Ifrit: Damn, This Is Going Sideways

"Don't worry." Leo raised his right hand, icy magic power radiating from his palm, and said confidently, "No one can surpass my Ice Magic, which has already exceeded Ur's!"

"That Fairy Queen, Erza, has come too, along with someone called the 'Elegant Magician,'" the short mage said.

Leo said dismissively, "That magician is just a mage who handles petty thief-catching and bandit-clearing jobs. He is not even as famous as Gray, so there is nothing to worry about."

Then his tone grew slightly more serious. "That Fairy Queen, however, may be worthy of a fight with me."

"Then I'll join the battle for the first time in a while too. Heh heh heh." The short mage laughed sinisterly.

Rumble

Just then.

The entire temple shook, and dust rained down from the ceiling, leaving everyone covered in grime.

"Natsu... he really is reckless." In a corner, Ifrit braced himself against the wall with one hand and covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief in the other.

"What is going on?" Leo and the others looked bewildered. Staring at the huge hole that had suddenly appeared before them, they walked over and looked down.

"Hahaha!"

Natsu laughed triumphantly below.

"As long as I knock down half the building's load-bearing walls and tilt the temple, the moonlight won't be able to reach the demon underground!"

"Bastard!" Leo's group was enraged.

A great battle was about to begin!

"Perfect, I can use your strength too!" Natsu's mind was at its sharpest in battle. He immediately realized that if he fought Leo, he could use the destructive force of their magic to speed up the demolition!

Leo understood that as well, but he had to stop Natsu!

He could only deal with this fool who did not know his place as quickly as possible!

As Natsu and Leo began fighting.

The short mage who had previously said he wanted to join the battle quietly slipped away.

Ifrit did not appear to help Natsu. Instead, he followed that mage as he left.

After leaving the Moon Temple, the short mage arrived outside an unremarkable hillside. He found a stone leaning against the mountain and traced his fingers over it a few times.

Rumble rumble

The stone slowly rolled away, revealing a pitch-black passage behind it.

He walked inside.

Ifrit carefully followed as well.

He followed the short mage through the dark passage.

Before him was—

Even Ifrit could not help narrowing his eyes and adjusting his glasses to ease his surprise.

Before him lay a massive cavern.

Judging by its size, the entire mountain had probably been hollowed out!

Many strange yet high-tech-looking devices had been set up inside.

Seven or eight people in white coats, who looked like researchers, were busily carrying out experimental work.

Ten huge tanks stood upright, connected by numerous pipes. They resembled the chambers from science-fiction films that held clones or monsters, but they were all empty at the moment.

More than a dozen mages were stationed here as well, chatting idly.

"I'm back," the short mage said.

"Sardi, how did it go?" a scholar asked.

"According to the original plan, Deliora should have been revived tonight, but some unexpected circumstances arose." Sardi answered, "Things have become troublesome. Fairy Tail has intervened, and Leo is already tied up by them. The Fairy Queen has come too. Leo and the others will not last until tonight."

"No matter." A handsome red-haired mage spoke calmly. "I will act when the time comes."

"If Lord Gade acts, then this matter is naturally secure," Sardi flattered him.

"The Fairy Queen, huh? Even in our country, we have heard of her reputation. I wonder what kind of flavor that woman has. Fortunately, tonight I will get to savor her properly." Gade sounded as though he were looking forward to a feast.

"..."

Ifrit walked to a corner, where the bookshelves were filled with documents.

One file in particular had an unusual name.

Demon Research Records—B59 Squad

Demon research?

Ifrit wanted to take it out and have a look.

"That won't do, Mr. Swindler. That is our secret, so you cannot read it." A voice came from behind him.

Ifrit turned around. At the entrance to the passage leading to the resting area, a mage he had met once before was yawning as he slowly approached Ifrit.

Three eyes, and that arrogant gaze.

Ifrit turned fully around and faced this enemy.

The other party had seen through his magic at a glance before, and now it was happening again. That third eye probably possessed some special ability.

"Lord Reed, what are you talking about?" Everyone looked puzzled.

"Sardi." Reed, the three-eyed mage, looked at Sardi with faint displeasure and said, "You brought someone in and did not even know?"

"What?!" Sardi took an involuntary half-step back in shock. As a seasoned schemer, he had actually been tricked by someone else!

Everyone looked toward the spot Reed had been staring at.

There was nothing unusual there.

Reed said indifferently, "Please show yourself, Mr. Swindler. Your magic is meaningless to me. My eyes can see through everything."

"See?" Ifrit chuckled. "Not necessarily."

Trying to bluff him?

Ifrit elegantly adjusted his cloak and crouched down on the spot. He kept staring at Reed, but Reed's eyes did not move and remained fixed on the original location.

Just as expected!

Ifrit's magic was not Illusion Magic. It was Deception Magic!

Illusion-type magic created special effects, passing falsehood off as truth in order to deceive people.

If it were Illusion Magic, then to avoid being noticed, he would need to conceal his body or make others see something other than him.

However, Ifrit could not turn invisible. What he did was influence the five senses of every animal within range, so that even if their eyes saw him, they would be deceived into believing they had not seen him.

Their eyes saw him, but their brains could not receive the correct information!

Then, Ifrit "told" that person that he was somewhere ahead, and the person would process that false information and thus see "him."

Therefore.

Reed's words had revealed a flaw.

Ifrit was not invisible. If Reed could truly see Ifrit.

Then when Ifrit made such a strange and abrupt movement as crouching down, Reed's gaze should have changed under normal circumstances. Yet it had not changed at all!

Therefore, the reason the other party could lock onto Ifrit's location was probably something else.

At the very least, it was not sight!

However, even after determining that the other party was still affected by his magic, Ifrit secretly kept several trump cards in reserve.

He did not fight by charging ahead like Natsu. He preferred to seize an enemy's mistake and kill them in a single blow!

"Big brother, can I eat him?"

That little boy, who clearly did not look normal, had hidden among the shadows cast by objects the entire way and silently circled behind Ifrit. Even as he asked, he launched a fierce attack!

His triangular, blood-red nails were extremely sharp, red lightning flickering across them. That dangerous-looking claw shot toward Ifrit's waist!

Ifrit did not panic. This insane child was also affected by his magic, so Ifrit naturally had a grasp of his movements.

He took two preemptive steps to the side and dodged the attack.

He turned to look at the insane child. His appearance had not changed from before—he wore prison-style shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, his skin was unnaturally pale, and his whole body was covered in bite marks.