Extermination of the Oración Seis

About a week had passed. After the Harvest Festival ended, everyone in Fairy Tail had returned to normal. The unpleasantness from the civil war had mostly faded after a few drinks. They were still brothers, after all.

Cardia Cathedral had also begun reconstruction, draining half of Fairy Tail's money, while the other half came from Ye, the protagonist.

The entire first floor of the guild was bustling with excitement, filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Standing on the second floor and watching everyone below celebrate, Gajeel could not help but complain, "A few days ago, they were fighting like they wanted each other dead, and now they're all getting along like this. This guild is really strange."

Before the parade, Gajeel had found Ivan and reported the information about Laxus leaving the guild.

"I never heard that Laxus was a Dragon Slayer Mage."

"You mean that? He's just a fake. He was very sickly as a child, so I found a Dragon Slayer Lacrima for him and implanted it in his body, allowing him to use Dragon Slayer Magic."

Gajeel said, "A lacrima that can use Dragon Slayer Magic? I've really never heard of that."

"Rare, isn't it? After he leaves the guild, he'll definitely come looking for me and throw himself into his father's arms! Hahahaha! Then I can dig the lacrima out of his body. I've been short on money lately, and this thing can fetch an unbelievable price on the black market."

Gajeel said in shock, "You can dig that thing out?! But if you do that, Laxus will..."

"I gave him that power. What's wrong with taking it back now? I'm only returning him to how he was before. Money is what matters most right now."

"I need you to keep infiltrating Fairy Tail until I have enough money and power to contend with him."

"And even if you're exposed, you can't reveal that I exist. Understood?"

"Don't worry."

That very night, after their conversation, during the Fantasy Parade, Gajeel told Gajeel everything. That was right, Gajeel was a double agent.

Coming back to himself, Gajeel watched Lucy walk in through the guild doors. She had seen something unbelievable.

"What's going on? Ye is actually taking a job? Did the sun rise in the west today?"

Mira came out and explained, "Since Cardia Cathedral was destroyed, he bore part of the responsibility and spent a lot of money. There's not much left on him now, so he's probably feeling a little anxious."

"No money? How little is no money?"

"According to Ye himself, if he doesn't have thirty or fifty million in his pocket, he feels insecure."

"How much?! Thirty or fifty... million! Th-this..."

The enormous number left Lucy dizzy. Seventy thousand a month meant eight hundred and forty thousand a year, and 8.4 million in ten years. Thirty or fifty million—let's call it thirty million. The rent alone would not be a concern for thirty years, and the rest would be enough to live on for another thirty! Thirty million was such an unreachable number, yet for Ye, it was merely the bare minimum!

"Alright, I've decided! I'm taking this job!"

Lucy hurriedly said, "Ye, let me see it!"

Holding the request, Lucy widened her eyes and counted the digits one by one.

"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million."

"Twenty million!!"

The moment she saw that number, she went blank. "Ababa, ababa, ababa, ababa."

Lucy immediately hugged Ye's leg.

"Ye, please have mercy on me and bring me along for this job!"

Natsu and Gray chimed in, "Me too!"

"Why are you going? Just to hold Ye back, you idiot fire-breather?"

"What did you say? You're the one who'd hold him back, you naked pervert."

Cana pointed out, "Gray, your clothes."

"Ah! Since when?"

Happy hurriedly added, "Ye! About what I said last time, about becoming your cat... how about reconsidering?"

Only then did Lucy realize why Natsu and Gray wanted so badly to become S-Class Mages. It was not just about honor—there was a mountain of money involved too.

At that moment, Makarov entered through the door and said, "Brat, put that job aside for now. There's an urgent mission here."

"Huh?! Old man, you call me lazy every day, but now that I want to work, you won't let me? And you just came back from the Magic Council, right? Don't tell me you got infected?"

"Hahaha, that's right. The Dark Guilds have been especially rampant and unusually active lately. It feels like they're planning something big. The Oración Seis in particular seem to have been searching for something recently. The Magic Council is worried, so they want us to exterminate them and use that to intimidate the Dark Guilds."

"Just our guild?"

Makarov shook his head. "How could that be? The Oración Seis are too strong. If it were only our guild, we could easily become a target for the Dark Guilds. So this time, we've joined forces with Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Cat Shelter to form a grand alliance."

Lucy asked doubtfully, "The Oración Seis?"

Mira explained, "Lucy, you haven't been in the guild for long, so it's normal that you don't know. In the world of magic, there is the Magic Council, which unites many legal guilds. Of course, the Dark Guilds also have an alliance called the Balam Alliance."

"Lidas, lend me your pen."

"The Balam Alliance is mainly led by three guilds: the Oración Seis, Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros. There are also many other guilds within it. Iron Forest, which you encountered before, is also part of the Balam Alliance."

"Ah, that sounds terrifying."

Juvia said with a smile, "Gajeel and I have destroyed quite a few of them before."

"That doesn't make it sound any more convincing."

"Don't worry, Lucy. They only have six members."

Lucy complained, "Even with just six people, they can dominate an entire region. How strong must they be?"

Makarov said, "According to the intelligence we have, the Oración Seis have mobilized all the Dark Guilds under them. There may be close to a thousand people."

Lucy exclaimed, "Their entire force?!"

"What are they trying to do? Why mobilize so many people? They're not coming to attack us, are they?"

Makarov said, "We don't know the details, but it definitely can't be anything good."

"Also, many legal guild members have recently been attacked by Dark Guilds. If we don't take action, many legal guilds will lose confidence."

"So exterminating the Oración Seis is already an urgent matter."

"So Fairy Tail is sending me again?"

"Ye, why did you say again?"

Happy explained, "Last time in the Great Forest of Monsters, Ye went alone."

Lucy suddenly remembered that incident too.

Makarov said, "After all, only by sending you can we be absolutely certain."

"Ah! What a hassle. Mira, put that request away. When I get back, I'll deal with it properly and make sure it doesn't get too cocky."

"So childish!" Mira said as she put away the request.

In the carriage heading toward the alliance's meeting place.

"I'm saying, why did you guys come along?!"

Natsu and Gray grinned cheekily at Ye.

Erza said, "Don't say that. We always used to take jobs together, so of course we have to go with you this time too."

Lucy clutched her head and cried, "But why did you drag me into this?!"

Happy said, "Lucy, you're leaking so much juice this time."

"That's sweat!"

"Fine, fine. Since you're already here, let's go together."

"Yay!"

Natsu said excitedly, "Haha, Ye, don't worry. You won't even need to lift a finger. I alone will be enough!"

"When are you idiot going to grow up? This is the Oración Seis, not some usual minor scuffle."

Ye suddenly asked, "Natsu, aren't you getting motion sickness today?"

Everyone turned to look at Natsu in unison.

Natsu suddenly realized he was inside a carriage.

"Bleurgh Σ_(꒪ཀ꒪"∠) Bleurgh."

"So disgusting!"

"Hahahaha! I was wondering about that. How thick are your nerves that you can even forget your own weakness? I hereby declare you the strongest!"