Chapter 446: Who is the Mole?

Chapter 446: Who is the Mole?

At the headquarters of the Six Demon Generals, a peculiar skull staff was in the hands of the leader as he questioned a white-haired woman who had just entered. "How is it, Angel?"

"The Red Hood has sent word that they've located the area. The land and forests near that place have begun to wither and die."

The leader chuckled, "Well done! That means the method to unseal it should be genuine as well."

Angel, puzzled, asked, "Why would Ulutia, the former Council Member, provide us with information?"

"Because..." The leader's smile was filled with implication, "...I'm her 'savior'. Even though she's joined the Demon Heart, it's likely she has other intentions in reporting to us. But it doesn't matter; as long as we obtain Nirvana, all six of our wishes will come true!"

The six individuals in the room, plus the skull staff, displayed expressions of longing and fanaticism.

They couldn't wait to initiate Nirvana and begin their revelry.

However, it seemed that a legitimate guild had sent someone to cause trouble.

The leader issued orders, "Inform the Red Hood, White-Tailed Eagle, and all members of the New Iron Forest. Find the exact location of Nirvana, and then we'll personally welcome the guests."

While their members weren't much use in combat, they were quite adept at making money, and their numbers could be an advantage in searching. They weren't completely useless.

"Leader, Elicor sent a lot of money and even requested to join our headquarters~" Hot Eye's face was filled with excitement, "Since the scent of money is so enticing, I agreed to ask on his behalf~"

"The Six Demons don't need those defeated by legitimate guilds..." The leader paused, then continued, "Reply to him like this:

'I heard you were defeated by Fairy Tail. Bring at least one or two heads of Fairy Tail members, then we can talk.'"

"Sure~" Hot Eye readily agreed, "I plan to ask for more money in the process~"

The leader remained noncommittal. Before their long-planned scheme succeeded, toying with these useless fools was a worthwhile diversion.

...

"Sister Mira, Brother Rod!"

As soon as Rod and Mira arrived at the Cat's Cradle, they were greeted enthusiastically by Wendy.

Her small body rushed into Mira's embrace like a baby swallow, her excitement momentarily overshadowing any unnecessary sadness.

"It's been a while, Wendy," Mira hugged Wendy, gently stroking her long hair.

Rod looked at Wendy and then at Charle, who was behind her, and opened his arms, "How about a hug too?"

Charle turned her face away, "No interest."

Rod's face fell; besides Happy, he hadn't hugged any other cats. He wanted to squeeze their fluffy paws.

Charle turned her face back, "Although it's not your first time here, welcome."

Rod stared at the tsundere cat, smiling, "Thank you."

Charle turned her face away again, "Okay, don't stand here. You haven't had lunch yet, right? I've prepared a lot of food with Wendy."

Wendy nodded and revealed the main dish for the day, "Yup! Today we have mountain chicken and mushrooms brought by Pask and Naochi!"

Rod remembered these two; they were probably the best hunters in the village.

"Then we won't hold back," Rod said, salivating at the thought of chicken stew with mushrooms. "By the way, did you remind them about the dangerous person nearby?"

"I told the Guild Master yesterday," Wendy whispered, "Pask and Naochi also wanted to help find clues about that person, but they couldn't find any."

Rod quickly replied, "Although we appreciate it, it's best not to help recklessly. That person is a ruthless killer, truly dangerous."

"Okay." Wendy nodded without saying more.

Everyone... will be fine.

As Rod and Mira walked towards Wendy's house, they observed the village. It had been about three months since their last visit, and not much seemed to have changed.

The once leisurely, peaceful, and ancient village remained the same, with villagers warmly greeting Wendy as always.

It seemed like nothing changed with each visit.

Back at home, Wendy and Charle served the prepared meal. The group ate and chatted about recent events without any formality.

Although some topics had already been discussed via Magic Crystal, they couldn't help but bring them up again in person.

When a particular topic came to a close, Wendy hesitantly asked, "I heard that Gerald did something terrible and was caught. Is that true?"

"Don't worry," Rod assured her, "The one caught isn't the Gerald you know. By the way, you might not know this, but..." Rod suddenly stopped, looking at Mira. He wasn't sure if he should tell Wendy about this.

Mira was also hesitant. Mystogan probably didn't want his identity to be known by more people, but he was obviously important to Wendy.

(End of Chapter 6)

A sudden realization seemed to dawn on Sharuru, and she asked, "You all must know his true identity, right? Mystogan is another world's Gerald."

Rod and Mira were taken aback, "How did you find out?"

Wendy also breathed a sigh of relief and apologized, "So you guys know too. I'm sorry, actually, after that time I returned from the Council Headquarters, Gerald came to see me, but he asked me not to tell anyone."

"So that's how it is. We had the same consideration," Mira smiled, "It's much easier now that we all know. Don't worry, the Gerald you know, or rather, Mystogan, is doing well now."

"But how did he suddenly... Oh, it must be the Guild Master." Rod figured out the whole situation, and indeed, he needed to find an opportunity to teach him a lesson.

This year's S-Class exam will be the perfect opportunity. I'll specifically choose Mystogan as the examiner and summon the Abyssal Dragon right in front of him.

For now, Rod chose to vent about Mystogan's peculiar habit of hypnotizing people.

Time passed by as they chatted and laughed, and Sharuru suddenly asked, "You said you were here to work, right? Is it okay to just chat here?"

Wendy also remembered this matter and asked eagerly, "By the way, do you need our help?"

"We're already working," Rod said nonchalantly, "My adorable summoned beasts are searching far and wide for people. If he comes here, we should get news soon."

Sharuru couldn't help but tease, "Your summoned beasts definitely don't find you adorable."

...

While Rod was 'hard at work', the alliance of the three major guilds had gathered in a villa belonging to Pop, the Guild Master of Blue Pegasus.

The strongest team from Fairy Tail consisted of four people and a cat:

Blue Pegasus was led by Ichiya's Tri Men's team;

Mermaid Heel was represented by Jura, one of the Ten Great High Mages, along with Sherry and Gray's senior, Lyon.

A total of eleven people and one cat assembled. Among them, Elusa was not adept at dealing with Ichiya, and Lucy still felt a bit scared of Sherry due to the events on Tenrou Island.

The trio from Blue Pegasus kept trying to impress Lucy, which made Natsu and Gray quite annoyed.

Everyone belonged to different guilds, and they weren't particularly familiar with each other. Most of those present were independent individuals, and as they didn't see eye to eye, some conflicts inevitably arose.

Fortunately, Jura used his formidable strength and prestige to stop the conflict from escalating, and everyone calmed down to discuss the raid plan.

Just as Ichiya was about to speak, Erza stopped him, "We have intelligence that one of the Six Demon Generals is a woman who might possess the ability to disguise herself as someone else and learn their thoughts.

So, even if we want to discuss the battle plan, we should first find a way to verify each other's identities, especially those who have been alone together since leaving the guild."

"There's actually such a magic? Then it's possible that the enemy has indeed infiltrated us," Jura was the first to express his opinion, "It's necessary to verify our identities."

Lyon crossed his arms and spoke calmly, "But if the enemy can even learn the thoughts of the person they transform into, how can we prove our identities?"

If it were just transformation magic, they could simply mention something only they and their companions knew. But if their thoughts could be read, this method obviously wouldn't work.

Sherry placed a hand on her chest and said dramatically, "I can verify Lyon's identity, and it's all because... love!"

Lucy whispered a sarcastic comment, "She's become a combination of Happy and Juvia."

Happy: "Love."

Yv from Blue Pegasus suggested, "How about using magic? We can just demonstrate our magic abilities."

Erza disagreed, "No, because the enemy might be using Gemini of the Twins, a Celestial Spirit that can skillfully use the magic of the person they transform into."

"There's actually such a Celestial Spirit?!" Jura was surprised. He was a specialist in Earth Magic and one of the Ten Great High Mages, but he was still young and might not be very familiar with Celestial Spirits.

There's no mistake, it's the first time I've seen this!

Erza glanced at Lucy.

On the way here, Lucy had already summoned Loki, but he couldn't clarify who Gemini's owner was, nor could he reveal much about Gemini's traits and weaknesses.

Sherry looked at Lucy, "Isn't there a Celestial Spirit Mage here? Shouldn't they be able to distinguish between humans and Celestial Spirits?"

"I'm sorry," Lucy said helplessly, "I don't sense anything unusual, and I don't know if it's because the enemy hasn't infiltrated us or if Gemini's transformation is perfect."

Sherry seized the opportunity to mock Lucy, "It must be because your love isn't strong enough!"

"Yes, yes.

"Lucy quickly responded with a vague reply.

Hibiki began searching for useful information using his Ancient Script Magic and spoke, "There's no way we can fight like this. With such a powerful opponent, if we have to constantly be on guard against our own allies..."

Rin finished his sentence, "Then the battle is already lost before it begins."

"I have a plan!" Natsu exclaimed nonchalantly. "You guys stay here and don't move. I'll go defeat all six of the Demon Generals, and then I'll come back and defeat all of you. That way, the woman will definitely show herself!"

The trio from Blue Pegasus and Jura all took stances as if they were about to cast spells on Natsu. Not because they believed he was a spy, but because his words were just too ridiculous for a spy to say.

Gray hooked his arm around Natsu's neck, "Don't mind him. This guy's always been a fool. We've been together since we left the guild, so it's impossible for an imposter to mix in."

Lucy raised her hand, "That's right."

Laxus, who had interacted with Natsu before, added, "Mr. Jura, I can also confirm that he's indeed a fool."

"Who are you calling a fool?!" Natsu yelled indignantly.

The others nodded in agreement; he was indeed a fool.

Jura spoke up, "Speaking of which, the three of us from Mermaid Heel have also been within each other's sight. It's impossible for us to be silently replaced."

Everyone turned their attention to the four members of Blue Pegasus.

Hibiki continued searching for information, saying absentmindedly, "Of course, we four have also been..."

But Eve interrupted him, "No, Teacher Yizhi went to the bathroom and left us alone for a while."

Rin remembered this and looked at Yizhi in surprise, "Teacher Yizhi?"

Hibiki also found it hard to believe, "Big Brother Yizhi?"

Lucy whispered to herself, "How many titles do you guys have...?"

Yizhi struck a pose and said in a charming voice, "Could it be that the enemy can even imitate my scent?"

Lucy crouched down and spoke to Happy, "No matter how many times I hear it, it still sounds strange. Why is it that only his voice is so captivating?"

"Love," Happy replied, equally puzzled.

Elusa forced herself to turn her head towards Yizhi, "Regardless, you are the prime suspect at the moment."

"If even Miss Elusa says so..." Yizhi's expression became serious, and he looked at Elusa with a melancholy gaze, "Honey, I'll find a way to prove my innocence for you."

"Captain Yizhi!" The three members of Blue Pegasus were deeply moved by his words.

"This is my exclusive perfume, which I never share with others. Just a whiff of this scent will immediately confirm my identity..." Yizhi explained as he took out a test tube containing a pink liquid.

Elusa seemed to react slowly due to disgust, but Jura quickly spoke up, "Wait! Don't move!"

However, Yizhi ignored him and popped the cork of the test tube with his thumb.

The liquid inside the test tube immediately vaporized, turning into a thick mist that spread around them.

"Everyone, step back and hold your breath!" Jura shouted, tapping his staff on the ground.

A rock wall immediately rose from the ground around Yizhi, forming a bowl-like structure to isolate him and the suspicious weapon.

Although Yizhi's custom perfume evaporated quickly, the rock wall only managed to block a portion of it, while the rest escaped.

The others retreated quickly, and they were fine, but Hibiki, Rin, and Eve, who were the closest, covered their noses and mouths as they knelt on the ground, their bodies feeling weak.

"Ice-Make: Giant Ape!"

Laxus placed his right fist in his left palm, creating an ice giant ape that came to life and ran over to pick up Hibiki and Eve.

"Doll Attack: Carpet Doll!"

Jellal used his Doll Attack Magic to transform the carpet into a doll under his control, which carried Rin out of the mist.

The three of them weakly thanked Laxus and Jellal.

Hibiki struggled to speak, "It's Teacher Yizhi's perfume. Anyone who smells it will temporarily lose their fighting ability."

Eve looked at the overturned rock 'bowl' with concern, "They can even use Teacher Yizhi's magic... Damn it, what did they do to Teacher Yizhi?"

Only Rin seemed distracted as he glanced at Jellal for a few seconds before turning away, "I... I didn't ask you to save me... But, thanks, not... I didn't mean to say that to you specifically."

Jellal blushed slightly, feeling that this handsome dark-skinned guy was quite likable, and his words were also amusing...

But she already had Laxus, and her love for him was... was...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end