"Well... sorry, but that's information I can't disclose."
Even if they're abandoned Star Spirits, their Power has been passed on to other Star Spirits, and revealing their weaknesses would be like leaking information about other Star Spirits.
Crookes refused to violate the personal information protection law.
Carla said angrily, "But they're causing trouble in the Human Realm now!"
"Hmm..." Crookes said awkwardly, "Even if that's the case, special permission from the Star Spirit King is needed to disclose such information."
"Carla, there are rules in the Star Spirit Realm that must be followed," Lucy quickly consoled the angry cat and proposed, "How about I go and ask Bearded Dad to find out!"
Bearded Dad is the Star Spirit King, and only Lucy dares to call him that.
However, Rhode vetoed her suggestion: "Do you want to go missing for another half month?"
"..." Lucy wilted, feeling that getting lost for a period of time wasn't pleasant at all.
Rhode said confidently with a smile, "Going to the Star Spirit Realm is a waste of time. We'll find the weaknesses ourselves. Since someone once defeated Asterion, we can too."
Rhode, who previously couldn't be bothered to roll up his sleeves, now voluntarily exposed the emblem on his arm, and Lucy and Carla smiled knowingly while Wendy stopped meditating and raised her small fist.
"Whether bees or Cerberus, bring it on; we're mages of Fairy Tail!"
Semus accidentally also raised his fist and, seeing everyone looking at him, awkwardly said, "WILD~~~"
The lips of the unconscious Loka moved, and it seemed like she was mouthing the word 'FOUR'.
Lucy then said, "Old Man Crookes, our task is to expel these disruptive Star Spirits. Even if you can't tell us other information, at least tell us how to send them back to the Star Spirit Realm?"
Crookes replied, "Well... although they're abandoned Star Spirits, they still retain the characteristics of Star Spirits. As long as they are completely defeated, they will be forcibly returned."
"I'll go report to the Star Spirit King right away and investigate how they came to the Human Realm to cause trouble...
"This is probably a loophole in the Star Spirit Realm; we'll resolve this issue thoroughly and apologize to everyone later."
Crookes turned into starlight and vanished.
Wendy's Magic Power had almost fully recovered and she immediately began treating Loka.
At this time, Baggs came over, hobbling a bit. The arm armor on his left side had completely shattered, and his hair was a bit messy.
Semus quickly went over to support him, "Big Brother Baggs, how are you?"
Baggs didn't answer his question but instead asked, "Got any booze?"
Semus shook his head; he wasn't in the habit of carrying alcohol with him.
However, Rhode took out a bottle of alcohol and tossed it over.
Baggs caught it accurately, opened the cap, sniffed it, and began to drink heartily.
Rhode observed that he didn't seem to be badly injured and teased, "What, got schooled by a Three-headed Dog when you're a Four-headed Dog?"
"How could that happen?" Baggs wiped his mouth, looked at the bottle, and praised, "Great booze!"
"Of course, it's the royal supply from the Gioa Kingdom, a bargain at 200,000J."
"..." Baggs felt that the taste wasn't quite worth that level, thinking he was being extorted.
He sat cross-legged next to Loka, watching Wendy's detoxification, and began talking about his battle.
"That guy wasn't all that except for the troublesome venom-spitting ability. I took down two of its heads just like that.
"But after I played with it a bit and took down a third head, the first head suddenly 'revived' and sneakily got me."
Baggs moved his left arm to indicate that it was that hit that shattered his arm armor.
"Later, it turned into a snake for a while, then a dog and exchanged a few more moves with me. Just as I was about to finish it off, it used some kind of Space Magic and escaped just like you said."
Baggs drank a sip of alcohol, feeling a bit frustrated, and savored the drink, realizing it wasn't as cheap as Rhode claimed it was.
Looking at the obvious battle scars around, Baggs asked, "How about you guys, did you settle your side?"
Rhode shook his head, "No, things are more complicated than we imagined."
Baggs' frustration melted away a bit, grateful to have a comrade in misery.
He cheerfully said, "You also have tasks you can't handle?"
"You laughed too early; that big dog isn't an ordinary Magical Beast either." Rhode glanced at him, "Your little brother will give you the detailed story."
Semus started narrating the recent events to Baggs.
Meanwhile, Rhode began discussing with Lucy how to tackle Asterion.
"Actually, that old man has already provided quite a bit of information," Rhode said, "He mentioned Asterion has 33 main stars, so among the swarm, there should be 33 special bees."
"So, we just need to defeat those 33 bees?" Lucy pondered, "How are we supposed to find those 33 bees?"
"That's something for you and Wendy to figure out; after fighting for so long, did you notice any bees that seemed different?"
Carla guessed, "Could it be those big bees? I always felt like those big bees were commanding the fight."
Lucy argued, "But the numbers don't match. Today, we defeated many, and if we include Mr. Baggs', Miss Phil's, and Mr. Dor's results, we've long surpassed 33."
"That's the second troublesome point," Rhode said, "I suspect Asterion is similar to Cerberus Constellation. Those 33 bees might be like the three heads of Cerberus; if you don't destroy them all at once, they'll regenerate."
"Ugh~~~" Lucy clutched her head in distress, "This ability is like cheating! To find a specific 33 among countless bees and wipe them all out in one go... That's beyond challenging, right?"
"It'd be easier if they were clustered together, but if they're spread out..." Carla also found it too difficult.
If Asterion hides even one main bee, wouldn't it never be defeated?
"Brother Rhode, do you have magic that can handle this?" Wendy's voice came up.
Rhode glanced over at Loka's side, "Has the detoxification been completed?"
"Yes, she'll wake up soon."
Rhode nodded, "I do know a magic that could work—Fairy Law, which indiscriminately wipes out all enemies."
"Right! Should we ask the President for help then?"
"No way," Rhode said, "Fairy Law is a magic that can't be abused. If it's used against a limited number of enemies, it's manageable, but once it exceeds a certain number, it stops consuming magic power and starts consuming life energy.
"With the scale of the swarm today, it's definitely beyond the limit; using Fairy Law would kill you instantly.
"Unless... Asterion is that kind of fused Star Spirit, so even more of the bees count as just one enemy."
That possibility existed, but they clearly didn't dare to gamble on it.
Meanwhile, Baggs spoke up:
"Are you kidding? This level of trouble is almost beyond the range of an S-Class Task, right?
"I knew there'd be no good when getting involved with Fairy Tail!"
Four unfriendly looks were cast his way; this guy actually dared to badmouth our Guild right in front of us!
Rhode picked up a Void Worm and threw it at the back of Baggs' head: "You pay up for the booze already, or I'll break your legs and send you to the Council!"
"Hahaha... sorry, sorry..." Baggs apologized sheepishly.
It wasn't that he feared the Ten Wizard Saints or anything, mainly that drinking someone's booze and then gossiping behind their back felt a bit guilty.