The Baby Isn’t Yours

‘Chimera.’

It was forbidden magic and medicine.

Some referred to it as dark magic, while others called it divine medicine for extending life.

A dangerous yet fascinating technique or magic.

It was so alluring, yet simultaneously so dangerous that it was banned.

Chimera allowed people to be reborn as a stronger life form while simultaneously eroding respect for life.

Most magicians who researched chimeras were captivated by madness, and the doctors who sympathized with them lost their reverence for life.

Only humans were curious enough to explore and execute this act.

Here, the cruelty of humans was revealed.

The only race that took joy in the act of not stopping at mere transplantation but in the recreation of life was humans.

“Such an unreasonable thing…”

“Child, such unreasonable things have been happening for a long time. In places you didn’t know, in times you were unaware of.”

Kalia’s heart dropped.

Chimeras had existed for a long time already.

Moreover, the closest land to this forest was ‘Rojas.’

That meant there was a high probability that the chimera had come from Rojas.

‘No, that can’t be.’

But if you thought about it, someone from such a small village couldn’t possibly be capable of such a grand task.

It wasn’t even a village with ordinary 3-4th circle mages.

Furthermore, Kalia knew that making a chimera required a considerable amount of magic power.

Even if they hid their magic power well, Kalia couldn’t have missed the shockwaves of magic power generated when they created a chimera.

‘But if they made the chimera a long time ago…’

Kalia looked at the corpses of the dead wolves with a pale expression.

Could there be any clues? Unfortunately, they were just ordinary Lycan Wolves.

A pale hand touched Kalia’s cheek as she pursed her lips.

-…Are you okay?-

Although there was no sound, the quivering lips asked her.

Warm eyes full of concern examined Kalia’s face.

Kalia grabbed the hand that was gently caressing her cheek.

A sudden appearance of a fairy woman. A man with such a tremendous aura. It was unprecedented.

At the same time, Kalia couldn’t understand why this woman was showing such blind favoritism towards her.

“…Who are you?”

The woman stared fixedly at Kalia with an unwavering gaze.

Kalia glanced at the man, who was observing the two of them.

“Please answer, King of the Fairies.”

The Fairy King looked silently at his daughter, who was not by his side, but stood next to the unfamiliar human woman, his ‘dead’ daughter.

Suddenly, his eyes caught the strands of hair on the two children’s heads.

A very lovely color, like the fragrance of lemons, seemed to waft through the pale yellow hair of the two children.

The deep orange of the sunset touched their hair.

Looking at the two pairs of eyes gazing at them, the king spoke.

“This child is a fragment of my daughter.”

“A fragment?”

“More precisely, a fragment of her soul.”

Kalia looked at the woman holding her with an unbelieving expression.

She didn’t feel any sensation, but there was an unmistakable power in the woman’s hand that held her. And yet, this feeling was a fragment of a soul.

Moreover, she gazed at her with diverse emotions as if she were a living being.

Could such a thing even happen?

As if resolving the questions on her face, the Fairy King continued.

“This is the domain of the fairies. It is a place filled with the power to give birth to spirits. With just a fragment of a soul, it is possible for a fairy to maintain some form.”

‘Ah.’

Only then did Kalia nod, as if she understood.

Until the king’s next words.

“But to see a fairy born from a fragment of a soul, one must have a connection related to the fairy’s true form.”

Swoosh-

The king blocked Kalia’s path with his spear. The sharp end of the spear was aimed at Kalia’s heart.

“This time, it’s your turn to answer, child.”

With eyes full of inexhaustible compassion and serenity, the Fairy King asked.

“Who are you?”

Kalia felt fear for the first time as she faced the man.

No, to be honest, this was the most intense fear she had ever felt in her life.

Her trembling fingers felt cold.

She struggled to swallow her dry saliva and firmly received the gaze of the Fairy King.

She hadn’t done anything wrong to this king.

The Fairy King was said to be the one who doesn’t kill without reason.

He was known as the symbol of kindness, protecting nature and loving his children, the father of all beings.

“I am…”

In an instant, Kalia’s belly bulged and moved.

As if he could read the subtle waves, the king’s eyes fixed on Kalia’s round belly.

It was faintly visible that a child was kicking above her thin dress.

Tap, thud, the kicking of little feet was energetic and confident.

When the eyes of the Fairy King were focused on it, Gaia, who had been watching the two of them from the side, intervened.

-$&º@(!º$&&@º&^$-

Gaia pushed the king away and wrapped Kalia in her arms, scolding her father loudly with a voice that didn’t make a sound.

Gaia’s lips were moving quickly, and her lips were hard to read, but it was clear that she was cursing her father.

You are bad, you are terrible, I hated my father, go away. Something like that.

How many beings could make a scene like this in front of the Fairy King?

Kalia felt the warmth of the tumultuous presence that embraced her.

It was strange. It was just a small being created as a ‘fragment of a soul,’ but… how could she feel warmth?

The king gazed at Kalia’s belly and the fragment of his daughter that wrapped her, in silence.

He looked at her powerless hand that touched his hard arm and shoulder.

As if to tell him to quickly put down this ugly spear, she kicked his father’s hand holding the spear, making a fuss.

The Fairy King didn’t show the slightest anger, but rather an incomprehensibly warm smile.

“When have I ever defeated you, Gaia?”

The strength that had been unburdened was undoubtedly lifted up. The arm that came down was powerless.

Perhaps in the past, but now, he couldn’t be angry with his daughter who was right in front of him.

Even if she threatened him with something terrible, the pitiful father was willing to take the risk.

The king, who had been staring at his daughter’s puffed cheek, patted her head quietly, and then looked at Kalia again.

Kalia had no idea how the situation was going.

The same seemed to apply to this strong and gigantic king in front of her.

Two pairs of eyes full of confusion met in midair.

She wanted to ask her why he was looking at her like that, but her lips didn’t move as if they were frozen.

Likewise, the Fairy King’s eyes were also asking her questions she couldn’t answer.

They hesitated for a few seconds, trying to figure out what to ask each other first.

“Miss Kaliaaa!”

A loud voice shook the air.

Kalia, who had come to her senses in an instant, turned around and ran.

* * *

Hemmie was holding the two fallen children in her arms, sobbing.

‘Don’t cry, crying is for weaklings. Don’t cry, Hemmie Galas! I am the squire of the great General Kalia and her protector! …Temporarily!’

Even trying to pull herself together, she couldn’t stop the tears from welling up.

The round droplet took on the form of a round sphere.

It was difficult to prevent it from bursting even when she stopped her breath and gritted her teeth.

Kalia didn’t return after leading the wolves away. The sunset in the sky was gradually darkening to purple. And even in her arms, there was a child whose face was getting paler and paler.

Moreover, the little body shivered as if she were freezing.

No, it shouldn’t be like this…

“Ugh… ugh… Huh…”

Tears flowed from her brown eyes, drop by drop, and then slowly flowed in even streams.

“Hic, Miss Kaliaaa! Where are you! Miss Kaliaaa!”

Hemmie was supposed to get the children from inside the cave and flee after Kalia lured out the monsters.

It wasn’t difficult for her to enter the cave after the monsters had left. She was able to stay calm and maintain her composure even when she saw that the children were bleeding.

But it was a strange situation where the two children were holding something that resembled a large red glowing egg that was translucent, but it was okay.

She quickly grasped their conditions and stopped their bleeding before quickly taking them out of the cave.

Despite being unconscious, the children didn’t let go of the egg they were holding.

Hemmie, with the two children and an unidentified egg in her arms, immediately hid behind a rock and waited for Kalia to return.

As the sky grew darker, the tremors of the wounded children grew more violent.

From then on, Hemmie panicked. The fear that she had suppressed rose again.

“Mom. Mom… Mommy…”

The unconscious child, who seemed to be dying at any moment, was crying as she searched for her mother.

Her feverish body felt like a fireball.

If left like this, the child seemed likely to die.

“No, hold on a little longer, dear. General Kalia will be here soon. Then you can go back to your mom. Okay? Be strong, please. You’ll be alright.”

Hemmie looked up at the darkening sky and shouted as the trembling lips on the drenched, trembling lips were heard once again.

“Miss Kaliaaaa!”

How foolish it was to scream towards the forest. Hemmie was aware that there might be Kalia coming this way, or it could be another monster.

Not all fairies were kind and gentle.

There were death fairies and children with excessive mischief.

Nevertheless, Hemmie called Kalia loudly, as it was all she could do, holding an unconscious child who seemed to be suffocating.

But at that moment.

Huff.

The forest responded.