Chapter 101: Crawler’s Demise – II

12/29/2017 – Fairies Labyrinth

Lucas’s Perspective:

It’s been three days since Sylaphine approved our “brilliant” plan to take down the Frost Crawler.

And by “our,” I mean mostly Kaiser’s adjusted script. I just nodded along full well knowing it won’t go as planned.

Right now, I’m standing by the window, admiring the reflection of what can only be described as a divine masterpiece—me—

when an ice spear hurls straight toward my face.

I barely tilt aside as it shatters against the wall, leaving a frozen dent the size of my dignity.

“Celia! What the hell!?” I bark, spinning around.

She stands there, hands pressed to her chest, eyes wide and innocent. “My bad, Lucas! I was just… trying out ice magic!”

“You what—you almost turned me into Lu/cas!”

“Well,” she says, twirling her hair, “I could’ve given you painkillers if that happened.”

Before I can even respond, my System chimes in with its ever-so-helpful wisdom.「 Relax, hero. I’ve got painkillers too. 」

“That’s not the point!” I yell at thin air, which must look great to anyone walking by.

Then I glare at Celia. “And why are you even practicing inside my room? You have your own!”

She pouts, crossing her arms. “You’re the one teaching me ice magic, remember? Hmph.”

“Yeah, outside, near the training field! You’re using frost spells in my room—what about your room?”

“I don’t want to destroy my room. Yours is safer.”

I blink. “Safer…? For you maybe.”

I let out a sigh that could narrate a tragic play.This girl is going to be the death of me.

「 Big problems need big solutions, bro. 」

What solution?

「 Want me to make your room anti-ice so she can practice easier? Titanium walls, frostproof flooring—maybe a cupholder? 」

She’s not practicing in my room,” I snap.

「 Alright, alright, angry man detected. 」

I sink back into my chair while Celia continues humming to herself, frost swirling around her fingertips. The air grows cold enough that my breath turns white. She looks genuinely happy—eyes sparkling, smile bright—as she focuses on forming tiny ice crystals in her palm.

Three days ago, she’d asked me to teach her ice magic. She did it so adorably—head tilted, voice soft—that anyone would’ve signed up to tutor her.

Like any wise, noble hero, I said no.

Mainly because teaching takes effort, and I’m allergic to that.

But after a few minutes of her pleading, whining, and pulling at my sleeve, I finally gave in.Just a kind, charitable man doing his good deed for the day.

「 Ninja, you agreed immediately when she offered to help you prank Kaiser once you’re back on the road. Don’t play saint. 」

Relax, System. That was strategy. Pure diplomacy.

「 You call conspiring with a yandere diplomacy? 」

Against Kaiser? Absolutely. He’s my #1 hater. It’s a public service to prank him. Balance of karma, you know?

「 Such an opportunist. 」

“I prefer the term handsome genius.”

「 ????? 」

Celia suddenly claps her hands, voice bright with excitement. “I DID IT!”

I look up—and sure enough, she’s managed to form a perfect cube of ice floating over her palm, glimmering like crystal. She jumps up and down, cheering like a kid on her birthday.

For a second, I can’t help but grin. She’s got talent—raw, volatile, and probably capable of leveling a building if she tries wrong—but still, talent.

“Not bad,” I say, standing and walking closer. “Just… try not to freeze me next time.”

She beams, holding out her hand to show me the cube. “See? Perfectly shaped!”

Then it immediately melts into a puddle.

“…Perfectly temporary,” I mutter.

She giggles, rubbing her neck. “Ehe~ I’ll get better!”

「 She’s learning fast. At this rate, she might even surpass you. 」

“Oh, shut up.”

「 I mean, she’s already prettier— 」

“System.“「 —and smarter. 」

“I will uninstall you.”

「 My bad original gangster. 」

I sigh again, rubbing the bridge of my nose as frost clings to my boots.

Three days since Sylaphine’s decision, and everything’s gotten colder—literally and metaphorically.

Between training, planning, and Celia’s random experiments, sleep’s been optional at best.

It’s kinda weird, though.

She suddenly took an interest in ice magic.

Before this, her elemental basics were… let’s be honest—garbage. She could barely light a candle without setting herself on fire. Now she’s pulling off clean frost formations like it’s nothing.

「 I noticed too. She hasn’t been sleeping well. Look closely—dark circles. 」

I narrow my eyes a little. The System’s right.

Even with her excitement, there’s a faint tiredness beneath her eyes, the kind that concealer—and delusion—can’t hide.

Yeah… I did give her some sleeping pills two nights ago. Said they’d knock her out like a hammer to the skull. Guess they didn’t.

「 Stress, maybe. Or something eating at her mind. Humans—and cursed types—don’t sleep well when their heart’s in a bad state. 」

Heart’s noisy, huh…

Weird. She looks so happy, but maybe that’s the point. The happier someone acts, the louder the noise inside usually is.

I stand up, brushing some frost off my coat, and walk over to her. She’s crouched down, admiring her ice cube like it’s her child.

“Hey, Celia,” I start casually. “You’ve been acting a bit off lately. Everything okay?”

She looks up, smiling, but it’s that tight smile people make when they’re pretending not to care.

“Huh? What do you mean? I’m fine. Totally fine!”

“Really?” I lean on the table, smirking. “Because it’s a little weird how you suddenly wanted to learn ice magic… right after Kaiser got himself thrown in a dungeon.”

Her smile twitches. “…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” I say, dragging the word out like a pro interrogator. “Just… coincidence, huh?”

She stands up, arms crossed, glaring. “Why would I care what that idiot does? He can flirt with whoever he wants! I don’t own him!”

“Flirt?” I raise a brow. “Oh, so you did see that part.”

“I—!” She stops, cheeks pink. “I mean, everyone saw! It was embarrassing!”

“Sure, sure,” I say, nodding sagely. “Totally indifferent. That’s why you’ve been sleepless, anxious, suddenly obsessed with ice magic—yep, classic ’I don’t care’ symptoms.”

She stomps her foot, frost crackling beneath her. “Lucas!”

“Don’t ’Lucas’ me, your royal jealousy is showing.”

“I’m not jealous!”

「 She’s definitely jealous. 」

Not helping, System.

Her eyes narrow. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

“Who, me? Never. I’m just observing,” I say, doing my best to sound like a responsible adult.

“I mean, one day you’re threatening to freeze Kaiser’s bones, next day you’re trying to become Elsa. You see the connection, right?”

She presses her lips together, face red, trying not to laugh—and failing.”Elsa? Who?? You’re such an idiot,” she mutters, covering her mouth as a giggle slips out.

“Ah, there it is,” I grin. “The smile of acceptance. The five stages of jealousy complete.”

“Oh, shut up,” she says between laughs, flicking a snowflake at my face. “You’re lucky I don’t blast you with this.”

“Try it. I have legs. I dodge.”

“More like die dramatically.”

I laugh, and she joins in, our voices echoing softly in the icy room. The tension melts just like her magic—slowly, quietly, leaving warmth behind.

「 Good. Emotional reset achieved. 」

“Yeah,” I think back, smiling faintly. “She needed that.”

As her laughter fades, I glance out the window again—the same one that almost killed me with her first ice spear.

Kaiser’s still in the dungeon somewhere, probably smirking at the wall. For no reason.

And Celia… she’s trying so hard to act like she’s fine.

I don’t know what’s going on between them, but one thing’s clear—When she finally faces him again, it’s going to be interesting.

「 You mean now? 」

“Yo guys, what’s up?” said Kaiser—being him, standing there like he didn’t just crawl out of a dungeon five minutes ago.

I swear, this man’s talent for timing is godlike.

Celia froze mid-laugh, her smile instantly dying. “You—?!”

“Oh, hey Celia,” Kaiser said, brushing imaginary dust off his coat. “Miss me?”

Her hand twitched like she was about to summon an ice spear again. “Why are you out?!”

He blinked, completely calm. “Because the fairies realized keeping me in a roach-infested dungeon was beneath someone of my… charm.”

I coughed to hide my laugh. “Charm? Bro, you literally proposed to their queen in front of everyone. I’m surprised they didn’t hang you.”

He shrugged. “They considered it, I think. But then I offered to improve their water filtration system.”

“Meaning,” I said, “you talked your way out of prison.”

“Worked, didn’t it?” he said, smirking.

Celia crossed her arms. “You embarrassed all of us. You realize that, right?”

“Oh? You mean the confession part?” Kaiser said, feigning innocence. “It was poetic.”

“Poetic?” she barked. “You said, ’Marry me, I love you,’ in front of everyone.

Even Lucas was choking on air!”

“Hey,” I said, raising a hand. “That was second-hand embarrassment. My body couldn’t process that level of cringe.”

Kaiser grinned. “Jealous, were you?”

“Of the dungeon? Maybe.”

“Of the queen,” he said with a wink.

Celia’s face went red again. “Oh my god, I hate you!”

「 Man’s fearless. Or brainless. Possibly both. 」

Exactly, System.

I folded my arms and leaned back. “Celia, you should’ve seen your face that night. You looked like someone stole your favorite person.”

She turned to me with fire in her eyes. “I was not jealous.”

“Right, right,” I said, nodding seriously. “You were just passionately furious, sleepless for three days, and suddenly trying to learn ice magic to ’cool down,’ huh?”

“That’s not—! Ugh!” she groaned, covering her face.

Kaiser chuckled lowly. “I see my absence improved morale.”

“Yeah, we were all happy,” I said. “No plotting.”

He smirked. “Aren’t you the one who told the fairies I’m ’autistic’?”

“That’s called diplomacy,” I said.

“Diplomacy, huh?” he said, tilting his head.

“Keep talking and I’ll let her aim properly this time,” I said, pointing at Celia.

“Gladly,” she muttered, summoning a small shard of ice.

Kaiser raised his hands. “Whoa, whoa. I just got out of a dungeon, can we not send me back to the ER?”

I cracked a grin. “Guess we’re even then. You traumatize the queen, we traumatize you.”

He sighed dramatically. “Ah yes. My loyal companions, pillars of support and morality.”

Celia huffed. “You’re lucky tomorrow we face that frost crawler. If you weren’t needed, I’d personally freeze you back underground.”

“Aw,” he said softly. “You do care.”

Her voice pitched. “I—! That’s not—!”

I clapped once, interrupting. “Okay, okay, children. Save the lover’s quarrel for after we survive tomorrow.”

They both glared at me in unison.Worth it.

For a moment, silence—then all three of us broke into laughter. The kind that isn’t loud, but real—the kind that shakes off tension.

Celia laughed until she covered her mouth again, cheeks flushed. Kaiser smirked but didn’t say anything—his eyes softer than usual.

And as the laughter faded, Celia gave him a short side-eye, the smile still on her face… but her gaze sharp.

I noticed.She’s still mad.

「 Oh boy. Tomorrow’s gonna be colder than the crawler itself. 」

Yeah… and I have front-row seats.

Sylaphine’s Perspective:

9:38 PM

Night in Celestine glowed differently. The air carried light the way rivers carried sound — soft, rippling, alive.

Beyond my balcony, I could see the veils of our hidden realm tremble like threads of dew, each pulse marking another heartbeat of the world I had sworn to protect.

They gathered before me in the council chamber, my four most trusted wings. The chamber itself was a hollowed bloom of obsidian petals, alive with faint silver veins.

Caelum stood first, silent as ever, his hand resting over the pommel of his crystalline blade.”Your Majesty,” he began, bowing slightly, “the frost crawler’s presence has thickened near the glacier’s root. The mists are shifting. We estimate it will try to breach the barrier by dawn.”

His tone never wavered, but I caught the faint tension in his knuckles. I had seen him fight once — against the molten wyrms of the southern pits.

He never feared. But this… this creature made even him speak carefully.

“Continue,” I said.

Aliana stepped forward next, her fiery wings flickering. “We’ve reinforced the perimeter with seal sigils. But the crawler’s cold seeps through them. It’s not magical frost — it’s something else, creeping through stone like disease.”

Velith chuckled under her breath. “Clever parasite, isn’t it? Almost feels alive enough to think. I’d wager it’s listening even now.”

Her mischief always unsettled the others, but I let her speak.

Eryndor’s voice followed, quiet but firm. “It reacts to heat well. Even our light magic weakens near it. It devours energy. Slowly.”

Their words painted a picture I did not want to see — of a predator that was coming for us.

I rested my hands on the marble railing beside me. “Then tomorrow decides not just our defenses… but whether Celestine survives another century.”

Caelum lowered his head. “We won’t fail you, my queen.”

Aliana smiled faintly. “You sound as though she’d let us rest even if we tried.”

I couldn’t help a quiet laugh — small, rare. “You know me too well.”

Their smiles softened the air, even for a moment. They were my wings — my protectors and, in truth, my children. Seven thousand years had not dulled how deeply I cared for each of my fairies. And how deeply I feared losing them.

Velith, as usual, broke the silence. “Speaking of humans… I heard your little guests were training again. The white hair one almost froze her companion’s face off.”

“Celia,” Aliana said, sighing. “She’s passionate. Too passionate. Still, Lucas seems to balance her. He’s quick-witted, even if his manners are… unconventional.”

“He is odd,” Eryndor murmured. “Talks to himself sometimes. Is he schizophrenic?”

“Perhaps his mind is crowded,” Caelum said dryly.

I chuckled softly at their banter. “Humans are curious beings. They bend under pressure yet somehow never give up.”

Aliana’s eyes flicked toward me. “Even the one you imprisoned?”

Ah. Kaiser.

I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering his words — Marry me. It was bold, reckless, and absurd. Yet beneath that absurdity… there was something else. His mind was not that of a fool.

His inventions, those impossible diagrams Aliana showed me, still haunted my thoughts. Machines without magic — as if he meant to challenge the world’s laws themselves.

“He has intellect,” I said at last. “Dangerous intellect.”

Velith’s grin curved like a blade. “You like him.”

I shot her a glance sharp enough to silence a dragon. “Impossible.”

She laughed anyway. “Impossible is a dangerous word your majesty.”

The others smiled behind their hands. I sighed.

“Enough.”

Caelum, ever the soldier, straightened. “He was released today, your majesty. The fairies guarding the dungeon reported… nothing unusual. He simply thanked them, fixed their broken lamps, and left.”

“Fixed their lamps?” I repeated.

Aliana nodded. “He used scraps and heated wires. They say the light now burns steadier than before — even without mana.”

A small silence followed, heavy and thoughtful.

“He amuses me,” I admitted. “A human with the heart of a scholar and the tongue of a fool.”

Velith smiled knowingly. “That’s usually the dangerous kind.”

I looked toward the window again, the night air brushing through the curtains like whispering silk. Beyond the horizon, frost shimmered blue — the crawler’s mark, spreading faster than it should.

My chest tightened. For all my power, for all my years… the world still changed faster than I could hold it together.

“I will meet them at dawn,” I said finally. “The human, and us. We face it together.”

They all bowed in unison.

Before they turned to leave, I spoke again, softly. “Caelum, Aliana, Eryndor, Velith…”

They paused, meeting my gaze.

“Stay close to each other. No glory is worth losing your wings.”

Caelum’s voice was low. “As you command.”

Aliana smiled warmly. “Always, my queen.”

Velith’s smirk faded into something gentler. “You worry too much.”

Eryndor’s eyes glimmered faintly. “Worry means she loves us.”

Their words struck something in me — something I kept buried for centuries. I turned away before they could see the small tremor of my lips.

When they were gone, I let my mask slip for a heartbeat.

For a moment… I wished someone else could lead. That I could laugh with them, not above them. That I could be simply Sylaphine, not Queen Sylaphine.

But that was a wish for mortals, not queens.

The wind outside stirred again, colder now. Somewhere in that chill, I thought I heard a man’s voice — distant, familiar, defiant.

Kaiser.

Perhaps tomorrow would reveal what kind of creature he truly was — fool, genius, or something far more dangerous.

And for the first time in centuries…I found myself almost eager to see.

———————————————————————————————–

Night thinned to a sliver of hourglass sand — 2:03 AM stacked between breaths of the world.

Sylaphine lay in the hush of her bedchamber, the moonlight painting silver across her lashes. Even queens surrendered to sleep; in that soft, rare surrender her face showed the small, mortal curve of exhaustion.

One by one the wings of Celestine folded into dream. Caelum’s room was still; Aliana’s candle guttered into a steady glow as she finally gave in; Eryndor’s breath whispered like frost; Velith’s laughter, once bright, was muted into quiet sleep. The palace folded itself around them, protective and patient.

Lucas slept with his mouth open, the night breeze from his window cooling his breath. He looked ridiculous and peaceful at once, the air ghosting through the open pane as if nature itself wanted to watch him rest.

Kaiser’s room was a different world. A lamp burned low on his worktable, haloing metal and scrap in a warm, intimate light. He sat hunched over the harness—tubes like dark veins, cuffs and thin plates laid out with obsessive patience. A small vial glinted between his fingers; he tipped a measured drop into the tubes. Steam sighed, then curled into the lamp’s light.

“Some deep-glycol will do the job,” he said to no one and everything, smirking as the liquid darkened and flowed. “Glad Lucas managed to pull it out of his pocket.”

He listened to the little clicks and the low, promising hiss of valves.

“It’ll go as planned,” he murmured, eyes cold and quiet. Then he shut the lamp with the soft precision of someone who knew the worth of minutes.

Across the hall, Celia sat propped against the headboard, knees tucked to her chest. Her hair fell in a dark curtain; the darkness under her eyes was a map of sleepless nights. She rocked a little, the motion small and steadied by habit.

“I can’t sleep tonight again,” she whispered to the dark. “I hate this feeling…”

The sleeping pills had failed.

Her fingers curled around her knees, white-knuckled. A dry, almost feral smile touched her lips, fragile as glass.

“But tomorrow it ends,” she breathed. The sentence was a promise. Her eyes shone with a fever that no sleeping pill could dull.

Her voice went softer, thinner, then colder as the words left her.

“After I kill her… I’ll burn her face. That’ll make me feel better.”

The line hung like a shard in the room—sharp, dangerous—but Celia’s voice had the odd half-pleasure of someone comforting a wound with its own scab.

“No one can have him,” she said finally, fiercely.

“Except… me.”

She let out a small, violent laugh and then, as the pill’s promise failed once more, folded herself into the thin shelter of sleep—determined, and ready for morning’s devils.

Tomorrow awaits.

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