In the nameless forest, night gradually fell, and a strange bird with compound eyes flew over the head of a team of five people, making a strange mocking cry.
"Uh...that's weird, I remember it should be in this direction..."
He rubbed the back of his head and muttered to himself, and finally realized that "something seems wrong." Yuri began to sweat from behind.
You know, the journey from "Harugion" to "Magnolia" should only take three days, but even excluding the first day of departure, their team has already stayed in this forest for four days.
Oh my god.
"...Is this the one?"
"That's the one."
"I really regret it..."
"Haha, just think of this as the fun of traveling~"
"..."
At the back of the team, except for Mebis, who was curious about everything, Zella and Volod all looked at the person leading the way with indifferent eyes.
The cruel reality has proven that the blond young man led them astray.
At the beginning, this guy volunteered to rush to the front. Sure enough, if there was no problem, why should he be sorry for his face that said 'I am an idiot'...
"...Hey!!! What do you mean by that!!"
The sharp feeling on his back made Yuri restless, and he couldn't help but complain aloud.
Although he also knew that this time it was probably really his problem...
"Look, we have to camp in the forest again today."
Floating in the air, the brown-haired girl changed her movement method and shook her head.
Regarding her flying magic, everyone was really surprised at first, but they soon became relieved and only occasionally looked at her curiously.
Of course, Zella has no interest in taking her uncle to heaven, and the only one who is qualified to experience it is Mavis.
But it would be a different matter if she used another method. For example, right now, she really wants to blow up the golden retriever in front of her to relieve her mood...
"Ah, just like before, I will leave the construction of the camp to me and Precht."
Putting down his strap and skillfully taking out the tools from his luggage, Warlord began the preliminary preparations on the spot.
Precht on the side seemed to have given up and looked around without saying a word, probably looking for a place to make a bonfire.
"...Then Mebis and I will go check out the area and bring back some fresh wild fruits and food."
"Okay~"
"Well, I leave it to you."
After her suggestion was confirmed, Zella lowered her height and let Mabis, who was very excited, sit up again.
Everyone tacitly ignored the pale guy in front of him with his hands open.
"...Um, everyone, what about me..."
Yuri smiled apologetically and raised his right hand. He would rather everyone scolded him a few words than being marginalized like this.
"..."
However, dozens of seconds passed and no one was willing to pay attention to him.
"...It's just a slight mistake, no need to be so exaggerated..."
The cold wind blew by, and Yuri put down his hands dejectedly. His back looked indescribably "desolate".
"No matter how many times I try, it feels great to be able to fly in the air like this! Right, Zella!"
Stretching out her hand to feel the flow of air in the sky, the feather-eared girl sighed to her friend with a smile.
After all, flying is a dream for most people.
"...That's true, but Mavis, it's better for you to hold on tight to me. This is not the sea. It will be very painful if you fall."
After controlling her speed and feeling better, Zella did not forget to remind the girl behind her.
"It doesn't matter! At that time, I believe Zella will catch me before I fall!"
With a chuckle, Mavis expressed his trust without hesitation.
Because since she was a child, her friends have never let her down.
"Really... don't assume that you will fall..."
"whee……"
(Then just fly for a while...)
With this idea in mind, Zera carried Mavis and flew further away from the camp.
At this time, the brown-haired girl didn't know that it was this sudden impulse that allowed them to save the lives of three people and meet the person Zera least wanted to meet in advance from all aspects.
That is a legendary existence in the magic world and the ancestor of the black magicians.
"Ah! Look Zera! There are no trees over there, maybe it's the end of this forest!"
After flying in the sky for a while, Mavis pointed to their right side in surprise. With her good eyesight, she could see a wasteland in the distance that looked like the end of a forest.
"Huh? Well..."
After responding subconsciously, although Zella felt a little strange, she still changed the direction of flight and prepared to find out.
But when she paid attention again, the brown-haired girl frowned slightly.
If she remembered correctly, the outskirts of "Magnolia" were not a wasteland like that.
(That is……)
And as she got closer and closer to the wasteland, the strange feeling in Zella's heart became stronger.
It seemed to resonate with another kind of magic she possessed.
(...No! This feeling of magic——!?)
Along with a sweeping dark wind, Zella's expression changed when she noticed something, and she suddenly stopped in the air.
"Wow!"
This unexpected 'brake' caused Mabius' head to hit Zella's back, and she let out a cry of surprise.
"...What's wrong..."
Covering his forehead, the little guy stuck his head out from behind with a puzzled expression.
It's a pity that at this time, Zella's attention has been entirely focused on sensing that strange magic power.
(This magic and the direction of action...)
Estimating the movement speed and trajectory of the 'opponent', Zera looked back and already had a bad feeling.
(Oops!)
She secretly screamed, if she calculated correctly, the place where Yuri and the others camped should be right in the way of the 'opposite'.
Those three people don't understand this, if...
"Tsk, hold on tight, Mavis, we're going back!"
"...?!"
The next moment, before the feather-eared girl had time to recover, strong wind pressure blew their hair, and the burst of magic left a stream of light in the sky.
"...That's not the end of the forest."
Immediately afterwards, Mavis' ominous explanation echoed in the air.
"If my feeling is correct, the cause of this wasteland should be..."
"The magic that symbolizes death, "Death Hunting"."
"——!!!"
…
Zella actually didn't know who the owner of the residual magic she felt was, but she knew that there was only one person in this era who could use or passively use this level of black magic.
A man named Zeref Dragneel.
(…I hope I can catch up. It’s no longer safe there…)