"Let's go~"
Everyone was just about to make a move.
Suddenly, a massive shadow directly enveloped Everyone.
Everyone's hearts tightened, and they all looked up. A tall giant appeared before their eyes, seemingly having just finished a hunt, carrying many elk in his hands, and with a huge, unknown Magical Beast on his shoulder.
"Hmm? This is rare, humans actually dare to trespass into our village!" The giant looked at Everyone, a hint of surprise and vigilance in his eyes.
At this moment, Zorn took a few steps forward, looked up at the giant, and said with a smile:
"Oh, hello, we are members of the Fairy Tail Guild, and we've accepted a commission to investigate matters related to demons here! We hope you can introduce us to your village chief!"
However, when the giant heard the words "demon," his gaze immediately became solemn.
With a "bang," he casually threw the Magical Beast from his shoulder aside, and at the same time raised the giant axe in his hand, preparing to chop down fiercely.
"Look out!" Seeing this, Erza, Laxus, and Cana immediately assumed fighting stances, shielding Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and the others behind them.
Lucy cried out in alarm, "Eh~ eh~ what's going on!"
They really couldn't understand why the giant suddenly became so hostile the moment they mentioned demons.
After all, they hadn't said anything particularly strange or offensive just now.
"The Eternal Flame is not a demon!" The giant immediately roared, his face filled with fury. And with his roar, the giant axe in his hand, carrying immense force, chopped down heavily towards Everyone.
Faced with the descending giant axe, Everyone's expression changed.
Zorn dug his legs firmly into the ground, half-squatted, and raised his right hand to directly block the heavily descending giant axe.
With a bang~
The giant axe steadily stopped on Zorn's palm, and the giant was also stunned, a trace of shock flashing across his face, not expecting his attack to be so easily blocked.
He immediately tried to lift the giant axe with force, but to his shock, no matter how hard he tried, the giant axe remained completely still, as if held down by an invisible force.
"Who exactly are you..." the giant said in shock.
"I think you've misunderstood," Zorn said calmly, looking at the giant before him, "We're not saying the Eternal Flame is a demon, but rather we're here to investigate clues related to demons. Please put down your weapon, and we can talk properly."
...
At the square of the Giant's Village, next to it was the continuously emitting warm flame.
"I'm really sorry, that kid Lasanta is just stubborn; he acted without thinking it through!" The giant village chief stepped forward and said.
"I'm truly sorry~" Lasanta also had a face full of regret; he simply couldn't tolerate others insulting the sacred flame in their hearts.
"It's fine. It's just, you said that a man came here before, regarded this Eternal Flame as a demon, and even prepared to attack?" Zorn organized the information he had just received and asked.
According to the giants, some time ago, a man came here alone and, before they could react, directly reached the vicinity of the flame.
His expression was very fierce, and he emphasized, "Demons are the beginning of all evil~" while at the same time, a bone-chilling cold permeated the surroundings.
Just as they were about to grab their weapons to stop him, the surrounding trees seemed to come alive, their branches gathering together to form a gigantic whip, which directly lashed out at the man.
Indeed, even in the giants' eyes, it was a huge whip; one could imagine the scene of that whip obscuring the sky.
The man, after directly forming a shield to block the attack, merely gazed deeply at the flame before retreating.
"Oh, right, after that shield was shattered, there were still broken ice fragments left!" The village chief suddenly remembered something, quickly stood up, and hurried towards a house.
A moment later, he returned to Everyone, holding a piece of pink shattered ice.
This piece of shattered ice emitted a faint glow, as if hiding some mysterious power.
Gray stared at the shattered ice, suddenly taken aback, as an inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.
He subconsciously stood up, slowly extended his right hand, and gently touched the surface of the ice, feeling the cold aura contained within. The moment his fingers made contact with the ice, a strange sensation spread throughout his body, making him shiver.
"Such a familiar feeling... but where have I seen it?" Gray murmured to himself, his brows furrowed tightly as he fell into deep thought.
He tried hard to recall past experiences, but there was not a single memory in his mind.
At the same time, Zorn, who was nearby, also gazed at the pink ice fragment, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes.
Combining the events and details the giant had recounted earlier, he already had a clear judgment: "Indeed, it's that man, the Ice Demon Slayer Magician!" he whispered, his voice carrying a hint of certainty.
The truth of the entire incident gradually surfaced; undoubtedly, all of this was due to Tartaros's conspiracy.
With his understanding of the plot, he could already guess it.
However, to Zorn's surprise, they had acted in advance, a full seven years earlier than expected.
This sudden change made the situation more complicated, full of unknown variables.
"A Demon Slayer Magician?" Everyone showed surprise after hearing this title.
The giants had never heard of this kind of Magician and couldn't help but discuss it curiously.
"Neither Dragon Slayer nor God Slayer? But Demon Slayer!" Lucy murmured softly.
"A Lost Magic, Demon Slayer Magic, magic for annihilating demons!" Zorn directly pointed out the function of this magic.
The existence of this magic was to deal with those evil demons.
"According to what I know, the organization that man belongs to is precisely Tartaros!" Zorn continued, his voice filled with seriousness and determination.
Upon hearing this, Everyone's hearts sank; they knew well that Tartaros was an extremely dangerous Dark Organization.
"Damn it~ If it's a Dark Organization, then they should all be annihilated!!!" Natsu, upon hearing it was the work of a Dark Guild, immediately burst into a raging inferno. His body was surrounded by roaring flames, echoing the Eternal Flame nearby, forming a spectacular sight.
However, Wendy, who was nearby, suddenly froze. She gazed at the flames, seemingly trying to sense something.
"That? I can feel some residual will in this flame~ It seems to want to say something..." Wendy looked at the flame before her and suddenly said softly. Her words caught the attention of the others, and Everyone turned their gaze towards her.
To be continued~
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