— — — — — —
"It's Erza!"
"Erza's back!"
"Whoa, that horn is huge!"
...
"This? Just a horn from a monster I defeated."
"Hmm.... Over there—Cana, what kind of posture is that? If you're going to drink, sit properly on a chair. Why are you on the table?"
Cana froze mid-drink and reluctantly climbed down from the tabletop like someone who just got caught skipping class.
"And Wakaba, your ashes are falling all over the floor."
"Macao, if you've got time to chat, take Romeo to the amusement park or something. Stop loitering here every day."
"And... Loke, why are you lying on the ground? If you want to sleep, go home!"
Erza finally glanced at Loke, who was still crushed under the fallen guild door, and could only shake her head. The guild was as chaotic as ever.
"I wasn't sleeping! I was… forget it, I've got things to do, I'm leaving!"
Loke jumped up, but the moment Virgo's eyes turned toward him, he bolted like a startled cat.
"He really looks familiar…"
Virgo tilted her head, a hint of confusion flickering on her otherwise blank face. His voice and build were so familiar.
After restoring some order, Erza walked straight toward Kazuma and Mira. She scanned left and right, then fixed her gaze on them.
"Where are Natsu and Gray?"
"Gray took a job and hasn't returned yet. Natsu… got punched out by Kazuma a moment ago. Happy dragged him off to rest."
"You look dead serious. Something happen during the mission?" Mira poured Erza a glass of juice and asked.
"The mission went smoothly. But when we stopped to eat afterward, we ran into a problem."
"I was planning to ask the Master's opinion, but since he's not here, we'll have to handle it ourselves."
"Kazuma, I need your help."
Erza took a sip of juice. Normally, she wouldn't ask another S-Class mage for help. Every S-Class mage had their own way of handling things, and teaming up often did more harm than good.
And even though Kazuma wasn't officially S-Class yet, everyone acknowledged his strength long ago.
"Tell me what happened. And Mira, where's the old man?"
Only now did Kazuma realize that Makarov, who always sat at the bar, was missing. He'd been too busy chatting with Virgo and Lucy to notice.
"Today's the guild leaders' conference. Master left early to meet the other guild masters," Mira reminded.
"Oh… right."
Kazuma remembered. Erza had returned, and combined with Makarov heading out for the meeting… yeah, this should be around the time the whole Lullaby incident happens.
Erza finished her juice then explained, "When I finished my mission and stopped by a tavern to rest, I overheard a group nearby talking."
"They said they were going to unseal some powerful magic. I didn't pay much attention at first. Mages doing jobs is normal."
"But then I remembered who they said their leader was: Erigor."
Erza's expression tightened. She slammed her fist on the table, startling Lucy.
"Wh-who is this Erigor? Why does that name make you so mad?"
Lucy tensed up just sitting next to Erza. The woman had an intimidating aura that made Lucy want to shrink into a corner.
"Erigor, the ace of the Eisenwald guild, known as the Death God. Takes assassination jobs."
"But the Magic Council dissolved that guild a long time ago. They're a dark guild now," Mira explained, worry flickering in her eyes. If assassins were moving, their goal couldn't be anything good.
"Damn it. If I had realized sooner, I would've slaughtered every last one of them on the spot!"
Erza's eyes flashed with killing intent. It wasn't exactly her fault, but just knowing her moment of hesitation could lead to innocent people dying made her furious.
"Slaughter them all?!"
Lucy broke into a cold sweat. She really wasn't cut out to listen to conversations like this. Death Gods? Dark guilds? Casual bloodbaths?
"Exactly!" Kazuma slammed the table. "If you notice something's off, you strike first."
"If you hesitate, you're the one who suffers later."
"I hesitated. Damn it!" Erza clenched her jaw. If she'd acted immediately and wiped them out, things would've already been over. Dark guilds were wanted criminals anyway. Taking them out was fully permitted by the Council.
Lucy sat between them drenched in sweat. She felt like she shouldn't be here. Maybe she should lie on the floor and pretend to be dead. Why were they casually talking about massacres like it was grocery shopping?!
"I know your code," Erza said, looking at Kazuma. "So this request is personal. Name any reward you want."
They knew each other well enough by now. Kazuma's rule was clear— If you wanted his help, you had to pay.
"In that case, the reward will be you owing me a favor. I'll come to collect later."
Kazuma had planned to handle Erigor anyway. The target was the guild masters, including Makarov. Anyone who dared target his people had to die.
But if Erza was officially making a personal request? Even better. He could score a favor and get a ten percent magic boost as a bonus.
"Got it. Mira, draft the request. Once it's logged, we leave immediately. Every second we waste gives them time to act."
Mira quickly wrote up the mission form. Kazuma accepted it, and the two of them headed out without wasting another moment.
.
.
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