Chapter 6 — Signs in the Shadows

The morning air carried the faint scent of rain.

Magnolia's streets were already alive as Teresa moved quietly along the stone-paved roads, her tall figure standing out even among the bustling merchants and early shoppers. She walked unarmored, dressed in her familiar black Claymore tunic—its high collar folded neatly around her neck, the twin slits of the skirt swaying lightly with her steps. She carried no visible weapon. Only the subtle presence of power trailed behind her like a thin mist, one that the townspeople couldn't name but instinctively respected.

Though weeks had passed since her arrival, she remained an enigma to most.

Fairy Tail's active members had grown more accustomed to her distant nature. They no longer stared as openly when she entered the guild hall, though whispers still followed her.

She remained apart from their easy warmth.

Not hostile. Not cruel. Simply... detached.

Teresa had not come to seek companionship.

As she entered the guild hall, familiar faces greeted her.

Max waved from behind the bar, already arranging stacked mugs. "Morning, Teresa."

"Good morning," she replied softly.

Reedus was seated near his usual table, flipping through sketches—several of which now included careful studies of her armor. "Ah, good timing!" he exclaimed, lifting one of the pages. "I think I've nearly captured the way your cloak moves during battle."

Teresa glanced at the sketch without comment, merely offering a faint nod.

Wakaba, smoking his ever-present pipe, chuckled from the side. "She's too polite to say it, Reedus, but I'm sure you've got a long way to go."

Romeo hurried toward her, eyes bright as always. "Good morning, Teresa! Are you heading out again today?"

"Perhaps," she answered simply.

Macao appeared from the back office, carrying a stack of papers. "Teresa, I might have something for you."

She turned toward him with the faintest tilt of her head. "A request?"

"Not exactly," Macao said, laying out several reports on the table. "More like a problem that doesn't fit into any of the standard jobs."

Teresa approached quietly and scanned the pages. Most were familiar—standard guild requests for delivery escorts, minor monster culling, and magical repairs.

But one file stood out. The parchment was older, stained, the handwriting uneven. A local village report, several days old now.

Strange disappearances in the lowland forests west of Magnolia.

"Several merchant caravans vanished along the trade road," Macao explained. "No survivors. No signs of bandits or beasts. The scouts we sent haven't returned either."

Warren, standing nearby, added thoughtfully, "The local magic council thinks it might be an old cursed area. They're calling it rogue magic, possibly unstable ruins."

"Rogue magic," Teresa repeated softly.

"Yeah," Macao nodded. "There are plenty of places in Earthland where old magic experiments went bad. Forbidden research, sealed weapons, that kind of stuff."

"Are you asking me to investigate?" Teresa asked.

"I won't order you," Macao said, raising his hands. "You're not officially guild staff. But... we're stretched thin. I won't send the younger members into unknown cursed territory."

Reedus added carefully, "If anyone could handle unknown magic, it's you."

Teresa's silver eyes lingered on the reports a moment longer.

"In my world, ruins often house things worse than their builders."

"That's why you'd be perfect," Macao said with a tired smile. "If you're willing."

"I will take it," Teresa answered simply.

A ripple of attention passed through the guild, but no one objected. By now, they trusted her skill implicitly—or perhaps they simply respected her lethal calm.

"Be careful," Romeo said softly. "We don't know what's out there."

"I always am," Teresa replied gently.

Before leaving, she stepped toward the guild's far corner and focused inward. Light shimmered briefly around her as her Requip activated—armor forming piece by piece: a breastplate, pauldrons, gauntlets, boots, then the long white cloak falling into place behind her. Last came the familiar weight of her Claymore sword, sliding into position behind her back under the cloak.

The guild watched her transformation with silent reverence, as they always did.

Fully armed, Teresa turned smoothly. "I will return."

And with that, she left.

As the heavy guild doors closed behind her, Macao exhaled softly, watching the trail of swirling cloak as she vanished into the streets.

Wakaba shook his head. "Every time I see her, I can't decide if she's protecting us... or preparing to judge us."

"She's protecting us," Romeo said confidently.

Macao smiled faintly. "Let's hope she keeps choosing that."

Outside the city, the quiet fields gave way to darker woods.

Teresa moved with silent ease, every step measured. The farther she walked, the thicker the air seemed to become—not in physical weight, but in magical tension. She could feel it twisting through the roots of the forest—tangled, unstable, unnatural.

Not Yoki. Not like the energy she had known. But similar in its sickness.

As she reached the edge of a sunken glade, her silver eyes narrowed. The ground dipped into a bowl-like depression, where faint runes pulsed dimly among collapsed stone pillars and twisted roots.

Old magic.

Forgotten.

Corrupted.

And something waited within.