Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
July 6, x790.
Around the time the party at the Sixth Sense Hotel ended, the members of Team Sabertooth were finally released from the Domus Flau's infirmary, with Minerva being the last one released, as her injuries were the most severe. Meaning, Team Sabertooth, along with Lector and Frosch were walking through the streets of Crocus on their way back to their lodgings.
'I wonder how I should break it to the others that I will be leaving the guild?' Minerva, walking at the back of the group, thought to herself. 'That was the deal for Irene to save me from my father's tyranny. Still, I've been a member of Sabertooth for as long as it has existed. I really don't wanna leave it behind.'
"Hey, do you think Master is going to punish you guys for not winning the Grand Magic Games?" Lector asked while using his [Aera Magic] to fly next to Sting.
"Definitely." Sting replied in a downcast tone. "He's gonna be really angry because we couldn't follow his orders."
"This time we should be pardoned, though." Rogue said in a flat tone. "Both Sting and I, while using [White and Shadow Drive] were no match for him. And I don't think using [Dragon Force] would have made much of a difference, either."
"Does that mean you can't beat that guy from Fairy Tail, Rogue?" Frosch asked as he tilted his head cutely while standing on Rogue's shoulder.
"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case." Rufus said while shaking his head. "If he had enough time, he could probably defeat everyone who participated in the Grand Magic Game by himself."
"Damn that guy!" Orga growled. "No matter what, I'm gonna get revenge on him for humiliating me like that."
*Zap!*
In Orga's anger, he unconsciously flared his magic power. As a result, several arcs of black lightning jumped off his body and lightly damaged the surroundings.
"Calm down, Orga." Minerva said strictly, Orga's outburst pulling her out of her thoughts. "I don't think that's a good idea. Especially since we provoked him into acting so harshly against us."
"What do you mean?' Sting asked curiously while everyone else, other than Rufus turned to look at Minerva quizzically.
"*Sigh* The three of you really don't pay attention to anything other than fighting, do you?" Rufus asked in a tired tone. "Well, do you remember when I insulted Alfonzo Marcus' wife before we were introduced on the first day?"
Immediately, Rufus and Minerva could see question marks floating over the heads of the other three members and Lector. Frosch, on the other hand, only wore a happy go lucky expression, as always.
"Well, that did happen." Minerva said, deciding not to dwell on the IQs of her guild mates. "And the reason was that neither Rufus nor I could see us defeating Fairy Tail."
"What?" Sting, Rogue, and Orga exclaimed in unison.
"You never thought we could win?" Rogue asked, sounding quite indignant. "But Sabertooth is the---"
"No, it's not." Minerva said sternly, cutting off Rogue's use of the guild's usual saying. "And these last few days should have made that quite clear."
Hearing the tone of Minerva's voice and the look in her eyes, Rogue could do nothing but lower his head. Even Sting and Orga did not know what to say.
"Anyway, I was hoping that Alfonzo would be disqualified after attacking us outside an event after I insulted his wife, Elicia." Rufus continued after a few moments of silence. "But he saw right through it. As a result, he made it a point to keep us down as much as he possibly could during the Grand Magic Games."
Now that Rufus mentioned it, Sting, Rogue, and Orga vaguely remembered something like that. Meanwhile, Lector completely recalled Alfonzo's statement after he defeated Orga in the first Battle Round. Frosch, on the other hand, only tilted his head to the other side with the same happy-go-lucky smile on his face.
"Basically, it's our fault we didn't do better in the Games this year." Minerva said. "And for that, I'm sorry."
After speaking, Minerva bowed her head, which caught the others off guard.
"No, Princess, it's not your fault!" Sting exclaimed. "You were just trying to help us win, that's all!"
"Sting is right." Rogue added. "It's not your fault that plans don't always work out."
"Yeah, what they said." Orga said.
"Besides, you should not take all the blame alone, Princess." Rufus said as he, too, bowed in apology. "I was the one who suggested the plan, after all. Besides, it was also me who carried out the plan. But we underestimated Alfonzo's breath of mind."
"*Sigh* I hope they are this forgiving when they find out that I betrayed the guild to free myself of my father's influence."
With that, and an awkward mood hanging in the air, the seven from Sabertooth continued towards their lodgings. However, when they eventually arrived and entered the lobby, Sting, Rogue, Rufus, Orga, and Lector were thoroughly confused while Minerva was expecting a scene like this. As for Frosch... Well, it didn't need to be mentioned.
Currently, the other members of the guild, though they were not panicking, they were all exuding a confused and nervous atmosphere. On top of that, the way they turned their heads towards the doors as soon as Team Sabertooth walked through the door was quite off-putting.
"What's going on here?" Sting asked in a confused tone.
"I'm not sure." Rufus replied. "But everyone looks so uneasy."
"Well, let's just ask." Orga said loudly as he took large steps towards the nearest guild mate. He then grabbed the male wizard by his shirt and turned him towards himself. "Hey, what's going on here? Why is everyone acting so..."
Reaching that point, as Orga could not come up with the right word, he waved his arm towards the rest of the guild members in the hotel lobby. Meanwhile, the wizard Orga grabbed initially showed fear when he was grabbed. However, when he noticed that it was Orga, he calmed down quickly.
"Oh, Orga... It's you." The wizard said. "Sorry about that. Everyone is on edge because Master has yet to return. And because he left before the event ended, we're worried something might have happened to him."
"But who could have done anything to Master?" Sting ask curiously as he and the others approached Orga and the wizard in his grasp. "I mean, Master is strong. And if someone had attacked him, there would have been a real big commotion, right?"
"You would think so." Rufus muttered. "But this... This seems impossible. Even if Master was no match for anyone who might have attacked him, his [Blast Magic] would have drawn a lot of attention."
"We need to form a search party and look for him." Rogue said in a solemn tone.
"I agree." Rufus said with a nod. He then turned to Minerva and continued. "Princess, you should wait here in case he comes back. The rest of us will split into groups and search the city. Is that plan satisfactory."
In response, Minerva nodded her head. And with that, the rest of the guild split into groups led by Sting, Rogue, Rufus, and Orga before they left the hotel to start the search for Jiemma.
It did not take long for the hotel to be emptied out of all the Sabertooth members except for Minerva. And when she noticed that she was alone, she took fatigued steps towards the landing where Jiemma would usually sit to address the guild. Then, she stopped in front of the throne he had set up for his sole use.
"I guess you'll never sit in this seat again, will you, Father?" Minerva asked as she ran her hand along the throne's arm rest. "To be honest, even having a thrown like this showed that you did not see us as a guild. Rather, it felt more like you were a king ruling over your subjects. And Sabertooth was the name of your kingdom."
Reaching that point, Minerva pulled her hand away from the arm rest. Then, she turned around before plopping herself onto the seat.
"*Sigh* I wonder what will happen to the guild after I leave..." Minerva said as she lowered her head and cupped her face in her hands. "I wonder who would end up being the guild master. Maybe Sting would be a good fit. No, keeping him in one place long enough to fill out any paperwork would be enough to make an S-Class quest all by itself."
"Why don't you become the guild master?"
Hearing that familiar voice coming from behind her, Minerva was naturally surprised. However, it was not for the obvious reason of being snuck up on.
"What do you mean?" Minerva asked as she raised her head and looked over her left shoulder towards the owner of the voice with a thoroughly flabbergasted expression on her face. "I thought I had to agree to join Fairy Tail to get your help."
"Oh, that was just to test how serious you were about freeing yourself from your father." The owner of the voice, Irene, said as she walked around the throne and stopped in front of Minerva. "From what I can tell, you see the members of your guild as family. And I'm not so heartless that I would separate you from your family."
"Anymore, anyway.' Irene thought to herself, finishing her sentence internally.
Hearin that, Minerva looked Irene with a complicated expression. All this time, she had been agonizing about betraying her guild for her benefit alone. But now she just found out that all that was for nothing.
"*Sigh* I see." Minerva said with a tired sigh after staring at Irene for a few moments. "Well then, I thank you for your help. I would have liked the chance to study under a wizard as strong as you, though."
After saying that, Minerva was confused when she saw Irene tilt her head in confusion.
"Why wouldn't you be able to study under me anymore?" Irene asked curiously.
"Because I'm not a member of your guild?" Minerva said, though it sounded more like a question.
"Oh, Sweetie, I don't care about that." Irene said with a smile. "Other than a few of Fairy Tail's secret techniques, I don't mind teaching you everything that I can to make you stronger. That way, you and your guild might actually be a challenge for Alfonzo and the others in a few years."
"Hahaha..." Minerva could only laugh dryly at that. "Look, I'm not lacking confidence in my abilities in any way. But I really don't see a few years being enough to deal with that group of monsters."
"Does that mean you're giving up?" Irene asked curiously with her smile still present on her face.
"Of course not." Minerva replied. "Just because a few years won't be enough doesn't mean Sabertooth won't one day be the strongest guild in Fiore. And not just because of a title earned in the Grand Magic Games."
Hearing that, Irene's smile widened.
"Then, allow me to give you a little advice." Irene said as she turned around. "Request an alliance with Fairy Tail as soon as you can. Then, once it's been established, make an order for new training facilities from Alfonzo. Because without them, you'll have no way of keeping up with most of the top guilds in Fiore."
With that, Irene started walking down the stairs leading to the landing.
"I won't deny that you're all quite strong. Jiemma must have done something right." Irene continued. "But you're all reaching your physical limits. And that will lead to you all reaching your magical limits, as well. But Alfonzo's training chambers can fix that."
"I understand." Minerva replied. "I'll do my best to make that happen. But what should I tell the rest of the guild about my father's untimely demise?"
"Hmm...?" Irene hummed in confusion. A moment later, however, she realized that she never told Minerva what she intended to do with Jiemma. "Oh, he's not dead. I actually let him go. Figured you would want to put that chapter of your life behind you with your own hands at some point. I mean, I did tell you I would make you strong enough that you would never have to fear him again, didn't I?"
Minerva froze for a moment when she heard that. The thought of confronting her father still weighing on her. However, that did not last long. She eventually nodded her head emphatically.
"I understand." Minerva said. "I can't let the fear he instilled into me control me any longer."
"As for what you should tell your guild mates, let them see this." Irene said after nodding at the conviction in Minerva's tone. "You can tell them about what your father tried to do to you in the infirmary, too. You can tell them that I stopped him, if you want, as well."
With that, Irene took off her hat before pulling an envelope out of it. Then, she flicked it over her shoulder towards Minerva, who caught it with no issue.
"You'll have to come up with a believable story as to how you got that information, though." Irene said as she continued to walk towards the hotel's front entrance. "Just keep me and Fairy Tail out of it. Got it?"
"I got it." Minerva replied while looking down at the envelope in her hands.
After that, without even a goodbye, Irene pulled open the hotel's door. Then, she left. Meanwhile, Minerva opened the envelope and began reading its contents. However, when she saw what it said, she was at first confused. Then, she was struck by disbelief before it morphed into anger as she fought to not crush the papers in her hand.
The information in the envelope was proof of Jiemma's association with the Dark Guild, Tartaros. Then, after showing the information to the rest of Sabertooth when they returned from their searches and explaining that she hired an information broker to find her father, yet received this information instead, Jiemma was named a Dark Wizard before the end of the next day.
AS for Sabertooth, they needed to choose a new guild master. Though, no one was ready to take that position yet. Especially since the strongest members of the guild all wanted to redeem themselves in next year's Grand Magic Games.