Makarov's office smelled faintly of old parchment and pipe smoke. The windows were shut despite the afternoon light outside, the curtains drawn just enough to let thin bands of sun cut across the desk.
Kazu noticed that first. Makarov usually liked the light.
Erza stood to his left, arms relaxed but posture straight, her normal armour adorned. She looked calm.
Makarov sat behind his desk, hands folded, expression heavier than usual.
"You both know why you're here," he said.
Kazu didn't answer immediately. He leaned back on his chair, arms crossed loosely. "Because if this were a regular job, you'd not be looking this old and gloomy like the room."
Erza gave him a sideways glance. "Kazu."
"What?" he said. "I'm not wrong."
Makarov snorted quietly, then sighed. "You're not."
He reached under the desk and pulled out a rolled map, spreading it across the wood. The edges were worn, marked with inked circles and lines that hadn't been there the last time Kazu had seen this map.
"The conflict with Alvarez has been escalating," Makarov said. "Border skirmishes. Supply routes disrupted. War might start any time."
Erza stepped closer, eyes scanning the markings. "And the dark guilds."
"Yes," Makarov said. "They've stopped acting independently."
Kazu straightened slightly. Not visibly tense—but attentive. The matter of dark guilds had been ever-present since he had attended the annual guild meeting with Makarov, way before he became S-rank.
The situation had finally escalated.
"They've formed a coalition," Makarov continued. "At least seven confirmed guilds. Possibly more operating under false banners. Three major ones are coordinating the rest."
He tapped the map with a thick finger, once, then twice.
Erza frowned. "Three?"
Makarov nodded. "Yup. One of them is Baskerville." He glanced at Kazu.
The name landed heavier than it should have.
Kazu felt his jaw tighten before he could stop it.
"…And?" Erza asked, already watching him.
Makarov kept looking at Kazu. He didn't say anything, letting the silence do its work.
Kazu exhaled through his nose. "Two years ago," he said, voice even, "when I was escorting the master, we encountered them."
Erza's brow furrowed. "During that guild conference?"
"Yes." His gaze stayed on the map, not the old man. "They sent an assassin for the master."
Makarov's fingers curled slightly. "One of their best. He might have had a pretty high chance of any S-rank. It was a shame that he targeted me."
"Stop boasting, old man." Kazu snorted.
Erza turned fully toward him. "You never mentioned this."
"Because it didn't work," Kazu said. "And you knowing this wouldn't have changed anything."
"That's not an answer."
Kazu finally looked at her. "I didn't want it to be one."
She held his stare for a moment, then looked back at Makarov. "What happened?"
"I intercepted," Kazu said. "Failed. He had used some form of spatial magic. If not for the master's light magic, the result would have been disastrous."
Makarov raised a hand. "Enough."
Kazu stopped. His shoulders eased a fraction, but the tension didn't leave.
"You are exaggerating it. Even without light magic, I would have easily survived," he shook his head.
"And after?" Erza asked, knowing Kazu, it wouldn't have ended here.
"I tracked the guild," Kazu said. "For months after becoming S-rank. Every lead dried up. Safe houses abandoned. Trails looped back on themselves. Those rats really know how to hide in the gutters."
"That's an assassination guild," Makarov said. "Secrecy is their top priority."
Erza's lips pressed into a thin line. "What about the other two dark guilds?"
Makarov tapped the map again. "Gravehowl. And Black Rook."
Kazu tilted his head slightly. "They are usual dark guilds."
"Sounds troublesome." Erza's gaze turned solemn.
Kazu's eyes moved across the markings, instinctively mapping routes, distances, and civilian centres. 'Too close.'
"What's the target?" he asked.
Makarov slid the map forward. "This region. Forested terrain. Abandoned mining settlements. almost no civilian presence—for now, they are hiding there."
"For now," Erza echoed.
"They haven't struck openly yet," Makarov said. "But when dark guilds stop fighting each other internally, they might take some serious actions."
"And you're sending us because—" Erza began.
"—because I won't risk underestimating them," Makarov finished. "This isn't a raid. It's a dismantling. They have gathered in one main hideout. It's the best time to clear them before they break themself into rankings."
Erza nodded seriously. Seeing that two S-ranks were being discharged, the mission had to be taken seriously.
Makarov looked between them. "Your priority is civilian safety. Conflict with them is secondary. Even then, try not to kill and focus on capturing."
Kazu pushed off the wall and stepped closer to the desk. "And Baskerville?"
Makarov met his gaze steadily. "If they're there, you neutralise the higher-ups. But you do not pursue beyond mission scope."
Kazu frowned. "...fine."
Erza watched him, arms folding now. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking about patterns," Kazu said. "They don't expose leads unless they're confident."
Makarov nodded. "Which is why time matters."
He rolled the map back up and held it out. "You leave immediately. Travel light. Gather information. End this before it spills."
Erza took the map. "Understood."
Kazu paused, then inclined his head. "Understood."
***
Cana caught up to Kazu near the guild's side exit, boots scuffing hard enough to make it obvious she wasn't trying to be subtle.
"So," she said, falling into step beside him, "Why am I going on this mission?"
"You're coming because you need experience with higher-rank missions," he said flatly. "You're past the point where C-rank and B-rank jobs teach you anything useful."
She blinked. "…That's it?"
He reached out and poked her cheek with two fingers. Not hard. Just enough to be annoying.
Cana swatted at his hand.
"And," he added, "that spell you've been using to remove the alcohol smell is pretty good. Though it still could be optimised to save ethernano."
Her eyebrows shot up. "You noticed?"
"I notice things," he said.
She tried to poke him back.
Missed.
She tried again. He shifted half a step sideways.
Again. Again. Again.
"Stop moving," she said.
"No."
Her smile sharpened. Cards slipped into her fingers, magic flickering faintly. "Fine. Don't."
She closed her eyes for a split second.
Kazu leaned back casually.
Her finger jabbed empty air.
Cana froze. "…What?"
"You rushed it," Kazu said. "Your pre-recognition's still incomplete. You're trying to predict what I would do, instead of what the world world would do.."
She stared at him. "That was rude."
"It was generous," he replied.
She opened her mouth to argue—
"Are you two finished?"
They both turned.
Erza stood a few steps away, fully ready to depart. Behind her was a bag.
It stood out.
It stood upright, taller than her. Nearly three meters of reinforced leather and metal bands, resting ominously on the stone floor.
Kazu stared at it.
Then at her.
"…You were told to travel light."
"Yes," Erza said. "I did."
He pointed at the bag. "If that thing falls over, a normal man might get turned into paste."
She considered this. "I won't let it fall."
"That's not reassuring."
He sighed and rubbed his temple. "You do know re-equip magic gives you high-capacity storage, right?"
"I know," she said.
"And?"
"It's full."
Kazu paused.
He very deliberately did not ask what it was full of.
"…Show me what you packed for this mission."
Erza nodded, crouched, and opened the bag.
Kazu leaned forward—
And stared.
"…Is that a bed?"
"Yes."
"A full-sized bed."
"Yes."
"Why."
Erza looked at him like the answer was obvious. "What if we need to sleep?"
Cana bit her lip. Hard.
"We won't," Kazu said. "This is a hostile operation, not a camping trip."
"What if we're injured?"
"We'll manage."
"What if—"
"No."
He closed the bag himself, exhaling slowly. "I'm filtering this. You're not bringing half of it."
Erza frowned. "Be reasonable."
"That's my line!"
He quickly filtered the things and put them in the guild storage temporarily. Erza could retrieve them at a later time.
Kazu raised his hand, barrier magic unfolding with quiet precision. The platform formed beneath them, lifting smoothly off the ground.
This was the usual way Kazu travelled.
"I still can't get used to this way of travel. It's so convenient." Cana commented while looking at the ground.
"Indeed. This is much more comfortable compared to my Flight Magic." Erza nodded along.
"Mhm."
Kazu looked at the mission details again, making sure everything was right.
'This reminds me, I still need to find a way to sever the connection between Natsu and that book. From what I remember, Lucy removed the connection with the help of Gray's devil slayer magic...
Though I could substitute the role of Lucy, the bigger problem is that Gray currently doesn't have Devil Slayer magic, and he won't receive it until his clash with his old man. Moreover, I also need to find the E.N.D book.' Kazu sighed at the obstacles.
They reached the nearest city before sunset.
However, something was different.
Kazu noticed it immediately—the guards at the gate were alert, but strained. Shops were open, but voices were lower. People watched them pass instead of ignoring them.
They didn't need long.
A sobbing woman near the plaza. A merchant arguing with a city official. Words like missing and taken repeating too often.
Erza knelt in front of one of the children's friends, voice steady, gentle. Cana listened from behind, face unusually serious.
Kazu didn't interrupt.
When Erza stood, her jaw was tight. "Several children. Taken last night."
Cana crossed her arms. "No ransom?"
"No demands," Erza confirmed.
Kazu looked toward the forest line beyond the city walls.
"Hostages," he said.
Cana's eyes narrowed. "They knew we were coming."
"Yes," Kazu replied calmly. "And they wanted us to know they knew."
His face morphed into a frown. "The difficulty of the mission had increased by a notch."
***
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