Ur did not stop Natsu.
Because, like Erza, he understood very clearly what kind of person Natsu was. Although about ninety-nine percent of the time, Natsu's brain wasn't online, in the remaining one percent, he was frighteningly sharp—just like right now.
When Ur said he was going out to "clear his head," not a single person in the entire guild guessed what that really meant.
Except Natsu.
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A week passed quickly.
After spending that week traveling with Natsu, Ur arrived at one firm conclusion: even if his life depended on it, he would never, ever learn Dragon Slayer Magic.
It was absolutely terrifying.
When Natsu boarded the train, he only had physical injuries. But by the time he got off, not only had those injuries failed to heal, but he had also gained fresh psychological trauma.
What was even more infuriating was that the Dragon Slayer's weakness to transportation didn't lessen as their strength increased. On the contrary, the stronger a Dragon Slayer became, the worse their resistance to vehicles grew.
This wasn't just a flaw—it was an easily exploitable, fatal weakness.
Looking at Natsu beside him, half-dead and barely clinging to life, Ur couldn't help but think once again.
How exactly does this guy survive all the way to the finale?
The aftereffects of motion sickness forced Natsu to rest for half a day. After Ur treated him to a meal, he finally recovered somewhat.
Early the next morning, the two of them officially set off on their "trip" to the Hogria Mountains.
The Hogria Mountains stretched for hundreds of thousands of kilometers, harboring countless monsters and wild beasts. Not long after Ur and Natsu entered the mountain region, hundreds of low-level monsters of all shapes and forms had already appeared around them.
However, perhaps sensing the danger radiating from the two, none of the monsters dared to attack.
Soon, they arrived at the site where Natsu and Erza were ambushed. It was a dense forest. Or rather, it had once been a thick forest. The trees of the Hogria Mountains were generally enormous. Perhaps because no one came here to log them, the ancient trees were decrepit—any tree even slightly deeper into the mountains stood at least seventy or eighty meters tall.
Yet at the center of this forest was now a clearing. The surrounding area had traces of blades clashing, along with scorched black marks left by flames.
"Was it Ivan himself who attacked you back then?" Ur asked calmly, surveying the battlefield that clearly bore the marks of Natsu and Erza's fighting styles.
"Yes," Natsu replied. "Besides him, there was also a guy wearing a mask. His magic was really strange; it could somehow make both Erza's magic and mine disappear. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have lost so badly." Mentioning the masked man, Natsu shed his usual carefree expression and grew noticeably serious.
"Oh?" Ur lowered his eyelids slightly. He had already more or less guessed the masked man's true identity.
Suddenly, Ur's gaze shifted.
Whoosh!
He leapt onto the branch of a massive tree nearby, then bounded swiftly from branch to branch. In just a few jumps, he vanished into the depths of the forest, leaving only Natsu and Happy behind, standing there in a daze.
Not far away, three mages bearing identical guild emblems on their bodies were moving cautiously through the mountains, constantly scanning their surroundings. Their pace was slow, as if they were searching for something.
"Do you think that so-called treasure really exists?" One of them seemed to be losing patience and couldn't help asking.
"Who knows. But since it's an order from the guild master, we just carry it out."
"Sure, but there've been more and more people gathering in the mountains these past few days. I've already seen several teams from major guilds. What if they find the treasure before we do?"
"…."
"Enough talk. Just keep searching," another one said irritably, clearly fed up with his teammate.
The man seemed about to say something else, but at that moment, a flash of light, swift as lightning, suddenly erupted.
In the blink of an eye, the two companions beside him were already beheaded. They didn't even have time to scream.
Then, he saw a figure exuding an aura like that of a malevolent demon appear before his eyes.
The last remaining mage instantly turned pale. Terror and fear spilled uncontrollably from his pupils. In his entire life, he had never seen someone like this—without a word, without even showing his face, the man had slaughtered two people outright.
Even among dark guilds, he had never encountered such a lunatic.
"Where are the rest of your guild members?"
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Next Chapter: I Hope You'll Do Me a Favor
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