Pixie?

(A/N Chapter rewritten. )

Chrup Chrup Chrup

" Mmm! This is great! Master, how can you make something so good out of ordinary potatoes? " - The excited Asme merrily wagged her tail from side to side. The provocateur of the woman's stimulated behavior turned out to be ordinary potato chips. Ramiel had taken them out as a snack after the instant soup.

It was supposed to be his snack ... well, life had a different opinion on that. Currently, he could only dream about it.

Ramiel wasn't even sure how it happened. He gave the women a treat, and when he blinked, the package lay between Asme and Caera. He didn't think they would fall in love with the snack, or rather the crunch, at first sight. He didn't know how to define their behavior. It was beyond his knowledge and capabilities.

Asme greedily devoured crunch after crunch. Caera was no worse. Both of them looked comical, with their cheeks stuffed with crisps, just like a squirrel looking for acorns for the winter.

Ramiel watched with an aching heart as his snack disappeared between the two insatiable beasts. He would have taken back his property if it had not been for the captivating sight of flapping pointed ears and a wagging tail.

However, he decided that one package was a small price to pay for a moment of pleasure. After all, watching the women's reactions amused him. Especially the sight of the shy Caera, devouring the munchies like a monster, seemed charming to him.

After his death, he began to appreciate quiet moments like this one, during which he could relax. Unfortunately, this state couldn't last forever.

Ramiel wasn't a naive child. He found out cruelly firsthand how the universe works. He had to become stronger for several reasons if he wanted to survive.

First, he doesn't like the vision of the future, where he dies again. In fact, aside from getting revenge on his former comrades, all Ramiel wanted was to live peacefully. Before his death, he discussed this with Samantha in the dungeon.

Unfortunately, it came out as it did.

Secondly, Ramiel was recently serving as a dungeon master. From what he learned from Asme and Caera, his life is closely tied to the survival of the dungeon. If the dungeon dies, he will also die. If the core is destroyed, Ramiel will also die.

If they weren't lying, I'm screwed... - Ramiel cursed in his mind. Before his death, he had completely destroyed thousands of dungeons. As a former hunter, he knew very well how humans treated dungeons and the creatures that lived in them. Kill or be killed. There was no room for negotiation.

" That's nothing. Wait till you taste the jelly beans. - Ramiel replied dispassionately. "

" Jelly beans? What are jelly beans, master? " - Flames of excitement lit up Caera's golden eyes. 

The elfess fell in love with Ramiel's strange food. It was delicious, quick to make, and always stayed fresh.

A thousand ideas about the mysterious jelly beans popped into her head. If they were even half as good as the others... Caera would kill for them. There's a reason they say the way to the heart is through the stomach.

" Someday, I will let you try them. You can compare them to fruit juice, turned into edible gum... " - Ramiel looked at the confused and disappointed faces of Caera and Asme. He realized immediately what the problem was. "Don't you know what chewing gum is? " 

" Rubber...? " - Asme wasn't allowed to finish the question. She was interrupted by a loud noise that accompanied the sudden movement of mana particles. From one second to the next, the room was filled with colorful particles floating freely in the air.

Ramiel calmly watched as the colored mana particles flooded the dungeon's core. Some of them grouped together to form long ribbons, which, like miniature versions of themselves, headed toward the core.

Ramiel didn't panic. To say more, he didn't even move from his spot. There was no point, so he couldn't stop or influence anything. Maybe one day... but now? He was too weak for that.

The only thing left for him to do was accept the possible changes and enjoy the concert, at which the stimulated mana played the first violin.

Ramiel had to admit one thing. The sight intimidated him; it was the first time he had seen such an abundance of mana infused with random elements. He could recognize some of them, such as the darkness with which he was familiar or space, but most were a mystery.

The women, like Ramiel, gazed in awe at the unique spectacle. Even the goblins seemed absorbed in the phenomenon.

" Beautiful. " - Caera whispered. Asme just nodded, unable to speak. The sight took her breath away.

The woman reached out for one of the mana ribbons. As she did so, the ribbon reacted like a living being, wrapping itself around her hand and rushing forward. The feeling of the living mana caressing her skin was indescribable.

Ramiel could no longer contain his curiosity. Fascinated, he moved with a confident step toward the core of the dungeon. Ribbons of mana reacted to his arrival. The closer he stood to the core, the more of them wrapped around his body.

The warmth he felt sent a pleasant shiver down his entire body. The mana contained in the ribbons began to penetrate his body, directly nourishing his cells and bypassing the transformation process.

Surrounded by a cascade of colors, Ramiel looked intimidating. The stream of dark colors swirling around him created a pleasing contrast to his black and white hair.

The vortex inside Ramiel went wild, consuming astronomical amounts of mana. He had to devote some of his attention to containing it, or else there might have been a small explosion.

As he approached the core, Ramiel felt it calling to him. Slowly but surely, his body moved there against his will. Ramiel didn't resist. He simply went with the flow. Besides, he had a strange feeling that nothing bad would happen to him. After all, what dungeon would kill a new master?

The core of the dungeon was absorbing mana like crazy. Its interior exploded with a veritable palette of colors, but it was dominated by cold hues. Previously, the calm purple swirls that raged inside had transformed into unbridled hurricanes.

How could something so small contain so much mana? It's like... it can do this indefinitely. - Ramiel thought.

An hour later, the core stopped accepting mana. The remaining particles were absorbed by the walls of the dungeon. Everything was back to normal.

Well, except maybe for the core itself. The main musician playing the first fiddle was now emitting huge amounts of mana infused with the element of darkness. From time to time, shy white dots could be seen in the unfathomable sea of darkness, symbolizing the element of space.

Ramiel placed his left hand on the mystical sphere, instinct prompting him to do so. The mana raging within the core calmed down, creating millions of ancient runes inside.

The entire dungeon shook, loose pieces of the walls slipped, and rock dust sprinkled from the ceiling. Crystals emitting pale blue light flashed at equal intervals.

The runes formed a dark purple ball the size of an ostrich egg. Its surface was impeccably smooth, and one could see one's reflection in it.

The sphere left the core floating directly in front of Ramiel. The boy felt an immeasurable amount of mana inside. All the mana that the core had accumulated had found its way into this object.

Thin streaks of mana left the mysterious object and penetrated Ramiel's left hand. His body shook with excruciating pain as if he were being roasted alive. Despite his enhanced immunity, the man screamed, the pain unbearable.

The image in front of his eyes blurred, and he lost the strength in his legs. Little by little, Ramiel would have fallen.

Ancient runes formed an incomprehensible inscription on his right hand. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but these runes were identical to the ones that formed the ostrich egg.

Ramiel didn't know what was happening. The pain took away his ability to think soberly. The earlier discomfort caused by the chiseling in his hand was nothing compared to the current sensations. Had he had a sharp tool nearby, he would have immediately cut off his limb.

The sound of breaking glass reached Ramiel's ears. His hand became a beacon, capable of showing the way in the darkest night, due to the runes emitting a blinding light.

Within minutes, Ramiel's entire body was covered with runes. He was shaken by severe convulsions caused by inhuman pain. The boy didn't know why, but he was unable to pass out as if the safeguards protecting his brain had failed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" - Ramiel let out a shattering scream. He couldn't take it anymore.

Two women stood in the middle of the room. Their faces expressed pure fear. They had never expected that a man could howl so loudly in pain, and they had seen a lot of cruelty in their lives.

Asme wanted to approach the man and help him, but she was paralyzed with fear. She feared that a similar fate might befall her. She couldn't be blamed for that; no one would want to experience something similar.

Crackle Crackle

More and more cracks appeared on the surface of the sphere, and with each passing second, the sound of breaking glass became louder and louder.

Suddenly, the terrible pain that terrorized Ramiel stopped, and he fell to his knees, drenched in sweat. His chest moved erratically. Only his loud gasping could be heard in the room.

The runes, who had previously been emitting a bright light, moved toward Ramiel's heart, disappearing there entirely as if they had entered it. After a few seconds, no trace of them remained.

Crackle Crackle

Exhausted, Ramiel lifted his head and looked furiously at the bursting object. Swimming with the river's current, he put his psyche on a knife's edge.

"Let's hope it's worth it... if not... I'll personally destroy the fucking core." - Ramiel growled.

The sphere's surface shattered into a million pieces with a loud crack. They fell unnaturally slowly and turned to dust. Where the orb had once been, there was now a small creature that could easily fit in the palm of a grown man's hand.

From her shoulders hung a black gothic-style dress that reached to her knees. The dress perfectly matched her violet eyes, the same as Ramiel's.

That wasn't the only resemblance between the two. Interspersed between her black hair were single strands of white hair. The strangest thing about her was her semi-transparent black wings with purple patterns. The wings were larger than the body in a 4:3 ratio, and they looked just like those of a fairy.

The little creature dragged itself through the air while yawning simultaneously. Without bothering to do anything, she rubbed her sleepy eyes as if she had just gotten up from a long nap. She performed a few bends while stretching. With a big smile, she flew up to Ramiel's head and stood on it triumphantly.

The cogs in Ramiel's head stopped with a loud rasp. He didn't know what to think about all this. A moment ago, he had experienced the most nightmarish moment of his life, and now the cause of it all stood on the top of his head as if it were some kind of trophy.

" Is this some kind of fucking joke!!!! What the hell is this!!! " - Ramiel roared. He angrily grabbed the small fairy by its clothes and pulled her off his head. In a gesture of protest, the little creature waved its legs and arms. The man holding the thing in front of him didn't care, although he had to admit, it looked adorable.

" Who are you, and what have you done to me!!!? " - If sight could kill, the poor creature would already be dead.

The little creature stopped beating the air. Resigned, she looked at him with a menacing gaze. " And who do I look like to you? I am the DUNGEON FAIRY. Now let me go, otherwise, I won't tell you anything! "

Swollen veins appeared on Ramiel's forehead. This thing... was brazen... and he felt like killing it on the spot in the cruelest way that exists. Burning it alive in molten iron wouldn't be enough.

It took a long moment before Ramiel cooled down and began to think soberly again. Although he really, but really wanted to strangle her, he couldn't do it. Killing something that formed the dungeon's core was foolish, to say the least, especially when he had to suffer so much to get it.

Placing his other hand, Ramiel dropped the fairy. The little creature fell on its butt with a loud groan.

" You are terrible! " - The fairy whined and rubbed her sore bottom. Ramiel didn't care.

The fairy looked at the man menacingly and kicked him in the toe. If it was supposed to hurt him... it didn't work. He felt nothing. Taking a deep breath, he began.

" Maybe you can tell me what you are...".

" Name " - He was interrupted by the fairy.

" Excuse me ? " - The insolent attitude of the small creature once again surprised the man.

" Give me a name, otherwise I won't talk to you. It must be powerful and inspire fear among my enemies. " - The fairy put her hands on her shoulders and pushed her chest forward. She seemed to be proud of her words.

Is this thing making fun of me ?!!! - Ramiel gasped in thought. However, after a moment, a cunning plan popped into his head.

" Pixie " - Ramiel replied with a sinister smile.