Chapter 8. Help.

As soon as Eros's breathing stopped, Juro lost all interest in him.

- Take the dagger and we'll leave, - he said with the same indifference, turning and walking away in the opposite direction from the corpse.

- Yes, now, - the green-haired man ran to the boy's body, having searched him, he easily found the dagger, - Found, it remains to find only the remaining children and the job is done, - laughing out loud, he ran up to him, and his face appeared painfully bloodthirsty grin, -Fool, you yourself gave me a weapon against yourself and as soon as you die I will become the new master of the guild! - a meter away from Juro, the swordsman pulled out a blade, - Now help grandfather and DIE! - swinging, he was about to cut it in two, but sharply froze, - WHAT ?! I can't move, what the fuck ?! - the green-haired one looked with horror at the slowly turning magician.

- Have you decided to betray me, Locus? - his indifferent look, made the swordsman experience animal horror, - You know what I do with traitors and you did it anyway.

- It was a joke! JOKE! You know me, I would never do that! - all trembling, he tried to justify himself.

- It was a bad joke, - Juro sighed with relief and even smiled slightly.

- Yes, yes, I'm sorry, - Locus answered with a nervous smile, - Lucky, he was lucky! - the swordsman thought with relief, but the next moment, he was pierced by five wooden spears, - What...?

- This is how you have to joke, - said Juro indifferently, going up to the swordsman and taking the dagger from his belt, - And before you die, I will tell you one thing, - he looked into the eyes of the still living Lukos, - I was from the very beginning I could use my power, but I wanted to test the loyalty of my people and the first who did not pass it was Shika (Darky is a nickname), who deceived me, and the second, you, tried to kill me. You were useful to me, so I did not want to kill you and arranged a test, but unfortunately you did not pass it, alas - but the swordsman could no longer hear the last words.

- Eros... - Rick's shocked voice sounded.

Turning abruptly, Juro saw a boy with red hair, who looked at the corpse with disbelief.

- You are just in time, - with a slight mockery in his voice, he said, - Tell me where the other children are and then they will survive and return to the guild, but I'm sorry, you will die anyway, regardless of your answer.

- You... you killed him...

- Well, so what? I killed the enemy, this is normal in the world of adults, and if your enemy is so talented, that is, there are only two ways, it is to entice him or cut it out, - as a matter of course, said Juro, - And as you can see, he made his choice and I totally respect him, which is why he lies dead.

- The choice is yes?

- Yes, that's right... - at that moment, Juro froze abruptly, because the voice that uttered the last words was not childish. It was the voice of an elderly man.

He turned sharply to the voice and saw a short old man, with gray hair growing only from the outer edges of the head and a large mustache. Dressed in orange pants and a jacket, and on his head he had a cap with stripes in blue and orange. He stood in front of the boy's body and looked at the magician with fury.

- Is that why you killed that child? - so strong pressure fell on Juro's shoulders that he could not stand on his feet for a second. He was pushed into the ground and with every second he sank more and more, - Who are you to make you choose? Do you have the strength for this ?! Maybe the situation ?! Wealth?! YOU are nothing but a second-rate Dark Guild!

- I…

- SILENCE! - from the scream of the old man, his head was driven into the ground, - I did not give you the right to speak, - Juro for the first time in his life felt fear, the man in front of him was a monster in the skin of a man, - I already learned everything about your guild, from one person, and if I knew about its existence, then I myself would come personally to destroy you. Such heartless monsters shouldn't exist.

- Eros ... - before the body of the titan, on his knees was a crying Rick, - I ... have not yet repaid for our salvation! Get up come on... Eros! Get up!

- Yes, shut up... - a weak voice sounded from the side, - You are already tired of me, yet I will dress you up in Lily's dress.

- EROS!

- I… I… stop yelling! - the titan hissed, looking at the stake in his chest, - How shitty, for the first time in my life I feel so killed... and I want to sleep... - he closed his eyes again, and his breathing began to weaken, - Rick, if I still do not survive , then protect everyone, a good choice would be to join Fairy Tail, Roni told me a lot about this guild and I like their ideology, you will be safe there.

- EROS! Don't say such nonsense! We will all survive! Do not sleep! - the boy exclaimed with horror, starting to shake Eros, at that moment an old man came up to him and grabbed him by the hands, quickly began to examine the titan, checking his heartbeat and breathing.

- How is this possible...? - with disbelief he whispered, - The boy is still alive, but very weak, he must be taken to the healer as soon as possible! - Frowning, he quickly said, lifting the boy's body.

- And the count?

- Do not touch, - he said in a serious voice, - Better to have him still in it, that would hold back the bleeding.

- Don't worry, my guild members are already heading here, stay here, you will explain everything to them and show them where the other children are.

- Yes, please, save him!

- I will take him to the greatest of healers, she will definitely put him on his feet, - Makarov said in a serious tone and after a second disappeared from view.

- Who is this old man? - the boy whispered quietly, not knowing why, he decided to trust him ...

After a couple of minutes, Makarov was standing in front of a large tree. In the center of the tree stood a huge ornate door, and on the sides there were small windows. And in front of the tree there were several steps leading to the door.

- Makarov ?! - The first thing that the old man heard was the angry voice of an elderly woman, - HOW MANY TIMES I SAID DO NOT DISTURB ME!

Polyushka was a tall, elderly woman with pink hair, tied in a bun and attached with two large crescent-shaped pins at the edges. She had red eyes and a mole just above her chin. Out of clothes, she was wearing a dark green blouse and a long red skirt, as well as a red cloak covering the blouse.

- Polyushka, please help this boy, - blood was still flowing from Eros's wounds, and due to the speed at which Makarov moved, most of the flowing blood fell on him, covering his mustache and clothes.

- What happened?! - She quickly approached him and immediately began to examine Eros, - How could this happen, - the old woman said in shock, - How can he still be alive?

- Polyushka...

- I know without you, - the old woman snapped, - Bring it to my house and put it on the table! FAST!

Polyushka's house was decorated rather sparsely, without unnecessary furniture, only a bed, a table, a few stumps replacing chairs, and many boxes. As well as a large collection of books, placed on shelves, inserted into a tree trunk.

- Put it on and LOST!

- YES! - Makarov exclaimed and disappeared from the house.

When he left, Polyushka went up to the boy and began to examine his body.

- Who could have done this? - the old woman whispered softly, looking at him with pity, - Hmm... apparently he was already patched up before that... - she said thoughtfully, examining the wounds, - But the magician was weak and could not help much...

Makarov could not calm down and walked forward and backward, constantly looking back at the door. For him, this boy was nothing, but because of his good-natured nature, he could not see how children suffer. Yes, in itself, the personality of Makarov did not allow to pass by a person who needs help.

- Master! - two men ran out of the forest, the first was of medium height with short protruding dark blue hair, straight dark eyebrows and eyes. He was wearing light-colored trousers and a blue jacket. The second was of the same height. He had brown hair with a pompadour-style hairstyle and dark glasses. He was wearing a red T-shirt and black pants. He held a cigarette in his mouth.

- Macao, Wakaba, what about the children? The old man asked anxiously.

- Everything is all right, master, - Macao said with a smile, - That boy, Rick, helped us find them.

- We took the kids out of the forest, where they were met by other members of our guild, and now they are halfway to the guild, - Wakaba added, taking a drag and blowing smoke.

- Okay, - Makarov said with relief, and for the first time in the whole day, a smile appeared on his lips.

- About the dark guild... - the old man's smile faded, deep wrinkles appeared on his forehead, and a steel shine in his eyes, which made two magicians shudder.

- What's the matter with them?

- We found all six, but...

- But?

- Two are dead, one in the cave of the Forest Volcano, but we were a little late, - remembering the scene seen in the cave and the moans of the woman, both shuddered, - Two were in the forest, one received severe burns, but not fatal, and the second claims that he is bigger is not a dark magician and you can vouch for him.

- Yes, he was, - Makarov nodded thoughtfully.

- The last one, the leader of this group...

- What about him?

- He tried to escape three times and once he almost succeeded, therefore, - Wakaba, embarrassed, began to rub his neck, - We knocked him out every time as soon as he came to his senses.

- Okay, - the guild master sighed with relief, - And the base?

- It was the easiest thing with her, - Macao grinned, - All three refused to say where she was, but that boy said that he knew where she was and was ready to lead us there, so we wanted to clarify what to do next?

- I thought that as soon as you find out where she is, you will fly at full speed to her ...

Embarrassed smiles appeared on both faces.

- That you are a master, how can we… Wakaba said, swallowing nervously.

- What happened? - Sensing something was wrong, asked the old man.

- Well...

- Wakaba looked at Macao, but he pretended to be a felt boot, whistling looking at the beautiful tree trunk. Realizing that his friend had betrayed him, and cursing him twenty times in his mind, he turned his gaze to the agitated face of Makarov, - Well... on the way we met Gildarts, he was just returning from a mission...

- And? - sweat began to roll off the old man in a hail.

- We told him everything and saying that he would figure it out himself and we had nothing to worry about, Gildarts left...

- Where to…? - Makarov asked dryly, falling to his knees and trembling all over.

Seeing the state of the master and realizing that the following words could cause a heart attack in the poor old man, Macao and Wakaba exchanged glances and made the most correct decision possible... Run away! Which they tried to do, but were caught by the scruffs.

- Where did he go?

- In... the direction where the dark guild is... - at this moment, the hands that held them seemed to have lost all their strength and sank to the ground, - We even argued with the guys how global the destruction will be and whether the Dark Forest will exist in the future... - looking at the master, who looked whiter than any dead man, Macao realized that he had said too much.

The old man knelt down, and a strange white substance flew out of his body, reminiscent of the transparent figure of Makarov himself.

- MASTER !!!