Reby and Lucy began their intense work.
Rhode wasn't idle either; he was marking locations on the map, preparing to send people for reconnaissance.
However, he thought over and over, feeling that no matter where he went, he might directly encounter the Netherworld, and then be discovered by the former chairman's magic.
That would put him in a dangerous situation.
Since it's such a dangerous task, Rhode decided to send wild creatures.
He called the River Crab to the nearest two points.
The Beaked Bird was to fly to the farther ones.
For the even farther locations, that required crossing countries, he called on the Cloud Sub-Dragon to deliver the Shadow Wolves and Stone Beetles one by one to the spots.
The wild creatures had only one mission: when they saw the flying blocks in the sky, they should return to the canyon immediately.
Rhode would naturally distinguish which wild creature was reporting and correspond it to the location.
Others were either resting and conserving energy or gathering in groups to study intelligence, resembling a group discussion.
The busiest was probably Fried, who was setting up Techniques around the Guild.
There were three former Evaluators housed in the Guild, so the possibility of an enemy attack was very high.
To be safe, defensive measures were necessary.
Once the Guild was surrounded by Techniques, Fried planned to go outside the city and set up a larger range defense Technique.
The strength of this Technique didn't need to be high; it only needed to notify him immediately when a demon entered the range.
As for how to design an alarm Technique against demons—there happened to be two samples in the Guild, and after studying them, Fried had found the corresponding identifiers.
Hence, the two demons had completely fulfilled their mission, and the merciful Miss Mirajane granted them a painless and complete release.
The front of the Guild suddenly became noisy:
"There's a dragon!"
"It's fine, it's Rhode's."
"Is that Gray?"
The Mountain Sub-Dragon put Gray down and disappeared without a word.
Rhode had already told him that fights could break out at any time in the next two days.
Therefore, the Mountain Sub-Dragon decided to make the most of his time—to sleep a bit more if possible—no, to conserve Magic Power for Rhode.
As soon as Gray walked in, he chased Marcus asking: "How is it, have you decided when to start?"
"Not yet, we'll begin once Reby and the others find the location of the Gate of the Underworld."
Marcus felt Gray was acting a bit strange, but he told him the key points, "You've been grouped with Natsu, Lucy, and Jubia; ask them about the specific battle plan."
"…" Gray felt a bit relieved; being grouped with Natsu meant Rhode must have assigned them an important assault task.
Otherwise, that flame idiot would definitely cause a scene.
That's good.
"Lord Gray~~~" Jubia almost flew around spinning like a top to Gray's side.
She looked at Gray eagerly: "Jubia is so worried about you!"
Gray was silent for a moment but didn't respond to Jubia's enthusiasm: "Let's talk about our task, what is Rhode's plan?"
Jubia felt Gray's coldness wasn't the usual kind of cold.
She recalled Rhode's words to her: 'Gray just went through some sad events and is in a strange state. I haven't figured out what to do yet, but maybe you can help think of something.'
If Jubia could help Gray, she was more than willing.
But right now, it didn't feel like a time to joke around as usual.
Jubia thought for a moment and answered seriously: "First is intelligence; Mr. Rhode asked us to clearly remember the information of each demon. Our team's main focus is Kith, a necromancer nicknamed the Dark Vicar."
"Necromancer!" Gray clenched his fists, the black pattern on his right arm threatening to spread.
That was the guy who experimented using his father's remains, and the Dailola assault incident might have been plotted by him.
Gray thanked Rhode for leaving that guy in the plan for him; he couldn't wait to find that guy now.
However, the more emotional he got, the more his right arm's power became eager, and the cold aura around him grew heavier.
Gray struggled to suppress his emotions, turning to walk toward Lucy and Reby's direction.
He wanted to personally verify their progress.
But just two steps in, he felt something warm sticking to his back, and two arms wrapped around his waist.
"Let go."
If it were the usual, Gray's voice would be louder, with more emotional fluctuation.
He didn't need to guess to know that Jubia would surely say some silly things next.
But today, Gray's voice was very small, and his tone was flat.
Yet Jubia would rather hear him shouting like usual, because it would seem more like banter, like play fighting than being kept at a stern distance.
Jubia didn't loosen her hold, instead sticking the side of her face to Gray's back, whispering:
"Lord Gray, Jubia doesn't know what happened to you, but Jubia will always be by your side. Everyone… even though they're not Jubia, will surely be worried about you, probably only a bit less than Jubia's concern.
"So please rely on Jubia more, whether it's telling Jubia something or having Jubia help with something...
"If… if Lord Gray dislikes Jubia, then… relying on everyone else a bit is okay too, even if… even if it's Lucy.
"As long as Lord Gray regains his spirit, Jubia will… won't feel sad."
In the last few words, Jubia couldn't help but choke up.
Gray originally wanted to pry away Jubia's hands, but he stopped, naturally covering Jubia's handback with his own hands.
The black pattern on his right arm withdrew, returning to its prior state.
Gray moved his lips, intending to say thank you, but when he opened his mouth, it turned into: "I'm a bit hungry, can you help me find something to eat?"
"Lord Gray?" Jubia was stunned, her hands subconsciously released, but then she happily exclaimed,
"Yes! Jubia made a special 'Gray Pack' this morning, Jubia will fetch it right away!"
Gray raised his hand wanting to say there was no need, but his voice couldn't catch up with Jubia's sprinting speed.
…
In the Gate of the Underworld, Kuanghua again came to the control room to check Crawford's progress.
Flanmars took the opportunity to speak to her:
"It's so strange, Brother Travessa is not the type to drag things out, even if things are going poorly he should've returned by now."
Tongzi Cut always enjoyed causing trouble, possibly starting to kill for fun right after completing a task.
But Travessa didn't have such bad habits; he's always been steady, whether the task is completed or not he should contact the Guild timely.
Kuanghua was about to say something when Crawford also spoke up, "The ones responsible for Beluno and Mikhailo have all failed."
"Hmm?" Kuanghua looked at him, "What's your basis?"
Crawford pointed to two small red dots on the screen in front of him: "Beluno and Mikhailo are alive, and their locations have moved near Yajima, someone definitely rescued them, and it was the same group of people."
Kuanghua frowned: "Seems like something has indeed happened."
Mikhailo was handled by Shilba, Kith has already confirmed that one's a problem, no need to consider.
While Beluno was Travessa's responsibility, with the assassination unsuccessful, no movement from the Hell Core, and a long absence—was he seriously injured or captured by someone?
At this moment, a soldier stood at the door, cautiously reporting: "Lord Kuanghua, Lord King of the Netherworld calls for you."