Statiw hadn't expected Mirajane to charge straight in. By the time he reacted, Mirajane was already unleashing her big moves. He sighed, thinking Mirajane was very imprudent, but it was very much like her. Given her personality, wouldn't it be strange if she didn't charge in and take down the enemies after determining they weren't a match for her?
However, just as Statiw was sighing, a figure suddenly flashed out from the side. The figure approached Statiw, letting out a sinister laugh and saying, "That woman finally left. Now it's just you here, which makes it easier for me to act."
"You are...?" Statiw asked calmly, a look of confusion on his face, after noticing the approaching person.
"Me?" The figure stopped about ten meters from Statiw, in a spot illuminated by light, and said, "I am Jason, the Guild Master of Devil's Toes. You damned Light Guild members, not only did you attack our guild, but even after we fled to such a remote place, you still won't let us go..."
"About that," Statiw interrupted Jason, the Guild Master of the Dark Guild, who had a rooster comb hairstyle and elaborate facial tattoos, as he went on and on with his resentful and never-ending rant, "In this situation, I think it would be better if you escaped quickly."
"Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?" Jason glared fiercely at Statiw. "I admit that woman is very strong, much stronger than me, but you are different."
He glanced at the easel in front of Statiw and said, "You use Pict Magic, right? Although I don't know how you use Pict Magic for tracking, I do know that Pict Magic is very weak in combat. As long as I take you down, without your magical tracking ability, it will be very easy for me to escape from that woman with my magic level."
"Is that so? Why don't I know I was thinking that?" Statiw felt utterly bewildered at this moment. The reason he said what he did was merely a logical deduction, with no other ulterior motives involved. Now, hearing Jason, it sounded as if he had some grand conspiracy at play.
"Hmph, no matter what you say, I won't believe it." Jason sneered, looking confident of victory. "Blame your bad luck. You used tracking magic just when I was on guard, allowing me to follow the magical fluctuations and find this place..."
Before Jason could finish speaking, Statiw immediately interrupted him, saying, "And then you quietly infiltrated the area, using your guild members as bait to draw away the powerful Mirajane. That way, you could kill me, who possesses tracking magic, and without my tracking magic pursuing you, you would be able to successfully escape, right?"
"You know quite a lot, but it's too late now. Die, kid." With that, Jason immediately charged towards Statiw, a faint purple glow shimmering on his hands.
However, when he got within four or five meters of Statiw, he suddenly saw Statiw holding a cylindrical object pointed directly at him. Before he could get a clear look, there was a loud 'bang,' and countless hot, tiny objects rapidly impacted his face. The immense force directly knocked him backward and onto the ground. The next moment, a painful wail erupted from Jason's mouth.
Looking at Jason, who was clutching his face and rolling on the ground in pain, Statiw wore a look of surprise and uncertainty. "I didn't expect that even with this guy's magical protection, a close-range blast from this could only give him a pockmarked face. It seems next time I encounter someone like this, I'll have to use a more powerful weapon."
"You damned kid." While Statiw was still surprised and uncertain, Jason had already adapted to the burning sensation on his face. He rolled over and got up from the ground, his eyes burning with furious flames, like a demon from hell, as he stared fiercely at Statiw and slowly approached.
However, although he knew Statiw used Pict Magic, he didn't know that Statiw's Pict Magic was different from ordinary Pict Magic. Therefore, seeing him approach, Statiw immediately changed the scene on the paper, then took up his brush and made two strokes, subtly altering the terrain. All of this took less than a second. Jason, who was still approaching, suddenly twisted his ankle with a soft 'crunch,' and once again fell to the ground.
Then, Statiw's attire changed, transforming into a metal armor suit with a large metal hammer. He then let out a strange chuckle, swung the hammer, and brought it down on the fallen Jason.
"Boom, boom, boom..." As Statiw swung the large hammer repeatedly, loud noises echoed through the silent forest. After an unknown number of blows, Jason finally couldn't take it anymore and passed out, his expression terrified and aggrieved.
"Hoo—" Seeing Jason had passed out, Statiw let out a long breath, and his entire body relaxed.
Just then, Mirajane walked out from behind a tree and said, "Is it over already?"
"When did you come back?" Statiw asked, his heart, which had just tightened, relaxing again upon seeing Mirajane emerge from behind the tree.
"Just when you exposed his plan," Mirajane replied, walking over with a faint smile.
"Then why didn't you come out sooner?" Statiw grumbled, hearing that Mirajane had returned before the fight even started.
"If I had come out earlier, would you have gotten any practice?" Mirajane retorted, giving Statiw a sidelong glance.
"What should we do now?" Statiw asked.
"Drag him and follow me." Mirajane pointed to the unconscious Jason on the ground. "I've already notified the Magic Council, and they'll send people over soon to take these Dark Guild members away."
"Oh, I see." Statiw nodded but didn't immediately go to drag Jason. Instead, he took out another piece of paper and drew several syringes on it. When the syringes were drawn and Statiw used his magic, a stone on the ground was silently decomposed and integrated into the syringes in the drawing. The next moment, Statiw flipped his hand, and one syringe appeared in his hand, while one syringe was missing from the drawing.
Seeing that Statiw didn't immediately act, but instead drew new items and materialized them, Mirajane asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
"This is a muscle relaxant," Statiw explained. "It's to prevent him from waking up and escaping midway. Once he's injected with this, even if he wakes up, he won't be able to move."
With that, Statiw injected the syringe into Jason's body. Then, he tidied up and dragged Jason by his collar all the way to the ruins.
Upon arriving, Statiw saw the other Devil's Toes members, who had already been tied up in a pile on the ground by Mirajane. Then, Mirajane pointed at them and said to Statiw, "Give each of them a shot of that relaxant, to save trouble..."