An hour later...
Having completed her mission and returned laden with rewards, Erza pulled her luggage cart back to the guild. The moment she stood at the guild entrance, her brows furrowed slightly.
The guild was far too quiet today...
After all, Fairy Tail's members never stopped causing a ruckus!
Especially at this hour, which was mealtime. Under normal circumstances, Fairy Tail should have been bustling with activity—indeed, at its liveliest point of the day...
"This is far too strange. I just hope nothing happened..."
Thinking this, Erza reached out and gently pushed open the guild doors...
"Hey! What happened here?!"
Erza stared at the guild members sprawled all over the place, the countless shattered wooden tables and chairs, and the wooden floor riddled with dents and holes.
Her eyes widened in shock, unable to conceal her disbelief.
"Cough, cough..."
Just as Erza was wondering what had happened, a series of light coughs caught her attention.
"Hm? You are..."
Following the sound, Erza immediately spotted a man lying beneath broken tables and chairs, gradually regaining consciousness.
The moment she recognized him, Erza hurried over and helped the coughing man to his feet. "Wakaba, what happened to the guild?! What happened here while I was gone?"
"Erza, is that you?! You're finally back..."
With Erza's support, Wakaba slowly sat up. The moment he saw Erza's young face, he let out a sigh of relief.
Wakaba did not know why, but although Erza was only ten years old, she gave everyone a sense of reassurance, as if she were an adult. Perhaps it was because of her formidable strength, or perhaps something else. In any case, whenever Erza was around, Wakaba felt at ease.
"Someone attacked our guild..."
"I recognized their guild emblem. It was the Dark Guild Night Walk. Those bastards