Trap

In the early morning, the chirping of birds woke the sleeping trio.

They had no need to leave anyone on watch. In order to beat Laxus, Eleven had learned to maintain a wide-ranging watch even while asleep, allowing him to wake at the first sign of trouble.

Unlike a city, the forest had no overly complicated flow of information, so the range he could scan was much wider.

Eleven stretched and looked up at the sky through the dense branches and leaves. Dark clouds filled the sky, hanging so low that they made it feel hard to breathe.

"It's going to rain." Eleven scratched his head, looking a little unhappy. He had finally gotten a request that named him specifically, only for the weather to turn against him.

Then Eleven turned to Erza. She had brought so much luggage that she had to be well prepared. That was great.

"Erza, do you have any spare umbrellas or raincoats we could borrow? It looks like it's about to rain." Eleven grinned at her.

"Ah! I didn't bring any either!" Erza looked dumbfounded.

"Then what did you pack in those two big suitcases? Is it all clothes?" Eleven looked at Erza helplessly.

"These are all precious memories from my time up until now," Erza answered solemnly. She even opened her suitcases and showed Eleven a number of utterly useless little trinkets.

Eleven: (ㅍ_ㅍ)

Erza seemed to realize all of a sudden that what she had brought was a bunch of useless junk. A look of remorse immediately appeared on her face, and she slowly stood up and faced Eleven.

Clang!

Erza slammed a fist against her own armor. Clenching her fist, she blamed herself. "I brought so much stuff, but I didn't bring anything for the rain. I'm completely useless! It's all my fault, so please beat me up!"

Watching Erza, Eleven could no longer tell whether she was serious or joking, but she was really ticking him off! He rolled up his sleeves, eager to give it a try. "You said it! I'm really going to hit you!"

Erza closed her eyes, looking as if she were bravely facing execution. "Go ahead! I have to pay for my mistake!"

Laxus looked speechlessly at the two idiots fooling around first thing in the morning and had to put a stop to their antics. "That's enough, you two. What's a little rain to a mage? It's getting late, so let's get moving."

Their big brother might have had a short temper, but he was still somewhat useful. At least he wouldn't join in acting like an idiot.

In the end, just as Eleven had expected, a torrential downpour began not long after they set out. The sky showed no sign of clearing, and it looked like the rain wouldn't be stopping anytime soon.

As expected, all three of them were drenched to the bone. But they were all mages in good physical condition, so a little rain really was nothing. Once they got used to being soaked, it was actually rather comfortable.

Eleven walked at the very front of the group. It wasn't that he insisted on being the leader; he was in charge of scouting ahead and clearing the way.

Just as they were about to reach their expected destination, two figures appeared within Eleven's range of perception.

They were two men, one tall and thin, the other short and stout.

The tall, thin man was bare-chested, exposing his lean muscles. He wore a battle skirt around his waist and looked fierce.

The short, stout man was rather unusual. Standing still, he looked like a barrel, his proportions different from those of an ordinary person.

What drew Eleven's attention to the two men wasn't their unusual appearance or clothing, but the hostile aura he sensed from them.

That hostile aura wasn't directed at anyone; it emanated naturally from them. It was a presence that could only be forged through countless battles and killings. The hostility Eleven had sensed from those thieves and bandits before couldn't compare to theirs at all.

Without much hesitation, Eleven immediately raised a hand to signal Laxus and Erza to stop.

The two of them were also quick-witted and capable. Almost instantly, the three reached an understanding and all concealed their auras.

The moment they stopped, three identical figures took shape in an almost seamless transition and continued walking forward as they had been doing. It was Eleven's illusion magic.

At the same time, Eleven covered the three of them with his spiritual power, hiding them from view as they followed the illusionary figures from a distance.

After going through quite a few things, Eleven was no longer as rash as he had once been. The two people who had appeared within his range of perception were obviously not good people, so he planned to use an illusion to probe them first. There was no harm in being cautious.

As Eleven and the others gradually drew closer, the tall and short men also noticed the arrival of the illusionary trio. Meanwhile, the real Eleven, hidden in the shadows, unhesitatingly used Telepathy to connect to the two men's minds, hoping to find out who they were.

The Telepathy went very smoothly, encountering no obstacles and drawing none of their attention. Eleven was delighted. It seemed this magic really was quite practical.

Tch! Why are there three brats? Weren't they supposed to be alone? The tall, thin man frowned, grumbling inwardly.

...The short, stout man didn't seem to be thinking anything. His mind was completely blank.

"Hey! You three, are you mages from Fairy Tail?" The tall, thin man couldn't be bothered to dwell on it and went straight up to the illusions of Eleven and the others to ask.

"Yes, we're mages from Fairy Tail. Are you the clients?" Eleven began talking to the two men through his illusion's mouth.

"Why did three of you come? I remember only one brat named Eleven was requested! Which one of you is Eleven?" The tall, thin man held his head high, looking down at the three of them. Although Laxus was hardly any shorter than him by now, he still insisted on acting as if he were above them.

"That's me!" Eleven's illusion stepped forward. "We're a team. They're here to help me complete the job."

"No need, no need!" The tall, thin man waved a hand, growing impatient. "You just need to come with us alone. The other two can go back."

"No way. We're a team, and we're doing this job together!" Eleven didn't have his illusion go along with the tall, thin man. Instead, he firmly pushed back, wanting to see how he would react.

Tch! What a fucking hassle! Oh, well. Two more brats can't cause much trouble anyway.

"All right, then. Follow me, all of you." The tall, thin man didn't argue further. He simply gave in and turned to lead Eleven and the others deeper into the forest.

"Is our job to calm down a young magic beast?" The illusionary Eleven followed him as if he hadn't noticed anything and continued chatting with him.

"A young magic beast? Oh, right, right, there's a young magic beast. Make sure you do your best~" The tall, thin man was startled for a moment, but quickly recovered. He dealt with Eleven's question somewhat playfully, his tone sarcastic, and casually began to "discuss" the details of the job with him.

Meanwhile, Eleven, hidden in the shadows, was communicating with Laxus and Erza through Telepathy. He paid no attention to the details of the job that the tall, thin man was talking about. He was already certain that these people were definitely not normal clients.

Leaving aside how dangerous the tall, thin man's thoughts sounded, the fact that he had given in to Eleven so easily was suspicious enough. What client didn't have a long list of demands? Even if they didn't make things difficult for the mages, they would never give in easily after being contradicted and losing face.

This guy was definitely acting, and he wasn't even putting much effort into it! One look was enough to tell he didn't understand life!

Eleven and the others no longer needed to consider how to complete the job. Instead, they were discussing whether to quietly leave as they were or find a chance to subdue the two men and interrogate them.