"How is this possible?!"
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, the atmosphere was unusually heavy. Despite the crowd, the usual noise and laughter were gone.
Small groups gathered around, all staring at the weekly magazine in their hands.
"The situation is getting worse."
Erza's expression was serious. Lucy and Happy clung to each other in fear.
Lucien sat among them, silent, his eyes fixed on the report.
"She destroyed the Veronica Kingdom alone. Before, she only hunted individual mages, but now she wiped out an entire kingdom?"
Mira's usual smile had vanished, replaced with worry.
"Hmph! Gatling Fairy or whatever, when I find her, I will beat her down, even if she is a woman."
Natsu clenched his fists, his fighting spirit rising after days of boredom.
"Natsu, are you insane?! That woman destroyed the capital and killed all the mages there!"
Lucy's face was pale with fear.
"Don't you think this Gatling Fairy is really beautiful?"
Macao stared at the image in the magazine, his eyes practically glued to the page. The figure shown was a stunning woman, elegant and mature, with long wavy hair and a graceful dress. The massive Gatling and Rocket Launcher resting on her shoulders made her look both refined and terrifyingly cool.
It was a presence that felt completely out of place, like something that did not belong to an ordinary mage.
"She is beautiful, but also dangerous."
Wakaba and the others nodded, then shivered.
Everyone knew what she had done. The king of the Veronica Kingdom, along with every mage in the capital, had been slaughtered. Her appearance was captivating, but her methods were brutal beyond reason.
"What should we do? What if she targets the Fiore Kingdom?"
Lucy's thoughts spiraled.
"Then we are all in danger!"
Happy screamed, clutching his face.
"Help!"
Lucy jumped and joined him in panic.
"Be quiet."
Erza's voice turned cold. Lucy and Happy immediately covered each other's mouths, blinking nervously.
The entire magical world was in chaos. Whether it was legal guilds, dark guilds, or entire nations, everyone was talking about the Gatling Fairy.
The fall of the Veronica Kingdom had shaken them all.
Even the Magic Council had already held multiple emergency meetings within three months.
None of it affected Lucien.
Right now, something else had caught his interest.
From the King's soul, Lucien had extracted valuable memories.
The Phoenix Stone.
This world did not only have dragons at the top of the food chain. There were also phoenixes, creatures said to be immortal, capable of being reborn through fire.
Not some weak imitation, but a true immortal entity.
That alone made it worth hunting.
According to the King's memories, the era of the phoenix was even older than the Age of Dragons. Yet recorded history only went back four hundred years.
That inconsistency was suspicious.
This world should not have such a short history.
From what Lucien learned, the Veronica family established their kingdom four hundred years ago. Before that, the land was occupied by a group known as the Fire Village.
They possessed the innate ability to control flames.
More importantly, they guarded a sealed phoenix.
The seal was divided into two parts, the Fire Stone and the Blue Stone. When combined, the seal would break, allowing the phoenix to resurrect.
Anyone who drank its blood would gain eternal life.
The Veronica ancestors chose slaughter.
They wiped out the Fire Village and built their kingdom on its ashes.
Some survivors escaped.
One of them had lived for four hundred years without aging.
A being comparable to Zeref.
The King had spent decades searching for her. He eventually found traces, but she vanished before he could capture her.
Her name was Eclair.
The Veronica family had passed down one half of the seal, a red crescent shaped stone.
The Fire Stone.
Lucien held it in his hand now, turning it slowly as a faint glow reflected in his eyes.
Whether the legend was true or not did not matter.
If the phoenix existed, its flesh, blood, and soul would be an extraordinary source of power.
A month passed.
...
"Oh, look, it is Fairy Tail's mages."
"It seems they still do not know."
"That is just sad."
In Magnolia, Lucy and the others walked along the familiar streets, drawing strange looks from the townspeople.
For the past month, they had been constantly taking on jobs just to earn enough money to get by.
Meanwhile, the Gatling Fairy had completely disappeared.
During that time, Lucy had also formed a contract with a new Celestial Spirit, Loki, and even encountered the Celestial Spirit King.
It had been a brief distraction.
"Why is everyone staring at us like that?"
Happy hovered in the air, confused.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Gray frowned.
As they approached the guild, their steps slowed.
Then they saw it.
"This... what happened?"
Gray's expression twisted as his fists clenched.
"How... how could this happen..."
Lucy covered her mouth, tears forming in her eyes.
"Our guild... our home..."
Natsu's entire body trembled with rage. The veins on his forehead bulged as his fists cracked from the pressure.
The guild was gone.
In its place stood ruins, pierced and crushed by massive iron rods driven straight through the structure.
Everything they had known, destroyed.
Lucien stood silently, watching.
There was no shock on his face.
Only indifference.
"What exactly happened?"
Erza's voice was low, filled with restrained anger.
"Phantom Lord."
Mira's voice came from behind them.
Her expression was filled with sadness.
"Phantom Lord?!"
Gray's teeth clenched.
"I do not want to admit it, but this is what they did."
Mira took a deep breath.
"Come inside. I will explain everything."
She turned and walked toward the ruined guild.