Shifting his gaze away from the crystal ball displaying Rayne's image, Marion's gray eyes remained cold and emotionless, untouched even by the flickering firelight.
"Was Lyle also killed by him?"
Though phrased as a question, Marion's tone left no room for doubt as his eyes settled on the guild member who had spoken Rayne's name.
"...Yes!"
The man broke into a cold sweat under Marion's doll-like, icy stare. After a brief struggle to recall, he hurriedly confirmed.
Internally, he couldn't help but pity Rayne and his companion.
Lyle, the leader of the Rat Catchers, had always sold the children he captured to their organization—not just because the pay was good, but also because, as he vaguely remembered hearing, Lyle was one of the few people Marion considered a friend.
Somehow, the two had gotten along surprisingly well.
When news of Lyle's death had reached them months ago, he remembered how Marion's perpetually indifferent expression had darkened further. The suffocating pressure of his mana had been unbearable.
If not for their ongoing mission to retrieve a certain book at the time, he was certain their leader would have rushed south for revenge immediately.
Now that the killer stood before them, he could easily imagine what Marion would do.
"Since that little girl is with him… make sure he watches as her skin is stitched together with a dog's pelt."
Marion's voice remained flat, but the words sent chills down everyone's spines.
"Then I'll make sure his eyes stay wide open—wouldn't want him to miss a single second!"
"Damn… Just thinking about the look of agony on his face as he begs for mercy is getting me hard!"
One member clutched his face with both hands, rings digging into his skin, his manic grin barely hidden behind his fingers.
"The girl's screams of 'Big Brother!' as she suffers will be the sweetest sound—"
Another member's eyes glazed over as he voiced his own twisted fantasy.
"You two really never change with your disgusting tastes, huh?"
"Hahaha—!"
This was a dark guild, after all. At first, they might've hesitated out of fear of Fairy Tail, but with Marion's declaration, any restraint vanished.
Their true natures were on full display.
In the flickering firelight, their shadows stretched across the cavern walls, distorted and monstrous, like demons given form.
In a corner of the cave, a group of children huddled together, trembling as they listened to the horrifying words spoken with such enthusiasm.
Following Kanna's guidance, Rayne soon arrived at the mouth of a cave. Knowing they'd already been detected, he made no effort to hide his approach.
A group of twenty to thirty men stood waiting outside, their magical auras faint but unmistakable—each one a tRayned mage.
Arms crossed or hands on hips, they watched Rayne and Kanna with amused smiles, as if welcoming an unexpected diversion.
"No wonder those mages didn't stand a chance," Rayne muttered under his breath.
Last night, he'd heard that the team sent to investigate had been a standard five-man squad. Only two had returned, grievously wounded and still unconscious.
At first, he'd wondered just how strong their enemies were.
Now, he found it more surprising that any of them had escaped.
His gaze settled on the leader—a gaunt man in a dark coat. Unlike the others, no mana visibly radiated from him, a testament to his control.
Their eyes met, and a murderous intent surged from the man's gray, lifeless stare.
"..."
Rayne frowned—not because of the killing intent, but because something about this man felt off.
Yet, he couldn't pinpoint what.
"Kid, this guy's mind has been warped by magic," Drayga's voice echoed in his head, laced with amusement.
"That explains it."
Now it made sense. The dissonance Rayne had sensed was the mismatch between the man's overwhelming bloodlust and his unnaturally flat emotional state.
The sheer contrast was jarring.
"How did you kill Lyle?"
Marion's voice was like grinding metal, coarse and hollow.
"Lyle? Who's that?"
Rayne blinked before responding with genuine confusion. He'd taken on so many jobs lately—remembering every minor enemy he'd killed wasn't a priority.
"The Rat Catcher's leader."
"Ohhh, that guy." Rayne grinned. "Got eaten alive by his own summoned rats."
"So the Rat Catchers were connected to the Toymaker's Workshop?"
"Both groups trafficked kids—guess it's not that surprising."
"I wonder if their suppliers overlap too..."
While internally analyzing the implications, Rayne glanced at Kanna.
"There are people inside," she whispered, barely audible.
"By the way, his bounty was real useful—helped pay off some of my debt."
Rayne tilted his head, flashing a cocky smirk at Marion.
The provocation visibly unsettled the dark guild members. Some even glanced nervously at their leader, half-expecting him to vent his rage on them first.
"I'll return what you did to him… tenfold."
Marion's killing intent spiked, his voice finally cracking with emotion.
"Capture them!"
"Kid… Scream for me! Let me savor it—!!"
The moment the order left Marion's lips, a purple-haired mage lunged forward, his face twisted in perverse excitement. The ring on his finger glowed as he thrust his palm toward Rayne.
BOOM—
A deafening blast erupted.
But before the smoke cleared, the mage's eyes widened—Rayne had already closed the distance in a blur.