The Ghost of Fiore

Unraveling

If I had been capable of feeling anything at the moment, I would probably be filled with relief that I had decided to spare the irritating woman. While she was still filled with retorts that made her sound like a four-year-old throwing a tantrum, she was at the very least giving me directions as I ever so pulled her through town; studiously ignoring the concerned looks were being thrown by various townspeople.

It wasn't until I was led to the outskirts of town that I actually began to feel grateful that I kept the annoying woman alive. Yes, I wished that I didn't have to listen to her make snide comments, but as soon as I saw the forest, I knew that I would never be able to find Novus Ordo's hideout on my own.

There was a slight amount of poetic irony here that I absolutely despised... Screw poetry.

Despite the obvious drawbacks, there really was no choice but to keep moving on, entering into the trees as I hoped beyond all hope that Laxus would come walking out as a last-ditch effort to save me from getting lost. Even as the town slowly disappeared behind me I continued hoping for that, but there was no luck... Nothing but the trees, and if you haven't picked up on this yet, nature doesn't like me, nor do I like it... It's a mutual dislike.

Thankfully, the woman didn't pick up on my intense dislike of my situation as she led me through the bushes. I could feel her fuming the entire time, but I could care less about that, there were bigger things for me to worry about, which was topped by the fact that Laxus' presence had been fading slightly.

It really was odd, normally if I could feel Laxus' presence it meant that I could track him down by his heartbeat; however, there was something blocking me from him. It was vaguely apparent to me that we were getting closer, but it was so subtle that there would have been no way for me to actually track it.

Just like the last two times, Novus Ordo had turned their hideout into a bit of a rat's nest. I grilled the woman as much as I could as we walked and it became more and more apparent that she only knew the basics. It seemed that Novus Ordo had brought her in for the sole purpose of being an in-town contact and while she had been to the base once or twice, that was the extent of her involvement with the main guild.

Did that make feel worse about the fact that I was undoubtedly going to kill her? Not at all. She had organized all three of the kidnappings that had happened recently, which included Laxus. When I asked her what they wanted Laxus for, her eyes practically froze and she clammed up, even when I threatened her with an excruciating death she remained quiet.

Obviously, she really believed in what was happening here, which was the only black mark I needed to give her. Any organization whose sole purpose was to harm others was bad in my mind... Was that a bit hypocritical of me? A bit, yes, but I really couldn't bring myself to care.

I suppose I had some idea of what was happening, if they had taken on the name of Novus Ordo, it only made sense that they held some of the same goals. Creating a new generation of mages was what the original guild wanted to achieve and they were trying to do that by infusing people without magical potential with pure magic, which acted like poison to the body. It was a disgusting practice and as far as I knew, none of the victims survived. 

That's probably why I felt such a large amount of anxiety for Laxus... If I lost him to this assholes, I wasn't sure I would be able to contain myself. 

As I navigated my way around a large pack of forest vulcans, my heart rate began to pick up for no obvious reason and I began to drag the woman as quickly as I could without alerting the whole forest to my presence. Something was happening, though I wasn't sure what.

"Are we close?" I bit out, just barely managing to hold back my powers.

By this point, the woman was able to walk a bit more on her own, but my accelerated pace practically pulled her off her feet, "Y-Yes!" She yelped, though I didn't necessarily pay too much attention to her, "Just over this-this hill is the entrance." Her voice tremored as I pulled her off her feet again, "Slow down would you, y-you're going to pull my arm-"