The air changed the moment they stepped into the Butterfly Grove.
The trees were wrong. Not dead—twisted. Bark stretched in impossible patterns, knots in the wood pulsing faintly like breathing wounds. The leaves above flickered with unnatural colors: reds too red, blues too still, and greens that hummed like whispers.
Even the sunlight changed. Dimmer. Like it had passed through a prism of fear.
Lucy shivered and gripped her keys tighter.
"This feels... off," she whispered.
Shinra was already crouched beside a cluster of wilted flowers, his gloved fingers hovering just above the petals.
"Life magic is reversed here," he murmured. "Inversion field. Like something infected the mana... made it spiral inward."
Gray raised a brow. "English, please."
"Something's chewing on the magic," Shinra clarified. "It doesn't want to kill it outright—it wants to *change* it."
Erza narrowed her eyes. "Corruption magic?"
"No," Shinra said, rising smoothly. "Worse. *Intelligent* corruption."
---
The trees rustled. No wind.
Then came a sound—like dry wings brushing against glass.
Above them, it emerged: a massive, mutated butterfly, easily four meters wide, with wings shaped like jagged blades and a body of glistening black carapace. Its head pulsed with magical glyphs, and its eyes burned with unstable mana.
The creature didn't screech.
It *hummed*.
That made it worse.
"Eyes up!" Shinra called calmly, stepping forward. "Formation."
Erza, without a word, moved left. Gray took right. Lucy dropped to the center, keys ready. Natsu growled, already heating up.
Shinra walked toward the butterfly slowly, speaking gently like to a wounded animal. "That's not your real form, is it?"
It buzzed—then *split into four* with a sound like ripping flesh.
"Multiplication spell," he said coolly. "It's trying to confuse us. But only one is real."
Natsu exploded forward. "Then I'll just burn them all!"
"Wait—"
Too late.
Flames consumed one of the copies—and instantly, a shockwave of cursed pollen exploded outward. Natsu was sent flying, coughing violently.
"Natsu!" Lucy cried.
Shinra raised his hand. **Infinity bloomed** around the group, stopping the spread of the pollen midair.
"Don't engage recklessly," he said softly, though his voice echoed with command. "It's using sacrificial decoys to spread its toxins."
Gray clenched a fist. "Then how do we know which one's real?"
Shinra smiled faintly. "I'll find it."
---
Shinra's hands moved in an odd gesture—**Six Eyes activating full scan**. The world slowed, colors shifting into layers of cursed structure and magical form.
"There," he said, pointing to the third one. "Real one's using mirrored ambient mana. The other three reflect light wrong."
Erza didn't hesitate. "On your mark."
Shinra waited… waited…
"Now."
Erza blasted forward, Requipping mid-stride into her **Lightning Empress Armor**, hurling her lance at the real butterfly with precision.
It screeched—this time for real.
And bled.
Gray followed, casting **Ice-Make: Chains**, locking the limbs of the creature down. Lucy summoned **Aquarius**, sending a flood to disrupt the grove's floor, knocking away two of the clones in the process.
Shinra walked calmly behind the group, eyes glowing faintly.
The butterfly charged Erza, unleashing a series of glyph-based blasts from its wings—magic so unstable it shredded the trees behind them.
She raised her sword, bracing—but it wasn't enough.
Then—
**Snap.**
Shinra raised two fingers.
**Cursed Technique Reversal: Red.**
A crimson shockwave pulsed between Erza and the butterfly, *reversing* the explosion and slamming the creature back midair like a fly swatted from the sky.
It hit the ground hard, screeching as black ooze bubbled from its wings.
"Gray," Shinra said softly, "freeze its movement."
"On it!"
"I'll weaken the glyphs," Shinra added, stepping forward calmly. **Blue sparks** danced along his gloves. "Lucy, keep the terrain wet—moisture interferes with its magic casting patterns."
"You got it!" she said, already channeling **Aquarius**.
Within moments, the battlefield changed—from chaos to command.
They weren't just fighting.
They were *working together*.
And Shinra wasn't leading with force.
He was leading with calm.
___
The corrupted butterfly began to glow—its death-throes triggering a self-destruction spell.
Erza readied herself.
Shinra stepped in front of her.
"Wait," he said softly.
He removed his gloves.
Raised both hands.
Then—
**Domain Expansion: Infinity Thread.**
For a fraction of a second, the grove around them became a world of white threads, floating in a boundless space. The butterfly froze. Not dead. Not erased.
*Suspended.*
The domain shattered in an instant—but the butterfly's core glyph had unraveled, disarmed harmlessly.
Shinra lowered his hands.
"Overkill?" Natsu asked, wide-eyed.
"Effective," Erza said.
"Stylish," Lucy added.
"Badass," Gray admitted.
Shinra simply shrugged and smiled. "I like to be thorough."
---
Later — Leaving the Grove...
The air lightened as the group exited the grove. Flowers were already regrowing. The villagers would return soon. Mission complete.
As they crossed a ridge, Erza walked quietly beside Shinra.
"You don't act like a leader," she said finally.
"I don't need to," he replied. "Everyone already knows how to lead themselves. I just help them think clearer."
She nodded once. "You read people well."
He looked sideways at her. "You *let* people read you."
That earned a faint smile. "Not always."
"You did with me."
Another silence. Then, just before she walked ahead:
"I trust you."
Shinra blinked. That meant more than she probably realized.
---
Night Camp — Side Moments
Later, around the fire, Lucy sat beside Shinra, offering him a warm drink.
"You always act like you're thinking about everything," she said.
"I usually am."
"Isn't that… exhausting?"
He paused, thoughtful. Then:
"Only when no one asks me how I'm doing."
She blinked.
Then smiled softly. "So… how are you doing?"
He looked at her.
And smiled back.
"…Better now."