Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

Inside the wooden house, dim light flickered from an oil lamp near the window.

Poro realized that this oil lamp was the very light he and Leake had seen in the forest earlier.

At the same time, Poro also noticed that the lamp was burning magic, not oil.

"I don't have much food at home, just ordinary plants grown with magic, but they will die quickly."

The gray-haired girl, Ida, said softly as she carefully placed the flower pot in her hands on the table.

Then, she took a stool from the corner and placed it in front of Leake, and after thinking for a moment, she turned and brought a second one for Poro.

"Have you… eaten yet?"

Seeing Leake and Poro nod, Ida abandoned the idea of getting them something to eat, picked up the flower pot from the table, and continued to hold it in her arms.

Leake examined the furnishings in the room.

The wooden house didn't seem like a place for a single person to live; many of the decorations and details suggested that Ida had once lived with many people.

But now, she was all alone.

"Madam, I'm sorry, we didn't mean to intrude on your life, but I really need your help."

Leake said apologetically again, knowing that the girl in front of her was likely older than herself, after all, the level of magical ability was often closely related to age.

"You are a powerful master of forest magic, you should know how to revive someone through the Heart of the Forest…"

"Yes, I do know, but the situation is different now than it used to be."

But Ida shook her head, quietly gazing at the withered, bright red flower in her flower pot.

To Leake and Poro's surprise, the flower moved on its own, even without wind.

It seemed to be dancing lightly.

Magic light flashed in Poro's eyes, and he discovered that this flower was different from the puppet trees in the forest; it seemed to possess a magical vitality.

More precisely, the flower's life form was more like the spirits formed by the plants in the Giant's Garden.

But…

The flower's life seemed to be in an unstable state; the vitality within the flower seemed ready to burst forth, but there was also a trace of death clinging to it.

It wanted to dance, but if it did, the death energy would spread with the vitality, killing the flower faster—

The only reason this flower was still alive.

Was because the gray-haired girl was constantly injecting life into it with her magic.

"I can't even save my own flower, my own garden, so how can I save your loved one?"

Ida laughed self-deprecatingly.

"What do you mean?"

A sense of foreboding vaguely arose in Leake's heart.

"You saw the devastation of this forest along the way, didn't you?"

Ida held the flower, looked out the window at the lifeless, withered trees, and then asked Leake and Poro,

"Do you know where the withering, decaying, and dead plants come from? Why is it that nothing grows where I, a forest witch, live?"

Ida turned her face back around.

At this moment, Leake and the others noticed a glint of tears in the gray-haired girl's eyes.

"You should have guessed, it's because of me."

She said softly, "This is the curse the dying world gave me!"

"Curse?"

Leake heard the word and looked a little puzzled, "Can such a curse be broken?"

"Broken? No, of course not."

Ida said, looking at the flower that was about to wither, her expression somewhat dazed, "I like flowers, and I like their dance even more. My magic gives them life, allowing them to break free from the restraints of the ground—

To dance like life.

At that time, they and I could do many, many interesting things. I taught them all kinds of dances, waltzes, ballet, jazz… Although they didn't learn them well, I was very happy every day.

Although they would be very tired after dancing, they would rest on the ground for a while, and the next day they would be refreshed again.

Even if they withered with the end of the flowering season, more beautiful dance partners would grow out of the earth next spring."

Ida said, smiling, but as she said this, her expression fell again.

"Until one day, this world changed, like it is now—"

Ida said, raising her hand and pointing to the windowsill in the darkness, where a row of empty flower pots sat, the soil cracked, with only a few withered leaf scraps.

Leake and Poro looked over and, under Ida's magic, a plant grew in the flower pot.

The plant grew taller and taller, it was a rose!

The rose grew a bud, the bud cracked a small slit, revealing a bright flower, its leaves shaking spontaneously like a person stretching.

Then, its roots also came out of the soil.

It looked at the others timidly, retreated slightly, waved, and lowered its flower head, wanting to examine its body—

But in the next second, it began to wither and dehydrate rapidly.

Falling to the ground, the few green leaves tried to struggle one last time, then turned into a pile of withered residue.

"It died, without even dancing, without even feeling the beauty of this world."

Ida said blankly, picking up the dead rose corpse and walking out of the house.

Poro and Leake followed closely, watching the gray-haired girl kneel on the ground, dig a hole, bury the withered rose, and cover it with soil.

"This is an eternal winter. From my magic, I saw the depths of this world, heading towards decline, or rather, some of the original rules have disappeared…

At that time, I watched my entire forest slowly die, all the plants that gained magic because of my magic, accelerated their deaths.

My garden, those dancing, colorful flowers.

One after another, dying in front of me."

Ida said, inserting a dead branch on the newly dug grave,

"At that time, I realized—

My magic, changed because of the changes in the world.

Originally, under my magic, these plants could dance to their heart's content and gain souls that could experience joy.

All of this would consume vitality, but it didn't matter, at that time, my magic would allow them to gain more life after a night's rest.

But now, the world will no longer make such 'beautiful' gifts.

Every plant soul I create that longs for dance will die the moment it takes its first step, but not only that—this world, began to take away the vitality that my magic once brought!"

Leake and Poro listened to the girl's explanation, their minds in chaos.

Although they had encountered so many things, they didn't know much about the deeper aspects of this world.

They listened carefully.

Although they didn't understand it yet, these things would undoubtedly be useful.

Ida's voice became more mournful, saying word by word, "This world has changed. From a certain moment, life and death became unbalanced.

The first to realize this were naturally the top casters.

We were looking for a way out, or…"

Ida paused, deeply scanning Leake and Poro, "Maybe for some other things, in short, including me, a total of twelve witches, we formed the Witch's Tea Party."

Hearing this, Leake and Poro both took a deep breath.

They had already realized what Ida was about to say, and had some guesses about her relationship with the Gluttony and Crimson witches.

Even, Poro, because of the [Spiral Beacon: Sage] memory, recalled some of the words she said when he killed the Mirror Witch…

These witches, are all from this organization called "Witch's Tea Party"?!

"Twelve people, two of you have killed…"

Ida pondered for a moment, but continued, "You shouldn't want to kill me, right?"

"Uh, of course not, if you don't do those evil things."

Leake was stunned for a moment and hurriedly waved her hand.

Her other hand had just touched the hilt of the Star Killing Sword, and the hilt was emitting a slight coolness.

The newly acquired [Ring-Shaped Return: Star Covenant] allowed Leake to confirm that the gray-haired girl in front of her had not killed, or directly killed, any innocent people.

"Oh, that's good."

Ida blinked, as if relieved, and continued, "I also know that among the others, they may have their own purposes.

But at least, our directions are the same in terms of changing all this.

But now…

Only two have died, although it's a bit difficult, the next tea party can continue."

Ida continued, her eyes buried in the flower in front of her, "If it were before, I could indeed help you, but now, I'm not sure."

Ida looked complexly at the bag on Leake's chest, where the Forest Heart, emitting a blue light, was located, walked back to the wooden house, and sat in the corner, on a chair.

"The world is heading towards a fall, everything has failed, everything.

The thwarted plan in the Witch's Tea Party, and now, two people have died in your hands."

The gray-haired girl sighed slightly, "I can't even protect my favorite flower, so how can I save what you love?

Now, the world has gone to its death.

The miracle of life has long been submerged in shadow, no one can do it…"

Darkness continued, and Ida's last weak voice came from the corner:

"You should leave."

Leave…

Leave?

Leake heard Ida's words, her blue pupils trembling.

If the journey, from the forest, recalling the rumors about the forest witch that her grandmother told her, to the Mirror Witch, giving a plan.

Crossing several countries, experiencing countless unpredictable dangers, defeating one enemy after another.

Standing in this withered forest…

But only waiting for a sentence, "No one can do it… You should leave?"

Leave, where to go now?

In that instant, Leake fell into a kind of confusion, her trembling blue eyes, a crystal tear, sliding down her cheek.

Poro felt the mood of the girl beside him.

He put his paw in Leake's trembling palm, looked at Ida, who was holding the last flower, in the corner of the wooden house, and still asked:

"Is there really… no chance at all?"

Ida heard this, looked at Poro out of the corner of her eye, and remembered that the caster who had used the magic of the Gluttony Witch and the Crimson Witch was this seemingly ordinary wolf, just a little majestic.

"You also understand some magic, but not deeply.

With my magic, to do this, I must override the world's distortion, but how is that possible?!

After the world began to slide towards death, no plant can freely leave the soil and move, they have no ability to pay the price of gaining a soul!

Unless, you have the ability to let plants survive under the influence of my twisted magic!

Unless, you have seen other flowers that have freedom and are not deprived of life by the world…"

After Ida said these words, she stopped speaking.

In her mind, the wolf and the girl in front of her would definitely give up, although they could kill the Crimson Witch and the Gluttony Witch, but being familiar with killing does not mean being equally skilled at creation.

But to her surprise, the girl who had just fallen into sorrow, on the contrary, had a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"If, we really see that there are other plant spirits that can move freely and have not been deprived of life by the world?"

"That's true."

The golden bird on Leake's head also nodded in agreement.

In the Giant's Garden, those plant spirits created by the Giant King's magic, plus some Jesus power, could indeed move freely and did not die quickly.

And the golden bird knew that before the Giant's Garden disappeared, there were quite a few such plant spirits!

"Moreover, we may really have a way now to keep your flowers alive under the influence of your twisted magic."

A gleam of light flashed in the depths of Poro's eyes.

He manifested a page of a book, this was the second page obtained from the Giant Floating Island, that is, the page obtained after the sky cavity where the Fallen Paradise was located closed.

The picture on it was a group of children playing in a spring garden.

[Ring-Shaped Return: Giant's Garden·Pure Spring Day]

[Those turbid, dead, withered, selfish, dark… have all been driven away, leaving only the delicate and colorful vitality, still wandering in the sun]

[Complete the unlocking ceremony to obtain fairy tale authority!]

[Fairy Tale Authority: When a plant receives a pure and ardent love, its life will be in eternal spring!]

[Unlocking Ceremony: Protect that beautiful, vibrant garden, drive out desire]

Description: The bright spring sunlight returns to this beautiful garden once more. The ice and snow melt, and the withered plants flourish in the spring breeze. They sprout tender buds and bloom into flowers—

Only the purest of hearts can allow this beautiful scenery to continue eternally.

"I suddenly remembered that I have a newly acquired magic that might save your flower—"

Poro took a deep breath, looking at Little Ida and the flower in her hand that was about to wither. "As long as your love for the flower is sincere enough..."