Gray wiped the sweat from his brow, his breath fogging in the cool night air. Beside him, Lyon stood rigid, his hands still coated in ice, while Sherry tightened her fists, scanning the shadows between the trees.
"We should regroup with the others," Lyon murmured, his voice low. "We're too exposed here."
Before Gray could respond, a gust of wind tore past them—too fast, too sudden. A blur of movement. A sickening chuckle echoed through the darkness.
"Regroup?" The voice came from nowhere and everywhere. "You won't even last another minute."
Gray barely turned in time before a sharp impact slammed into his gut, sending him skidding backward. Lyon was next, struck by an invisible force, his body knocked off balance.
Sherry gasped, whipping her head around. "Where—?"
A rush of wind. A blur of motion. Then, Racer materialized before them, crouched lazily on a fallen tree trunk, his manic grin stretching ear to ear.
"You're all so slow," he sneered. "Pathetic."
Gray pushed himself up, his eyes narrowing. "Damn it... it's him."
Lyon steadied himself. "Then we just have to freeze him before he moves."
Racer's grin widened. "Oh? Go ahead. Try."
In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
The scent of perfume still clung to the air as Lucy adjusted her stance, standing alongside the Trimens. Loke stood beside her, his golden eyes sharp as he surveyed the aftermath of their battle. Unconscious dark wizards lay scattered across the forest floor, proof of their relentless struggle.
"That was quite the show," a sultry voice purred from the shadows.
The group turned sharply.
From between the trees, Angel emerged, her expression one of pure amusement. The moonlight caught the silver strands of her hair, making her appear almost ethereal. In her hand, Gemini's key twirled lazily between her fingers.
"Oh my," she mused, eyes flitting between them. "Such handsome men… and a celestial mage? This almost makes me feel bad about what's coming next."
Loke narrowed his eyes, stepping slightly in front of Lucy. "Angel… so we finally meet."
Angel smirked. "Oh? You remember me? How sweet."
A golden light flared beside her.
"Aries," she commanded.
The celestial spirit materialized in an instant, her soft, hesitant gaze landing on Lucy with an almost apologetic look.
Before Lucy could react, thick woolen threads shot toward them, wrapping around their limbs, tightening, constricting—
"Lucy!" Loke growled, struggling against the bindings.
Lucy's breath hitched as the threads tightened around her wrists. "Aries, stop!" she pleaded.
Angel sighed, shaking her head. "Oh, sweetheart, that's not how this works."
She snapped her fingers. The wool tightened.
Natsu exhaled sharply, his flames still flickering from their last battle. "That should be the last of 'em, right?"
Erza wiped the sweat from her brow, scanning their surroundings. "For now. But we need to regroup before—"
A sound.
A whisper in the leaves.
A blur of movement.
Before anyone could react, a streak of black shot out from the trees—too fast, too precise.
Erza gasped as sharp fangs sank deep into her shoulder. A sickening crack echoed as she staggered back, her body seizing up.
"Erza?!" Happy yelped.
A split second later, a violent force sent her crashing onto the dirt. Erza gritted her teeth, fingers twitching as an unnatural numbness spread from the wound. Her vision blurred. Her strength was slipping.
Natsu's eyes widened. "What the—?!"
A slow, amused chuckle drifted through the air.
"You didn't even sense it, did you?"
The voice sent a shiver down their spines.
From the darkness of the forest, Cobra emerged, his arms crossed, his expression smug. The moonlight glinted off his piercing red eyes as Cubellios slithered back to his side, her fangs still dripping with venom.
"That poison's already working its way through your system, Erza," Cobra mused, tilting his head. "Won't be long before you can't even move."
Erza clenched her jaw, forcing herself upright. Her body felt like it was burning from the inside out, her limbs sluggish. But she wasn't out of the fight yet.
Natsu's flames flared violently. "You bastard!"
Cobra only smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Relax. You'll be joining her soon enough."
With a snap of his fingers, Cubellios lunged again—this time at Happy.
The Exceed barely dodged in time, his wings fluttering frantically as the ground where he had been standing cracked under the force of the snake's strike.
"Che!" Natsu roared, stepping forward, his fists igniting. "You wanna go, huh?! Then let's go!"
Cobra's smirk widened.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
The forest was eerily silent.
Not the kind of peaceful silence one might find in a quiet meadow or a still lake at dawn. No, this was the kind of silence that suffocated, that coiled around the heart like a tightening noose.
Carla stood amidst the ruins of battle, her small frame trembling. The air was thick with the lingering stench of scorched earth, shattered magic, and fading cries from distant skirmishes. The Worth Woodsea, once a vibrant land, now lay in eerie stillness, its towering trees casting long, ominous shadows.
But none of that mattered.
She had lost Wendy.
The realization gnawed at her, a cold, relentless whisper in the back of her mind. She had failed.
She had barely managed to catch her breath after the chaos before she made her decision—she had to find Naruto. He was the only one who could help. If anyone could track Wendy, it was him. If she could just reach him—
But now, standing at the very place where he had last been seen, there was nothing.
No fiery blonde. No trace of his existence. Not even the faintest residual flicker of his overwhelming presence.
Gone.
Panic surged through her.
No. No, no, no… Not him too.
Her breaths quickened. The weight of her helplessness pressed down on her small frame, drowning her in doubt. Wendy had been taken. Naruto had vanished. The others were locked in their own battles, far beyond her reach.
And she was alone.
A step.
A heavy footstep echoed in the quiet, shaking her from her spiraling thoughts.
Carla froze.