“Finally, we meet. I do hope this is your real body.”

Kuzon smiled as he gazed in the direction of the Fairy King. Ana remained by his side as they both stood at the entrance.

“S-stay back!”

Beruel’s squealing tone seemed nothing like the commanding voice that had been playing on the speaker.

It was more frail, weak, and somewhat underwhelming.

“I don’t think so, Beruel. I have some things I would like to ask you. Now, then, we’re coming in.”

Despite the powerless command of the Fairy King, Kuzon floated into the room with Ana by his side.

>BZZZTTTZZZ<

A blaring sound and red flashes of light appeared all over the room the moment they entered Beruel’s haven.

SYSTEM NOTICE

“Silence.” Kuzon coldly responded.

Instantly, the System buzzed and vanished, same with the unpleasant sounds.

“Y-you…” Beruel’s voice croaked.

“Like I said, don’t move. Oh…”

Kuzon’s eyes lit up with surprise and intrigue the moment he took a step closer to Beruel. He was fascinated, as well as amazed.

“Illumination.”

White bubbles of light danced around the room, making it clear as day.

“D-don’t! Stop it! Don’t look at me!”𝓞𝑣𝐿xt.𝗰𝒐𝔪

The light fragments finally revealed the Fairy King’s true body—the one known as Beruel himself.

“D-don’t… look at me…”

Beruel’s head was hung wearily on his sunken shoulders as he sat on a massive throne. However, instead of the regal appearance of a King, he looked like something else.

For one, his silver hair was now gone—leaving nothing more than a few strands of faded, white hair.

His emaciated physique made the regal apparel he wore look oversize, and his pale body indicated that he wasn’t at his finest.

His wings were wilted, falling flat against his back. They also had a faded ash color—quite pitiful for a Fairy, let alone royalty.

Tons of wires were connected to his throne, which in turn connected a single large pipe into the base of his neck.

“I see. So that’s why you stubbornly tried to get rid of us rather than escaping…” Kuzon muttered as he stared at the pathetic excuse for a Fairy King.

Even Ana’s face was nothing shy of a shocked expression.

“… You can’t leave this place, can you?”

*

*

*

How long ago was it?

Beruel couldn’t remember at this point. Yes… he couldn’t remember when he was born.

It had most likely been over a thousand years, at this point.

He forgot a lot of things, frankly. No longer could he recollect the appearances of his deceased parents, or even any of their characteristics.

Other than the core tenets of his values and the memories that had the strongest impression on his mind, all that remained in Beruel’s fading mind were vague memories of the past.

It wasn’t as though he was afflicted with an illness, or a curse had been placed upon him. No, it was something rather simple and biological.

He had gotten old.

Fairies weren’t immortal. They had never been. Yes, they lived for very long, but so what? Eventually, death would come for them, no?

As such, old age was only inevitable for a Fairy like Beruel—who had lived far beyond what was normally permitted of a Fairy.

Ever since he got banished from the Sanctuary and he’d had to leave the Mana saturated environment, he began to age faster than usual.

He did his best to slow it down, but the best he could do was this—pumping concentrated Mana into his body and forcibly prolonging his life by reducing his physical activities and the strain it had on his expiring body.

This led him to his current predicament—being an immobile being who could only properly manifest in the form of his clones.

A husk of a Fairy King.

*

*

*

“Interesting…” Ana muttered as she stared closely at the Fairy King.

After observing him for just a few seconds, she had a lot of questions in her mind.

For one, why was the Fairy King so humanlike? Other Fairies appeared tiny, but he was similar to an Elf, appearance wise.

Also, what happened to his wings?

‘They’re so different. Could this be…?’

Fairy King Beruel was right in front of them, but his appearance was so surprising that it didn’t even feel like a victory any longer. The conclusion was so underwhelming that Ana forgot they were standing face to face with the enemy.

“Beruel, I want answers to my question, and you’re going to give them to me.” Kuzon spoke in a commanding tone, drawing closer to the husk of a being.

Throughout their short time together, the Fairy King had only told them to stay back, and also not to look at him.

Apparently, even he knew he was not a sight for sore eyes.

“You… you killed my subordinate…” His tired voice trailed.

It sounded devoid of life, and it felt so strained that it almost seemed like Beruel was dying at that very moment. However, despite its tragic tone, an evidence of anger could be deciphered from his words.

“I did.” Kuzon answered.

“Why? Did he not give you the information you wanted?” Beruel’s pale face displayed even more anger.

“He did tell me what I—”

“THEN WHY?! WHY DID YOU KILL HI—!” Beruel’s eyes bulged and he began to cough before he could conclude his rageful inquisition.

“Ack… kack!”

One look at him and one could tell how severely strained his body was. His sickly appearance and the bags under his eyes clearly showed he wasn’t long for this world.

He was dying.

Yet, his pure anger and grief wouldn’t let him stay still. His emotion of pure wrath was sent towards Kuzon.

“I see. So you also feel pain when someone you love gets killed…” The young Midas whispered.

The cold gaze he directed at the Fairy King depicted nothing like remorse. He was simply observing him with interest.

“W-what are you talking about?” Beruel groaned as he recoiled from his earlier cough.

“I killed that Fairy for the same reason I killed the others. Because of the incident that occurred twelve years ago.”

Beruel’s annoyed face slowly turned pale, and his anger started to die down. Even though the flames of hatred remained in his eyes, he couldn’t fully manifest his previous expression of disdain.

“W-we had nothing to do with it…” He muttered.

“No. You all did. For your goals of obtaining the Arcanas, your organization was culpable for the Midas massacre.”