Makarov had always been an impatient man, but when he witnessed those young children suffering such severe injuries with his own eyes, the fury in his heart instantly blazed to its peak. This kindhearted old man, filled with a sense of justice, could no longer suppress his emotions and activated the emergency teleportation Magic Circle connected to Crocas without hesitation.
In the very next moment, amid flashes of light, Makarov arrived in Crocas. Without wasting a second, he headed straight for the Magic Development Bureau. At the same time, he quickly contacted Council member Yajima, who was in the Council, through a Communication Crystal.
The two of them had been comrades who fought side by side in their youth, and they shared a deep friendship and tacit understanding. Within the Council, Yajima had always been a steadfast supporter and defender of the Fairy Tail guild.
Makarov could barely contain his fury as he forcibly restrained himself and described the horrifying tragedy inside the Magic Development Bureau to Yajima. Every word was filled with his hatred for Brian.
After hearing Makarov's account, Yajima was likewise enraged. He immediately replied, "Don't worry, old friend. I'll arrange for people to arrest Brian right away!" He then added that he would personally lead the team carrying out the operation. Makarov promptly instructed Yajima to send people to handle the aftermath as soon as the criminal had been arrested. After receiving Yajima's affirmative reply, Makarov ended the call and continued striding toward the Magic Development Bureau at an even faster pace.
After arranging everything, Makarov reached the Magic Development Bureau.
When the two guards at the entrance saw him, they hurried forward to stop him, unaware of who he was. But by then, Makarov's chest was already filled with rage, like a volcano on the verge of eruption. His magic suddenly exploded, blasting the two guards several meters away. Makarov did not stop for even a moment, instead striding straight toward the laboratory.
At that moment, one of the guards lying on the ground took advantage of the others' distraction, stealthily reached into his clothes, and quickly sent a message.
Brian, who was far away, soon received the message from the guard. Learning that Makarov actually knew what he had been doing in secret, he was both shocked and furious. He could not understand how Makarov had found out, but clearly, this was not the time to think about it. Brian knew that returning rashly now would be no different from walking into a trap and certain death. Thus, he forcibly suppressed his panic and anger and tried to calm himself as quickly as possible. After carefully considering the situation, he decided that his most urgent task was to contact the Dark Magic Group immediately and discuss how to deal with what came next.
Meanwhile, Makarov had already arrived at the laboratory.
After entering the darkroom, he saw Allen and Laxus treating the unfortunate children in an orderly yet urgent manner. Some of the children had already awakened after receiving treatment, blinking their confused, wide eyes at the unfamiliar surroundings. Others, however, remained unconscious because their injuries were too severe, and their condition was not optimistic.
Ultear slowly regained consciousness. As her awareness gradually returned, that familiar yet terrifying sensation surged into her heart. She instinctively thought that she was about to be dragged away for those terrible experiments again, and tears uncontrollably spilled from her eyes.
Seeing this, Allen's heart clenched. He hurriedly comforted her in a soft voice, "Don't be afraid, little sister. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to save you. I promise I'll get you safely back to your family." However, Ultear was unable to suppress her fear and grief, and her sobs continued without pause.
It was only when Allen said the word "family" that Ultear seemed to grasp a lifeline. She suddenly raised her head and gazed at him through tear-filled eyes, her voice trembling as she asked, "Big brother, really? Can you take me back to my mother? I miss Mommy so much..." Before she could finish speaking, a fresh wave of tears burst forth like floodwaters breaking through a dam.
Allen's heart ached terribly. He hurriedly reached out and gently lifted Ultear into his arms, speaking tenderly. "Of course I can, sweetheart. We'll leave to find your mother in a little while, all right? Your mommy must miss you very much too. Don't cry anymore. You'll make your little face all blotchy, and then you won't look pretty. Your mommy definitely wants to see her beautiful girl, doesn't she?"
Perhaps Allen's warm words had taken effect. Ultear's crying gradually stopped, though the occasional sob still escaped her. At that moment, Allen turned to Makarov and asked, "Grandpa, you're here. Is everything arranged?"
Makarov nodded heavily. Although he had already prepared himself somewhat for what he would see, when he truly witnessed this heartbreaking scene, the battle-hardened old man still could not suppress the surging emotions in his heart.
"I've already notified your Grandpa Yajima. He'll soon lead people to search for Brian. As long as that bastard hasn't left Fiore, we'll definitely be able to catch him! At the same time, a team of professional medical personnel will arrive soon to help treat these poor children. However, finding out their exact identities probably won't be easy." Makarov's voice was low.
Allen had already prepared a solution for this difficult problem. He looked firmly at Makarov and said, "If we truly can't find any definite information about these children's identities, then perhaps you could consider taking them all into the guild. Let these children, who have suffered misfortune from such a young age, personally experience the warmth and care of Fairy Tail. That way, not only could we give them a warm home, but we could also give Fairy Tail's next generation a stronger sense of belonging. What do you think?"
Hearing Allen's proposal, Makarov let out a deep sigh. After pondering for a moment, he slowly said, "For now, it seems this is the only option. Rather than hand these children over to the Council, I might as well take them back to the guild and care for them myself."
Then Makarov slowly crouched down with a smile and began speaking to the children in his gentle voice. Perhaps it was because Makarov naturally possessed an approachable air that children especially liked, or perhaps because he had plenty of experience dealing with children. In any case, the little ones who had been crying their eyes out gradually quieted down one after another. A few faint sobs could still be heard now and then, but the overall atmosphere had eased considerably.
Just then, hurried and disorderly footsteps suddenly came from the corridor outside the laboratory. Before long, Yahar hurried into the room with a well-trained medical team.
Once the professionals took over, Allen, Makarov, and Laxus, who had been tense the entire time, finally let out long sighs of relief.
A small incident occurred in the midst of everything. A nurse tried to take Ultear from Allen's arms, but Ultear struggled desperately like a frightened little rabbit and cried out loudly, refusing to leave Allen's embrace no matter what. Seeing Ultear crying and screaming, Allen's heart ached terribly. He quickly hugged her even tighter and cast the nurse an apologetic look, indicating that he would continue looking after her.
"All right, all right, little Uru, don't cry! Tell big brother, are you hungry? If you are, how about Uncle takes you to eat something delicious?" Allen coaxed her softly while gently stroking her back, trying to calm her as quickly as possible.
Allen gently stroked Ultear's hair and comforted her in a quiet voice. "Don't be afraid, little Uru. Everything will be all right." Then he turned to Makarov and Laxus and said, "Grandpa, you and Laxus stay here and look after them for now. Once they finish their examinations, we'll start preparing to return to Magnolia. After we get back, we'll have Grandma give them a thorough examination. Then the children can rest safely in the guild. I'll take Ur to get something to eat now."
Makarov nodded slightly, but Laxus suddenly spoke up. "Big brother, I'll go with you!" Allen was taken aback when he heard this. He had been so focused on caring for the children that he had not noticed Laxus seemed troubled as well. A moment later, however, Allen smiled and replied, "All right. We'll go together."
On the way out, Allen occasionally turned his head to observe Laxus's expression.
Laxus's face was tense and solemn, as though an enormous burden weighed on his heart.
At last, Allen could not hold back. He reached out with his right hand and gently patted Laxus on the shoulder, asking with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling upset because of what happened to these children?" Laxus remained silent, but slowly raised his head and looked at Allen with dull, lifeless eyes before giving a slight nod.
"That's why I want to eliminate the Dark Magic Group and every Dark Guild, including those who use the name of a Light Guild while doing dark things. All of them are my enemies. So if you don't want to be powerless in the face of things like this, the only choice is to make yourself stronger. Once you become strong enough, your enemies will be wary of doing certain things because you exist. Of course, I also need to apologize to you. You encountered all of this much too early. I truly forgot that you're only ten years old yourself, only a little older than these children. It seems maintaining transformation magic for so long caused me to develop a mistaken impression. I'm sorry, Laxus."
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