The group lifted their heads, gazing at the sky.
"The birds… they're actually falling straight into the water."
Gray stepped out of the cabin to take a closer look. "Not just the birds in the air—the fish in the sea too…"
"This isn't something ordinary," Juvia said with a grave expression.
Noel's eyes narrowed. The wreckage around them looked familiar somehow… that flag…
Right—wasn't this a Fiore military vessel? What's a navy ship doing in these waters?
Suddenly, a shimmering water-like barrier enveloped their ship.
"With this barrier as our shield, we should be able to land safely!"
Protected within the veil, they encountered no danger along the way.
Noel carefully maneuvered the ship toward a safe spot to dock. He was extremely cautious—the ship belonged to the Magic Council, after all.
If it were destroyed, the costs would fall squarely on him. Worse still, Council regulations required triple compensation for damages. Since he was the renter, everything—repairs, replacements, reimbursements—would come out of his own pocket.
Noel was the first to disembark, surveying the terrain. Gray and Lucy followed, dragging Natsu along with them.
"This island… doesn't it seem a little too quiet?" Lucy murmured uneasily.
"Could be the island's too large to patrol fully. They might have concentrated all their defenses inside the tower," Gray reasoned.
It was a logical assessment, and the others accepted the explanation.
The group moved cautiously, creeping through the shadows. Before long, they spotted guards in the distance.
From afar, it was a dense mass of soldiers—armed to the teeth with refined weapons, and even accompanied by tamed beasts.
At first, Noel thought the infiltration would be simple. But upon seeing the sheer scale of the defense, he couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
The group observed in silence. Noel quickly outlined a plan, then they split up to scout for weaknesses—any spot where the defenses were thin enough to allow entry.
Unfortunately, after circling the perimeter, they all returned disappointed. No vulnerabilities. No gaps.
Then, the waters beneath them began bubbling ominously. Noel stiffened instantly.
Had they already been discovered? Were the enemies merely toying with them?
Natsu and Gray tensed, readying for battle. Lucy had her keys poised in her hand.
But the figure that emerged from the water was… familiar.
"Juvia?"
The tension instantly drained from Noel's shoulders. Their cover hadn't been blown—they were still safe.
Seeing their grim faces, Juvia tilted her head, not sure what had happened. Then she spoke leisurely, "I found a shortcut under the water."
"Really? That's fantastic!" Gray said immediately.
"Your praise is for Juvia—not for you," Juvia added smugly, aiming the words directly at Lucy.
Lucy, flustered, didn't know how to respond. "…R-right, sure, sure…" she muttered awkwardly.
Juvia continued, "The passage requires about ten minutes of swimming."
"That's nothing," Natsu replied without hesitation.
"I can handle it too," Noel agreed, unfazed.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Lucy muttered, exasperated.
Juvia casually conjured a sphere of water in her hands. "Here, take this. I've sealed oxygen inside, so you can breathe while submerged."
It was an ingenious solution. Noel admired the craftwork—it required not just magical power but a high degree of precision and technical control.
"You're amazing… By the way, who are you again?" Natsu suddenly asked.
"…" Juvia froze, turning to stone on the spot. It took her a long moment to recover.
"I am Juvia of the former Phantom Lord guild. Since the guild disbanded, I am now a free mage!" she declared proudly once more.
"Strange. I don't remember seeing you during the war," Natsu muttered.
"…" Juvia was struck speechless yet again.
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward. Noel nearly shoved his hand over Natsu's mouth to shut him up.
Before long, they all slipped beneath the waves. Guided by Juvia, the infiltration proceeded smoothly.
As they swam, Noel glanced at the seabed. His eyes widened in shock—scattered among the sediment were abandoned magical tools… and human bones.
There were signs people had once lived here. And after that, they had dumped their refuse straight into the waters. It was reckless, destructive—an outright violation of the natural order.
Noel seethed. Disgusting. To poison the sea like this—it's a crime against the ecosystem itself.
It explained why the fish were dying, floating lifeless at the surface.
But the birds? Why did they drop from the sky the moment they neared this place? That… he couldn't explain.
More and more questions churned in his mind, none with satisfactory answers. For Noel—ever the perfectionist—unresolved mysteries gnawed like unlearned truths.
Damn it. My knowledge isn't enough… I can't decipher what's happening here.
Even so, the tower looming ahead filled him with dread. It was eerily familiar. He was certain he had never seen it in person—but perhaps in a book, or in an old report.
Regardless, ever since setting foot on this island, Noel's spine had prickled with unease. The feeling only grew stronger.
Then, beneath the water, he saw them: white bones littering the seabed. At first, he thought they might belong to sea creatures—but upon closer inspection, he realized, without a doubt, they were human remains.
Worse still, magical residue lingered upon them. Noel recognized it immediately. It was eerily similar to sacrificial magic.
They used humans… as sacrifices?
Rage surged within him. To trample human lives so carelessly, to exploit them for selfish desires—it was unforgivable.
And the deeper they swam, the more gruesome the discoveries. Bones. Fragments of tools. Evidence of rituals. Noel's stomach churned, but the others, it seemed, noticed nothing.
At last, after ten minutes underwater, they surfaced.
Noel climbed ashore first, scanning the surroundings. By the looks of it, this was the tower's underground level.
Most importantly—their infiltration had gone undetected. It was, by all accounts, a flawless entry.
"Where are Erza and Happy?" Natsu muttered as he glanced around.
"Obviously inside the tower. Why would they be in the basement?" Gray shot back.
"This thing is convenient… but honestly kind of dumb," Lucy muttered, holding the oxygen sphere.
"Lucy's is the only one I made a little smaller. I'm surprised you managed to keep breathing," Juvia said sharply, fixing Lucy with a piercing stare.
A chill ran down Lucy's spine. The sphere in her hands popped and collapsed instantly.
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