History always records major events.
The last major event significant enough to influence the world occurred over a hundred years ago on the Northern Continent, "Guiltina," when the world's first Mage organization, the "Dragon of the Magic Array" guild, was founded.
Since then, countless Mage Guilds have sprouted up like bamboo shoots across the three continents, playing a massive role in driving the development of the magic world.
And this year, the year X784 in the Magic Calendar, is also destined to be recorded in the annals of history.
At the beginning of this year, the most terrifying Dark Guild Alliance in history appeared—the Balam Alliance.
They included the oldest and most mysterious "Tartaros";
The "Grimoire Heart," which was ostensibly the strongest and most troublesome; and the "Oración Seis," the youngest dark horse that rose to prominence later.
The union of these three strongest Dark Guilds brought over eighty percent of the Dark Guilds in all of Ishgar under their command.
Faced with a Dark Alliance whose total number of guilds was nearly half that of the legal guilds, everyone—from the Magic Council, which styled itself as the maintainer of order, to the rulers of various kingdoms and the scattered guilds—felt apprehensive about this unification of dark forces.
But who would have thought that the "Balam Alliance," which countless Dark Mages had pinned their high Hopes on, would fall in the final month of X784, collapsing in less than a year.
The "Oración Seis" was eliminated by a Guild Alliance mid-year.
"Grimoire Heart" and "Tartaros" were both wiped out at Tenrou Island.
And when speaking of the Balam Alliance's downfall, one guild's name is inseparable from the story.
Fairy Tail.
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The next day, Hargeon, Fiore Kingdom.
As everyone disembarked and went ashore, they immediately noticed the surrounding people pointing and whispering about them.
"What's going on? Why do I feel like these people are looking at us strangely..." Makarov, who had just stepped off the ship, frowned. He remembered that Natsu and Lucy had accidentally destroyed half of this city before.
Could it be that the compensation wasn't fully paid?
While Makarov was puzzled, Erza simply grabbed Natsu, who was still slumped on the deck, and interrogated him with a gaze as sharp as a blade: "Did you cause some kind of trouble again, kid?"
Natsu looked aggrieved. He had been training all this time to pass the S-Class Promotion Exam and didn't even have the energy to take on missions, so how could he possibly have had time to cause destruction?
Erza also realized this and awkwardly set him down.
It couldn't be helped; Natsu's ability and frequency of causing trouble were in a league of their own within the guild, to the point where it had become muscle Memory for her.
Hope somehow produced a copy of yesterday's newspaper. Looking at the bold headline that read, "Shocking! They Were the Ones Who Wiped Out the Balam Alliance," he immediately understood.
The speed of news these days is ridiculously fast... As the people involved, they only found out that the news of their victory over the Dark Guilds had spread after seeing the newspaper.
"It's written... quite convincingly." Makarov's expression was a bit subtle after reading the exaggerated praise in the newspaper; he was part proud and part headache-ridden.
He was proud that Fairy Tail was finally appearing in the newspaper with a positive image.
The headache came from the fact that an increase in fame would inevitably attract more requests, and who knew how much damage those restless youngsters in the guild would cause during their missions.
Overall, however, Makarov was still quite Happy about it. "Now, it'll be impossible to keep a low profile."
"Low profile?" Hope chuckled. "When has our guild ever been low-key?"
That was true; Fairy Tail had never been associated with the words "low profile."
As the group passed through the port area on their way to the station, the number of people pointing and whispering grew more and more. Many recognized them as members of Fairy Tail from the newspaper, their eyes filled with curiosity and admiration.
To ordinary people, Dark Guilds were undoubtedly evil and terrifying entities, so "Fairy Tail," which had eliminated the "Balam Alliance," was undoubtedly a heroic presence.
"Look! That red-haired one is the Fire Dragon Natsu! The newspaper said he could kill a Great Demon with a single punch!"
"That red-haired beauty in armor must be the Fairy Queen. It's said she defeated several of the Seven Kin of Purgatory by herself!"
"And that white-haired young lady with the beautiful smile—she's Miss Mirajane from Weekly Sorcerer, right? It's hard to imagine such a gentle person is actually a powerful Mage..."
"And the others..."
Discussions rose and fell, and people's eyes held admiration, curiosity, and even a hint of awe.
The guild members' reactions varied.
As soon as Natsu heard someone praising him, he immediately straightened his back like he'd been injected with adrenaline, his nose nearly reaching the sky. He brandished his fist triumphantly: "That's right! Demon Heart was nothing! Happy, we're the strongest!"
"Aye!" Happy flew beside him, equally full of pride.
Lucy was both excited and a bit embarrassed, whispering to Levy beside her: "This feels so strange... I can't believe we're this popular."
Levy analyzed rationally: "This is the amplification effect of the media. However, it's definitely a huge boost to the guild's reputation. Maybe the commission fees will increase in the future..."
"A bunch of boring people," Gajeel huffed, but the slight upward curve of his lips betrayed his good mood.
Wendy held Carla, her face flushed red; she wasn't good at handling such scenes. Carla had an "I really can't stand humans" expression, but she still used her body to slightly shield Wendy.
Hope was quite composed, even recognizing a few students from the Mildian Academy among the onlookers whom he had beaten up before.
After a round of genuine praise from the public and feigned humility from their own people, everyone finally boarded the magic train back to Magnolia.
Upon returning to the guild, such a major celebration naturally called for a banquet. However, Hope did not participate; instead, he went alone to a sealed space deep beneath the guild.
"So this is what Precht did after I died."
Mavis popped her head out from behind Hope, surveying the space that wasn't very large, before finally resting her gaze on the massive magic crystal preserving her body.
"Sigh..."
Seeing the object and remembering the person, Mavis let out a heavy sigh as she thought of Zeref and Precht, who had fallen into darkness. Then she turned to look at Hope, "I'm ready. We can begin."
Hope nodded, the light of magic in his hand covering Mavis's spiritual body as he slowly pushed her toward that physical form...
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