Surviving a Cruel Fairy Tale

13 – Act 1. Little Red Riding Hood Forest – Mother Tree (1)

There was no time to react.

The woodcutter began to run furiously as if he were hostile to all living beings except himself, and the power radiating from the iron giant instantly narrowed the distance between the woodcutter and us.

Then he immediately starts throwing an axe.

Little Red Riding Hood, who took the lead in the single blow of the axe, managed to avoid it by throwing her body, and the blade of the ax that had been swung went straight ahead and cut down the giant tree at the end of the trajectory.

It is ridiculous to say that it was filmed.

In fact, the thick tree broke and fell to the ground without stopping the axe, so the word destruction was more appropriate.

In a word, overwhelming power.

I finally understood what Little Red Riding Hood said earlier.

Well, at that level, you don’t need any skill.

Heavy body and strong power.

With that alone you can destroy everything in your way, what more do you need?

The sudden attack was obviously unpredictable.

That’s obvious, but looking at Little Red Riding Hood being pushed back without even having time to prepare for that fierce attack after shedding one attack, the risk doesn’t seem low even compared to the hunter.

“A worm has been caught.”

I can’t afford to fight in a place like this.

Our enemies are hunters after all.

In order to control the root cause of this forest, it is best to maintain our physical strength, but the heavy iron giant swung an ax and drove Little Red Riding Hood one after another, ignoring our situation.

“A worm twisted in a tree. The evil that worships abundance and defiles it.”

A sound like ringing iron becomes a language.

So says the woodcutter.

“Beasts that have stained their bodies with ugly desires. Everything ends when you all die. Only by exercising all the correctness can I know the feeling.”

“Do you want emotions with a mechanical body?”

With Little Red Riding Hood’s gesture, the sheet of paper flutters and blocks the Tin Woodman’s vision.

However, they couldn’t withstand the ruthless blows of the axe, and the way they moved forward while slicing through everything that stood in their way shook the ground with just that.

I have no choice but to watch the series of workshops that are difficult to follow.

To intervene in a battle that transcends humanity with this body is nothing but a statement of wanting to die.

I know, but I didn’t like the idea of just stepping back and entrusting everything to Little Red Riding Hood.

“I want and ask.”

The two-handed ax swings wide and draws a line.

At too long a range to dodge, Little Red Riding Hood held out his own hatchet to block it, but before long it floated and had no choice but to be pushed back.

“I want feelings. I want love.”

Clap, clap.

The sound of moving mechanical joints stimulates the ears.

After her axes slammed into each other, Little Red Riding Hood, who managed to get her distance, opened her book straight ahead and called the golden crowd, but the woodcutter moved toward her without hesitation.

“What is the feeling of being in love? What is the feeling of being sad, what is the feeling of being happy? Beast of calamity that walks the earth. Let me know that too.”

“It’s still crazy scrap metal.”

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Red Riding Hood took a step forward wringing her lips.

She only turned her head slightly to look at me as she scattered her golden light around her.

“…… First you run away.”

“Are you okay?”

“If you are alone, it is possible to avoid it. But I don’t have the confidence to back down while taking care of you.”

In short, does it mean that it interferes?

But it was also undeniable.

I have no meaning in the current situation. An existence that is nothing more than a burden to her, unable to change the situation and unable to cope with it.

There’s no reason to hurt my pride because it’s such an obvious fact, but I nodded my head feeling uncomfortable.

“You must be safe.”

“Because it’s okay. You care about your body.”

That’s a cool answer.

Of course, I don’t hate her attitude.

In a situation where there are many things to think about, if you clearly express your intentions in that way, you may not misinterpret the meaning, so in a sense it was fortunate.

That’s why I nodded and stepped back all the way behind her, stopping at a distance where I could observe the situation.

“Do animals have love?”

“It’s funny how you look for love in scrap metal.”

“Does the heart exist?”

Axe and ax collide right after.

Unsurprisingly, Little Red Riding Hood’s small hatchet couldn’t withstand the woodcutter’s blow, but it was just a simple defense, and the open book in her left hand began to turn the pages alone, without anyone’s touch.

A golden wind blows.

It is similar to the previous time when she escaped from the village with me, but rather than that, the wind that blows calmly stays around and adds to its light.

Then they clashed.

“Die, tin can.”

Following Little Red Riding Hood’s gesture, the fluttering sheets of paper gathered around the Tin Woodman, creating a fierce explosion with light.

Light illuminates the achromatic, dark forest.

The subsequent explosion was accompanied by a strong repulsive force that pushed me back from a distance, so I had high hopes for this level of destructive power…….

“As expected, animals don’t have emotions.”

“Tsk.”

“A beast is a beast. Sad brutes who don’t know the greatness of emotions, don’t know love. So you will be caught in this forest and suffer for the rest of your life, but don’t worry too much.”

The iron giant, unscathed, spurts the ground and starts running toward Little Red Riding Hood.

A vibration that shakes the ground.

At a rough glance, the iron, which seemed to be more than 3 meters tall, was moving with great effort, but its eyes were glowing red, so the sense of intimidation intensified.

“I will save the forest by excluding you, and I will also cleanse you of your sins by dying.”

The process by which sounds like tapping iron are converted into language.

I don’t know what principle it is, but the scene where the heavy iron body moves while making a voice that doesn’t feel a single emotion was bizarre.

“A machine that couldn’t even save itself saves others? Likewise, the lesser scrap metal caught in this forest.”

Starting with Little Red Riding Hood’s provocation, the clash between the two began in earnest.

The woodcutter’s blows with his ax were powerful enough to cause strong gusts of wind to the surroundings, and the trees that grew densely could not be overcome by the blows of the axe, and were destroyed and fell down every time they touched.

On the other hand, Little Red Riding Hood, who is dealing with him, steadily stays out of range of the Tin Woodman, opening the way with wind in some situations and explosions in others.

“…… How is this a fairy tale?”

I couldn’t even laugh because I was dumbfounded by the non-standard battle that felt vivid even at a distance.

What is a fairy tale?

Well, not all fairy tales are the same, but the genre has obviously changed.

The terrain changes in one engagement.

It feels like a few minutes have passed, but dozens of giant trees that grew around Little Red Riding Hood and the Tin Woodman have already fallen down, creating a messy clearing.

Despite this, the two continued the battle without showing signs of exhaustion.

The Tin Woodman. Its size and strength. It’s not very strange that it continues to operate, including the machine, but the red cloak that follows it all the way doesn’t look like the original’s tender girl.

…… It’s original

I’m a failed fairy tale writer who couldn’t write a single piece properly and only dreamed of it, but ever since I came to this world, I’ve been thinking about fairy tales.

The change of characters in fairy tales.

At first glance, the original work seemed to have lost its function, but, like Little Red Riding Hood, surprisingly, the relationship in the fairy tale was still rooted in this world.

Then what about the Tin Woodman?

The Wizard of Oz is such a famous story that you don’t have to worry about it, but when you think of the woodcutter’s weakness in that story right away, nothing comes to mind.

Just one thing.

I know what he wants.

Heart.

To be precise, it was an existence that mainly sang about emotions, and furthermore, it was obviously about love.

However, that information is of no help in this situation.

It was initially impossible to take a friendly approach against a machine that attacked right away upon seeing it, and when it came to its weaknesses, nothing came to mind clearly.

The only thing that comes to mind is the part where the woodcutter who first met Dorothy couldn’t move due to rust.

“It’s an emotionless body, but I know what is right. You are evil beasts. The evil that pollutes this forest cannot but be saved by the woodcutter who has received the grace.”

However, in this situation, it would be a long way to hope that the giant’s body will rust.

The tone is calm, but the gesture is a violent storm.

Little Red Riding Hood also uses some kind of magic to keep him in check, but basically, it was the Tin Woodman who launched the attack, devastating the forest through force.

She said there was a way, but from what we’ve seen so far, the Tin Woodman is literally a monster.

Maybe he’s even worse than a hunter.

If the hunter who fights hidden in the dark in the forest can’t see a way to fight, the tin woodman just by itself seems to have taken the form of overwhelming violence.

Leaving behind my brief sentiments, the two continue to fight.

Leaving behind me, who had no choice but to watch from a distance, Little Red Riding Hood and the Tin Woodman continued to direct violent scenes with the momentum to completely destroy the nearby forest.

“It’s punishment. The Mother Tree wished for your annihilation. Ugly beasts in human skin.”

“…… The machine used as the tool has nothing to say.”

“You are just the beginning. All the disasters that exist in this forest will disappear one by one. Chamberlain… ….”

The Tin Woodman, who had confronted the Red Tree, continued his words, but he seemed to be holding back strangely, and then he turned his head away.

“Another beast hiding behind and watching.”

I made eye contact with the red eyes.

It was definitely staring at me. With the ax held up, it’s as if it’s ready to attack right now.

“…… Kuu!!”

Little Red Riding Hood must have realized that as well, so she opens the book and uses magic.

But in the ensuing explosion, the Tin Woodman started running.

I got up from my seat and ran without looking back at the vibration that led to that action, but I couldn’t beat the power and speed that radiated from that huge body.

The iron giant arrived in front of me in an instant, pushing away all the trees blocking the way with his body.

“You… ….”

The moment the black blade falls is the end of me.

I could see Little Red Riding Hood running from behind, bewildered, but this ax would fall sooner than her arrival.

If you can avoid it somehow, there is a back.

So, by the time I focused my eyes on that day and looked at the movement of the ax, the woodcutter stopped and stared at me.

“…… You are not a beast.”

“Well, biologically, we are human.”

“Human.”

Perhaps the only time to kill me is now.

There’s no way the woodcutter didn’t know that, but he didn’t move until Little Red Riding Hood approached me.

Then, when Little Red Riding Hood stood in the way between the woodcutter and me, I opened the book again.

“…… Is it. You are human.”

With a weak sound, the woodcutter lowered the blade of the ax he had raised.

It seemed to prove that he had no fighting intentions, but in fact, the woodcutter slowly turned his back and walked away from us.

She was taken aback by her sudden change of heart, but as if it was the same for Little Red Riding Hood, she sighed only after the woodcutter’s back completely disappeared.

And then he told me.

“…… I told you to just run away.”

“At least I was trying to figure out the situation.”

“If that scrap metal hadn’t suddenly withdrawn. No, if the woodcutter hadn’t hesitated to attack before then, you’d be dead.”

I have nothing to say, so I lower my head.

I was thinking about the part where the Tin Woodman, who called Little Red Riding Hood a beast, backed away by pointing to me as a human being.

“Anyway.”

In the midst of such trouble, Little Red Riding Hood opened her mouth with a click on her tongue.

“What are you going to do now?”

“What happened?”

“Though that scrap metal has withdrawn once, you never know when it will change its mind and run again. It’s not something that can be communicated in the first place. So we can go forward as is, or we have the option of going back and reorganizing first.”

Maintenance and advancement.

Once I saw the greatness of the woodcutter up close, I wondered if it would be right to go back if Little Red Riding Hood had worn out.

But what about after that?

Obviously, Little Red Riding Hood moved after finding out the location of her woodcutter, but her attack was carried out in an unexpected situation.

“If you don’t mind, let’s keep going.”

“Why?”

“You didn’t expect this situation, did you? Then, when he comes back, a fight could still happen, but if that’s the case, I thought now is the right time for him to retreat.”

Of course, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that this is a trap, but even so, our work has not changed.

“…… I guess so. Then I will do as you say.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m a little tired, but no big deal. As long as you avoid it properly.”

So this time, I had no choice but to bow my head when he was scolded to run away properly.