CHAPTER 489: KILL WENDY AND NATSU!

"The magic crystal was transported from another floating island. Its approximate location is..." Jamie paused, tilting his head thoughtfully. "That entire crystal is about the size of an island. In two days, they’re scheduled to begin extracting magic power from it."

Hearing this, Rhodes fell silent for a moment.

If he wanted to mark this location on a map, he’d need to note its altitude, not just coordinates. But that made sense, this was Edolas, where most of the population lived on floating islands. Maps here probably needed to be three-dimensional by default.

"To rescue our companions," Rhodes muttered, "we have to go to that floating island."

There was no need to overthink it. That island was clearly a core facility, it would be heavily guarded.

Flying the ship directly into that place would be walking into a trap.

Worse still, Gemi had mentioned the Edolas Royal Army had a specialized Legion Unit that handled aerial combat.

Even if their mounts weren’t as massive as the Dragonos, they were still formidable, at least large enough to be real trouble. And there were a lot of them.

Rhode’s current monsters, just a few wolves and wraiths, wouldn’t stand a chance in a full-scale aerial clash.

He closed his eyes, thinking fast. "Before tonight, we need to find a hidden place to land. I want to test an idea, see if I can restore the magic crystal’s power. If it works, we’ll figure out a way to reach the main crystal after that."

As for returning to earth Land...

That would depend on Gemini. They’d need to infiltrate the royal capital and "touch" some high-ranking officials to get reliable intel.

Worst case scenario, if even the officials didn’t know how to return to Earth Land...

They’d have to find a way to kidnap the King.

And if that failed, Rhode’s expression darkened slightly, he might be forced to unleash a swarm off spiders into the royal palace.

Lucy raised her hand. "So... what kind of place would count as safe?"

"Somewhere people rarely go," Rhodes replied, "or somewhere the Royal Army doesn’t dare to enter."

But he didn’t know the geography of Edolas well enough to give a precise location. So, he turned to the one person here who might.

"Lisanna, do you know any such place?"

Lisanna furrowed her brows. "The old Fairy Tail location could work... but it’s too far. Every place I know is too far."

"If it’s too far from the capital," she added, "and the airship runs out of magic power, we won’t be able to make it back in time to save everyone."

That was a real problem.

Too far, and they’d lose the chance to strike quickly.

Too close, and they’d be crushed under the Kingdom’s surveillance and response teams.

"I know~" Gemi suddenly chirped, raising his hand. "There’s a place near the capital that the King’s Army doesn’t dare to approach."

Everyone turned to him.

Jamie smiled sweetly. "It’s inside Exceed."

"..."

Rhodes furrowed his brow. "Where is Exceed located? And... is it related to the word ’Exceed’? Does anyone here actually know what an Exceed is?"

Gemi, ever eager to explain, perked up. "Exceed lies to the north, floating even higher than this island. It’s the kingdom of the Exceed. As for what they are, Happy and Carla are Exceed!"

"What?!"

Carla immediately brought her paws up to her head, looking like she wanted to dig a hole and vanish. She clearly had no desire to hear any of this.

"We’re Exceed...?" Happy blinked in surprise. "I’ve never heard of that before. Carla, is that true?"

Carla didn’t respond. She looked away, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"Whirr~ Whirr~"

Gemi spun in the air, explaining cheerfully. "The proper term is Exceed, a race born with innate magic power, whose social status in Edolas is considered superior to that of humans."

Rhode’s expression darkened slightly as he recalled the earlier scene, when the soldiers had saluted Happy and obeyed his commands without hesitation. "Wait... you don’t mean... the rulers of Edolas are cats like Happy and Carla?!"

Gemi shook his head. "No, no. Edolas is ruled by Faust, the human King. But the Exceed are revered like gods. Their power and status are seen as far beyond humans."

"Gods...?"

Gemi nodded solemnly. "The Queen of Exceed, Lady Shagotte, possesses a divine power, they say she can control the life and death of any human she wishes. If she commands someone to die, they will die."

Rhode’s first thought was oddly modern. ’She has a Death Note or something?

Zeref... the infamous dark wizard from Earth Land... he was rumored to possess magic that could extinguish life at will.

If Queen Shagotte truly held such a power, then she was incredibly dangerous.

"Can we land our ship in Exceed?" Rhodes asked. "How long would it take to get there?"

"You can reach Exceed by circling above the capital and ascending further," Jamie explained. "But Soga has never been there. And Deul hasn’t either. So we don’t know the terrain, the layout, or where it’s safe to dock."

Rhodes turned to Lisanna. "What about you? Do you know anything about Exceed?"

Lisanna shook her head. "Not really. I don’t think anyone in Fairy Tail has ever met one, otherwise, Happy and Carla would’ve been recognized the moment they walked into the guild."

"That makes sense..." Rhodes trailed off, deep in thought.

But before he could say more...

"I’m sorry!" Gemi suddenly cried.

"Huh?" Rhodes blinked.

Gemi and Mini huddled close together, floating in the air with their arms raised.

"Time’s up! See you next time!"

’Whirr~ Whirr~!’ they chirped.

And with a sparkle of golden light, the two little Celestial Spirits vanished.

Lucy staggered, clutching the cockpit wall for support, her breath shallow.

"Are you okay?" Rhodes asked gently. He could tell just by looking, her magic reserves were almost gone.

"I’ll be fine," Lucy replied with a strained voice. "I just... didn’t last long enough. I couldn’t hold the transformation. The information cut off..."

"It’s alright," Rhodes said calmly. "We got most of what we needed. You’ve done your part, rest now."

He turned to the others. "We’ll head to Exceed first and scout the area."

At that moment, Carla, who had been frozen in shock since hearing the name, finally snapped out of her daze. She gasped and cried out, "That’s... that’s where Happy and I came from! That’s the kingdom that sent us here... It could be very dangerous!"

Rhodes glanced at her. "We don’t have many options. Besides, sometimes the most dangerous place is also the safest, right?"

Then, more seriously, he asked, "Unless... you know something more? Something that might change our course?"

"I—" Carla hesitated. Her lips trembled, and she lowered her eyes. "At the very least... Wendy and Natsu shouldn’t go there!"

Rhodes shook his head. "We don’t have enough people to split up safely. If we left those two behind, they’d just charge into the capital on their own. You know them. Natsu wouldn’t sit still, and Wendy... she’d never let him go alone."

Carla opened her mouth but couldn’t refute it. Deep down, she knew it was true. Those two would never stay behind. Even if she begged them, they wouldn’t listen.

"Carla..." Happy’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet. He tugged at his ears nervously, glancing between her and Rhodes. "Why are you so scared of going to Exceed? Isn’t it our homeland?"

He forced a small smile, trying to understand. "I mean... if that’s where we came from, maybe we can help, right? I made those soldiers listen to us. Maybe I can help again."

His eyes glimmered with a fragile hope. "So why not let us go? Why can’t Natsu and Wendy come too?"

"You..." Carla spun toward him, her jaw clenched, ears flattened with frustration.

The airship tilted slightly as it adjusted its course toward the northern skies. The tension in the cabin grew thick, everyone could feel Carla’s emotions spiraling.

Happy flinched, looking completely lost. "Did... did I say something wrong?"

Rhodes and Lucy both stared at Carla, confused. Even Lisanna turned her head, sensing something was deeply wrong.

Carla’s anger suddenly crumbled into something else, pure despair. Tears spilled down her cheeks as her voice finally broke.

"Our mission..." she choked out. "The mission they gave us when they sent us here... was to kill Wendy and Natsu!!!"

"—!!"

Happy staggered back as if slapped, his eyes wide, his mouth falling open in stunned silence.

A voice trembled behind them.

"Carla... what did you just say...?"

Everyone turned. Wendy stood in the doorway, barely able to hold up a woozy Natsu. Her eyes shimmered with disbelief and hurt.

Natsu, even in his disoriented state, was awake enough to feel the weight of those words. He looked at the Exceed pair, stunned.

Carla turned toward Wendy, her expression crumpling. Her mouth moved silently for a second, as though she couldn’t even bear to say Wendy’s name.