Aftermath

Laxus carefully supported Allen, whose body was somewhat drained, as they slowly left the base filled with an eerie aura. Not far away, they discovered a cave that looked relatively safe and well hidden.

Laxus gently helped Allen into the cave first, then followed him inside. He found a fairly flat spot where the two of them could sit down and get a proper rest.

After a brief adjustment, a hint of guilt appeared on Laxus's face. With some apology, he said to Allen beside him, "Big Brother, sorry. I didn't find any other survivors. It looks like they were all offered as sacrifices to that Theodore."

Hearing this, Allen, who had already recovered somewhat, gently shook his head to show that he did not mind. "It's fine, Laxus. Although the remaining person escaped for now, I can find him. When I fought him just now, I implanted a mark of my magic power on him. With that mark, I can clearly sense his location no matter where he runs, so we can track him after we're in better shape."

At this point, Allen's previously relaxed expression suddenly turned serious, even carrying a hint of gravity. "However, regarding this Dark Magic Group, I think we need to inform Grandpa as soon as possible and have him notify the Council to take action. After all, if we let such an evil organization continue growing, who knows how many more terrible disasters they'll create? We were lucky to discover them early this time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Laxus still got goosebumps whenever he thought of the cultists being offered to Theodore as sacrifices. If just a few people with a little magic power could summon such a powerful demon, then if the Dark Magic Group made thorough preparations, it might truly cause a massive disaster. The more he thought about it, the more urgently Laxus wanted to grow stronger. Otherwise, if he encountered something like this again, he would only hold Allen back.

Allen had no mind to ponder Laxus's thoughts at that moment, because he had already decided to tell Makarov what had happened. He found the Communication Crystal in the backpack behind him, then focused his mind and continuously poured his magic power into the crystal-clear object.

As the magic power continued flowing in, the originally dull Communication Crystal gradually began to shine with a bright light. Before long, a clear image appeared above it—the familiar, kindly face of Makarov.

"Hm? Allen, why did you suddenly contact me? Did something troublesome happen over there?" At first, Makarov's face had been full of joy. But when he took a clear look at Allen and Laxus, covered in dust and looking utterly battered, his expression instantly grew grave, and concern appeared in his eyes.

Seeing this, Allen hurriedly explained, "Grandpa, don't worry. We're both fine. It's just that after being away for so long, we started missing you and Grandma a little, so we thought we'd check in on you! Laxus, come over and say hello to Grandpa!" As he spoke, Allen turned and waved to Laxus beside him.

Laxus dragged his feet for a long while before finally stepping forward. Looking extremely embarrassed, he softly greeted Makarov through the Communication Crystal, then seemed to lose control of his facial expression. He hurriedly dashed back to the side.

Makarov was an exceptionally shrewd man. Just seeing this, he faintly sensed that something was wrong. Still, he merely nodded and replied calmly, "Mm-hm. You're both good children, and Grandpa has been missing you too. If there's nothing important, go ahead and end the call for now. Keeping the connection open consumes quite a lot of magic power!"

When Allen saw that Makarov really seemed about to end the call, he quickly said, "Wait, Grandpa! We did run into a few things."

Allen then carefully recounted to Makarov everything that had happened, including their encounter with the Dark Magic Group and Theodore.

As Allen spoke, Makarov's expression grew increasingly grave. When he heard about Theodore, his thick eyebrows drew tightly together, and fury flickered in his eyes as if flames might burst from them. After Allen finished describing the entire incident, Makarov could no longer suppress his anger. He glared straight at Allen and scolded, "You charged into such a dangerous situation with only the two of you? Did you not even stop to consider whether they were hiding any powerful mages? And what's even more outrageous is that you ended up fighting a demon too? You really think you're something now, don't you! Why didn't you think to notify me first? If you had been seriously injured—or even lost your lives—what would your grandmother and I have done?"

Facing Makarov's questioning and reprimands, Allen lowered his head guiltily and said softly, "I'm sorry, Grandpa. It was all my fault. I was too impulsive and overconfident. At the time, I was only thinking about resolving the problem as quickly as possible and didn't consider everything carefully. If I encounter something like this again, I'll report to you immediately and leave it for you to handle! Please don't be angry. It's bad for your health. Also, don't tell Grandma about this. I'm worried she'll be concerned."

Makarov said irritably, "Do you really need to tell me that? If Polyushika finds out, she'll probably rush straight out of the house to drag you back herself. But you really were a little too impulsive this time. I believe you had your reasons for fighting those cultists at first, but fighting the demon at the end was rather unwise. However! I still have to praise you for one thing: you handled this well! Just as you said, if you hadn't stopped them immediately, no one could say how far things might have developed. Be more careful next time. I'll let it go this time. All right, I'll tell the Council about the Dark Magic Group and the demon."

When Allen saw that Makarov was preparing to end the call, he said somewhat awkwardly, "Ahem... Grandpa, there's one more small matter. During the fight with Theodore just now, we blasted a huge pit into one of the nearby mountains. Do you think the Council will make us pay for it?"

Makarov, who had been sitting at the bar, nearly fell over. A furious roar came through the crystal: "You're already learning how to destroy things at such a young age?!"