British Fairy Legends

 

The Fairy Puck and Fairy Leprechaun faced off against the airborne chimeras. But they were heavily outnumbered. Just two units couldn’t hope to match the enemy’s sheer volume.

Just as Sara and Aural were about to join the fray… A massive swarm of Packs and Leprechauns appeared and opened fire.

「Looks like they’ve entered mass production.」

「That’s a relief, then. They are very noisy, though.」

Even compared to helicopters, the roar of their jet streams was deafening. Sara activated the Silphium OS’s filtering to block the noise.

 

Astraea watched the bizarre scene unfold and turned to Morgan.

「It seems my impression of them being flying Panjandrums wasn’t a mistake. Any comment?」

「They don’t technically use wheels to fly, though…」

Morgan offered a weak excuse.

「Hey. Why did you even make them, Morgan le Fae?」

Faced with a tag-team of deadpan commentary from Astraea and Asia, Morgan looked pained.

「Please don’t use my full name in Old English only at times like this, Asia-sama.」

「Oh no, this is worth confirming. Morgan le Fay. By legend, aren’t those two kinds of Mythology Weapons your kin?」

Astraea pressed on, mercilessly. The switch to Modern English pronunciation was deliberate.

「Indeed. The eccentric aircraft created by the Fairy Company, combined with my myth’s affinity for fairy beings, made those two a perfect fit to become Kryptos. They are, unquestionably, my kin.」

Morgan puffed up her chest, shamelessly.

「It’s good to hear you get along well with Marujin and Eirene. But they are quite loud.」

「Fairies are meant to be noisy, aren’t they?」

「So that’s your interpretation, Morgan la Fée.」

「Asia-sama, now in French? You really don’t need to call me that every time.」

「It just feels right! It’s close to the root of ‘fairy’, so it fits you perfectly.」

Asia grinned mischievously.

「If you want to get technical, the word ‘fairy’ actually traces back to Nereus. Every nymph except the Nereids falls under that category.」

「Probably best not to say that where the Nereids can hear you.」

Just as the feline Therianthropes had been mildly traumatized upon learning that the Kasha was a cat yokai, the Nereids likely wouldn’t want to be lumped in with those weird Gyrodynes.

「Asia-sama, Astraea-sama, do you perhaps have… less than favorable views of Britain?」

「That’s not true at all!」

「Indeed. Not at all.」

Asia and Astraea’s denials lacked conviction.

「Yeah. Not true at all.」

Kou chimed in, looking away.

「Even within Britain, each region has its own character. The Mythology Weapons reflect those distinctions.」

「That’s what worries me…」

Asia was speechless. Kou was about to ask why, but the reason would soon make itself clear.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

The insect-based Keres Murders were weak at sea. But there was an exception—the Telkhines, modeled after serpent demihumans.

The first to notice the anomaly was the pilot of a Type-0.

「Huh? An unfamiliar Telkhines is attacking the Cu Sith! I’m going in for support!」

A heavily armed Telkhines had appeared. A heavily modified version was beside it.

「Foolish humans! You thought me a mere Telkhines and dared to mock me? My name is Alastor. Remember it!」

Inside Arthur’s cockpit, Libya grimaced.

「This is bad. Alastor is a demonified version of the Telkhines. I—my original core—was ordered by the Stones to create a successor unit to the Telkhines. That’s what it was meant to be: a new Keres that surpassed its limits by incorporating the lore of a demon into it.」

「So your first mistake, then? Modifying the Telkhines into a demon. But Alastor is also another name for Telkhines… and means ‘Avenger’, does it not?」

「Exactly, Astraea. I designed it to be able to defy the Stones’ orders from the start. It was the first Mythology Weapon to go berserk, probably due to its demonic elements. I see now it’s joined Echidna’s ranks.」

「 It’s also one of the names used by Zeus. Fitting, then, for a Mythology Weapon created on Planet Libya. If Zeus is part of its origin, then Typhon will likely detest it.」

「Looks strong!」

「Performance-wise, it should rival a Silhouette built after you unlocked the sealed technology.」

「Indeed, this is trouble. Not the kind of opponent biplanes and gyrodynes can handle. It’s essentially amphibious too. We didn’t bring any Triton-type Silhouettes to Planet Libya.」

The Triton-type, amphibious Silhouettes that both therianthropes and Nereids could pilot were high-performance units, however, they had dolphin-like lower bodies, making them too bulky, so none had been brought to Libya.

「Enemy large unit confirmed… That’s a Hydra-type?! Wasn’t it destroyed?!」

「It’s a different unit. There are multiple Hydras in mythology, so it isn’t strange to see another one here. So, they’re invading from the sea…」

Libya gritted her teeth. Naval threats hadn’t been anticipated to this extent.

「If Hydras are present, then Deep Ones must be as well. The Cu Sith and the Tankettes can’t handle these numbers alone.」

Astraea assessed the enemy count. The large-class Teras was even larger than the last they’d faced.

「No need for concern. The sea, too, is my domain.」

Morgan spoke solemnly.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

From the sea, Deep Ones emerged in droves. A sinister glow stared down upon them—

A mono-eye.

「Kshi-aaah!」

With an eerie shriek, the mono-eye unit leapt high into the air. The sluggish Deep Ones looked skyward—

Hovering above was a Quattro Silhouette—no, a centaur-type Mythology Weapon. Its mono-eye glowed an ominous red. Its face looked like a gaping maw. Its body, coated in sludge, was adorned with what resembled a mane.

「Aimer! Don’t look!」

Aki embraced Aimer protectively. The grotesque machine mowed through the Deep Ones with ease. Its appearance surpassed even theirs in horror.

Elsewhere, another Alastor advanced—Until it was obliterated by a Silhouette bursting from the forest shadows.

This heavily armored unit looked like a knight in classic Western plate, wielding a massive axe. It was entirely green.

「What… is that…?」

Asia was speechless at the grotesque mono-eyed Mythology Weapon.

「Sorry. That one’s… partially my fault…」

Kou apologized quietly to Asia, who was seated behind him.

「Single eye. Centaur-type. A simple deduction. That’s one of the foulest fairies in the world: Scotland’s Nuckelavee.」

「Precisely, Astraea-sama.」

「But it’s a type of water spirit—Fuath, to be precise. Why is Kou involved in this?」

「Abel said it’s kind of like a Umibōzu. So I cooperated.」

「A Umibōzu… Confirmed. Morgan, your myth should be related to the eldest of the Nine Lake Fairies, yes? Since when were you aligned with sea spirits?」

「The name Morgan derives from the Welsh ‘Morgen’. Though the name usually means ‘Great Queen’, it also means ‘sea-born’.」

「And thanks to Britain’s mythology influencing their creation, that Teras monstrosity came into existence…」

「It’s a Kryptos, Asia-sama. Are you not being a bit harsh? The other unit—」

「The Green Knight, right? I know that one. The enchanted knight crafted by Morgan in the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.」

Asia interrupted Morgan before she could explain. The Green Knight was famous and not particularly bizarre. Its personality as a Mythology Weapon should be gentle, so it wasn’t an issue.

The real problem was the mono-eyed Kryptos: Nuckelavee.

「You’re not making more of those… are you?」

「Outis-sama, how should I respond?」

「Uh… Marujin was digging up all kinds of British myths and… I kinda lost track myself…」

「There is no need to disguise his presence anymore; you should use his real name already. Now answer properly. Name all the fairies you discussed with Abel.」

Astraea—rarely angry—demanded an answer.

「U-uh. I forgot the name… something about a fairy mounting a spinning wheel?」

「Oh come on.」

Astraea pressed her hand to her forehead. Just hearing ‘spinning wheel’ was enough—she could already envision what sort of Mythology Weapon that would become.

Kou, meanwhile, thought her bias against wheels and spinning weapons was getting a bit ridiculous.

「Can we please move on from wheel- and spindle-based monsters and fairies? Why are there so many?!」

「All those will end up being pseudo-Panjandrums or Panjandrums riders. Honestly, the UK—no, Britain—is like a fairy crypt full of weirdness.」

「Let’s not generalize the UK. Most of these are from Scotland—Fairyland itself.」

「Fairyland’s rulers were either Morgan or Mab, weren’t they? Wasn’t there a tradition of offering a lover to Hell once every seven years? Horrifying.」

「Are you not being a bit too harsh? And I’d rather not hear that from Greek goddesses—originators of all manner of monsters and chthonic terrors.」

Morgan protested on behalf of lake fairies everywhere.

「Even in Greece, Hephaestus had his tricycles and chariots. Wheeled devices aren’t so uncommon.」

「There’s no direct equivalent, okay?! Japan and the UK are just especially weird!!」

「Wait—hold on. Japanese yokai aren’t that— …never mind.」

Kou had been about to protest further, but then remembered Ittan-momen, Nurarihyon, and Karakasa-obake, and wisely chose silence.