Magnolia Town
"We're back!!!"
"We're back!!"
"You're back so fast this time!"
"Aye!"
They had secretly left at night, taking a full day and night to reach their destination. This time, they departed in the morning and arrived in Magnolia by the afternoon.
"That's only because Qi Yan was speeding too much on the sea!"
Gray was still traumatized by the sea journey.
"The ship… Ugh…!"
Natsu heard the word "ship" and immediately felt seasick again.
Qi Yan was speeding ahead, and the ship behind him, due to its excessive speed, was bobbing up and down on the waves, making even those who weren't usually seasick, like Gray, Lucy, and Happy, feel like throwing up.
"Ugh! I stole the quest for nothing; I didn't get anything."
"Serves you right! That's what happens when you steal quests. Besides, it's not like I didn't give you a chance. You were frozen the moment you went in. Otherwise, if you had defeated those three, I might have given you a share."
"Who knew that guy would be so despicable, freezing me with ice!"
Natsu got angry just thinking about it. If he hadn't been frozen, he could have not only defeated those three but also taken down that arrogant Lyon.
Happy then looked at Qi Yan and said, "Qi Yan, you were the one who caused the earthquake that night, right?"
The others heard Happy's words and remembered that the earthquake in Magnolia a few days ago had indeed been very unusual.
"What are you talking about? I don't know what you're saying."
Qi Yan guiltily turned his head away.
"It must be you. Magnolia hasn't had an earthquake in years. The sudden earthquake that night must have been caused by you taking in that Whitebeard old man."
"Don't spout nonsense without evidence. Be careful, or I'll sue you for defamation."
"Give me a fish."
"I'll give you ten!"
"Yay! That's great!!"
Just then, soft whispers came from both sides of the street.
"Hmm? What's going on? The guild looks strange…"
The group looked ahead and saw the guild pierced by iron pillars, shattered and broken everywhere, clearly having been attacked.
"Who did this?!!!"
Seeing their guild destroyed like this, a surge of anger immediately rose in their hearts.
"Phantom Lord."
Mira's voice rang out, and the group immediately looked in the direction of the sound, seeing Mira standing not far away.
Qi Yan quickly walked up to Mira and asked anxiously, "Mira, you're not hurt, are you?"
He had also panicked a little when he first saw the guild destroyed.
Mira felt a warmth in her heart seeing Qi Yan so concerned about her and shook her head, "No, I'm not hurt."
Lucy quickly came over and asked, "Where is everyone? How is everyone in the guild?"
"Everyone is fine. They're all on the basement level. Come with me."
The group followed Mira to the guild's basement level, which was Fairy Tail's backup warehouse, primarily used to store supplies on normal days.
"Oh! Qi Yan, you're back!"
"Natsu and Gray are back too."
Everyone in the guild greeted Qi Yan upon his return.
"Did you see it? The state of the guild. Damn it."
"Those Phantom Lord bastards, they actually attacked our guild! Next time, we'll go destroy their guild!!"
"Calm down, our opponent is Phantom Lord."
The guild members were all agitated, clamoring to go fight Phantom Lord.
"Yo, welcome back."
Makarov drank beer, acting as if nothing had happened, and greeted the group.
"Old man, now is not the time for drinking! The guild has been destroyed!"
Natsu saw Makarov's leisurely demeanor and immediately got furious, shouting at Makarov.
"Oh, really? You guys went on an S-Class Quest without permission. Punishment!! Receive your punishment now!! Be mentally prepared!!"
Natsu shouted, "Now is not the time for this!!"
Makarov raised his palm and tapped Natsu and Happy on the head, then slapped Lucy on the butt.
Mira said to Makarov angrily, "Master, this won't do!"
Seeing Makarov like this, Natsu got even angrier: "Grandpa! Do you know what's going on right now?!!!"
"Calm down, calm down. It's not a big deal."
"What?!"
The faces of the group changed. If the guild being destroyed wasn't a big deal, then what was?
"Those Phantom Lord idiots only have this much capability. What's there to be proud of for smashing up the guild when we were all out? There's no need to get angry at opponents who only know how to ambush. Just ignore them."
"How can we just let it go?! I'm definitely going to beat them to a pulp!!"
Natsu shouted with a ferocious expression.
Mira explained, "Natsu… The Master is also very unwilling, but the Magic Council prohibits armed conflicts between guilds."
"Didn't they start it?"
"It's not a matter of who started it."
The Council doesn't care who started it; as long as there's a fight, there will definitely be punishment.
Makarov said, "This matter ends here. We'll work down here until the upstairs is repaired."
"Who's in the mood to work?!!"
Suddenly! A faint voice rang out.
"Oh? You're not in the mood to work?"
"Eek—!!!"
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all screamed in terror.
They turned their heads and saw Erza standing behind them with a murderous look.
"Erza—?!!"
Natsu might not fear the Master, but he was terrified of Erza. Since childhood, Erza had truly beaten him up.
"Er… Erza… The guild has been destroyed!!"
Natsu suppressed his fear of Erza.
Erza said coldly, "That's still no reason for you to steal an S-Class Quest."
"Now is not the time for that. What's important now is Phantom Lord! You can beat or kill whoever you want later, but now Phantom Lord has destroyed our guild. Are you just going to stand by and watch, Erza? Are you really willing to accept this?"
Erza's expression faltered at Natsu's question. She had grown up in the guild, and the guild was like her home. How could she possibly accept it?
But she also understood one thing: the Magic Council prohibited conflicts between Mage guilds. Fairy Tail already had a long record of misdeeds with the Magic Council, and if they really fought against Phantom Lord, Fairy Tail could very likely be forcibly disbanded by the Magic Council. At that point, everyone might become homeless.
Furthermore, the Phantom Lord guild itself was very powerful, and if the two sides fought, the possibility of both sides suffering heavy losses was very high.
The Master was also trying to protect everyone in the guild from harm, which was why he endured this matter.
Just then!
Qi Yan's voice rang out, saying, "Master, if there's a way to teach Phantom Lord a lesson without being punished by the Magic Council, I wonder if you would agree."