"Damn it, it's endless!" Gray punched the enemy before him to the ground, "At this rate, when will I be able to reunite with everyone?"
There were just too many enemies, forcing Gray to meticulously calculate his use of Magic Power, fearing the enemy might overwhelm him through sheer numbers.
"I'm more worried about Lucy, but she should already be back at the camp, right?" Loki actually quite wanted to go directly to Lucy's side, but with so many enemies, he couldn't just leave Gray behind.
Lucy was with Mest, so even if surrounded, Mest's magic should have a way to escape.
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed from afar, capturing everyone's attention.
Gray and Loki looked over, seeing a conspicuous blaze in the forest.
"Is that... Natsu?" Although the color of the flames seemed off, Gray felt that this flame's aura was definitely Natsu.
It's pretty ironic that he, an Ice Mage, would be so familiar with the feeling of flames.
Just thinking about it made Gray feel a bit uncomfortable.
Loki said, "Anyway, let's go over and have a look first."
The two slightly altered their direction, fighting their way quickly towards the flames with increasing vigor.
But unexpectedly, the first ones they encountered weren't Natsu.
Loki exclaimed in surprise, "Ibarglin, Jubia, and... Lisana?"
Everyone also noticed him and Gray, and Elfman grumbled, "Loki, you guy, can't you see anything but women?"
"Hahaha..." Loki replied with a laugh, "Just kidding."
Jubia immediately clung to Gray: "Master Gray! Are you unharmed? Jubia was so worried!"
"Jubia, Lisana..." Gray didn't push her away immediately but instead checked the injuries on her and Lisana, "How did you end up like this?"
"Ah~ Master Gray's concern~" Jubia suddenly felt that a little injury wasn't a big deal.
Lisana explained, "We encountered two formidable foes earlier."
"Fairy Machine Gun - Little Fairy!" Ibarglin sent forth dozens of magic light bullets, instantly knocking down a vast amount of enemies.
"You folks, the battle isn't over yet!"
Gray flexed his wrist, laughed, "True enough, we'll talk later."
Reuniting with comrades immediately made him feel much more comfortable, even though the enemies still swarmed, they didn't seem worth worrying about.
The six of them engaged the enemy in battle.
In the midst of fighting, Loki suddenly said, "Surely we're not the only ones encountering so many enemies, right?"
"Of course, this scene clearly indicates all-out warfare," Gray speculated, saying, "If you're worried about Lucy, just go over already."
Loki had the ability to directly return to the Star Spirit Realm and, even if Lucy didn't summon him, he could still appear beside her using his own power.
But Loki said, "That's not what I meant. I meant seeing these enemies using numbers to win, does anyone come to mind for you?"
Elfman and Lisana: "Brother-in-law?" ×2
Jubia: "Mr. Rhode!"
"Rhode!" ×2
Gray expressed anticipation, while Ibarglin seemed inexplicably afraid.
"It's him!" Loki said, "If Rhode also encountered many enemies, he would surely consider everyone's situation, then..."
Before he could finish speaking, chaos erupted among the enemy ranks.
"What's that?!"
"A bug?"
"So big! So many! So disgusting!"
A large swarm of blue-purple Void Worms hopped over, pouncing on the soldiers of Demon Heart to bite.
The soldiers frantically tried to organize a defense, but these insects seemed endless, continuously bouncing over from afar.
The numerical advantage rapidly shifted from Demon Heart's side to Fairy Tail's side.
Rhode himself didn't appear, nor were these insects purposely sent over by him.
He merely hid three Void Nest Insects, letting them endlessly produce Void Worms, dispersing randomly in all directions.
Due to the worms' limited intelligence, Rhode could only have the Void Nest Insects convey the order: attack anyone not bearing a Fairy Tail Emblem.
So when Loki unwittingly got bitten twice, they shredded his shirt, revealing the green emblem on his back before letting go.
The others mostly didn't face this trouble because the island's weather was hot, and the emblem was usually exposed.
"That guy did it deliberately, didn't he?" Loki always felt Rhode was trying to pick on him.
Gray gloatingly said, "Unexpected, you just wear too many clothes."
Loki looked at Gray's large shorts, nodded, "Very convincing."
"Sure enough, you can't handle these people alone, back off." Suddenly a goat man appeared at the edge of the battlefield, dressed in a black tailcoat and wearing sunglasses.
He gently clapped his hands, and white light emitted from the soldiers on the battlefield, causing them to disappear.
"Vanished?"
"What's happening?"
"A goat?"
Besides Loki, whose face changed, the others seemed puzzled.
Then another voice came from a different direction, chanting slightly:
"Though walking different paths, we meet here by fate's arrangement? Kaburico, heaven decrees we bury the Fairies together!"
Ibarglin turned to look: "Who is it now?"
"That is... Rastillos, one of the Seven Dependents of Purgatory!"
Elfman had seen Rastillos once before, leaving a deep impression.
His gaze fell on Rastillos's left arm, the portrait depicted not a prosthetic.
Lisana looked at Kaburico, "Seven Dependents? Does that mean the goat too?"
They are siblings indeed, a glance followed by a remark, each enraging a member of the Seven Dependents.
— Kaburico hated his goat-like appearance, and Rastillos refused to accept his prosthetic left arm.
"I suffices alone, Rastillos." Kaburico adjusted his sunglasses.
"Can't do, I have to deal with at least one for Zankuro." Rastillos hadn't received news about the Fairy Tail Strategist, and now encountering Beast King, he wasn't keen on missing the opportunity.
Though Zankuro named this prey he's after, Rastillos had been part of the previous mission.
The two stood in opposite directions, using cool poses to convey contempt for Fairy Tail.
But they soon couldn't hold their pose.
Because the Void Worms suddenly lost their targets, instantly shifting their gaze to the two newcomers.
The swarming blue-purple insects flooded Mercerously towards Rastillos and Kaburico.
"..." Kaburico began to regret sending his subordinates away.
Summoning them now would seem odd, wouldn't it?
Rastillos probably had the same thought, casting a glance at Kaburico. This guy maintained a serious demeanor all day, yet was so unreliable in crunch time.