Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, winter has arrived.

Shadow Land, Fairy Forest.

Stepping into the forest, Lynch surveyed his surroundings with a gaze full of regret and sighs.

What met his eyes was a scene of utter devastation, like the end of days.

The once lush and towering tree canopies that blocked out the sky were gone, leaving only charred, barren trunks standing stark, like countless emaciated arms reaching hopelessly toward the heavens.

The ground was covered in a thick layer of black ash. With each step, the ash puffed into the air, choking anyone nearby with its acrid, burnt smell—the smell of trees, flowers, and animal lives consumed by flames, mingled with lingering smoke that stubbornly clung to the air.

The once winding and crystal-clear stream was now filled with ash, broken limbs, and decaying leaves. The water, muddied and sluggish, seemed to silently weep for the forest’s grim fate.

A heavy silence hung in the air. Gone were the cheerful chirping of birds and the rustling of insects. Occasionally, the brittle crack of a blackened tree breaking and crashing to the ground echoed sharply in the desolation.

The fairies were burdened with exceptionally heavy workloads as they prepared food for winter.

However, the lazy, exploitative fairies squandered resources and even hoarded food. At the slightest dissatisfaction, they would heartlessly expel hardworking fairies from the nests.

Two exhausted fairies, having failed to deliver enough nectar, were driven out. Perhaps seeking warmth or acting out of rage, they set dried leaves on fire. The dry winter climate quickly fanned the flames, culminating in this disaster.

“What a pity…” Lynch shook his head and sighed.

This Fairy Forest was something he had watched grow and thrive. From the first group of fairies who moved here, through decades of shared effort and toil, a beautiful fairy haven had been built.

Decades of effort, reduced to a wasteland in just a few short days…

“Awrr! Awrr!”

At that moment, a sudden cry came from ahead—it was the chubby little one squatting nearby.

This fortunate little fellow, picked up by Avery years ago, had inherited the Flame Bear bloodline. Over the past few years, Lynch had subjected it to multiple rounds of Extraordinary Transformation, allowing it to remain alive and well despite its naturally short lifespan.

However, to meet Avery’s request for cuteness, Lynch had removed its growth glands, leaving it and Parker unable to grow any larger, perpetually stuck in their cub-like forms.

After Avery moved in, this pet bear—who had witnessed the evolution of their relationship—naturally took up residence with Lynch in the big house as well. Since Avery often kept busy, Lynch was usually the one caring for it, and he frequently took it out for walks when he had time.

At the moment,

The little thing seemed to have discovered something, barking persistently at a pile of charred bushes.

Lynch walked over to take a closer look.

“This is…”

“A Forest Fairy.”

Lying amidst the scorched branches was a delicately crafted little figure, reminiscent of a Flower Fairy Beast from Digital Monster. She had long green hair, a pink petal adorning her forehead, a green dress paired with a pink skirt, and even her wings—a remarkably delicate set of faint green, translucent membranes—showed the intricate veins of leaves.

“What a stunning fairy!”

Like humans, Forest Fairies came in all appearances, from striking to grotesque. Most fairies were bizarre-looking, with asymmetrical features and bark-like, wrinkled skin—completely incompatible with a wizard’s aesthetic preferences.

Fairies as exquisitely beautiful as the one before him were extraordinarily rare. If brought to market, a fairy of this caliber would fetch a high price.

“Huh? Still alive?”

After perceiving it with his magic, Lynch discovered that the Forest Fairy was, surprisingly, still alive. Without hesitation, he dug her out from the rubble. Though the fairy’s grade was low and she lacked cultivation value, her rarity made her worth taking back as a collectible.

He gave her wounds a quick assessment. The injuries were severe; her wings were half-burned away. If left unattended, she wouldn’t last long.

For a wizard, however, this wasn’t an unsolvable issue.

He pulled out a bottle of Healing Series Magic Potion, pouring part of it over the fairy’s burns and feeding the rest to her through her small, delicate mouth.

Before his very eyes, the fairy’s pallid complexion began to improve rapidly. The once-unconscious creature even opened her eyes briefly to glance at Lynch.

“Sleep now; this is a time to rest well.”

Lynch gently pushed the struggling fairy, who was attempting to stand in his palm, back down. Then, he cast a [Deep Sleep] spell to lull her into slumber once more.

Next, he brought out a small cage and carefully placed the tiny creature inside.

With everything settled, Lynch cast one last sorrowful glance at the ruined forest. Then, with the chubby pet bear in tow, he turned and walked away. Originally, today’s excursion was supposed to be a casual walk, but with the forest in such a state, there was no point in staying.

As he neared the big house he called home, Lynch spotted a familiar figure standing at the door.

Clad in a stern black cloak, with a Cross Sword strapped to his waist, stood Adam from the Law Enforcement Team.

“I was just about to come find you,” Adam said as he spotted Lynch, immediately heading in his direction.

Lynch smirked. “What’s the matter? Here to invite me for a drink?”

Over the years, Lynch’s old friends had scattered far and wide, leaving him to see only a handful of them in a year. In Shadow Land, apart from Graham at Netta, the only one who remained was Adam, now part of the Law Enforcement Team.

Adam rolled his eyes. “As if I had your kind of free time. I’m busy as hell every single day.”

Lynch raised an eyebrow. “Busy with what?”

“What else? Petty nonsense and utter garbage! Those meddlers from the Haim Family won’t leave us alone, insisting on making us track down which apprentice used soul system spells in the Blood-colored Battlefield. There are so many apprentices—who the hell knows who did it?”

Though resurrection was possible in the Blood-colored Battlefield, it required the soul to remain intact. Back then, Caesar Heim had been taken down by Lynch’s Death Declaration, a soul-piercing spell. Post-war, the Haim Family immediately realized something was amiss.

Caesar Heim, a highly talented individual and a key prospect for the family, had died inexplicably. Naturally, the Haim Family wasn’t about to let it go.

Initially, it wasn’t too bad. But a few years ago, they somehow got wind that an apprentice from Shadow Tower had been active in the area where Caesar fell. Since then, they’d been relentlessly targeting Shadow Tower.

With some influence in Shadow Tower’s upper echelons, the Haim Family pressured the leadership into ordering a token investigation by the Law Enforcement Team.

Lynch clicked his tongue in amazement. “Tsk, tsk. They’re still not letting it go?”

After the Blood-colored Battlefield, Avery had gone to great lengths to clean up any traces of Lynch’s involvement, ensuring no evidence was left behind. Lynch felt no concern about being exposed. Even if he were, it wouldn’t bother him now.

“Exactly,” Adam replied. “That’s why I came to ask you—can you think of anything that might help?”

Chuckling, Lynch said, “If the pressure’s too much, just tell them it was me.”

Adam shrugged. “No thanks. If I did that, I’d just end up having to figure out how to get you out of trouble. That’d be even more exhausting.”

Lynch burst into laughter. “Haha!”

“Honestly,” Adam continued, “as if things weren’t chaotic enough with the mess in the Human World. And now, these idle troublemakers have come to stir things up.”

At this, Lynch couldn’t help but arch a brow. “By the way, I was just about to ask you…”

He looked puzzled and said, “Has the Human World really fallen into chaos?”