— — — — — — —
Just then, a voice broke the tension.
"That was amazing! Thank you so much, mages!"
Everyone turned to see a male demon standing not far away.
"Bobo?"
"Isn't that the boatman?!"
Natsu and Lucy instantly recognized the man who had transported them to Galuna Island.
"Bobo… I thought you were dead!"
"Does a stab to the chest really kill a demon?" he replied. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth earlier. When I regained my memory, I was out of the island."
"It was terrifying, watching everyone believe they were human."
"Bobo!"
The village chief rushed forward to embrace his son, overjoyed to see him alive.
— — —
Back in Magnolia Town
Uchiha Kitaro and the group had returned to the guild.
"Damn it! If only you'd listened to me and destroyed the moon from the start, I could've completed that mission myself!"
Natsu's mood was sour. They had snuck off to tackle an S-Class mission, only for Kitaro to finish it effortlessly.
Had he known it would be so easy, he wouldn't have hesitated. Completing the mission would've not only earned him Master Makarov's approval but also bagged millions of Jewels as a reward.
Unfortunately, Kitaro kept every last Jewel, bluntly saying, "Did any of you contribute to the mission? No? Then why would you get a share?"
This left Natsu and Gray grinding their teeth in frustration, but they couldn't deny it—Kitaro had done all the work.
Lucy tried to lighten the mood. "Hey now, at least we all made it back safe and sound!"
Happy chimed in, "Besides, Lucy, you were the only other one who gained anything from this mission!"
"Hehe~!" Lucy hummed a cheerful tune, ignoring the teasing. After all, Kitaro had gifted her the Key from the reward, greatly improving her opinion of him.
Strong, generous, and undeniably handsome—Kitaro was shaping up to be the perfect crush for a romantic, starry-eyed girl like Lucy.
"Sell the key," Happy quipped.
Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin. "What did you just say, you thieving cat?!"
"I told you before—Zodiac Keys are super rare. There are only 12 in existence."
Natsu smirked. "Oh, you mean that bull, crab, and maid of yours?"
Having fought alongside Lucy, Natsu had seen her Celestial Spirits in action. Let's just say he wasn't impressed.
Lucy clenched her teeth. "If I keep training, my Spirits will definitely become stronger than you!"
The power of Celestial Spirits depended on the summoner's magic. Lucy wasn't weak, but she wasn't exactly brimming with overwhelming magical energy either, leaving her abilities a bit... middling.
Natsu asked, "What Spirit did you get this time?"
"The Centaur Sagittarius! Including this one, I now have five of the twelve Zodiac Keys. Remember, there are only 12 in the entire world!" Lucy said proudly.
Happy muttered, "You should still sell it."
"Thieving cat!!"
As they chatted, they reached the front of the Fairy Tail Guild, only to freeze in shock.
"What happened…?"
"This… this is our guild?!"
The building was in ruins, pierced through with massive iron pillars.
"Who the hell did this?!"
Natsu clenched his fists, tears streaming down his face. To him, Fairy Tail wasn't just a guild—it was his home.
Kitaro examined the iron pillars, his sharp Sharingan eyes narrowing. He had a good guess who was behind this.
Iron Dragon Gajeel. He must still be the ace of Phantom Lord Guild at this point. So, things had escalated already…
"It's Phantom Lord," Mira's voice rang out behind them.
They turned to see her approaching.
"As much as it pains me to admit, we were ambushed."
Mira led them to Fairy Tail's underground level. The rest of the guild members had gathered there, as the upper levels were unsafe to occupy for now.
Kitaro observed the damage. The guild's main structure had been compromised. Even if they cleaned up the debris, the building was effectively destroyed.
"Yo, welcome back!"
Master Makarov was sitting casually on a barrel, sipping his drink as if nothing was wrong.
"Old man, this isn't the time to be drinking!!"
"Oh? It's not? By the way, you brats snuck off to take an S-Class mission. Time for punishment! Be ready for it!"
"This is seriously not the time for this!"
Makarov rapped Natsu, Gray and Happy on the head, then gave Lucy a playful swat on the behind.
Mira puffed her cheeks. "Master, that's not okay!"
"Gramps, do you even know what's going on right now?!"
"Our guild has been destroyed!"
Makarov took another swig, his tone calm. "Relax. It's not a big deal. Those Phantom idiots only managed to pull this off because we weren't here. There's nothing impressive about that."
"Nobody was here?"
Mira explained, "The attack happened at night when the guild was closed. There was no one inside."
Makarov waved dismissively. "No need to get worked up over opponents who can only resort to sneak attacks. Just ignore them."
.
.
.