Fairy Tail: Vector Manipulation

"Get back in there!" Lucy shouted at Gray, pointing toward the door.

"Today's the day we talked about last time. I was afraid you'd forgotten, so I came specifically to remind you," Gray said.

"That thing?" Lucy looked confused, not knowing what Gray meant.

Gray turned his head and said, "You really did forget. Didn't we say before we left? Natsu and Erza's duel!" Only then did Lucy remember, and she hurried with Gray toward the place where Natsu and Erza were fighting.

"Go! Go!" Wakaba shouted from the side. The moment he finished, the arriving Lucy shoved him aside.

"Wait, are those two seriously fighting?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"Oh, Lucy." Seeing her arrive, Mira greeted her from the side.

"Of course they're serious. How can you call yourself a man if you aren't?" Elfman said.

Mira turned to Elfman and said, "Erza is a girl."

"A female monster," Macao chimed in from the side.

"But if the strongest team is clashing..." Before Lucy could finish, Gray interrupted her. "Strongest team? What's that?"

Lucy continued, "Isn't it Natsu, Erza, and you? Fairy Tail's top three."

"Ah... how boring. Who said something like that?" Gray turned his head away, though he seemed rather pleased to hear it.

Suddenly, Mira covered her face and began to cry. Gray panicked and said, "M-Miss Mira?"

Hearing that, Elfman said, "I do acknowledge Natsu and Gray's strength, but if we're talking about the strongest, I can't stay silent. Fairy Tail has plenty of powerful members, like me, and my boss Chen Fan."

"And Laxus and Mystogan."

"Chen Fan! That pervert? He's that strong?" Lucy asked in surprise, immediately labeling Chen Fan a pervert. Mira's brow twitched, wondering what Chen Fan had done to her on the way here. She would have to interrogate him later. "Achoo!" Chen Fan rubbed his nose, thinking, Which little girl is thinking about me? My charm really is irresistible. He even tossed his hair back flamboyantly.

"Uh, in a certain sense, you could say he's the strongest in our guild," Mira explained to Lucy from the side.

"In a certain sense?" A pile of question marks seemed to appear above Lucy's head as she wondered what that meant.

Just then, Erza and Natsu had already begun fighting. Erza changed into her Flame Emperor Armor, while Natsu's hands blazed with fire. They exchanged probing attacks, and everyone around them cheered.

Just as Erza and Natsu finally began to clash head-on, a loud "Clang!" rang out. A toad-faced woman pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.

"Everyone, stay where you are! I am an envoy of the Magic Council."

"The Magic Council?" Levy said in surprise.

"Why would an envoy come here?" Draer asked as well.

"Why is no one saying how rough-looking she is?" Lucy muttered from the side.

"Regarding the Forest of Iron incident the day before yesterday, Erza Scarlet is under arrest on suspicion of property damage and eleven other charges."

Before Erza could say anything, Natsu shouted furiously, "What? What did you say?"

Ignoring Natsu, the envoy directly put handcuffs on Erza and took her away.

The atmosphere in the guild was somewhat oppressive. Makarov sat on the counter with his eyes closed, while no one else spoke. Heavy hearts weighed on everyone.

Gray angrily slammed his fist onto the table, stood up, and shouted, "Where's Chen Fan? Where is he now? When we need him, why isn't he here? Ah... say something! Where is he?"