Inside the gigantic furnace, Lala Bai let out a painful scream, banging its head against the mountain walls a few times before collapsing, unable to stand.
The wild monsters at the periphery disappeared one by one, and Rhode, after deactivating his Receiving Magic, sat on the ground, panting heavily.
Mira flew over and landed, reverting to her usual appearance.
Rhode didn't say much, instead extending his hand towards her.
Seeing that he was exhausted, Mira ignored his hand and walked behind him, embracing him from behind.
With this, Rhode didn't feel the urgency to get up. It felt soft and nice to rest a bit.
"Ahahaha..." Natsu laughed heartily at his own attack, but was promptly punched on the head by Gray.
He immediately turned with a glare: "That hurts! You wanna fight?"
"Oh? So there is this kind of flame, hitting you can really hurt?" Gray curiously looked at the red luminescence around him.
He had felt something different when hitting Lala Bai earlier, and a punch at Natsu confirmed it.
Before Natsu could retort, Gray scolded him justifiably: "You still have the nerve to laugh here? If not for Rhode, the venue for the regular meeting would have been destroyed by you!"
"..." Natsu thought for a second, then hammered his right fist into his left palm: "Oh, I see! When did Rhode master such strong Earth Magic? I'll be sure to smash it next time!"
"This idiot..." Gray covered his forehead, feeling it was like playing the lute to a cow.
"Speaking of which, the magic Rhode just used feels very familiar, those punches and roars..." Natsu recalled Rhode's stance, which was completely like a miniature Dragon, "Gray, is Rhode using Dragon Slayer Magic?"
Gray didn't want to deal with him: "Who're you asking? Aren't you the Dragon Slayer Mage?"
Natsu remembered seeing the Mountain Sub-Dragon with Rhode a few days ago; it wasn't surprising if he knew Dragon Slayer Magic.
Dragon Slayer Magic of the mountains?
Having another 'fellow' in the Guild seemed like something to be happy about. Natsu chuckled, thinking he'd fight with him more some other time.
Erza had already changed back into her usual armor: "Let's put the chit-chat aside and check on Lala Bai."
The group walked in through the gap Rhode had left.
Under their gaze, Lala Bai's gigantic form transformed back into the original three-eyed skull flute as mist.
However, the skull's face, profile, and back of the head bore marks of damage, a few teeth seemed to be missing, and the flute body was covered in cracks.
With such a worn-out flute, even if someone wanted to play it in the future, it would probably let the wind out all over.
Natsu picked up the flute and shook it casually: "What should we do with this, burn it?"
Gray said: "Don't be reckless; such dangerous items should be handed over to the Advisory Council for handling, right?"
Erza nodded: "That's the rule, but since the President is here, let's have him decide."
"I don't think we should hand it over to the Advisory Council, at least not directly." Rhode and Mira walked over together.
The embrace was nice, but he still had some serious business in mind.
According to the opinions at this regular meeting, there's a high probability of a mole in the Advisory Council.
This flute, originally meant to be sealed by the Advisory Council, falling into outsiders' hands, is unlikely due to negligence by the guards.
It's more likely the work of a mole, possibly intending to test the demon's power from Jellal's Book, or to divert fire towards Demon Heart.
If returned directly, it might be restored and released again one day, which would be troublesome.
Flames ignited in Natsu's hand: "We should just burn it after all!"
"No." Rhode stopped him, "You guys caused panic at Onibus Station, destroyed the railway bridge at Kroba Canyon, and acted against the Dark Guild without permission..."
With each accusation Rhode made, the flames in Natsu's hand weakened, and even Erza and Gray couldn't help feeling a bit guilty, their eyes drifting elsewhere.
"Without this flute as evidence, there's a good chance you'll all be held accountable." Rhode speculated maliciously.
"If the Advisory Council feels embarrassed by this incident, they might push the responsibility onto you guys as a warning."
He was actually more worried about the mole exploiting the situation to target Fairy Tail.
Rhode was most suspicious of those two evaluators who seemed to dislike Fairy Tail.
Such a good Guild, why target us without reason?
Even though some among us frequently cause trouble, walk around naked, steal underwear drying outside, put their drinking bills on the Advisory Council's tab, flirt with the Advisory Council's granddaughter...
But we...
"..." Rhode suddenly felt the Guild deserved it.
"If we need to prevent it from reviving while also preserving the evidence?" Mira extended her hand to Natsu, "Then let me handle it."
Having just been scolded, Natsu obediently handed the flute to Mira.
"Speaking of which, this is a demon... are you planning to receive it?" Erza guessed, "But if you receive it, won't it disappear?"
"No, receiving a demon is different from others; I can receive only part of its power." Mira confidently stated, holding the flute,
"As long as I take away its most dangerous ability, its main body won't be significantly affected, and it won't be able to use the dangerous Curse Killing Magic."
Lala Bai trembled slightly; how could anyone receive a demon?
Is she seeking death while I still want to live?!
At most, being taken back would mean being sealed with a chance to see daylight again, but if received...
Lala Bai attempted to struggle, yet the earlier battle had nearly drained it, leaving it with little strength.
Smoke started to emit from the mouth of the three-eyed skull, trying to manifest its original form once again.
But Mira's magic power enveloped it, causing the smoke to vanish, and the three purple-black eyes on the skull lost their luster.
"Receiving·Demon Lala Bai!"
A flash of light covered Mira, and she completely transformed:
Dressed in a brown coarse cloth gown, shoulders adorned with blue-purple mysterious patterns, simple strings wrapped around her wrists as decorations.
She stood barefoot on the ground, wearing a wooden three-eyed demon mask, as if she emerged from a primitive tribe as a princess.
Mira spun around on the spot, the skirt hem and the cloth belt tied around her waist fluttering, with similar patterns appearing on her legs as on her shoulders.
She pushed the mask upward, leaving it covering only her forehead, revealing her usual charming face. She winked at her companions, especially Rhode: "How is it?"
"Very beautiful." Rhode complimented first, then said, "Though I'm not sure whether this is Receiving Magic or Requip Magic."
"Of course, it's Receiving Magic. Don't be scared now." Mira gave Rhode a heads-up, lifting the mask entirely to her head.
On her forehead, a third eye had appeared!
It seemed to directly correspond to the third eye on the three-eyed demon mask.
Has my wife turned into Purin from One Piece's set?
Others might find it a bit eerie, but Rhode, surprisingly, found it beautiful.
Mira was very satisfied with Rhode's reaction. Hmph, does this person really like me, or does he just have odd aesthetics?
Erza admired Mira's new attire for a moment, thinking the combination was nice, then focused on the magic's effect: "Did it work?"