Chapter 673: Where is the Fairy Tail’s Light?
Alexei held a staff and pointed it toward the glowing magic crystal. "Come with me quietly. Don’t try to alert anyone else, or I’ll shatter this immediately."
"..."
Rhodes stared at him in silence.
"It’s good you came out on your own," Alexei continued smugly. "I was worried you’d stay hidden. But really, with clothes that flashy..."
Rhodes cut him off coldly. "You make it hard not to attract attention."
Alexei gave a low laugh. "You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already cast layered illusion magic. No one else can see me, and no one can hear what I’m saying."
’Illusion magic?’ Rhodes’s eyes narrowed. He remembered reading about it in the guild’s library. Illusion magic... the signature of Fairy Tail’s First Master.
He thought it over carefully. ’If he’s using a hostage, that means he’s not confident in his strength. At least not enough to fight Fairy Tail head-on. Otherwise, he’d attack directly, like Phantom Lord once did.’
’So... they think they can’t handle the guild, but they can handle me alone? Then all I need to watch for are dirty tricks.’
Rhodes gave a small nod and followed, letting the masked man lead him out of Magnolia and into the surrounding countryside.
Alexei twisted and turned along the path, first through woods, then into a valley, and finally stopping near a mountain stream.
Rhodes frowned. He knew the land around Magnolia like the back of his hand. All this circling was pointless. ’If they keep wasting time like this, Mira will come looking for me herself.’
"Keep going," Alexei ordered, pointing upstream. Then his projection faded away.
Rhodes walked forward at an unhurried pace. When he rounded the base of the mountain, three figures came into view, along with the same massive magic crystal he’d seen before.
He didn’t need to think twice to know it was an ambush.
Sure enough, as he scanned the area, he caught sight of someone lying in wait, their body half-transparent, leaning against a blue stone near the water.
The three figures standing openly in front were clearer.
The first was Alexei himself, now in the flesh, clad in gold armor and a fur cloak, the master of the Thought Projection.
The second was an odd fellow, lanky as a beanpole, with blue hair and skin, a top hat perched on his head, a long nose, thick lips, and tiny black eyes that looked like dull beads.
The third was a woman with scarlet hair and matching crimson eyes. Her hair spilled all the way down to the ground, and her revealing outfit left little to the imagination. A crimson guild emblem was stamped boldly on one side of her chest.
"Raven Tail," Rhodes muttered. He recognized them immediately. They were members of the guild founded by the son of Fairy Tail’s master.
That made Alexei’s presence all the more suspicious. Masked, cloaked in furs like Laxus, wielding such polished illusion magic, it was clear his identity was being hidden with care.
Believing his plan was foolproof, Alexei chuckled darkly. "Hmph. You’re a sharp one."
Rhodes raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
"If you had tried to send any signal back to your guild, I really would have acted."
Rhodes’s voice hardened. "Enough games. What do you want?"
Alexei’s smile widened. "Fairy Tail’s Light."
"What?"
"Don’t play dumb. Tell me where it is. Makarov, that old man, must have told you."
Rhodes’s expression stayed stone-still. In truth, he had no idea what Alexei was talking about. He let the silence stretch before replying in a low, controlled voice:
"And what if he didn’t?"
/
"A fair trade requires proper bargaining chips. If my companions had really been turned into magic crystals, it wouldn’t be such a small fragment."
Rhodes’s eyes narrowed. "At the very least, show me the whereabouts of the others... Master Ivan."
For a moment, silence fell. Alexei said nothing, his face hidden behind the mask, unreadable.
The tall, blue-skinned man beside him looked just as expressionless, his masklike features frozen in place.
The red-haired woman’s face was the same, blank, almost broken, showing no change at all.
Rhodes found it impossible to read any of them.
"Hmph. You figured it out?" Alexei chuckled darkly. He pulled off his mask and declared bluntly, "As expected of the one they once called Fairy Tail’s Strategist. That’s right, I am Ivan Dreyar."
Straightforward indeed.
Rhodes asked evenly, "Since you’re the Master’s son, wouldn’t you have learned everything by simply waiting to inherit the guild? Why make such a mess of things and end up being cast out?"
Ivan’s face twisted with anger. "What do you know?! That old man..."
"Master."
The red-haired woman, Flare, spoke up at once, her tone flat but firm.
Ivan blinked and immediately cut himself off.
This was their arrangement. If Rhodes tried to bait him, to dig for information or provoke him, Flare would intervene without hesitation.
Rhodes had a reputation for winning battles with his wits. They weren’t going to let him talk Ivan into a trap.
Ivan sneered, forcing himself back on track.
"Tch. That doesn’t matter. I’ll uncover the truth soon enough. As for bargaining chips, I’m not fool enough to lay them all on the table. That would only give you a chance to snatch them back. If you want to save your companions, just tell me what I want to know."
Rhodes tilted his head slightly. To be treated with such extreme caution... he was curious what kind of image he had gained in the underworld of dark guilds.
"You know that’s impossible," he replied calmly. "Without even seeing them, how could I trust you’ll release anyone if I give you what you want?"
"Oh, you’ll talk," Ivan said coldly, raising his staff toward the magic crystal. A glowing bullet of energy formed at its tip. "Because if you don’t, I’ll smash it right here. And you Fairy Tail brats... you value your comrades above everything, don’t you?"
Rhodes’s gaze sharpened into a dangerous edge. "Knowing that, you still dare to threaten me with my companions?"
"Tell me where Fairy Tail’s Light is!" Ivan shouted. "You have three seconds. One!"
In that instant, Rhodes’s magic exploded outward. Crimson, azure, and violet auras surged around him, intertwining like a storm.
The sheer force made the ground tremble. A dreadful pressure filled the air. To Ivan’s subordinates, it was like staring into the eyes of the fiercest beast they had ever known. Their faces turned pale.
A bead of sweat rolled down Ivan’s forehead. He forced a laugh, but his voice trembled at the edges. "Don’t test me! With a flick of my staff, I can destroy it right now. Think carefully before..."
"Go ahead and try." Rhodes’s voice cut him off like steel. His gaze locked on Ivan without wavering. "Since you were once Fairy Tail, you know our way. If even a single hair of my comrades is harmed... I’ll grind your bones into dust."
Ivan flinched. For a heartbeat, his body wanted to recoil, to step back from those eyes. Shame burned in his chest.
’No! How could I be cowed by some upstart brat?!’
"Damn you!" Ivan roared. "I thought someone called the ’Strategist’ might understand compromise, but you’re just as stupid as the old man! Fairy Tail... every last one of you is the same! Attack!"
Two strands of scarlet hair shot from the ground, coiling tightly around Rhodes’s legs. Flare’s magic. She had already extended her hair underground, ready to bind him at Ivan’s signal.
At the same time, another figure lunged up from behind. The hulking blue-skinned man, Nullpudding, swung his arm as it grotesquely stretched and swelled, spikes jutting outward like a bludgeon. It crashed down toward the back of Rhodes’s head.
Rhodes’s lips curved in a cold smile.
"An underground strike, is it? That tactic’s long since lost its edge."
...
Stones Plzzz
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