"Requip: Black Wing Armor!"
The Black Wing Armor increased Erza's offensive power significantly. She swooped down, slashing at the demon's legs.
Gray, positioning himself on the flank, launched his own attack.
"Ice Make: Saucer!"
A spinning disc of ice shot towards Lullaby's side, slicing into the wood.
"Archenemy: Soaring Form!" This time, Kagura aimed for its right leg, delivering a gravity-enhanced strike.
Three consecutive heavy attacks caused the giant demon to lose its balance and stumble.
"Natsu, now's the chance!" Erza shouted as she swept past the falling giant.
Natsu grinned, igniting flames in both hands.
"Flames of the right hand and flames of the left hand, combining the power of both flames..."
He brought his hands together, creating a massive sphere of superheated fire.
"Fire Dragon's... BRILLIANT FLAME!"
'Terra Force, huh?' Raizel thought, shielding his eyes from the blinding glare as he watched the massive fireball consume the demon.
Under the overwhelming heat of the Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame, the demon Lullaby screamed before disintegrating, reverting to its original wooden flute form, now cracked and lifeless.
"That was beautiful."
"So strong!"
"They defeated a Demon from the Books of Zeref so easily..."
"Incredible!"
The Guild Masters from various Guilds praised them one after another, genuinely impressed.
"Great, you succeeded!" Lucy and Makarov quickly stepped forward to congratulate Erza and the others.
"It was nothing special," Erza said modestly, dismissing her armor.
"A piece of cake."
Natsu and Gray stood with arms akimbo, wearing relaxed expressions as if they hadn't just fought a legendary demon.
"It seems we owe Fairy Tail a favor this time," Goldmine, the Master of Quatro Cerberus, nodded while crossing his arms.
"But this is really..." Bob started to speak, looking around.
Erza and Natsu glanced back to see what he was looking at.
...Well, one more look and Makarov might explode.
The regular meeting venue—the beautiful villa—was gone.
In its place was a deep, smoking crater.
"YOU WENT TOO FAR!" Makarov shrieked.
"Not just the regular meeting venue..." Lucy couldn't help but sigh, pointing at the horizon.
"Aye... several mountains are missing, too!" Happy added with an innocent look.
"Master!"
"Something appeared!"
Lucy felt like she saw Makarov's white soul physically leave his body and float away.
Fortunately, Ultear stepped in.
"Arc of Time: Restore!"
Using her Lost Magic, she managed to reverse the time of the meeting venue's debris, reconstructing the villa to its original state.
However, she deliberately left the two missing mountains as they were—restoring geological features was a bit too much effort for a free service.
....
Magic Council Branch, ERA—
"Even though we completely destroyed the Dark Guild Eisenwald, the fundamental problem still hasn't been resolved."
"The number of people in Dark Guilds is as numerous as the stars, impossible to count."
This was true; many Mages, after gaining power, couldn't control their desires and turned to crime.
"It seems it's time for a thorough cleansing operation."
"How should we proceed?"
"If someone else uses Zeref's magic like this again, it would be disastrous." Council member Org was still shaken by the recent events.
"To put it another way, why was such a dangerous magic so easily taken out? The management should also be held responsible for this incident," Yajima argued.
He still couldn't understand how a Mage from Eisenwald could steal a sealed artifact from the Council so easily.
"But speaking of which, Fairy Tail, whom we've always regarded as a thorn in our side, actually saved everyone this time."
A young man with sky-blue hair and a tattoo running from his forehead to below his right eye spoke up.
He was a newly appointed Council member.
He was also one of this year's new Ten Wizard Saints—Siegrain.
This young man was a talent the Council had been cultivating for seven years.
This year, two new Ten Wizard Saints had been added to the Ishgar continent.
Besides Siegrain, the other was Lamia Scale's ace—Jura Neekis, known by the epithet "Iron Rock."
Jura's Earth Magic was exceptionally powerful, capable of turning soft, fragmented sand into something as hard as iron.
Even more remarkable was his superb control and modest personality, which earned him great respect.
"To destroy a famous Dark Guild with just a few people—truly impressive."
Although Councilor Belno didn't like Fairy Tail's destructive tendencies, she still acknowledged their strength.
"I know you all think it's no big deal, but this is the truth. If Lullaby had killed the Guild Masters, the situation would have been catastrophic. I believe some of us would have inevitably paid the price for the negligence."
"Cut it out, Siegrain. Are you trying to shift the blame onto us?"
"The Council needs to conduct an internal screening. As for Fairy Tail... just have Makarov write a letter of apology and a self-reflection report." Council Chairman Crawford Seam announced the conclusion.
The main reason for having Makarov write the report wasn't even the destruction of the mountains—it was because Erza pulled the emergency brake on the train, and Raizel and Erza had been caught street racing in a Magic Mobile.
...
Magnolia—
[Mom, a while ago I joined Fairy Tail. The Lullaby incident, where the Dark Guild "Eisenwald" tried to attack the Guild Masters, became huge news overnight, spreading throughout the Fiore Kingdom.]
[It's still hard to believe I was actually part of it. Most of Eisenwald's members were arrested, but Erigor wasn't caught. I'm not sure if Erigor will seek revenge against Fairy Tail, but it should be fine. We have Raizel, Erza, and the others. At Fairy Tail, I've also made new friends. Don't worry about me—I'm doing great here.]
After placing the letter and a group photo into the envelope, Lucy stretched lazily.
"Lucy, Natsu is calling for you!"
Happy appeared at the window, startling Lucy.
"Don't just pop up like that! Where to?"
"How is your memory worse than a cat's? Natsu challenged Erza before we set off, remember?"
Happy hurriedly led Lucy to the duel location—an open space just outside the Guild hall.
It was just a sudden, simple fight; there was no need to go to a formal arena.
"Wait, are they seriously going to fight?" Lucy muscled her way through the crowd to get a good view.
"Oh, it's Lucy." Mirajane turned her head and noticed Lucy rushing over.
"Of course, they're serious! If they don't fight for real, they're not a man!" Elfman shouted.
"But Erza is a girl..."
"She's a female monster!"
Macao's mouth moved faster than his brain.
He immediately regretted it.
Glare.
Kagura's death glare from the side made his scalp tingle. His legs trembled, ready to flee at any moment.
Lucy glanced around—this was definitely more than just Guild members; the crowd was huge.
"Do Natsu and Erza rarely fight? Why are so many people watching?"
Lucy knew Erza was strong—after all, the "Titania" reputation was well-known.
But the fight against Eisenwald was the first time Erza had shown her true power in front of Lucy.
Usually, Erza only went to Lucy's place to have fun, changing into all sorts of peculiar outfits.
Raizel shook his head and said, "We used to fight often before, but it's been almost a year since we last had a serious magic duel like this."
"Today's match is definitely going to be exciting!" Elfman crossed his arms, brimming with enthusiasm.
"Really? I still think it'll be an easy victory for Erza," Gray expressed, thinking that getting him to praise Natsu was nothing but a dream.
In the center of the ring, Erza faced Natsu.
"Requip: Flame Empress Armor!"
A flash of magic light enveloped Erza, replaced by armor of red, orange, and black, specifically designed to resist fire.