When Rhodes entered the capital following that suspicious magical aura, he immediately realized the difficulty of what he was attempting.
Magical sensing was never a precise method to begin with.
Trying to locate a single individual within the crowded, bustling streets of Capital was nearly impossible.
Still, with a "might as well try" attitude, he continued.
Invisible, he floated high above the streets, scanning the crowds below.
People were stopping to watch the enormous public screens. Others hurried past. And some… were picking pockets.
Rhodes flicked his finger.
A blue spark shot down-zap!-and the thief collapsed, twitching violently.
Rhodes shifted positions before anyone could look up.
After observing several blocks, he finally spotted a suspicious figure in a deep hooded robe.
He lowered his altitude to take a better look, only to feel his hopes drop.
"Ultear?"
Whoosh!
The robed figure whirled around instantly, leaping back and firing off a spell with her crystal ball.
Yes, It really was Ultear.
Rhodes casually caught the crystal ball one-handed, letting it spin on his fingertip like a basketball.
"Just calling your name made you react that dramatically? Aren't you afraid of hitting the wrong person?"
Ultear relaxed, exhaling softly.
"Ordinary people wouldn't recognize me," she said with a small smile.
She flicked her fingers, her crystal ball floated off Rhodes' hand and returned neatly to her own.
"Shouldn't you be at the tournament venue?" she asked. "Did you sense it too?"
"Yeah. I'm surprised I picked it up from that far away."
Rhodes used Transformation Magic to cloak himself similarly.
"Any leads?"
Ultear's expression turned heavy.
"That magic power was extraordinarily strong. I suspect someone used a high-tier spell just now, but the strange part is, nothing in the capital shows any signs of magical disturbance."
To avoid attracting attention, they walked side by side like ordinary pedestrians.
Luckily, the streets were full of odd costumes, half the children were dressed as the Pumpkin Man, so even Ultear and Rhodes didn't stand out much.
As they spoke, Ultear's crystal ball abruptly lit up.
She led Rhodes into a narrow, quiet alley. Holding the crystal ball in her left hand, she swept her right hand across its surface.
Meredy's projection appeared inside the sphere.
"Ultear, I just saw the target."
Ultear immediately asked, "Where?"
Meredy replied, "North of Mercury, the Palace of Lanterns. But the individual is gone now."
"Stay there and be careful," Ultear ordered, cutting off the call.
She pocketed the crystal ball and signaled Rhodes to follow.
"Running there will take too long," he said.
He stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and shot into the sky with her in tow.
"W...wait!" Ultear began to protest, but her words froze the moment she noticed the mist surrounding them.
Their forms were completely concealed. The people below walked on unaware of anything flying overhead.
In an instant, they reached the northern district.
"Mercury, the Palace of Lanterns" was simply another name for the imperial palace grounds.
Ultear used her own tracking method to pinpoint Meredy's location and gestured for Rhodes to land in a nearby alley.
The three regrouped, exchanging quick summaries, before Ultear asked:
"What kind of person did you see?"
Meredy frowned.
"I saw someone in a black cloak rushing from the palace toward this area. After observing closely, I realized the aura on them was definitely Zeref's.
"But maybe because I stared too obviously, they noticed. They vanished right here."
Meredy gritted her teeth in frustration. Letting such a suspicious individual disappear right in front of her was unacceptable.
Rhodes asked, "Any idea what magic they used? Anything noticeable when they vanished?"
Meredy thought carefully.
"It looked… dark-attributed, I guess? For a moment, the entire figure turned pitch-black, and then, gone."
Rhodes nodded.
"It could also be shadow magic."
Mira used it. Rogue used it. Even his Wolves knew an incomplete version.
Enemies who understood shadows were always troublesome.
Ultear crouched down professionally, examining the ground with her crystal ball's light.
Rhodes summoned several Wolves, letting them sniff for lingering magical scent trails.
After several minutes, the wolves looked back at him, confused and empty-pawed.
Ultear straightened up, expression tight.
"No traces. Whoever it was erased their presence far too cleanly."
Meredy hesitated before asking, "Should we infiltrate the palace? If that person vanished inside, they might have gone back there."
Ultear frowned deeply.
"It's risky… but it's the only lead we have."
Rhodes shook his head firmly.
"There's some kind of mechanism inside the palace, something that can erase my summoned beasts without leaving a trace. I don't recommend charging in blindly."
Both Ultear and Meredy stiffened at that.
"What kind of mechanism?" Ultear asked.
"No idea," Rhodes replied. "But anything that can make a Murk Wolf vanish silently isn't something we should underestimate."
Before they could continue, a sudden wave of thunderous cheering erupted throughout the capital. From streets, taverns, balconies, everywhere at once.
Startled, the three of them followed the noise and stopped before a large public screen.
On the screen, Erza stood in her slightly tattered Clear Heart Clothing, her body showing light scratches, chest rising and falling with strained breaths.
Yet her expression was radiant.
Her right hand lifted the Blade, and she smiled, a sharp, beautiful, victorious smile.
At her feet lay the massive final beast she had defeated.
The cheers washing over the capital were clearly for her.
A moment later, the beast's corpse dissolved, along with the entire Demon Subjugation Hall illusion.
Millianna and Simon rushed over, one energetic, one composed, to congratulate her.
Gajeel muttered something about a "monster," then added his own gruff congratulations.
The other competitors wore varied expressions. Except for Jura, every one of them looked at Erza with genuine awe.
Even the Pumpkin Man announcer had both hands over his pumpkin head.
"She actually… did it!"
Ultear watched Millianna and Simon with a complicated expression.
These children, who had once shared the same hell as she did in the Tower of Heaven, were now laughing, competing, celebrating freely.
They had found the future she once thought impossible.
And that future was worth protecting.
Ultear's eyes softened.
'I won't let anyone destroy what these children have gained.'
She exhaled, then lowered her voice to Rhodes.
"You should head back. Leave the pursuit to us. I'll summon everyone, we won't let that person slip away again."
Rhodes noticed some tension in her tone, assuming she was simply frustrated at having missed the target.
He didn't comfort her, there was no time for that now.
Instead, he briefly described the underground passages beneath the Capital, pointed out the location of the restricted zone he had infiltrated the previous night, and said:
"Crime Sorcière should have enough people. The old Oración Seis members are all skilled. Use them."
Then he suddenly remembered:
"Oh, also. Please tell Sorano something for me. Yukino is currently assigned to the Royal Knights as Princess Hisui's guard. She really wants to see her older sister."
Ultear nodded.
"I'll let her know."
But inside, she understood the truth.
Sorano would likely refuse.
She was painfully stubborn, and the guilt she carried for her past weighed heavier than anyone else realized.
A sister who didn't want to burden her younger sibling ever again.
..
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