On the third day after Laxus left, a black carapace smashed open the Guild doors.
It was half the size of a table, with melted metal still clinging to its edges. Natsu was the first to pounce on it. He knocked on it twice and, finding that it rang clear, immediately picked it up and charged at Gray, using it as a shield.
"Put it down."
Laxus walked in through the doorway.
He had changed his coat and had no visible injuries, apart from a fresh bandage wrapped around his right hand. A round trip to the northern mine took at least four days, yet he had returned on the morning of the third with the carapace beast's toughest back plate.
Makarov glanced at the clock on the wall. "Did you take the night train back?"
"The train was too slow. I ran."
At the word "train," Natsu froze with the carapace in his arms. His face seemed to turn green at the mere thought of it, and Gray seized the chance to kick him over.
Laxus set the proof of completion on the counter. "The carapace beast in the mine has been dealt with. Three hundred thousand J. Don't dock my pay."
Makarov did not stamp it immediately. "What about the mine?"
"It didn't collapse."
"And the support pillars?"
"Most of them are still standing."
"Exactly how many?"
"More than half still counts as most."
The Guild members all stepped back in unison. A vein bulged on Makarov's forehead, and his body was just beginning to swell when a rapid clatter of hooves sounded outside.
A miner with a face covered in coal dust staggered into the hall.
"Mr. Laxus!"
Laxus turned around. "There's another one of those things?"
"It's not a monster. The old mine tunnel collapsed!" The miner braced his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. "It rained in the mountains last night, and the water washed away the fractured rock. Six workers inspecting the tunnel are trapped underneath. The rescue team can't dig through the main rock, so we had to come looking for mages!"
The casual look vanished from Laxus's face in an instant.
"Where?"
"The fork east of the carapace beast's nest."
He grabbed the travel bag he had just put down and turned to leave.
"Wait." Lin Yuan stood up from the table. "I'm coming too."
Laxus did not break stride. "This is my job."
"You already said you'd finished it."
Makarov quickly studied the mine map the miner had brought, then tossed Lin Yuan a communication Magic Crystal. "Go with him. Rescuing the people comes first. No fighting at full power in the mine, and absolutely no blowing up the mountain to see who's faster."
That last part was clearly meant for both of them.
Mira took her cloak from the back of her chair. "I'll go too-"
"You stay here," Makarov said. "The tunnels are narrow. There's no room to use Satan Soul's wings. The town's rescue team still needs people to carry the injured. You and Erza follow Macao there afterward to provide support."
With the arrangements settled, no one argued further.
Lin Yuan walked up to the miner. "Do you remember what the mine entrance looks like?"
"Of course, but the mine is-"
"Think of that place."
Lin Yuan gripped the miner's shoulder and placed his other hand on Laxus's arm. Black-and-silver magic spread out, and the street outside the Guild doors seemed to fold away to either side, as if pushed by a pair of invisible hands.
Laxus raised an eyebrow but did not pull away.
The scenery shifted out of place again and again. One step carried them across the street, the second beyond the town gates, and as the third came down, the scent of damp earth and ore rushed over them.
Lin Yuan did not arrive directly at the mine. He could not pinpoint an unfamiliar location, but they had at least saved more than half the journey.
The miner stared at the familiar ridge in the distance, only finding his voice after a long moment. "Less than ten li to go."
"Too slow."
Laxus bent forward, golden lightning coiling around his legs. His whole body became a streak of lightning that shot toward the mine, the rush of air sending leaves whirling through the sky in his wake.
Lin Yuan watched the lightning rapidly recede, then stepped into folded space.
The two figures flashed in and out of sight along the mountain road, taking turns appearing ahead. Laxus pushed forward with sheer speed, while Lin Yuan kept shortening the distance before him. By the time the breathless miner finally arrived in a rescue carriage, they were already standing before the collapsed tunnel.
"A tie?" Laxus asked.
"I got here first."
"The hem of your clothes was still behind."
Lin Yuan looked down. A corner of his clothes, caught in the space, popped out of the air a moment later.
"Now it's here."
Laxus snorted, turned, and walked into the mine.
The main rock blocked the way completely, like a slanted wall. Several rescuers were digging at the rubble around its edges, and every time they moved it, fine sand trickled down from above.
"Move. I'll blast it apart." Laxus raised his hand.
"No!" The person in charge of the mine immediately stopped him. "The main rock is bearing down on three support pillars. If it breaks, the entire tunnel will collapse."
The lightning in Laxus's palm did not fade, but he held back from striking.
Lin Yuan walked up to the rock wall and pressed his palm against its cold surface.
His magic slowly spread along the cracks in the rock. His spatial perception passed beyond the main rock, mapping out a small cavity behind it, broken rails, and six faint breaths.
"They're all alive."
The miners all breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Yuan was about to look for positions from which he could transfer them out one by one when an exceedingly faint vibration reached the edge of his perception.
It was not one of the six breaths.
Deeper inside, behind a completely sealed rock wall, there was another heartbeat, intermittent and faint.
Lin Yuan opened his eyes.
"The list is wrong."
Laxus looked at him.
Lin Yuan's hand remained pressed against the rock wall, but his voice had grown grave.
"There's another person behind the wall."