"This is a threat, right?"
Early the next morning, Altair was still cleaning up the wreckage left behind by the previous day's theft of Dragon Cry when newspaper vendors began spreading fresh editions throughout the city.
Team Natsu had already disguised themselves and slipped back inside.
Now they sat around a table, staring grimly at the front page.
Three photographs had been printed across it.
The first showed a cavern filled with bubbling magma, where a tearful blue cat had been suspended directly above the molten rock.
The second showed Natsu bound in the middle of a deep, freezing pool.
Even tied up, the furious pink-haired mage was using his one free leg to kick away enormous crocodiles lunging at him from the water.
The third image was simpler.
A golden key hung above the spinning blades of a massive industrial grinder.
There was only one message beneath all three photographs.
Before sunset.
The meaning was obvious.
Erza frowned.
"They're telling us to reach these locations before time runs out. Otherwise, Happy will be burned alive, Natsu will drown, and Lucy's key will…"
She stopped and glanced toward Lucy.
The uncertainty that had weighed on Lucy the previous night was gone.
Only anger remained.
Whatever the truth behind Brandish's accusation might be—whether the Heartfilia family had truly wronged her mother or whether Layla carried some hidden guilt—none of that gave Brandish the right to threaten the lives of Lucy's family.
Lucy treasured her Celestial Spirits, Natsu, and Happy more than she treasured herself.
That fierce protectiveness had already overwhelmed the doubts Brandish had planted in her heart.
"Look."
Carla pointed toward a small line of text in the lower-right corner of the page.
"They included the locations."
Wendy looked toward Ankh anxiously.
"What do we do? Are we really going to walk straight into their traps?"
Ankh picked up the newspaper.
He studied it in silence for a moment.
Then he answered simply,
"We go."
Everyone's expressions sharpened.
Ankh looked over the listed locations.
"They want us to split up because they're afraid to deal with us as a group."
A faint edge entered his voice.
"So we'll give them what they want."
Their ultimate objective was still Dragon Cry.
And Dragon Cry was currently stored inside Ankh's Requip space.
Unless someone managed to kill him and take it directly from there…
they could keep dreaming.
"The three Spriggan 12 members who attacked us last night may be waiting at these locations too."
Ankh looked around at everyone.
"Assume every trap has someone dangerous behind it."
"Rescuing our people comes first."
He assigned each member a destination, then handed out several Magic Crystals.
"These are infused with my Life Divine Power."
"Even if you run into someone you can't beat, the power inside should be enough to protect you while you retreat."
Everyone accepted one.
Ankh gave them one final look.
"Save them first."
"And beyond that…"
"Keep yourselves safe."
The teams split up immediately.
Sunset might still be hours away, but they didn't have time to waste.
Finding each location would take time.
Fighting whoever was waiting there would take even more.
And considering the enemies involved, none of those battles were likely to end quickly.
...
Deep inside a mining region outside Altair lay a natural volcanic cavern.
Magma churned beneath the stone ledges, filling the entire chamber with suffocating heat.
Rustyrose sat beside the lava pool with a cold smile, looking up at Happy hanging overhead.
Happy occasionally flinched whenever sparks burst from the magma below.
The heat rising beneath his dangling feet was unbearable, and tears kept gathering in his eyes, but the stubborn little Exceed refused to cry openly in front of his captors.
Kain Hikaru scratched at his wire-like hair.
He glanced toward the empty cavern entrance.
"When are those Fairy Tail bastards getting here?"
Then he looked up at Happy.
"What if this cat really is just some pet they keep around?"
"Impossible."
Rustyrose smiled at Happy's trembling expression.
"I remember Tenrou Island."
"They protected this cat constantly."
"Legal guild mages love preaching about bonds and companions. They won't abandon him."
"You'd better be right."
Another voice cut in.
"I'm not interested in embarrassing myself because you two misjudged them."
Rustyrose's face immediately darkened.
His gaze shifted toward the other two men stationed in the cavern.
They were supposed to be allies for this operation.
One was a heavily built man whose imposing appearance was undercut somewhat by the dolls floating strangely around him.
His name was Doll, a powerful Black Magic user who specialized in controlling puppets.
The other was a young man seated atop an enormous floating iron sphere.
His name was Gapri, and he specialized in extremely high-speed flight magic, overwhelming opponents before they could properly react.
Together with their captain, Swan, who had been stationed at another location, the two were members of Stella's strongest trio—
the Three Stars.
Unfortunately, the four men here had disliked one another almost from the moment they met.
Rustyrose and Kain were proud of having once belonged to Grimoire Heart, formerly the most powerful dark guild openly known to the world.
They naturally looked down on two warriors whose fame had never extended far beyond a remote island kingdom—even more so now that Doll and Gapri had also been granted power by Mard Geer.
Doll and Gapri, meanwhile, had a much simpler grievance.
They hated the idea of two outsiders showing up and taking a share of the credit.
"Hah?"
Kain glared toward Gapri.
"You wanna fight, brat?"
Doll immediately snapped back despite not even being the one Kain had addressed.
"You think we're scared of you, fatty?"
Rustyrose joined in with a sneer.
"A grown man who plays with dolls wants to talk tough?"
Doll's face twisted.
"You bastard!!"
The four were seconds away from starting their own fight when—
the sweltering cavern suddenly became freezing cold.
Rustyrose reacted first.
His expression changed sharply.
"Something's wrong! MOVE!"
All four scattered.
A heartbeat later, the violently churning magma beneath them froze solid.
Ice spread across the entire pool in an instant.
At the same time, a small figure shot through the cavern entrance like a white streak.
A claw flashed.
The rope holding Happy was severed.
Wendy caught him safely in her arms.
Then, from beneath the four enemies—
Gray erupted out of the frozen ground.
Ice blades filled the cavern.
The sudden barrage forced all four men backward.
Gray landed smoothly amid the spreading frost, rolled one shoulder, and flashed them a confident grin.
"Morning, guys."
Behind him, Wendy held the sobbing Happy close and tried to calm him down.
Carla let out a relieved sigh, although that didn't stop her from immediately scolding him for getting captured in the first place.
Magic-Sealing Stone was still bound around Happy's paws, preventing him from using any magic, so all he could do was grin stupidly while Wendy and Carla worked on freeing him.
Rustyrose's expression darkened.
"Fairy Tail…"
Gray's smile faded as he looked at the two familiar enemies.
Then he spoke without turning around.
"Wendy."
"Take Happy and leave."
"Once you get the Magic-Sealing Stone off him, come back for me."
"Got it."
Carla grabbed Wendy, Wendy secured Happy in her arms, and the three shot toward the exit like a streak of white light.
Kain saw that the intruder escaping was a pretty young girl and immediately reverted to his usual disgusting habits.
"Hey—wait!"
He rushed after them.
Doll's eyes widened.
"Gapri! Use your speed!"
"Don't let that fat bastard steal the credit!"
Gapri vanished before Doll had even finished speaking, his body accelerating into a blur as he raced after Wendy and the others.
That left only two enemies in the cavern.
Gray slowly stretched his arms and rolled his neck.
He studied Rustyrose and Doll, both now radiating significantly more power than before.
Then a confident smile spread across his face.
"Two against one, huh?"
Ice began gathering around him.
"Fine by me."
"It's been a while since I had a fight I could really enjoy."
---------
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