Surviving a Cruel Fairy Tale

15 – Act 1. Little Red Riding Hood Forest – Mother Tree (3)

I saw the black darkness.

An invisible world where no light can enter.

The feeling of swimming in the darkened place reminded me of the posthumous feeling of meeting Rumpelstiltschen for the first time before stepping into this world.

There is only one light in such a world.

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A very small light, like a star that embroiders the pitch-black night sky, one after another.

The light that gradually increased like that eventually brightened up the darkness I had seen so far, and soon my body started to emit heat as if it would explode.

I frowned at the sensation of my body being dug up.

As if it was going through the blood vessels and running through the body, it emitted excessive heat as if it would burn the body. This was the mystery.

The power to build a fairy tale world.

It assimilated into this body and expanded as if changing the body itself, expanding something invisible.

Little by little, the realm of cognition expands.

The distance my arms can reach, the distance I can walk.

But it’s spread beyond my limit, and I can’t stand it and it feels like my body is cracking little by little.

In other words, the feeling that it is about to break.

Inflated and inflated, this body, which reached its limit in gear, reached its critical point like a balloon reaching its limit.

This is absurd.

It’s hard to laugh when what I thought was a means to survive is actually strangling me.

Isn’t it rather like self-destruction because you have the power and the means to accept it?

I didn’t take a second chance just to do this.

A world of fairy tales.

The reason I decided to look back at the world of famous paintings that I couldn’t write was not just to meet my foolish end like this.

A little more.

There are so many things I haven’t seen yet.

I haven’t accomplished anything yet.

“Then just wake up again and that’s it.”

* * *

I wake up to the voice of a woman I’ve become accustomed to because I’ve been with him for the past few days.

A soft texture to the hair.

Just above is the little face of Little Red Riding Hood.

“…… What happened.”

“What’s going on? I really want to ask.”

I turn her head slightly to see her stomach. Is it her thigh that I am lying on?

“How are you feeling?”

“…… It’s okay.”

Apparently, the first time she set her eyes on her mother’s tree, her body screamed.

My joints were creaking, and it was obviously difficult to speak properly due to the accompanying pain along with the scorching heat that seemed to burn my brain.

“I’m glad.”

In that situation, Little Red Riding Hood casually nodded her head.

“It seems to work well.”

“…… Are you okay?”

“First of all, I cut off the connection between you and the outside world because I thought it would explode if I left it as it is.”

It’s just first aid, but it seems to have worked to a certain extent, she said, taking it lightly out of the rush and tapping my forehead.

“Anyway, if it’s okay, won’t you wake up soon? Legs go numb.”

“Oh, sorry.”

First, he nodded and then stood up.

The surroundings were surrounded by countless pieces of paper that Little Red Riding Hood saw when using magic. Could this mean that they blocked me and the outside?

“First of all, thank you. I thought I was really going to die.”

“Thank you. What happened to that? I know it absorbs the mystery, but can you control it?”

Unfortunately, that’s how it happened.

To be honest, there were many things I didn’t know about this phenomenon.

It was the tiny life called Rumpelstiltschen that guided me to this world in the first place, and these powers and abilities are nothing more than those granted to me by him.

“Actually, I never thought it would turn out like this.”

“That is absurd. Regardless of the user’s bowl, just inhaling the surrounding power? If it is something you were born with, it is normal for it to naturally grow to suit that person, but you are not at all like that.”

That’s because he’s a human who has nothing to do with this fairy tale world.

Of course, in our world there is no power that transcends cognition in the literal sense of mystery, and I had no chance to come into contact with such a thing.

“…… Anyway.”

Little Red Riding Hood sighed and met my gaze.

“First of all, your purpose has been accomplished with this. Since the mystery has been brought into the body at the very edge of the limit, if you want more than this, it will be difficult if you don’t at least widen the bowl.”

“Do you widen the bowl?”

Does that mean that the body can accept even more mysteries than this?

“Is that possible?”

“It is possible. However, that is only the realm of the concept. Mystery is the power that makes it exist in this fairy tale world. That is, the realm of concepts. Expanding the bowl means you have to get closer to the main character in the story.”

When you get closer to the main character, the bowl widens.

It certainly made sense considering the nature of the fairy tale world.

At least, by becoming a character who moves the story, you can imprint your existence in the world and thereby increase your presence, so you can understand it as such a concept.

However, I still don’t like it very much.

No matter how much I failed, isn’t it that I, who wanted to become a writer, should stand on that stage and become an actor?

Of course, even in this situation, I have no intention of making a noise like that, and the answer that comes out when I look at the situation objectively is clear.

“You are saying that it is impossible now.”

“Yes.”

So you’re saying that with this power you have now, you have to deal with the hunters, and maybe even the woodcutter.

First, I caught my breath with my eyes closed.

Certainly, the amount of mystery wriggling inside my body has grown to an incomprehensible size compared to before entering the forest, but the important thing is not to make myself stronger with that power.

The power to modify fairy tales and interfere with the world.

To borrow Rumpelstiltschen’s words, how far did the concept of crystal, which was said to be the most suitable power as an artist, expand?

Let’s try it.

“Whoa… ….”

First of all, who is the toughest opponent in this forest?

The overwhelming power of the Tin Woodman was indeed frightening, but when it comes to the truth of the forest, the hunters are the enemies.

Then what is the hunter’s most dangerous weapon?

Nothing to say.

A gun that fires infinitely without reloading can cause fatal wounds if it is pierced once, no matter how strong the physical ability is. Then, what if we overlay the notion that this body is immune to bullets?

Theoretically, it is possible.

Until now, the power was weak, so it was just twisting the physical providence or adding light concepts, but if this power is, as it says, a concept that is close to crystal, it’s clear.

“…… Big!!”

One step in thinking.

As soon as I raised the mystery by thinking of the concept that I would not actually get hurt by bullets, I felt the liquid boiling in my throat and coughed up.

Bright red blood vomited from its mouth, staining the ground red.

“Are you going to die?”

“…… No, I won’t die.”

I just knew that such a vague concept was impossible.

I felt like I was turned inside out, but I knew instinctively that this was not a fatal wound.

Isn’t it a bit like asking if you die too calmly than that?

At least, I think it’s okay to put a little bit of emotion into it.

“Isn’t it too calm?”

“I am not calm. I was worried.”

…… That is?

It is said that each person is different, but I can’t see it from the expression of a worried person.

Well, since we’ve only known each other for a few days, I don’t really want you to worry about me, but being so insensitive makes me feel weird in a different way.

“That’s it. Anyway, for a moment, I experimented with what I could.”

I explained to Little Red Riding Hood the rough part of my power while staying at her house before, so I left out the details.

“The result?”

“To get rid of the concept of a gunshot wound itself, the same opportunistic development would not have been possible.”

“Yes.”

It would be natural if it was obvious, but considering that the fight would have been easier if I could at least seal his main weapon, I can’t help but feel sorry for him.

“Still, I can see that your influence has definitely expanded. This is an experiment to the end, but I can feel the roughness.”

Correction of the concept.

In addition, I realized that what can be exercised by increasing the available resource called mystery within me is not just mere interference with reality.

The details are a matter to be checked further, but what is certain is that now I have the means to intervene in this situation.

“That’s enough.”

In response, Little Red Riding Hood nodded and stood up.

“Then let’s go now. You don’t have any business left here, do you?”

“Yes, but… ….”

I just have a question.

Mother’s tree.

Little Red Riding Hood said that it was the source of this forest, but I couldn’t feel any intention or will in what I saw.

Is it all about feeling that it is a small tree full of mysteries?

The thing to think about here is that although this body has the property of attracting the mystery around it, it does not take away the mystery of Little Red Riding Hood or the woodcutter.

If I add the assumption that it’s not the nature of absorbing the mysteries already implied by someone, maybe this mother’s tree…….

“Let’s go.”

Without time to think about it, Little Red Riding Hood led me by the arm and quickly tried to get out of the clearing.

As if you don’t want to stay here any longer.

It was a little strange, but without her help, I couldn’t stay here for long anyway, so I went to the forest where only the twilight was left, following her steps.