"Joey, what are you doing? Stop it immediately!"
"It's useless. Judging by his appearance, he must have been controlled by Slive. He can't hear you now!"
Reiya had stayed here for two years and had a thorough understanding of the state of normal people versus controlled people, so he could tell at a glance that Joey had become Slive's puppet.
"Speaking of which, where did Slive go?"
The three looked around, only to find that Slive, the wretched middle-aged man, had vanished without a trace.
"It seems he took advantage of us being distracted by the hostages to control this giant child, and then hid."
Joey was huge, yet still a child, and hadn't learned magic yet. His spiritual power was too weak to resist the control of Human Subordination, making him the perfect target.
"Damn it!"
"That guy is really good at hiding!"
"Controlling a group of innocent people to fight for him while he hides himself—"
As he spoke, another punch slammed down from above.
The sound of rushing wind approached, and Weston, Mavis, and Reiya simultaneously leaped away.
Bang—!!!
The ground cracked under Joey's punch, sending fragments of stone flying.
It seemed that if they wanted to free up their hands to track Slive, they had to subdue Joey first!
"Mavis!"
Weston shouted, and Mavis instantly understood.
"Got it!!"
"Come forth, Giant Cage!"
Mavis clapped her hands together, and simultaneously, with a loud roar, an eight-meter-tall iron cage descended from the sky, trapping Joey's massive body inside.
"Success!"
"One giant captured!"
Just as Mavis was rejoicing over trapping Joey, a dark magical energy struck her from behind.
It was none other than Slive, who had been hiding somewhere unknown until now!
"One Fairy captured!"
"What?!"
"Where did this guy pop out from? Why didn't we notice him at all just now?!"
The sudden turn of events startled everyone present.
Mavis, who had been ambushed, felt her body gradually slipping out of her control.
"N-No, this is bad—"
"Mavis!!"
Seeing this, Weston grew anxious. He turned and grabbed Reiya by the collar: "How exactly do you bypass the effect of that guy's Human Subordination? Tell me now!"
With his neck restrained, Reiya's face immediately turned red and purple from the pressure.
"It's not that I won't tell you, but telling you won't help."
"My situation is special... it simply doesn't apply to anyone else, especially that lady—"
"Huh?! What the hell—"
Weston wanted to ask for clarification, but the situation didn't allow him time to think.
The sound of rushing wind came from behind, and a fist slammed toward him.
Weston quickly jumped away, still holding Reiya. When he looked back, he clearly saw his attacker.
Or rather, it shouldn't be called a person, but rather, a beast!
A divine beast with blue hair and golden eyes, wreathed in white smoke, radiating awe-inspiring power.
"It's Tenrou, materialized by Mavis!!"
The magic of Human Subordination can not only control human actions but also allow them to use magic, and Tenrou is Mavis's most frequently used summoned beast.
Weston quickly looked in Mavis's direction and found her walking toward him.
However, unlike the others, she did not show a dazed, puppet-like expression. Instead, she looked conflicted, and her eyes were bright.
"Mavis?"
Weston called out, and Mavis immediately looked over.
"It's me. Although I feel dizzy, I still retain my consciousness!"
"However, I temporarily cannot control my actions or my magic—"
Boom—!!
Tenrou's sharp claws slammed down heavily again.
Weston dodged again with his agile movements: "Where is that guy?"
"He disappeared again after the sneak attack. Can't you sense his presence?"
"No, I can't sense him at all!"
Weston's sensory magic had never failed before.
Within a certain range, no matter how well hidden the enemy was, he could always track them down.
But this time, his sensory magic had mysteriously failed, suggesting that the opponent might possess some technique specifically designed to counter sensory magic.
Tenrou's attack continued.
To evade its attacks, Weston was forced to retreat repeatedly, his movements constantly restricted.
Mavis's magical talent was exceptional, and as her materialized creation, Tenrou's combat power was naturally formidable.
In fact, Tenrou surpassed the wild Magic Beasts in both strength and speed, and its overall power even exceeded that of most Wizards in Fairy Tail.
"Weston, watch out!"
Just as Weston jumped into the air again to avoid Tenrou's attack, a large hand suddenly grabbed him from behind.
It was Joey!
After Mavis was controlled, Slive made her dispel the iron cage trapping Joey, thereby increasing their fighting strength.
"This is bad—"
Weston inwardly cursed.
He wanted to dodge, but being airborne, he had no leverage, and Joey's sneak attack came so suddenly, fast and fierce, that even if he wanted to, he couldn't.
Clutch—
Weston was finally caught by Joey.
Immediately afterward, numerous chains shot up from the ground, wrapping around Weston's hands, feet, waist, and head, completely immobilizing him.
This was also Mavis's magic!
"Heh heh heh—"
"You brat, that's what you get for being arrogant!"
"Didn't I catch you in the end?"
"How does it feel to be 'betrayed' by your own partner?!"
Seeing Weston restrained, Slive, who had been hiding for a long time, finally appeared, standing triumphantly in front of Weston.
"Among all the opponents I've met in my life, you are not the strongest, but you are definitely the most repulsive!"
"Curse away, curse all you want!"
Slive was completely unfazed by Weston's mockery.
At this moment, Reiya was also brought over, bound.
"Let me go! Let me go!!"
Reiya frantically shouted while struggling hard within the chains, wriggling like a mad maggot.
However, the binding power of Mavis's magic was beyond imagination, and his efforts were completely futile.
"I have a question."
"Why is your magic ineffective against this guy?"
Looking at Reiya's appearance, Weston finally asked the question that had been puzzling him since earlier.
"Ineffective?"
"Who said my magic is ineffective against him?"
Slive looked at Weston confusedly: "I just haven't used it on him yet!"
Weston was completely taken aback by this answer: "Why?"
"You ask why? Of course, it's because I can't bear to!"
"—??"
Can't bear to? What does that mean?
Just as Weston was stunned, Slive suddenly smiled suggestively, and then uttered a sentence that made Weston's hair stand on end.
"As a King, how could I possibly force my Queen to do something he doesn't like?"
Weston: ?!!!