Black Clover: The Son of Fire Dragon Igneel

"Phantom Lord"

After Drake purged the malevolent aura film formed from the Moon Drip's residual gases, the villagers' memories were completely restored.

They revealed their demonic forms, soaring beneath the moonlight, prompting a similar reaction from Drake as Lucy had experienced.

Under the bright moonlight, the demons, laughing and dancing, seemed like angels.

The village chief's son, being a demon, wasn't killed. His return resolved the chief's conflict, calming his previously volatile demeanor.

In short, everything was resolved. After the celebratory feast, the group prepared to return to Fairy Tail.

Because this mission wasn't officially sanctioned, Drake decided, like in the original storyline, to forgo any payment.

Following the village chief's wishes, Lucy received the additional Sagittarius Golden Key as part of the mission's reward, while the 7 million jewels were paid to the guild, not distributed amongst Natsu and the others who had executed the mission.

Gray had overcome his psychological trauma, Lucy had gained a valuable Golden Key, Drake had successfully brought Ultear into his sphere of influence, leaving only Natsu to have seemingly accomplished nothing.

Or rather… Natsu would face guild punishment upon their return, a thought that was almost too amusing to contemplate.

After an arduous journey, the group returned to Magnolia.

However, walking down the main street, Drake noticed that the residents of Magnolia seemed to be staring and whispering about them.

Drake was utterly perplexed, initially suspecting that the Fairy Tail mages had once again engaged in some reckless behavior. After all, such actions were commonplace for Fairy Tail and nothing to be particularly surprised about.

"It's the Fairy Tail mages!"

"They don't know yet, do they?"

"How unfortunate…"

…

Gray spoke up, "People are looking at us strangely."

Happy chimed in, "Yeah, it feels kinda nasty!"

Drake nodded, sensing a current of sympathy in the townspeople's gazes. He wondered if the guild had caused some major incident leading to punishment from the Council. He couldn't recall anything like this in the original storyline, though.

Suddenly, Gray exclaimed, "The guild looks… odd!"

Drake looked up, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Fairy Tail was Magnolia's only mage guild, situated at the highest point in the town. From the main street, the guild hall was clearly visible. But the current state of the guild was clearly not normal.

Numerous cylindrical objects were haphazardly attached to the three-story building, a sight that was far from the style of any renovation work.

The group immediately quickened their pace, rushing towards the guild hall, while Drake, his expression darkening, fell slightly behind.

Upon seeing the state of the guild hall, Drake instantly recalled the relevant plot point: the attack launched by the Phantom Lord guild against Fairy Tail.

The perpetrator was the Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel, who, like Natsu, had been transported from 400 years in the past.

However, Drake hadn't anticipated that this attack would occur so soon after the resolution of the Galuna Island incident.

Letting out a long sigh, Drake also hastened his pace, catching up with the others as they reached the front of the guild hall.

The guild hall was in a truly deplorable state; a large number of iron pillars were embedded within the building, severely compromising its structural integrity. Without these pillars providing support, the entire building might have already collapsed.

The Fairy Tail sign lay broken on the ground, shattered into several pieces—a brazen act of defiance by the attackers.

Natsu gritted his teeth, his voice low and filled with barely contained rage. "Who did this? Who dared to destroy our guild…?!"

The others also wore expressions of seething anger; anyone whose home had been vandalized to this extent would find it impossible to remain calm.

"It was Phantom Lord," Mirajane announced, appearing from behind the group. "As much as it pains me to admit it, we were indeed attacked!"

Mirajane led the group through a side entrance into the guild's basement.

Drake already knew that Fairy Tail possessed a large, expansive basement in addition to its three visible stories above ground.

The first basement level served as a storage area, and it also doubled as a safe haven in case of emergencies. However, Drake could also sense the presence of another level beneath their feet, emanating a magical energy that stirred a sense of unease even within him.

That area was likely the forbidden zone, accessible only to the Fairy Tail guild master, where the body of the first guild master, Mavis, was kept, and where the forbidden magic, "Fairy Heart," resided.

With the upper levels of the guild hall destroyed, all of Fairy Tail's members had gathered on the first basement level.

Along the way, Drake overheard the guild members expressing their outrage over the attack. Fairy Tail, notorious for its rebellious nature, would never tolerate such blatant provocation.

The reason why no one had taken action could only be attributed to an order from their guild master, Makarov.

Makarov was seated on a stack of wooden crates, a wine glass held loosely in his hand.

"Well, well, welcome back!" he greeted them, his usual cheerful demeanor unchanged.

However, Drake could sense the simmering rage that Makarov was carefully concealing behind that façade.

Natsu was the first to erupt, shouting, "Old Man, this isn't the time for drinking!"

"Oh really?" Makarov responded, feigning incomprehension. "You all went on an unauthorized S-class mission. Prepare yourselves for punishment!"

Natsu's throat seemed to erupt in flames as he retorted with barely suppressed anger, "This isn't the time for that!"

Before Natsu could finish his sentence, Makarov swiftly delivered a sharp hand chop to his head.

"And Drake and Gray, for joining Natsu in his reckless escapade!"

Drake, who hadn't intended to bring Natsu back in the first place, received a light hand chop along with Gray.

Even Happy wasn't spared, though Lucy received a playful slap on her behind instead.

Makarov's hand chop did nothing to quell Natsu's seething anger. "Master! Don't you understand the situation?! Our guild hall has been completely destroyed!" he roared.

Makarov sighed, waving his hand dismissively. "Calm down, calm down. It's not that big of a deal!"

He leisurely took a sip of his wine before continuing, "Phantom Lord? Those fools are only capable of such petty acts of vandalism. Taking advantage of our absence to trash the guild hall—how utterly pathetic."

Mirajane offered an explanation, "They attacked at night, so fortunately, no one was injured."

Makarov shrugged. "We don't need to concern ourselves with such cowardly opponents. Let's just forget about it!"

Natsu slammed his fists on the table, his voice ringing with indignation. "How can we just let this slide?! I'm going to go beat the living daylights out of them!"

Makarov delivered a decisive verdict, "That's the end of it. Stay here and work until the upper floors are repaired."

"I'm not in the mood to work!" Natsu grumbled, his frustration evident.

Drake quickly placed a hand on Natsu's head to restrain him. "Natsu, that's enough! Show some consideration for the Master. He's been enduring this to protect Fairy Tail!"

Was Makarov truly afraid of Phantom Lord? That was absurd! Six years prior, at the Council meeting, Makarov had utterly humiliated Yosef, the Master of Phantom Lord, in a decisive victory.

Despite both being ranked among the Saint Ten, there was a significant gap in strength between Yosef and Makarov. Makarov was simply exercising caution regarding the Council.

The Council imposed strict regulations on all major mage guilds, and conflicts between guilds were strictly prohibited.

Even if Phantom Lord had launched a provocative attack, if Fairy Tail were to retaliate, it would likely lead to significant repercussions.

As guild master, Makarov couldn't make decisions based on personal feelings that might negatively impact the guild.

Makarov looked at Drake with a mixture of relief and pride. It was clear that the guild couldn't be entirely composed of unruly children. Why couldn't they all learn from Drake's maturity and restraint?

Before Makarov could fully express his thoughts, Drake turned to him and said, "But Master, while we've had our share of conflicts, Phantom Lord wouldn't attack us without a reason.

And they wouldn't simply stop at vandalizing the guild hall; they'll likely attempt something far more egregious. You need to consider that possibility."

Makarov fell silent for a moment, his mind grappling with the same question—why had Yosef, in a fit of inexplicable madness, chosen to provoke Fairy Tail in such a blatant manner?

Suddenly, Makarov shuddered, jumping down from the crates.

Drake, anticipating some sort of decisive action, was taken aback when Makarov announced, "I can't hold it in any longer!"

Watching Makarov hurry towards the restroom, Drake sighed. It seemed he would have to take the initiative himself.

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