As the voice boomed, the floor trembled, and a breathtakingly huge figure appeared before everyone!
Lucy was so scared by the giant she almost cried.
"He's so big!"
It was as if someone had pressed pause—everyone froze mid-action, not daring to move a muscle.
In the silent scene, only Ankh and Mirajane remained calm.
Ankh even raised a hand in greeting. "Yo, Master. you're still so energetic."
"Master?!" Lucy stared incredulously at the giant.
This man, whose head nearly brushed the ceiling, was the master of the strongest guild?!
He was definitely intimidating!
The Master was startled to see Ankh, then broke into a happy smile.
"Ankh! I thought you'd be back later."
While the Master was chatting with Ankh, the reckless Natsu spat fire from his mouth, jumping around proudly.
"Look how scared you all are—that means I win this round!"
"Thud!"
"Ouch..."
Makarov lifted his huge foot and easily knocked out Natsu.
He then noticed Lucy beside Ankh. "Huh? A newcomer?"
Lucy's jaw nearly hit the floor as she stiffly nodded.
Makarov seemed to realize his appearance might be frightening and quickly used his magic to shrink back to his normal size.
Lucy looked at the now-tiny Makarov in even more surprise and blurted out.
"So small!"
Makarov didn't get angry.
He smiled and greeted Lucy, then pulled Ankh aside for a quick chat.
Then came the part Ankh was very familiar with—Makarov's lecture time.
Ankh already knew the gist—the Magic Council was causing trouble again.
They would pick on trivial matters and blow them out of proportion.
Ankh had seen it plenty of times.
Thanks to his other identity, Ankh knew exactly what the old fogies on the Council were thinking.
The Fairy Tail guild was indeed louder and more chaotic than most, but that was the extent of it.
They never committed any real crimes.
Reporting them for property damage? If other guilds did the same, the Council would likely look the other way.
But not for Fairy Tail.
Plenty of people were just waiting for a chance to bring them down.
But Makarov hadn't been Guild Master for so many years for nothing.
Handling these incidents was easy for him. More importantly, he wanted his guild members to stay true to their magical paths!
To pursue their own magic and feel the pure power of nature—that was the philosophy Makarov always taught.
After Makarov took the Council's complaint letter and tore it to shreds on the spot, the entire guild erupted into cheerful chaos once more.
Inspired by the lively atmosphere, Lucy's face flushed with excitement as she joyfully raised her arms and cheered.
Then, with Mirajane's help, the newly-joined Lucy finally had a pink Fairy Tail guild emblem stamped on the back of her hand.
Lucy happily raised her hand to show the guild emblem to Natsu.
Ankh watched Lucy chatting with Natsu and suddenly felt something was off.
He turned to Mirajane. "Mira, where's Lisanna?"
The two had sat down at a table, with Mirajane having just finished updating Ankh on the guild's happenings over the years.
A hint of sadness suddenly crossed Mirajane's face at Ankh's question...
Ankh noticed her expression and felt a jolt of alarm.
'Did something happen? How could it be?'
Lisanna's issue should have been resolved long ago.
Before he left on his mission, he'd even set up precautions—there was no way anything could have happened to her!
Seeing Ankh's anxious look, Mirajane speak with a sorrowful tone.
"Lisanna..."
"What about her?"
"She..."
"She what?"
"...Ate too much and went out for a walk."
...
???
Ankh: (?˙ー˙?)?
'Are you kidding me?! '
'If she just ate too much and went for a walk, why did you make it sound like a tragedy?! You scared me to death!'
Seeing Ankh look ready to explode, Mirajane pitifully spread her hands and said softly.
"I'm just worried that she didn't only go out for a walk..."
Ankh reined in his anger, took a sip of his juice, and asked casually, though still annoyed.
"Then what's the real reason?"
Mirajane suddenly glanced around like a little thief, then lowered her voice to a whisper.
"Lisanna might be in love and planning to elope with someone!"
"Pfft—"
Hearing this, Ankh sprayed his juice all over Mirajane's face like a fountain.
Mirajane, now drenched, frowned in slight embarrassment and annoyance, her pretty face flushing red with anger.
Ankh, feeling awkward, quickly grabbed a napkin, lifted Mirajane's face to wipe it clean, and asked urgently.
"Lisanna's in love? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Ankh didn't remember any other romantic subplots for Lisanna in the original story either.
Mirajane shook her head, then leaned forward to rub her face dry on Ankh's clothes before stating confidently.
"Absolutely. Lisanna has met up with that boy several times these past few days, and one time she came home really late!"
Hearing Mirajane say this, Ankh began to have doubts too.
'Could it be that some random guy really managed to win over Lisanna?...'
The thought made Ankh unable to sit still.
Most of the young girls in the guild felt like little sisters to Ankh.
Even troublemakers like Natsu and Gray, though they'd never say it out loud, secretly respected him as an older brother.
In return, Ankh usually treated them all like his own younger siblings.
And Lisanna, with her quirky and clever personality, was one of the most protected and beloved by Ankh.
She was the guild's universally cherished little sister.
But now, Mirajane was telling him that some unknown guy was planning to take their little sister away...
The feeling was exactly like when Erlang Shen in Lotus Lantern found out his younger sister had fallen for a mortal.
This specific, older-brother kind of frustration... Who could just sit back and do nothing?
Certainly not Ankh.
Ankh didn't even finish his drink.
He grabbed Mirajane's hand and ran outside while loudly shouting.
"Gogogo, hurry up! Let me see what little brat... what fine young man... it is!"
Mirajane, her hand held firmly in Ankh's, felt the familiar sense of security from his warm, strong grip.
Her face flushed slightly, but she still managed to ask.
"But... if we show up so suddenly, Lisanna might get embarrassed..."
Ankh stopped in his tracks.
That was a good point.. It would be better to follow them secretly and observe what kind of man he really was.
If Lisanna had run into a scumbag...
He'd jump out immediately and, with one swift move, chop of their dicks!