When Natsu saw the sorry state Blanc was in, he exploded.
"Those bastards!!"
His whole body tensed, and he pushed off the ground, ready to charge toward that figure.
"Natsu!" Gray reacted instantly, locking his arms around Natsu's shoulders from behind and hauling him back behind the reef.
"Let go of me, Gray! I'm going to save Blanc! I'm going to take every one of those bastards and-"
"I said calm down!!"
Gray growled, pinning the struggling Natsu in place.
"Think about it! That's Blanc!"
"Do you really think a few grunts like those could capture him?"
Natsu stopped struggling.
Gray took a breath, watching the figure being carried farther and farther away. Anger smoldered in his eyes, but his voice was unusually calm.
"I don't know why he's here... but there are only two possibilities."
"First, he let them capture him. There's only one reason he'd surrender without a fight-"
"Erza! They took her!" Lucy went pale. "...Did they threaten him?"
"Most likely." Gray nodded. "If that's why, and we charge in and cause trouble now, there's no telling what those guys might do to Erza if we push them too far."
Gray paused, a bead of cold sweat forming at his temple as his tone grew graver.
"Besides that, there's a second possibility... this tower is hiding a monster capable of taking Blanc down in a head-on fight!"
The air seemed to freeze in an instant, and everyone's expressions turned grim.
"Either way, we absolutely can't reveal ourselves right now. We have to stay hidden and use the fact that the enemy doesn't know we're here to catch them off guard."
Natsu clenched his teeth, conflicting emotions crossing his face before he finally calmed down.
"...Damn it."
"Don't worry. This is Blanc we're talking about." Gray let him