Three days later.
Magnolia Town.
Inside the Fairy Tail Guild.
Gaal was sitting at the bar with a glass of juice in front of him, while Cana, acting as the bartender, was wiping glasses.
Not far away, a group of children was practicing magic in the hall.
Gaal rested his chin on one hand as he watched those kids practice, suddenly speaking up, "Speaking of which... there's a kid over there who awakened card magic just like you, Cana."
Cana nodded and looked over at a dark-skinned boy, one who had been rescued along with her by the guild master Makarov, named Shaw.
"Yeah. But it's a different category. His belongs to sealing magic, mine is a bit more versatile."
Gaal nodded and replied, "Magic is all interconnected. You could try learning it to see if you can master sealing cards. That type of magic is quite handy. But it's best to avoid learning it while Gildarts is around."
Cana looked bewildered, her hand ceasing its movements. "Why?"
Gaal shrugged, "That guy is such a daughter slave; what if he thinks you're getting romantically involved with that kid? You know, nowadays kids are quite precocious. Fortunately, Gildarts is out hunting dark guilds; otherwise, if he saw that kid...."
Bang!
Cana slammed the glass down on the bar, her tone icy, "Gaal....!!!"
Gaal feigned innocence, raising a hand in a gesture to silence himself, then took a sip of the juice before her glare.
Seeing this, Cana huffed lightly before suddenly asking, "Speaking of which, I've never asked you. How do you know I'm Gildarts's daughter? I've never mentioned it, and! I definitely won't let it slip while I'm drunk. Or are you some kind of perverted loli enthusiast who used some hidden exploratory memory magic...."
Gaal sprayed out his juice, unable to contain a cough as he almost choked.
Glancing at Cana with a look of disdain, he still raised a fist in mock threat, "What are you looking at! Spill it!!!"
Gaal sighed and said, "Gildarts is just a brain full of junk, and you really inherited that trait. Where did you even see those things? Who would be interested in a kid reeking of alcohol?"
Speaking of which, Gaal glanced around the guild hall, unable to help but shake his head.
Aside from the kids... it was still kids, just a circle of kids!!!
Cana's expression turned incredulous, raising her fist, "You! What did you just say!"
Gaal raised a hand to wave it off, "Okay. It's not really a big deal. I just happen to know divination magic as well."
Finally relaxing her fist, Cana looked skeptical, "Really?"
Gaal shrugged and replied, "To fool you would be like a puppy."
[Points Store]
[Points Exchange]
[Exchanging Growlithe Essence. Exchange Successful.]
In the origin space, a statue representing the Growlithe lit up.
Seeing Gaal's righteous expression, Cana hesitantly nodded.
At that moment.
In the distance, Ultear, who had been teaching those children, returned with them along with Ur, saying, "Gaal. Could you help me with something? This child is looking for his brother, your curse magic...."
Gaal looked over to see a child who appeared more mature than his age named Wally Buchanan.
If he recalled correctly, this child's brother was one of the later Oración Seis members named Richard, a mage who used earth magic and was able to compete equally with the later Ten Wizard Saints member Jura.
Beside Wally was also a girl who had awakened cat magic named Millianna, along with the awakening card magic user Shaw, and the darkness magic user Simon.
They were all influenced later by Jellal to kidnap Erza.
However, due to Makarov's intervention, they were all rescued and had now joined Fairy Tail.
Gaal nodded upon seeing this, asked for a drop of Wally's blood.
The blood floated in the air as Gaal summoned a wand and cast a curse.
Then....
He immediately sensed the immense magic power from that side.
Meanwhile, among the Oración Seis, the practicing Richard suddenly let out a muffled groan as his magic power went into chaos.
The people around him were startled, and the group's leader, Brain, quickly appeared in front of Richard to restrain him, "What happened, Richard?"
Richard frowned, rubbing his chest, "I don't know what's wrong, but suddenly I felt a sharp pain, and I couldn't control the magic rampage."
Upon hearing this, Brain frowned as well, placing a hand on Richard's shoulder, letting his magic flow into him, swirling inside Richard's body for a while, "No issues. But inside seems... not just seems. You must have been hit by some kind of magic just now."
Brain's expression turned grave.
Magic was merely rigorous, with no ambiguity, especially for someone like Brain, the head of the original magic development bureau; he could not believe Richard would suddenly have his magic go rampant.
Unlike when Ultear practiced magic alone, this time Brain was right beside Richard, and he had no lucky thoughts, firmly concluding that it was indeed magic.
After pondering for a moment, Brain instructed everyone to pack their things and prepare to evacuate before investigating.
Magnolia Town.
Inside the Fairy Tail Guild.
Seeing Gaal cast a curse magic, Ultear's body quivered inexplicably.
It can't be wrong! That feeling is too familiar!
A demon!
This guy must be a demon!
Even though she had already learned from Ur that she had been cursed by Gaal's magic earlier, igniting her hope for finding her.
But whether it was the tenfold pain healing magic or that curse magic that almost killed her, it all smelled of trouble. Did they even have a proper guild here?
Is this even a serious mage?!!!
Ultear roared inwardly, reliving all those painful experiences.
Gaal, on the other hand, didn't pay attention to Ultear's expression, his face revealing a hint of helplessness as he looked at Wally among the group, "How to put it... The good news is your brother is not dead. The bad news is... the strength of that magic over there isn't much weaker than a Grimoire's heart."
Everyone was stunned; they had already learned about Ultear's situation during this time.
Just one demon's heart was so challenging.
And Wally's brother wasn't much weaker than a Grimoire's heart....
At that moment, none of the kids knew what to say.
Ur also furrowed her brows tightly, "Not weaker than a Grimoire's heart... Is it from the Baram Alliance?"
Gaal nodded and spoke, "Tartaros only collects demons. So it should be the Oración Seis. Ultear was originally abducted by them, wasn't she?"
Ur nodded gravely, "That's right. Those guys...."
The two tacitly avoided discussing Brain's experiments on children; Ultear, as a witness, wouldn't speak of it.
Gaal turned to Wally and asked, "Do you remember when your brother disappeared?"
Wally's face revealed a sad expression, "It was five months ago. There's not only my brother but also Sorano, Sawyer...."
Wally began counting on his fingers the names of the friends who had disappeared, all of whom vanished mysteriously before the chaos, and some were acquainted with Erza.
However, his brother was the last one to disappear.
Others said they had died, but he firmly believed his brother was still alive, and now Gaal had confirmed that.
Gaal nodded, unable to suppress a twitch at the corner of his mouth.
These names sounded quite familiar.
They were all future Oración Seis members.
This dark guild was leaking like a sieve; not only had the demon's heart infiltrated, but Brain was also crazily snatching talented kids.
This wasn't just about kidnapping kids; Brain was effectively sourcing them.