Meanwhile, inside the airship of the Dark Guild, Grimoire Heart.
"Oración Seis, is it? So, they've begun to move. What do you plan to do, Master Hades?" Ultear asked, turning toward Hades.
"Leave them be. If they start making moves, the fools outside won't just stand by and watch. We will use the distraction to find the key to unseal Zeref. If luck is on our side, maybe they'll even wipe out a few of those nuisance guilds for us."
"Like Fairy Tail?" Ultear suggested. "But that guild has 'God's Hand' Chen Fan sitting there."
"Hmph! Ultear, you've truly been scared witless by that 'God's Hand.'" Hades scoffed. Ultear's face contorted into a brief grimace of fear before returning to a calm mask. The transition happened in a split second, almost like an illusion.
Hades continued as if he hadn't noticed. "'God's Hand' is indeed a bit troublesome. None of you have any chance of victory against him. I've spent years analyzing his fighting style; though I don't know exactly what Magic he uses,
it is likely some form of Rule-based Magic. But that's all it is. I will deal with him personally. I only hope the Oración Seis clears out the small fry. Fairy Tail should be saved for lastthe flavor is better that way, isn't it?" He licked his lips.
Ultear shuddered, casting a deep look at Master Hades. Even after all these years in Grimoire Heart, she still couldn't fathom what he was thinking. She bowed slightly. "The Master is wise!"
When Chen Fan walked into the guild, he saw a crowd gathered around something. His natural curiosity got the better of him, and he squeezed his way to the front, only to find a distribution map of guilds.
"What is this? It's so ugly," he remarked.
"It's an organizational chart of the Dark Guilds. Oh, and by the way, I drew it," Mirajane said with a sweet, natural smile. But Chen Fan knew betterthis was the calm before the storm.
Oh no, I've messed up! Wait, Chen Fan remembered that Mirajane wasn't supposed to be the one who drew this. He looked around and saw that everyone else had already vanished the moment he opened his mouth. Bunch of cowards.
"Well, though it's not 'pretty' in a conventional sense, it excels in being tidy, clear, and easy to understand at a glance. Plus, to draw something this complex so meticulously... it's clear the artist would make an amazing wife. Mmm-hmm." Chen Fan nodded to himself, acting as if he deeply approved of his own words.
Mirajane's face turned bright red. she cupped her cheeks in her hands, looking incredibly adorable. Chen Fan and the bystanders were momentarily dazed.
Erza, standing right next to Chen Fan, couldn't stand the sight of him drooling over another girl. She slammed her foot down onto his.
"AURGH! MY FOOT!" Chen Fan hopped away on one leg, frantically rubbing his foot.
"Looking at it again, the numbers are truly staggering. But why now...?" Erza said, acting as if nothing had happened.
Mirajane's expression returned to its usual serious calm. "Because their activities have been becoming more frequent lately."
He got away with it! He actually got away with it! the others screamed internally.
Mirajane continued, "We must strengthen the cooperation between guilds."
"What's this large circle?" Gray asked.
Juvia, unwilling to be left out, chimed in. "I know this. That is the Dark Guild Balam Alliance. The Balam Alliance is composed of the three most powerful Dark Guilds: Oración Seis,
Tartaros, and Grimoire Heart. Each of them controls several subordinate guilds, effectively ruling the underworld. The only one independent of them is Raven Tail."
Hearing Raven Tail, the others in the guild had no reaction. It seemed they didn't know it was the guild of Ivan, Laxus's father. Chen Fan hadn't paid attention to Ivan for a long time because the man had been too quiet.
But Chen Fan knew Ivan was a cold-blooded snake who would even use his own son for experiments. According to the plot, Ivan wouldn't show his face for a while. If he wasn't Makarov's son, Chen Fan might have already taken him out.
Suddenly, Lucy interrupted Chen Fan's thoughts. "Wait? Eisenwald is..." She looked at Erza.
"Correct. That was the guild Erigor belonged to," Erza nodded.
"They are a guild under the umbrella of the Oración Seis," Gray added.
"Many of these names look familiar," Wakaba said, looking closely at the map.
"There are quite a few former legal guilds in there too," Macao added. As the older generation of Wizards in the guild, he and Wakaba naturally knew more about the past.
"Ghoul Spirit, which was crushed by the Thunder Legion, is also on there," Mirajane noted.
"Juvia and Gajeel also crushed several of these guilds back when we were in Phantom Lord," Juvia said with a smile. "They were all under the Oración Seis."
"Could you not say that with a smile?" Gray complained.
Lucy was trembling. "What are we going to do? I hope they don't hold a grudge."
Seeing Lucy's fear, Wakaba stepped up to comfort her. "Don't worry about it. Legend has it they only have six members."
"That's a tiny guild," Macao remarked. These two old men really had no shame, still trying to play the hero for a pretty girl at their age.
Lucy felt much better hearing there were only six people, but her relief was short-lived. Mirajane cut in, "Even if there are only six of them, they are a pillar supporting the greatest dark force."
Suddenly, Makarov's voice rang out through the hall. "Regarding the Oración Seis... it has been decided that we will be the ones to subjugate them."
"WHAT!?" Everyone shouted in shock.
Mirajane spoke up calmly. "Welcome back, Master. How was the routine meeting?"
THUD. Half the guild fell over, completely floored by Mirajane's timing.
Struggling back to her feet, Lucy patted Mirajane's shoulder. "Now is not the time for that!"
Erza stepped forward and asked, "Master, what exactly is going on?"
"At the routine meeting a few days ago, the issue of the Oración Seis taking action was raised. We cannot turn a blind eye to it. It was decided that a guild must destroy them."
"So you drew the short straw again, Gramps?"
"Is Fairy Tail responsible for this mission?"
"No," Makarov replied. "Because this enemy is far too powerful, if we fought them alone, the Balam Alliance would mark us for death. Therefore, we have decided to form a Coalition Army."
"A Coalition Army?"
"Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter! These four guilds will each select members to join forces and take them down!"
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