The Sins Of The Fairies (3)

[I'll make them pay. I'll make them all pay. How dare they make me do this to my own children? No punishment is too great for these vermin! I'll destroy them all if it's the last thing I do! I'll kill them all! I'll never forgive them for making me stomp out my light! I'll never forgive them!]

The forest trembles at the demigod's rage. A torrent of mana swirls through the leaves, with Inari at the center. The Angel of Death spreads her wings.

Without another glance at Woohee, Inari flies back to the village. Any lingering doubts have been smashed apart from witnessing such turmoil. All she can think about is annihilating the humans that dare to enter her forest.

"Leader, they're coming!" Oog warns as Inari lands near the center of the village.

She takes a deep breath. All the emotions swirling around inside her will soon find catharsis. A storm is approaching the humans as they march in an orderly manner toward the forest.

Unable to contain herself, Inari flies to the edge of the woods to watch them. Like ants, they file past the treeline one by one. An army of insects. Inari smiles as she flies into the air. The moment has arrived. Everything she's held back for the last several months now has an escape, a target.

The trap is laid. Their formation shifts and shatters as the numerous proxy spells spread throughout the forest active. Sparks and fire claw at the humans' faces while poison and smoke threaten to kill them from within. The Duke calls forth his knights to clear the path for the army. They have high stats and resistances, so they won't be killed by such simple traps, but the damage still takes its toll. Now that some troops have been separated, the fairy squads make their move and begin peppering the knights with spells and orbs. The army's pace slows to a crawl as the knight are beaten by the radiant barrage.

Mages step forward and heal the knights, but they are still exhausted. The three dozen men in heavy armor stumble into a clearing where Inari is waiting. She watches as the thousand or so people fill the open area that will become their graves.

"Welcome to my domain!" Inari bellows as the last few troops enter the large clearing. She uses magic to amplify the volume of her voice so everyone can hear what she says. "You have no idea how much I've longed to see your faces."

"In the sky!"

"It's a fairy!"

Upon finding the source of the booming voice, the humans scramble to take up their positions. Archers and mages aim at the tiny enemy floating high in the air while foot soldiers move to protect them.

"I've spent the last few weeks preparing a show for you, so I hope you all enjoy it. Unfortunately, the script has been set in stone. None of you will make it out of these woods alive, even though I shan't survive either. This land will become our grave. We will become food for the massive trees that tower around us. We will nurture all the life of the forest. Your pathetic venture will be lost to the sands of time."

"Don't listen to her!" Duke Avaritan shouts. "She just wants to get in our heads. The fact that she's talking to us means she's still fighting for an edge; don't give it to her! Hold firm!"

The rattled soldiers gather themselves at the sound of their leader's voice. Their spirits are emboldened by his confident tone.

"Believe what you want. It's not like you've ever listened to me before." Inari shrugs. "It doesn't really matter. For today, we will all receive retribution for our sins. So allow me to introduce myself. I'm the leading actor in this show as well as the director. You may have heard of me before. I was once known as 'The Angel of Death.'

A stunned silence falls across the human formation.

"There's no way. That's impossible. The Angel of Death was killed in the last fairy war hundreds of years ago!" One soldier shouts.

"He's right! Don't let her get in your head. She's just trying to scare you!" Duke Avaritan affirms, but there's a trembling in his voice. It's as if he's trying to convince himself more than his men.

"Then let me prove it to you!" Inari shouts. Oog flies up to her while carrying a baseball-sized steel bearing. Several more fairies are close behind, each holding a ball bearing of their own. The Duke quickly recognizes the peril he's in. The tales of The Angel of Death have been embedded into his mind growing up. The power contained within those steel bearings is immeasurable.

"Mages, get a barrier up, NOW! Everyone, get down!"

Duke Avaritan screams madly to warn his troops of the impending danger. Meanwhile, Inari calmly grabs the metal sphere that's almost as big as herself. She holds the ball bearing behind her at arm's length with her free arm pointing down to the insects below. Inari forms a line with her arms as if to guide the steel sphere to the ground.

"Here it comes! Hurry up with that barrier!" The Duke shouts as the Angel of Death prepares to strike. Technicolor bolts of electricity seethe up and down her body. The storm of mana tugging at the leaves steps up into a typhoon. Heaven opens up to smite the sinners who have stepped onto holy ground.

"Taste my wrath! Railgun!"

'KERBOOOM!'

Dirt and limbs fly into the air as a crater the size of a house digs down to the roots of the Mammoth Trees. Not giving the humans a chance to recover, Inari grabs the next ball bearing and fires again.

"Railgun!"

'BABOOOM!'

And again.

"Railgun!"

'BERBLAAM!'

And again.

"Railgun!"

'BABABOOM!'

Her eyes burn with hatred cultivated from thousands of years of human impertinence. These vile creatures have destroyed everything they can get their grubby little hands on while the fairies have just stood by and watched, only raising the flag of war to defend themselves against the occasional arrogant noble that's forgotten what happened to the last fools who tried to cull them.

'BABLAAAM!'

The forest trembles at the sheer force of violence being inflicted on the planet below. Using a tremendous amount of Electromagnetic magic, Inari creates a series of magnets along her arms and extends out toward the ground to pull the ball bearings forward at supersonic speeds. The incredible force of this attack obliterates everything that falls in its path. The Angel of Death returns to harvest once again.