A Shocking Turn of Events

"Labi?"

Chiba's voice held a deep sense of astonishment.

The figure atop the giant monster cast a detached gaze downwards, as if everything was under its control.

"To be able to do this much, even killing Yaro, you're really quite impressive." The familiar middle-aged man chuckled softly.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?" Chiba said coldly.

"More or less..." the Labi said casually.

"Labi, why waste words with this brat? Just kill him and take the core..." The enormous monster beneath Labi roared.

Only then did Chiba notice the enormous monster beneath Labi —a gigantic indigo python. The python was estimated to be over ten meters long, hissing and flicking its tongue. Its massive vertical pupils were fixed on Chiba, radiating a savage killing intent.

"You want to take your daughter away?" Chiba frowned deeply, then said, "We have no conflict of interest. If you want to take your daughter, I will. There's no need to create conflict here."

"Are you scared?" Labi gave a mocking laugh, then said calmly, "Seele even told you this, but... given her personality, it's to be expected. In that case... give my daughter back to me..."

As he spoke, he glanced at Mira and Seele in the corner, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Dad..." Seele looked bewildered, then walked towards Labi.

Everyone stopped and watched as the girl walked toward her father.

Just as Chiba had predicted, the Labi was the one who had been hiding the truth the most.

And that is indeed the case.

Eleven years ago, during a cargo shipment, they were attacked by Shadow Skull and exiled to a deserted island teeming with monsters.

He killed all his companions and ate their corpses to survive.

The Shadow Skull were drawn to his ruthless nature and prepared to recruit him into their ranks.

They possess evidence that the Labi killed his companion, which is one of the conditions they are threatening him with. Another condition might be his daughter.

They may have injected Seele with something that gave her blood the ability to make people younger. Then they imprisoned Seele in a laboratory and extracted her blood every day.

Hualun was probably specifically assigned to study Seele's blood.

With two layers of threats, Labi willingly made a deal with the Shadow Skull.

But he was unwilling to become a puppet of the Shadow Skull, so he spent the last ten years plotting.

Chiba's appearance was the catalyst for his plan.

Even after he joined Fairy Tail, Shadow Skull still dared to mess with Chiba.

Labi typically sells his goods to wealthy individuals, high-ranking officials, and the presidents of powerful mage guilds.

Makarov was once one of his clients, but the latter didn't seem interested and chose to leave.

Labi sell their goods twice a year; this is an unwritten rule among them.

He issued two such missions in Fairy Tail in the second half of the year, which would surely arouse Makarov's suspicion.

In reality, which of those high-ranking officials didn't know that this cargo was related to the Shadow Skull? It's just that the cargo's effectiveness was too great, and the interests involved were too numerous, so no one wanted to expose it.

Makarov was certainly aware that this was connected to the Shadow Skull.

Considering Chiba's conflict with Shadow Skull before joining Fairy Tail, Makarov easily guessed everything.

Therefore, he will definitely follow us secretly.

However, the leader of the Shadow Skull and the throne holders are not to be trifled with. As the saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands, and the interests of those in the kingdom are involved. Weighing the pros and cons, Makarov may not necessarily engage in direct combat.

But as long as they can be restrained, the Labi's goal will be achieved.

With the Water King as his partner, he will be invincible.

That is, the situation he is currently planning.

But in reality, it wasn't something he planned, because everything happened naturally.

Just as Seele arrived in front of the giant serpent, Labi reached out his hand to Seele.

A shocking change begins here!

Seele's petite body flew up, and then Labi grabbed her by the neck.

"Dad..." Seele's face showed pain.

Labi's expression remained completely indifferent. He gently reached out and pierced Seele's chest.

"Pfft!"

Everyone was stunned.

"You... you son of a bitch... isn't she your daughter?! What the hell are you doing?!" Chiba's eyes turned bloodshot as he roared.

"Hmm... yes..." Labi casually pulled out his blood-soaked arm, holding a bright red, unidentified object in his hand. He then pierced through his own chest and pulled it out again.

The wound on his chest was healing at an extremely rapid pace.

He glanced at the girl he was holding, his gaze as calm as if she were something completely unrelated to him, and then tossed her away like trash.

The girl's body fell to the ground.

"You seem to have misunderstood something..." Labi turned his gaze to Chiba: "The core is the core, she is her."

"Once the core is in hand, she has lost her reason for living."

The Labi's calm words reached everyone's ears, and everyone couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.

Even though they are members of a dark guild, they still have feelings, families, and their own attachments.

Honestly, no one present could do such a thing to their own daughter.

Any human being, with even a shred of conscience, would not be so cruel to their own flesh and blood. But the Labi did it, without hesitation.

It's as if Seele was just a tool to be used casually. Once she lost her value, she was simply thrown away.

It's as if Seele's existence is a stain he can't erase.

"Labi, kill them all!" the giant serpent roared.

"Hmm... kill them all..." Labi's gaze swept across the area below.

The giant serpent moved, its enormous tail sweeping across the surroundings, killing many mages with One-Tail.

"La... Labi- sama, we're comrades... why... why did you do this?" One of the mages collapsed to the ground, his voice trembling.

"Companion?" Labi looked down at him, reached out and pulled him towards him, then snapped his neck and threw him down.

"You think you're worthy?"

The giant serpent wreaked havoc in the space, either sweeping its tail or opening its blood-red maw to devour the people. None of them expected that the people they had invited to deal with Chiba would turn around and kill them first.

"Bang!"

Just as the giant python was about to sweep its One-Tail across Seele, who was lying on the ground, its massive body suddenly stopped.

Chiba pushed the giant python's body with both hands, actually blocking it directly.

"Feiyin, take Seele with you!" Chiba whispered.

"Good!"

Feiyin emerged from his body, then nimbly picked up Seele and jumped to Mira and the others' side.

At the same time, Chiba's aura became even more violent.