Rhodes sudden visit gave Sabertooth quite a scare.
For a moment, everyone thought he had come to wreck the place again.
Fortunately, no hot-headed member took a swing at him this time.
When Sting heard the news, he invited Rhodes inside to sit and asked what had brought him here.
"Is Rogue here? I was asked to deliver something to the two of you."
"Lector, go get Rogue."
"Got it!"
The little red Exceed dashed off and quickly returned with Rogue. Naturally, a small green kitten in a pink frog suit followed close behind.
Frosch.
Rhodes took out two magic crystals, one black and one white.
"A man claiming to be your friend asked me to pass these on."
Sting recognized them instantly.
"These are Dragon Slayer magic crystals. And the elements match ours perfectly."
Rogue picked up the black crystal and closed his eyes.
"They feel different… but also strangely familiar."
Sting frowned.
"Something this valuable. Who sent them?"
Rhodes avoided the question.
"After handing them over, he vanished. He only left a few messages."
Both of them fell silent and listened.
"First," Rhodes said, "news about Minerva. After the final day of the Grand Magic Games, she quietly left the capital. The rumor is that she has joined a Dark Guild."
Sting's eyes widened.
"What?!"
"No way!" Lector and Frosch cried out together.
Sting slammed both hands onto the table and stood up.
"Rhodes, is this true?"
Rhodes shook his head.
"You'll have to confirm it yourselves. I can't say for sure. He also claimed that your former master Jieman's body may have been taken by a Dark Guild for research."
"Master Jieman's…"
Sting's expression darkened.
"Rogue, do you remember how the young mistress handled the master's corpse?"
"She stored it using her magic," Rogue replied thoughtfully.
"When she was defeated, could the body have been expelled from her space the same way Lector was?"
Minerva's magic allowed her to create a special pocket space that could trap people or store objects temporarily.
Unlike Requip space, it collapsed when she was defeated, spilling everything inside.
It was possible that during the naval battle, when Lucy's Urano Metria knocked Minerva unconscious, the corpse had fallen somewhere and been taken.
Or perhaps the night before, after the incident, Minerva had buried Jieman outside the city, only for grave robbers to discover it later.
Either possibility was grim.
But Rhodes still had one final message.
He lifted Frosch onto the table and spoke gravely.
"Last item. A prophecy. One year from now, Frosch will be in mortal danger."
"Say that again?" Rogue snapped, more agitated than ever.
Frosch meant everything to him. He would never allow the little Exceed to be harmed.
"There's no guarantee it's true," Rhodes added quickly.
"It's connected to a mission involving the Black Magic Cult. Just be extra cautious."
Frosch trembled.
"Will Frosch die?"
Rogue pulled him into a tight embrace.
"No. I'll protect you, no matter what."
Frosch's voice shook, but he answered bravely.
"F-Frosch believes that too."
Rhodes drained his teacup and stood.
"That's all. The message has been delivered. Goodbye."
"Wait!" Sting called out quickly.
"Thank you for bringing us such important information. At least let us treat you to a meal."
"No need. I'm in a hurry," Rhodes replied, waving as he turned to leave.
His wife wanted grapes from this region. Nothing was more urgent than that.
Sting and Rogue could only escort him to the gate.
Once back inside, Sabertooth's members immediately crowded around them, all asking the same question.
Why had Rhodes come?
"Mr. Rhodes brought news about our young mistress," Sting said, revealing only part of the truth. "Her disappearance may involve the Dark Guild Succubus Eye. Keep your ears open."
"So a Dark Guild is behind it?"
"Understood!"
"I'll start investigating right away!"
Unlike Jieman, Minerva was widely respected despite her arrogance. The moment the news spread, Sabertooth's members moved into action.
"Let's investigate as well, Sting," Rogue suggested.
"We'll handle this first," Sting replied, lifting the magic crystal. "It looks like a Dragon Slayer crystal, but I don't think we implant it. I think we eat it."
Rogue examined his own crystal carefully.
"I feel the same. If we absorb the power inside, we should grow much stronger."
Sting raised the crystal toward his mouth, paused, then broke into a grin identical to Natsu's.
"I just got a brilliant idea."
"What is it?"
"Let's swap and eat each other's."
Rogue blinked.
"Swap?"
"Yeah," Sting said excitedly. "If we gain two elements of Dragon Slayer Magic, maybe we can finally beat Natsu."
Rogue's heart pounded.
Perhaps this was how he could finally catch up to Gajeel.
Both of them were thrilled by the idea.
Dual-element Dragon Slayer Magic within a single person was unheard of.
...
Water Stream Slicer!
Partial Take Over: Arms of Asbestos!
Lisanna flicked a razor-sharp blade of water forward. Elfman's arm turned to stone, blocking it perfectly.
The spar ended.
Elfman scratched his head.
"I thought you were learning magic from Laxus. Why are you still using Juvia's techniques?"
"I'm a water-element Dragon Slayer," Lisanna replied. "Natsu's style doesn't suit me. Laxus told me to follow his path."
Laxus himself had not started with Dragon Slayer Magic. He had first mastered ordinary Lightning Magic.
Only later did he learn to channel the power of a lightning Dragon Slayer crystal, allowing him to overlay Dragon Slayer attributes onto his spells.
After that, learning true Dragon Slayer Magic had come easily.
Laxus even believed that, if the crystal were removed, he would still retain his Dragon Slayer abilities.
Lisanna was far from that stage.
She began with standard water magic and, under Laxus's guidance, gradually learned how to draw power from the Dragon Slayer crystal.
For water magic, the most obvious teacher was Juvia, and the two girls got along surprisingly well.
Still, the lessons sometimes ran into… complications.
Juvia said,
"To make water magic stronger, you must fill it with love for Gray-sama. Ah. Could Miss Lisanna also be pursuing Gray-sama?"
Lisanna answered calmly,
"Not at all."
Juvia nodded at once.
"Then Juvia will teach you."
Lisanna repeated,
"Not at all."
Juvia smiled brightly.
"Then Juvia will teach you."
...
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