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< Command acknowledged. Starting comprehensive analysis and replication of 'Super Archive Magic'... >
The voice of [Great Sage] echoed in his mind as a massive flood of complex magical formulas and data began pouring into his consciousness. The sheer volume of information would have caused a normal wizard's brain to burst from psychic overload, but Akira didn't even flinch. With [Great Sage] efficiently sorting, categorizing, and integrating the magical knowledge, his brain worked faster than a supercomputer.
< Progress: 20%... 50%... 80%... 100%. Analysis complete. Super Archive Magic has been successfully acquired and integrated into the user's skill set. >
As the golden glow in his eyes faded, Akira closed the heavy leather book with a soft thud. He could instantly feel his mind expanding. It was an incredible sensation. Even he had to admit that this magic is far more complex than he thought. If not for [Great Sage ] Akira estimated he would at least take a few months to learn this magic.
"Let's put this to the test right away," Akira whispered, a dangerous grin forming under his mask.
Without needing to chant or draw a magic circle, he mentally activated the newly acquired spell. Virtual holographic screens made of pale blue light silently materialized in the air all around him, completely invisible to the outside world thanks to Kyōka Suigetsu.
With a simple flick of his finger, Akira bypassed the local network and dove straight into the deepest, most heavily encrypted archives of the Magic Council's mainframe.
"Great Sage, track down every data log modified, deleted, or transferred by Crawford Seam over the last ten years. Cross-reference them with the coordinates of the Tower of Paradise and the names of any involved dark guilds."
< Searching... Bypassing Council firewalls... Search complete. Displaying hidden logs. >
The floating screens suddenly shifted, flashing rapidly as a massive mountain of suppressed evidence began to unravel right before Akira's eyes. Detailed maps of the Tower of Paradise, secret budget allocations disguised as "coastal defense spending," and lists of captured slaves—including a small profile with a drawing of a young, red-haired girl—filled the displays.
Akira's golden eyes locked onto the glowing data, the air in the room turning heavy and freezing cold under the sudden pressure of his killing intent. Crawford hadn't just turned a blind eye; he had practically protected the operation from the safety of his high chair. This bastard was responsible for cleaning up the aftermath, and this bastard was the reason why Fairy Tail is being targeted by the dark guilds.
Every dark guild that had ever tried to probe or attack Fairy Tail was subtly guided, funded, or given a green light through Crawford's altered reports. By leaking sensitive information about the guild to these dark guilds while making them believe the subjugation for the Tower of Paradice happened because of them, he had turned Fairy Tail into an intentional target.
" This bastard," Akira hissed, his voice echoing with absolute malice. The killing intent rolling off him was so intense that the air in the luxurious room began to distort, but he quickly reined it in, keeping his composure under Kyōka Suigetsu.
Now that he had all the information he wanted, including the exact coordinates of the dark guild connections, the shipment routes, and the tower's location, there was no reason to stay in this stuffy office any longer. Crawford would pay, but Akira needed to dismantle his entire network first so the bastard couldn't run. After finishing this, he would make sure this bastard is buried under six feet.
With a thought, he used his superior control over the Super Archive to cleanly wipe his own digital footprint from the mainframe, leaving no trace that anyone had ever breached the system.
Then he left the room and walked straight out of the Magic Council building, passing the guards who were still completely trapped under the illusion of Kyōka Suigetsu. None of the busy Rune Knights even noticed him as he swaggered through the main entrance and stepped outside.
Once he was clear of the mountain fortress and its detection barriers, dark smoke burst from his body, wrapping around him like a heavy shroud. With a soft swoosh, he shot up into the sky, turning into a fast streak of black mist that cut through the clouds.
Now that he finally had the list, the hunt had officially begun.
Flying fast through the clouds in his smoke form, Akira felt no mercy. The names and locations of every dark guild involved with the Tower of Paradise were now locked in his mind. These were the people who had kidnapped innocent children and targeted Fairy Tail on Crawford's orders.
'Great Sage, locate the closest dark guild on the list,' Akira thought.
< Report. The nearest dark guild outpost is located in a hidden valley, about forty kilometers ahead. They are responsible for capturing and moving slaves. >
"Perfect. Let's start with them," Akira said coldly under his mask.
The black smoke dived down from the sky, moving silently through the trees. Soon, a large wooden fortress appeared in the valley. It was surrounded by iron fences and guarded by dozens of dark mages.
Akira landed softly on the ground near the front gate. His black and gold robe fluttered slightly as he walked forward. He didn't need to hide or plan a sneak attack. With Kyōka Suigetsu active, none of the guards could see him anyway.
' Great Sage, scan the base, ' Akira commanded as he looked at
< Command acknowledged. Scanning the dark guild outpost... >
A blue wireframe map of the entire wooden fortress instantly flashed into Akira's mind. Every corner, every hidden room, and every person inside was clearly highlighted.
< Report. Total headcount: 45 dark mages inside the base. In the underground cells, there are 12 captured civilians locked in iron cages. >
Akira's golden eyes narrowed behind his mask. Hearing that innocent people were currently locked up in cages, he knew this was the right place.
"Great Sage, seal the entire valley with a magic barrier. Make sure no one can run away, and no sound or signal can leave this place," Akira ordered coldly.
< Understood. Deploying soundproof and physical isolation barriers. Complete. >
With the barrier in place, Akira didn't waste another second. With a teleportation circle, he teleported straight towards the prison cells. And then, without even letting these poor guys understand what happened, he teleported them away.
Then he finally released the killing intent she was holding back. A magic circle appeared as two blades appeared on his hands.
The heavy air of the underground prison shifted violently as Akira's killing intent exploded. The stone walls cracked under the pressure, and the torches on the walls went out, leaving the hallway in absolute darkness. The only thing visible was the terrifying golden glow of his eyes.
Upstairs, the dark mages didn't even know what was coming.
Clang!
Before the guards in the hallway could notice something, Akira moved like a flash. The two blades in his hands cut through the air. With two clean slashes, the heads of the nearest guards rolled onto the floor before their bodies could even fall. Blood splattered against the walls, but Akira didn't stop.
He moved like a ghost from one shadow to the next.
"Enemy—!" A dark mage at the end of the stairs managed to scream, but the word stopped in his throat. Akira appeared right in front of him and drove one blade straight up into his jaw, while the second blade slashed across another mage rushing down the steps.
Akira stepped over the falling bodies. His black and gold robe stayed completely clean. He ran up the stairs and burst into the main courtyard.
By now, the mages were trying to sound the alarm, but no sound could cross the barrier [Great Sage] had placed over the valley. To the outside world, this place was completely silent. To the mages inside, it was a trap.
"Fire Magic: Crimson Spiral!"
"Iron Rock Strike!"
Spells shot across the courtyard as panicked dark mages fired blindly. But Akira didn't even bother to dodge. He activated Kyōka Suigetsu, messing up their senses. Their spells hit the empty dirt, exploding into nothing.
"Where is he?! Where did he go?!" the guild leader roared, holding a large axe.
"Right behind you," a cold whisper echoed.
The leader froze. Before he could swing his axe, Akira's two blades sliced through the air in a cross shape. The leader's arms and head flew off instantly.
The rest of the mages completely lost their minds. They dropped their weapons and ran toward the heavy front gates, trying to escape. But as they reached the edge of the camp, they crashed violently into the invisible wall of [Great Sage's] barrier.
Akira walked toward them slowly, his two blades dripping with blood, his golden eyes locked onto them.
" Let this make them realise, the hunt has begun," Akira said as he swung the flourish of sword strikes.
In the next few minutes, the valley became a graveyard. Akira moved through the crowd like a whirlwind of steel. Every strike was fast and lethal. He showed no mercy to these dark guild members.
When Akira finally left this place, there was nothing but corpses along with a message that said, ' The Hunt has begun. '