Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

On the throne, King Stetz's figure gradually reformed amidst the chaotic, crimson dance phantoms.

Below, the faces of all the guests were filled with astonishment at the sudden scene!

"You dare to assassinate—"

But before they could finish speaking, Lake turned and swung her sword—

The sharpness of Star Killer Sword instantly pierced the king's head once more, like a phantom in the water, and the star shadows on the surface of Star Killer Sword formed a screen of light!

The king's massive wound was instantly dispersed by the star shadows.

The next moment, his body never recovered, and the other parts of his body also transformed into dancing red light and shadows.

From this moment on, this already false world seemed to have finally reached a point beyond repair.

In the dance below, the expressions of shock on the faces of the guests also suddenly froze, and starting from the king, the ground, the light and shadows, everyone, gradually began to blur and reveal a red glow...

"Don't be afraid, Dans!"

At the start of the change, the old soldier Inve rushed down the steps and towards Princess Dans, the eldest princess standing at the front of the dance floor.

He reached out and, as an eerie red light rose around them, grasped Dans's hand.

Then, dancing crimson shadows swirled overwhelmingly!

The entire world had collapsed, and it was unknown whether they were falling or rising. Gravity no longer existed, and their bodies felt as if they were suspended, or perhaps enveloped by the crimson shadows.

"This is... where?!"

Poro was stunned. This world was like a bizarre dream with incredibly real senses. He could think, he could move, but he didn't know what to do!

A veil that had been trying to conceal the truth had been torn apart.

Perhaps, the scene before them was the true reality that had been exposed!

"Wait, I remember, hold onto each other and don't separate—"

After grabbing Dans's hand, the old soldier Inve looked at the swirling red light around him, his expression suddenly changed, and he said loudly.

"Brother Inve, where is this?"

Poro was stunned when he heard this, and reflexively grabbed Lake, who was still holding her sword and on guard, and then tried to move towards the old soldier further away.

But in this abnormal space, he didn't know how to move.

"This space should have some connection with the essence of the Mad Dancer—I rescued Dans from here a long time ago..."

The old soldier Inve lowered his head, looking at Dans, who was tightly held in his arms.

This time, Dans was not as Poro had always seen her, lacking intelligence. She did not disappear with the surrounding scene, and when Inve suddenly pulled her, her eyes revealed a hint of rational astonishment.

She scrutinized the old soldier Inve's appearance, and did not struggle.

After a moment of confusion, the panic gradually subsided, and she seemed to remember something. A kind of attachment and long-awaited reunion began to flow in her eyes.

"Inve? Is it... really you?!"

Dans finally spoke, and a clear tear flowed from the corner of her eye.

"Yes, it's me, don't be afraid, Dans, this time—I will bring you back completely."

The old soldier Inve said, embracing her even more tightly. The invisible cloak behind him gradually floated up, slowly covering half of his and Dans's bodies.

Finally, he raised his head and looked at Poro and Lake, and said in a deep voice:

"That time, I stole the enchanted prince's dance partner. Dans and I completed a soul-fusing dance here.

Here, it's completely different from the outside world. Here, is the Mad Dancer's domain—

Dancing allows you to perceive the path in the abyss, reason allows you to find the surface of the sea in the chaos...

Most importantly, increased restraint allows you to stop the final dance step, escape from the dance plague that is about to penetrate your bones, and return to the surface of the sea!"

As the old soldier spoke, Dans, in front of him, slightly separated her body, then raised her hand and gently placed it on the old soldier Inve's shoulder.

They skillfully struck a standard, elegant Stetz Kingdom ballroom dance pose.

"Last time, I brought Dans, on the eve of touching the surface of the sea—

My self-control finally reached its limit.

With the help of the invisible cloak, I cut off the Mad Dancer's gaze on me, but the invisible cloak could not perfectly cover both me and Dans. A part of Dans remained here.

But this time, it won't be like that."

After the old soldier Inve finished speaking, the dancing red phantoms around him seemed to have finally reached some kind of critical point. In a trance, the mixed dance music, when listened to intently, dissipated into nothingness.

Finally, the last trace of virtual reality snapped like a tightened string!

A tide-like pull instantly acted on several people—

Poro's pupils shrank. He saw that the distance between the old soldier and Dans, who were originally only ten meters away, infinitely stretched away from him in a fraction of a second!

In the blink of an eye, the dancing red phantoms completely submerged the old soldier and Dans.

Beside him, only Lake remained, holding his hand, her armor gone, still wearing a red cloak, looking around.

"Poro, the appearance you've changed into seems to be suddenly distorting..."

Finally, Lake still focused her gaze on Poro's face.

In Lake's eyes, Poro, who had originally disguised himself as an enchanted prince, suddenly began to become as overlapping and unclear as those phantoms after the world collapsed.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, this time's disguise is a bit different. It's not caused by a circular return, but by the Mad Dancer..."

Hearing Lake's words, Poro came back to his senses from his chaotic thoughts and explained to Lake.

But the next moment, he seemed to sense something, his expression froze, and then he revealed a hint of realization.

"Wait, I understand!"

As the false world and memories twisted in the depths of his mind, Poro finally sensed something more. This body from an enchanted dancer, and...

The original senses and body.

"So, that's how it is..."

The blurred appearance of the enchanted prince accelerated blurring and distortion, turning into a piece of blood light of the same color as the surroundings. It began to rapidly gather, shrink, and expose Poro's true wolf form hidden within.

Finally, the red light split into two, and was absorbed into Poro's eyes.

The red light in his eyes also gradually faded, turning back into green pupils, and the hands they had just been holding turned into Lake holding Poro's wolf paw.

This human shell of the enchanted prince was originally the embodiment of the energy that Poro had plundered from the six enchanted princes within his body.

Not only that, Poro also sensed that now, in this strange space—

He seemed to have a more flexible and perfect ability to control this energy of the Mad Dancer that did not belong to him!

He even felt that as long as he wanted, he could even control this energy to create a human body of any shape for himself!

"Oh, a new way to disguise?"

Lake asked, looking at the changes in Poro in surprise.

"I think it might be because the environment here is special that I have this ability."

Poro shook his head, suddenly changing from a human body back to a wolf's body, and he still felt a bit uncoordinated.

He looked around at the scarlet shadows, which looked like countless people in different clothes dancing wildly.

But when he looked closely, they blurred and disappeared.

In such a world, Poro and Lake could only see each other in their eyes, and without direction or gravity, Poro could only feel a trace of warmth transmitted through the palm of the girl's hand.

"Well, it seems that now, it's just the two of us again."

Lake bent down, stretched out her arms, and took the initiative to hug Poro in her arms, looking at the wildly changing crimson dance remnants around her.

"Now, do you want to hear a story?"

Poro narrowed his eyes slightly. He could feel a demonic attraction from the dancing abyss in all directions, encouraging his muscles.

Poro was not bewitched by this invisible attraction because of the special nature of his soul.

And Lake was also affected by this abnormality. Only the Star Killer Sword at her waist was still emitting a misty silver light under the wrapping of the blood-red light and shadow, so that Lake's reason did not collapse in this crazy temptation.

It was the special nature of the two of them that prevented them from becoming monsters infected with the dance plague, dancing all night long, like ordinary people.

"A story? Let me guess... it's about dancing, right? Poro."

Lake held a finger like a scallion against her white and tender chin, her blue eyes blinked nimbly, and asked with a smile.

"Of course, I think this atmosphere is very suitable."

Poro listened carefully to the dance music that was faintly audible in the Mad Dancer's other dimension, and slowly opened his mouth to say:

"The first story is called... The Twelve Dancing Princesses."

"Once upon a time, there was a king who had twelve daughters, each as beautiful as flowers.

They all slept in the same room, twelve beds lined up side by side, and after going to bed at night, the door was closed and locked.

But starting from a certain day, every morning when the king got up, he found that their shoes were worn out, as if they had been dancing all night.

What exactly happened, where they had gone, but no one knew.

In order to uncover the mystery, the king announced that whoever could follow the princesses for three consecutive nights without being discovered and find out their secret could marry one of the princesses and inherit half of the kingdom.

But if he failed, he would be executed..."

Poro slowly narrated, and the faint dance music in the surrounding environment did not interfere with his clear voice. Lake also listened attentively, nodding from time to time.

At the climax of the story, she happily opened her small mouth slightly, revealing a bright smile.

//Grimm's Fairy Tales · The Twelve Dancing Princesses

"On the third morning, the old soldier revealed the answer to the king.

The king was satisfied with the old soldier's courage and wisdom, and allowed him to choose a princess to marry and give him the promised reward.

The old soldier chose the eldest princess, and the two held a wedding and lived a happy life ever after."

After Poro finished telling the story, Lake also showed a somewhat dazed expression.

"So, this fairy tale is about... Mr. Inve?"

Lake said softly, "But if reality is really like this fairy tale, Mr. Inve will definitely be much happier than he is now, right?"

"Yes, but in this world, reality is always much more ruthless than these fairy tales."

Poro shook his head, and then added, "Fortunately, Inve, like in the fairy tale, rescued his lover, although... not perfectly."

Poro was silent, and the old soldier embracing Dans in a dancing posture and submerged in the red light and shadow flashed in his mind.

At that time, the tenderness on the face of that weathered man seemed to be more affectionate than ever before.

"I only hope that we can eventually solve this matter. Although now, the Kingdom of Stetz has already turned into ruins in the darkness, at least—there should be a relatively good ending, right?"

Poro took a deep breath and said, his eyes flashing with golden light.

In the spiritual realm, a page of a book was about to emerge.

"What about Ms. Karen? And what exactly is that Mad Dancer..."

At this time, Lake suddenly thought of something, frowned and asked. In the story told by Poro, the elements from Karen were almost non-existent.

The only connection was the old man who gave the old soldier the invisible cloak.

"Don't worry, Lake."

Poro smiled and did not take out the golden page that was about to condense. Through the memories given by [Spiral Beacon: The Wise], he finally remembered some of the fairy tales that were a bit vague in the depths of his memory.

In fact, Poro's memory of these two fairy tales was not particularly clear.

Without the superhuman memory given by [Spiral Beacon: The Wise], Poro would not have been able to recall these two fairy tales at all, let alone connect them with the current situation.

"Today's second fairy tale is called—The Red Shoes."

Poro paused and organized the content and words about the second fairy tale in his heart.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl whose name was Karen.

Little Karen's family was very poor and had no money to buy shoes.

The poor little girl was barefoot in the summer, and in the winter, she could only drag a pair of clumsy and heavy wooden shoes.

Little Karen had always had a wish in her heart: to have a pair of red dancing shoes like a princess..."

The first half of the story of "The Red Shoes" has always had a pleasant and ordinary beauty, but in the middle, when Karen put on the red dancing shoes and began to dance uncontrollably...

It took on a grayness that was out of place with fairy tales.

//Andersen's Fairy Tales · The Red Shoes

"She sat alone at home, stroking her two wooden prosthetic legs, and prayed to God for help...

At this moment, the angel reappeared with a bouquet of roses and forgave Karen.

Karen's heart was full of sunshine, peace, and joy.

Her soul flew to heaven in the sunshine, where no one would mention the red shoes."

The second fairy tale was also finished, and many things about Karen, the red dancing shoes that kept dancing and could not stop... all seemed to be able to find corresponding answers in the dark reality in front of her.

"The Red Shoes" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" are combined with each other.

In the end, it created this Kingdom of Stetz that was destroyed in the endless dance plague.

After hearing this story, Lake's azure eyes were lost in thought.

Fairy tales, dreamy stories, but combined with the possessed princes she and Poro had encountered one after another, the people who died in the dance, and the wriggling, dancing flesh and limbs covering the entire Stetz capital...

It carried an indescribable sense of strangeness.

"Poro, what are the pages this time? And what are the corresponding unlocking rituals?"

Lake took a deep breath, looked at Poro, and asked.

Poro spread out his paws, and two golden lights emerged, outlining the prototypes of two pages—

The titles on them appeared before their eyes first.

One was *Circular Return: The Twelve Dancing Princesses - Endless Dance Banquet*

The other was *Circular Return: The Red Shoes - Dance of Liberation*

Images don't take up word count. I was wondering if this would be better. These versions of fairy tales are all different. The ones in the images I insert in the text are actually a bit different from what I've seen myself, but the general plot is mostly the same.