"Boom!"
Accompanied by a thunderous roar...
Another gigantic meteor, dragging a long tail behind it, descended from the sky!
"What kind of joke is this?! Can you use True Heavenly Body Magic endlessly?!"
The group of Mages stared wide-eyed at the gigantic meteor tearing through the sky as they roared in anger.
They were the ones who had fortunately survived the first meteor summoned by Jellal. Even after enduring the meteor's impact, they still retained a certain level of combat strength. It could be said that everyone still standing now were the top elites among the dark Mage Guilds of the Kingdom of Fiore, the aces among aces.
Originally, these evil dark guild Mages believed that even if Jellal was one of the Ten Wizard Saints, after using such a heaven-defying spell, he should more or less have become weakened. However, reality did not go as they wished. They merely hesitated for an instant before the roar of a second meteor tearing through the sky echoed overhead...
"How foolish. If I, who inherited Big Brother Evan's Heavenly Body Magic, can't even accomplish this much, wouldn't that disgrace Big Brother Evan's name?!"
"Fall! Crash down! You rats hiding in the sewers!"
"Remember this. If you want to live openly in this world, then either submit yourselves to the Magic Council ERA, or join Fairy Tail..."
Facing the questioning from the dark guild Mages, Jellal merely let out a cold laugh.
To those who neither intended to pay tribute to the Magic Council ERA nor join Fairy Tail, beings who were completely meaningless to the magical world of the Kingdom of Fiore, Jellal felt absolutely no psychological burden in striking them down. He showed absolutely no mercy and felt not the slightest guilt!
"You bastard! Don't get so full of yourself..."
"Lullaby has already fallen into Fairy Tail's hands. In the end, it wasn't your Magic Council that won—it was us dark Mage Guilds who achieved victory!"
Erigor clenched his teeth tightly as he roared at Jellal.
"Haha..."
After hearing Erigor's words, Jellal merely smiled coldly.
Then he gently rolled up his sleeve, revealing the emblem on his arm. The mark resembled a dragon soaring through the heavens, yet also looked like a fairy spreading its wings across the world...
"Huh?!"
For a moment, everyone from the dark Mage Guilds froze in place, their eyes filled with disbelief.
"I wonder... which Fairy Tail did you hand your Lullaby over to?"
With a smile on his face, Jellal asked the dark guild Mages.
"Impossible! How is that possible?! Absolutely impossible..."
At that moment, Erigor, known as the Grim Reaper, stared at the emblem on Jellal's forearm with a face full of agony as he continuously roared.
He refused to believe it. He couldn't believe it. He recognized the emblem on Jellal's forearm, and precisely because he recognized it, he found it impossible to accept...
"Why?! Why are you also a member of Fairy Tail?!"
Erigor hysterically roared at Jellal before him.
"Then let me introduce myself again!"
"I am Jellal of the Fairy Tail branch—the Magic Council ERA. Please take care of me~"
"At the same time, thank you all for delivering Lullaby to Fairy Tail completely intact! In light of that, I can guarantee in my capacity as a Council Member of the Magic Council ERA that all of you will receive reduced sentences~"
With his hands behind his back, Jellal smiled as he introduced himself to Erigor and the remaining elites of the dark Mage Guilds of the Kingdom of Fiore.
"You bastard!!"
At this point, how could Erigor and the others still not understand?
They knew they had been used. Used by the man before them!
No...
They had been used by Erza.
Used by Fairy Tail!
At that moment, boundless fury completely filled the hearts of Erigor and the others...
With an enraged roar, Erigor and the others gripped their weapons and charged straight toward Jellal.
"Haha~"
Facing the charging crowd, Jellal merely smiled coldly before casually waving his hand and using his signature Magic.
"Receive judgment beneath the rain of the Seven Stars~"
As Jellal's words fell, seven dazzling Magic Circles resembling stars immediately appeared in the sky.
"When did you draw those?!"
The dark guild Mages' expressions changed as they stared at the glowing Magic Circles overhead.
"While you were talking to me..."
Jellal answered with a smile.
"Boom!"
Before anyone could think further, the rain of light descended with endless piercing sounds, crashing down from the heavens and knocking all the dark guild Mages to the ground.
"Damn it..."
They were only one step away from reaching Jellal.
But that final step was incomparably difficult for them.
"Goodbye, everyone~"
With a smile on his face, Jellal raised his hand and gently waved at everyone before him.
"Boom!!"
At the same time, the meteor in the sky finally crashed down!
"Boom!!"
Along with a magnificent mushroom cloud rising from the ground, everything was reduced to peaceful annihilation!
At this moment, the backbone of the dark Mage Guilds was broken.
Along with that unyielding backbone, the convictions within the hearts of every dark Mage Guild Mage also shattered!
No matter how hard they tried, they could never have imagined that the existence they had devoted everything to, gambled everything on...
The legendary dark Mage Guild, Fairy Tail...
Was actually one family with the Magic Council ERA?!
The greatest darkness and the brightest light in this world...
Had been on the same side from the very beginning...
"It's over..."
As clouds of smoke rolled through the air, Jellal revealed a faint smile.
"Hey~"
"Jellal~"
"What should we do next?"
Sorano, dressed in very cool clothing, used the power of the Celestial Spirits to block the surrounding smoke before looking at Jellal with dissatisfaction and asking.
"What else is there to do?"
"Our mission is already over..."
"Whether it's Lullaby or the members of the dark Mage Guilds, everything has already been properly dealt with. It's time to head back..."
After hearing Sorano's question, Jellal answered with a smile.
'Huh? We're just going back?'
Sorano looked somewhat dissatisfied.
"Of course..."
Jellal nodded lightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Sorano's words.
"So you're just going to let Erza act so arrogantly in front of us?"
Sorano's expression darkened as she seemed intent on continuing to cause trouble for Erza's team.
"What else can we do?"
"Can you beat Erza?"
Jellal asked with a smile after hearing Sorano's complaint.
"Uh..."
Sorano's body trembled slightly.
Just as Jellal had said...
She really couldn't beat Erza.
"Hmph! It's all because Evan is so biased~"
"At the beginning, Erza and I were evenly matched!"
"Then all of a sudden I couldn't beat her anymore~"
Sorano shouted angrily. She had always been the type who simply loved stirring up trouble and enjoyed watching chaos unfold.
She especially loved watching Evan become exhausted dealing with all the women around him.
Then she was threatened by Erza...
After that, Sorano realized she was no match for Erza at all!
Being rather petty, Sorano had always been looking for opportunities to disgust Erza. The reason she suggested continuing to cause trouble for Erza's team now had absolutely no justification whatsoever.
It was entirely personal revenge...
Yes.
The members of the Magic Council Special Assault Team loved nothing more than settling personal grudges, taking small advantages, and abusing public authority for private gain...
"You all agree with me, right?"
As Sorano spoke, she did not forget to ask her teammates.
She looked pitiful while blinking her charming, watery eyes at them~
"I'm going back to sleep~"
Unfortunately, her teammates knew Sorano far too well.
As a result, none of them had any intention of giving her face...
"Mission complete. Time to clock out~"
Lisa, the fastest among them and proficient in Speed Magic as well as Spatial Magic, yawned as she prepared to return to the Council.
To put it bluntly, they were nothing more than salaried workers working for someone else.
Once work was done, it was time to get off work...
Lisa deeply understood that one should never be too serious about work in this world.
There was no shortage of honest people.
Honest people only ended up being the ones left holding the bag.
It was much better to stay ambiguous~
"Kinana, answer your communication crystal~"
"I already did everything perfectly!"
"Leon was just too weak! Don't ignore me~"
Erik had no time to pay attention to Sorano.
Unlike Sorano and Lisa, he was a married man.
"Even if we intercepted Fairy Tail and took back Lullaby, what benefits would we gain?"
"There wouldn't be any benefits at all~"
"So, Sorano-chan, let's just head back~"
"Besides, I have an appointment with Mr. Jura to discuss Magic..."
"So if Sorano-chan insists on fighting, then Sorano-chan will have to go alone~"
Richard clasped his hands together and smiled gently at Sorano.
"Huff... Huff... Huff..."
Macbeth hugged his blanket and had already begun snoring soundly, completely ignoring everyone around him.
"Hey! You guys..."
"You're really making me mad!"
Sorano glared at her teammates and cursed.
Hadn't they agreed that the five little demons would never abandon one another?!
It had all been lies...
"Let's go~"
Looking at the scene before him, Jellal smiled softly before striding forward.
"Yeah!"
As Jellal departed, whether it was Macbeth, who appeared to be sleeping, Erik, who was talking with his girlfriend, or Lisa and Richard, all followed behind him into the distance.
"..."
Only Sorano was left standing there alone.
Her watery eyes were filled with grievance as she watched everyone leave, yet she had no way to stop them.
"Damn it! You jerks! I'm so angry..."
In the end...
In the very end...
Sorano could only stamp her little foot hard against the ground...
Then she hurried after Jellal and the others.
Just as Jellal had said...
She alone was no match for Erza!
Within the entire Special Assault Team, only Jellal could confront Erza head-on.
"Tell the soldiers to come out and clean up the battlefield~"
As Jellal walked forward, he spoke to everyone behind him.
"Understood!"
After receiving Jellal's order, Richard immediately took out a long-range communication crystal.
He prepared to notify the Council troops stationed nearby to arrest all the defeated dark Mage Guild Mages and throw them into prison...
Thus, the dark Mage Guild incident in the Kingdom of Fiore, along with the Lullaby incident, temporarily came to an end!
It did not...
On the other side, a massive Magic Four-Wheel Vehicle was racing across the wilderness!
Inside the vehicle, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy had once again... once again... fainted on the floor...
Inside the cramped compartment, the completely naked Lyon and Gray, wearing only his underwear, stood confronting each other.
Meanwhile, Lucy and Juvia sat quietly inside the cabin with flushed faces, hugging their knees.
"So..."
"Why do I have to ride in the same compartment as these two perverts?!"
"What sin did I commit?!"
Lucy blushed deeply.
Whether it was Gray or Lyon, both of them were far too close to her.
"Hey! Lyon! Put your clothes on before leaving the guild, damn it!"
"You seriously have no manners at all~"
Gray looked at Lyon with disdain and scolded him angrily.
"Hah?"
"You're qualified to say that to me?"
"As if you're wearing any clothes yourself..."
Lyon looked at Gray with equal disdain after hearing his words.
"What?!"
"Oh no! I don't even know when I took my clothes off!"
"Lucy, when exactly did I take off my clothes?"
After hearing Lyon's words, Gray looked down at his naked body, his expression changing drastically.
Only then did he realize that, without even noticing, he had taken off his clothes again.
So Gray could only ask Lucy.
"No! You walked out of the guild like that from the very beginning..."
Lucy complained.
"Damn it! Could I have been cursed?"
Gray said in panic.
"Maybe you're simply a pervert... it's just that you haven't realized it yourself, or maybe you don't want to believe that's the truth?"
After hearing Gray's words, Lucy fell silent for a moment before continuing her complaint.
"Gray-sama is absolutely not a pervert..."
"You hateful homewrecker!!"
"You're trying to drive a wedge between me and Gray-sama... unforgivable..."
Juvia bit her handkerchief while glaring at Lucy and continuously muttering to herself.
"Uh..."
Perhaps because Juvia wasn't muttering very quietly, and because Lucy was especially sensitive to this kind of thing, Lucy heard every single word Juvia said.
"So... dangerous!"
"This girl is really dangerous..."
"Why can't the guild recruit some normal people?"
Listening to Juvia's words, Lucy shivered slightly as she silently complained.
"Hehe, Lucy's got something going on with Gray~"
"Hehehe... Lucy, you wouldn't want me telling Natsu about your relationship with Gray, would you?"
"Unless you offer me salted fish every single day from now on, otherwise..."
At that moment, Happy grinned happily.
Looking at Lucy with a sly expression, he whispered.
"Shut up, you stupid cat~"
After hearing Happy's words, Lucy casually took a salted fish out of Happy's backpack and stuffed it into his mouth, successfully shutting the stupid cat up.
"Are you all idiots?"
At that moment, Lyon suddenly looked at Lucy, Gray, Happy, Juvia, and everyone else before speaking.
"You're not exactly qualified to say that, are you?"
After hearing Lyon's words, Lucy turned around, looked at Lyon's naked body, twitched at the corner of her eye, and asked angrily.
"Huh?!"
"How am I not qualified?"
"After all, I'm the only normal person in the guild..."
Lyon scratched the back of his head before speaking softly.
"Nonsense! I'm the only normal person in the guild!"
At that moment, Gray interrupted Lyon angrily.
"That's right, it's Gray-sama~"
Juvia immediately agreed with Gray while shamelessly flattering him.
"No, no, no... none of you are normal..."
Listening to the commotion caused by the group of perverts inside the compartment, Lucy felt an overwhelming headache.
She suddenly became envious of Dragon Slayer Mages like Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel!
Rather than staying in the same compartment as these perverts...
It would be better to just faint~
"Everyone, hold on! I'm speeding up!"
Just as Lucy was feeling overwhelmed, a refreshing voice suddenly came from the driver's cabin of the Magic Four-Wheel Vehicle.
"Uh..."
Upon hearing that voice, Lucy's body stiffened slightly.
She had completely forgotten...
There was still one abnormal person on this vehicle...
"Boom!!"
Accompanied by the roar of the Magic Four-Wheel Vehicle's engine, under Erza's endless Magic Power and superb driving skills, the vehicle shot forward like a rocket in a perfectly straight line!
"T-Too fast?!"
At the same time, Lucy let out miserable screams from inside the vehicle.
"Buzz~"
Just as Lucy and the others tightly gripped the handrails inside the vehicle, terrified that Erza's sudden acceleration would fling them out...
In a corner no one noticed, Lullaby, which no one had awakened, seemed to emit an eerie glow.
Its three eyes flashed with terrifying dark purple Curse Power!
Of course, that level of Curse Power was only terrifying compared to ordinary Mages or normal people.
Compared to a certain embarrassing Ultimate Demon suffering from motion sickness inside the vehicle...
It was simply far too weak...
"Boom!!"
Thus, beneath Erza's smile, Lucy's screams, and Lullaby's flickering glow, the Magic Four-Wheel Vehicle sped toward the villa where the Guild Masters' Assembly of the Kingdom of Fiore was being held.
Night fell...
Countless stars sparkled across the sky...
Guild Masters' Assembly Villa, Kingdom of Fiore!
Without question, the venue was once again provided by Blue Pegasus Guild Master Bob.
It couldn't be helped.
The guy was genuinely rich!
Throughout the Kingdom of Fiore, and even across the entire continent of Ishgar, he owned properties everywhere...
As the saying went, money from women and children was always the easiest to earn!
After all, men usually had no money...
Inside the Guild Masters' Assembly Hall of the Kingdom of Fiore, the Guild Masters surrounded Magic King August, all looking as though they regarded him as their leader.
"Everyone, stay calm!"
"Although Fairy Tail is powerful and is the strongest Mage Guild in the Kingdom of Fiore and even throughout the continent of Ishgar, the members of our guild are friendly, charitable, and always willing to help others. They're all kind-hearted children! So don't be nervous, don't be afraid! Fairy Tail isn't made up of demons—we won't eat everyone~"
Looking at the Guild Masters before him, who were all extremely nervous around him, August merely smiled lightly.
Everyone in Fairy Tail was kind.
They had never bullied anyone...
"Listen to what shallow nonsense you're saying."
"Exactly, exactly..."
"Friendly, charitable, always willing to help others..."
"What does any of that have to do with Fairy Tail?!"
After hearing August's words, all the Guild Masters of the Kingdom of Fiore secretly complained.
They deeply suspected that August had gone senile to utter something so shameless...
Taken individually, every word in "Fairy Tail" sounded perfectly fine.
Even the word "Fairy" had become neutral nowadays.
But once those two words were put together...
They became a full-fledged insult that was widely known throughout the Kingdom of Fiore and even across the continent of Ishgar...
The words "Fairy Tail" referred to lawless maniacs who paid no attention whatsoever to rules!
"Everyone, please rest assured!"
"As long as I, August, remain in Fairy Tail, and as long as I am still Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Fairy Tail will forever remain everyone's companion!"
As August spoke, he made a grand vow.
As Fairy Tail's Guild Master, he would lead by example, shoulder this enormous responsibility, and make the greatest contribution to the Kingdom of Fiore, the continent of Ishgar, and the entire world of Earth-land!
"Boom!"
The instant August finished speaking, accompanied by a tremendous crash, a Magic Four-Wheel Vehicle smashed through the wall of Guild Master Bob's villa and drove straight into the assembly hall.
"Uh..."
For a moment, whether it was the Guild Masters of the Kingdom of Fiore, August, or even Evan, who was happily eating alone in the corner, everyone turned toward the Magic Four-Wheel Vehicle.
"Excuse me~"
Just as everyone was wondering what was happening, the fully armored Erza stepped out of the vehicle.
The Fairy Tail emblem on the front of her armor was so eye-catching...
So unmistakable...
So dazzling...
That the instant all the Guild Masters saw it, every one of them froze in place.
"This is bad! Fairy Tail has finally decided to come after us!"
"What did we ever do to deserve this?!"
"August, didn't you say that as long as you remained Guild Master, Fairy Tail would absolutely never cause trouble?!"
The Guild Masters of every Mage Guild throughout the Kingdom of Fiore loudly questioned August.
"..."
At that moment, not only were the Guild Masters confused...
Even August himself wore a puzzled expression as he gently stroked his beard, wondering how to salvage the situation.
"Everyone, I'm sorry..."
"But I'm actually no longer Fairy Tail's Guild Master."
"Evan is Fairy Tail's Guild Master now!"
"So whatever Fairy Tail does to everyone next has nothing to do with me!"
"Right, Evan?"
After thinking briefly, August came up with a brilliant idea.
That's right.
He had indeed promised everyone that as long as he remained Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Fairy Tail would not make a move against them.
But there was a premise...
That premise was that he had to still be Fairy Tail's Guild Master.
In other words, if he wasn't Fairy Tail's Guild Master anymore...
Then couldn't Fairy Tail act however it pleased?!
Although August had no idea why Erza had come, that didn't stop him from steering the situation in Fairy Tail's favor.
After speaking, he even winked at Evan before looking toward him in the corner.
August's words carried two meanings.
First, Evan, this trouble was caused by your little sister, so you handle it!
Second, explain why Erza came here in the first place...
Unfortunately, Evan himself looked completely confused.
He had absolutely no idea what was going on.
So Evan calmly placed a piece of cake into his mouth before imperceptibly shaking his head at August with a puzzled look.
"Hm?!"
At that instant, August immediately understood.
This matter had nothing to do with Evan either.
Even Evan had no idea what was happening.
With that realization, August frowned and looked toward Erza, seemingly waiting for her explanation.
"Boom!"
Meanwhile, Erza walked over to the vehicle's door, pulled it open, and dragged everyone inside out.
"W-We survived..."
As Erza helped all the Mages out of the vehicle...
Lucy, completely dizzy, rolled her eyes back and greedily gasped for the fresh air inside the hall.
Yes.
Lucy had gotten motion sickness too.
Only moments ago she had envied Natsu and the others for fainting and avoiding the mental torture inside the vehicle.
Then, under Erza's godlike driving skills...
She had fainted as well.
"You should be Lucy, right?"
"Gray, Lyon, Wendy, Gajeel, Natsu, and Erza..."
"Have you all formed a Mage Team?"
Looking at the youthful, well-endowed Lucy with her iconic blonde hair, August narrowed his eyes slightly as though remembering something before asking.
"You are...?"
Lucy looked at the kind-looking old man before her—August—and asked in confusion.
"Hehe! This is our first meeting..."
"I am Fairy Tail's current Guild Master, August!"
After hearing Lucy's question, August answered with a smile.
"So you're Guild Master August?!"
"That's wonderful! You're a normal person!"
Lucy froze for a moment before speaking excitedly.
It hadn't been easy...
It truly hadn't been easy...
She had finally met a normal person in Fairy Tail!
"Hehe..."
August merely smiled softly and said nothing.
"Guild Master August, here's what happened..."
Without wasting any time, Lucy immediately began enthusiastically recounting everything that had happened to August, whom she regarded as one of the only two normal people in Fairy Tail, alongside the adorable Wendy.
"Big Brother Evan~"
Meanwhile, Erza immediately spotted Evan inside the hall.
She walked over with a smile and greeted him.
"I roughly understand what happened..."
"You all did well!"
Looking at the flute hanging from Erza's waist, Evan immediately realized what had happened.
Only then did he remember that after Lucy joined Fairy Tail, she formed the strongest team with Erza and the others to deal with Zeref's Magic, the cursed lullaby, Lullaby.
Although the members of Erza's team were somewhat different from the original story, and Erza had apparently successfully taken Lullaby from Eisenwald...
Evan could still roughly guess the overall situation.
"So you already knew, Big Brother Evan~"
Erza was initially surprised before revealing an expression that said, Just as I expected.
"Haha..."
"In any case, you've all worked hard. Come over and eat~"
"All food today is free! The bill will be charged to the Guild Masters of the other Mage Guilds!"
Evan first patted Erza's little head before loudly calling to Natsu and the others.
'Food, food...'
"Let's compete and see who can eat the most!"
The moment the newly awakened Natsu heard there was food, he immediately forgot all the unpleasantness of the journey and rushed toward the dining table.
"Who wants to compete with you?!"
Gajeel's forehead bulged with veins.
"That's right! I don't care about something like that at all!"
Gray twitched at the corner of his eye as well...
However, although Gajeel and Gray acted as though they didn't care...
Their movements were no slower than Natsu's!
"How boring~"
Watching Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel running off, Lyon smiled disdainfully.
Of course, it wasn't that he didn't want to compete.
It was simply because, as an Ice Molding Mage, his appetite genuinely couldn't compare to those three Dragon Slayer gluttons.
"Ahaha~"
"Natsu is really energetic~"
Wendy smiled softly as she also walked toward the dining table.
"Hmph! A bunch of idiots!"
As always, Carla remained sharp-tongued.
Meanwhile, the Guild Masters present stared in shock at Fairy Tail's Mage Team.
"The Fire Dragon Natsu, who once single-handedly conquered an entire fortress and possesses Fire Dragon Slayer Magic!"
"Gajeel the Iron Dragon, whose body is as hard as steel and who is the natural enemy of all swordsmen..."
"Wendy the Sky Priestess, the Sky Dragon Slayer Mage who possesses the long-lost Healing Magic and is hailed as the ultimate support Mage!"
"And the two prized disciples of Ur, one of the Ten Wizard Saints and the beautiful Mage known as 'Ice Purity'! Fairy Tail's infamous Naked Pervert Duo—Gray and Lyon! According to rumors, the younger disciple wears underwear while the older disciple goes completely naked! Who knows if it's true..."
"Next is the naturally gifted Water Mage, Juvia, who can affect an entire city's weather simply by being in a bad mood! A genius female Mage born with the ability to transform her body into water through elementalization!"
"And finally... Erza Belserion, one of Fairy Tail's S-Class Mages, standing at the pinnacle of Fairy Tail, known as the Fairy Queen..."
"These people actually formed a Mage Team?!"
"You've got to be kidding! Are they planning to conquer an entire country?!"
Countless Guild Masters throughout the hall shouted excitedly as they looked at Natsu and the others.
"Huh?! So everyone is actually this famous?"
After quietly finishing her explanation to August, Lucy froze slightly upon hearing all the Guild Masters marveling at Natsu and the others.
Lucy had never imagined that Natsu, Gray, Lyon, Juvia...
These Mages whose reputations she knew nothing about...
Were actually so famous throughout the Kingdom of Fiore!
Thinking about it that way...
It seemed that within Erza's team...
She, Lucy, was the only complete nobody...
Just an insignificant little rookie~
"By the way, may I ask which Mage of Fairy Tail you are?"
"I don't believe we've ever met..."
Just as Lucy was feeling puzzled, the Guild Masters suddenly surrounded her and asked one after another.
"Huh? Well..."
"I'm just a newcomer who recently joined Fairy Tail. I'm not famous at all~"
Lucy smiled politely at the enthusiastic Guild Masters, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"That's wonderful!"
To Lucy's surprise, after hearing that she had only recently joined Fairy Tail, not only did the Guild Masters not look down on her...
They instead shouted excitedly.
"Since you just joined Fairy Tail, you probably aren't very attached to the guild yet!"
"That's right! That's right!"
"Fairy Tail is where monsters live. You look like an ordinary girl. Why not join our guild instead?!"
"Young lady, let me tell you honestly, our guild's benefits are excellent! They're no worse than Fairy Tail's..."
Lucy had originally thought that after learning she was merely a newcomer to Fairy Tail, the Guild Masters would immediately lose interest and leave.
Instead...
They did the exact opposite.
Not only did they not underestimate her...
They all treated her as though they had found a priceless treasure and began offering her invitations one after another!
Lucy was completely dumbfounded.
"H-Huh?!"
Faced with everyone's overwhelming enthusiasm, Lucy had no idea what to do.
"Alright! Stop bullying Lucy!"
Just as Lucy was surrounded by the Guild Masters and completely at a loss, a voice rang out.
Not only did it rescue Lucy...
It directly pulled her out of the crowd.
"E-Erza..."
Lucy froze as she looked at the person who had saved her.
She really had hoped someone would step in to help her.
Originally, she thought that person would be Natsu...
Instead...
The one who ultimately rescued her was Erza.
That genuinely surprised Lucy.
However, when Lucy glanced over and saw Natsu stuffing himself with food...
The corner of her eye twitched.
Expecting anything from Natsu had truly been foolish...
"Lucy, are you alright?"
While Lucy was still dazed, Erza gently patted her head and asked.
"I-I'm fine..."
Lucy blushed and nodded.
"Mhm!"
"Lucy, I'm sorry. You must have been frightened..."
"The truth is, because everyone in the Kingdom of Fiore knows that any Mage capable of joining Fairy Tail either possesses tremendous potential or overwhelming strength, these Mage Guilds often target our newcomers and use every possible method to lure them away from Fairy Tail..."
"That's also one of the reasons why Fairy Tail doesn't recruit many newcomers every year..."
Erza completely avoided finding fault with Fairy Tail itself, instead blaming everything on the underhanded tactics of the other guilds.
"Although I think there are actually other reasons why Fairy Tail can't recruit many newcomers... I still have to thank you for saving me, Erza!"
Lucy first complained about Erza's explanation before sincerely thanking her.
"It's nothing. We're guildmates, so there's no need to be so polite!"
Erza shook her head after hearing Lucy's thanks.
"Erza, you've gone too far!"
"Exactly! Exactly!"
"We recruit newcomers completely legally!"
The Guild Masters of the Kingdom of Fiore complained unhappily after hearing Erza's words.
"..."
Erza silently looked at all the Guild Masters before her, falling into deep thought.
A moment later, she seemed to think of something...
So she took out the terrifying three-eyed flute, Lullaby, from her waist.
"Guild Masters, to tell you the truth!!"
"The reason we Fairy Tail Mages came here today..."
"Was to bring this to everyone..."
Holding the eerie flute in her hand, Erza spoke loudly to all the Guild Masters.
"What is that thing?!"
The Guild Masters looked at one another before asking in confusion.
"This?"
"This is the Magic created by Zeref—the cursed lullaby known as Lullaby. They say that as long as I gently blow into it once... everyone here will die instantly!"
Holding the flute, Erza smiled at all the Guild Masters as she spoke.
"Look at what unbelievably dangerous thing you've brought here?!"
"You're threatening us, aren't you?! This is absolutely a threat! A blatant threat!"
"I knew nothing good would happen once Fairy Tail showed up!"
The instant Erza finished speaking, the entire hall exploded into chaos.
Staring at the flute in Erza's hand, all the Guild Masters backed away with expressions of utter despair.
They had all heard of the Black Wizard Zeref...
They also knew just how terrifying the Black Magic he created truly was!
Therefore...
The moment they saw the flute in Erza's hand...
Their expressions nearly collapsed!