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Magnolia.
Inside the hospital run by Doctor Grisha.
Weston, who had rushed over in a hurry, saw the guild members who had likewise received the news gathered here as soon as he entered the patient room.
Mavis, Zera, and several others from Tenrou Island were all present, and the entire room was packed.
"Master, you're finally here!"
"Weston, Hugh and Stuart, they..."
Weston nodded in silence, his gaze passing through the crowd and falling on the hospital beds behind them.
Hugh and Stuart were both lying there unconscious.
They were wrapped in bandages from head to toe, looking like two mummies that had just been dug out of an ancient tomb.
Standing closer, he could still faintly feel the slight warmth radiating from their bodies.
Seeing this, Weston's heart sank: "What exactly happened?"
A guild companion stepped forward; he was the first person to discover Hugh and Stuart.
"I don't know the specifics of what happened either."
"I headed out for work today, but just as I stepped out of Magnolia, I saw them lying on the ground, heavily injured and unconscious."
"I immediately brought them here to Doctor Grisha and then went to the guild to inform everyone."
Hearing this, Weston reflected on the last time he had seen the two of them.
"I remember they accepted a 'Repel Magical Beasts' commission three days ago, but that job should have been well within their capabilities!"
"Why would they be injured like this?"
Just then, Doctor Grisha walked over: "Both of them suffered very serious burns, and the burn areas cover their entire bodies."
"Stuart's injuries are slightly lighter, while Hugh's are more severe."
"Especially Hugh's hands, which are almost completely carbonized."
Burns?
Weston remembered that in the mission they accepted yesterday, the magical beast they were supposed to repel was not of the fire attribute.
In that case, the injuries on their bodies were not caused by magical beasts?!
Doctor Grisha continued: "Burns of this degree are difficult to achieve with ordinary flames. I think there is a high probability they were caused by some kind of fire magic, and the temperature of this fire must be extremely high!"
Fire magic...
Hugh's magic is 'Shield,' which can create shields and strengthen defense to withstand physical and magical attacks.
Even with Zera's 'Fire God Slayer Magic,' it would be difficult to cause direct harm to him without using ultimate moves like 'Bellow.'
So normally, it should be very hard for him to get injured.
But now, Hugh's injuries were even more serious than Stuart's...
Everyone immediately guessed the reason: "It must be that Hugh used his own body as a shield to protect Stuart, wanting to block the enemy's attack, but the opponent's magic was too strong, which is why he suffered such severe injuries..."
Thinking of the deep friendship between them, the guild members were greatly moved.
"Can they be cured?"
Grisha adjusted his glasses and said with a look of regret: "I have already used the best ointments I have here, but as for how much effect they will specifically have on him, it's still hard to say."
"To be honest, in my opinion, it's already a miracle to still be alive after suffering burns of this degree."
"I can only do my best to save his life first. As for his hands... I advise you all not to hold too much hope."
Hearing this, the mages' expressions instantly became extremely grim.
A response like this was not what they wanted to hear.
"How can this be..."
"Doctor Grisha, do you really not have any better treatment methods?"
"You're the most formidable doctor in the several nearby towns!"
The most formidable doctor...
Do people from your guild not know where that title came from?
If it hadn't been for your help in solving the plague before, this title wouldn't be mine to hold...
Grisha sighed inwardly and shrugged helplessly at the crowd.
"On the level of medical skill, I have already done the absolute limit of what I can do."
"Perhaps you could send him to the Royal Capital to let a more brilliant doctor try."
"Or... if you can find a mage who is proficient in healing magic, maybe they could restore his body to its original state."
This served as a reminder to everyone.
However, in the next second, they began to worry again.
"Healing magic..."
"I remember that is a very rare, very high-level, and very difficult magic to learn, right? Among a thousand mages, one might not necessarily appear!"
"In such a short time, where are we supposed to go find one?"
Weston pressed his hands down in the air, giving everyone a 'stay calm' look: "The Council controls information on over 70% of the mages in Ishgar. If we seek help from them, we should be able to find someone proficient in healing magic."
"I'll go contact them now."
Hearing this, everyone's hearts settled slightly: "That's good then."
"There is one more thing that might be of help to you."
Doctor Grisha suddenly took a piece of paper from his coat: "When I was applying medicine to them, I found this pattern burned onto them. I guess it must have been left by the person who attacked them."
Weston took the paper Grisha handed over and found a special pattern drawn on it—
A snake entwined with flames, with an eye printed behind it.
"This is... Fire Serpent's Eye?!"
As the Guild Master, Weston dealt with local alliances and the Council year-round, so he recognized the power represented by this pattern at a glance.
"Fire Serpent's Eye?"
"That dark guild active in the southeast of the Kingdom of Fiore, known for specializing in fire magic?"
Mavis thought for a moment and quickly retrieved relevant memories of Fire Serpent's Eye from her mind: "Why would they attack Hugh and Stuart?"
"Could it be that there's a grudge between our guild and them?"
Weston was silent for several breaths: "Perhaps... there is!"
When he and Precht destroyed the city of Outlaws before, the dark guild there, 'Dark Night Scorpions,' had connections with 'Fire Serpent's Eye.'
Mark, the master of 'Dark Night Scorpions,' had even used the 'Demonization Potion' given to him by 'Fire Serpent's Eye.'
Later, because Mark lost to Weston, the entirety of Dark Night Scorpions was sent to prison by the Council.
Could it be that Fire Serpent's Eye attacked Fairy Tail because of this?
Regardless of whether that was the reason, since the people of Fire Serpent's Eye beat Hugh and Stuart so severely and even branded their guild's emblem onto their bodies, it was a provocation toward 'Fairy Tail,' and even more so a declaration of war against 'Fairy Tail!'
"Those bastards..."
Weston's voice was laced with endless rage.
"If they knew how to tuck their tails and hide properly in the gutters, I wouldn't bother with them."
"But since they've laid hands on my guild's people, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Go back and inform everyone. It's war!!"
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