Adele Goes Out

The hoarse, low murmur finished reading the story amid strange laughter. When black water began seeping from the pages, Shade slammed shut the still-trembling book with a moonlit hand and summarized, "It sounds like a story about two cultists fighting with magic. The former Queen worshipped an evil god connected to souls, while the current Queen worshipped one connected to flesh. Their ultimate goal was to offer the kingdom to their gods, which was why they fought each other. In the end, they were both killed by that Prince, who was likely an Evil Spirit Demon." Dorothy lifted her teacup and rubbed her temples. "More or less. Leisha and I discussed it, and we strongly suspect that this version of the story describes events that truly happened during the Third Epoch or Fourth Epoch. That doesn't mean the story in this book is the true origin of the tale. Rather, whatever caused this book to mutate wanted to borrow the influence of these nine fairy tales to expand its own notoriety within civilization. Perhaps it was the Prince's doing, or perhaps it was the work of that king who seems utterly useless but is strange no matter how you look at him. In any case, just listen to the story. There's no need to think too deeply about it. Leisha and I merely believe that since we're studying such complicated fairy tales, we should at least familiarize ourselves with every version." Although they had spent quite a while on this tale twisted by an unknown existence, Dorothy did not mention it again after putting away the Relic. It was getting late, and she instead spoke with Shade about his impressions of the story, as well as the possibility of his "Fairytale Town" being compatible with the "Snow White Princess" story.