"Yo, Gray. I figured you'd be here. Still such a brat who can't leave Ur's side, huh?"
Lyon was the first to notice Gray in the corner. He couldn't resist sneering at him in a condescending tone, "Still haven't kicked that habit of yours, have you? Your clothes-stripping fetish."
After a brief pause, the corner of Gray's mouth curled into an equally unyielding smile as he shot back, "Oh? Then what are you doing here?"
Though he had already known about Lyon's decision for a long time, seeing the Lamia Scale guild emblem on the other man's body still made him sigh inwardly.
His former fellow disciple, who had once strayed down the wrong path, was now firmly walking the right road—representing Lamia Scale, fighting alongside him as a comrade against a dark guild. This filled him with genuine heartfelt relief.
"My, my. Long time no see, everyone from Fairy Tail."
Beside Lyon, a beautiful woman with long pink hair raised her hand and snapped her fingers. "Doll Magic: Carpet Doll! "
The moment her voice fell, the carpet in the villa began to squirm as if it had a will of its own, growing a hideous monster face and lunging straight at Lucy.
"Nani? It's coming at me?!"
Lucy, still immersed in Ichiya's stunningly unique appearance, yelped and leaped aside just before the carpet monster reached her.
"Sherry, what's the big idea?!" Landing hard and nearly twisting her back, she angrily shouted at the other woman.
"I'm just greeting a familiar ally. Though I dislike you, this is also a form of love, you know."
Sherry, looking every bit the mature woman, flicked the bangs hanging over her forehead. An ambiguous background appeared behind her. "Besides, I'm not the same person I used to be. I've been reborn through love~"
"What on earth are you talking about? And for the record, I don't like you either!" Lucy was utterly confused.
THUD!
The sound of a staff striking the ground rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
It was a man wearing a strange tribal uniform. His muscles were solid, his presence powerful, and his bald head gleamed brightly under the sunlight streaming in from outside.
Jura the Rock—Lamia Scale's ace, one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Seven years later, he would be hailed as the strongest mage within human limits!
"Enough, Sherry. Don't forget why we're here. Lyon—put your clothes on!" Jura shot a stern glance at the two beside him.
"Understood, Mr. Jura," Sherry said with respect in her eyes.
"Kuso? When?!" Lyon, on the other hand, was frantically searching for his mysteriously missing clothes.
In truth, he had kicked his clothes-stripping habit long ago. But for some reason, ever since he saw Ur again on Galuna Island, the damn symptom had shown signs of relapse. It had even once led the members of Lamia Scale to mistake him for a pervert just like Gray.
Lucy's little head suddenly popped into the frame. What does she mean "just like"? This guy and Gray are exactly the same!
Jura the Rock's reputation in the Fiore Kingdom was quite loud. Even Lucy had heard of his exploits, sparking a buzz among the group.
Natsu—the only one unaware of Jura's identity—was utterly shocked after Happy explained that the man held the same title as the old master.
"Come to think of it, I'm quite surprised to see you here, young Chase."
Jura, a man of steady character, walked slowly over to Chase. "That magic power of yours... just as the rumors say, it's incredibly formidable."
As the ace of his own guild, and unlike Ichiya, he also held the very special status of being a Ten Wizard Saint. He knew considerably more about Chase's strength and details.
"Haha, compared to Mr. Jura—who's a Ten Wizard Saint just like our master—I'm merely a junior," Chase said with a smile, shaking the hand Jura took the initiative to extend.
This perverse scene made Lucy's eyes go wide: Since when did Chase become so humble?
"Not at all. As the lowest-ranked among the Saints, I'm still far from matching Mr. Makarov. And besides—"
Jura withdrew his arm, looking at Chase with a serious expression. "You defeated Jellal. You might not be any weaker than me."
"That's true."
Chase immediately reverted to form, shamelessly admitting it as his eyes stirred with fighting spirit. "So once this operation is over, how about a fight?"
Though in the original story Jura never really had any standout moments—either getting sidelined or inexplicably taking losses every time he appeared—his strength was still quite commendable.
To Chase, he was a training partner with a good chance of dropping new cards.
"..." Jura's eye twitched. He didn't quite know how to respond.
Though he had entertained the idea of crossing fists with Chase, the far more important matter at hand was clearly the extremely dangerous Oración Seis!
Lucy: So his "humility" lasted all of one second, huh?!
"Haha! A fight? Count me in too!" Natsu's keyword had been triggered. He excitedly raised his hand.
Read the room already!!
Lucy held her forehead and sighed, quietly retreating behind Erza and trying to make herself lless conspicuous.
At the very least, this way she wouldn't be too embarrassed—psychologically speaking.
"Sorry, sorry, everyone! I'm late!"
A careless woman came rushing in from outside, breaking the slightly awkward atmosphere.
Ur, with a gray trench coat casually draped over her, hurried into the hall. After a quick scan of the assembled participants, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Good. Mostly people she knew.
Chase, Lucy, Lyon, and the others went without saying. As the new master of Sabertooth, needing to quickly integrate into Fiore's guild environment and understand the magic of the current era, she had engaged in friendly exchanges with many guilds—including Blue Pegasus.
"Miss Ur, your fragrance remains as wonderful as ever~" Ichiya pointed at Ur with a double finger-gun gesture.
"Miss Ur, would you like some coffee (juice)(beer)?" The three handsome men behind him struck identical poses.
Seizing this opportunity, Jura quickly escaped from Chase's burning gaze and went up to greet Ur.
In terms of both seniority and status, as the master of Sabertooth, Ur was undoubtedly the leading figure of this Oración Seis subjugation operation!
"Master, even if they're all people you know, that doesn't erase the fact that you overslept!"
It was only when this slightly childish voice came that everyone noticed the young girl in training clothes following behind Ur.
"Ah ha, ahahaha. Minerva, everyone surely won't mind a little thing like that~"
Ur scratched her hair a bit sheepishly, letting out an embarrassed laugh.
Though Minerva had mastered Lost Magic like the Eighteen Demon Gods and could already use it skillfully, she was still a child. So when the Oración Seis subjugation operation was confirmed, Ur hadn't actually planned to bring her along.
It was Minerva who had approached her, expressing her determination to grow stronger through battle in order to protect the guild and her comrades.
Unable to refuse the child, Ur had finally agreed.
But now...
Watching Minerva gazing at Chase with adoration and delight, Ur suddenly realized: The little girl's intentions weren't entirely pure!
Chase wasn't particularly surprised by Minerva's appearance. But everyone else seemed utterly incredulous, wondering why Ur would bring a child along on such a dangerous mission.
After a brief introduction explaining Minerva's past and the magic she used, they finally understood.
"Well then, that just leaves Cait Shelter," Jura said, turning his head toward the entrance.
"That statement isn't quite accurate, Mr. Jura."
Ichiya, repeatedly sniffing the air with his nose while hung from Erza's spear, corrected him. "According to the information I received, Cait Shelter is only sending one person."
At this, everyone was visibly moved.
"Only one person? Is it the guild master, like Ur?"
"No matter how you look at it, that's too exaggerated. What kind of monster could it be?!"
"I can already imagine the terrifying scene of that person's arrival," Lucy said in a trembling voice.
Amid everyone's speculation and discussion, the sound of hurried footsteps—accompanied by wildly swinging little legs—approached from outside.
Bright light spilled in. Blue hair fluttered. The adorable face reflected in that light completely shattered Lucy's mental image of a "monster."
THUD.
Before Lucy could even process it, the newcomers gave everyone a textbook demonstration of a faceplant.
"I-I'm hello. I'm a mage from Cait Shelter... Wendy."
Wendy brushed off her pants, stood up from the ground while enduring the pain, and with big eyes Glistening with tears, softly greeted everyone.
***
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