The Bizarre Alon Island

On the small boat, after knocking Laxus unconscious at his request, Hughes sat at the stern, pondering the information he had just seen.

The intelligence Laxus gave him mainly involved two parts.

Part of it is information about the Dark Guild, Threads of Illusory Evil.

The Threads of Illusory Evil is a dark guild that spans two countries and rarely appears within the Kingdom of Fiore.

This is a dark guild composed of madmen who disregard and toy with life, stirring up unrest in various places simply to please themselves.

The reason I summoned a demon in the Kingdom of Fiore this time was purely for fun.

Yes, these lunatics summoned a demon just for fun, causing countless deaths and injuries.

When Hughes saw this, he thought he was seeing things and rubbed his eyes several times before realizing that he had underestimated the madmen of this world.

Another part of the information concerns the magical abilities of Gogirde, the guild leader of the Threads of Illusory Evil.

In the Fairy Tail world, mages are divided into two main categories. One category is ability-based mages, who do not rely on magical items but instead materialize their own magical power to fight. Gildarts, Laxus, and the old man all belong to this category of mages.

Another type is the holding-type mage, who relies heavily on magical items for combat, such as Erza and Cana in the Fairy Tail guild.

Gogirde, the guild master of the Threads of Illusory Evil, is a typical holder-type mage.

With the help of an indescribable magical artifact, his Illusion Magic was so masterful and realistic that many S-Class Mage from various guilds had fallen victim to him.

Hughes knew that when Laxus said he was being restrained, he was referring to Gogirde's magical abilities.

Illusion Magic is a type of magic that works on the mind, but he happens to have mental problems.

Furthermore, Gogirde can even directly damage a person's spirit by using unidentifiable magical artifacts.

Thinking of this, Hughes glanced down at the psychic potion at his waist. "Looks like those 7 million J aren't as easy to make as I thought. No wonder the old man wanted Laxus to come along."

After reviewing the information about the Phantom Evil Silk Guild and Gogirde in his mind, Hughes memorized it.

He then shook his head, deciding to make the best of it and just be careful. If all else fails, he'd pour himself a few bottles of psychic potions before entering the island.

The small boat was moving very fast, and as Hughes drifted into his reverie, the outline of Hargeon Port slowly disappeared into the distance.

The night sky was as black as ink, without stars or moon. The pitch-black environment, coupled with the occasional howling sea breeze, created a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

Hughes patted Laxus to wake him; they had arrived at Alon Island.

"Arrive?"

Hughes nodded. "Let's adjust our strategy and, under the cover of night, sneak in!"

"OK!"

Looking around, they saw a sparse coconut grove not far to their left, which would provide just enough cover. Laxus and Hughes exchanged a glance and began to move stealthily.

The two walked side by side, their gazes averted, each responsible for observing different directions.

The coconut grove was quiet late at night, with only the sea breeze rustling the leaves.

Hughes noticed numerous scratches on each coconut tree, marks left from harvesting the coconuts. The scratches varied in age, proving that Alon Island was inhabited.

Thinking of the information Laxus had shown him, Hughes frowned. Given the habits of those madmen from the Threads of Illusory Evil, the people living on Alon Island were probably in serious trouble!

After passing through the coconut grove, several low hills came into view. Laxus pointed to the right, Hughes looked in the direction he was pointing.

There was a worn-out mountain path, and... a corpse hanging from a tree.

The two exchanged a glance.

"Let's go take a look!" Hughes said, squinting.

Judging from the shape of the body and the complete absence of any magical energy within it, the corpse was originally a resident of Alon Island.

Hughes and Laxus examined him thoroughly but found no fatal wounds on his body.

The only unusual thing was that the corpse's face was terrified, with its eyes wide open, almost as if their eyeballs were about to pop out.

Laxus pointed to the corpse's limbs. "Judging from the degree to which his limbs were curled up, and the look of terror he had before he died, he was probably under the spell of Gogirde's Illusion Magic and scared himself to death."

"Laxus, can you tell how long he's been dead?" Hughes asked, frowning.

The highly skilled and daring Laxus nodded and immediately reached out to pinch the corpse, startling Hughes.

"Judging from the degree of rigor mortis, it's probably been about two days; of course, that might not be accurate, since this place is near the sea and the weather is hot and humid, so the body would decompose faster."

Hughes:... These days, mages are so arrogant, they need to know this kind of knowledge?

He gave Laxus a thumbs-up, and the two continued along the mountain path worn into the ground beside the corpse.

The corpse had to stay hanging in the tree for a while longer. They dared not do anything to alert the enemy; if they scared away Gogirde and the others, that would be a real problem.

They'll bury this corpse after they've dealt with all the members of the Phantom Evil Silk Guild.

The two walked one after the other on the mountain path. This path must have been quite old, as the stone steps were worn smooth and broken from constant wear.

The hill wasn't very high; after walking along the mountain path for a short while, we reached its highest point.

Hughes beckoned to Laxus behind him, and the two crouched down, using the rocks as cover, to peer at the village not far away.

The night was very dark, and there wasn't a single light in the village; the silence was terrifyingly profound.

Only because Laxus and Hughes had exceptionally good eyesight were they able to barely see what was ahead.

This is a small village with only twenty or thirty households, scattered between two hills.

A faint stench lingered in the air, and Hughes' heart skipped a beat when he took a sniff.

In fact, Hughes had a bad feeling after discovering the body hanging in the tree.

Judging from the scratches on the coconut trees, the islanders frequently visited the coconut grove.

The body was hanging at the entrance to the coconut grove, in a very obvious location; anyone entering the grove would spot it immediately.

Two days passed, and the body was still hanging in the tree.

There was only one possibility: something had happened to the islanders on Alon Island. Considering the stench currently lingering in the air, Hughes shook his head and sighed silently.

"I'll search for any survivors or clues. You keep watch!" Laxus said, frowning. Hughes could sense that he was suppressing his anger.

He nodded, then patted Laxus on the shoulder. "If something's not right, just take action. It doesn't matter if you're exposed! Even if they escape, don't put yourself in danger."

"You too, Gogirde's Illusion Magic has a wide range, be careful not to fall into his trap."

Having said that, Laxus tossed his luggage near Hughes and, under the cover of night, began to explore the village below.

Hughes remained lying in place, his eyes fixed on Laxus's retreating figure, occasionally glancing at the dark village ahead.

Sudden...

A soft sound reached Hughes's ears, and the once pitch-black village began to flicker with lights.

The mournful and melodious sounds of traditional opera drifted in from afar.

"He holds the heart of my beloved, while I am heartbroken; only the moon knows my sorrowful feelings..."