The Hyenas of Twilight and the Return

At this moment, in the most remote corner of Magnolia Town, in that dilapidated tavern, which is now the location of the Fairy Tail guild, the same daily routine that was playing out seven years ago is unfolding.

"Hasn't that brat Romeo come back yet?"

A man with medium-length purple hair and a somewhat weathered face was pacing anxiously back and forth in the small guild hall.

He is none other than Macao, the current acting guild master of Fairy Tail.

"Could it be... that Bisca and Alzack have abandoned Romeo again and gone on a secret date?"

"Hey! You're the acting president now, can't you be a little more mature?"

A man with a pipe in his mouth and a full beard slumped in a chair, exhaling a thick smoke ring and muttering weakly.

He is a good friend of Macao, Wakaba.

"Your constant wandering around is really annoying."

"Don't call me acting chairman!" Macao suddenly stopped and shouted, pointing at Wakaba's nose.

"You should call me President!"

"Yes, yes, guild master." Wakaba waved his hand dismissively.

"Honestly, I've never seen a president as shameless as you."

The other members of the guild were already used to the daily bickering between these two clowns.

A bespectacled, seemingly refined man named Marcus sighed, ignoring them, and said worriedly, "Speaking of which, has our guild dwindled in size again?"

The blond man with a pompadour next to him, Warren, also looked helpless upon hearing this.

"There's nothing we can do. The guild is so weak right now that we can't even get a decent job. Everyone needs to make a living too."

A man who always wore a hat— Nab —pointed to the empty commission board on the wall.

"Look, there are only a few missing cat and dog tasks left."

"That's none of your business, you don't go to work anyway." A lazy voice came from the corner.

Upon hearing this, Nab blushed deeply but was unable to refute it.

"Look, everyone! Look!"

Just as the atmosphere in the guild was getting a bit somber, a man dressed in a strange bodysuit— Vijeeter Ecor —suddenly jumped onto the table and began to writhe his comical body.

"This is my latest dance, 'Dance of Weakness,' created for my current guild!"

"..."

Marcus watched his awful dance moves and felt his fists harden.

"It's really annoying to look at him. Can someone go up there and beat him up for me?"

On the other side, Laki, one of the few female members in the guild, with short blue hair, was frowning.

"Droy, have you... increased the pressure on the ground again?"

The man known as Droy was currently eating a huge roasted chicken leg, his mouth dripping with oil.

Upon hearing Laki's words, he paused in his chewing.

"Damn it! Are you implying I've gained weight again?!"

Seven years have passed, and the once well-proportioned boy has been transformed into a greasy, overweight man.

"Does that even need to be said?"

Sarukusuke, another former member of the "Road & Engine" team, didn't hold back in his criticism.

"Look at Reedus, he's gotten so thin now."

He pointed to Reedus, who was drawing on the wall not far away.

Over the course of seven years, Reedus actually lost weight and looked much more energetic.

When Reedus heard someone mention him, he turned around, adjusted his glasses, and said with a hint of pride, "This is my real figure. I was so fat before, just so I could better cast Pict Magic."

"Now, I'm no longer limited to painting only on my own body."

"I... I'm preparing for new magic! I'm practicing! Can't you tell?!" Droy stubbornly argued.

Sarukusuke sighed as he looked at his unrepentant attitude.

"I really don't know... when Levy comes back and sees you like this, she'll still recognize you."

The name "Levy" is like a switch that must not be touched.

The moment it appeared, the entire guild fell silent.

Macao and Wakaba, who had been playfully fighting, stopped.

Vijeeter Ecor was performing the "Dance of Weakness," froze in place.

A deep sadness, difficult to conceal, was evident on everyone's face.

Droy's hand, which was holding the chicken leg, suddenly trembled.

For the first time, a contorted expression of pain appeared on that face, which looked somewhat comical due to its obesity.

He could no longer hold back and roared out the words that were hidden in everyone's heart but that no one dared to say aloud, in a hoarse voice on the verge of collapse.

"Levy, she..."

"... They won't be coming back!"

The entire dilapidated tavern instantly fell into a suffocating silence.

Yes.

Seven years have passed.

Seven years is enough time to extinguish even the strongest hope.

It's incredibly difficult to convince them that everyone will come back.

But they were unwilling to give up so easily.

Just as this oppressive atmosphere of despair was about to completely engulf everyone...

"Bang--!"

The tavern's already dilapidated wooden door was violently kicked open, slamming heavily against the wall with a groan of despair.

Several sleazy-looking men swaggered in, their faces bearing disgusting, malicious smiles.

The man at the head of the group, sporting a disgusting green pompadour and a toothpick dangling from his mouth, surveyed the dejected losers in the guild with an expression of utter contempt.

"Oh dear! No wonder it smells so poor and stingy!"

He exaggeratedly pinched his nose and said in a sarcastic tone.

"It's because of you guys, always sighing and complaining, that the guild is getting weaker and weaker! It's unbearable!"

One of his henchmen immediately let out a piercing, hyena-like laugh.

"Haha! Boss is right!"

Another henchman stroked his chin, feigning surprise as he looked around the dilapidated tavern.

"I've heard that many years ago, this guild called 'Fairy Tail' was the strongest guild in our Kingdom of Fiore."

"You're kidding, right?" a burly man with a face full of scars said disdainfully, picking his ear with his little finger.

"With this bunch of good-for-nothings who can't even get a decent job?"

The harsh mockery, like steel needles, pierced the already wounded hearts of the Fairy Tail members.

When Wakaba saw the person coming, his face, which looked a little decadent due to years of drinking, was instantly filled with dark clouds.

"Tebo!" he gritted his teeth, squeezing out the name.

Macao suddenly stood up, blocking the way for the crowd. Forcing himself to appear imposing, he shouted at the uninvited guests, "Didn't I already tell you? You're not allowed to come here again!"

"Hey! President Macao."

The man called Tebo strolled leisurely to the bar, plopped down on it, and looked down at Macao with his aggressive eyes.

Is this the tone you should be using when you talk to me?

He spat out the toothpick from his mouth, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

"Don't forget, Fairy Tail still owes us 'Twilight Ogre' money."

Upon hearing the word "money," Macao's momentum instantly deflated.

Wakaba's expression changed, and he quickly moved closer to him, whispering, "Macao, haven't you paid this month's wages yet?"

"..." A look of humiliation and helplessness appeared on Macao's face, his voice so low it was like a mosquito's hum.

"This month... there aren't any good jobs, it's just... I can't afford it..."

He took a deep breath, raised his head, and said almost pleadingly, "Give me another month! Next month, I promise to pay you back, with interest!"

"Hmph! Next month?"

Tebo sneered, jumped off the bar, and approached Macao step by step.

"You must remember this! Who was it that appeared like a savior and saved you when your lousy guild was on the verge of collapse!"

He stretched out his finger and jabbed it hard into Macao's chest.

"The astronomical debts you owed, it was we, the 'Twilight Ogre,' who paid them off for you!"

"If we had known you were going to charge such high interest rates, we would have been begging on the streets rather than borrow money from you bastards!" Wakaba finally couldn't hold back and roared out.

"What did you say? You bastard!" Tebo's face instantly turned ferocious, and he raised his fist to smash it.

"Hey, boss, don't be angry."

A tall, thin man who looked like a strategist pulled him aside with a grin and whispered something in his ear.

"Why bother arguing with these poor bastards? They're... our big clients."

Upon hearing the words "major client," Tebo's anger subsided slightly. He withdrew his fist and once again revealed that nauseating smile.

"What do you mean?" Macao looked at them warily.

The tall, thin man pushed up his glasses, pulled a map from his pocket, and spread it out on the bar.

We recently discovered something very interesting.

He pointed to several marked points on the map and said with a smile.

"So, it turns out your Fairy Tail guild owns several rather nice properties in this Magnolia town, besides this run-down tavern. You can mortgage them to us."

"What did you say?!"

Wakaba's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

"Those areas are absolutely off-limits! That's... that's Jiang Bai's! You dare touch it and see what happens!"

He instinctively wanted to use that name that had once made the entire continent tremble to scare away the hyenas.

"Aren't you afraid... aren't you afraid he'll come back?!"

"Hmph! Jiang Bai?"

Tebo laughed exaggeratedly, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Someone who died seven years ago, who knows where in the world, does that mean I'd be afraid of a dead man?"

Those properties do not belong to the Fairy Tail guild!

Macao's body trembled; it was the rage of someone driven to the brink of despair.

"That belongs to Jiang Bai personally! You have no right to take it away! The mayor would absolutely not agree to it!"

"Cut!"

Tebo curled his lip in disdain.

"Do we, the 'Twilight Ogre,' need to be beholden to that old, morbid mayor?"

With a wave of his hand, he issued an ultimatum to his men behind him.

"Men, what are you all standing there for! Go and give me those houses..."

However, his arrogant words were abruptly interrupted by a sudden, lazy voice.

The voice wasn't loud, and it even had a slightly hoarse quality, as if the person had just woken up.

Yet, it reached the ears of everyone present with crystal clarity.

"Yeah?"

"If you're going to rob someone else's house, should you... at least check my reaction while you're at it?"

The sound came from the doorway.

Everyone in the guild instinctively looked in that direction.

Meanwhile, Tebo and his group turned around with displeasure, wanting to see which fool dared to interrupt their 'Twilight Ogre's' good time.

Then they saw it.

They saw a figure that was unfamiliar to everyone in the 'Twilight Ogre,' yet caused the pupils of the remaining members of Fairy Tail to suddenly contract.

Macao's body froze completely the moment he heard that voice.

His lips began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

His eyes were fixed on the familiar yet unfamiliar figure at the doorway, and his eyes instantly reddened.

That sound...

This damn sound, the sound we've been waiting for for seven whole years...

This... he once thought he would never hear that voice again in his entire life...

"That voice..."

"This voice is..."