Chapter 105.2 : Hoteye!!

Suddenly, a wizard fell onto the battlefield, his head lolling as he fainted.

Gray quickly looked in the direction he came from, and a commanding figure approached.

"Miss Tiffany!" Gray's eyes lit up. This person radiated energy.

"I'm sorry, I was looking for Everit," said Tiffany.

"Did you find him?" Gray asked urgently.

"We found him, but rescuing him is difficult. There's a barrier. Only by defeating the Oración Seis and destroying Nirvana's magic crystal can we break the barrier. There's also something very important," Tiffany said.

"What is it?"

The ground rumbled as the city's legs lifted and it began to move.

"It's starting," Tiffany looked into the distance.

"What's starting? Why is this city moving?" Gray felt the vibration under his feet, his face growing serious.

"Because Nirvana is going to destroy Cait Shelter."

"What?!" Carla was shocked.

"The creator of Nirvana is the ancestor of the Cait Shelter Guild members. They have the power to seal Nirvana. So, after the Oración Seis gained control of Nirvana, they targeted Cait Shelter first," Tiffany explained.

"How could this be?" Carla was at a loss.

"I've found out the situation. Nirvana has six legs that act as channels to absorb magic power. If everyone destroys the magic crystals in these six channels at the same time, we can stop Nirvana from destroying Cait Shelter and rescue Everit and Wendy," Tiffany said, raising her fist.

"Now, let's take action."

After saying that, she glanced at Jellal, who was fighting Erza.

"Hmph, I've had enough of this," Jellal said, leaving abruptly.

He also recognized this young lady.

Everit was knocked down by her with one punch. Jellal believed that if he hadn't dodged just now, that punch would have shattered his already tattered armor – after his battle with Erza, his armor was barely holding together.

"Jellal," Erza said, her expression complicated.

"That guy," Simon said through gritted teeth. "I will definitely make him change his evil ways!"

"There are six magic crystals," Gray said, still frowning.

"How many of the Oración Seis are left?" Erza asked after taking a deep breath.

"Ichiya and Jura have been defeated," Gray replied.

"I beat Racer."

"Cobra is here."

"Angel was defeated by Miss Lucy," Carla added.

Erza looked serious. "So, there are still four left: the leader Brain, Midnight, Hoteye, and Jellal."

"There are six magic crystals, but we still have four enemies to deal with, and it's difficult for us to gather six people," Gray said, feeling a headache coming on.

Even if you include Natsu, there are only five of us: Erza, Gray, Tiffany, Natsu, and Simon.

Five people for six pathways.

If we include Lucy, Happy, and Carla, it would be very dangerous if we encounter one of the four enemies, and the likelihood of that happening is very high.

"Should we split up?" Tiffany asked.

"No!" Gray immediately rejected the idea. "There are six pathways, and the Oración Seis will definitely guard four of them. Therefore, Lucy and the others are very likely to run into the enemy."

He sighed, "Oh, it would be great if Everit were here. He would be able to figure out the situation in the tunnels and prevent Lucy and Natsu, who is in bad shape, from running into the enemies, and help us avoid those who are in a better state. But now, it's completely random."

"It's okay to go slow," Erza said. "Let's use the straightforward method and open them one by one."

"Hopefully in time," Gray said.

"Natsu, how are you? Can you still fight?" Lucy asked as she helped Natsu up. She had bought medicine from Everit that temporarily suppressed the poison and gave it to Natsu as well.

"Fire..." Natsu said weakly.

"Crash"

Erza slashed through the rusty iron bars with her sword, sending sparks flying that ignited the wood Gray had found.

The flames began to rise.

Natsu ate with great enthusiasm; his magic power quickly recovered, and the poison was temporarily subdued.

"Everit's medicine is truly effective," Lucy remarked, unable to contain her admiration.

She watched as Happy and Carla took the medicine, noticing their conditions visibly improve and their magic power being replenished.

"After all, he spent all his training time studying these things," Gray said.

"I have a few more bottles here." Lucy handed out the remaining magic potions to everyone.

After a quick recovery, they dared not delay and followed Tiffany deeper into the city.

Tiffany said, "I'm in pretty good shape. I'll head in the opposite direction and circle back; it should be faster."

"Okay, be careful," Erza nodded in agreement.

Tiffany then went off in the opposite direction. After walking for a while, her figure disappeared from view.

Erza and the others reached the first magic crystal, where Hoteye was waiting.

"Let me share some good news with you. Everything in this world can be resolved with money," Hoteye said.

"If we give you money, will you back out of this fight?" Erza asked. Coincidentally, she was quite wealthy.

"One million Jenny."

Hoteye had just finished speaking when—

'Hua La La'

Bills fluttered through the air, raining down upon him.

"One million and five hundred thousand J. Help us fight," Erza said.

Hoteye gathered the money, bowed to everyone, and then silently stepped aside.

"If I had known he was so easy to handle," Gray said, dumbfounded.

"Let's go," Erza instructed.

Everyone, including Hoteye, set off together.

"By the way, do you like money so much that you'd betray your friends for it?" Natsu asked, looking at Hoteye.

"In the Dark Guild, everyone comes together for profit," Hoteye explained. "I joined to make a lot of money and to find my brother."

"What's your brother's name? If you tell us, we can keep an eye out for him," Natsu offered.

At this, Hoteye's face softened into a gentle smile. "His name is Wally Buchanan."

"What?!" 

Erza and the others' eyes widened in shock.

"That four-cornered man?!" they exclaimed in unison.

"What?" Hoteye looked puzzled.

Simon excitedly grabbed Hoteye's shoulders, and Erza smiled, saying, "Wally is our friend."

"What?" Hoteye was stunned.

Erza continued, "Wally is traveling freely across this continent with a few friends."

"Really?!" Tears welled up in Hoteye's eyes.

"Of course." Simon pulled out a photo—it was a group shot from the Tower of Heaven, though Jellal was missing from it.

"Look," Simon handed the photo to Hoteye.

Hoteye looked at the photo of his brother, now grown and changed, but still recognizable. "This is my brother! This is my brother!"

Hoteye clutched the photo tightly, shouting excitedly. After a moment, he added happily, "Look at him, he's smiling so happily, and he's become very handsome."

"Yes, Wally is a very good person," Erza said with a smile.

Hoteye then reached into his bag and pulled out all the money he had just collected.

"What's this about?" Erza frowned.

"No, my brother has been found. I no longer need the money," Hoteye said.

"But I paid you to help us fight," Erza replied.

Hoteye is very powerful, and with his assistance, our chances of winning would be much greater.

"I will still help you, but not for money." Hoteye looked at the photo with a joyful expression and continued, "but out of love!"

"You informed me about my brother, letting me know that he is alive and living happily. I no longer need the money. I should return to my original goal of learning magic."

Hoteye added, "Ms. Erza, and everyone else, I will help you!"