I Thought It Was a Fairy Tale but the Genre Is Strange

Rapunzel (11)

“I’m not going to kill you. And I’m not going to let you die either.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! This isn’t child’s play! If you don’t kill me, everyone will get hurt!”

“Like hell I’d just sit and watch that happen?”

I tried for a solid smile, but judging by Rapunzel’s face, it probably didn’t look too good. Rapunzel burst out, her frustration boiling over.

“Just kill me!! Just kill me already!!!”

“Hah.”

That short, sharp sigh seemed to startle her. I looked into her tear-filled eyes and said,

“You really want to die?”

“Yes! I really, truly want to die!”

“Then swear it. Swear it in front of Meriel, who’s watching from above. Tell her, proudly, if that’s how much you truly crave death!”

At the mention of Meriel’s name, Rapunzel hesitated to speak.

“I, I…”

Her cherry-red lips trembled, her expression pained.

“I, I…die…”

Rapunzel couldn’t finish the sentence, her head drooping as she burst into sobs. Her heart-wrenching, pitiful cries, tearing their way out of her lungs, echoed through the room. Tears, like big drops of rain, flowed endlessly as she unleashed the emotions she’d been holding back, wailing at the top of her lungs.

“hhhic, I, I don’t want to. I don’t want to die like this…! Please… help me, Siyu.”

I smiled at her words.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that. It seems I won our first fight.”

Dragging my battered body, I moved toward her. What bound her was the immense magical power residing in her hair. I’d pondered a way to remove that power during my climb up the tower. My conclusion was simple: the magic seemed to be solely within the hair. So, I would cut the golden strands with a scythe.

I’d sever the shackles of that cursed hair that bound her, turning her back into a normal girl, Rapunzel.

*KWAhhh!!!*

An explosion that swept away everything in front of me. I swallowed hard, staring at the bombardment of hair that had landed at my feet. One step. My body was a mess, so I stumbled badly. If I’d taken a normal step, my body would have been pierced through by the hair’s blades and I’d be dead right now.

A killing intent unlike anything before.

Rapunzel’s hair, free from her control, was radiating a fierce golden light. My skin was tingling. An unsettling sensation, making my whole body shudder and my hairs stand on end.

It was genuinely trying to kill me. Before, I had felt like it was holding back, perhaps due to Rapunzel’s emotions, but now that undercurrent was completely gone. Only the single-minded intention to kill me was radiating from Rapunzel’s hair.

“I won’t forgive you.”

Rapunzel’s voice. But this wasn’t the voice coming from her mouth.

“Si, Siyu, it’s dangerous…Ugh!”

The bindings restraining Rapunzel tightened further, muffling her mouth again. The hair engulfing the entire area was violently thrashing. In front of me stood Rapunzel, her entire figure formed of hair glowing gold, emitting a murderous aura.

“I absolutely won’t forgive. My father, my mother, the people of the kingdom. And even this entire world!!”

The fake Rapunzel’s eyes became bloodshot, turning red, and then blood welled up at the corners before streaming down her cheeks.

“Everyone abandoned me. Everyone pointed fingers and cursed me. Everyone wished for my death. They said they were cursing me, but in truth, I was cursed by the world.”

“Huuuh.”

Suddenly, an immense pressure pressed down on my entire body, making it even hard to breathe. Just looking into her eyes was causing this! I clutched at my chest, struggling to look at her.

She looked down at me with cold eyes and said in a profoundly changed voice,

“I am the anger and sorrow of her, locked away in a tower and forced to endure unfair years, unwelcome by all.”

The fake Rapunzel took a step forward, approaching me. The intimidating aura emanating from her small frame made it overwhelming to even look directly into her eyes.

She was now right in front of me, declaring in a chilling voice.

“I am Rapunzel’s hatred. I will lead this rotten world to ruin, liberating her hatred.”

“Ugh, what are you even saying. Sorry, but Rapunzel would rather date me than destroy the world!”

*Whoosh!*

Along with the pain of my muscles tearing, a torrent of blood gushed from my wound. My desperate blow, swung with gritted teeth, didn’t even graze her clothes. Golden strands of hair, pouncing on me from all sides, had already bound my arms and legs.

The fake Rapunzel shoved her face close to mine, not a flicker of change in her expression.

“What do you know, you little shit? What makes you think, you who I just met today, that you can wag your tongue like that? Did you think the hatred of a lifetime, treated as a cursed existence, would vanish because of the likes of you? No. I’ll show you Rapunzel’s heart.”

*Whoosh!*

“Huh? U-uh….”

A golden strand of hair pierced through my left arm and straight into the floor. My brain, not yet comprehending what had happened, slowly received the information through my eyes.

And then, belatedly grasping the situation, my brain woke me to the reality:

This is a brutal world.

“KRaaaGH!!!”

A scream burst from my mouth. The pain, as if my bones were being pierced, was beyond my imagination. A horrifying pain, like someone had poured gasoline and set fire to the wound. My pierced arm trembled. I couldn’t even breathe, as if my lungs had shrunk.

“You, you can’t stop or hide Rapunzel’s hatred. You’re just an insignificant being. That’s your place in Rapunzel’s eyes.”

I bit my lower lip until it bled, forcing myself to look up and meet the fake’s eyes.

“D-don’t… don’t you dare speak… with Rapunzel’s… voice. You, you measly! … strand of hair… who do you think you are, acting like the master?”

“I am her hatred. That’s why I know. Your position in Rapunzel’s eyes is….”

*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*

“UGhhh!!!”

Golden daggers mercilessly plunged into my right arm. I grimaced, trying to endure, but couldn’t suppress the groans that escaped me. Blood dripped down my arm, splattering on the ground. My mind swam, threatening to black out. But I couldn’t collapse now.

“Ugh…!!!”

Rapunzel whimpered pitifully on the bed. How could I fall here when my girlfriend is suffering and so sad!

I glared at the fake with burning eyes.

“Y-you’re Rapunzel’s hatred? Well, guess what. I’m Rapunzel’s boyfriend. And Rapunzel told me herself. To help her. So, I’m gonna cut you down and free Rapunzel from her hatred.”

“I don’t understand. What Rapunzel truly wants is destruction. To annihilate this detestable world that abandoned her, that cursed her. That’s the only wish Rapunzel desperately harbors.”

“Ugh, you talk too damn much. Rapunzel doesn’t want that, are your ears clogged with earwax or what? Who are you, some hair, to decide Rapunzel’s feelings by yourself?”

Huh? What the…?

Why am I flying through the air? It felt like time was moving in slow motion. Golden hair, stained with blood. A tormented Rapunzel. And the self-proclaimed Rapunzel’s hatred, staring at me as I flew, her expression as cold as ice.

Oh, right. I’m about to slam into a wall, like, in one second.

*Thud!!!*

“Gah!”

A dull impact travels down my back, spreading throughout my whole body. My head is spinning, and my body feels completely drained of strength. Blood is flowing endlessly from my arm, soaking the floor and forming a puddle.

I’m gonna die. I’m really gonna die.

With the scent of death so close, my reason is paralyzed, and fear-soaked emotions rage within me. Rapunzel’s hatred slowly approaches. She looks like a grim reaper in my eyes.

And then, my gaze shifted past her, behind.

A desperate look in her eyes, shaking her head as if begging me to run. Rapunzel, who was hurting and crying more as she watched me get hurt, as if she couldn’t bear to see any more.

“…I don’t understand.”

She tilted her head, looking at me.

“Why are you getting up?”

Gasping for breath, I staggered, struggling not to fall again. And I flashed a smile at Rapunzel, full of my will to show that I was okay, and that I would absolutely save her.

“Of course, I’m Rapunzel’s boyfriend.”

“…Nonsense. Everything is meaningless in the face of hatred. Just die.”

Blink.

I just blinked. And then, a cold, golden blade was already rushing towards me, ready to shred my body.

Is this… is this really how I die?

Ah, no, this can’t be happening.

My eyes slide shut. The last thing I see is Rapunzel’s face, screaming, before I blink again.

“Kyahahaha! Looks like our little darling was making quite the spectacle of themselves, huh?”

[WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY BOYFRIEND!!!]

I burst out laughing.

“Ha, haha.”

I never thought I’d be this glad to see them. Ariel and Alice, just as battered as me, stood there, their backs a comforting sight.