and nightmare, named Meryl."

Sure enough, it was the half-nightmare that Avia had guessed.

However, she is only about 140 centimeters tall, and her limbs and face are still immature, which is why Avia didn't recognize her at first.

The Arthurian legend dates back to roughly between 500 and 550 AD, so it seems plausible that he encountered the Flower Magician, who was still a child, a hundred years ago.

But Avia knew this woman's half-nightmare personality all too well. Although she appeared very kind on the surface, she was actually completely unconcerned about others and never grieved. She was a creature without emotional fluctuations. Simply put, she had a sense of alienation as a species and could not coexist with the intellectual beings of this planet.

So, she probably saved him because she wanted him to help her in some way.

Avia now understands that the reason he couldn't move when the fairies took him away was simply because the magical concentration there was too high, and his body needed to adapt. Now that he's back, he needs to adapt to this new place...

"My name is Avia, a Hun."

"Why are you telling me you're a Hun?" Young Meli narrowed her crimson eyes, looked up at the silver-haired boy, and waved her cane. "None of that matters. As long as you're human, that's all that matters."

“Merry, you have told me your name and background, so I should reply in the same way. I cannot hide anything.”

Avia looked at her with her azure eyes, a gentle smile reminiscent of Merry's.

"I am extremely grateful for your help, Mary. I will definitely spread your story in various places. If there is nothing else, please allow me to take my leave."

"Hey, wait a minute, I just saved you, can't you say a few more words? Don't be in such a hurry."

Melly called out to Avia, who had turned around.

"I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. I will always sing the great story of the beautiful nightmare girl, so that you will be remembered for thousands of years and become a legend."

Avia really didn't want to get involved with this still-growing nightmare. Putting aside the fact that he already had the curse of the Rhine Gold, it was also troublesome to deal with such a heartless person. Who knew he might get tricked one day.

"Wait a minute——"

When Mary saw this human's smile, which was so similar to her own, she knew that this wasn't the kind of person she could easily fool into helping her. He was probably a bit of a troublemaker, but it didn't matter. She had to get him to do her a favor and go to Wales for her.

The reason why Mary didn't go wasn't because she was afraid or anything; she didn't have that kind of emotion.

Simply because when she was born, her parents, who brought her here, entrusted her with this task:

Mary, you must never leave here. When they come back, the family can be reunited.

For such a simple reason, she has never entered anyone else's dream.

Meli is half human and half nightmare, a creature in this hybrid state.

If she were born as the child of a dream demon, she would only want to play in the spiritual world. However, she also feels fortunate that her personality, which she gained as a human, allows her to be nourished by her own dreams without relying on the dreams of others.

She generally likes humans, but she also clearly believes that "humans are humans, and I am me."

However, compared to her mature self, young Mary has one piece of information she absolutely needs to know—

“I hope you can go to Wales to find news of my parents, and in return, I can do something for you.”

098: Suddenly, decisively—

In those rare, crimson crystal pupils, the azure sky, the earth bursting with spring colors, and a silver-haired human are reflected.

"Your parents?"

“That’s right. They went to Wales after they brought me here as a newborn and haven’t come back since, so I want to know how they are doing.”

Half-Nightmare stared at Avia, her petite figure revealing a serious attitude.

As a wanderer of the paradise, he is the immature form of the court magician, mentor, and prophet in the legend of King Arthur. His mother is a Welsh maiden, and his father is Nightmare, a supernatural creature born between the moon and the earth.

Generally speaking, love between ordinary people and abnormal people or humanoid beings usually ends in a tragic ending.

Take witches, who are essentially humanoid beings who are fairies, as an example. There was a witch from the Clock Tower's plant family who, after giving birth to a child out of love, aged rapidly and was eventually abandoned. The child she gave birth to and raised did not kill her when she wanted to die; he only blinded her, her mother. Her child was named Beryl.

However, there are also a few happy endings, such as the mother of Kuonji Yuzu, who was also a witch, but her father always took care of the one he loved.

And presumably, the fact that her parents, who were half-nightmares, were able to send her here for protection must be a testament to their love, much like the latter.

To be honest, Avia really didn't expect that this emotionless half-nightmare would ask him for news of his parents. He thought he would be used as a joke.

But then he thought about it again, and it was quite normal. After all, they were his parents. Perhaps she only had emotional attachment to her parents. After her parents passed away, she would have no feelings for anything else. But actually, it would be very soon. Children born from such love would inherit the responsibilities and abilities of one of their parents, and then one of them would die immediately.

While Avia remained silent, Melly continued:

“Because my parents told me not to leave this place, I had to ask someone to help me search. But you are the only human who has come here in all these years, so I have to ask you for help.”

Half-Nightmare looked up through the gaps in his white hair, gazing into Avia's blue eyes. He lowered his head to meet her gaze.

After listening quietly for a while, Avia finally spoke:

"You don't want to leave, is it because you're afraid that your parents won't be able to find you and will be worried?"

When Mary heard this, she neither laughed nor got angry; she simply smiled calmly and answered him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"That's right, I'm waiting for them here."

This situation now aligns with Avia's original assumptions about Meryl, but Meryl's earnest request for him to find news of her parents just now was not fake.

Just as day and night each have their own meaning, although their expressions differ, neither is a counterfeit. After all, the feelings hidden in one's heart, even if they are not openly and directly displayed, truly exist there.

As for the Welsh region that Meryl mentioned, he had heard about it on the way here. It seemed to be the main base of the Church of England in Britain, responsible for the control of faith and mystical creatures throughout the island. But that's what they say. There are rumors that they are actually exploiting people like crazy. After all, the Church doesn't recognize non-human beings. It's already good if they don't just slaughter them like the Dead Apostles.

Therefore, these fantastical creatures that cannot go to the inner circle live in constant fear, terrified that one day they will be killed by humans.

As for Mary's parents, who went to Wales but have not returned, Avia speculated that they were most likely imprisoned by the church.

"How about this, if you help me find out about my parents, I'll do you a favor..."

Mary thought she had said it well, but the silver-haired human in front of her did not answer immediately. Instead, he smiled as always, but with a hint of something more subtle, as he looked past her.

Was I rejected...? Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it. We'll just have to wait for the next one... I just don't know how long that will be....

She knew that most people nowadays believed in the church's faith, so it was only natural to express her refusal to do anything that might offend the church.

Although Mary's mood didn't change much, she still sighed subconsciously. She was about to go back and comfort the fairies she had deceived, otherwise, if the Great Mother complained, she would be in big trouble—

“A child was looking for his parents, and I helped him.”

At that moment, the human voice came from behind, and the young nightmare quickly turned around to look.

After passing over the shimmering surface of the lake, it left the gently swaying grass and trees behind.

That person, with a brisk and decisive air, closed their eyes and answered in this way.

The once quiet island was suddenly filled with birdsong and the sound of wind rustling through the flowers and grass, perhaps because of his voice.

.......

Two weeks later, in the Wales region of Britain, sharp bird cries could be heard from time to time.

Despite being a branch of the Church of Christ in Britain, the closer you get to it, the more rugged paths there are, and the more frequent bumps and slopes that seem designed to efficiently destroy human feet.

Avia was somewhat puzzled. After all, the Roman Empire had always placed great importance on roads, and even before its split, the Roman Empire wouldn't have stood idly by. And why would the Church choose such an area...?

Moreover, the smells of soil, blood, excrement, and rotting fruit mingled together, as if they had become part of the Welsh soil.

Faced with scenery that never changes no matter how much time passes, most people would probably have already broken down. Rather than describing the area as a maze, it felt more like every step brought you closer to death, or a disorienting sensation of being gradually swallowed by a monster. It must be some kind of grand magic trick...

Thinking about this—

Avia suddenly took a deep breath.

Just moments ago, a sound rang out, the flapping of wings echoing as nearly ten crows took flight simultaneously, heading towards the distant summit.

He naturally looked in the direction the crows had flown.