The Giant King hadn't expected Kaien Blaze to act so quickly—but the sooner, the better. Every moment put the children at greater risk.
Whoosh—!
Kaien spread his wings and soared out the window, heading directly toward the Troll Kingdom. If the children were abducted, they were almost certainly headed there.
Soon, Kaien spotted a line of ten giant children moving in the direction of the Troll Kingdom. A group of giant warriors was tailing them from a distance. Kaien quickly flew in to intercept.
"Who goes there?!"
His sudden appearance startled the giants, but Kaien calmly spoke:
"I'm a mage from Fairy Tail—wait, Ella?"
Among the group, he recognized someone—Ella, the first giant he had met in the kingdom. But right now, her face was pale with anxiety.
"You're… Kaien?!" she said hesitantly. His appearance had changed so drastically she almost didn't recognize him. But remembering his transformation outside the city, it started to make sense.
"It's me."
With his confirmation, Ella let out a shaky breath.
"Kaien, something terrible has happened—Brie was lured away by that dark mage!"
Kaien's eyes snapped toward the children—and there he was, Brie, the same kid who'd picked him up earlier that day.
"What happened?"
"I… I don't know," Ella stammered. "We'd already gone to sleep when I realized Brie was gone. I ran out to find him, and saw this. No matter how I call him, he won't respond. When I tried to grab him, he went wild… he even bit me."
She looked overwhelmed, completely at a loss.
"Don't worry, Ella. He's likely under some kind of mind control spell. I'll bring him back safely. That's why I'm here—I accepted the Giant King's mission."
"Really?! Thank you, Kaien! Thank you so much!"
Hope returned to her eyes.
"The king will be arriving soon. Go regroup with his forces. Leave the rest to me."
Without waiting, Kaien turned and flew toward the group of children. Their faces were twisted into unnatural smiles, eyes vacant and eerie—clearly under hypnotic control.
Still, this worked in his favor. He had planned to search for the enemy's trail—now he had a group of controlled children leading him straight there.
Kaien shrank himself into Brie's coat pocket and hid.
The children marched across the Great Tree Bridge—a massive fallen log spanning thousands of meters. It was the only route connecting the Giant Kingdom and the Troll Kingdom.
Even after everything Kaien had seen here, this colossal bridge stunned him. Nature itself was overwhelming in this land.
—
Meanwhile, at the Giant Kingdom's end of the bridge, the king had arrived with his soldiers.
"Your Majesty, are we just going to stand here and watch them cross into the Troll Kingdom?" one of the generals asked, visibly distressed.
"Kaien asked us to wait here. He said he would bring the children back himself."
"Kaien? That little human mage? Can he really pull this off?"
The Giant King's expression was firm.
"He's from Makarov's guild. If Makarov sent him, then I believe he can do it."
"Makarov…? You mean that human mage from sixty years ago?"
The name still held weight among the giants—Makarov, the legendary hero and close friend of the king and queen.
—
After some time, Kaien finally saw them: trolls.
They were massive—even taller than the giants. Their skin was a sickly blue-black, with twisted tusks and monstrous faces. They looked like demons in flesh.
The trolls shoved the children into iron cages, then loaded them onto a grotesque creature-drawn cart and began the journey toward the Troll Capital.
After a brutal ride, they arrived.
The Troll Capital had towering walls like the Giant Kingdom—but the comparison ended there. Inside, the city was primitive and brutal, more like a barbaric stronghold than a royal palace.
The monstrous cart rolled through the gate and descended into the underground prison.
Clang! Clang!
Each child had an explosive collar locked around their necks before being shoved into cells.
At last, the spell wore off—and the children woke up in terror.
"Where am I?! What is this place?!"
"Mama!! I want my mama!!"
Their cries echoed across the dungeon—an earth-shaking chorus of frightened giants.
Suddenly—
SLAM.
A new voice rang out.
A man in a black robe stepped forward. His expression was cruel.
"Shut up—ALL OF YOU!"
"You little brats better listen up! From this moment forward, you belong to the Black Magic Order. When I say march west, you don't dare look east—got it?!"
Kaien, still hiding in Brie's coat, narrowed his eyes.
'The Black Magic Order…'
He recognized the robes. He recognized the tone. And now he understood that familiar presence he'd felt earlier.
"They're still clinging to life out here too, huh?" he muttered under his breath.
"These bastards really are like cockroaches."
"Slaves?!" one of the kids cried. "No! I don't want to be a slave!"
"I want my parents! Let me go!"
Their wails grew louder.
"I SAID NO CRYING!" the robed man snarled. "Cry again, and I'll punish you!"
"WAAAAAHHH!!"
They didn't care about the threats. They were children—afraid, lost, and desperate.
BOOM!
A magic blast struck the loudest child in the leg.
"AHHHHHHH!!"
A deep wound tore through the boy's thigh—like he'd been shot with a cannon.
The other kids froze. No more tears. Just trembling silence.
Kaien's fist clenched tightly.
'They hurt a child… that badly?'
Rage burned in his heart. He didn't just want to rescue them anymore—he wanted to tear these animals apart.
"See that?" the man sneered. "That's what happens when you disobey."
"You want food? Safety? Then follow orders. Otherwise, you're dead meat."
He reached into his robes and pulled out a spare collar, tossing it on the floor. Then he raised a device in his hand—
BOOM—!!
The collar exploded in a fiery blast.
"That's the kind of collar around your necks. Only the ones you're wearing? They're ten times stronger. If you try to run… you'll be blown to pieces."