It was because she feared seeing Wendy with such an expression that Carla absolutely didn't want to tell them about her mission.
Rather than letting her hurt Wendy, it would be less painful just to kill her. Although she didn't understand why Tomcat didn't know, Carla believed he felt the same way as her.
"Yes, that's right. From the day every Transcender is born and sent to Aslan, they bear the task of finding and killing the Dragon Slayer Mage."
Carla spoke with a sense of hopelessness, as if resigning herself: "So definitely don't choose Extalia, because I don't know if they're giving me all this information to lure you there and then... kill you."
"Carla…" Hapi, stunned, gazed at Carla and then slowly and timidly turned to look towards the door, "Natsu…"
"That's the reality. So I say, if I or Tomcat act suspiciously, just kill us."
"Carla would never do something like that!" Wendy shouted, "Absolutely not!"
She even stomped her foot to show her determination.
"Wendy…" Carla looked at Wendy, her eyes misty with tears.
"I don't think Hapi would do that either," Lisana said, "Hapi hatched from an egg in front of everyone at the guild; he would never do something like that."
"Lisana…" Hapi pouted. He had suddenly become Natsu's enemy without knowing anything about it, something he couldn't believe.
But he feared that everyone would hate and be hostile to him for this, so having someone willing to believe in him made him both moved and pained.
Lucy hastily raised her hand to declare: "I also believe in Hapi and Carla!"
"Hapi is a fool... a fool... Ugh~" Natsu tried hard to keep a straight face, "How could you possibly kill... Urgh~"
"Natsu..." With teary eyes, Hapi hugged Natsu's leg tightly. To him, Natsu's trust meant everything.
"Idiot! Don't get so close to them!" Carla rushed over and pulled Hapi back, trying to keep a distance from Natsu and Wendy, as she didn't even trust herself right now.
She looked around before finally fixing her gaze on Rhode: "Aren't you going to stop him? What if we're just pretending like this?! Didn't we agree..."
"I don't think so," Rhode looked at Carla and smiled, "Why do you think I don't trust you guys?"
"You…" Carla felt frustrated, wasn't he the most calm and rational?
"Rhode…" Hapi's tears were threatening to burst out; it's precisely because of this that he likes everyone so much.
Rhode didn't think there was anything wrong in being like this.
Logically speaking, Hapi and Carla had been with Natsu and Wendy for six years and often took care of the meals at home.
If they really wanted to kill, it wouldn't take more than serving some tasty mushrooms; the two who trusted them infinitely would have been laid out long ago. Why wait until now?
Compared to the trust issue, the more serious problem right now was the psychological state of the two cats.
Rhode thought for a moment and said: "So let's speed up and get to Extalia as soon as possible!"
Carla was anxious: "Hey! How do you come to that 'so'? I said it's dangerous there, right?"
"To save our companions on the deck, we have to go there now." Rhode pointed upwards, then pointed at Carla and Hapi, "To save the companions in front of us, we also have to go there."
Carla lowered her head: "What in the world are you saying?"
"Because only by going there can we find out who and why they made such a foolish decision. Only then can we figure out who is forcing the Fairy Tail Mages to do what they dislike, and then…"
Rhode glanced at his companions around him and asked with a smile, "Then what should be done next?"
Lucy burst into laughter and quickly shouted, "Of course, crash the place and batter them!"
Lisana and Wendy followed in unison, "Batter them!"
"Bat… bat… Urgh~"
Rhode couldn't help but laugh; the person who should have the strongest voice was the most listless now. Truly...
Hapi, knowing less, had fewer worries and was easily encouraged by everyone, but Carla still seemed deeply troubled.
Rhode crouched down and patted her head: "Everyone trusts you, but if you still have concerns, there's a way to confront your inner self; want to try it out?"
Carla raised her head to look directly into Rhode's eyes, and at that moment, she saw herself through Rhode's eyes, along with Wendy, Mira, Makarov, Erza, Natsu, Gray…
It seemed like those weren't Rhode's eyes but the guild's window, where she could see a group of cheerful, laughing people. As long as she looked there, she could see everyone at the guild smiling at her.
Carla wiped her tears and asked, filled with confusion and hope: "What's the way?"
Rhode pointed to Lucy: "When Lucy is rested, have Gemini turn into you, then let you tell you your true inner thoughts."
Carla looked at him blankly: "Let 'me' tell me?"
"Right! It can be done this way! No one knows Carla better than Carla!" Lucy realized but also felt a bit helpless, "Why do you always think of how to use the Star Spirit's abilities before I do…"
"You should ask yourself, not me." Rhode waved at Lucy, then continued to look at Carla, "Do you need to do this?"
After a few seconds of eye contact with Rhode, Carla lowered her head.
Everyone thought she was hesitating, but suddenly a pair of wings appeared behind her.
Wendy exclaimed in surprise: "Carla!"
Carla herself turned to look in surprise, a smile on her face.
It seems it wasn't needed after all.
...
Losing such a large Magic Crystal and a Flying Ship in Edolas was indeed a significant incident, especially at such a critical moment.
The Royal Capital immediately heightened its alertness, the Regiun Team was on standby at any time, and other flying ships within the capital entered a state of combat readiness.
Orders to search for the flying ship were sent out nationwide; however, Edolas's territory is vast, and since regional King's Army received orders to gather at the Royal Capital earlier, manpower was insufficient, and the implementation of the new orders was not swift.
By the afternoon, Extalia received a report saying that two Transcenders assisted people from Aslan in hindering the Anima plan and inquired whether they were instructed by the Queen.
If not, then those two Transcenders might be the 'Fallen Heaven', and hope was that Extalia's Guard Corps would deploy to capture the two 'Fallen Heaven'.
The King emphasized that the Anima plan aids humans in better serving the Transcenders, with a final plea:
'Request Queen Shargate to use Divine Power to eliminate all humans obstructing the plan except Dragon Slayers, to facilitate the plan's implementation.'