Magnolia Town
"We're back!"
"You came back so fast this time."
"Aye!"
They had secretly snuck out at night and spent a day and a night to reach their destination, but this time, they left in the morning and arrived in Magnolia by the afternoon.
"It's all because Takeshi drove too fast on the sea." Gray was still shaken from the sea voyage.
"The boat... ugh..."
Hearing 'boat', Natsu felt dizzy again.
Takeshi quickly drove ahead, and the boat behind, due to its excessive speed, was bouncing up and down on the water, making even those who didn't usually get seasick, like Gray, Lucy, and Happy, feel like throwing up.
Natsu sighed. "Haa... The quest was stolen for nothing, we didn't get anything."
Takeshi said, "Serves you right. That's what you get for stealing a quest. Besides, it's not like I didn't give you a chance. You were frozen solid the moment you showed up. Otherwise, if you had defeated those three, I might have given you a little something."
"Who knew that guy would be so despicable? He actually froze me."
Natsu got angry at the mention of this. If he hadn't been frozen, he could have not only defeated those three but also knocked out that arrogant Lyon.
Happy then looked at Takeshi and asked, "Takeshi, you were the one who caused the earthquake that night, right?"
The others, hearing Happy's words, remembered that the earthquake in Magnolia a few days ago had been very unusual.
"What are you talking about? I don't know what you're saying." Takeshi guiltily turned his head away.
"It must have been you. Magnolia hasn't had an earthquake in years, and that night, there was a sudden earthquake. It must have been caused by you transforming into that old man."
"Don't talk nonsense without evidence. Be careful, or I'll sue you for defamation."
"Give me a fish."
"I'll give you ten."
"Yay! That's great."
Just then, soft whispers sounded from people on both sides of the street.
"Hmm? What's going on? The Guild looks very strange."
The group looked ahead and saw that the Guild was pierced by iron pillars, and the Guild was in ruins everywhere, clearly looking like it had been attacked.
"Who did this?!!"
Seeing their Guild destroyed like this, a surge of anger immediately rose in their hearts.
"It's Phantom Lord."
Mirajane's voice rang out.
The group immediately looked in the direction of the sound, seeing Mirajane standing not far away.
Takeshi quickly went to Mirajane and asked anxiously, "Mira, you're not hurt, are you?"
He had panicked for a moment when he saw that the Guild had been destroyed.
Mirajane felt a warmth in her heart seeing Takeshi so concerned about her and shook her head. "No, I'm not hurt."
Lucy quickly came over and asked, "Where is everyone? How is everyone in the Guild?"
"Everyone is fine, they're all on the basement level. Come with me."
...
The group followed Mirajane to the Guild's basement level, which was Fairy Tail's backup warehouse, primarily used to store supplies on normal days.
"Oh! Takeshi, you're back."
"Natsu and Gray are back too."
Everyone in the Guild greeted Takeshi upon his return.
"Did you see it? The state of the Guild. Damn it."
"Those Phantom Lord bastards, they actually attacked our Guild. Next time, we'll go destroy their Guild."
"Calm down, our opponent is Phantom Lord."
Everyone in the Guild was furious, all clamoring to go fight Phantom Lord.
"Yo, welcome back."
Makarov drank beer, looking as if nothing had happened, and greeted the group.
"Old man, this isn't the time to drink. The Guild has been destroyed."
Natsu, seeing Makarov's leisurely demeanor, immediately got angry and shouted at him.
Makarov said, "Oh, really? You guys went on an S-Class Quest without permission. Receive your punishment now. Be mentally prepared."
Natsu shouted, "This isn't the time for that!"
Makarov raised his palm and tapped Natsu and Happy on the head, then slapped Lucy on the butt.
Mirajane said angrily, "Master, this is not right."
Seeing Makarov act like this, Natsu got even angrier. "Do you know what's going on right now?!!"
"Calm down. It's not a big deal."
"What?!"
The faces of the several people changed.
The Guild was destroyed, and that wasn't a big deal? Then what was a big deal?
"Those Phantom Lord idiots only have that much ability. What's there to be proud of in smashing up the Guild when we're all not around? There's no need to get angry at opponents who only know how to ambush. Just ignore them."
"How can we just let it go like this? I'm definitely going to beat them up!" Natsu shouted with a ferocious expression.
Mirajane explained, "Natsu... Master is also very unwilling, but the Council prohibits armed conflict between Guilds."
"Didn't they make the first move?"
"It's not about who started it."
The Council wouldn't care who started it. As long as there was conflict, there would definitely be punishment.
Makarov said, "This matter ends here. We'll work here until the upstairs is repaired."
"Who's in the mood to work?"
Suddenly, a faint voice rang out.
"Oh? You're not in the mood to work?"
"Eeeek!"
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all screamed in fright.
Turning around, they saw Erza standing behind them with a murderous look.
"Erza?!"
Natsu might not be afraid of Makarov, but he was terrified of Erza. Since childhood, Erza had beaten him up many times.
"Er... Erza... the Guild has been destroyed."
Natsu forced himself to suppress his fear of Erza.
Erza said coldly, "That's still not a reason for you to steal an S-Class Quest."
Natsu asked, "This isn't the time for that. What's important now is Phantom Lord. You can fight or kill later, whatever you want. But now Phantom Lord has destroyed our Guild. Are you just going to stand by and watch, Erza? Are you really willing to accept this?"
Erza's expression faltered at Natsu's question. She had also grown up in the Guild since she was little, the Guild was like her home. How could she possibly accept it?
However, she also understood one thing. The Magic Council prohibited conflicts between Guilds. Fairy Tail already had a bad reputation with the Magic Council. If they really fought Phantom Lord, Fairy Tail might be forcibly disbanded by the Magic Council, and everyone might become homeless.
Furthermore, Phantom Lord itself was very powerful. If both sides fought, the possibility of both being severely wounded was very high.
Makarov was trying to protect everyone in the Guild from harm, which was why he endured this matter.
Just then—
Takeshi's voice rang out, saying, "Master, if there's a way to teach Phantom Lord a lesson without being punished by the Magic Council, I wonder if you would agree."