Walking out of the room, Tike and Erza headed to the guild hall, ready to let Alice and the others know they were safe.
On the way, Erza suddenly remembered the mysterious voice she heard earlier in her desperate situation and stopped with a trace of confusion.
"Tike, when I was fighting that Lucia earlier, I heard a voice. It told me to use its power, and then I drew the katana you used to test my Space Magic... that 'Star-Shatterer'."
Hearing this, Tike also stopped and guessed, "Could this be the so-called 'Sword Spirit'? Just like in manga, where you can release hidden power by shouting a 'release command' loudly?"
Erza blinked and asked somewhat puzzledly, "Didn't you create this sword with Maker Magic? Don't you know?"
Tike shrugged and explained, "This was a completely random event; I don't know why it happened either. If I knew the principle, I would have mass-produced them and equipped everyone with one long ago. How about this: take it out and let me have a good look."
Erza nodded. This time, she drew Star-Shatterer easily, without any obstruction.
Tike took the katana, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed the energy contained within the blade.
"There is indeed... something dwelling in this sword. It's very weak and hidden deep, which is why I didn't sense it before."
Hearing this, Erza's heart tightened, and she quickly asked, "Is it dangerous?"
"Don't know," Tike shook his head, "but I didn't 'smell' any hostility or malice from it. If you're really worried, I can help you dispose of it and destroy it completely."
Saying this, he postured as if about to perform the stunt of "swallowing a katana whole."
Startled, Erza hurriedly snatched "Star-Shatterer" back from Tike's hands, waving repeatedly: "No, no need! I will train hard until I can completely control its power!"
Watching Erza's nervous reaction, Tike smiled and expressed his approval: "Mm, I believe in you. However, since it possesses its own consciousness, maybe we can come up with a cool release phrase for it, just like in manga."
He rubbed his chin and started pondering:
"Hmm... 'Shatter, Star-Shatterer!', or 'Shine, Star-Shatterer!', or maybe 'Sever everything, Star-Shatterer!' Which one do you think is good?"
"Isn't that too embarrassing?" Erza's cheeks flushed slightly as she said somewhat bashfully, "I don't want to shout things like 'Shatter' or 'Shine' during a fight. It feels so silly..."
Tike completely failed to understand Erza's shyness. He tilted his head and said as a matter of course, "What's embarrassing about that? I shout move names most of the time when I use magic; it gives more momentum!"
Of course, occasionally there were situations where the move name didn't quite match the actual effect, but those were minor issues not worth worrying about!
Just like that, while enthusiastically designing various release phrases for "Star-Shatterer," Tike continued walking toward the guild hall with Erza.
Pushing open the door to the guild hall, noisy sounds instantly flooded their ears. Tike and Erza immediately saw Kagura, Yukino, and Alice—who had been completely renewed by Tike's healing—sitting in a corner.
Yukino spotted them first. She jumped up in surprise, ran over, and hugged Erza.
"Big Sis Erza! I'm so glad you're okay!"
Kagura also walked up quickly. Her tense expression finally relaxed, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, revealing a relieved smile.
"I'm fine. I made you worry."
Erza gently patted Yukino's back, then turned to look at Alice, pleasantly surprised to find that the pink mechanical cat had recovered and even looked brighter and newer than before.
"Alice! You're already fixed?"
"This is Tike's healing power! Amazing, right?!"
Alice puffed out her chest proudly, her tail wagging happily.
"I can't cure diseases, but treating injuries is my forte."
Tike said with a smile. At the same time, he snapped his fingers. The originally empty tabletop was instantly filled with a variety of delicious food.
"Big Sis Erza, you just recovered, so you must be starving. Eat up and replenish your strength."
"Thank you."
Feeling the hunger from her stomach, Erza didn't stand on ceremony and began enjoying the food before her.
Tike didn't stay to eat with them. Instead, he turned and left the guild hall, walking toward the town square.
He had to go out for a bit to see if that guy Blake was slacking off.
Arriving at the square, Tike immediately spotted Blake moving bricks. She was wearing a thick mask covering most of her face, and her maid outfit was covered in dirt, looking filthy.
Seeing Tike approaching, Blake immediately stopped what she was doing, leaned forward slightly, and gave Tike a standard servant's bow.
Tike looked at her expressionlessly and said indifferently, "Continue. You are not allowed to stop and rest until we set off today."
Blake cursed inwardly but dared not show the slightest defiance on the surface.
"Yes, Master."
"Hmph—"
Tike sat on the ground, supervising Blake. Whenever he saw her moving slowly, he shouted at her loudly.
Due to the strenuous efforts of the "Heart of Blazing Flame" guild members to stop the attack last night, there were no casualties in the town.
The wizards who went to stop the controlled Chill also only suffered minor injuries because Chill instinctively held back, so it wasn't a big deal.
But this didn't mean Blake's evil deeds could be overlooked.
Wright, whom Chill had sent earlier to contact the outside world, had long been cruelly murdered by her, and even his corpse had been desecrated and controlled.
Understanding the anger in Chill's heart, Tike allowed Blake to be beaten soundly by Chill so he could vent his rage.
It was just that Blake was beaten beyond recognition, which was truly an eyesore and affected his mood. That was why Tike stepped in to heal her injuries and restore her appearance.
Tike's gaze slowly shifted to Lucia, who was helping Blake move bricks using the wooden puppet body.
Even someone like Blake shared a familial love with her own sister.
It was precisely because of the existence of this love that when the sisters were together, the nauseating evil stench on Blake faded slightly, preventing Tike from wanting to vomit as soon as he got close.
Of course, Tike was also well aware that Blake hadn't genuinely submitted to him from the bottom of her heart.
The reason she behaved so submissively was merely due to the pressure of survival at the time, an expedient measure she had to take to save her life.
This was revealed by the scent emanating from her.
But Tike didn't care about these things.
He only needed Blake to lead the way to the Tower of Heaven and contact Big Sis Ultear for him; that was enough.
As for what she herself was plotting, it didn't matter at all.
As long as the "Human Subordination" magic contract between them still existed, Blake couldn't cause him any trouble.
At worst, he would just make her die on the spot.