ᴇᴜᴘʜᴏʀɪᴀ •• ғᴀɪʀʏ ᴛᴀɪʟ¹ ✓

145

They searched all over the place and Rae gritted her teeth, punching the wall in front of her. "He got the staff. He captured Lucy! Damn it! How could I let this happen?" The blonde girl screamed loudly and Haruka closed her eyes at the piercing sound flowed through her ears.

Gray told her to calm down as Natsu was staring at his hand, thinking it was his fault. It's because of him, Rae got distracted and let Lucy being taken. Mest looked around, trying to find any clue on their whereabouts. Then, his eyes saw an unfamiliar light brown haired girl walking to them. He stood in front of Wendy and Haruka protectively.

"Who are you?"

Rae turned around and recognized her as the girl who came with Zash last night. She approached her with a harsh look and her hand yanked her. The light brown haired girl whimpered slightly as her grip on her arm was too tight. "Where's my sister? I swear if you dare lay a finger on her single hair, I'll kill you."

The girl shook her head. "I'll take you there!" Rae let her go and Erza asked her if they could trust her. The blonde girl nodded. She had read her mind and she wasn't lying. The girl introduced herself as Sonya and Rae gave her a glare to tell her where Lucy was quickly. Mest and Rae teleported them to the hidden underground room of the palace.

That's where Zash always kept his playthings and Rae quickly ran to follow Lucy's scent, leaving others surrounded by Royal Army. "Let my sister go, you scum!" The girl punched through the wall and kicked Zash on his face. Her silver eyes hardened at sight of her sister being tied up by chains. Rae crashed the chain in her hand and caught her sister.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Lucy nodded her head and hid behind Rae.

"All those who oppose me shall be gone!" Zash raised the staff and swung it swiftly. Rae quickly teleported others somewhere else in the tunnel before he could do anything to them. Sonya led them outside and Rae thanked her for saving them. Sonya exposed that she was a confidant of King Animus, causing everyone wondering why did she help them.

"I do not want people to run into misery any longer. I have been friends with King Animus since my childhood. He used to be kind-hearted. But since Lord Zash brought him Dragon Cry, he is possessed by it. I have also participated in the robbery of the kingdom." The light brown haired girl raised her head and asked them if they knew about Stellanium.

"A mineral from this area, right?" Happy answered.

Sonya said, the more starlight Stellanium absorbed, the brighter it radiated and became a precious gem. However, Stellanium had been crying out for several years now. "It is probable that Stellanium, absorbing too much starlight than the amount is sometimes unstable. Stellanium which has absorbed a certain set of starlight has magical strength."

When that force was released at once, this realm was completely extinguished. To counter the catastrophe, they needed the power of Dragon Cry. "Tomorrow night, we will be doing a ritual in the temple, northwest of the city to clear the light. Even if Stellanium disappears, this is the only way to save our empire."

Therefore, they couldn't return the staff. Rae shook her head, saying it's originally in the possession Fiore and Dragon Cry was not working that way. It held a powerful magic power and she's afraid that King Animus wanted it for another reason. Natsu then interrupted them, talking about when he touched the staff for the first time.

"When I held it in my hands, I felt anger. The pain and suffering of the dragons. The magic power of this staff must not be unleashed!"

Sonya shook her head. "Then, are you saying that this empire will perish?!"