The sudden explosion caught the attention of everyone at the construction site.
Whether it was the overseers venting their rage or the slaves buried in their work, everyone raised their heads and looked toward the source of the noise, frozen by the sight before them.
Not far away, a thick pillar of fire erupted into the sky like a volcanic eruption, causing the entire island to tremble. Massive, flaming boulders rolled down the distant hillside, hurtling straight toward the crowd at the site.
"What's going on?"
"What happened?!"
"It looks like a volcano, but... I've never heard of a volcano being here..."
The overseers were thrown into instant chaos. Seeing this, the slaves' minds raced.
"A volcanic eruption? Are we going to die here?"
"Ugh... being a slave is miserable, but if you cooperate, you might at least survive; but a natural disaster is completely irrational—a one-in-a-million chance of survival!"
"No, no, maybe this is actually better? We might be able to escape in the confusion!"
"If you ask me, I hope it blows even harder and kills everyone on this island!"
Fear of death, self-pity, hope for destruction... in the face of a disaster capable of wiping out everything, all facets of human nature were laid bare.
Before anyone could react further, ice came surging from another defensive line like a tidal wave.
"What?!"
"An ice wave on the island??!"
"No, it's an ambush! Everyone, on guard!!"
On guard! Get on guard quickly!
Alerted, the overseers mobilized in full force, standing ready to deal with the intruders. However, the moment they stepped forward, a massive, unprecedented gravity pressed down out of thin air!
Thump, thump, thump...
The overseers collapsed one after another, the ground beneath them sinking into craters. They felt as if an invisible mountain had been placed upon them, crushing the breath out of their lungs and rendering them unable to move even a finger.
At the same time, a figure leaped from the shadows. His target wasn't the overseers, but the unfinished tower-like structure the crowd had been building.
He raised his arm and fired a beam of white light from his palm. The light instantly pierced the stone tower, followed by a white shockwave that swept through the surroundings. In the next moment, the stone tower and the space around it were sliced into countless perfectly square cubes. With the structure destroyed, the stone blocks fell away like uprooted weeds.
"Quick, this way!" a slightly youthful voice called out from nearby.
The crowd looked over to see a very young blonde girl. "Everyone, leave through here!"
The slaves' eyes lit up with hope. This wasn't a natural disaster—it was magic! The people responsible must be powerful wizards who had come to save them from their suffering!
"Run... run!!" "Everyone, run now while you can!!"
With landslides, the collapsing tower, and flaming debris falling all around, the only path to safety was the hallway carved out by the earlier ice wave.
The slaves' hearts pounded with excitement. After a few breaths, they dropped their tools and surged toward the direction the girl indicated. A few of them even managed to land a few kicks on the overseers who had taken advantage of them as they ran past.
The R-Organization members wanted to stop them, but pinned down by the invisible gravity, they could only watch helplessly as their captives fled.
Only then did Descartes and the others step out from the shadows.
Serena was responsible for the "volcano," Bluenote suppressed the members, Gildarts destroyed the stone tower, Ur created the path of ice, and Layla and Silver guided the escape. As for Descartes, he oversaw the entire situation to ensure no mistakes and provided support where needed.
"Our goal was to create chaos and save the slaves, but was it really necessary to make such a scene?" Serena was a bit grumpy about Descartes' order to manufacture a volcanic eruption and landslide.
"You don't get it. Doing that prevents them from taking the slaves hostage. If they had succeeded in that, our hands would have been tied during the fight."
"Isn't it better to do things a bit more 'steadily' like this?"
You call this 'steady'? I don't see anything steady about it! Serena thought to himself, glancing at the crumbling stone tower.
...
Half an hour later.
"Deeply sorry, we encountered the escapees on the way here and it took some time to settle them." "We'll take these criminals off your hands now." "Thank you all for your help!!"
The Council forces finally arrived, taking custody of the R-Organization members from Descartes and his team. The criminals were bruised and swollen, now wearing the very shackles they had used to control the slaves. They looked half-dead and utterly wretched.
However, neither Descartes' team nor the Council soldiers felt a shred of sympathy; the law enforcement process was quite rough.
"Behave yourselves! Otherwise, we can't guarantee you'll make it to the Council prison in one piece!"
As the criminals were led away, Gildarts couldn't help but mutter, "I can't believe the R-Organization has existed for over a decade and spread across Ishgar, yet there wasn't a single person in this stronghold who could actually fight."
"Fiore has a decent reputation internationally; do they really look down on us that much?"
Hearing his voice, the departing criminals groaned inwardly. Is it possible that we aren't looking down on Fiore, but that you people are just way too strong? Do these 'Lord Wizards' have absolutely no concept of their own power level? Fine, whatever, we're tired.
By the time Descartes' group returned to the academy, they had become superstars of the magical world. Driven by the Kingdom of Fiore, the Council, and the two magic academies, the "Seven Kin of the Holy Knights" graced the front page of the latest Weekly Sorcerer. Their names spread across the kingdom for the first time, making them the center of public attention.
Countless wizards were inspired, posting on public platforms that they "wanted to be just like them."
However, with fame comes friction. Soon, jealous critics on similar platforms questioned the purpose of the team and the strength of its members, even claiming "I could do that too."
While those detractors were quickly shut down by various fans, some saw the potential for profit. They leaned into the controversy, acting out and seeking negative fame to catch the magical world's eye. Magic media outlets, never ones to miss out on a spectacle, bet on both sides—supporting the Seven Kin while also fueling the haters to maximize their profits.
Fortunately, the outside noise couldn't disrupt the peace of Fairy Academy. With their first battle won, Descartes and the others finally received their rewards.