The moment Kiria heard the shrine maiden's report from outside, her eyelid twitched.
Her fist clenched on pure instinct, and she nearly lunged across the room to cut down the old woman then and there.
Fortunately, the two companions beside her grabbed her before she could act.
Suzaku frowned deeply.
In his usual formal manner, he asked coldly, "I do not understand. Did you not promise me that you would cease summoning my companions here? Why have you gone back on your word?"
The Great White Priestess looked genuinely baffled and hurriedly waved both hands.
"I didn't! I only summoned the six members of your guild who are already here. I haven't called anyone else!"
Suzaku's frown deepened as he began questioning the old woman's motives.
Then a bright, cheerful voice suddenly rang out from outside.
"Suzaku! Kiria! Come out here! My bride is here too!"
Every Dragon Eater in the room froze.
Their minds immediately went back to the great war six months earlier.
It had been one of the few battles since Diabolos was founded where the guild had suffered such a humiliating setback.
They had spent nearly the entire war relegated to supporting roles, failed to defeat any of the major opponents they faced, and ultimately lost the conflict badly enough that much of their homeland had since fallen under enemy control.
Yet what remained most vivid in their memories wasn't merely the defeat.
There had been the distant, incomprehensible miracle that no one could properly look upon, the breathtaking clash of dragons across the battlefield—and, among the human forces, Fairy Tail had stood out more than almost anyone else.
"Let's go see."
Suzaku picked up the long sword resting beside the tatami, slid it into his belt, and rose.
The others immediately followed.
The Great White Priestess hurried to get up and trail after them, only for a sudden chill to brush past her side.
She shuddered.
"Why did it suddenly get so cold…? A ghost?"
...
When the Diabolos members stepped out of the temple, they found the village already engulfed in battle.
The strange creatures rampaging through the streets radiated unusual magical energy and had molded themselves into vaguely humanoid forms.
These were what the shrine maidens called Nail Grime.
The giant hands that had attacked Ankh's group after they first arrived in Elentear were apparently nothing unusual in this world.
According to the shrine maidens, those hands periodically emerged from underground because of Elentear's excessive Magic Power.
The impurities expelled from beneath their "fingernails" became Nail Grime, creatures that the Whiteout shrine maidens were obligated to exterminate because they genuinely attacked and killed the local population.
The Nail Grime invading today were considerably stronger than usual, however.
Some had even evolved enough to mimic human forms and directly attack the shrine maidens.
Fortunately for the village, they had run into an unusually enthusiastic group of mages.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Natsu roared as flames spiraled around both arms. With one violent sweep, he blasted a crowd of monsters off their feet.
Gray casually froze another Nail Grime charging toward him and immediately shouted after Natsu,
"Watch where you're attacking! We only came here to ask for directions!"
Lucy sighed wearily.
"Why does asking for directions always turn into fighting monsters with us…?"
Erza sent another group of creatures flying with a brutal sword strike, then turned toward Gajeel and Erik, who were getting increasingly carried away on the other side of the street.
"You two! Don't destroy their village!"
Carla, currently held in Wendy's arms, muttered,
"Wasn't she the one who cut the village gate apart five minutes ago?"
Indeed, the group enthusiastically helping the villagers was none other than the strongest Fairy Tail team, now joined by the Iron Dragon and Poison Dragon Slayers.
After being separated from everyone else, they had wandered into the area and spotted a nearby village.
Their original intention had been nothing more than asking for directions to Black Moon Mountain.
Then they found monsters slaughtering people in the streets.
Naturally, the group incapable of minding its own business had turned the entire situation into this.
Panther Lily, transformed into his larger black-cat warrior form, rested his sword over one shoulder and suddenly glanced toward another part of the village.
"Those people…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Haven't we seen them somewhere before?"
Wendy followed his gaze.
She immediately noticed a small figure in a tiger-eared hood waving enthusiastically at her, along with several familiar people standing behind him.
"Ah! That's…"
Her expression changed.
"Haku from Diabolos?!"
Wendy definitely remembered the little White Tiger Dragon Slayer.
Six months ago, Haku had loudly declared that Wendy should become his bride. Later, for reasons no one entirely understood, his attention had also shifted toward Chelia.
That made him fairly difficult to forget.
And the people behind him looked suspiciously like several of the opponents Fairy Tail had fought during the war.
"They're enemies!"
Wendy immediately tensed and warned everyone.
Haku grinned brightly at her before turning toward Suzaku.
"See, Suzaku? Isn't Wendy-chan adorable?"
Kiria folded her arms.
"Wasn't your bride supposed to be Chelia?"
"Oh, come on~ You know how it is~"
Despite looking like a little boy, Haku somehow managed to make the expression of a sleazy middle-aged man.
Kiria recoiled in disgust.
Then her attention quietly shifted toward Fairy Tail's group.
She scanned them once.
A strange trace of disappointment appeared in her eyes.
'The muscular lightning guy isn't here?'
Erza had also noticed the Diabolos members watching them.
Her gaze sharpened as she tightened her grip around her sword.
Natsu and the others continued eliminating the remaining Nail Grime while keeping one eye on the familiar enemies who had unexpectedly appeared in another world.
Seeing the two sides becoming increasingly tense, the Great White Priestess hurried forward with the ugliest conciliatory smile imaginable.
"Honored guests, perhaps we should deal with the Nail Grime first? You can always fight each other afterward…"
"No."
Suzaku's cold voice cut through her sentence.
The Great White Priestess flinched.
At the same moment, Erza and the others instantly shifted into full combat readiness.
There was a soft sound of steel sliding back into its sheath.
Under the old priestess's dumbfounded stare, Suzaku said calmly,
"I have already dealt with them."
The next instant—
Countless impossibly fine sword flashes appeared throughout the village like lingering afterimages.
Every remaining Nail Grime was sliced apart at once.
Erik stared at the creature that had been struggling beneath his poisoned claws only a moment earlier.
It suddenly fell dead.
His pupils contracted.
"When did he…?"
Natsu immediately moved in front of Lucy, his expression becoming unusually serious as he stared at Suzaku.
Erza slowly exhaled and tightened her grip on Benizakura.
He was just as fast as he had been six months ago.
Back then, even Erza had needed Ankh's assistance to properly stop that godlike quick-draw strike.
Gray's eyes settled on Skullion.
His mood immediately worsened as unpleasant memories returned—particularly the sight of his Ice-Make creations being reduced to ash by the other man's power.
Lucy, meanwhile, found Kiria staring directly at her.
Cold sweat immediately gathered on her forehead.
'Oh no.'
She still remembered Kiria's humiliating streaking incident.
'She's going to kill me to bury the evidence!'
Wendy had an entirely different problem.
Haku was practically spreading his metaphorical peacock feathers at her, and the sight gave her goosebumps.
Suzaku made no attempt to conceal the fighting spirit in his eyes.
He slowly walked forward.
The others from Diabolos followed without hesitation.
Erza refused to yield even a single step.
Sword in hand, she calmly moved forward until she stood directly opposite Suzaku.
For some inexplicable reason, both groups slipped naturally into the posture of rival gangs preparing for a street war.
A light breeze passed through the otherwise peaceful village.
Then Suzaku and Erza stepped forward at exactly the same instant.
Their swords left their sheaths.
Steel flashed.
That single exchange served almost like a starting gun.
Behind them, magic circles erupted one after another as everyone on both sides unleashed powerful spells toward the opposing group.
Two of the magical world's most notorious "gangs," each from a different continent, had somehow crossed paths in another world—
and immediately started another turf war.
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