Rhodes quickly found Mira and Lisanna in the Guild.
To his surprise, the two sisters had dragged Laki, Kinana along, clearly, they were forming a "gossip squad" to monitor Elfman's first date.
Rhodes smirked. "You girls skipped breakfast just so you could run all the way to the girls' dorm and spy, huh?"
"Of course not!" Lisanna retorted on instinct, then broke into a guilty laugh. "Well… if we hadn't gone, they definitely would've caused trouble."
Laki put her hands on her hips. "Hey! We're not troublemakers. We were just… curious about what would happen with those two together."
Kinana chimed in sweetly, "Mm-hmm! I only 'happened to pass by' Evergreen's room this morning and saw her trying on different hairstyles."
"'Happened to pass by,' huh?" Rhodes muttered knowingly. That phrase was all too familiar.
Mira shot the three girls her best Demon glare, making them squirm. 'You want to spy? I want to spy too! But if too many people go, you'll ruin everything for my brother!'
The girls looked left and right guiltily, scrambling for a change of subject.
Laki suddenly pointed to the newspaper in Rhodes's hand. "Is that… you on the front page?"
With a sigh, Rhodes handed it over. "Today's news."
The headline blared: "Seventh-Rank Saint, 'Demon Rhodes,' Wipes Out Five Dark Guilds in One Strike?!"
The girls crowded together, whispering excitedly:
"Rhodes is so strong!"
"Seventh rank? How many open seats are there in the Ten Wizard Saints right now?"
"Five Guilds at once?!"
"Wait, why Lightning Magic?"
Rhodes groaned. Their reactions were all over the place. Only Mira, frowning a little, asked the real question: "Why are they calling you 'Demon'?"
"The enemies screamed it before they passed out. Some reporter overheard and thought it sounded catchy. Now it's a headline," Rhodes muttered.
Lisanna tilted her head. "Well, an alias given by your enemies carries more weight, doesn't it? Mira-nee's 'Demon' title started like that too. Honestly… it suits you."
Rhodes sighed. "I just hope it doesn't hurt the Guild's reputation. We're trying to promote ourselves, not scare off clients."
Kinana clapped her hands together. "Oh, right! This means Fairy Tail's name will spread even further!"
Laki's face lit up and then quickly fell into a worried pout. "But if the requests pile up again… when are you two coming back to work? The Guild Master's already saying he'll take over again."
Mira smiled and winked. "Now that Laki's grown up, please take care of us more, okay?"
"No fair, Mira-nee~!" Laki wailed, hugging Mira's arm like a child.
Mira giggled, gently pushing her forehead. "Sorry. It'll still be a few more days."
After the teasing and laughter, the girls finally gave in to their stomachs and decided to buy breakfast together.
Rhodes, meanwhile, stayed at the table, skimming through the mountain of newspapers Lisanna and Elfman had brought back. Most he flipped through carelessly, just scanning headlines before tossing them aside. But whenever he spotted an important name, a Guild emblem, or a famous Magician, he slowed down, reading carefully and jotting down notes in a small leather-bound notebook.
Rhodes was making steady progress through the stacks of newspapers.
But as he flipped another page, Rhodes suddenly froze. A strange unease tugged at him.
"Mira," he said, brows furrowed, "why do I feel like I've forgotten something?"
Mira tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Didn't you say yesterday you were going to set up a gate in the Guild?"
"Oh, right." Rhodes slapped the paper closed, stood up, and headed upstairs.
He carved the teleportation circle on the roof near the giant clock. It was an ideal location: nobody normally went up there, it wouldn't be damaged by the Guild's rowdy antics, and if the bell ever needed to be rung to warn civilians, the circle would be right at hand.
When he came back down, though, the unease hadn't left him. Even after finishing the gate, it still felt like something was missing.
He asked Mira again, but she couldn't recall anything either. In the end, he shoved the thought aside. There were more immediate things to do.
The morning was spent browsing a wedding dress shop, and by the afternoon, they had begun sorting through invitations. Rhodes had hesitated at first, was it even necessary to formally invite their own Guild members? But in the end, he decided a little ceremony was better than none.
They strolled through town hand-in-hand, shopping until late afternoon. Mira still brimmed with energy, but Rhodes' vision was starting to blur from fatigue.
At last, after settling on a dress design, both of their stomachs growled in protest.
Mira's eyes lit up. "Shall we go to that restaurant in the south of the city?"
Rhodes gave her a knowing smile. "At this hour, Elfman should be back at the Guild, right?"
Her shoulders slumped for a moment, but then she grabbed his hand and tugged him into a run. "Then let's eat at the Guild together!"
Rhodes sighed. A simple dinner date somehow felt like they were eloping.
On their way in, they nearly collided with Laki, who was rushing out in a panic.
"You're finally back!" she gasped.
Mira's expression tensed. "What's wrong? Did those two had a fight?"
"Not that, it's something much more serious!" Laki ushered them quickly inside.
"What happened?" Rhodes demanded.
Laki pressed her hands to the crystal ball-sized communication lacrima on the counter. Her voice trembled with urgency. "Erza and Natsu's team has lost contact."
"Lost contact?" Mira repeated, puzzled. "Weren't they taking care of that bandit extermination request the other day?" Get full chapters from NoveI[F]ire.net
Laki nodded. "Yes, but the client reached out at noon. They said the bandits are still active and that none of our mages ever showed up. They even asked if Fairy Tail had abandoned the mission."
Her words chilled the air around them.
"That's impossible," Mira said firmly. "The site isn't far. Even if they were delayed, they should have reached the client yesterday at the latest."
"Exactly." Laki's hands tightened around the lacrima. "Erza and Natsu would never abandon a job halfway. If there's been no word until now… something's wrong."
Rhodes' face darkened. That gnawing unease finally clicked into place.
"I knew I was forgetting something. Warm's with Wendy… and it still hasn't returned to the Howling Abyss. Normally, whether they finished the mission or ran into danger, it would've sent a signal back to me."
Mira's voice caught. "Then, can you summon Warm right now?"
Rhodes stretched out his hand, voice firm.
But no familiar ripple of space, no dark chasm opening, no faint glow of the abyss. Nothing.
He gritted his teeth, pinched the pendant at his chest, and for the first time in ages recited the full summoning incantation. Magic surged violently from him, filling the Guild with pressure so heavy even the floorboards groaned. Tables rattled, mugs shook, and more than one member instinctively flinched back.
But the air remained silent. Still, Warm did not answer.
Rhodes lowered his hand, brows drawn tight. "It seems something really has happened."
The unease in his voice was enough to silence the rowdiest of Fairy Tail. He exhaled sharply. "Maybe someone's interfering with Space Magic."
Gasps went around the hall.
Mira's eyes widened. "Space Magic? But if that's true..."
Rhodes nodded grimly. "Erza and Lucy both rely on it. If their magic's being suppressed, they're fighting with a huge handicap."
He began pacing, speaking faster, calculating aloud. "Happy and Carla aren't built for direct combat. That leaves Natsu, Gray, and Wendy to hold the line… but if the enemy's strong enough to shut down Space Magic, then..."
He stopped. The thought weighed heavy.
"That's not right," he muttered. "Warm always keeps a fallback. Even if it couldn't win, it could grab the team and pull them out. If it hasn't returned, then…"
He clenched his fists. "This enemy is stronger than we imagined."