A slit tore open at the front of the mist. Thick gray-green currents poured out from within, creeping forward along the surface of the sea. Natsu stood at the very front. The flames on his fists had not gone out, yet he did not rush in. The battle just now had taught him something. Some things could not be solved by brute force alone.
Wendy closed her eyes and expanded her sensory perception. Her brows slowly drew together. There was a strange fluctuation in the air, like breathing, like a heartbeat, but the rhythm was chaotic, carrying a sense of decay. She opened her eyes, her voice extremely soft.
"This isn't natural. It's sick."
The moment Gray heard that, he raised his hand and carved a line of ice across the ground. The ice spread rapidly, forming a half-man-tall barrier in front of the beach. He said nothing, only tightened his grip on the ice axe.
Erza stepped up beside Natsu, her armor fully deployed. She glanced at Wendy and asked, "Can you purify it?"
Wendy nodded. "Yes, but it's moving. It's aware, in a way. If we only clean the surface, it will come back."
Bickslow crouched down, his star chart crystal pressed against the rock. Streams of data flickered nonstop, and his expression grew darker by the second. "Three hundred meters underground. There's a platform structure. Energy is being released from there continuously. This fog is artificial."
Happy flapped his wings and flew into the air, Carla following closely behind. They hovered about fifty meters offshore, looking down over the sea of mist below. Panther Lily leapt onto a reef, claws biting into the rock, eyes locked onto the movements within the fog.
Romeo retreated several steps, clutching the Blue Flame Flower. It was still scorching hot. The edges of its petals shimmered with a faint purple glow, the heat almost burning his hands. He did not dare loosen his grip, afraid he might miss even the slightest change.
Natsu lowered his head and glanced at his fist. The color of his flames had changed. They were no longer pure red, but streaked with dark gold and faint violet, as if they had absorbed something new. He raised his hand, the fire leaping a foot high and illuminating the wall of fog ahead.
"Then we stop it at the source," he said.
Erza immediately issued orders. "Gray, block its routes of expansion. Happy and Lily, watch the skies. Carla, predict the ambush points. Wendy, prepare purification. Bickslow, locate the energy nodes. We cut the source in one strike."
The commands went out, and everyone moved.
Gray slammed both palms to the ground. Ice spread sideways, forming U-shaped barriers on either side of the fog. The ice walls rose to two meters high, smooth as mirrors, preventing the toxic mist from spreading laterally. He gritted his teeth and sustained the output, sweat beading on his forehead.
Happy carried Carla up to an altitude of a hundred meters. Carla closed her eyes, ears twitching as she listened to the shifting rhythm within the fog. "It's contracting," she shouted. "Every time it gets purified, it pulls inward toward the center."
Panther Lily let out a low growl, muscles tensed. His gaze locked onto a single point within the fog, ready to pounce at any moment.
Wendy clasped her hands together. A soft golden light seeped from her body. She did not chant or recite any spell. She simply drew her hands apart slowly, like opening a door. A gentle yet resolute force spread outward, covering the entire fog zone.
Tiny points of light began to appear in the air, like illuminated dust. When the gray-green mist touched those lights, its color gradually faded. Golden specks appeared along its edges before it finally turned into steam and dispersed.
Bickslow stared at his star chart crystal, fingers flying. "Found it. The central energy conduit connects to two cores. One beneath the platform, one floating thirty meters above. Both have to be cut at the same time, or it will reboot."
"At the same time?" Romeo asked.
Natsu broke into a grin. "I'll take the front. Gray, you take the back. I'll burn through the middle."
Gray nodded. "I'll give you a three-second offset. Don't drag it out."
Wendy continued releasing purification energy, but fatigue was already setting in. Every dispersal drained her magic, and the dark presence seemed to be resisting. Her arms trembled slightly, yet she did not stop.
Natsu took a deep breath. Flames ignited around his right fist. This time, he did not compress the power. Instead, he let the fire spread along the ground, carving a straight, scorched line forward. When the flames touched the fog wall, they hissed sharply, like water dripping onto hot iron.
Gray moved at the same time, forming seals on the opposite side. Ice pierced through the sand, extending along underground rock veins toward the location Bickslow had marked. Veins bulged on his forehead as he pushed his magic to the limit.
"Now!" Bickslow shouted.
Natsu leapt forward and slammed straight into the fog wall. Flames exploded around his body, forming a circular shockwave. His right hand formed a blade as he swung downward. A hundred-meter-long arc of fire tore through the mist, plunging deep within.
At the exact same instant, Gray clapped his hands together. Ice spikes erupted upward from the depths, striking the energy node with perfect precision. The two forces converged. From the distant sea came a dull boom, like the sound of machinery snapping apart.
The fog churned violently and began collapsing inward. Its once steady flow turned chaotic. The color shifted from gray-green to murky brown-yellow, then finally lost all activity.
Wendy seized the moment and thrust both hands forward. The final wave of purification surged out. Wherever it passed, the remaining dark particles vaporized completely. Her body swayed, and she nearly collapsed, only to be caught by Carla in time.
The fog was gone.
Sunlight poured back over the island. The sea returned to its clear blue. In the distance, the ocean lay calm and undisturbed, as if nothing had happened.
Romeo looked down at the Blue Flame Flower in his arms. The purple hue on the petals had completely faded. The heat subsided, leaving behind only a steady blue pulse. He let out a breath and gently brushed the edge of a petal.
Bickslow remained crouched, star chart crystal still active. He stared at the final line of data, his frown unchanged. "Something's wrong. The platform is still operating, just switched into standby mode. Someone is controlling it."
Before his words fully landed, a faint tremor rippled across the center of the sea. A massive black structure slowly surfaced, its shape resembling a heavily modified airship, its exterior coated in biomimetic reef camouflage. A hatch opened, and a silver-gray figure stepped out.
The man wore a cloak and semi-transparent goggles. In his hand was a signal lamp emitting a steady green light. Standing at the bow, he raised both hands to show he meant no harm.
"I'm not your enemy," his voice came through an amplifier, clear but not harsh. "This island was originally my observation station. Three days ago, someone broke into the system and rewrote the control program, turning it into a toxic fog emitter."
Natsu did not move. Flames continued to dance in his palm.
Erza switched to her adamantine armor. Her sword remained sheathed, but her posture said she was ready to draw at any moment. Gray stepped in front of Wendy, ice axe angled toward the ground. Happy and Panther Lily immediately flew back to shore, taking up combat positions.
"Who are you?" Erza asked.
"Shadow Raven," the man replied. "An independent information broker. I don't belong to any organization. I can give you what you want. Records of the Seven Warlords' secret activities, the World Government's true objectives regarding magical ruins, and a list of targets that will soon be put on the wanted board."
He paused. "In exchange, I want protection. They will come to silence me sooner or later. You already destroyed their weapon. That makes you enemies as well."
Bickslow spoke quietly. "The star chart shows no weapons on him. The airship's power core is running at low output. No attack modules active. He's telling the truth."
Romeo looked up at Natsu. "Should we… trust him?"
Natsu stared at the man called Shadow Raven. His fist slowly tightened. The flames gradually returned to a pure red, the strange shimmer fading away. He stepped forward and crushed the scorched stone beneath his foot.
"You want protection," he said, his voice low but clearly heard by everyone. "Then tell me this first. Who sent you?"
Shadow Raven was silent for several seconds. Then he lowered the signal lamp and pulled a metal card from inside his cloak, holding it up. Etched on its surface was a twisted symbol, like a single eye bound by chains.
"No one sent me," he said. "I escaped on my own. You should recognize this mark. It appears at every corrupted ruin."
Natsu's gaze fell on the card.
The flames in his hand suddenly flared.