The next day, inside the Fairy Tail Guild.
Lucy looked at Natsu and the others with a tear-streaked face.
"How could you guys leave me behind?"
Erza said apologetically, "Sorry, Lucy, I forgot you just joined. We usually don't like dealing with the Council, so we just run away."
"This is also a good experience for you; now you'll know what to do next time."
(╥╯﹏╰╥)ง "I never want to have an experience like that again."
After Lucy was caught, she was lectured for half a day and then locked up for a night before being released.
Gray said, "Lucy, you've become famous as the 'Iron Woman who tore Lullaby apart with her bare hands'."
"I'd rather not have that kind of fame!"
Just then, the quiet Natsu suddenly spoke.
"Erza, please duel me!"
Natsu's shout undoubtedly brought the entire guild to a standstill.
Everyone looked at Natsu with disbelief.
Gray: "Hey, hey, did you forget to take your medicine this morning? Don't forget, Erza gave you a good beating half a year ago."
"Tch, I'm not the same person I was half a year ago. This time, I'm confident."
Erza looked at Natsu with a relieved expression.
"It seems you've grown a lot in the past six months. Let me see your progress from this past half-year!"
"Oh, oh! I'm all fired up!"
The scene shifted.
Everyone from the guild had gathered outside.
"Bets are open, bets are open! Natsu vs. Erza!"
"Erza 1:1.1, Natsu 1:10!"
Lucy looked at the exaggerated odds and gained a new understanding of the Fairy Tail's power rankings.
Seeing Happy glance at both odds, he immediately chose Erza.
"You heartless cat!"
"Don't say that, Lucy. I need to survive too."
Lucy sighed, "Alas, the strongest team is about to start a duel."
As soon as Lucy finished speaking, Gray looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? The strongest team? What's that?"
Lucy quickly said, "It's you, Natsu, Erza, Ye Yang. Aren't you guys the strongest people in the guild?"
Gray asked, puzzled, "I wish, but Natsu and I aren't even in the first tier."
"There are plenty of Mages similar to us, and even a few who are stronger than Erza. Who was the scoundrel who told you that?"
Lucy pointed behind her at Mirajane, and Gray saw Mirajane was almost crying.
"W-w-well, I just thought you guys might be very strong when you work together, w-w-w-w-w-w."
Elfman immediately shouted, "Gray, you're finished! How dare you make my sister angry? My boss is going to kill you!"
"Speaking of the strongest, Erza is undoubtedly the strongest female Mage, and the strongest male Mage must be my boss! He's a true man!"
"If we're talking about the second tier, I can rank among them too."
Lucy looked at Ye Yang with a puzzled expression.
"He's the strongest?"
In Lucy's mind, the scene from that day with Lullaby suddenly appeared; that world-destroying blow still made her heart tremble slightly.
"It seems I still don't know much about the guild."
Meanwhile, Natsu and Erza had already begun their duel.
"Requip: Flame Empress Armor."
Everyone saw Erza use even this armor, knowing that she was truly serious.
Natsu was even more excited: "Oh, oh, oh! This way I can go all out!"
Natsu gathered flames at his feet.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"
Natsu rushed towards Erza quickly. Erza dodged Natsu's attack by shifting her body. Just then, the flames on Natsu's body instantly disappeared. The moment his feet touched the ground, the flames surged again, and the ground instantly cracked open.
Natsu's speed increased by another level.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn, Second Stage!"
Seeing that she couldn't dodge, Erza quickly held her Flame Empress Sword in front of her. Natsu's powerful blow directly sent Erza flying.
Erza slid for dozens of meters before stopping, looking at Natsu in astonishment.
Natsu's move instantly silenced the surroundings.
"Is that Natsu? He hasn't been possessed, has he? That Erza was actually repelled by Natsu."
Natsu, seeing that it actually worked, immediately shouted excitedly.
"Hahaha, I've been practicing this move for a long time."
Gray, on the other hand, immediately ran to Ye Yang. "Did you teach Natsu this?"
Ye Yang looked at Gray with some surprise.
"You knew that?"
"Of course, haven't I fought with Natsu enough? How could he have that kind of brain?"
"Hmm~, sure enough, you and Natsu are true love."
(〝▼dish▼) "Who's true love with him?!"
"Hahaha, just kidding, just kidding. I just told Natsu about the characteristics of fire."
"Extreme heat, and also explosion."
"With this kid's current magical attainment, I don't expect extreme heat, but the 'explosion' that fire gives him can be utilized."
"Coupled with his Dragon Slayer physique, the slight damage from the fire's burst won't harm him at all."
"As for combat techniques, you guys secretly watched San Mao and the others train and battle, and learned quite a bit, didn't you?"
At this point, Gray started to feel a bit embarrassed, because just as Ye Yang said, they often went to watch San Mao and Er Gou's duels. After all, they were taught by Ye Yang, so they could definitely learn a lot.
"But I see that Natsu can now control flames relatively freely. The first attempt at the Sword Horn didn't succeed, but he was able to quickly retract and condense his magic."
"Finally, he burst out with even greater speed in an instant."
"It can be considered a small achievement."
"It seems it's time for the next step."
Gray instantly understood Ye Yang's words.
"Are you saying that Natsu is also learning from you?!"
"That's right, training three is training, and training four is also training."
Gray looked at Natsu: "Damn it! That guy! I want to go too!"
Ye Yang spread his hands: "I'll only give you suggestions, though. The rest you all have to figure out on your own."
"Thanks!"
Then Ye Yang directly kicked Gray.
"Get out of the way, you're blocking my view of the show."
At this moment, Natsu was once again preparing to rush forward to fight, when suddenly a Frog wearing clothes arrived with an army.
"Clap! Clap!"
"Everyone, please stop for a moment. Is Master Makarov here?"
Everyone, seeing that it was the Council, began to whisper.
"Why is the Council here?"
"I don't know? Did you get caught doing something bad?"
"How could that be!"
Lucy looked at everyone's discussion and immediately retorted, "Doesn't everyone find a Frog wearing clothes strange?"
Everyone from Fairy Tail looked at the people from the Council. Makarov also got down from his stool and walked forward.
"May I ask, what brings the Council here?"
The Frog ignored Makarov, proudly raised his head, and began to read.
"Now, I will read the notice from the Council. Due to the successful prevention of the attack in the Eisenwald incident, the Council hereby commends everyone from Fairy Tail."
Upon hearing that they were there to give commendations, everyone in the guild had an incredulous expression.