“What is going on!”The children shouted out the same words as if screaming.

What happened, the cause was blurry, but the result was clear.

The children’s appearances had changed!

Ha-rim now resembled a draconic humanoid, like Ariel, with dragon-like features.

Suho, judging by his severed head, became Dullahan, a headless knight.

Kyeong-min, with crow wings, probably a Tengu.

Eun-jeong, judging from her wings and the magic wand she’s holding, is probably a fairy.

Each of them transformed into inconsistent monsters… no, it’s subtly different.

To correct myself, they had transformed into beings from fantasy.

Is this erosion like in the Corrosive Sea King case?

But there was no sign of that at all.

Rather than that, it could only be called something on an even larger scale.

“Are you guys okay?”

“Umm… For now?”

“My arm turned into a bird’s wing, but it doesn’t hurt for now.”

“My head falling off is not okay at all. But nothing hurts though.”

“Is it because of the wings? My back is itchy!”

Phew. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like they are in pain.

I calmed my agitated heart and slowly looked around.

It wasn’t just the children who were exposed to the strange phenomenon.

The exteriors of buildings were strangely changing, flowers were blooming in unexpected places, things that were there were disappearing.

Even if you just look around, you can see that a huge influence has passed through.

I briefly flapped my wings and flew up, and realized from a high place that everything within my sight had changed.

A sudden sense of crisis.

Since no part seems to be normal, I have no idea how far this phenomenon has spread.

I organically connected the mirrors in the area and observed the scenes reflected, like watching CCTV.

There was still no place that was normal.

So I increased the range.

Towns, cities, even countries.

When I unusually widened the surveillance range and looked into mirrors that were really far away, I could finally accept it.

This phenomenon was happening worldwide, everything changed.

“Alice! Look over there!”

Flap flap.

Eun-jeong, who was struggling to fly in the sky with her fairy wings and a whimper, followed me.

She adapts quickly.

It was none other than a new aspect of Eun-jeong, who was always slow.

I looked where Eun-jeong pointed.

Dozens of monsters.

Anomalous entities? Why so many of them out of the blue?

But come to think of it, when I looked into the mirror, there were a lot of them.

Because the scenery changed, I didn’t notice it because there was no sense of incongruity.

Anyway, originally, anomalous entities were beings that broke the rules.

It’s not strange for them to suddenly appear.

However, if they appeared in large numbers right after this phenomenon started, there must be some connection…

“Those things… weren’t they originally people?”

Flap flap

I heard a voice from the side and looked to see Kyeong-min had also adapted and was already flying in the sky.

“How long has it been since you transformed, and you’re already flying around?”

“Well, I don’t know, maybe it’s because it doesn’t feel real, but it’s more fun than I thought.”

I guess it really feels comfortable.

Or maybe it’s optimized for play.

There’s a lot I want to say, but I didn’t say it out loud.

I turned my head back to look at the monsters.

“Those are people…”

The placements of people we passed by on our way to the shrine roughly match.

Especially, looking at the monster that looks like a monk in the place where the person who was killing time at the entrance was. It seems like Kyeong-min’s opinion is correct.

They don’t seem to have human intellect.

“Why are we maintaining our ego?”

“Probably because you are under my influence. Because you and I are connected.”

Everything in the world has turned abstract, and into things that only appear in legends.

A sight so far removed from reality that it seems like a fantasy.

Could this be the fantastic day that the Institution’s head told me about?

I looked at the key device he gave me, which was lit up.

As I fiddled with it, a button popped out along with the light, and I pressed it.

Then, with a beep sound, something like a radar appeared in the form of a hologram!

“Hey Alice! Let us see too.”

“I think I’m a Dragonkin, but why don’t I have wings?”

Ha-rim and Suho, who got wings, shouted as they looked at the flashing hologram.

They seem to want to take a look.

Flashing things are an element that’s hard for children to resist.

I was lacking in consideration.

I came back down to the ground and gathered the children.

Then, I slowly looked into the hologram.

“Is this… a map?”

“More like a radar, or a tracker.”

What was displayed on the hologram was just red dots and directions pointing to them, no terrain was drawn.

It was as if it had foreseen in advance that even the terrain would be affected in the current changed world.

The Institution knows about this phenomenon.

If so, then I have a direction for what to do first.

This red dot is not moving, so it’s probably a place.

If we get there, we might find out the truth about this situation.

“Hoo… This is the first time for a large-scale incident like this, so there’s a strange excitement…”

“Me too! But somehow it feels familiar too…”

“You must have dreamt it.”

“Hmph. I didn’t?!”

To the children who are maintaining cheerfulness in their own way, I explained about the key device I received from the Institution’s head, and decided to go towards this red dot.

“We need to depart right away.”

“Wait a moment… an invitation has arrived.”

An invitation was in my hand before I knew it.

An invitation to a tea party from Ariel.

If I tear this invitation, I will be transported to the tea party venue.

I see. The tale-devils seem to be unharmed by this situation.

It would be good to meet them beforehand.

Schkk.

When I tore the invitation, water bubbles sent us to the tea party venue.

Pinocchio, Ariel, and Jack, who had arrived earlier, were waiting there.

“You’ve come. So your children have also changed.”

In Pinocchio’s arms was something that looked like a cute cat.

Considering the circumstances, it’s probably her precious child, Cassie.

“Yeah. Their appearances changed, but everything else is the same as usual.”

“It’s probably thanks to your power… I’m jealous. But if we resolve this situation, this child will also return.”

Pinocchio stroked Cassie and strengthened her resolve.

Ariel, shortly after sending out invitations to resolve the situation, suggested that we wait until the other devils arrive.

Without much waiting, 3 minutes later, Little Red Riding Hood and Peter Pan, who hadn’t participated in tea parties much before, also responded to the invitation.

Peter Pan, this punk…

I poked his side to mean that he should participate more often now that he’s reformed.

“Are you an elementary school student?! I know what you mean, so stop it!”

“Good, you know.”

Ariel sat in the center and gave her opinion on the current situation.

“This is not the time to eat sweets. I also don’t know anything about the current situation. However, the suspect is probably the Ruler’s doing.”

Of course.

The title of Ruler is something that was given to a monster who could do such a thing.

“I never even imagined there would be a Ruler with such great power. At this rate, even if it’s us, we’re just going to be helpless.”

“I agree! This is not something that can be solved by sucking in with plants!”

It’s definitely an unreasonable measure.

If there’s no way to reverse it, it’s already ruined to some extent.

No one can refute it even if you say it’s half-ruined.

“I doubt anyone here has any clues, but does anyone know anything about this situation?”

Ariel asked, and I raised my hand energetically.

Attention is focused.

“I was previously hinted at this situation by one of the Institution’s heads. And I also received a key device that can unlock the truth about this situation.”

“Institution’s head? How did they even approach you? They’re like moles who never show their faces.”

“Anyway, if we go to the place indicated by the tracker that he handed over, we might find out something. I’ll share the contents with you guys too.”

“Good. We can’t just stand by and do nothing. Let’s each scatter and track down the Ruler who caused this situation. However, if you judge it to be dangerous, run away immediately and call for support.”

It’s decided.

We go to the place indicated by the key device.

The other tale-devils search for the Ruler who is the cause and share their locations with each other.

No matter how I look at it, this is the best way.

“Then I’ll go with Ariel! She’s a clinically depressed patient, so I have to go with her!”

“Don’t tease me!!”

“If we’re going by direction, one direction will have two people.”

“Understood.”

So Jack and Ariel decided to take the north, Little Red Riding Hood the west, Peter Pan the east, and Pinocchio the south.

They used to split up and cause a lot of trouble, but it’s truly heartwarming to see them cooperating like this.

“Then disband immediately!”

Ariel closed the tea party, and we returned to the place where I tore the invitation.

“Everyone’s serious. Let’s go quickly too.”

I took out a monster that could fly for the children who didn’t have wings and traversed the sky.

We could go through a mirror, but I thought it wouldn’t be bad to fly and see the situation together.

“Wow, the world has changed like this…”

The changed world was honestly beautiful.

Covered in flowers, veiled in a strange mist, and the streaks of light shining through it was truly dreamlike

And occasionally visible, huge monsters.

They are people who have changed, but each is uniquely shaped, so it’s fun to watch.

Hmm… Is this impression too optimistic?

“That one is really big!”

“Who could have changed into that?”

“Surprisingly, it could just be a building?”

Unlike the boys who were focusing more on the monsters than the scenery, Ha-rim and Eun-jeong seemed to be focusing more on the atmosphere.

Ha-rim especially seemed emotional.

She is definitely like a girl at times like this.

“It’s melancholic.”

“Why do you think so?”

I questioned Ha-rim’s impression.

At first glance, it’s just a beautiful scene, so why is it sad?

“Because it’s too pretty. Rather, it feels like it won’t return. Like even if you see memories in a dream, that time doesn’t come back.”

“Nostalgia for childhood. Is that what you’re talking about? You’re still young to be saying things like that?”

“Ahaha. Is that so?”

About 20 minutes passed while we were talking.

A beeping sound from the device informed us that we had reached our destination.

I got off the monster and looked around.

This area was definitely paved asphalt, but it had turned into a flower field at some point.

However, there was one part that was still normal in the center of it.

“Here it is.”

I smashed that part once, and a metal door appeared inside, not asphalt.

A door that looked hot at first glance.

Next to it, there was a small square hole, so I put the key device in it.

Whirring. Click.

I heard the sound of the key device performing complex operations inside, and with a “click!” sound, the door opened.

“Shall we go hear the whole story of this situation?”

Thump thump. What will happen?

As always, if you spot any mistakes, feel free to let me know—and I hope you enjoyed the read!

—Chip