The Evil Wolf bared its fangs, revealing stark white canines, and its blood-red eyes glowed.
Ezreal snapped his fingers, "Leave one alive."
The Evil Wolf nodded, then instantly vanished into black smoke. The next second, hundreds of blood-red eyes silently appeared in the shadows around the wooden house, blocking all escape routes for the enemies.
Cana was the first to act, flicking her fingertips, and three fairy cards shot out like streaks of light—
"fairy card: Fire Burst!"
"Ice Freeze!"
"Lightning Pierce!"
Three types of magic erupted simultaneously. A man-sized fireball blasted open the wooden house door, ice froze two people attempting to escape, and lightning precisely struck the outermost guard, paralyzing him to the ground.
"Enemy attack!" The human traffickers frantically drew their swords, but before they could organize a counterattack, Gray had already charged into the crowd, his fists covered in ice armor, sending one person flying with a single punch.
"Ice Make—Battle Axe!"
An ice axe spun out, pinning two enemies to the wall.
Ezreal did not rush to attack, instead standing on the periphery, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield.
His task was to ensure no one escaped and to guard against any potential surprises.
However, just as Cana and Gray were about to deal with the last few individuals, Ezreal, who had been standing at a distance, suddenly frowned slightly.
A soft white light illuminated his eyes. Ezreal looked into the distance; a powerful magical energy was rapidly approaching their direction.
Ezreal spoke up to warn, "Something is approaching, very fast, about two kilometers from here."
Cana heard him and took two steps back, "Their reinforcements?"
Gray also frowned, "They arrived so quickly?"
As he spoke, he swung a fist wrapped in ice crystals, knocking down the human trafficker in front of him. Where his fist made contact, the ice crystals rapidly spread and expanded, freezing the opponent in the blink of an eye.
Cana, on her side, raised her hand and threw out a fairy card. A flash of azure light passed, and a majestic Cloud Steed, pure white and with wind at its hooves, landed beside Cana.
Cana swung herself onto the horse. The azure wind beneath the Cloud Steed's hooves expanded and grew, carrying Cana into the air.
"Not sure." Ezreal first shook his head, then sensed that the rapidly approaching magical energy from afar had distinct Celestial Spirit Magic attributes, which made him feel somewhat familiar.
Ezreal paused, then continued, "But it's likely not an enemy."
The white light in his eyes changed from soft to intense. In Ezreal's vision, a white-haired girl in white riding a large, silver-white hound in the distance gradually became clearer.
Ezreal looked at the silver hound, which radiated Celestial Spirit Magic, then his gaze fell on the white-haired girl on the hound's back, "Canis Major Celestial Spirit… How could she be here?"
While Ezreal was thinking, a silver figure shot out from the forest. The hound's body leaped high, then suddenly vanished into silver light points.
The white-haired girl on the hound's back did an aerial flip, took a golden key from her waist, and pointed it into the air.
Accompanying a clear, cold female voice.
"Libra!"
A golden magic circle unfolded in the air, and a masked Celestial Spirit woman holding a golden scale slowly appeared.
Libra held the scale, and one end of the scale lit up and then quickly dropped. The next second, an invisible gravity field suddenly descended, and the remaining human traffickers were instantly pressed to the ground, unable to move.
Ezreal raised an eyebrow, looking at the white-haired girl who had gracefully landed.
Both the Celestial Spirit and her appearance and attire matched.
Ezreal recognized this white-haired girl; she was Yukino from the original story, who held two other Zodiac keys.
Yukino stood not far away, holding a Libra key in one hand and her other hand behind her back. She first scanned her surroundings.
The Evil Wolf's clones had essentially sealed off the area, and the malicious blood-red eyes in the shadows sent shivers down one's spine, yet her gaze was sharp and firm, showing no intention of backing down.
"Who are you?" She looked at Ezreal and the others warily, "Are you also here to snatch the 'goods'?"
When Cana saw Yukino directly targeting the human traffickers, she had already transformed the Cloud Steed into a fairy card and held it in her hand. She landed steadily on the ground, put away her fairy card, and spread her hands, saying, "Misunderstanding, we are Mages from a legitimate guild, here to rescue people."
Gray waved his hand, dispersing the ice crystals on his fists, and stood with Cana. Ezreal also walked over unhurriedly, the white light in his eyes gradually dimming.
As he walked, the Evil Wolf clones hidden in the shadows of the forest also emerged. One after another, ghostly wolf heads with red eyes, emitting black smoke, plunged into Ezreal's shadow.
This scene made the Libra Celestial Spirit frown. She subconsciously took a step, intending to stand beside Yukino, but her step paused as soon as it began, as if something had occurred to her.
Libra carefully examined Ezreal's appearance; his golden hair and the metal gauntlet on his left hand were exceptionally striking.
Libra's eyes softened, and she stopped her movement.
Although Libra had let down her guard for some unknown reason, Yukino did not notice this.
The girl frowned slightly, her gaze sweeping over the group, finally resting on Ezreal.
Her eyes held a hint of wariness, as if judging whether they were trustworthy.
Ezreal smiled slightly, took a step forward, and raised his right hand, revealing the white Fairy Tail emblem: "Fairy Tail, Ezreal."
Cana also stepped forward, casually pointing to the black Fairy Tail emblem on the side of her lower abdomen, "Fairy Tail, newly promoted S-Class Mage Cana."
"Hey, you don't need to emphasize that, do you?" Gray rolled his eyes, very deftly tearing off his shirt, revealing the ice-blue emblem on his chest, "Fairy Tail, Gray."
Cana first chuckled, then picked up the clothes from the ground and threw them to Gray, "Put your clothes on!"
The girl looked at the three very approachable people opposite her, remained silent for a moment, and finally dropped her guard, bowing to the three: "…Yukino Agria."
…Inside the wooden house, the imprisoned girls had been rescued, including the missing Elina.
Since the distance was not too far, Ezreal took the opportunity to open a portal and directly brought Elina's parents over.
In the white energy vortex, Mr. and Mrs. Parker looked around blankly. The vortex disappeared, and the two appeared in the wooden house.
"Mom, Dad!" A haggard Elina cried out excitedly.
This immediately brought Mr. and Mrs. Parker, who had just exited the portal, back to their senses.
Her parents rushed forward and tightly embraced their daughter. The three hugged each other, weeping uncontrollably.
Yukino stood by, quietly watching this scene, a trace of complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
Ezreal walked up to her and asked, "Are you also investigating these human traffickers?"
Yukino nodded: "When I passed by a nearby village, I heard that girls had gone missing, so I tracked them here."
Cana curiously leaned closer: "You're a Celestial Spirit Mage? That's rare."
Yukino hummed, not elaborating further.
Gray stood with his arms crossed, observing her: "Investigating human traffickers alone, you're quite brave."
Yukino gave him a faint look: "I'm used to it."
Ezreal noticed the detachment in her words but did not press further.
He looked at the subdued human trafficker leader, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"Evil Wolf, soul search."
A claw like black smoke extended from Ezreal's shadow and pressed onto the human trafficker leader's head.
A moment later, the black smoke retracted back into Ezreal's body, and a whisper came from the shadow: "They are just small fry; the Dark Guild 'Evil Flower' is behind it. The purpose is unclear; the only instruction they received was to capture people."
"Evil Flower?" Cana frowned, "Never heard of them."
Yukino suddenly spoke: "I know them."
Everyone's gaze turned to her.
Yukino tightened her Celestial Spirit key and whispered: "This is a small Dark Guild. They've been capturing people in various places recently, regardless of age or gender… It seems to be for some kind of ritual."
Ezreal's eyes narrowed: "Ritual?"
Yukino nodded but did not continue.
Gray scratched his head: "Anyway, let's report back to the guild first."
Ezreal looked at Yukino, then suddenly smiled: "Want to come along? Fairy Tail welcomes kind Mages."
Yukino was startled, seemingly not expecting to be invited.
She looked at the three peers in front of her, remained silent for a moment, and finally nodded gently.
"Okay."
…Since he had basically recovered to his peak state, to save trouble, Ezreal used a portal to quickly send the rescued people home, and the group began their return journey.
Yukino walked at the end of the group, her expression still cool, but her eyes were no longer as wary as they had been at first.
Cana leaned close to Ezreal and whispered, "She looks like she has a lot on her mind."
Ezreal smiled: "Everyone has their own story."
The Evil Wolf showed its eyes from the shadow and interjected, "Humans are just troublesome."
Gray glanced at it: "You talk less."
The setting sun cast long shadows of the group as the outline of Windmill Village gradually faded into the distance.
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