The thirty seconds were up.
Romeo's finger slid across the rune tablet, his voice lowered to a whisper. Happy immediately spread his wings, claws locking onto Natsu's and Luffy's shoulders as he lifted off. Gray slammed both palms onto the sea, ice racing forward to form a wide passage across the pitch-black waves. Erza stood at the rear, armor fully formed, light sword held horizontally as her gaze swept the depths of the rocky island.
No one looked back.
The ice bridge had barely finished forming when crimson light flared from distant warship cannons. A Seastone shell screamed through the air, striking the center of the passage. Erza leapt to intercept it, arms crossed in front of her.
Boom!
The shockwave exploded outward. Gray-black mist scattered in all directions. Fine cracks spiderwebbed across Erza's armor, her boots skidding half a meter across the ice before she stabilized.
"This level of suppression…" she muttered. "I can't hold it for long."
Natsu spun around and charged back, flames bursting from his fists as he evaporated the spreading mist into white vapor. Gray followed immediately, reinforcing the ice. Wendy landed on the edge of an ice platform, hands clasped at her chest as she whispered an incantation. The wind eased, pressing the raging waves down by a layer.
"Move!" Gray shouted.
Everyone accelerated. Happy scouted ahead with Natsu and Luffy. Carla closed her eyes, ears twitching.
"Whirlpool ahead, front-left. Shift three meters."
Gray instantly raised an arcing ice wall, guiding the group around the danger.
The storm hadn't ended. Thunderclouds churned overhead. Wendy looked up, her Observation sensing spreading into the deep sea. Her expression tightened.
"Something's moving down there."
Before the words faded, the sea erupted.
A creature as massive as an island burst from the depths. It resembled an ancient whale-dragon, bone spines lining its back. Its eyes glowed a cold, ghostly blue. Where teeth should have been, its mouth was ringed with suction-cup structures. Faint patterns pulsed across its belly resonating with the Blue-Flame Flower hidden against Natsu's chest.
The beast inhaled.
Magic particles were ripped from the air in an instant. The flames in Natsu's palm went out. Cracks split the ice beneath Gray's feet. The creature's tail swept sideways, shattering the ice bridge completely. Everyone leapt aside, landing on an ice platform Gray hastily formed.
"My crystal pouch!" Gray shouted, grabbing his waist. The pouch holding the D-07 badge was gone.
"It sucked it away?!" Natsu roared.
He stepped forward, but Erza stopped him with an outstretched arm.
"Don't be reckless! There's a powerful magnetic field inside it, magic will be distorted."
Wendy closed her eyes, sensing carefully. When she opened them, her tone had changed.
"Its life signature… it's similar to the ruin. Maybe it's not an enemy, just a guardian?"
Natsu stared at the direction where the beast sank into the deep, fists clenched. Gray pulled out a projection crystal and infused it with magic. Bickslow's Sea Domain Star Map appeared on the ice. The route showed the creature heading toward an uncharted island exactly where the Blue-Flame Flower pointed.
"The badge inside it is heating up," Romeo said, hugging the rune tablet. "Same frequency as the flower."
"Then it's confirmed," Natsu said firmly. "It's taking our stuff straight to the ruin."
Erza scanned the group.
"Keep your distance. Shadow it. When it reaches land, we move."
Gray nodded, pressing his hands to the sea. The ice platform sank slowly, using the deep ocean's shadows as cover. Happy carried Wendy and Romeo low over the water. Carla kept her eyes closed, continuously predicting currents. Everyone adjusted their posture, entering stealth mode.
The sea darkened. Only a distant point of light remained visible.
The ice platform advanced slowly through the undercurrents. Gray maintained the lowest possible magical output, sweat forming on his brow. Prolonged ice control made his arms ache, but he didn't stop.
"Ten meters ahead seafloor drop," Carla warned.
Gray raised his hand, ice lifting slightly to bypass the trench. Wendy sat at the edge of the platform, palms against the water, sensing the deep. Her brow never relaxed.
"It's slowing down," she said. "Like… it knows we're close."
Natsu crouched at the front, reaching into his coat. The Blue-Flame Flower was nearly burning his hand now. Its glow seeped through the fabric, darker, sharper, pointing unwaveringly southeast.
"Direction hasn't changed," he said. "Still southeast."
Erza stood behind him, armor still on. Cracks were temporarily sealed with magic, but her defense had weakened. She stared at the distant glow.
"Happy, drop five more meters. Don't let it sense movement above."
"Got it!" Happy folded his wings, skimming the wave crests.
Luffy glanced at the sky and grinned.
"That fish is huge. Riding it would be awesome."
No one replied. The tension was thick.
Suddenly, Wendy stood up.
"Wait, it's changing course!"
Everyone stiffened. Gray immediately recalculated the route. The creature, once heading straight for the island, veered fifteen degrees southwest.
"Why?" Natsu asked.
"I don't know," Wendy shook her head. "But its emotions changed. Like it's responding to something."
Romeo looked down at the tablet, face paling.
"The badge signal is fluctuating! It's not steady heat, it's pulsing. Like it's sending a message."
Erza's eyes sharpened.
"Someone's using the badge to contact it?"
"Impossible," Gray said. "Crocodile is imprisoned on the rocky island. He has no equipment."
"Then it's not him," Erza said, tightening her grip. "A third party."
Natsu let out a cold laugh.
"Whoever it is, if they took our stuff, they'll give it back."
He moved to stand, but Erza stopped him.
"Observe first. It hasn't attacked us. Don't provoke it."
Before the words settled, the beast suddenly turned.
Its colossal body twisted through the water with startling agility, charging straight toward the platform. Currents exploded outward, the ice platform lurching violently.
"It spotted us!" Carla shouted.
Gray slammed both palms down, thickening the ice as it surged forward. Happy yanked the others upward, barely clearing the wave crest. The beast passed beneath them, its tail fin grazing the ice platform, shards flying everywhere.
"It didn't attack!" Wendy yelled. "It's driving us away, it doesn't want us going that way!"
"What do you mean?" Natsu frowned.
Erza followed the creature's movement, realization flashing in her eyes.
"It's guiding us."
"What?"
"The new direction perfectly matches the star map's safe route," Gray said quickly. "It avoids all undercurrents and whirlpools the shortest and most stable path."
"So it's not an enemy," Wendy nodded. "It's helping us."
Luffy surfaced, wiping his face.
"Told you! A big guy like that wouldn't just crash around for no reason!"
Natsu fell silent. He pulled the flower from his coat. It trembled gently in his palm, its glow stretching along the southeast path. He looked toward where the beast vanished and spoke softly.
"Then we follow it."
Erza nodded.
"Adjust course. Move along the new route."
Gray re-formed the ice bridge, and the team advanced again. Happy flew lower. Carla continued monitoring the currents. Romeo recorded everything on the tablet, expression focused.
The storm began to fade. The distant glow grew clearer.
The ice platform entered a pitch-dark zone. The water deepened, visibility dropping sharply. Gray formed floating ice markers ahead. Wendy pressed her hands to the sea.
"There's something ahead," she said suddenly.
Everyone froze.
Wendy closed her eyes, Observation fully released. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Not a living thing… structures. Massive ones. Buried under the seabed."
Erza immediately ordered,
"Cut all light. No external magic."
Gray extinguished the cold at his fingertips. Natsu drew his flames back inside. Happy folded his wings and descended. Darkness enveloped them, broken only by the sound of water.
Wendy continued sensing.
"It's stopped above the structure. It's guarding… an entrance."
"Where's the entrance?" Natsu asked.
Wendy raised her hand, pointing straight down.
"Right beneath us."
Gray slowly crouched, pressing his palm to the sea. His fingers touched a metal plate etched with complex patterns. He infused a trace of magic the markings faintly lit up.
"This is… an activation device."
Erza stepped closer, eyes narrowing.
"It needs a key."
Natsu clenched his fist.
"D-07."
Everyone understood.
To enter the ruin, they had to retrieve the badge from inside the guardian beast.
At that moment, Wendy's eyes flew open.
"It's coming back!"
The sea trembled violently. A colossal shadow rose from the depths. The beast surfaced slowly, its eyes fixed on the group. Its mouth opened, suction rings contracting as if waiting.
Natsu stared back.
Slowly, he raised his hand.
Flames ignited once more in his palm.