The Golden-Haired Maid Infiltration Operation was declared a failure.
"It's useless."
Lucy hugged the maid outfit, her face full of reluctance.
"No, it's just that Everlue's aesthetic sense is a bit abnormal."
"Excuses." Happy retorted mercilessly.
"Ah... I'm so unwilling."
In the end, Natsu's assault plan was chosen.
Ryoma walked at the end of the group. He flicked his fingertip, and a nearly invisible ice crystal silently merged into the wall beside him.
He could clearly feel a hidden magical power covering the entire mansion like a spider web. The feedback from the ice crystal confirmed the existence of monitoring magic.
In the original plot, that narcissistic duke monitored everything with magical tools.
Ryoma didn't speak up to warn them. Anyway, with this team's configuration, infiltration or frontal assault made little difference.
Happy grabbed Natsu and Lucy, lightly landing on the rooftop. Natsu grinned at the thick glass window and pressed his palm against it.
Pff—
High-temperature flames instantly melted a large hole in the glass, big enough for one person to pass through, without making a sound.
"Shh—be quieter."
Just as Lucy lowered her voice to remind them, her foot stepped on a loose floorboard.
Creak!
The harsh sound was particularly jarring in the quiet storage room.
"Ah! Lucy, you're so noisy." Happy immediately complained.
"I told you to be qu—"
Lucy was so angry she almost shouted again, but luckily she covered her mouth in time.
Ryoma stepped forward, and a thin layer of frost spread from his toes, covering the ground ahead, "freezing" all possible extraneous noises.
He turned back and made a "please" gesture to Lucy.
Natsu, on the other hand, had no sense of infiltration at all, sniffing the air curiously and looking around.
"This house is quite big."
The group passed through the storage room and came to the outer corridor.
Ryoma could feel that the peeking magical fluctuation had been locked onto them.
Duke Everlue was like a hunter sitting in front of a monitor, observing the prey that had entered his trap with great interest. But it didn't matter. According to the plot development, they would confront him head-on sooner or later.
"Speaking of which, do we have to search all the rooms?" Natsu scratched his head, finding it too troublesome.
"Of course." Lucy blurted out as a matter of course.
Natsu asked, "Wouldn't it be faster to grab someone and ask for the book's location?"
Ryoma, for once, nodded in agreement this time.
With their swaggering manner, it was more like sightseeing than infiltration.
It was only because Everlue already knew what they planned to do, and there were no guards or servants distributed within the mansion. Otherwise, how could they not be noticed walking around so openly?
"Intruders detected! Proceed with elimination!"
The five eccentrics who had appeared at the entrance of Everlue's mansion earlier emerged again.
Natsu didn't even wait for them to finish speaking before his figure flashed.
Bang!
He strung the five together, sending them all flying like bowling pins.
"Done!" Natsu clapped his hands, looking relaxed.
"Hey! What happened to the infiltration?"
Lucy grabbed her hair in frustration. "This is not infiltration at all. It's just causing a commotion like usual."
"Who cares about infiltration or not? As long as we find that book, it's fine." Natsu waved his hand carelessly.
"He has no sense of urgency at all." Happy commented.
Ryoma shook his head. "Never mind, we were going to be discovered sooner or later anyway."
The group continued forward and soon arrived at the library door.
Natsu pushed open the heavy door.
"Oh! It's all books."
"I didn't expect that old man to be a book collector."
"So, where is Daybreak?" Happy flew around searching.
"Found it!" Ryoma pointed to a golden book on the top shelf. "That's the one."
"I'll get it!" Natsu immediately prepared to climb up without a word.
"Wait! Let me." Lucy quickly stopped him.
She carefully took down the book "Daybreak."
"Got it!" Lucy excitedly held up the book.
"Then, burn it."
Natsu grinned, his right fist igniting with raging flames, ready to burn the book directly.
"Wait a minute!"
Lucy suddenly turned around, shielding the book with her body, her eyes fixed on the author's signature on the cover.
"The author of this book... is Kemu Zaleon. I'm his loyal fan."
She hugged the book tightly to her chest, refusing to let go.
Just then—
Boom!
The library floor suddenly exploded, wood chips and rubble flying everywhere. A short, stout figure emerged from underground.
"So that's it. You came for Daybreak." Everlue stroked his two comical mustaches, a triumphant smile on his face.
"We've been discovered!" Happy exclaimed.
"Everlue!" Lucy hugged Daybreak tightly.
"Did you think I truly didn't notice your infiltration?" Everlue stroked his mustache, looking smug.
"From the moment you entered this mansion, I've been monitoring you."
Ryoma thought, 'Sure enough, it was as expected.'
"Since we've been discovered..."
Natsu twisted his neck, emitting a crisp "crack," and flames surged from his knuckles.
"Then let's break through head-on!"
"Wait!" Everlue raised his hand, his posture arrogant.
"Do you think things will be that simple? I've already prepared my trump card against you."
He suddenly waved his hand.
"Vanish Brothers!"
As his voice fell, an entire huge bookshelf on the side split open in the middle, slowly sliding to both sides, and two men walked out.
"I didn't expect these brats to be Mages from Fairy Tail."
"That emblem, it's the mercenary guild Southern Wolves." Happy pointed to the emblems on the two men's sleeves.
"Give me a little time. There seems to be some secret hidden in this book." Lucy said to Natsu and the others after flipping through the book.
Blue proudly said, "Even those from Fairy Tail are just mages, they can never defeat combat expert mercenaries."
"Exactly." Black echoed.
"You mages only know how to rely on magic. Your physical bodies are pitifully weak."
"Oh? Is that so?" Natsu raised an eyebrow, flames appearing on his fists.
"Perfect timing."
The Vanish Brothers assumed fighting stances.
The two brothers suddenly split, one jumping above Natsu, the other crouching below.
Heaven and Earth Extinct Slaying Attack!
The two simultaneously attacked Natsu, performing continuous combos from above and below.
"Amazing!" Happy watched the battle nervously.
"Although they don't have magic, their coordination is good." Ryoma commented.
"That's right!" Blue shouted while attacking, "Our cooperation is invincible!"
"You guys who rely on magic don't understand true combat at all!" Black was not to be outdone.
Natsu was somewhat battered, but for Natsu, whose body had basically transformed into a dragon, it was essentially no damage.
When the Vanish Brothers thought they had successfully defeated Natsu, Natsu suddenly took a deep breath, his chest puffing out.
Fire Dragon's Roar!
A huge pillar of fire sprayed towards the Vanish Brothers.
"Hahaha! Too naive!"
Facing the destructive flames, the Vanish Brothers advanced instead of retreating, a fanatical smile on their faces.
"Watch my Fireball Cuisine!"
Black held a huge frying pan horizontally in front of him, absorbing Natsu's flames.
"What?!" Lucy was stunned. "He absorbed Natsu's attack?"
Black proudly said, "How about that? My Flame Cooking is a secret technique specially used to deal with fire-attribute attacks and it's not just absorption."
Black suddenly turned, aimed the frying pan at Natsu, and swung it forcefully. The absorbed flames were reflected back with even greater power.
Ryoma's eyes narrowed, and he instantly pulled Lucy away. A crystal-clear ice shield rose from the ground in front of him, blocking the scattered hot airflow.
Natsu, facing this fireball, neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, he opened his mouth and swallowed all that flame into his stomach.
"Burp—"
Natsu let out a satisfied burp, a crazy smile spreading across his lips.
"I'm full, and my power is surging out!"
Boom!
Crimson magical flames burst from his entire body, the air current lifting a layer of the ground.
Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!
Natsu suddenly spread his arms, and two huge wings made of pure flames unfolded behind him, obscuring the light of the entire library.
"Oh no!"
The Vanish Brothers' smiles froze on their faces, replaced by expressions of terror.
They wanted to hide, but it was too late.
Natsu's wings slammed down.
The next second, an unstoppable wave of destructive heat exploded in a fan shape.
The air was instantly ignited, and all the glass windows of Duke Everlue's entire mansion shattered into dust at the same moment.
The shockwave tore rows of bookshelves to shreds, and countless precious books turned into ash butterflies in the firelight, fluttering everywhere.
As the smoke and dust cleared, the Vanish Brothers lay charred in the ruins, completely unconscious.
Ryoma waved his hand, dispersing the ice shield surrounding him and Lucy.
Looking at the mansion, which had almost become a ruin, he couldn't help but complain, "Damn it! Natsu! You went too far! You almost blew us away with them!"