Chapter 307 307: Brainwashing
"Ah, well..."
Wendy-kun stammered. The man on the ground had a square face, a square body, and essentially square everything. It was hard to deny Lucy's observation.
"His body likely took on that shape due to the influence of his magic," Noah explained, looking at the unconscious man.
"Is that really possible?" Wendy-kun asked immediately, eager to change the subject.
"It's similar to your Dragon Slayer Magic, which causes your body to transform toward that of a dragon. His magic probably has a similar effect, which is why he looks like this," Noah explained.
"I see," Lucy and Wendy-kun nodded in understanding.
"These three are different from the other cult members," Mirajane noted, looking at the two men and one woman lying unconscious. Their clothing was distinctly different from the standard cult uniforms.
"They're much younger than the other members," Ultear observed. "Two of them are around our age. The square one is harder to judge."
"I suspect they are likely the children who were captured by the Black Magic Cult years ago," Noah said.
"You mean..." Sorano looked at Noah.
"Since their ages match ours, and back then the cult primarily targeted children," Noah elaborated.
Mirajane added, "Indeed. Children captured ten years ago would be around our age now. But why would they attack us?"
"They were probably brainwashed by the cult. living in this environment for years, it's very likely their minds were assimilated," Noah shook his head. Maintaining one's own thoughts in an environment that constantly preaches a single ideology is incredibly difficult.
"Damn it. There must be more people like them here. What should we do?" Erza asked, her expression filled with anger. These people were victims too, forcibly indoctrinated into this state.
"Go easy on them when we encounter them. Just knock them out. I'll transport them out later, and we can leave the rest to the Council. Professional matters should be handled by professionals," Noah advised Erza.
He then beckoned to the yellow-haired youth embedded in the wall. The boy floated out and landed in front of Noah.
Noah cast a quick healing spell on him to stabilize his injuries so he wouldn't die from neglect. Although Noah had held back, the boy's injuries were still severe.
After treating him, Noah placed him next to the orange-haired girl and the square man.
"Let's do that then," Erza said, looking at the unconscious trio. She felt a sense of relief mixed with her anger. These could have been the children captured from her village. If not for Noah's help back then, she might have ended up just like them, fighting for the cult. The thought terrified her.
Seeing Erza trembling slightly, Noah patted her shoulder and whispered, "It's okay. The Council has plenty of experience dealing with cases like this. We can leave it to them. If you're worried, you can visit them later."
Erza nodded, deciding she would indeed visit them in the future.
Knowing Erza cared about their fate, Noah waved his hand, erecting a protective barrier around the three unconscious figures to ensure their safety.
"We'll leave them here for now. Let's keep going up and take down the rest," Noah said to the group after setting up the barrier.
"Right!" Natsu was the first to charge ahead, eager to continue the rampage.
"Let's go!" Erza said to Noah with a smile, her emotions stabilizing.
"Mhm." Noah nodded.
"We have to make the Black Magic Cult pay!" Sorano added fiercely.
"We will. Let's move out!"
Noah led the way, with Erza, Sorano, and the others following close behind.
On the next floor, Natsu was already engaging the cult members. The group joined the fray.
Since everyone present was strong, dealing with ordinary cult members took little effort. Even the Magic Soldiers only required slightly more time.
They quickly cleared the floor, and the stairs to the next level appeared immediately.
They cleared several more floors in succession. Among the enemies, they encountered many young people dressed differently from the standard cultists, similar to the first trio. Like the others, these youths attacked Noah's group alongside the cult members.
Noah and the others didn't hesitate to take them down, simply using a bit more force to ensure they entered a deep, peaceful sleep quickly.
"The Black Magic Cult is despicable!" Sorano kicked an unconscious cult member angrily. They had already encountered dozens of people their age. The number of those they hadn't seen, or who had unfortunately died, must be even higher. The scale of the cult's crimes was staggering.
"We need to hurry. We don't know if Etherion will be fired. Our time is limited," Erza said, her face grim. But she knew priorities: take everyone down, then let Noah evacuate them.
"Let's move!" Ultear said, taking the lead. Her expression was also dark; her own past made her detest situations like this. She showed no mercy to the cult members, freezing many of them solid on the lower floors.
They arrived at the next level.
"Why is there no one here?" Lucy looked around curiously. The floor was spacious and empty, save for a few pillars.
Based on previous floors, they expected an ambush or a swarm of enemies. Finding it empty was suspicious.
"Did we already defeat all the minions?" Gray wondered aloud, scanning the area.
"Huh? No way! We ran out already? I haven't had enough yet!" Natsu complained.
"But we don't see the entrance to the next level, which means there are enemies here," Ultear observed seriously.
Hearing this, everyone tensed up and looked around carefully.
Suddenly, a cacophony of jarring guitar noise erupted, forcing everyone to cover their ears.
"Wh-What is this noise?! A guitar? It's so loud!" Lucy cried, covering her ears.
"That playing is terrible. How do they have the nerve to perform?" Mirajane critiqued mercilessly, also covering her ears.
"Ah! My ears!" Natsu and Wendy-kun looked in pain. Their enhanced Dragon Slayer hearing made the noise unbearable.
While everyone was distracted by the terrible music, a figure rushed toward them at high speed.
Most of the group managed to jump away, but Natsu, targeted specifically and disoriented by the noise, reacted a beat too slow. He was sent flying.
"Gah!"
Natsu tumbled across the floor before rolling to a stop.
"Natsu, are you okay?" Happy flew over to check on him.
"I'm fine. You bastard, sneak attacking me!" Natsu pointed at the person who had hit him.
"Eliminating evil! The Warrior of Justice, Fukuro, has arrived!"
Standing before Natsu was a tall man with massive arms adorned with feather decorations. He was shirtless, had two rocket launchers on his back, and wore a mask resembling an owl's head.
"It's a bird! A bird talking about justice!" Natsu and Happy exclaimed in surprise.
Meanwhile, after the group scattered, Erza suddenly sensed danger.
A woman with pink hair wearing a kimono and tall wooden clogs appeared instantly in front of her. She swung a long katana, sending waves of slashes toward Erza.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Erza parried furiously, the sound of steel clashing ringing out.
She blocked the woman's attacks, but the shockwaves from the slashes threatened to hit the others.
"Whoa!"
Lucy and Wendy-kun were near Erza and watched as the sword beams flew toward them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Noah raised his hand, and a wall of solid light appeared instantly in front of them, blocking all the slashes.
"Hah!"
Erza deflected the final strike and held her sword ready, staring at her opponent.
"As expected of the Fairy Queen. Very skilled," the pink-haired woman said calmly.
"Who are you?" Erza asked coldly.
She looked at the woman and glanced at the owl-man facing Natsu. They were clearly partners. Plus, there was the person playing the terrible guitar. That made at least three enemies.
~~~
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