The shockwave from the explosion sent Nate's clothes fluttering violently in the wind.
"Hmm?"
Despite the blinding light, Nate's vision pierced through it, allowing him to see the flow of magic beneath the ground.
"So, there's another one."
After a moment, the residual effects of the blast faded. In the middle of the devastated forest, a massive crater, several dozen meters wide, had formed.
But Racer's body was nowhere to be found in the pit.
This didn't surprise Nate.
Just before the explosion, the ground beneath Racer had softened, transforming into something like quicksand that swallowed and transported him away.
Nate recalled that one of the Oración Seis members used earth magic.
What was his name again?
Jecht? No, Hoteye.
"Never mind, I've already marked him with 'Flying Thunder God.'"
Nate wasn't concerned about giving chase.
...
Meanwhile, several kilometers away from the forest, near the base of a hidden mountain...
The ground shifted, opening up to spit out two figures.
Racer was bleeding from the head and gasping for air.
"Good thing your magic was there, or I'd be dead by now!"
He half-knelt on the ground, one hand supporting himself while the other clutched his forehead, cursing under his breath, "Damn it! That guy, like you, also possesses some kind of powerful 'eye magic!' My slow magic was seen through easily!"
Before the mission, they hadn't anticipated things would turn out like this.
The plan had been simple: execute the operation under the cover of night, intercept the creator of Internet Magic. If they could convince him to join them, great. If not, they'd use force to bring him in.
Racer, known for his extreme speed, was chosen for the task, in case exposure required a quick escape.
But nothing had gone as planned. They had not only failed, but they had been toyed with.
"It seems our intel was wrong."
Hoteye, who had saved Racer with his magic, stood by holding a Bible, dressed in priest-like robes.
He was a large, bulky man with wavy orange hair that hung behind him, a soft beard covering his square jaw, and most striking of all, an angular, perfectly square face.
"We need to retreat! That explosion surely drew attention!"
Racer struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain wracking his body as they quickly fled.
Hoteye kept pace, opening a chat window on Internet Magic to report their failure to Brain.
[Oración Seis] Chat Group:
Money Above All: "Mission failed. The target's strength far exceeded our expectations!"
Leader: "What?!"
Angel-like: "Wait... you failed?"
Hearing All Things: "Two of you failed? You've disgraced Oración Seis."
Fastest in the World: "Don't give me that! Why don't you try it yourself if you're so confident?"
Fastest in the World: "I almost got killed!"
As expected, arguments broke out among the members, typical of their online exchanges.
Meanwhile, Brain, their leader, fumed in silence, almost as though he had gone into hiding.
...
Back in the eastern forest, Nate slowly descended from the sky, landing on the ground.
"That Mohawk guy was wearing an Internet Magic ring—where did he get that?"
After pondering for a moment, Nate quickly formed a hypothesis.
After the Lullaby incident, a squad captain from the Magic Council's Custody Enforcement Division had bought 15 Internet Magic rings from him.
During their return, they had been ambushed by Oración Seis's Angel.
The rings were likely stolen during that attack.
"Could they be here to buy more rings?"
Nate shook his head.
If they wanted to buy rings, they could've just brought money. Why resort to violence? It's not like I wouldn't sell them.
He still had over two thousand Internet Magic rings and was actually struggling to find places to sell them all.
He decided to open Internet Magic and see if he could find Brain's account.
Many people used their real names online—perhaps the Oración Seis members were no different.
He searched for "Brain" but found no results.
After a moment's thought, he tried searching for "Leader."
To his surprise, he got a hit!
Nate was amazed. They actually showed up in the search results.
These dark mages really had no concept of online safety.
Had they never been doxxed before?
How naive and adorable!
"Is it really him?"
After some consideration, Nate decided not to contact him using his usual account, [Sigma Male], but instead used a smaller, less conspicuous account.
He added Brain as a friend, leaving the message:
"Brain?"
...
Back at the Oración Seis hideout, Brain furrowed his brow as he read the group chat.
Racer and Hoteye had failed, even after working together.
"It seems this person is not only a genius at creating magic but is also a powerful mage."
"All those discussions on the forum about the developer... were they lies?"
Brain's face darkened.
There were threads on the Internet Magic forum about Nate, identifying him as a new member of Fairy Tail, skilled in Tremor Magic, and, supposedly, quite handsome.
"Hmm?"
A friend request notification appeared in the upper right corner of the screen.
When Brain clicked on it, he was startled.
Request from: [Voldemort]
Message: "Brain?"
"This guy... knows my identity? Who is he?"
Brain's expression darkened.
The Internet Magic was full of mages from legal guilds. Aside from fools like Erigor, most dark mages kept their identities hidden.
Having someone call him out by name on Internet Magic gave him a chill.
It felt like a hammer had smashed down on him, leaving him exposed in the open.
"Voldemort... who is this person really?"
Brain recalled the name from a forum post—Voldemort had replied to Natsu's thread about the disappearance of dragons, claiming that the dragons were inside the Dragon Slayers themselves.
For someone to know such a secret, they couldn't be ordinary.
Judging by the name, it seemed like Voldemort wasn't up to anything good—likely another dark mage.
Was he from Tartaros? Or Grimoire Heart?
Brain pondered for a while before accepting the friend request.
Shortly after, a message arrived that shocked him.
Voldemort: "So, you really are the leader of Oración Seis."
Leader: "Who are you?"
Brain neither confirmed nor denied the statement.
Whoever this was clearly had some knowledge about him. There had to be a leak somewhere, but he had no idea how his identity had been compromised.
Voldemort: "I know you're searching for Nirvana."
A cold sweat broke out on Brain's forehead.
His eyes remained glued to the chat window, a deep sense of dread creeping over him.
Who the hell is this person?
Leader: "How do you know about Nirvana?"
Leader: "Tell me who you are!"
By now, Brain was desperate for answers.
Voldemort: "I'm Zeref."
Leader: "Do you think I'd believe that?"
Voldemort: "Heh, why ask if you're not going to believe it?"
Voldemort: "In the world of Internet Magic, people like us are always secretive. Asking someone's identity is quite rude."
Leader: "How do you know who I am?"
Brain's face contorted in anger.
Was there a traitor within Oración Seis?
He stared at the private chat, anxiously awaiting the next response.
The message that followed left him stunned.
Voldemort: "I know where Nirvana is."
~~~
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