Water Kelpie

This was the first time Anno had faced an opponent stronger than himself.

His iron sword was already broken, and the Treasure Armor on his body seemed far from sturdy in the eyes of his opponent. Two slender swords composed of pure water were swung with ease, effortlessly whipping up giant waves on the water's surface, leaving Anno looking incredibly disheveled.

Yet, he did not choose to flee, merely dodging the fairy's attacks along the shore.

Why run?

And why stay here?

His cognition and actions were in conflict—he had once exploited and slaughtered those fairies with absolute ruthlessness, simply because he was the stronger one. Now that he had encountered someone even stronger, shouldn't he just obediently offer his neck for the slaughter?

Could it be that my current behavior is for the sake of—

Surviving?

Is it [human] to [survive]?

He vaguely sensed something, but fundamentally, he remained half-enlightened, able only to wander as he dodged and resisted.

"Don't run!"

The fairy raised his sword and thrust it toward Anno's chest, aiming directly for his heart.

Just as before, Anno dodged the fairy's blade with agile movements.

"You slippery, damn fellow! Who exactly are you, and for what purpose have you come to the Fairy Realm!"

The powerful blue fairy was quite infuriated. Having grappled with Anno for such a long time without even catching a corner of his clothes, he had no better options and could only ask in exasperation.

Of course, the tone carried a hint of curiosity and genuine inquiry.

Although this person was quite strange, he was rather interesting.

It was just that he didn't seem like a human at all; rather, he was like a fairy who had grown into the shape of a human—perhaps even purer than a fairy.

"I, I don't know. Someone told me to come here for training, so I came."

Anno answered the fairy's question.

"Did the person who sent you for training tell you to kill my kin?"

"...No."

"Then why did you ruthlessly slaughter my kin, my subjects?"

"Because they killed humans."

"Where does that come from? The fairies here haven't even seen a human before. By what right do you kill them for the sake of humans?"

The blue fairy was utterly speechless, his words revealing a sense of being "amused to the point of laughter."

"I..."

This time, Anno was refuted.

He himself fell into a daze.

Yes, the fairies here had never killed humans, nor had they even seen one.

Why was he so obsessed with killing the fairies here?

Was it merely for the "anger" within his own heart?

"Then why don't you know who you are?"

A fairy is, after all, a fairy.

In the blue fairy's expression, one could see more amusement now than anything else.

—He was curious about this strange human.

Clearly a human, yet he did things only a fairy would do; clearly acting like a fairy, yet biologically, he was indeed a human.

An existence that could be called an [anomaly] among both humans and fairies.

Still, this guy's existence was indeed a threat to his territory, yet he couldn't kill him.

Thinking of this, the blue fairy smacked his lips, feeling somewhat displeased but helpless.

This human's strength was far greater than he had shown; he was only losing so easily because he was unaccustomed to the environment and lacked a decent weapon—forget it, this was fine.

If he were to get any stronger, it would be his own misfortune.

He would just have to find a way to send him away.

"I don't know."

Anno's current situation was truly one of total ignorance.

"Then on what grounds do you say you are a human? I think you might be a fairy."

The blue fairy swam onto the shore, dragging his large tail as he circled Anno, speaking in a teasing tone.

"...I am not a fairy. I, I am a human."

Although he hesitated, Anno still said these words with conviction.

The chaos in his eyes was dispelled, if only by a little.

"Fine, if you no longer have any doubts about this, then so be it."

The fairy curled his lip, his interest, just piqued, dissipating somewhat.

Such a stubborn human was truly boring, and the guy who sent him here was an unprecedented idiot—in fact, he had probably already guessed which bastard was behind this.

"Human, you are strong. Although you are no match for me, I cannot kill you either."

"But have you ever considered how your indiscriminate slaughter is any different from the fairies?"

The fairy returned to the surface of his lake, and after a sigh, his expression turned serious.

"Is your so-called training just for the sake of killing?"

Anno had nothing to say.

He had seen evil, so he wanted to eradicate it.

But now, could what he was doing really represent anything?

"This is actually a peaceful world. The rules of the Fairy Realm are different from those of the human world. The [evil] you see is just ordinary to fairies when it doesn't involve humans. Having broken this normalcy, how can you have the face to call yourself [good]?"

"You may kill those fairies who have grudges against humans, but—you must not point your sword at innocent fairies."

The blue longsword in his hand pointed at Anno, his tone cold.

"Otherwise, I will surely do everything in my power to kill you."

"There is good and evil among humans, and it is the same for fairies. Those eyes of yours were never just for show; use them to see clearly before you make decisions and take action."

Listening to these words from a fairy who should have been his mortal enemy, Anno nodded, half-understanding.

He couldn't help but start to ponder what kind of existence a human should be, and what kind of existence a fairy should be.

Did his identity as a human stem from self-identification, or from the definitions of others?

What should a true human living in the human world look like?

Merlin had never told him any of this.

"Can you tell me your name?"

Seeing that the fairy was about to leave, Anno hurriedly asked.

He watched the fairy's back, as if wanting to etch this fairy firmly into his memory.

"My name? What do you want with such a thing? To make it easier to take revenge later?"

The fairy turned his head, looking at Anno with amusement.

"No, I won't do that kind of thing anymore."

Anno shook his head, finally recovering a trace of his initial purity.

The fairy looked into Anno's eyes and suddenly chuckled.

He leaped from the water's surface and transformed back into his original form—a horse, a water horse composed of clear, limpid currents. In the brilliant light of the Fairy Realm, he was reflected as crystal clear, as if he were a magnificent creature that shouldn't exist in the real world. Even Anno was moved by his appearance, revealing surprise and fascination.

"I am the net of this region, the water horse. You may call me Kelpie."

"Remember this name, human who resembles a fairy. I hope you do not set foot in my territory again."

Kelpie warned.

Then, he submerged into the water and vanished without a trace.