The Guild Was Destroyed

"Huh? What happened?" Lucy still had no idea what was going on.

"Fairy Tail... sob... You're an official guild, yet you've betrayed peace so thoroughly!" The old man wept sorrowfully.

Swish.

Erza sheathed her sword and said coldly, "Not a single person will agree with your kind of peace!"

With that, she returned to her seat. Seeing Natsu and Gray still confronting the other side, she said, "Natsu, Gray, come back."

"Yes." The two of them returned to their seats indignantly.

"How tragic... sob... How could there be people who betray peace like this... Fairy Tail. You've disappointed me so much... sob..."

The old man left in tears.

"He seems a little unhinged. Who exactly is he?" Lucy asked doubtfully.

"A lunatic," Gray said.

"I really want to punch him hard!" Natsu voiced his displeasure as well.

"He calls himself Pudding, a peace-loving wizard. He's a hypocrite," Erza said.

"It sounded like he was planning to make a move against our guild." Lucy spoke worriedly.

"Don't worry. No one can make a move against our guild." Natsu smiled as he reassured her.

The hypocrite had ruined everyone's appetite.

So they quickly finished eating and returned to the guild.

But what appeared before them...

Was a guild deliberately wrecked and left in ruins, with countless iron rods driven into it!

Boom!

Natsu's flames erupted instantly!

"Natsu, calm down!" Erza hurriedly punched Natsu in the stomach.

Her ever-effective strike failed.

Natsu straightened up against Erza's fist. His flames did not diminish; instead, they surged even fiercer, raising the surrounding temperature beyond even the hottest days of summer!

"The guild was destroyed! How am I supposed to stay calm?!" Natsu gritted out.

"Natsu, don't worry. Everyone's fine. Only the building was destroyed." At that moment, Mirajane came over from behind, carrying a large bag of things.

She walked over to Ifrit's side.

Ifrit reached out and took the things from her hands.

Mirajane said to everyone, "It's hard to explain right now. Let's go down to the first basement level first."

"Natsu, put away your flames. Don't cause any more trouble for the neighbors," Ifrit reminded him.

"That's right. You're not the only one who cares about the guild. We're all furious, but we need to figure out what happened first," Gray urged.

"Natsu." Lucy looked at him worriedly.

Natsu put away his flames. His cheeks twitched as though he wanted to bare his teeth, but he held it back.

"Natsu, it's enough that everyone is safe." Lucy quickly grabbed his arm to comfort him.

"Let's go. We'll head down first," Mirajane said.

Only then did she look at Ifrit, surprised. "Ifrit, you changed clothes. Did you run into a powerful enemy?"

"I'm surprised you noticed." Ifrit was somewhat astonished. The colors and style of this outfit were similar to the previous one, with only subtle differences.

"It's just rare to see, after all." Mirajane replied with a smile.

"Mm, it was alright. I wouldn't say it was very dangerous." Ifrit recalled it. It had been a bit troublesome, but not particularly dangerous.

"If it was dangerous to you, then they must have been an S-Class wizard." Mirajane was quite surprised.

"Is that a compliment?"

"Of course."

"Thank you for the compliment." Ifrit took out a card and flicked his hand. A delicately wrapped square box appeared in his palm. "Kind ladies always make me want to give them little gifts."

"Thank you. Can I open it now?" Mirajane accepted it with a smile.

"Of course."

Mirajane opened the box. Inside was a bright red-orange tangerine.

"It looks like a very expensive variety." Mirajane smiled.

"Mm, it's very sweet." Ifrit nodded.

"Then I'll savor it properly."

As they spoke...

Everyone had already arrived at the first basement level.

Although the guild had been destroyed...

Everyone's mood seemed unaffected. They were still cheerfully eating and drinking.

But Ifrit swept his gaze around and discovered—

Everyone was here!

In truth, no one could let it go so easily.

But they still had to see what the Guild Master intended.

Guild Master Makarov was drinking heavily.

When he saw everyone return...

He laughed and greeted them. "So, Lucy, did your job go well?"

"Huh? Mm." Lucy nodded in confusion.

"Guild Master, what exactly happened?" Erza asked with a dark expression.

"The guild was destroyed!" Natsu said angrily as well.

"Alright, alright, don't get worked up. Calm down." The Guild Master wore a kindly smile. "It's nothing worth making a big fuss over. No one was hurt. Those Phantom Lord fellows attacked an empty guild, which only makes them look ridiculous."

"The guild was attacked at night," Mirajane added. "No one was here at the time."

"There's no need to lower ourselves to the level of such petty people." The Guild Master shook his head, clearly holding Phantom Lord in contempt.

"What are you talking about, old man? They destroyed our home!" Natsu said angrily.

"Huh? Home?" The Guild Master tried to open his drunken eyes a little wider. "Natsu, everyone is here, and no one was hurt. Isn't our home right here? As for the building above, it's just some wood and iron nails. I happened to want to renovate the guild anyway, so..."

Boom!

Natsu smashed the pillar beside him with one punch and said furiously, "I can't swallow this anger! I'm going to beat every last one of them down!"

"Let this matter end here." The Guild Master said sternly, "This is the Guild Master's order!"

As soon as he said that...

The guild members who had been listening to the conversation could not help but pick up their cups and gulp down a large mouthful of alcohol.

"Damn it!" Natsu was deeply unwilling.

"Alright, that's it! I need to use the toilet. Ah, the toilet—I can't hold it anymore!" The Guild Master slipped away while clutching his bottle.

"Old man, you—" Natsu wanted to stop him.

"Forget it, Natsu. This is the Guild Master's decision." Mirajane lowered her eyes. "There's nothing we can do. Violent conflicts between guilds are strictly forbidden by the Council!"

"But they struck first!" Natsu said indignantly.

"But..." Erza said with a dark expression, "since this is the Guild Master's decision, there's nothing we can do."

"I—"

"Natsu."

Natsu was about to say more when Ifrit pressed a hand onto his shoulder.

He turned to look at Ifrit and saw him raise his left hand, pushing up his glasses with his ring finger, half his face hidden behind his palm.

Natsu suddenly understood something. He no longer intended to make a scene, because Ifrit would take him along.

"By the way, Ifrit."

Just as Natsu had that thought, Cana's voice sounded behind Ifrit.

"What is it, Cana?"

Ifrit had just turned around in confusion when something was forcibly stuffed into his mouth.

It was...

A liquor bottle?

The world spun.

Thud.

Ifrit fell backward. Mirajane, who had long been prepared, reached out and caught him, preventing him from hitting the floor.

Everyone looked at Cana in confusion.

Cana gave a wry smile. "The Guild Master told me to do it."