Chapter 757: Ultear and the Magic Orbs
Chapter 757: Ultear and the Magic Orbs
In the Fiore Kingdom, on a desolate plain with parched earth and a barren landscape, two figures traversed the arid terrain. Leading the way was a man with purple hair, tied in a ponytail—none other than Brain, the leader of one of Ishgar's Balam Alliance and the most powerful of the four Dark Guilds, Oracion Seis. By his side walked a young girl, around twelve years old—Ultear.
After being subjected to a time regression by Feng Ye, her physical form was locked at this youthful age, unable to be undone. She could only maintain her adult appearance through the use of illusion magic when necessary, such as during her work at the Magic Council.
"This should be the place," Brain announced, coming to a halt and surveying their surroundings.
Ultear, following closely behind, inhaled deeply, her eyes glinting with determination. She scanned the area but detected no signs of anything amiss.
"Did Serena really hide those orbs here?" she asked, her voice carrying a hint of doubt.
"They must be here," Brain asserted, a slight curve to his lips.
During Serena's quest to gather the seven magic orbs, one had fallen into his possession. It had taken a considerable price for Serena to negotiate their exchange, and even then, Brain had tampered with the orb before relinquishing it. Although his mark had been subsequently removed, his intelligence suggested that Serena had hidden the orbs she acquired in the eastern reaches of Fiore.
"I didn't expect the Phoenix Priestess to be so powerful, capable of destroying even Serena," Ultear murmured, her eyes fixed on the horizon.
Serena's failed assault on Fairy Tail and her subsequent demise at the hands of Acnologia had been closely monitored by Oracion Seis. In the immediate aftermath of Serena's death, Brain had initiated a search for the magic orbs she had painstakingly collected.
"Acnologia was once a follower of the Great One, endowed with power beyond that of ordinary mages," Brain explained, a hint of admiration in his tone. "Neither Serena nor I could hope to match that might, but if I can attain the power left behind by the Great One, I will surpass even her." He paused, turning to Ultear. "I may not understand time magic to undo the spell binding you, but the Great One is the source of all magic, ancient and present. With their power, your affliction can be easily lifted."
Ultear exhaled a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "Thank you for your efforts, Master Brain."
While her current state seemed to arrest her aging, perhaps even rendering her immortal, it also halted her magical development. Her power was stagnant, and without the ability to grow stronger, immortality held little appeal.
As for the despicable individual who had inflicted this condition upon her, she vowed to make him experience the same torment once she broke free of this spell, regained her strength, and became even more formidable than before.
"Have you found anything, Master Brain?" Ultear inquired, her eyes scanning the barren landscape.
"Not yet," Brain replied.
"Then..." Ultear trailed off, a hint of concern creeping into her voice.
"It's of no consequence," Brain assured her. "We shall simply have Serena guide us to the location herself."
A mischievous smile played on his lips as he spread his hands, causing a surge of magical energy to ripple through the air. The very fabric of reality seemed to distort, and from the void, a figure began to materialize.
The characteristic of this magic was its ability to resurrect the deceased in their pre-death form, restoring a portion of their strength and memories.
Without a sound, light and shadows converged, and the figure of Serena took shape.
"Tsk..."
The materialized Serena possessed memories and a personality almost identical to his in life. He first checked his own status and then, with a 'tsk', turned to face Invel, saying, "In the end, it was you who succeeded."
Invel gave a strange laugh and said, "Heh, there's no use complaining, corpse. Hand over the magic orbs you hid."
"Hmph!"
Serena hmphed, but as a corpse manifested by Invel's magic, he couldn't disobey Invel's orders. So, with a leap, he jumped forward.
Invel took a step forward to follow, with Ultear close behind.
Soon.
Serena led Invel and Ultear to a certain place and then raised his hands, causing the empty air to collapse onto the earth, pulling it apart on both sides.
"Earth Cave of the Rock Dragon!"
BOOM!!!
The ground instantly collapsed and shattered, revealing a huge and deep cave.
Serena jumped down into the cave and went to the deepest part, where five magic orbs were stacked, quietly floating in the air and emitting a faint glow.
"You've done well."
Invel followed closely behind, entering the cave and casually addressing Serena, then waved his left hand to dispel his magic. Serena immediately turned into light dots and dissipated.
Ultear also made her way to the depths of the cave and looked at the five magic orbs floating in the air, her eyes flashing as she said, "This is how Serena's hard-earned magic orbs end up in our hands, but we're still missing two..."
"It doesn't matter."
Invel laughed, "Although we're missing two, Serena has already extracted a small amount of power from them. I can do the same. The sixth magic orb is kept by Fairy Tail, and it won't be difficult to obtain. The seventh one is with Acnologia, which is a bit tricky. But once we have the power from the first six, getting the seventh won't be too hard."
Ultear took a breath and said, "I'll get the sixth magic orb from Fairy Tail as soon as possible."
Just as Ultear finished speaking.
Quite abruptly.
A leisurely voice came through.
"Oh? How do you plan to do that?"
"By using the Magic Council..."
Ultear, thinking it was Invel asking, answered instinctively, but halfway through, she suddenly realized something was wrong and turned abruptly to look behind her.
In the back of the cave, a figure had appeared at some point, his demeanor casual and relaxed as he strolled towards them.
It was Feng Ye himself!
While accompanying Erza and the others at the hot spring resort, he had inadvertently noticed the situation here. With some free time on his hands, he decided to deal with the situation he had created.
"It's you!"
Upon seeing Feng Ye, Ultear immediately revealed a gnashing expression, but because she currently looked like a twelve-year-old, this display of a little loli baring her teeth and looking 'super fierce' was not only not scary but also rather cute.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
