Kanal regained consciousness, trembling all over.

A chill ran through his body as if trapped in ice.

‘Why am I…?’

Faint memories before losing consciousness covered his blurry vision.

‘The human woman who resembled Gaia… wielding Hoa’s sword.’

At that moment, a vague suspicion flashed through Kanal’s mind.

Gaia’s hair color wasn’t common.

Even Kanal, who had lived for over 700 years, rarely saw such a color.

And Hoa’s sword was something an ordinary human couldn’t wield.

Unless Hoa personally passed on the power of the ice sword.

‘What could it be…?’

Something elusive and uncertain, his chest felt suffocating.

As if piling on top of his already troubled mind, a headache surged.

Gritting his teeth, Kanal strained his eyes to try and clear his vision. But the hazy retinas didn’t become clearer.

‘By the way, where is this?’

He saw himself sprawled disorientedly on a bed.

He couldn’t see it up close, but it looked like a canopy used by human nobles.

For the fairies, who had always led a simple life in a hut, it were decorations they didn’t use.

Feeling unfamiliar, Kanal moved his fingers.

And then, he was once again startled by the softness that brushed against his fingertips.

A blanket was clearly covering his body, filled with silk on the outside and goose feathers inside.

It was light beyond description, and its warmth and softness reminded him of his long-forgotten mother’s embrace.

To think that there could be such a luxurious and extravagant bedroom…

Kanal found solace in that alone.

This clearly wasn’t the fairy forest, no matter how you looked at it.

He may not have crossed the gate on his own, but he seemed to have safely arrived at the place he intended to go.

Feeling a coldness as if ice was flowing instead of blood inside his body, Kanal twisted and moved his body.

As he turned his head, he saw a white robe moving rustlingly a step away from the bed.

The busy figure noticed Kanal, who had opened his eyes, and approached with a surprised expression.

“Oh, you’re already awake?”

Lirik, examining Kanal’s condition, asked in a quiet voice.

Only when he came almost face to face could Kanal see his face clearly.

Why did he darken the room like this? No, could it be nighttime now?

Kanal furrowed his brow to sharpen his vision and spoke with a raspy voice.

“…Doctor.”

“Yes, that’s correct. Your injuries were quite severe, so I was treating you. Can you see well? Your eyes, do they function properly?”

“It’s blurry. But… where am I? Ugh.”

Kanal groaned in pain, feeling the ache in his shoulder as he tossed his body.

“Don’t exert yourself. The torn area is quite extensive. How did you get injured like this? You just had to come out of the gate.”

“That… I’ll tell you later.”

Despite trembling from the cold, cold sweat dripped down his body.

Seeing Kanal breathing heavily, Lirik clicked his tongue sympathetically.

“Oh, and this is your room, Mr. Kanal. I apologize for the lack of proper preparation due to the rush. The caretakers have been scarce lately. Hahaha.”

He chuckled awkwardly and checked the ring he had placed by the bedside before assessing Kanal’s condition once again.

His examining touch was quite meticulous.In the meantime, Kanal felt something odd. A sense of unease, as if something elusive was slipping away.

Meanwhile, Lirik measured Kanal’s body temperature, checked his pulse, and covered him with an additional layer of blanket, as he continued to tremble.

“Rest a bit more. I’ll take my leave now. I have a lot to do.”

“Wait.”

Just before he opened the door to leave, Kanal called out to him.

“Where are the other elders?”

“I have arranged separate rooms for them as well. Don’t worry.”

“If that’s the case, please call them now.”

“It’s currently… very late. First of all, Mr. Kanal needs to recover. And now Mr. Kanal will fall asleep again…”

“Why would I…”

“That’s how the healing potion works. Hahaha.”

Before Lirik finished speaking, Kanal truly felt sleep pouring over him.

His eyelids felt heavy as lead.

“Rest well. You’ve been through a lot.”

Quietly closing the door beyond the elder’s blurry vision, Lirik disappeared.

As the door closed, Kanal’s consciousness blurred once again.

“Hmm, strange. Normally, he should be blind… But he hasn’t completely lost my sight. Is this the power of a high-level fairy?”

Lirik, who closed the door, rubbed his chin and smiled.

Obtaining high-level fairy stones was like catching stars in the sky, and he wondered how many had fallen into his lap this time.

He felt instantly delighted.

“The oldest fairy… I wonder how remarkable of a fairy stone he possesses. I’m already looking forward to it.”

Heheheh.

With a laughter-filled smile, Lirik hummed as he headed towards his research lab.

Kanal, with many fairies and spirits in tow, couldn’t be killed recklessly, but there were plenty of opportunities to feed on him until his dying breath.

Whether it was the sky itself helping him or the joy of appearing with numerous injuries. Otherwise, he would have struggled with how to position him on the bed.

“It would have been better if he had been caught and died in that forest. Foolish fairy. Did he think he would receive special treatment?”

Heheheh, with a laughter, Lirik entered the basement.

Such arrogance, thinking that he alone would lead the author to ruin.

Just by looking at him lying there, didn’t he realize he had entered his own grave?

‘You want to become a king? Very well. I’ll make you a king.’

Now accustomed to the smell of blood, he opened the door to a deeper section of the underground.

Among the many corpses hanging upside down, there were the fairies who had abandoned the forest followed Kanal.

Some had already been dissected, becoming lifeless partial corpses.

Lirik’s laughter erupted as he leaped between them.

Human, monster, fairy, elf, and demon corpses revealed their insides as they died.

Some who scratched the floor begging for mercy had their nails turned backward.

“Well… even the king of Chimeras would be a true king, wouldn’t he? Ahahaha!”

The world was beneath his feet.

* * *

“What is this, such a bewildering sight…”

Hemmie had to suspect whether she was dreaming again as soon as she woke up.

“Why… why is there another baby?”

She rubbed her eyes and washed her face, but the white-haired baby clinging to Sasha’s side didn’t disappear.

It didn’t seem like an illusion.

Hemmie looked at Derek with a suspicious gaze and spoke.

“Could you conceive with magic and conceive a child in one night…?”

“W-what are you talking about, Hemmie!”Derek snapped, crossing his arms in front of his chest and glared at Hemmie.

“…It’s a joke, Derek. Just a joke. I was surprised and blurted out anything. No matter how great a magician is, he’s not a god. How could you give birth to a child overnight?”

“As a man, I can’t give birth to a child. It’s not just overnight; it wouldn’t even happen after a year of waiting.”

Even though she understood, Hemmie kept talking.

Hemmie clicked her tongue, shook her head and looked at the white-haired baby who followed Sasha around.

Smaller than Sasha but seemingly advanced in development, the baby crawled around Sasha and expressed affection.

When the round cheeks pressed against Sasha’s forehead, the baby pushed and shoved, moving the baby away.

“Kyaah~! Kya!”

The baby fell backward and tumbled over, but she laughed happily. The baby, who waved her short arms, shook back and forth like a stump, then rolled to the side and stuck to Sasha’s side again.

Hemmie, who was absentmindedly watching the babies play, ran toward Allen, who was coming in with a bottle.

“Who’s that baby, Allen?”

While gauging the temperature with the palm of his hand, Allen looked at the playful babies with a proud smile and replied.

“Last night, while Hemmie was unconscious, a dragon egg hatched. This baby is that Hatchling.”

“What?!?”

Hemmie widened her eyes and circled around the white-haired baby as if she couldn’t believe it, then exclaimed.

“This one is clearly human!”

“White dragons need to gather strength in human form for a certain period. But, Hemmie, this…”

“Oh, I’ll handle it.”

Allen handed her a warm bottle.

Taking the bottle, she pulled close Sasha, receiving affectionate expressions from Drea, as if she was saying, ‘Everything is so bothersome’, and embraced the sprawled-out Sasha.

And then, it happened.

“Kyaaoh!”

“Ouch!”

Drea’s tiny mouth latched onto Hemmie’s arm, the moment she hugged Sasha.

Indeed, whether it was a Hatchling or not, the baby already had teeth.

Thanks to that, Hemmie let out a startled cry and shook her arm.

“What, what is this?”

“Kruoh!”

The baby with pink eyes and fighting power looked at Hemmie.

The baby, shaking her short arms and legs, even extended her wings, as if exerting strength.

“Huh? Ouch, it hurts. It hurts!”

“Kwoo! Kroh!”

Somehow, it felt like the baby was crying out for Sasha to be put down.

“No, I have to give Sasha milk. Let go of me. Huh? I’m not a bad person, you know?”

Despite all her persuasions, the fighting power in the baby’s eyes didn’t diminish.

At the point where she thought her arm would bruise, Sasha’s hand gently patted Drea’s forehead.

“Heugyau!”

“…!”

“…Uhh, hoo!”

Upon hearing Sasha’s whimpering words, Drea’s eyes widened, and tears welled up.

Soon, Drea released Hemmie, whom she had been biting, and gently placed herself on the bed, sticking a pacifier to her mouth, and sat up quietly.

Her face was so pitiful, as if she would cry at any moment.

“What, what is this?”

‘What did I just witness…?’

Hemmie was so surprised that she didn’t even realize her arm was in pain as she looked at the two babies.

Sasha blinked his round eyes as if asking what’s wrong and eagerly gestured to give him the bottle.

“Uh-oh. Oh, I get it.”

Sitting at the edge of the soft bed, with her buttocks perched, she handed the bottle, and Sasha vigorously sucked on milk, which amounted to 900ml.

He had a satisfied expression, as if the taste was delightful.

Slurp.

At that moment, something damp touched Hemmie’s arm.