Lyon and Sherry's expressions twisted the moment they saw Kael. The events at Galuna Island weren't that long ago, and Kael had left an incredibly deep impression on both of them.
Later, they had even gone to watch the recordings of the battle between Kael and the Wizard Saint, Jose. The imagery of Kael absolutely suppressing one of the Ten Wizard Saints had left them feeling beyond shocked.
The members of Blue Pegasus were dismissive at first, but a moment later, they all recognized Kael's identity. Cold sweat immediately began pouring down their foreheads.
Kael. Although he didn't hold a title like Jura's "Wizard Saint," he was currently the only man to have defeated a Wizard Saint in a direct, head-on clash. He was the strongest of the younger generation.
They naturally hadn't missed the "Strongest War" between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord either. It was just that Kael's "Whitebeard" transformation had been so damn iconic that it caused people to overlook what he actually looked like.
Even now, there were still many who believed that the old man with the white mustache was the real Kael.
As arrogant and self-centered as the Pegasus crew were, it didn't mean they were idiots. The raw destructive power Kael had displayed was simply not something they could hope to compete with. The guy was a total monster through and through.
"I... I am extremely sorry..."
Jura also turned his gaze toward Kael. He had obviously watched that same battle, and regarding Kael's actual strength, he felt he couldn't measure up.
Jura was merely at the bottom of the Ten Wizard Saints, while Jose held a middle seat. Jose's power was far beyond his own.
"You must be Kael. I watched your fight with Jose. Truly, talent like yours is rare at your age. I didn't think Fairy Tail would send you. With you here, the success rate of this operation has increased significantly."
Kael looked back at Jura. He actually had a pretty good feeling about this older guy. Jura was very upright and extremely reliable. The power he displayed was also formidable; it was just a shame that he looked a bit "weak" during the later Alvarez Empire invasion.
The Four Gods of Ishgar had been completely toyed with by the former top-ranked Wizard Saint, God Serena. Four of the strongest Wizard Saints couldn't even stand up to a single member of the Spriggan 12.
The prestige of the "Wizard Saint" title was dragged through the mud in an instant. Of course, that also reflected just how monstrously powerful the Spriggan 12 actually were.
"You're too kind," Kael said, giving Jura a sharp nod.
Jura scanned the room and spoke. "Now that the three guilds are gathered, all that's left are the people from Cait Shelter."
"People? I heard there was only one person," Ichiya said. He scrambled up from his pathetic state on the floor, not forgetting to strike a "cool" pose.
"One person?! They only sent one person for a mission this dangerous?!"
"Wait a second... just what kind of terrifying monster is going to show up?"
Several of them were taken aback. This was a mission to eliminate the Oracion Seis, yet they only sent a single representative.
"Waaaah!"
Just then, a young girl came running in and tripped, falling flat on the floor.
The girl scrambled back up and spoke timidly. "U-um... excuse me... I'm sorry I'm late! I'm Wendy from Cait Shelter. Please look after me!!"
The girl was very cute, with deep-blue hair and a blue-and-yellow dress.
"A kid?!"
Everyone present was stunned.
"They sent a little girl for a large-scale mission like this? What the hell is Cait Shelter thinking?" Sherry said, her brow furrowed.
On one hand, she was dissatisfied with Cait Shelter's obvious lack of effort. On the other, she was worried—sending a child to this kind of operation? Weren't they afraid she'd be in danger?
"She's not alone, you woman with the heavy makeup," a small white cat said as she walked in.
"Carla! You followed me!"
"Of course I did. If it were just you, I'd never be able to rest easy."
The moment Happy saw Carla, his eyes practically turned into hearts. Carla glanced at Happy, then turned her head away with an air of high-handed arrogance.
"Hey, Kael. Help me give my fish to that girl over there." Happy looked up at Kael with a pleading expression.
"If you like her, it's better to give it to her yourself. If you don't even have the courage to say you like her, girls aren't going to like you back."
"Is that really how it is?"
Kael nodded with total confidence. "Absolutely. That's exactly how I chased down and got Mira."
"U-um... I... while I'm completely useless when it comes to combat, I'll work as hard as I can to support everyone with all kinds of support magic! So please, don't exclude me!!"
Seeing Wendy's spineless display, Carla shouted at her. "You! It's because you're so weak that people look down on you!"
Erza spoke up. "I'm sorry. We were a bit surprised, but we have no intention of doing that. We look forward to working with you."
"Whoa! It's Erza! It's the real one, Carla!"
"She's better than I expected, this woman," Carla muttered.
"Hello! My name is Happy!" Happy tried to greet Carla again. She just gave a cold "Hmph" and jerked her head away.
"She's shy... she's shy... she's so cute!"
Kael nodded, totally messing with him. "Mhm. Exactly. Keep that up and you'll be fine."
Lucy couldn't help but roast them. "No... she's just not taking Happy seriously at all."
Jura spoke. "With this, all the guilds are finally here."
Ichiya suddenly lunged forward. "Now then! Allow me to explain the plan for this operation! If we head north from here, we will enter the vast Worth Woodsea. Deep within those woods lies a powerful magic sealed by the ancients, known as—Nirvana!"
"Nirvana? What kind of magic is that?"
"Never heard of it. Jura, have you?"
"I don't know it either."
None of them knew what kind of magic it was. Kael actually knew—he had some impressions of the Oracion Seis arc, after all—but he couldn't say anything. Explaining it would be a huge pain.
Hibiki shook his head. "We aren't clear on the specifics of that magic ourselves. However, the Oracion Seis's goal in gathering in the Woodsea is to get their hands on Nirvana. Our goal is to prevent that magic from reappearing and to eliminate the Oracion Seis!!"
"We have thirteen people on our side. The exact number of enemies is unknown."
Lucy asked, puzzled, "Unknown? Aren't there only six of them?"
Hibiki nodded. "Yes, originally that was the case. But according to our latest intel, the Oracion Seis has summoned every dark guild under their wing to this location. They have many subordinate guilds. At a conservative estimate, the enemy forces number in the hundreds."
"Hundreds!!!"
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