Lullaby and Eisenwald!

In Magnolia Town, the Fairy Tail Guild was as noisy as ever, brimming with energy! But that clamor was suddenly shattered by a terrified shout—

"Bad news!! Erza is back!!!" Loke rushed in from outside, his face full of panic as he loudly announced!

"Whoa—" As soon as he spoke, the guild fell deathly silent before erupting into an uproar like crashing waves!

"What do we do? What do we do?! She's going to kill us!!!" Natsu cried in terror and anguish, desperately tugging at his hair.

"We're, we're doomed... We're really doomed this time..." Macau muttered to himself, sweating profusely. "Erza is back!!! We're finished!"

"Why do I get the feeling that this Erza person is terrifying?" Seeing everyone's frightened reactions, Lucy was infected by the atmosphere as well. She couldn't help looking scared, picturing a terrifying demon king in her mind.

"Mira, who exactly is this Erza?" Hearing footsteps drawing closer outside, Lucy swallowed nervously and timidly asked Mira beside her.

"Erza? Well, you could say she's currently the strongest female wizard in our guild!" Mira answered with a smile. However, a flash of displeasure flickered through her tone. It vanished so quickly that no one noticed.

Lucy timidly nodded, staring anxiously toward the entrance.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud—" Heavy, slow footsteps drifted in from outside. Like a massive hammer, each step struck the hearts of everyone present, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Finally—

"Bang—" With a heavy crash, Erza appeared before everyone, casually tossing a huge horn onto the floor. She looked as valiant and dashing as ever.

"I'm back." Erza glanced around before calmly asking, "Is the master here?"

"She's so beautiful!" Lucy stared at Erza in astonishment and sincerely exclaimed. She had never expected the legendary Erza to be such a stunning beauty!

"Welcome back. The master went to the regular meeting!" Mira said with a smile, stepping forward.

"Oh, I see." Erza nodded.

"Um, Erza—" One wizard secretly glanced at the enormous horn on the ground, unconsciously wiping the cold sweat from his forehead as he timidly asked, "What exactly is that gigantic thing?"

"It's the horn of a monster I defeated. The locals gave it to me as a souvenir to use as decoration. Is there a problem?" Erza replied matter-of-factly, then added a question at the end.

"No! No problem at all!!" The wizard immediately replied, drenched in sweat.

"By the way, you lot! I heard quite a few rumors about you while I was on my mission!!" Erza's gaze shifted as she swept her eyes over everyone present. She suddenly frowned and rebuked them, "I heard you caused quite a bit of trouble while I was gone?! Even if the master doesn't hold you accountable, I certainly won't let you off easily!"

"Ehh—" Everyone's unease grew even heavier, and they looked like they were awaiting judgment.

"Cana! What kind of drinking posture is that? Bisca, if you want to dance, go outside and dance slowly! Wakaba, your ash is about to fall on the floor! Nab, are you still just hanging around in front of the request board as usual? Get out there and work!!" After a string of scoldings, Erza held her forehead and sighed. "You're all such a troublesome bunch. Fine, I won't say any more today..."

"It sounds like she already said plenty—" Lucy couldn't help commenting. "Is she some kind of discipline committee member or something?"

"That's Erza for you!" Happy chimed in as if it were only natural.

"Right, are Natsu and Gray here?" As if she had remembered something, Erza suddenly asked and turned to look around elsewhere.

"Ah, um, Erza, Natsu and I get along really well today! Right, Natsu..." Gray said, sweating heavily. He and Natsu, who were usually like fire and water, were strangely embracing each other like close brothers! He even turned to ask Natsu for confirmation.

"Aye~" Natsu nodded furiously and answered with a completely serious expression, though cold sweat kept pouring down his forehead...

"Natsu turned into Happy!!!" Lucy was so shocked by the bizarre sight that she had no energy left to complain.

"Mm, very good! Even the best of friends will inevitably argue sometimes, but I still prefer seeing you get along so well!" Erza nodded in satisfaction.

Lucy had never seen Natsu like this before! She was still staring in shock, as though she had been frightened silly.

"Natsu challenged Erza before, and she beat him until he was black and blue..." Mira explained with a smile, as though she had guessed what Lucy was thinking.

"No way?!!" Lucy was even more shocked.

"As for Gray, Erza once caught him running naked through the streets, so she gave him a pretty severe beating too," Macau added with a laugh.

"Uh..." Lucy was speechless, feeling as if a crow had flown over her head.

"Loke tried to pursue Erza too, and he got taught a harsh lesson as well," Cana said with a slightly gloating smile.

"I can kind of imagine that..." Lucy couldn't help wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.

"Right, Natsu, Gray! I have something I want to ask of you!" Erza's expression suddenly became incomparably serious. Seeing everyone fall quiet, she finally said in a low voice, "I heard about something rather troublesome during my mission! I originally planned to report it to the master once I returned and let him decide what to do. But it seems we may not have enough time now, so I've decided it would be best to deal with it as soon as possible! Natsu, Gray, I need your strength. Are you willing to come with me?"

"No way! Erza actually wants to team up with someone?!" As soon as she finished speaking, whispers immediately spread through the guild. Everyone found what they had just heard hard to believe!

"You're kidding! If that's true, then this is the first time ever!!!" another wizard said in astonishment.

"Team up with her?!!" Natsu and Gray exchanged glances, both seeing gravity and shock in the other's eyes.

"Erza, Natsu, and Gray forming a team... I never thought of it that way before, but perhaps this would count as—" Mira murmured to herself before solemnly declaring, "Fairy Tail's strongest team!!!"

"Hehe, after eight years, Erza really hasn't changed at all..." Achill slowly emerged from a shadow in the darkness, muttering with a soft laugh. "If there's been any change, it's probably that she's become even prettier and stronger than before! Mm, she's grown into a wizard who can stand on her own now..."

"But what interests me more is—" Recalling everything he had overheard in the Fairy Tail Guild just now, Achill's lips curled slightly as he murmured as if speaking to himself, "What could make Erza, who now possesses such great strength, show such a grave expression? Hehe, it seems..."

"I might have to secretly follow them and take a good look..." Gazing up at the azure sky, Achill made an unknown decision in his heart. I'll take the chance to see just how much her strength has grown over these eight years! With that, his figure vanished back into the shadows.

At the same time, elsewhere, within Eisenwald—the assassination guild subordinate to the Six Demon Generals, one of the three strongest dark guilds of the Balam Alliance!

"How are Kageyama and the others doing? Can they get that thing?" In a dim room, a tall figure with his upper body bare sat in a broad chair and asked in a deep voice. His curved white hair was sharp as blades, his chin pointed and narrow, and he carried a massive scythe-shaped magical weapon over his shoulder! He was none other than Eisenwald's absolute trump card, known as the Bleach—Erigor!!!

"Don't worry, Boss Erigor!" a wizard said with a smile. "Even with the seal in place, given Kageyama and the others' strength, they should be able to get that thing within a day or two at most!"

"That would be for the best!" A frightening gleam flashed through Erigor's eyes as he muttered with a soft laugh, "After all, rare opportunities like the regular meeting of those Light Alliance Guild masters don't come around very often—" As he spoke, a bloodthirsty smile curved across his lips.

"You so-called legitimate guilds living in the light, once Lullaby is safely in my hands, I, the Bleach Erigor, will definitely give you a grand feast you'll remember for the rest of your lives!!! Ahahahaha—"

His wildly ambitious laughter instantly echoed throughout all of Eisenwald!