Mission Complete

"Everyone, split up and search to see if you can find any clues!"

Although Lidas and his two companions did not stay voluntarily, given the circumstances, they had no choice but to obey their captain's orders and conduct a thorough search of the dilapidated Underground Magic Palace.

"Being in the Northern Continent, and surrounded by enormous creatures, the one that escaped from here... could it be that guy?"

Just as the captain was reasoning and analyzing in his mind, a cry of surprise came from the Demon Palace.

"Old Suo, come quick, there's someone here!"

Upon hearing this, Old Suo immediately Teleportation to the source of the sound.

"Laxus, where is he?"

"There it is!"

Following the direction Thunder Dragon pointed, Old Suo found the target in a deep pit.

"Laxus, you stay up there and provide backup. I'll go rescue the people!"

"Good!"

Upon receiving Thunder Dragon's reply, Old Suo immediately used Teleportation to quickly travel back and forth between the deep pit and the ground.

"Old Suo, how is she? Is she still alive?"

Hearing the question from behind, the captain, who was examining the other person, frowned and said, "His breathing has stopped, but there's still a faint pulse. Whether he can survive depends on his luck!"

After speaking, Old Suo began to use Healing Magic to help the other party heal, while Laxus watched his surroundings warily.

"Uh-huh!"

With a nasal sound, the survivor's nostrils began to flare and his chest began to rise and fall.

"Old Suo is really terrifying; he can even heal injuries like this!"

As soon as the Thunder Dragon's prophecy was uttered, the survivor slowly opened his eyes, and Old Suo withdrew his palm.

Where am I?

Since Old Suo had entered a meditative state, only Laxus could step forward and answer the other party's questions.

"We are now in an Underground Magic Palace... Oh, the so-called Underground Magic Palace is actually the ruins of an ancient civilization."

The moment Laxus finished speaking, the rescued person sat up abruptly.

"What? We're still in that hell?"

Seeing the rescued people struggling to their feet and preparing to escape, the inexperienced Laxus froze on the spot.

"That guy has already left and shouldn't be coming back anytime soon, so it's safe here now and there's no need to run away."

Hearing the deep, resonant voice beside him, the rescued person stopped and turned their head to ask, "Who are you? Why are you so sure that guy won't come back?"

"We are mages from Fairy Tail. We have been commissioned to find three missing archaeologists. He is our captain, Sordil, and I am a member Laxus."

"A mage?"

Seeing the others looking at them with a puzzled expression, Laxus hurriedly pulled up his and Old Suo's sleeves, revealing the guild emblem on their arms.

"Heh! I didn't expect even kids could infiltrate the guild. It seems there's no bottom line when it comes to recruiting mages!"

Upon hearing this, Laxus retorted sharply, "Old woman, don't you know that mages are divided into ranks? Furthermore, although a mage's strength is related to age, that doesn't mean that young people lack sufficient strength!"

When the word 'old woman' reached Josephine's ears, her entire rational system collapsed, so she didn't receive any of what Laxus said afterward.

"Kid, what did you just call me?"

Laxus glanced at Josephine, whose head was bowed and body was trembling, Laxus coldly, and then repeated word by word, "Wife!"

"You brat, I'm only thirty-three years old, how dare you call me an old lady? Believe me or not, I'll beat you up!"

Seeing the fierce-looking shrew charging towards him, Laxus decisively teleported behind Old Suo, shifting the trouble to the captain.

"Holy crap! Is this some kind of ridiculous rip-off?!"

While complaining about a certain incompetent person, Old Suo suddenly stood up and used Space Magic to fix the shrew in place.

"Bang!"

After dealing with the trouble ahead, the captain gave the Fairy Child Bonk on the head.

"You little rascal, can't you just stay quiet for a while?"

Upon hearing the captain's question, a muffled rumble of thunder came from underground.

"I... I understand!"

He shook his head at the red ground, then the captain sighed deeply, and then entered a meditative state with his eyes closed once again.

A moment later, Old Suo finished regulating his breathing and slowly opened his eyes.

Looking at Lidas and Laxus in front of him, Old Suo frowned and asked, "Why are there only the two of you? Where is Kana?"

"Old Suo, don't worry, Kana is just ahead. (Laxus)"

"Up ahead? What are you doing up ahead?"

"Here's what happened. Kana found a stone tablet with ancient writing on it. We thought it might be related to the mission, so we decided to take turns guarding it. Kana insisted on being on the first shift, so she stayed at the stone tablet."

After listening to his new teammate's explanation, the captain nodded knowingly.

"In that case, let's hurry and meet up with Kana!"

"Okay! (La, Li)"

Just as the three were about to leave the pit, Lidas, who was bringing up the rear, suddenly remembered the sculpture behind him and asked curiously, "Captain, where did you find that sculpture? It was so lifelike!"

"Oh, you mean that? That's..."

The words stopped abruptly. Then, Old Suo and Laxus exchanged a glance, and then they hurriedly ran behind them.

"Disarm!"

As Old Suo's words fell, the statue was successfully brought to life.

"Ahhh, I'm suffocating!"

"Bathroom!"

"Bathroom!"

Where is the toilet?

Seeing Josephine hopping around with her legs clenched together, the two Old Suo quickly turned around.

"Miss, this is Underground Magic Palace, there are no toilets. You'd better relieve yourself here, we promise we won't watch!" (Old Suo)

"What a joke! This Lady 'm a lady, how could I... how could I..."

"Besides, who knows if any of you are perverts, or if you might suddenly turn around while I'm doing that!"

After the other party finished speaking, Old Suo shook his head and then gave Lidas a look.

Upon receiving the captain's signal, Lidas immediately waved his pen, and soon a pure white restroom appeared before everyone.

"Miss, is this alright now?"

Upon hearing Old Suo's words, Josephine rushed into the bathroom with lightning speed, and a few seconds later, she poked her head out again.

"If you dare to cancel the spell before I come out, watch out, I'll tear you to pieces!"

"Yes~~ (Old Suo, Lidas, Laxus)"

After swallowing the reassurance, Josephine quickly withdrew her head and firmly bolted the bathroom door shut.

"Splash!"

Not long after the sound of the flushing began, Josephine, looking completely comfortable, slowly emerged from the water.

"By the way, miss, you still haven't told me your identity!"

Hearing Old Suo's words, Josephine looked up and said, "Didn't you already recognize me?"

"Hehe! It's better to confirm it!"

"You're really cautious!"

After praising Old Suo, Josephine straightened her clothes and said, "Josephine Barnaba, one of the three missing archaeologists. As for her identification... you'll probably have to search this place thoroughly to find it!"

"Hehe! No need, I already have the best documents!"

Just as Josephine and Lidas were completely bewildered, Laxus, being a seasoned veteran, quickly stepped forward to explain.

"Old Suo knows Mind Magic and can read people's minds directly, but don't worry, he won't use this ability unless necessary!"

Hearing this, Lidas and the other nodded in understanding and relief.

"Alright! Let's hurry and meet up with Kana, and while we're at it, let's see what's recorded on that stone tablet!"

When Josephine saw that Old Suo and his companions were about to examine the stone tablet, she initially wanted to stop them and tell them what it contained. However, when she remembered that they had a companion there, she abandoned the idea. After all, they were going to the stone tablet anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to tell them later.

So the four of them slowly walked toward the location of the stone tablet.

"Old Suo, I'm here!"

After smiling at Kana, who was waving and calling out to them, Old Suo quickened his pace, and the other three followed suit.

A short while later, the five of them met up, and Kana began to boast to Old Suo about her discovery.

"Old Suo, look! This is the stone tablet I found!"

"Kana is awesome!"

After a series of head pats, Old Suo turned his head and stared at the stone tablet in front of him.

"Old Suo, what exactly is written on this?"

As soon as Laxus finished speaking, two identical sentences appeared in the air.

"A dark blue, Immortal Demon, an eternal messenger of hell, bringing death, misfortune, and ultimate destruction to humanity. He will forever follow us until the sun collapses and the moon perishes. (Old Suo)"

"The dark blue, Immortal Demon, the eternal messenger of hell, brings death, misfortune, and ultimate destruction to mankind. He will forever follow us until the sun falls and the moon perishes. (Josephine)"

As the other three people's gazes lingered between the two, the two exchanged a surprised glance.

"You can actually understand it? (Josephine)"

"You actually know what's on the stone tablet? (Old Suo)"

After the two finished speaking, Kana said smugly, "Hehe! There's no written word that my Old Suo doesn't recognize!"

Josephine, who was nodding, noticed everyone's gaze and hurriedly said, "We've been here before and seen this stone tablet, so we know what's on it."

"Then why didn't you say so just now? (Laxus)"

"You didn't see this stone tablet back then, would you believe me if I told you? Besides, even if you knew what the stone tablet said back then, you still came here to pick up this girl, didn't you? Since you were going to come here no matter what, what's wrong with me telling you now?"

Upon hearing the barrage of calls from the other party, Sordil and his three companions shook their heads in unison, indicating that there was nothing wrong with the other party's actions.