The setting sun's afterglow stretched the barn's shadow long, and the purple flames on Natsu's fingertips appeared exceptionally eerie in the twilight.
Ezreal crouched down, taking off the goggles on his forehead and putting them over his eyes.
"Let me see this." He looked at the scorched claw marks, and a faint white light glowed in his eyes behind the lenses. "Interesting... This isn't ordinary Dark Magic."
Happy flapped his wings and landed on Natsu's shoulder, curiously leaning in to observe: "Aye? Is there anything special?"
A faint white light glowed on Ezreal's fingertips, and the scorched claw marks immediately seemed to encounter a natural enemy, as faint black energy drifted out and scattered in all directions.
Visibly, these black energies took on the form of twisted spikes.
"Look." He pointed at the scattering black energy, "These spikes are a characteristic of'Shadow Bind'."
Natsu's brow furrowed even deeper: "Shadow Bind? What the hell is that?"
"A type of Dark Magic that is not easy to master." Ezreal put his goggles back on his head and pulled out a small bag of silver powder from his pocket. "The caster can control shadows. It's recorded that this magic can stir up the darkness in people's hearts."
"Fortunately, this magic cannot use children to speed up its cultivation, so whoever abducted the children must have other motives."
He sprinkled the powder on the claw marks, and the powder immediately turned dark purple. "For now, these children should be safe..."
"So what do we do now?" Natsu pressed, the flames on his fists intensifying.
Ezreal didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took a glass bottle from his bag and carefully collected the discolored powder.
"Children, in magic studies, represent the element of pure souls." He shook the bottle, and the powder inside emitted an eerie glow. "Under normal circumstances, it's often used for... sacrifice."
These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over the three of them. Happy's wings unconsciously tightened: "Aye... You mean..."
"They seem to be using children to summon something." Ezreal's voice was as cold as an arctic wind.
Natsu's pupils suddenly contracted into thin lines, and the flames all over his body surged fiercely, making the surrounding air twist from the heat.
"These beasts!" He slammed his fist towards the ground, but pulled back his strength at the last moment, extinguishing the flames on his fist, only causing the ground to crack slightly. "I'll burn them to ashes!"
Ezreal gently placed his hand on Natsu's shoulder: "Calm down. Anger won't solve the problem."
He asked gently: "We need more information. Granny, can you tell us in detail about the circumstances of Maxi's disappearance?"
The old woman trembled as she recalled: "That night... Maxi said he was going to the barn to find his wooden horse toy... I heard him scream... By the time I ran out, I only saw a cloud of black smoke carrying him towards the forest..."
Ezreal nodded slightly and asked again: "Exactly what time was it? Where was the moon at that time?"
"A-about nine in the evening... The moon had just risen as high as the oak tree tops..."
Ezreal looked up at the sky, quickly calculating: "Today is a full moon... If we extrapolate based on the moon phase..."
He thought for a moment, then turned towards the back of the barn, "Happy, go see if there are any footprints over there."
Happy flapped his wings and flew off, shouting shortly after: "Aye! There are strange marks here!"
The three rushed to the back of the barn and found a series of blurry footprints on the ground, with a circle of scorched grass around each print.
"Shadow Step." Ezreal crouched down to examine them. "Traces of a caster moving through shadows."
He pointed in the direction the footprints led, "They went north."
Ezreal snapped his fingers, "For tracking, let Evil Wolf do it..."
"Leave it to me." Natsu grabbed a handful of soil from the ground, put it to his nose, and sniffed. "The scent is very clear, they won't get away!"
Ezreal looked at Natsu with slight surprise, then smiled happily, praising him unreservedly, "Natsu, you've really grown a lot during this time."
"Of course! I've really been studying hard lately. I haven't missed a single one of the old man's lessons." Natsu dropped the dirt in his hand, his nose twitching slightly as he looked towards the forest.
"Let's go!"
"Wait." Ezreal took three small bottles from his bag and handed them to Happy and Natsu. "Drink these. They can resist the erosion of Dark Magic."
Natsu took the bottle and sniffed it suspiciously: "This stuff looks like horse piss."
"You should be glad Jet didn't hear that. I bought these to support his business." Ezreal had already drained his own bottle. "The taste isn't great, but it increases your resistance to Dark Magic."
Happy looked at the empty bottle in Ezreal's hand, "Aye! Do you, a Light Mage, also need to drink this? Don't you inherently have resistance to darkness?"
Ezreal replied with a smile, "Better safe than sorry."
"As expected of EZ, so cautious!" Happy pinched his nose and chugged the potion, immediately sticking out his tongue: "Aye! It tastes worse than fish bones!"
...The night in the forest was thick and impenetrable. The flames on Natsu's fingertips drew a flickering band of light in the darkness.
The mixed scent of sulfur and decay grew stronger and stronger. Happy had already covered his nose with his wings, flying erratically.
"Aye... This smell is even worse than Erza's soup..." The blue kitten gagged.
Natsu suddenly stopped, and the flames 'poof' shot higher: "Found it!"
He pointed to a crack in the mountain wall ahead, from which an eerie blue light seeped out.
"The smell is coming from inside."
Ezreal pushed his goggles up, and a faint white light glowed in his eyes: "Interesting... The entrance is protected by a concealment barrier."
He reached out and touched the air, his fingertips creating ripple-like patterns. "Some kind of shadow barrier, it'll take some time to rewrite."
Natsu, unexpectedly, wasn't impatient. Instead, he stroked his chin in thought: "EZ, I remember you know a bit about ritual magic? Can you rewrite the barrier into our passage?"
His gaze was focused, unlike his usual boisterous self. "That way we can sneak in silently, to prevent those people from potentially moving the children."
Ezreal blinked, then suddenly burst out laughing: "Woah, is this our Natsu?"
He reached out and pinched Natsu's face, "Suddenly so reliable, could you be possessed by Erza?"
"Hey!" Natsu slapped his hand away, flames igniting in his eyes, "I'm serious!"
"I know, I know." Ezreal's smile didn't fade, his eyes curving into crescent moons. "That's why I'm even happier."
He changed the subject, his tone suddenly becoming light, "But then again -"
A hint of cunning flashed in the blue eyes behind his goggles: "To deal with this kind of scum, there's no need for such trouble."
Natsu and Happy tilted their heads simultaneously: "Huh?"
Ezreal snapped his fingers, and dozens of blood-red eyes suddenly lit up in the surrounding bushes.
Ghostly wolf packs formed from black smoke emerged from the shadows, their translucent bodies shimmering in the moonlight, faint black smoke drifting in the air.
The surrounding temperature suddenly turned cold and eerie.
"On the way here, I already had Evil Wolf release hundreds of wolf spirit clones to surround this area."
He said with a smile, his tone as casual as discussing the weather, "Now, within a five-mile radius, not even an ant can crawl out."
Happy's wings froze in mid-air: "Aye... When did EZ..."
"So -" Ezreal suddenly punched the barrier, having absorbed a large amount of philosophers stone to complete his initial human alchemy. His physical strength now rivaled Evil Wolf's, and the explosive physical power instantly made the entire mountain wall tremble.
" - Let's fight without holding back!"
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