"A blunt force injury to the back of the head, bite wounds on the throat from sharp teeth, broken ribs, and multiple abrasions over the body… this looks like an attack by a magical beast," Rhodes concluded.
Everyone had followed the trail of blood Natsu smelled earlier and found its source: a female wizard user lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood.
Rhodes and Wendy immediately knelt beside her, channeling healing magic to stabilize her condition. After several tense moments, her breathing steadied, and her color began to return, but she remained deeply unconscious.
On her ankle, they noticed the emblem of Mermaid Heel. Rhodes frowned, trying to recall. He had seen her once before when he visited that guild, but her name escaped him.
While Wendy continued her careful treatment, Erza inspected the woman's injuries and belongings again.
"She only has her wallet on her," Erza said. "There's a three-section staff nearby, but it's just a standard weapon. I didn't find any Celestial Spirit keys."
She stood and scanned the area, noting the tracks around them. "Mermaid Heel wouldn't abandon an injured teammate like this. Judging from the footprints, there are only hers, ours, and the beast's. That means she must have come alone, and her key was stolen."
Through the thick fog, a flicker of orange light appeared in the distance. A moment later, faint shouting echoed through the mist, Natsu and Gray, arguing as usual. Then came the sharp roar of a magical beast, followed by a burst of heat that rolled across the clearing.
The warmth vanished just as quickly, replaced by a damp chill. The firelight went out. Only the sound of two idiots bickering drifted back through the fog.
Not long after, Natsu and Gray returned, dragging behind them a massive lion-like magical beast, its fur scorched and matted with blood.
"This is the one," Gray said flatly. "Still has blood on its claws and mouth."
Natsu scowled. "Hey, that's my kill! Don't make it sound like you defeated it!"
"Who'd want credit for something like this?" Gray shot back. "You moron, you overdid it again, didn't you?"
"Huh? You nearly froze me solid!"
"I was trying to put out the fire! It's your fault for standing too close!"
Before the argument could escalate, Rhodes rapped both of them lightly on the head. "Enough. Did either of you see any keys nearby? Silver ones, used by Celestial Spirit Mages."
Gray shook his head. "Nothing."
Natsu scratched his chin. "Maybe it ate them."
Gray summoned an ice blade in his hand. "Should we cut it open and find out?"
"No need." Rhodes crouched beside the fallen beast, placed a hand on its abdomen, and murmured, "Void Vision."
A faint glow passed through his palm as the creature's insides projected briefly into his mind's eye. It wasn't a pleasant image, but he examined it carefully.
"They're not in the stomach," he said after a moment. "They're lodged in its throat."
Gray nodded once, raised his blade, and made a clean incision across the beast's neck. A moment later, several sticky, blood-covered silver keys clattered to the ground.
Lucy knelt, wiping them clean one by one with a handkerchief. "Compass, Ursa Minor, Leo Minor, and Hercules," she read aloud.
"Hercules," Rhodes repeated, his brow furrowing. "A Celestial Spirit known for close combat and weapon mastery, right? And she was killed by a lion-type beast… coincidence?"
Lucy nodded slowly. "I've heard Hercules is skilled in hand-to-hand combat and proficient with all kinds of weapons."
Carla flicked her tail thoughtfully. "Didn't you say Celestial Spirit Mages are protected by Horologium? Shouldn't he have saved her?"
"Horologium's power is limited," Lucy explained. "He can only appear once a day. Maybe she already used him, or maybe his time ran out before she could call for help."
Wendy let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Her life isn't in danger anymore. It'll take some time before she wakes up, but for now, this is all I can do."
"Good work." Rhodes drew a small circle in the air, forming a Hex Gate magic sigil at their feet. "Give me two minutes. I'll send her back to the guild."
Among all the senses, the eyes and inner ears suffered the most discomfort when passing through a Hex Gate. Fortunately, the unconscious never felt it.
Rhodes disappeared into the glowing portal, reappearing less than two minutes later after briefly explaining the situation to Mira.
As soon as he stepped back through, Lucy gasped. "Oh no, I forgot the keys!"
Rhodes raised an eyebrow. "You can hold onto them… actually, no, I'll take them."
He clipped the keyring securely to his waist, tucking the edge of his coat.
As they walked, the clear metallic clinking of the four silver keys hanging from Rhodes's waist rang rhythmically through the mist. The sound was crisp, deliberate, and made him seem far more conspicuous than he probably intended.
Lucy watched him, deeply moved.
'Mr. Rhodes must have remembered Carla's prophecy,' she thought. 'He couldn't bear to let me be the bait, so he took the key chain himself.'
The group continued to advance cautiously through the fog. After about ten minutes, both Rhodes and Natsu abruptly stopped. Their faces hardened at the same moment.
"What's wrong?" Erza asked immediately.
"I see a lot of people," Rhodes said quietly.
"I smell blood," Natsu growled.
They spoke at the same time. Rhodes gave a curt nod, motioning for Natsu to lead.
Everyone followed quickly, pushing through the heavy mist until the ground suddenly sloped downward. They emerged at the base of a mountain.
And then they froze.
More than thirty people lay scattered across the area. Some had broken necks, others had gaping wounds in their chests, and some had limbs twisted at impossible angles. The sight was horrific.
Lucy clamped a trembling hand over her mouth, uncertain if she wanted to scream or vomit.
Wendy's eyes welled up. She instinctively tried to cover them, but her hand faltered, and instead she broke into a run, small steps, quick and desperate, to check for survivors.
Rhodes raised his hand, activating the buff of Remaining, a spell that revealed the lingering light of souls that had not yet departed. No red light appeared anywhere.
Every single person here was already gone.
Erza and Gray fell silent, their expressions grave. Carla caught up to Wendy, gently resting a paw on her shoulder.
Happy's ears drooped. "How awful," he murmured softly.
Natsu's anger was palpable. "Who the hell would do something like this?!"
Rhodes's eyes narrowed. He turned his head slightly, looking toward the opposite direction of where they stood. "What I saw earlier… and what Natsu smelled… aren't the same place."
"What?" The group stared at him in shock.
"It's the same mountain, but on the other side. The scene there looks almost identical to this one."
The implication sent a chill through everyone.
Another thirty people, dead in the same way, on the other side.
And that might not even be all. These were just the two places they had discovered so far. How many more had already been killed elsewhere in the fog?
Erza steadied herself first. "Lucy," she said, voice calm but tense, "is there anything special about this location?"
Lucy snapped open the map she carried, tracing their route with her finger. She pulled out a pen, scribbled a few quick notes, and then tapped a spot on one of the mountains.
"We're here," she said. "If the coordinates are right, this should be the base of the mountain where the temple mentioned in the intelligence report is located."
Natsu clenched his fists. "So the one who did this is on the mountain?!"
"We can't say for sure yet," Rhodes replied.
"Then it has to be!" Natsu snapped. "That guy's waiting for us up there!"
Gray glared at him. "Idiot. If we already know the enemy's intentions, the top of the mountain might not be where they are, it might be another trap."
Rhodes nodded thoughtfully. "I'll call the Crabs back to scout the mountain. We need to find out how these people died and whether the pattern matches the other site. As much as possible, we should..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
A sharp cry echoed faintly through the mist.
"Open, Gate of the Scales, Libra!"
The sound was followed by the heavy impact of something slamming into the ground. A ripple of magic pulsed through the air, faint but distinct.
Someone was fighting nearby.
The group exchanged quick glances, their earlier tension replaced by urgency. Without another word, they took off running toward the source of the sound.
...
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