Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 221: Natsu: I didn’t mean to cause trouble

"It's okay, Carla," Wendy said, her voice slightly trembling. "Mr. Rhodes has a spell that helps me recover my magic, so I'll be fine."

Carla's ears twitched, surprised. "You can recover her magic power? Then why didn't it work last time?"

"I was completely drained back then," Rhodes explained with a sigh. "But let's not get into that right now. Did you two find anything suspicious?"

Carla crossed her arms, her expression unimpressed. "The town looks normal, peaceful. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

"Aye, Carla's right," Happy agreed. "But..." He hesitated for a moment, casting a glance at her.

Erza's eyes narrowed. "But what?"

Happy looked a little unsure. "We did see... a strange light. It was pretty far away though."

Carla huffed and stuck her paws into her jacket. "Tch. I told him it was probably nothing. Some light flickering in the distance isn't necessarily connected to what we're dealing with."

Still, with no better leads, Rhodes pressed gently. "Describe the light. What direction did you see it from?"

Happy paused to recall. "It lit up on the mountains. It changed colors, purple, gold, blue, cycling back and forth. I think it came from that way..." He pointed toward the north, a bit uncertain.

Rhodes and Erza exchanged a sharp glance.

"That's the direction of the Black Magic Cult's old altar, isn't it?" Rhodes said.

Without another word, he raised his arm. "Summon, Scuttle Crab!"

The massive crab burst from the summoning light, ready for transport.

Erza jumped up beside him. "Carla, you and Wendy stay at the inn and rest. Happy, where's Natsu?"

Happy's eyes went wide as his memory caught up. "He said he smelled something that deserved a beating and bolted out of town. Wait... that direction!"

He grabbed both sides of his face in horror. "It's the same direction as the light! Don't tell me... did Natsu set the mountain on fire?"

Rhodes winced. "If only it were that simple. Let's hope it's not something worse." He turned back briefly. "Wendy, Carla, if anything strange happens in town, don't wait. Get out immediately."

The crab scuttled forward in a flash, carrying Erza and Rhodes into the night.

"I'm going too!" Happy took to the sky, flapping his little wings in a panic. "Natsu might be in trouble!"

Carla glared after him. "Tch. Doesn't even say goodbye."

She watched the trail of dust disappear into the forest.

"They're all such reckless idiots," she muttered under her breath. But her tone didn't carry real anger. It was more concern than anything.

Wendy looked in the same direction, her face solemn.

"Carla," she said, "Let's go back. I need to check something, just to be sure."

Carla frowned. "Wendy, even you? Are you all learning bad habits from Fairy Tail?"

But as Wendy remained firm, Carla finally sighed in surrender. "Fine. But if there's even a hint of danger, I'm grabbing you and flying us out. No arguments."

...

To the north, where the mountains met the sea, less than ten kilometers inland from the coast.

There had once been a demonic altar here, but it was first destroyed by Erza's Demon-Breaking Lance, then sealed by a mage appointed by the Magic Council.

Afterward, the Council brought in an earth magic specialist to reshape the terrain, transforming the valley into a small hill. To ensure the site was fully hidden, illusionary barriers were cast around it, powerful enough that ordinary people couldn't approach. The area was also put under routine patrols to monitor for suspicious activity.

Under all this security, the chances of the demon reviving were thought to be nearly zero.

In truth, the only way to eliminate the threat entirely was to summon the demon and destroy it once and for all. But, according to existing records and research, summoning this flesh-devouring demon required a horrifying price: the body and soul of a child as a sacrifice.

The Council, unwilling to commit such evil or dabble in forbidden black magic, had no choice but to settle for sealing the threat away.

But now, a certain reckless firebrand was storming around outside the illusionary boundary.

"This is so annoying! Why do I keep ending up in the same place?!"

Natsu shouted in frustration, running both hands through his hair before punching the nearby boulder a couple of times to vent.

He could clearly smell someone shady nearby, someone who, by his instincts, deserved a good beating. But no matter how far he walked, he always found himself back at the same starting spot.

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It was infuriating.

Natsu clenched his fists together, flames crackling to life between them.

"If that's how it's gonna be, then I'll just—"

"Natsu!"

The moment Erza's voice rang out, Natsu froze on the spot. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

"A-A-Ah! Erza?! I-I wasn't trying to cause trouble! Ahahaha... ha..."

Rhodes chuckled dryly. That sure sounded like a confession.

"Natsu, are you alright?" Happy flew over and landed on his shoulder. "We thought you might've set the mountain on fire."

"No way I'd do that!" Natsu laughed nervously, clearly guilty.

Erza didn't press him further. Instead, she shifted into business mode.

"What brought you here so suddenly? Did you notice anything unusual?"

Natsu, now slightly more serious, nodded. "I kept picking up a weird scent... and earlier, I saw lights coming from inside. That demon you mentioned... is it in there?"

"There was just an altar here before, and Erza destroyed it. The Magic Council handled the rest afterward. There shouldn't be any strange scent left behind, right? And why would it be glowing?" Rhodes furrowed his brows, clearly confused.

He had already tried taking over the Murk Wolf on the way here, but he hasn't picked up anything unusual.

Besides, how could something here possibly be connected to Liz's illness from so far away?

Is there magic capable of cursing someone from a long distance?

Happy peeked out from behind Natsu, trembling. "Aye... Don't tell me the demon's crawling out of the underworld?"

Erza considered the situation carefully. "If something's disturbed the seal, there's a chance it's starting to weaken. If the demon's reviving, we have to see it for ourselves."

"But we can't get in at all!" Natsu said, clearly agitated. "Every time I walk forward, I just end up right back where I started!"

"There's an illusion magic array set up here," Erza explained, scanning the surroundings. "It scrambles your sense of direction without you realizing it. This kind of enchantment... it's nearly as advanced as Mystogan's."

Natsu clutched his head in frustration, his cherry-pink hair even messier than usual. "So Mystogan even stronger than whoever set this up? Then how am I supposed to beat that guy?!"

Fighting didn't scare Natsu, but the idea of being unable to even land a hit? That was infuriating.

How could he become an S-Class wizard if he couldn't even touch his opponent?

Erza turned toward Rhodes. "What would you do in this situation?"

Rhodes replied calmly, "No matter how complex a magic array is, it still needs a power source. Most of the time, you can dispel it by defeating the caster."

"But in this case, the illusion is clearly designed for long-term use. It's different from formal sealing arrays, which usually link the power drain directly to the caster. This one's probably powered by external means, most likely either magic crystals or a living conduit, like a Council official transferring magic power over time."

"For illusion arrays, I'd bet on magic crystals. And to keep it running for so long, it's probably using collector-type crystals that can absorb ambient magic from the surroundings."

He paused and then offered the simplest solution with a wry smile. "In theory, we could just go on a rampage, smash up the mountain, tear apart the trees, pulverize every rock in sight. Eventually, we'd hit the right crystal and the illusion would break."

Natsu's eyes lit up. "So it's still about blowing stuff up! Leave this to me!"

Rhodes quickly grabbed his arm. "Calm down. We're just investigating, not demolishing half the countryside. Those magic crystals aren't cheap, you know."

...

Bonus Chapter

You all know what do to right?👉💎