After inquiring about the location of the ruins, Mirajane and Statiw left the small village and arrived at a small hill not far away. Setting up an easel between a few trees, Statiw looked through the gaps in the forest at a corner of the distant ruins, which had already become a wasteland. With a few strokes, he sketched it and the surrounding forest onto the drawing paper.
"Alright, all preparations are complete." With the setting sun in front of him, Statiw filled in the colors of the painting, then smiled faintly and said, "Now, let's see what's going on in the ruins of that small village."
With that, he began to activate his magic, and instantly a magic circle with two rings appeared below the painting, constantly rotating. The leaves in the painting also began to sway with the wind, just like in the real world.
Then, through Statiw's operation, the scene quickly arrived at the ruins. By this time, it was already dark, and a bonfire had been lit in the ruins. However, what puzzled Statiw and Mirajane was that they couldn't see anyone.
"What's going on?" Mirajane asked, looking at the bonfire and its surroundings in the painting.
"I'm not sure, maybe something there is blocking the view?" Statiw also showed a puzzled expression. He thought for a moment, suspecting that some kind of object was interfering with his magic. So, Statiw flipped his hand, and something Mirajane had never seen before appeared in his hand. It was a square object with four propellers, and a transparent lens attached to its bottom.
"What is this thing? What's it for?" Mirajane asked curiously, looking at the object in Statiw's hand.
"This is a… let's call it a 'scouting eye'," Statiw explained, opting for a more fantasy-appropriate name than 'drone'. He began to fiddle with it. After the device ascended and flew towards the ruins under Statiw's control, he continued to explain, "This thing is also used to view distant scenes. However, unlike my painting, my painting connects the scene and the view through magic, thereby achieving real-time changes. This device, on the other hand, uses a different kind of magic to capture the image and project it back. This one in my hand is the control and reception device."
After speaking, Statiw also showed Mirajane the small, glowing screen on the remote control.
"Why is the image all in shades of green, without color?" Mirajane asked again, looking at the image.
Statiw scratched his head and replied, "This is because the magic I used lets it see in the dark. As for color... that involves the principles of how the human eye sees objects, light reflection, and so on. Specifically... well, to put it simply, my knowledge and skill are insufficient, so I can't make a night-seeing device that displays color."
"After all that, it's just because your skill level isn't enough. You could have just said you couldn't do it." Mirajane listened to his long explanation about light and wavelengths, completely failing to understand what Statiw was talking about, until his last sentence, when she finally understood.
"Huh?" Just as Mirajane finished speaking, and Statiw was about to retort, he suddenly noticed a few figures appearing around the bonfire on the screen. He looked up at the painting on the easel, and the area around the bonfire there was completely empty.
"It seems there is indeed something strange." Mirajane had been standing next to Statiw. When Statiw saw these figures, Mirajane also saw them, and at the same time understood why his painting only showed the bonfire—it was because the other party had used some kind of magic to block detection spells. If Statiw hadn't used his device for another investigation, they might not have discovered them.
"What do we do now?" Statiw had only undertaken small tasks before, and this was his first time encountering such a situation, so he looked to the experienced Mirajane.
"They are definitely mages, and their movements are so secretive, they must be from a Dark Guild. Control the device to look for their guild emblem," Mirajane commanded, looking very calm.
"Shouldn't we contact Master Makarov?" Statiw asked Mirajane while controlling the device to circle the figures 360 degrees according to her instructions.
"Let's first find out who they are. If we can deal with them, we don't need to ask the guild for support." Mirajane leaned her head closer to the screen, carefully observing the figures in the image and saying, "Wait, go back a little, like before."
"Oh, alright." Statiw immediately began to control the device as Mirajane instructed, until it flew to a more specific angle, then Mirajane said, "Stop, right there."
"What is this thing?" Statiw asked doubtfully after stopping the image and observing it himself.
At this moment, on the screen, a slightly darker pattern was visible on the shoulder of one of the people in the group. This pattern was a large circle enclosing a small circle. The key was that the two circles were neither regular nor concentric; one side of the large circle and the small circle completely overlapped.
"Devil's Toes," Mirajane said in a deep voice.
"Toes?" Statiw looked at the pattern himself, carefully comparing it to the shape of toes in his mind, and then he understood what the two circles were depicting.
"That's right, it's the Dark Guild: Devil's Toes," Mirajane said with certainty.
"So, should we ask for the guild's support now?" Statiw asked.
Mirajane shook her head and explained, "Devil's Toes is merely the lowest-ranking Dark Guild. Their Guild Master is only a B-Class Mage. Moreover, they were just defeated by a Light Guild a few months ago, and most of their guild members have already been captured. These few in front of us are just the ones who slipped through the net. There's no need to ask the guild for support. With an A-Class Mage and a B-Class Mage like us, we can take them all down."
As soon as she finished speaking, Mirajane immediately activated her Take Over: Satan Soul, flapping her wings and flying towards the ruins. Almost instantly, Mirajane arrived above the ruins and, without a word, unleashed her ultimate move: 'Soul Extinguisher'.
Although the black vortex condensing in Mirajane's hand could not be seen in the darkness, the huge magical power fluctuation instantly alarmed the stragglers of Devil's Toes below.
Having had their stronghold breached by a Light Guild and fled here, they had been in a state of extreme anxiety. Now, sensing the massive magical power fluctuation, the few Dark Mages of Devil's Toes did not resist at all, scattering and fleeing for their lives. As a result, Mirajane's ultimate move only managed to take down two or three people within its covered range.
Seeing that her ultimate move hadn't eliminated them all at once, Mirajane flapped the wings on her back