Surviving a Cruel Fairy Tale

52 – Act 2. Eternal Neverland – Temporary Accompaniment (3)

With only one day left before the operation to defeat Peter Pan, I set off alone to the giant castle of Neverland. Circled around

A fortress so gigantic that it would take an hour to walk on it.

I had doubts about how they built something this big, but I knew the decision to consume an even grander large-scale castle for a single attack.

The strategy of crushing with this mass.

It was definitely an impossible strategy without a way to extinguish the ground by blowing up the ground, including this castle.

It was chilling down my spine at having to face an opponent I couldn’t even dare to face if it wasn’t for such a mass offensive, but on the contrary, I thought it was rather fortunate that Peter Pan woke up underground.

I guess it was around the time that I had been around the outside of the castle for a while.

“What is it? What are you doing walking around outside?”

With a high-pitched voice in the distance, the blade quickly descends toward the pink sky.

“Tinkerbell.”

“Yes! A fairy who is smart, competent, and even kind? So, what are you doing, hanging out around me from the wee hours of the morning like this?”

As soon as we meet, he’s aggressive.

There is no way to know if Tinkerbell’s original nature is like that, or if he is sharpened by circumstances.

“Because there is still time.”

“I have nothing to do. If you have time for that, don’t you take a break and improve your body condition? Or what, did Peter Pan seem easy enough to deal with with a light heart?”

There is a limit to taking a break.

I know you’ve been resting since yesterday and taking care of convenience, but I couldn’t stand it because it was so painful to stay indoors.

“It’s because my mind is complicated.”

“Ha, stupid. Anyway, you adults always have a lot of thoughts, so it’s a problem. Can’t you think a little simpler?”

Tinker Bell continued her nagging remarks, moving her hands to scatter her pink mystique in all directions.

“Then what are you doing?”

“Erosion of mystery. Little by little, it’s encroaching on the ground around here just enough that Peter Pan doesn’t notice. You know when you see it?”

…… I don’t know, so I asked.

Should I still consider myself fortunate to be able to answer questions? Although the reaction is harsh, there is no tendency to ignore this side.

“Possibility?”

“Does this genius fairy, Tinkerbell, think anything is impossible in what he does? Are you really stupid?”

“Zeban, are you sure you can break it down?”

“Of course! First of all, this is the basic premise. If I thought I couldn’t do anything like this, I wouldn’t have suggested this.”

Press down with an overwhelming mass.

No matter how ridiculously powerful Peter Pan was, his body was a living creature, and he would die if he was pressed down with overwhelming mass.

Tinker Bell certainly said that, but I know that there are people who express anxiety among the natives as well as the Hook Pirates.

So, to be honest, looking around the castle really hurt me, but there were also things that I did because I had doubts about whether I could actually destroy a castle of this size in its entirety.

“Because there is no problem on my side? So, take a good look at your body condition. You can make weird toys, right? It seemed like a good way to earn time.”

“…… It’s not a toy.”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m a woodcutter.”

“A woodcutter?”

It’s complicated to explain.

An existence that I just conjured up the image of the most remaining power in me in an urgent situation and composed it as it is.

I composed it as a woodcutter’s copy, but the density itself is probably overwhelmingly inferior compared to the main body.

“There is someone I know. I imitated him, but it didn’t work out.”

“Anyway, if you have that ability, make good use of it underground. If Peter Pan notices the anomaly and tries to escape, it’s over, so hold on until the end.”

With that said, she turned her head again, spread her fingers out, and flicked them alternately as if she were tapping her piano in the air.

“Tinkerbell.”

“Huh?”

“You said you had to kill Peter Pan, but didn’t your strength and the miracles that make up Neverland come from Peter Pan?”

As soon as Little Red Riding Hood arrived in Neverland, she turned into a child.

A wide-ranging law that can interfere with others.

It must be the mystery of Peter Pan that applied such a thing to the vast Neverland, but killing him was like losing that miracle.

Paradise collapse.

It was only natural to wonder why Tinkerbell was trying to destroy with her own hands what she had been working so hard to maintain.

Even at that question, Tinkerbell did not look back.

She only nodded her head slightly, and answered in a small voice with her sigh.

“…… A children’s paradise is obviously a by-product of the Eternal Child.”

“Then… ….”

“But if the eternal child threatens the other children’s right to live, she can’t sacrifice them to save a façade of paradise.”

It’s just a paradise.

Tinker Bell, who must have been protecting this place as the ruler of paradise until now, she really sternly denied everything she had been protecting.

“You are the one who broke the seal on Peter Pan, but before that, Peter Pan was always a threat to children.”

“Isn’t it Peter Pan’s power to keep the children of Neverland from growing old? If you kill him, it seems there will be no paradise.”

“If there is a place where children can live happily, that is paradise. Even without Peter Pan’s powers, that doesn’t change.”

At least that’s the truth, Tinker Bell finished her words.

Tinkerbell rejected adults.

It obviously led to a disconnection between children and adults, and it ended up spreading to an uprising of adults who were placed in inequality for a long time.

The unsealing of Peter Pan is part of that.

As a result, the break to protect her child ended in her failure, but at least she was true to her heart to protect her child.

“There are voices within the Hook Pirates who doubt you.”

“Ha, do you want to be suspicious? I don’t trust you adults either?”

“At least if you had faced them with sincerity, they would have been able to trust you a little bit.”

“I don’t need it.”

Said firmly, Tinkerbell only turned her head to stare at me with those pink eyes.

“There is no meaning in superficial trust. In that case, it’s better to just fight each other to get what you want.”

And in this case, it’s dealing with a world-class enemy named Peter Pan,” She said with a look that bordered on sneering.

“Besides, adults lie calmly, don’t they? No fool would believe such a creature.”

She couldn’t comment on that.

Even children lie, and each person is different. She was sure that her words would not reach her.

There is no more meaning in horizontal conversation.

After making that decision, she shook her hand and backed off first, and Tinkerbell stared at her for a while, then turned her head and concentrated on her own work.

* * *

Another day has passed.

The group of Hook pirates and the group of natives moved to the entrance to the underground waterway at some distance from each other, and then moved inward through Captain Hook’s ship.

“Captain Hook. What kind of monster is he?”

“Don’t even talk.”

On board.

Captain Hook shook his head at the question of the chief walking towards him while he was moving.

“Don’t even think about winning head-on. Don’t even come close You wouldn’t think so if you saw it in person, but it’s easier to think of it as an instant death if you get caught up in it.”

“We warriors specialize in close combat.”

“If you can, try it. As soon as you see it, the thought will disappear.”

At this, the chief frowned as if he thought he had been ignored, but I also agreed with Captain Hook’s words.

That’s a monster that doesn’t allow access.

Eternal child.

According to Tinkerbell’s words, it was said to be one of the disasters that could lead to the destruction of the world. Even at a cursory glance, it looked like a monster that could devastate the entire area, even if the world was unknown.

“…… Scared?”

While listening to the conversation between the two of them, the car remained silent. The red cloak that was stuck next to me raised its head.

Are you scared?

To be honest, it’s a little scary.

There were so many warriors gathered, but I thought that even if all of them attacked, they would probably be in the shape of moths throwing themselves into a bonfire.

“It’s scary.”

“…… Okay?”

At my answer, Little Red Riding Hood tightened her grip on my sleeves.

“Tell me if it doesn’t work. Running away with you is possible even with this young body.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t run away.”

“Why?”

If you ask me why, I don’t know what to say.

It was partly because he felt that if Peter Pan was truly freed, the cataclysm would begin so that escape would be meaningless, but he also did not want to turn his back on the tragedy right in front of him.

A vague feeling.

I couldn’t convince her with such vague answers.

“…… I felt like I had to.”

“Because he is a fairy tale writer?”

“It’s not like that. I just, I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt I shouldn’t back out.”

“I wonder if I helped because you are that kind of person.”

It’s a little different, but fundamentally the same.

At that time, they had a relationship with Little Red Riding Hood because they needed each other, but they had no intention of running away from the hunter from the beginning.

It was around the time that we had a short conversation like that and relaxed our stiffened bodies.

“Now, it’s about to arrive.”

I can see the remnants of the pure white wall I saw in the distance.

And if you go a little deeper there, what you see is the despair you saw earlier.

“…… Ha ha ha… ….”

The chief of the natives let out a dejected laugh.

Lily, who stood by her side, trembled, and each of the natives groaned at the sight of the giant for the first time.

“Immediately upon arrival, keep your distance and draw attention.”

In a situation where even the Hook Pirates, whom we had seen before, were speechless with tension, only Captain Hook pulled out his rapier and held it up, shouting at everyone.

“Keep in mind that there is nowhere to run from the moment you board this ship. If you are determined to fight, grit your teeth and face it head on!!”

I wonder if Peter Pan noticed the being approaching him?

The gigantic baby moved slowly, turning his head, and at the same time the ship’s gunfire fired, signaling the start of the battle.