Fairy Tail's reputation carried weight. Within a day, Mermaid's Heel and Blue Pegasus had both sent over detailed mission data in response to Rhode's formal request.
Soon after, Lamia Scale and several smaller guilds followed suit, forwarding fragments of their own uncertain reports.
By the time the last courier left, Rhode's desk was covered in sealed letters and copied mission summaries.
He opened them one by one, scanning, cross-referencing, and making quick notes on a sheet beside him.
Mira leaned over curiously, watching him scribble names and symbols, matching them against Lucy's hand-written list.
"How is it looking?" she asked.
Rhodes exhaled through his nose. "It's not an isolated problem after all."
He tapped the parchment with the quill. "Do you remember when we were visiting Mermaid's Heel, Kagura and Millianna mentioned taking on a mission involving a cat?"
Mira frowned, trying to recall. "A cat? Surely there isn't a Celestial Spirit that's a cat?"
"There is." Rhodes circled the name 'Zodiac Cat' on Lucy's list, a sheet she'd hastily compiled the night before heading home, recording over thirty known abandoned constellations.
More obscure ones would take time for her to document, but this particular name already stood out.
"This Zodiac Cat attacked a Celestial Spirit Mage," Rhodes continued quietly, "and the mage died of the injuries."
Mira froze. "Died…?"
Their own encounters had ended peacefully, but elsewhere someone had paid with their life.
Mira's chest tightened. 'If Lucy hears this… she'll be devastated.'
Not just out of sympathy for a fellow mage, but because it meant that some Celestial Spirits, once protectors, had turned into executioners.
Rhodes kept reading. "It's not the only case. Blue Pegasus reported a mission where Eve fought a giant flamingo, and Lamia Scale sent records of Ren and Sherry subduing an owl."
Mira's eyes widened. "Don't tell me… those two were also?"
"Yes." Rhode underlined the entries. "Flamingo Constellation. Owl Constellation. Both confirmed abandoned Spirits."
He flipped through another page. "The owl incident was the worst, the creature's beak was venomous. The Celestial Spirit Mage it attacked was infected by a strange plague and is still hospitalized.
"As for the flamingo, there wasn't an immediate victim… but yesterday's follow-up revealed the attack took place in that mage's hometown."
Mira clasped her hands together, horrified. "So they're deliberately targeting them…"
Rhodes nodded grimly and circled several more names. "Across the reports, the pattern's the same. Every incident connects to a Celestial Spirit Mage. As of yesterday, three dead, five seriously injured, one escaped alive."
Silence fell between them.
Mira spoke first. "And this is just from our Local Guild Alliance. If the same is happening across all of Fiore, or the entire Ishgar continent…"
"The scope might be far greater than we thought." Rhode's expression hardened. "This isn't random anymore, it's a large-scale assassination campaign against Celestial Spirit Mages."
Mira's voice trembled. "Then Lucy's in danger… and Yukino too."
At that name, both fell quiet.
Yukino, the gentle girl who had yet to arrive at Fairy Tail. She'd likely gone searching for her sister. If she crossed paths with one of those rogue Spirits...
A sudden shout shattered their thoughts.
"Oh no! Lucy's been captured!"
Happy burst through the guild doors, wings fluttering frantically.
Every head turned.
Rhodes and Mira froze, the same dread flashing through their eyes. 'Captured…? Don't tell me, the rogue Spirits already....'
Happy zoomed into the center of the hall, voice shrill. "Lucy's been captured by the King's Army!"
The guild erupted.
Levy sprang to her feet, knocking over her chair. "Lucy-chan?! By the King's Army? Why?!"
Macao and Wakaba stopped mid-argument. "The King's Army?"
Gray frowned. "Happy, calm down! What happened exactly?"
Rhodes and Mira rushed over as the noise swelled. Lisanna, Erza, Cana, Wendy, all surrounded Happy at once, their voices overlapping.
Even Makarov hurried down from the second floor, setting aside his pipe.
The last time someone had tried to capture Lucy, it had been Phantom Lord, and the entire guild had gone to war for her.
Now, it was the King's Army?
Makarov raised his hand, voice booming over the chaos. "Quiet, all of you! Let Happy speak!"
Happy hovered in the air, eyes wide and frightened. "It was the King's Army! The white-armored knight who came during Rhodes and Mira's wedding, he brought soldiers to arrest Lucy!"
"Arcadios?"
Rhode's expression darkened instantly. "The commander of the Fiore Kingdom's Knight Order… this won't be simple."
Makarov leaned forward. "The reason?"
Happy's ears drooped as he spoke. "He said Lucy assassinated Princess Hisui last night… so she had to be arrested."
The guild exploded.
"What...that's ridiculous!"
"Lucy would never... "
"Wait, wasn't she here all yesterday afternoon?"
The noise swelled like a storm. On paper, the timeline was impossible. Lucy had been at the guild the whole day; she couldn't have traveled to Crocus, let alone assassinated the princess.
Well… unless she'd secretly borrowed an airship.
"Lucy-san would never do such a thing!" Juvia shouted, pounding the table.
Her words reflected everyone's feelings.
Lucy Heartfilia? The same girl who laughed with Princess Hisui the last time she visited Magnolia? The accusation was absurd.
Even Happy, who had seen it firsthand, looked bewildered. "I don't believe it either! But that knight really said so. And... and... Natsu was captured too!"
Makarov's pupils shrank. "Natsu?!"
Half his heart immediately sank. If Natsu was involved, then even the smallest misunderstanding could erupt into a national incident.
"Because…" Happy hesitated, rubbing his paws together. "Me and Natsu went to Lucy's house this morning to eat breakfast. When we got there, the King's Army was already trying to arrest her."
He swallowed. "Natsu saw that and… um… he rushed straight in, knocked out a few soldiers, and then he and Lucy got captured together. Lucy told me to fly back and report!"
The guild collectively fell silent for half a second.
Then Gajeel sighed. "Tch. Even if that idiot Fire Dragon's reckless, how'd he get captured by regular soldiers?"
Happy's voice dropped. "Because… he chased Lucy onto their airship. And once it took off. "
"…"
Everyone could instantly see it. Natsu charging aboard, shouting something heroic, and then promptly collapsing from motion sickness as the airship rose.
Happy added nervously, "They also had really powerful magic weapons! They looked a lot like the ones from the King's Army of Edolas!"
Everyone ignored that last part.
Of course the King's Army had enchanted armor. Everyone also knew how Natsu behaved once he set foot on anything that flew. His capture had far less to do with the army's strength and far more to do with his stomach.
Even so, the situation was dire.
Lucy was accused of royal assassination. Natsu had assaulted royal soldiers.
This wasn't just trouble, it was a diplomatic crisis waiting to explode.
But no one in Fairy Tail blamed him. Every single member knew: if they had seen a friend being dragged away in chains, they would have done the same.
Rhodes clenched his fists. "Enough speculation."
A faint shimmer of light rippled behind him, and a pair of luminous wings unfurled.
"I'll go after them and find out what's happening. Master, you handle the negotiations with the Royal Family."
"Don't be impulsive," Makarov warned, though his tone carried trust more than doubt.
He himself needed to contact the Royal Palace immediately, to confirm the truth from their end.
Rhodes nodded. "Keep everyone calm. No one moves until we know what's really going on."
His eyes flicked briefly toward Mira and Erza.
If the Master or Erza let their tempers flare, they'd end up blowing up a royal fortress before noon.
Both women nodded firmly.
And with a powerful beat of his wings, Rhodes shot upward through the guild.