Chapter 174: Chapter 15: Mesmerised
Maria was standing on the wall, her fluttering gown of white silk, blue satin and ice dancing around her short stack figure since the moment Tyr arrived. She had been waiting patiently for his return on the walls of ice and snow, her beautiful eyes like ocean-coloured gemstones gazing at the horizon in silence.
'He should be back... I feel a disturbance from the forest spirits...'
There was an eerie feeling coming from the forest, and Maria, being the queen of both the fairies and snow elves, could sense their feelings and worries as the tiny blue lights danced around her body, crying and speaking of a huge rotting terror.
"Zombie... dragon?" Her gentle voice, like a mermaid's mating call, was enchanting and mesmerising to the one she chose to direct those feelings.
"The emperor killed it! Haha, but I did smell another..." Tyr thought as she stood beside the fairy queen, their wings fluttering and tapping each other as if playing a game: one soft, thin and like a see-through glass while the other scaled and thick like tough hide.
"Will he be okay?"
"Tiamat is with him... I am sure, hmmm? Isn't that Tiamat now? Why are her eyes so red, like a teenage girl who was dumped?"
The dragon form of Tiamat faded as she landed on the ice walls, slipping on the snow as she slammed into the wall, her body seeming to lack strength as she slid down with a slight sob, looking back from where she came from. "Master... don't order me to leave you..."
Tyr was the first to notice the strangeness of Tiamat, but Maria was much more gentle seeing the red eyes and tears dripping down her cheeks. She gently used her frozen scarf to brush them away, smiling. "He is okay; our dear is not hurt or in pain. I can feel his vibrant energy in here."
Maria tapped her chest as the blue lights began to speak louder and louder, their voices speaking of a king... the overlord who came to slay the dragon and the bad humans that smelled of death and rotting fruit.
More and more of the little sprites and spirits danced through the village, adding a lovely ambience as Maria's face filled with a smile; she felt the changes and words used and knew that something in Lancelot had changed, and the spirits were happy, overjoyed at his changes.
The next moment, an explosion of aura shot through the sky, causing even this distant town to feel the great forces: one dark and evil, like a creature sneaking in the darkness, while the other was an intense sun burning through the darkness, absorbing the light... and taking control of all those underneath it.
"He's fighting against the evil ones..." Maria whispered as her eyes glowed in various colours and spirits fluttered into her body, showing her the scenes as Lancelot took Caladbolg, discarded his past self and accepted being an overlord.
Tyr and Tiamat couldn't see those scenes, but they felt the power and life of the zombie dragon fading while the dragon bloodline in Lancelot changed...
It evolved into something stronger as their hearts trembled from the feeling that got even at this distance!
"My master is okay... facing so many enemies and still doesn't return...!" Tiamat was a very shy dragon, and now she released her true feelings and struggled to adapt to them as if she opened a huge barrel of wine with a cork and it was rolling down a hill with all those emotions flowing out and unable to catch it to plug it back up.
***
The trio of women were joined by a large group of snow elves, frost hares and succubi, who were all waiting for his return.
A feeling of anticipation began to fill their chests as the holy aura of Nuriel began to envelop the land... a loud crash once again shocked the land before a feeling and sigh of relief left the lips of most of the women.
While the ice fairy queen was waiting in a different place.
"You sure fought in a very gaudy way, Lancelot." Melodica's charming voice sounded as he walked with a huge black sword along his back, and the silent but blushing Nuriel followed his steps, sometimes her eyes darting to gaze upon his figure.
"Mmmm, the lovely Melodica, what is that figure?"
Six feet tall with long flowing blue hair and wings the size of a metre in length with a three-metre wingspan, she stood like an ethereal sculpture of beauty and mystical grace.
"I am Maria's alter ego—of course, we would share the same adult form, fufu. Are you excited about my body?"
"Honestly, it's a lovely body. If Maria saw you, she might cry, being so short herself, haha."
Melodica didn't answer but floated forward, a cloud of gold and blue icy dust following her body as it fluttered around with every flick of her lovely spirit wings; rotating around his body, she took a long sniff of the blade, his body and nodded several times.
"I see..."
"This is your choice and direction?"
Lancelot looked at her, a little confused—he had never seen the fairy queen so serious and mature before, and with each step she approached, he felt a strange feeling in his chest: worry, anticipation and confusion.
Her fingertip began to glow with an ocean blue, the same colour as her and Maria's eyes; dancing across the atmosphere, she began tracing countless runes that vanished into the air. Nuriel watched, and even the angel marvelled.
"The ancient fairy rites... a mystery that ignores even heaven rules!?" Nuriel gasped.
"Lancelot Du Lac, since you have chosen the path of an overlord, there will be many challenges that become nothing while those that were nothing may become arduous for you. As the queen of all ice fairies and mother of the ice spirits, I grant you my blessing and recognition."
"Spirits, fairies and my wonderous sister's hail grant your affection and support to the new fairy king."
"Eh... Why!?" Lancelot was confused; why didn't she do this earlier?
What significance did his choosing a different path have on her to act this way... as the immense affinity with ice and spirit magic began to interweave with his dragon, demon and angelic ether veins, creating a network of the most complex man in existence.
"Before you were a sheep playing king... A mere coward who refused to choose a way forward with his own two feet. Relying on your demon wife and those who surround you to reach the point you stand now barely."
"Do you not see how wrong you were now that your eyes are open?"
Melodic smiled as she hugged his body before placing a soft kiss on his lips; the taste was like blueberries and ice cream, sweet and refreshing, unlike Maria's candyfloss and strawberry taste...
"Now you are a lion standing above others, on the path to a true king... and I approve of the overlord Lancelot Du Lac. So take responsibility and protect our sisters, brother. We have waited thousands of years for someone to unite our tribes. Now grow quickly because our enemies will be coming soon."
She waved her hand, forming a beautiful snow crystal necklace and placing it on his neck, "this will allow the other fairy tribes to accept you easier, without a battle." Before floating back to her palace, leaving Lancelot to stare after her figure...
"Such a strange person..." Lancelot felt the change in his body, and his understanding of ice and spirit magic increased exponentially.
'I never understood spirits and fairies... Maria hid her adult form as Melodica?'
A whisper suddenly floated on the wind, carrying the lovely voice of Maria and Melodica mixed with laughter and delight.
"Did you think we knew nothing of the great darkness approaching us? My dear King, Maria wanted to prove herself before asking you on a date; she is such a cute girl. So treat her well."
"The devouring one, she isn't something you can beat at your current state, so go forth and conquer!"
With a loud click, it seemed somehow becoming related to the fairies changed the rules for him... "No, becoming the fairy king means I am no longer subject to many of the rules of Avalon... that's why I can now return..."
"Return?" Lancelot turned, thinking about returning home, but Maria's voice echoed in the wind, "No, silly king, you can travel to any realm you have conquered or visited before. Return to your original homeland... conquer the west and east, and do not forget the allies you made along your path. It is time to conquer the Oni from the West truly."
"Only then can you move forward."
"Also, you must train hard... I sense the devouring one coming closer to this world. There is a year at most..."
Lancelot felt that the mystery of the fairy queen and her beloved lord was too mystical, and he could do nothing but smile to himself—looking over his shoulder, Nuriel was giving a strange look to Caladbolg, who seemed able to speak directly into the angel mind to tease or annoy her.
"Well, even if there is a dark future ahead, with this beautiful seraph and amazing sword, I will leave the dark until my light shines across Avalon.
"But first! Let's go see my cute fairy wife and two dragon brides!"
'Morgana, I hope you are well. Thank you for always being the one to support me in the darkest of times.'
The moment the cleaned and improved Lancelot appeared in the vision, most of the women were trapped in a moment of shock, becoming mesmerised by his beauty and the ethereal charm the Fairy King title granted him.