Brain

Ultear looked at Cain before her and found herself imagining what would happen after they left this place—she and Cain would go find Ur, and then the three of them would live together.

Just thinking about those happy, wonderful days made Ultear feel utterly intoxicated.

After returning to her room that afternoon, Ultear had thought it over carefully. Ur had indeed never said she wanted to abandon her.

She had only seen Ur living with two little boys. Perhaps they were the children of Ur's friends.

Cain suddenly stopped walking ahead of her. Lost in her fantasies, Ultear failed to react in time and crashed straight into him.

"Mm."

The small cry was rather noticeable in the silent darkness. The guard sleeping at the corner groggily looked around, found nothing, and closed his eyes again.

Cain's heart, which had just leaped into his throat, slowly settled back down. Ultear noticed the guard as well. They had nearly been discovered because of her, and she felt terribly guilty.

"It's okay."

Cain's voice sounded softly beside her ear. Ultear looked up. Though visibility was poor in the darkness, she could still make out Cain's reassuring smile.

The two waited a little while before quietly tiptoeing out from around the corner.

Once they had moved far away from the guard, they both let out a sigh of relief. Seeing each other make the same gesture, Cain and Ultear could not help but chuckle.

However, they knew it was not time to relax yet. They quickly steadied themselves and continued onward.

Before long, they arrived at their destination: a place where garbage was processed. The Magic Development Bureau had staff handle its trash every day. Back then, Ultear had hidden inside a pile of garbage and been carried away by a garbage truck, allowing her to escape the Magic Development Bureau.

The moment they approached, the pungent stench of rotting fruit peels and sewage rushed into their noses.

As soon as Cain and Ultear smelled it, their stomachs churned and they began to retch.

But Cain was not truly an eight-year-old child. With the memories of his previous life, he forcibly suppressed the urge to vomit.

"Ultear, cover your nose."

Ultear moved quickly. The instant Cain finished speaking, she covered her nose with her hand. With some of the smell blocked out, the stench became much more bearable.

Now all they had to do was quietly wait for the garbage truck to arrive at dawn.

They hid themselves among the many garbage bags. Perhaps their sense of smell had grown numb, because the surrounding odor no longer seemed as unbearable as it had at first.

Ultear shifted her little bottom closer to Cain. "Cain, do you think Mom will be happy to see me?"

"She will."

Though they had not yet found Ur, Cain's words made Ultear believe without the slightest doubt.

"Cain, then we'll be able to live together. Oh, and my mom is a very powerful Mage too. We can learn magic with her."

"If we get tired, we can go shopping in town together. And, and, the fragrant pear ice pops in town are cold, sweet, and really delicious."

"But Mom says we can't eat too many, or our stomachs will hurt."

Cain did not interrupt Ultear. He only held her small body tightly.

Though his original plan had been to join Fairy Tail, going to find Ur with Ultear was not a bad idea either. This way, he could also stop Gray from going after Deliora.

As long as Gray did not lose his mind and go after Deliora, Ur would not die, and Ultear would have a mother who loved her.

If you think this book is good, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you do not lose it next time.

Mm, this was quite good after all.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The sudden applause made Cain and Ultear stiffen. All their hopes instantly turned into bubbles.

"Unexpected. Truly unexpected. I thought that after you came back, you would no longer think about leaving."

"Ultear, Ur does not want you anymore. Where can you go after leaving this place?"

The figure in the darkness drew closer and closer. He did not stop until he stood before the garbage bags hiding them, then casually waved his hand and swept away the bags covering the two.

Without the garbage bags concealing them, Cain recognized the man before him as Brain, the director of the Magic Development Bureau, future leader of Oración Seis, one of the Balam Alliance.

Seeing the two huddled tightly together, a mocking glint flashed through Brain's eyes.

"Was it this little brat who tempted you into leaving?"

Ultear had recovered from her earlier panic. She glared angrily at Brain. "Cain did not tempt me. I wanted to leave myself."

Cain stared at Brain, his mind racing as he thought desperately about how they could escape from Brain's grasp.

Things had reached a critical point. System, it's time for you to appear, isn't it? Yet the system he had expected did not appear, making Cain even more irritated.

Brain was stronger than the S-Class Mages of ordinary guilds. After releasing his inner personality, he should be roughly comparable to Jose Porla, the weakest of the Ten Wizard Saints.

Could he use the whereabouts of Nirvana in exchange for Brain letting him and Ultear go? He did not know whether Brain was interested in Nirvana yet.

The immense gap in strength, coupled with the fact that he had no cheat ability to rely on, left Cain without any good options for the moment.

Brain looked at Ultear, who was glaring at him like a little lioness, then at Cain, who had not spoken a single word since his arrival.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly. "How about we play a game?"

"As long as one of you willingly stays behind, I'll let the other leave. How about it?"

Brain's words made Ultear's eyes widen. "How... how can you do this?"

Just as Ultear stood at a loss, about to turn and look at Cain—

A sudden sharp pain struck the back of her head, knocking Ultear unconscious.

Cain beside her lost consciousness as well.

It was Brain's doing. Looking at the unconscious pair, he chuckled. "Fall completely into darkness, Ultear."

He stepped forward, picked Ultear up, tucked her under his arm, and turned toward the Magic Development Bureau. As he walked, he told the guard beside him, "Go deal with that little brat."

"Yes."

Brain had kept Ultear because she possessed immense magic power. To him, she was an excellent commodity, and someone had already placed an order for that commodity.

As for the other little brat, he was merely a useless defective. No one knew when he might turn into a mindless monster.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after, or perhaps the very next second. Who knew?

He might as well be kind enough to dispose of him. Heh heh.

Meanwhile, the guard walked over to Cain, raised the longsword in his hand, and was just about to stab down when the captain's voice sounded from behind him. "Take him farther away. Don't let the blood splash everywhere, or it'll be troublesome to clean up."

"Yes, Captain."

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