Headhunter

Magnolia's manhunt was like a vast net instantly drawn across the land.

Erza and her two companions immediately sprang into action, and the other members also began searching. Leaving such a time bomb unattended could lead to unforeseen complications.

Inside the guild hall, those who remained seemed to have nothing to do.

Uru idly spun her cup, while she and Silver remained inside the guild.

She rested her chin on her hand, fiddling with the empty glass on the bar counter, listening to the crisp, gurgling sound it made on the oak table.

"Hey, it's so boring to just stay here in the guild like this."

Makarov, sitting cross-legged on a high stool next to him, slowly blew on the steam rising from his tea.

"There's nothing we can do about it. We don't know what methods the other side has. It's quite important to have someone protect the First Hokage."

Makarov sipped his tea, gazing intently at the sky outside the guild gates, which was gradually turning white.

"Other guilds have all mobilized, and I didn't expect even the council to decide to send troops."

"After all, this is a clash between two continents, and the council is probably worried that the other side might take the opportunity to incorporate Ishgar."

Yin finished the rum in the ice glass in one gulp, put down the glass, and lightly touched the glass with his fingertip, causing a thin layer of white frost to condense on the glass.

Mavis was studying the battle situation, while the three older men chatted idly nearby.

The small golden flag on the sand table moved continuously with the battle reports from all sides. Once Erza and the others had resolved Magnolia's troubles, all members would be sent out to support other areas.

At this moment, on a dilapidated clock tower in the north of the city, Mirajane encountered Erza and flew to her side in a few moments.

"What happened to the Twelve Aegis you just encountered?"

"He mumbled something and ran off, but was entangled by Hades' illusions, and they couldn't stop him."

Erza gripped her longsword, her brow furrowed, a hint of annoyance in her eyes.

"This time the enemy actually ran away, that's troublesome."

Mirajane smiled helplessly.

Their conversation was transmitted to the ears of others through the spell of their voices.

Lucy pursed her lips, but in the end she couldn't hold back and loudly complained into the voice chat channel.

"Isn't it normal for the enemy to run away?!"

"The enemies we faced before were all those who fought to the death. Suddenly encountering enemies who can run away is not something we're used to."

Mirajane moved back and forth on the rooftop, chatting idly without stopping.

Whether it was Tartaros or Devil's Heart that Fairy Tail had encountered before, they all arrogantly boasted that they would fight to the very last moment. This is the first time I've seen a slippery character like this who hits and runs away.

As Warren became more proficient in telepathy, and with the help of props, the telepathic channel he built was no longer as noisy and chaotic as before.

The voices of everyone were clearly distinguished and well-organized in the channel.

Mebius stared at Magnolia's map, trying to figure out where Val had hidden.

Fingertips flew across the various building models on the sand table.

There's no one else in the city except Fairy Tail members, so it should be easy to find them.

The entire town's residents had already evacuated, and all the streets were deserted; a mechanical puppet couldn't simply vanish into thin air.

Mebius's big eyes lit up.

"There's only one possibility left! Sunrise Manor!"

Upon hearing Mavis's command, everyone immediately turned around and rushed towards Sunrise Manor.

Erza, Mirajane, and Laxus instantly turned in mid-air, transforming into three streaks of light that rushed straight towards the South City Manor!

Just as everyone rushed out two streets, a slender figure slowly walked into the guild's gate.

"No need, I brought him with me."

Brandish walked into the Fairy Tail guild and threw a glass bottle at them.

With a soft thud, a palm-sized transparent glass bottle floated lightly onto the table in front of Makarov.

The person inside the glass bottle was Val, who had completely lost consciousness and was lying inside.

The once majestic Twelve Aegis Inquisitors are now compressed to only a few centimeters tall, like exquisite miniature figurines, with faint white smoke rising from their bodies, their mechanical limbs hanging limply at the bottom of the bottle.

Makarov picked up the glass bottle and looked at Brandish.

The old man's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't participate in this war?"

"I didn't do this. He was like this when he appeared in the manor. I just brought him along."

Brandish casually found a bench to lie down on, kicked off his slippers, and looked like he was going home.

The green-haired girl yawned, casually pulled a soft tablecloth from the guild leader's desk to cover her stomach, and closed her eyes to catch up on some sleep.

The remaining members of the guild twitched at the corners of their eyes. Was this overly familiar manner really okay?

The Twelve Holy Shields, the most elite guilds of the mighty empire, not only treated enemy guilds like inns, but even delivered takeout for them.

Mavis picked up the glass bottle and examined it. The spot where Val had been pierced by Gajeel was glowing green, as if it had been corroded by something.

Tiny emerald green fibers, like miniature nerve fibers, densely wrapped around the power core inside the machine, sealing off all magical pathways.

Mavis thoughtfully continued reading aloud.

"Sunrise, did you do this?"

"I didn't cause any trouble! I'm not taking the blame! I'm not even in Magnolia."

As Riyao walked, dozens of kilometers away, he replied with some puzzlement.

"That robot Val was pierced by Gajeel before, and there are traces of your life magic in the wound."

Mavis tapped the glass bottle as she explained.

"Oh, this? Did he go to my manor? It's probably because when Gajeel attacked, there was a little bit of debris left in his body, and it was fully activated at my manor."

Riyao smiled knowingly.

His manor was constantly nurtured by the divine power of the Life Sycamore Tree, and the air was filled with extremely active life essence. As soon as the remnant in Val's body entered the manor, it was like weeds encountering a rainstorm, growing wildly and blossoming directly in his core.

In the guild chat, everyone gasped. Could mere fragments really defeat a Twelve Shields?

Is this reasonable?

Unreasonable life magic is simply the ultimate enemy of mechanical creations.

At the time, Val also felt it was unreasonable and frantically analyzed this strange substance. He, who prided himself on being able to analyze everything in the world, completely lost his composure.

The more it processed and analyzed, the deeper the life magic spread along its logical loop, eventually burning the entire central processing unit into scrap metal.

They could have successfully evacuated, but curiosity killed the cat.

Just as everyone was marveling at the situation, a loud, indignant roar suddenly came from the voice communication channel!

Gajeel's loud voice rang out as he frantically clutched his head and roared in mid-air.

"That's clearly my kill, Sunrise, you kill-stealing dog!"