Dense Fog

After a heated discussion, Eleven decided to have the team abandon the mission and retreat!

Although Laxus and Erza both vehemently opposed the proposal, Eleven overruled them on the grounds that the team leader had veto power.

Eleven knew they needed information now, and that this was clearly a plot against him. But even though he was itching to find out more, he couldn't stake his and his companions' safety on it.

Unlike Laxus and Erza, Eleven could sense that the two men were no ordinary opponents. Their murderous aura was definitely beyond anything the small fries they had encountered before could match.

Even if they couldn't get information now, they might be able to uncover something by following the clues after they returned. But if they lost their lives here, that would really be the end.

After much persuasion, Eleven finally convinced those two stubborn mules, Laxus and Erza, and led them back the way they had come, toward the edge of the forest.

Meanwhile, Eleven hadn't dispelled the illusion around the tall and short men. Instead, he maintained it with all his strength, both to hold their attention for as long as possible and to see what exactly they intended to do.

The tall, thin man continued leading the illusory Eleven and his companions deeper into the woods, taking so many twists and turns that it was a wonder he wasn't afraid of getting lost.

Suddenly, without warning, a magic circle lit up beneath the three illusions. A large net studded with Magic Sealing Stones appeared out of thin air and swept upward to engulf them.

But the illusions had no physical bodies, of course, so the net missed entirely, passing through Eleven and the other two before flying into the sky. The Magic Sealing Stones' magic-sealing effect had no chance to take effect, either.

The tall, thin man stared in surprise at the three illusions, which had become slightly distorted as the net passed through them. Things suddenly got a little awkward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

There was no point in maintaining the three illusions any longer, and they vanished with a bang.

Meanwhile, Eleven urged Laxus and Erza to pick up the pace, lest the tall, thin man and the short, fat man catch up with them.

But at that moment, fog quietly began to rise in the forest.

At first, Eleven paid it no mind. After all, it was raining, and fog in a forest was normal enough. But the torrential rain grew lighter and lighter, while the fog grew thicker and thicker.

By the time Eleven finally realized something was wrong, he could no longer see anything around him.

Eleven discovered that the dense fog could actually block Spiritual Power. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't extend his Spiritual Power more than ten meters into it. For the moment, he was practically blind.

Laxus and Erza, who had been behind him, were nowhere to be seen. Nothing remained around him but a vast expanse of white, as though he had fallen into a cloud. Even waving his hands, he could feel the mist moving. The moisture in the air also began to make it difficult for Eleven to breathe.

"Laxus!"

"Erza!"

Eleven called out loudly. There was no need to deliberately stay hidden anymore; the enemy seemed to have found them already.

But no matter how Eleven called, he received no answer. It was as though Laxus and Erza had vanished into thin air.

Eleven even suspected for a moment that he had fallen under some kind of illusion, and he used his Telekinesis to churn the surrounding mist wildly. But its genuine dampness told him this was definitely no illusion.

"All right, kid, stop fooling around. It's hard work for me to maintain such a vast area of dense fog."

A voice reached Eleven's ears, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. It was as if the fog itself were speaking, the voice drifting constantly from every direction.

"Who are—mmph... ngh!!" Eleven frowned and was about to ask a question when the thick fog suddenly stirred and rushed madly into his open mouth.

Eleven immediately found it hard to breathe, and a sensation of suffocation came over him. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't stop the mist from pouring in. His consciousness gradually blurred, and he slowly stopped resisting before passing out.

As Eleven lost consciousness, the dense fog around him began to disperse, and the pouring rain fell upon him once more.

"You really were unlucky, running into heavy rain at just the right time."

A middle-aged man in a suit, his hair slicked back impeccably, emerged from the gradually dispersing fog. Mist swirled around him, and despite the heavy rain, there wasn't a single wet spot on him. Every raindrop turned to mist and rose before it could land on him.

As the fog dispersed, Laxus and Erza came into view as well. They had passed out just like Eleven, and the three of them had fallen more than ten meters apart.

The man in the suit calmly bent down, picked Eleven up, and slung him over his shoulder without so much as looking at the unconscious Laxus and Erza.

The tall, thin man and the short, fat man also came running over and joined the man in the suit. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw he had successfully captured the target.

"Boss, what about these two brats? Should we get rid of them?" The tall, thin man went over to Laxus indignantly and kicked him hard. They had just been played by these brats.

"Don't touch them. Making mortal enemies of Fairy Tail won't do us any good." Carrying Eleven on his shoulder, the man in the suit rejected the tall, thin man's suggestion with a serious expression.

"Heh, do you think kidnapping one of their members won't make enemies of them?" The tall, thin man was quite disdainful of his boss's statement and mocked him for it. Nevertheless, he stopped kicking Laxus and abandoned the thought of killing them.

The man in the suit said nothing. They were only an obscure little dark guild, and they really didn't dare take Fairy Tail on directly.

Kidnapping a Fairy Tail member would certainly invite retaliation, but he could turn around and leak their client's information. Fairy Tail's attention would inevitably be diverted, and they would certainly prioritize rescuing their companion.

Killing Fairy Tail members, however, was another matter. That would invite more than just retaliation between guilds; it could very well get them killed outright. After all, the fearsome legends about that guild were widely known.

Although they didn't intend to kill Laxus and Erza, they still bound them tightly with the net studded with Magic Sealing Stones and left them there, so they wouldn't cause any more trouble.

After binding Eleven in the same way, the man in the suit slung him over his shoulder once more and led the tall, thin man and the short, fat man away into the woods.

"Ugh!"

An unknown amount of time later, Laxus suddenly jolted awake and immediately began gasping for breath.

He felt an unprecedented weakness spreading through his entire body, so severe that even being alive felt like hard work.

Twisting slightly, Laxus discovered that he had been bound hand and foot, and the ropes binding him were studded with Magic Sealing Stones. No wonder he felt so weak; it was because his magic had been sealed.

"Damn it! What the hell is going on?!" Laxus struggled constantly, forcing himself to look around despite his weakness.

The first thing he saw was Erza, who was similarly bound hand and foot and still unconscious. Laxus looked around again, but there was no sign of Eleven.

"Damn it, so that's how it is. Eleven really was their target!" Laxus was furious and frantic, but for the moment, there was nothing he could do.

"Hey! Erza, wake up!" Laxus shouted from behind Erza.

"Hey! Wake up!"

"Erza!"

"Hey!"

Laxus: (╬￣皿￣)

Laxus had a bad temper to begin with, and he was even less patient at such an anxious moment. When Erza still didn't respond, he finally couldn't hold back.

Using what little strength he had left, he raised both large feet and kicked Erza hard in the backside!