01x07 - The c*ptive Fairy

[bunniefuu]

The Shadow Knight's demand was that

I remove the barrier before sundown of this day.

He said that if I refused,

my sister would die!

This evening, huh?

We'll need to hurry.

Where is he?

There.

My sister, Runa, is there, as well.

Got it.

Leave the rest to us.

I must accompany—

If he realizes you've broken the deal,

he might harm the hostage.

I know you're worried,

but could you wait here for us?

Of course! I believe you worthy of my trust.

I beg of you, fight well.

That's him.

Beast Tamer

The c*ptive Fairy

The c*ptive Fairy

Just like we planned it, okay?

Yes!

Of course!

Three!

Two!

One!

Go!

Fireball!

Whoever you are, know this

Spells are useless against me!

Yeah, we know!

They still draw your attention just fine!

That didn't take him down?

Such power

Might you be the Hero?

Don't insult me like that.

Yet you challenge me,

aware that I am of the Demon King's army?

What is your purpose here?

I don't have to tell you that.

I see.

It was that fairy's request, was it?

I must punish such betrayal!

I think I'd rather you didn't!

Tania!

Rein! I have her, safe and sound!

Sure! Great work, Tania!

Just dispose of that

brute already, would you?

You will not escape!

But don't forget

about us!

You and I distract him

while Tania makes the save.

Your plan worked perfectly!

Yeah.

Although

He's still not down?

Even attacking with Kanade's power?

I will not be underestimated!

Not by you insects!

I see why he thought he could

invade the fairies' village solo

Is this the power of the monsters

who serve the Demon King?

He's so reckless!

The forest won't survive this.

We can't let this go on.

Kanade!

Yes?

I'll hold him down.

While I do, hit him with everything you've got!

But

He's really tough!

I don't think one hit'll do it!

It will.

I have an idea.

Okay!

Go!

The ahrbees' paralyzing effect

might not work on the Shadow Knight.

But

Surrender now.

You have nowhere left to run.

What are these insects?!

If they can briefly distract him

Kanade!

Rein!

Get out of my way!

Now, Kanade!

Respond to my call, and unleash your power!

Boost!

What's going on?

I feel so strong

Kanade!

This cannot be

Rein!

Hey, hey! What did you do back there?

I felt so strong all of a sudden!

Oh, that?

That was a unique tamer spell.

Put simply, it temporarily

increases your natural abilities!

My abilities?

Yeah. I didn't have the magic

power to use it before,

but now I've got Tania's

magic power behind me!

As reckless as ever, I see.

Tania!

Who's that?

No need to worry. She's merely unconscious.

But, Rein, I have a few things to say to you!

I was under the impression

that Boost was a lost spell.

How did you manage to learn it?

What to say to that?

I just learned it in my hometown.

Now, now.

What matters is, it allowed

us save Sora's little sister!

So let's leave that stuff aside

and strike a victory pose!

What a ridiculous dance!

It's my victory dance!

Good morning!

How do you feel?

Who are you all?

Your sister asked us to save you.

You're safe now.

I see. My sister

Runa! Thank goodness!

How grateful I am to see you safe!

Have you been harmed?

I'm fine!

How can I ever thank you for saving Runa?

Thanks a bunch!

You don't have to thank me.

I'm just glad she's safe.

Oh but without your aid,

who knows what might have happened?

Shucks, I mighta been

in real danger back there!

I'd bet I'd've been made subject

to all sorts of nasty business

Eh?

Bet yer thinkin' about it, eh?

Bet those male instincts

of yours are runnin' wild, eh?

Runa! You're being

utterly outrageous right now!

Aw, Sis, I'm always workin' so hard.

A little outrageous now and then

is just what the doctor ordered!

It is statements like that to which I object!

They look exactly alike,

but they really are polar opposites!

Still, I'm glad we were able to save her.

Sora seems so much happier!

Isn't this nice?

Now you can live together again!

I fear, in fact,

that we must leave this place.

Understandable though

their reaction might have been,

I cannot live with those who would have

abandoned Runa to her fate.

I wish some distance from them.

I see

Be careful, you two.

The forest is full of

nasty monsters like that one.

Yeah, I'd rather not do

the damsel-in-distress thing again

But we've spent so much time as shut-ins,

we don't really know a ton

about the outside world.

Sh-Shut-ins?

Although, I do agree with your concerns

Hey, hey! In that case

How about coming along with us?

It's gotta mean something

that we ran into you, right?

Don't you agree, Tania?

I suppose I do,

but such decisions

should really be up to our leader.

Are you all right with that, though?

Joining a party with a human in it?

B-But have you not taught me

that some humans are noble?

Though I may not yet trust other humans

I do feel that Rein might be

a worthy companion and

If even Miss Priss here thinks you're worthy,

I don't mind appointin' you our navigator!

Why are you dictating to him?!

Only if Rein doesn't mind, of course.

Actually, I'd love to have you!

Truly?!

Guess we're best buds now.

But in that case, you must

form a contract with us!

It is my understanding that Tania and Kanade

have both forged a contract with you.

We, too, wish to come to your aid!

Yep!

Are you serious?

Yes. You have been of

such service to us, after all

Taming fairies?

Every species gets tamed

in roughly the same way,

but the structure of the magic power

I use differs for each one.

I know the structure of animals and insects,

but fairies are a bit outside my ken

It would be like putting together

a whole new puzzle.

Giving up before you even try?

You wouldn't do something

so unsightly, would you

my master?

We know you can do it, Rein!

Well, it won't hurt to try!

If I build up the wrong magic power

when forming the contract,

my words won't reach the soul of my target,

and the contract will fail.

What kind of magic structure should I build?

Think.

The structure of magic

that will connect to Sora and Runa

My name is Rein Shroud.

In establishing this new contract,

a bond is formed.

An oath in our hearts, hope in our souls

Your power, in my hand.

Speak now your name.

Sora.

Runa.

I-Is it complete?

Yeah, and I think it worked!

Sis! Look at the weird pattern on our hands!

You did it, Rein!

I knew it would work, personally.

It's pretty exhausting, though

Contracting two ultimate species at once

Th-Thanks, you two.

Do you feel well?

Yeah, just a little dizzy.

C'mon, lean on us a little!

Backin' you up is our job!

We welcome your future company.

Good to have ya with us!

Master.

Should we really be allowing

Rein to go on his own?

Is that Hero not a cruel man

who drove Rein from his party?

I don't exactly like it,

but Rein did ask us to wait here, so

I worry that the Hero

might lash out at us again.

If anything happens to Rein,

in we go to save him!

I'm in!

Here it is. The Shield of Truth.

What is it?

H-How strange

It's only been two days since you

embarked on the quest, isn't it?

Yeah, and we did it in two days.

Impossible!

It took us over a week, and we never—

Ah, don't tell me! Is that a fake shield?!

If that's what you think,

go ahead and check it out.

I'll cast appraisal magic on it.

Please do.

It is genuine!

What?!

It can't be!

How did they do it so quickly?

What's that?

I see a few new faces

They look like children, even.

That's none of your business.

I had them hide their wings.

If it gets out that there are fairies in a

human settlement, there could be a panic.

Now, the reward you promised!

Right to the money talk, eh?

Twenty gold coins, as agreed.

Now the job is complete.

Are we finished?

Yes.

Now I won't have to deal

with them ever again.

Wait, Rein.

Would you like to return to the party?

What are you saying, Aggath?!

I never gave my permission for that!

Yes, it's my own idea.

But you should consider it.

Recent circumstances have made it clear

that we need Rein's help.

And Rein successfully cleared

the Lost Woods that we struggled with.

I'll admit, the scouting stuff

is a total drag.

I'm okay with it, I guess.

Considering what likely lies ahead,

a compromise may be in order.

You can't possibly object, can you, Arios?

How about it?

I can promise good pay and better treatment.

We'll welcome you as a comrade once more.

And we can resume our journey.

Don't get so hung up

on the distant past, Rein!

The distant past?!

That's not for you to decide!

These people haven't changed at all.

They're exactly the same!

How could I have ever

viewed them as comrades?

I was a true fool. I

Rein!

Enough. Let's go.

We're all waiting for you!

Sure.

You're turning me down?

Defeating the Demon King will earn you

rank, fame, and enormous wealth!

I don't need any of that!

That's right.

What I've wanted

since those days never changed.

What I really wanted

I think

I've already got it right here.

What's wrong with him?

We offered him an invitation and everything!

He's just an ordinary person.

He's nothing like us, with our

lofty mission of defeating the Demon King.

Are we agreed, Arios?

Yeah right.

What a fool.

Abandoning his chance for glory

Well, forget him. Who needs him?

Indeed.

It was a waste of time to ask.

It hasn't gone away.

The pain of that moment

No, not just the pain.

The humiliation, the hatred

It won't go away so easily.

I, the Hero, beaten by that scum

I'll erase him.

With my own hands,

I'll erase Rein Shroud!

Can the Demon King's defeat

truly come only by the Hero's hands?

Yeah, I've been wonderin' that myself.

What do you think?

Well

The old legends say that the Demon King

used his vast powers to control people,

and that no one could turn against him.

The first Hero made a contract

with the gods to defeat the Demon King

and took their blood into his own body.

Now possessing the power of the gods,

the Hero defeated the Demon King,

freed the people,

and brought peace to the world.

That's the Hero legend.

The first Hero was a fine man.

Unlike the current model!

So what's significant is the blood

of the gods in the Hero's body.

Most people have limits

on how much they can grow.

No matter how much they train, they'll never

be strong enough to beat the Demon King.

But the Hero is different.

The divine blood in his body

removes all limits to his growth.

He'll continue to mature

and increase his strength

In time, enough to defeat the Demon King.

"Limit break."

That's the power needed to defeat

the Demon King that only the Hero has.

But that Hero was pretty darn weak!

He is now, yeah.

But he'll eventually

grow stronger without limit,

strong enough to defeat the Demon King.

If I may.

In that regard, are you not like

the Hero yourself, Rein?

You forged a contract with Kanade

and gained the cat spirits' physical prowess,

and forged a contract with Tania

and gained the dragonoids' magical prowess.

And your contract with us means

you've got fairy magic now, too!

With every contract you forge,

you have acquired new power and grown stronger.

Yep! And you're already

way past an ordinary human's limits!

I can say that much.

Is this not a "limit break" ability,

akin to the Hero's?

They may be right.

Hey, here's an idea!

What if Rein forged contracts

with even more ultimate species,

and got stronger and stronger?

Rein might become strong enough

to beat the Demon King!

That idea's a bit much.

I think it's a fine idea, myself.

Much better than leaving it

to that lousy Hero!

Pretty darn good!

I find you far preferable

to that human, as a savior.

You don't want to, Rein?

You don't wanna fight the Demon King?

Fight the Demon King?

That's the goal I was working for

in my old party

When they kicked me out, that goal

and all my responsibilities disappeared.

I'm having a lot of fun with Kanade

and the others right now.

But

To be honest, I would do it if I could.

In that case

But defeating the Demon King

isn't like our previous jobs.

So many lives are riding on it.

It's not a task to be taken on lightly.

I haven't

mentally prepared myself for the task.

Sorry.

I'm not strong enough to make

a decision like that on the fly.

I've only even made it this far

because I had your support.

No, we're sorry.

We weren't thinking about

how you felt at all

No, it's okay.

I might as well think about it now!

About what it is I should do.

I need to face that.

I can find my answer after that.

I do like the sound of that.

I will gladly await your decision!

Same here!

Yeah!

But there's one thing that won't change,

no matter what answer you give.

The fact that all of us here

are with you!

Thank you!

What should I do next?

What goal should I strive for?

The time to choose my path

might be drawing closer.

Let's Make Weapons