On their side, Kabe was already dropping out of the sky in front of them with an unconscious Jellal dangling from his hand.
"All done."
"Whatever is wrong with him, it will be easier to deal with once we have him tied up."
He finished speaking and casually tossed Jellal toward the wide eyed Simon and Wally.
The two scrambled to catch him, almost fumbling him onto the ground.
Sho and Millianna rushed up as well.
What they saw made all of them freeze.
Jellal's once handsome face was swollen into a round, miserable mess, bruised black and blue.
"Jellal."
They shouted his name in alarm.
They had never imagined that the man who had always stood before them like a god could be beaten so easily, and beaten into this state.
"Let me take a look."
Ultear pushed through the crowd, knelt beside Jellal, and had Simon lay him flat on the ground.
She raised one hand above his head, palm hovering a little above his hair, then closed her eyes to examine him with magic.
The four watched her anxiously, not daring to even breathe too loudly, afraid of disturbing her.
Erza, however, immediately turned to Kabe's side and began checking him over instead.
"You are not hurt, are you?"
Kabe did not answer.
He suddenly lifted both hands and cupped her cheeks, silently meeting her eyes.
"Y you, what are you doing?"
"I do plan to do something, just not here."
He gave a quiet reply, and without caring whether Erza understood what he meant, he leaned closer, putting his lips near her ear.
"Because of everything you did today, my mood is really bad."
"So I have decided that when we get back, I am going to punish you properly."
After that, he lowered his voice even more and whispered a few extra sentences into her ear.
Millianna's cat ears twitched.
Curious, she glanced back at the two of them whispering together.
Her sharper than normal hearing picked up a few scattered words like double doors, new tactics, and whip, although they were too muffled to fully catch.
...
"Are they discussing some amazing magic, meow?"
A cat's curiosity burned inside her.
Millianna almost could not stop herself from creeping closer to listen in on their conversation properly.
Before she could move, Kabe had already finished.
He let go of Erza's face, which was now so red it looked like a drop of blood might fall from her cheeks.
"I I will listen to you, as long as it makes you happy."
Erza pressed her flushed lips together, so embarrassed she could hardly raise her head.
Satisfied with that answer, Kabe smiled, took her hand, and led her over to Ultear.
"So, how is it?"
"Did you figure out what is wrong with him?"
Under everyone's tense gaze, Ultear opened her eyes and glanced apologetically at Jellal.
"It is more complicated than I thought."
"His brain has been eroded by magic for too long."
"The nerves have already suffered a lot of damage."
"Without a doctor with excellent medical skills, I am afraid that even if he wakes up, he will still be tempted by those hallucinations and stay trapped in his fantasy of reviving Zeref."
At those words, Sho, Wally, Simon, and Millianna all showed anxious, worried expressions.
Kabe and Erza, however, exchanged a look and spoke at the same time.
"We have a doctor like that in our guild."
"Really, sis?"
Sho, who had been worrying himself sick only a moment earlier, immediately asked in excitement.
Before Erza could answer, Kabe spoke first.
"Kid, I told you, stop calling her that so intimately, I..."
"Please, brother in law."
"Compared to us, who were merely deceived, Jellal, who was controlled, is the one who has suffered the most."
Sho bowed deeply to Kabe, his tone sincere.
"I already saw you as family long ago."
Kabe's attitude flipped a full one hundred eighty degrees.
A big grin spread across his face as he clapped Sho on the shoulder.
"Do not worry."
"Porlyusica is our guild's advisor and the greatest doctor in this world."
"With her treating him, Jellal's little problem is nothing to worry about."
"Thank you, brother in law."
Sho was quick to show gratitude, calling him brother in law over and over, making the corners of Kabe's mouth lift higher and higher.
His mood soared.
Erza watched Kabe's little burst of childish pride with amusement, then began giving instructions.
"Simon, Wally, I am leaving Jellal in your care."
"Sho, Millianna, is there a boat on the island?"
"If there is, take us to it."
"We are heading back to the guild now."
"Yes, sis, I will take you there right away."
Sho agreed at once and turned to lead the way.
Simon bent down and lifted Jellal carefully from the ground.
Kabe and Ultear had no objections to Erza's arrangement.
Kabe, though eager to get home and have Erza fulfill her promise, was not a transportation device.
There was no way he could carry so many people and fly all the way back.
As for Ultear, along with her guilt was a sense of relief.
Reality proved she had made the right decision in coming to find Kabe.
The result had even exceeded her expectations.
She had never imagined he would subdue Jellal so easily.
For both of them to come through it with barely any injuries was precisely the outcome she had hoped for.
(Silently being carried like a sack under someone's arm, Jellal, beaten into a pig head, mentally added a question mark for himself.)