Upon hearing Alan's question, Harry replied, "Actually, right before I passed out, I had already sent a distress signal to my companions in the guild using communication magic, hoping they would arrive in time to back me up. However, I never expected that I would lose consciousness before they could get here. If not for the great fortune of running into the two of you, I'm afraid my companions would have found nothing more than my corpse when they arrived. But they should be getting close by now."
Hearing this, Alan exchanged a calm glance with Laxus beside him, then replied steadily, "In that case, let's just wait here for a bit and talk once your companions arrive."
Before long, a bustling commotion arose from outside the cave, traveling from afar and growing steadily clearer.
Harry, who had been sitting on the ground, used the wall for support and stood up, his face beaming with excitement as he said, "Haha, it must be my companions!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than three men trooped into the cave entrance.
Just like Harry, all three of them looked like completely ordinary Mages who wouldn't stand out at all among normal people. The moment they caught sight of Harry's battered and bruised appearance, their expressions shifted to extreme shock. Rushing over to Harry's side in a flurry of long strides, they eagerly pressed him for answers: "Harry, what happened?"
After listening to Harry briefly recount the whole sequence of events, the three men immediately and without hesitation bowed deeply to Alan and Laxus, expressing their heartfelt gratitude: "Thank you both so much for stepping in to help! If you hadn't stood up at such a crucial moment, our guild might have lost a good partner like Harry forever. We will never forget this kindness, and we sincerely thank you!"
Seeing this, Alan and Laxus hurriedly stepped forward and gently helped the three men back up. Alan replied with modesty, "Please don't be so polite. It was merely a matter of lifting a finger. We happened to be passing by at the time, and naturally we couldn't just stand by and watch when we saw such a situation. Besides, we also obtained important information from Harry here, so both sides can be considered to have gained something."
However, the three men still seemed eager to express more of their gratitude. Just then, Harry quickly stepped forward, raising a hand to signal them to pause for a moment, then turned to face Alan and Laxus as he made introductions: "Come, come, let me introduce you to each other first. This is Nall Sack, that is Josh Gilbert, and over there is Jim Ellis. They're all good buddies of mine who are as close as brothers! As for these two here, they are Alan and Laxus, both from the Fairy Tail guild. Their main purpose in coming here this time is to cross Mount Hakobane."
Because the three of them had been too anxious when they first entered, they hadn't bothered to introduce themselves. Following Harry's introduction, the three men all wore looks of astonishment upon learning that Alan and Laxus hailed from Fairy Tail. They never expected that people from the legendary guild would appear right before their eyes.
Alan and Laxus were already accustomed to others reacting with surprise upon learning they were from Fairy Tail. It could only be said that the seniors in their guild had accomplished far too many grand feats—after all, no other guild caused quite so much destruction while completing jobs.
After this brief acquaintance, Nall warmly invited Alan and Laxus to return with them to their guild so they could properly express their gratitude. Faced with Nall's warmth, however, Alan politely declined.
Alan smiled and explained, "Thank you very much for your kind intentions, but Laxus and I really can't go back with you. We still have our own business to attend to, so you just need to safely escort Harry back to the guild. As for that group of mysterious figures in the mountains, just leave them to us to handle." Despite Nall and the others trying every possible way to persuade them and change Alan's mind, they ultimately failed to get their way.
Seeing this, Harry and Nall had no choice but to drop the matter. They sincerely told Alan and Laxus, "In that case, whenever you have time in the future, you must definitely come to our guild! When that time comes, please be sure to accept our grand hospitality and don't refuse—consider it a toast to celebrate this rare acquaintance." Alan wore a look of mild helplessness, but in the end, he nodded in agreement.
After the four members of the Sylvian Fox departed from the cave and their figures vanished from sight, Alan and Laxus, left behind in the cave, let out a simultaneous, long sigh of relief. To be honest, neither of them was particularly socially adept, and they felt somewhat awkward or even troubled by such interpersonal networking occasions. Only after spending a long time together and becoming thoroughly familiar could they truly let their guards down.
After taking a short break to rest and adjust, Alan and Laxus quickly sprang into action, beginning to methodically pack their gear. Once everything was ready, they left the cave, intending to check out the origins of these Black-robed men.
Guided by the direction Harry had indicated, Alan and Laxus searched along the mountain paths for quite a while. Finally, their perseverance paid off as they detected traces of those mysterious Black-robed men.
As it turned out, this group's base was cleverly hidden within a narrow, secluded valley, entirely surrounded and tightly guarded by a powerful magic barrier that acted like an impenetrable invisible shield. For ordinary people, even wandering into this place would make it impossible to sense the slightest anomaly; only Mages possessing formidable magic power could faintly perceive traces of a subtle, elusive energy fluctuation.
In the outer perimeter of the base, several figures clad in Black robes were vigilantly patrolling back and forth.
Alan and Laxus cautiously drew closer step by step, then held their breaths and concentrated as they carefully observed the surrounding situation. Before long, the sharp-eyed Alan successfully discovered a hidden entrance. He quietly probed the patrolling Black-robed men with his magic power, discovering that the magical aura on their bodies was very weak. Consequently, Alan used his magic to conceal both his and Laxus's presence, and the two of them slipped into the base like ghosts without making a single sound.
The moment they stepped inside the base, the sight that met their eyes was utterly astonishing—the layout of the entire space was nothing less than a colossal altar! A dense multitude of Black-robed men were gathered tightly around the altar in piously kneeling prostration, chanting under their breaths as if reciting some ancient and mysterious incantation. Those low, rhythmic voices intertwined and echoed in the air, creating a bizarre and solemn atmosphere.
The moment Alan had learned about this group from Harry, he had already formed his own theory. The instant he laid eyes on the altar, Alan confirmed his suspicion: these people were followers of Zeref—the Dark Magic Cult!
One of the Black-robed men near the altar seemed to have received some kind of instruction, as he suddenly shouted toward the direction where Alan and the other were hiding: "Who's there?!"