The next morning.
"Ahahahaha! The air outside is amazing! Nothing beats the feeling of freedom!"
Inside the lively Fairy Tail guildhall, Natsu was running laps around the room, laughing like a child let loose, with small bursts of flame escaping his mouth in excitement.
Wherever he passed, sparks trailed behind him, igniting irritation in the hearts of many guildmates.
"Tch. Just one night in a cell and he's already back to being a fire-spewing nuisance," Gray muttered with a scowl, arms folded as he sat with one leg crossed over the other.
"Say what, droopy eyes?! You half-naked popsicle, who're you calling a firefly?!"
Natsu's ears twitched. He immediately lunged at Gray, their foreheads crashing together with a loud thud.
"And who else in this guild runs around breathing fire and buzzing like an idiot?" Gray shot back, tossing aside his shirt in preparation for battle.
In an instant, their brawl erupted. Fists flew, tables flipped, chairs soared through the air.
The commotion spread like wildfire, dragging more guild members into the chaos. Within moments, the entire guild had descended into a typical Fairy Tail free-for-all.
Off to the side, away from the chaos, Lucy lay slumped over a table. She rested her cheek on her arm, watching Natsu roll across the floor with Gray.
"...So it really was just a formality," she muttered. "All that worry last night for nothing..."
Chase sat across from her, a relaxed grin on his face as he sipped from a frothy mug of beer.
"The Council only cares about saving face," he said casually. "The prison wasn't too bad though. Quiet, clean, decent food. If you're curious, I could take you sometime."
Lucy sat up with a start. "Take me where?"
Chase raised his glass. "The cell, of course."
"...Why would anyone want to go there?!"
Her voice shot up two octaves in disbelief.
Chase laughed. "Fair enough."
Just then, a warm fragrance drifted in.
Mira approached with her usual gentle smile, placing a plate of freshly made snacks on the table.
"I'm just glad you and Erza are back safely," she said softly.
Lucy glanced up at her and blinked.
Mira's elegant burgundy dress was slightly disheveled. Bits of torn fabric clearly from someone else's clothes clung to her arms and shoulders.
Lucy looked toward the center of the chaos, where Natsu and Gray were still wrestling amidst overturned tables.
She pointed vaguely toward the scene. "Sister Mira... it must've been dangerous... trying to walk through a monster-infested zone like that."
"It's fine. I've gotten used to it over the years," Mira replied with a gentle smile. "Honestly, I'm quite satisfied with this job."
Seeing there wasn't much else to do for the moment, she set down the plate of snacks and sat beside Lucy across the table.
Such calm strength and warm patience in the face of chaos Lucy felt deeply moved for a brief moment.
...But only briefly.
Her thoughts wandered back to Mira's terrifying Satan Soul form that once made both Chase and even Laxus think twice. Was Mira really just doing all this out of love for the guild?
As Lucy was silently wondering, Chase casually drew a magic card from thin air and conjured a mini version of the Holy Light Sealing Sword. Without a word, he handed it to Mira.
"Here. Use this to comb your hair."
As he spoke, he began brushing off the bits of torn fabric stuck to Mira's dress.
Mira didn't decline, nor did she thank him. She simply smiled and began using the tiny glowing blade like a hairbrush, gracefully running it through her silver locks.
Lucy stared blankly.
Wait… Chase's card magic can be used like this?!
She suddenly felt like the third wheel.
"Hey Chase," she asked, trying to change the subject. "Everyone's messing around. Don't you want to join in?"
Mira glanced at the brawl, resting her chin on her hand with a light sigh. She watched as Elfman, yelling "That's manly!" at the top of his lungs, was effortlessly launched into a pile of barrels by Wakaba's cigarette gun.
Chase waved it off. "Nah. I'm still digesting yesterday's fight with Erza."
He pulled out another mini light sword and casually used it to skewer a piece of barbecued pork.
Lucy blinked.
Digesting? Brother Chase, you're not a Dragon Slayer mage, right?!
Wait... could there really be a Dragon that specializes in fighting and destruction?
A... Destruction Dragon?!
While her thoughts were spiraling, something else caught her attention.
"Hey… Shouldn't Erza have stopped the fighting by now?" Lucy asked, puzzled.
"She probably doesn't have time at the moment," Mira replied. "She just ordered a strawberry cake."
"...So dessert is more important than keeping the guild in line?"
Lucy looked over.
Sure enough, sitting at a table near the chaos, Erza held a fork and knife in hand, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the slice of strawberry cake before her like it was a sacred treasure.
Just as she raised her fork with a smile of pure joy
Fwip
A flying sandal soared through the air in a perfect arc.
Click.
Direct hit.
The flip-flops struck the strawberry cake dead-on. Cream splattered in every direction, covering Erza's face completely.
"Ah!" Lucy gasped, frozen in shock, her jaw practically hitting the table.
"Oh… looks like she has time now," Mira remarked, covering her mouth as she giggled behind her fingers.
"Haha! Natsu and the others are done for!" Chase didn't bother hiding his glee.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura burst forth from Erza. It was as if the temperature in the room had plummeted like the entire guild had been plunged into an icy abyss.
Everyone who had been fighting immediately froze in place, sensing the sudden pressure. Like children caught misbehaving, they all stopped at once and stood stiffly in place.
A beat of silence.
And then
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
A chorus of screams followed as Erza exploded into action, mercilessly pummeling the perpetrators one by one with the fury of a betrayed dessert lover.
Makarov sat calmly at the bar, watching the chaos unfold with a deep yawn.
"They really are a bunch of kids who can't sit still no matter the time…" he muttered with mild amusement.
But then he frowned.
"Strange… why do I feel sleepy all of a sudden?"
Nearby, Chase noticed the same.
Lucy's eyes were drooping as she let out a yawn, followed by Mira, who tried to sit upright but swayed drowsily.
An overwhelming wave of fatigue suddenly descended upon the entire guild like a suffocating fog.
One after another, members began collapsing, succumbing to the powerful sleep spell affecting them all.
"This feeling…" Mira murmured as her voice grew faint. "It can only be him… He's coming…"
And then she too dropped onto the table with a soft thud, joining Lucy in unconsciousness.
Guild members dropped like flies. Even Erza, who had just finished swinging someone across the room, stumbled and clutched the table to steady herself, her body trembling.
But the drowsiness was too much.
A moment later, she too crumpled into a heap, completely asleep.
Only Makarov and Chase remained standing, the only two resisting the spell with sheer willpower.
Then they heard it
Click... click...
Slow, steady footsteps echoed from the guild entrance.
A tall figure wrapped in layers of cloth and cloak stepped through the doorway.
Mist swirled faintly around his feet.
It was Mistgun.
Without saying a word, he walked forward, past the slumbering guildmates, ignoring the chaos around him.
He turned the corner, reached the request board, and silently tore down a commission slip.
That was all.
That was Mistgun.
After witnessing the battle between Chase and Erza the day before, Mistgun though confident that the Council wouldn't hand down any severe punishment still chose to remain in Magnolia out of concern.
His primary reason for coming was to confirm the safety of the two of them.
The request he picked up was just a pretense. Had he come with serious intent, he would've gone directly to the second floor for higher-ranked jobs.
"Master, I'm heading out now."
Without hesitation, Mistgun held up the request slip to Makarov, showed it for a moment, and turned to leave.
"Hey, Mistgun!" Chase called out, rubbing his temple as he shook off the lingering dizziness. "Hold up!"
Mistgun stopped, folding the paper in his hand. "Chase, you're here too? What happened here?"
He wasn't particularly surprised to see Chase still standing despite his sleep magic.
After all, something similar had occurred a year ago though back then, Chase had barely managed to keep his eyes open. Compared to that, his current clarity was impressive.
"I heard something while I was in Kiltina," Chase said, his voice lowering as he spoke gravely. "And I need to confirm it."
He looked Mistgun in the eye, his tone firm. "Do you know the name Anima?"
The moment the word left his lips, Mistgun's pupils contracted.
His calm, collected expression shattered in an instant.