The enemy has retreated.
Although the reason is unclear, ever since a black firework ascended into the sky, no one has come to attack again.
Mira has woken up and is removing the messy bandages from Elfman and Rhode, carefully tending to their wounds.
She even went to help Vina with her wounds as well.
Rhode doesn't dare to speak much now. He feels a bit guilty that his fine brother ended up like a mummy after taking him out for a spin.
Natsu and Hapi went out to scout the path. When they returned, they brought back a torch, or to be precise, a branch burning with black flame.
"Rhode, is this what you call Godslayer Magic? Damn, I can't eat it!"
Kana was surprised, "A flame that even Natsu can't eat?"
"That's it." Rhode said, "Godslayer Magic, like Dragon Slayer Magic, is Lost Magic. That person claimed it to be of a higher grade than Dragon Slayer Magic. Now it seems, even if it's not higher, at least it's on the same level."
"What Godslayer Magic!" Natsu said angrily, "I must eat it!"
Hapi cheered him on, "Go for it, Natsu!"
Natsu opened his mouth and bit at the black flame, "So hot! Damn it, I haven't felt fire burn in a long time!"
Erza nodded seriously, "It seems very dangerous magic. Also, Natsu, your training isn't sufficient."
Erza's serious look about his inadequate training made Natsu even more annoyed, "I'll eat it for you now…so hot!"
Rhode laughed, feeling the tense atmosphere dissolve.
Although extremely exhausted, he still let out small wild creatures to stand guard.
After more than half an hour, even the River Crab found the temporary camp of Demon Heart.
But what burned there was a stretch of black flame, indicating they indeed left, and they did so hurriedly, not having time to pack up.
Rhode wondered, "Why did they suddenly leave?"
"They must be afraid of us, those Godslayer Mages or whatever!" Natsu said, but he still couldn't do anything about that black fire.
Kana said, "I think something urgent came up."
"It's better they retreated. Miss Vina's wounds need a stable place to rest properly." Mira paused and added, "Elfman and Rhode too."
Erza thought for a moment and said, "I remember there's a town on the way. Let's head there first."
"It might be a while before we can leave." Rhode said, "I saw people from the Advisory Council."
...
The group met the Advisory Council's team near the Demon Heart camp.
The person leading this group was named Lahar, who wore glasses and had his hair tied up, appearing more like a clerical worker.
However, looking at Lahar and his subordinates, Rhode felt they were different from the branch teams he had seen before.
They might be the elite squad directly from the Advisory Council's headquarters.
They searched the mountain forest for a while, 'picked up' some people previously defeated by Elfman, and also dealt with some bodies.
They concurrently took care of extinguishing fires during the process.
Now, part of them continued searching, and part of them was investigating the Demon Heart camp burnt to ashes, hoping to find some clues.
Lahar, meanwhile, brought a few people to meet the members of Fairy Tail.
The focus was to understand the situation from Rhode, Elfman, and Mar.
"I want to go back to the village to take a look." Mar wasn't too keen on talking to the Advisory Council; he wanted to personally see the condition of the village now that his sister's condition had stabilized.
Rhode said, "We only did a brief search in the village before leaving. If you have spare manpower, please help look for any survivors."
"Third squad, fourth squad!" Lahar didn't hesitate much and ordered,
"Escort Mr. Mar to Monotropa to search and rescue survivors, ensure his safety at all costs!"
"Yes!"
"Thank you." Mar expressed his gratitude and specifically bowed to Rhode and Elfman.
Mira kindly said, "Rest assured, we will take good care of Miss Vina."
"Thank you."
Mar left with the two squads of white-robed soldiers.
Only then did Lahar inquire Rhode and Elfman about the event's details.
Rhode straightforwardly summarized everything from when he and Elfman accepted the mission, then waited for the other side's questions.
Lahar experienced such efficient communication for the first time, as usually in investigations, he had to spend more efforts to obtain equivalent information.
Actually, Rhode just wanted to finish sooner to rest sooner.
"Did you record everything?"
The recorder nodded.
Lahar asked again, "Thank you for your cooperation. Just to confirm, do you understand the purposes of Demon Heart?"
"Not clear. From the results, it seems they came for 'Tear of Chris', and capturing Mar and Vina seemed secondary.
But thinking deeper, it's not rule out that all these are a smokescreen, and they purely wanted to destroy that village, or had some other purpose."
Rhode felt Rastillos's actions were also strange, as he seemed to mention something like 'barely allowing my heart to tremble with this battle with you' before.
He couldn't quite understand such a juvenile sentiment.
"How much do you know about Tear of Chris?"
"Only heard some legends, never seen it firsthand. Mr. Peter didn't mention anything about it before he passed away. You might want to ask Mar and Vina about it later."
"Regarding the Seven Purgatory Dependents intel…"
"The basic information has already been covered. After returning to the guild, I'll compile a more detailed one and send a copy to the Advisory Council."
Rhode intended to create a detailed report with portrait sketches, magic effect diagrams, personality analysis, and counter strategies and post it in the guild for everyone to see.
The aim is so anyone encountering them in the future can eliminate them or at least escape from their clutches.
Damn it, having the gall to beat him and Elfman so badly… might as well copy more and let the President take them to regular meetings, then circulate them to major guilds.
"Thank you for your assistance."
"We should also thank the Advisory Council for lending a hand in time."
Actually, Rhode now wondered if the Advisory Council's team's arrival made such a commotion that it alerted Demon Heart, causing them to hastily retreat.
Anyway, it was at least a good thing for them.
"Please tell Mr. Mar that we've taken Miss Vina to rest in the town, and ask him to find us there later."
Lahar suggested, "Why not let me take care of Miss Vina? We've brought professional medical personnel with us on the team."
"Apologies, that requires Mr. Mar's consent." Rhode declined gently, "We've just promised to take care of her."
Lahar didn't insist, watching them leave.
A young crew-cut man suddenly appeared, "This doesn't seem like you, Lahar. I thought you'd be stricter, maybe detain them?"
"Don't underestimate me, Dolanbart. Even though I hold some prejudice against them, I won't abuse my authority."
Lahar shook his head, "They are not criminals, not even suspects. But you, haven't you already dealt with memory issues, do you still need to hide from them?"
"For work like mine, it's better to be cautious." Dolanbart, or Mest, said regretfully,
"Too bad I couldn't catch them in a mistake last time, and didn't encounter Demon Heart this time… Damn it, at this rate, when will I ever manage to earn a promotion?"
"You really don't hide your ambitions."
Lahar didn't appreciate 'career climbers', but Dolanbart was different, being earnest and diligent for the sake of merit.
"Would you like to join the interrogation work? We've captured quite a few from Demon Heart, and it's going to be busy next."