— — — — — —
"Your mission efficiency is terrible," Kazuma said casually. "I already wrapped things up, and you're still holding a meeting."
"Alright, alright. Break it up."
He walked into the room, looking at the shocked crowd. "Don't look so traumatized."
"You're all mages, aren't you? People dying should be pretty normal by now."
"Okay, stop staring. Check whether the heads are intact, then we'll submit the mission completion report to the Council."
With that, Kazuma headed toward the sofa, planning to sit down and rest for a bit. But the moment he took a step closer—
Wendy burst into tears.
There was no helping it. As a Dragon Slayer, her senses were far too sharp. Even though Kazuma wasn't deliberately releasing any pressure, Wendy could still smell that overwhelmingly dangerous aura.
"Y-you stay away from Wendy!"
"Don't be scared, Wendy! I'll protect you!"
Carla spread her arms wide and stood in front of Wendy. She glanced at Kazuma, then at the horrified faces frozen on the severed heads nearby.
She swallowed hard. She was terrified too, but she still forced herself to stand her ground.
"Hey, little girl, little kitty, don't be so nervous," Kazuma said with a smile. "I'm not some bad guy. I'm Fairy Tail's current guild master. Kazuma."
Unfortunately, it would have been better if he hadn't smiled.
The moment he did, Wendy and Carla screamed and hugged each other, crying.
"No, no! He's way too scary! My fur is standing on end all by itself!"
Carla shook her head wildly. It wasn't that they didn't want to run. Their legs were completely weak.
"Carla… it's okay. Even if we die, we'll die together!"
Wendy clung to her, speaking like she was delivering her last words.
...
On the other side of the room—
"The Six Demon Generals' leader… Angel, Cobra, Hoteye, Racer, and Midnight. All their heads are here."
"They're real. You can still feel lingering magic on them."
Jura was the first to recover from Kazuma's oppressive presence. Trembling, he carefully examined the heads.
When he finished, his expression only grew more stunned. He looked at Kazuma, completely uninjured, then back at the heads on the floor.
"With one person's strength… without a single scratch… no, wait. They should have arrived today too."
"That means, while we were waiting, he single-handedly wiped out one of the Three Great Dark Guilds, the Six Demon Generals."
A chill ran through Jura's entire body. It was fear born from power far beyond his understanding.
"Jura… how strong were the Six Demon Generals, really?"
Lyon walked up beside him. The impatience and arrogance from earlier were gone, replaced by silence.
"Very strong," Jura said slowly. "If I let my guard down, I could be killed even in a one-on-one fight."
"One against six… I probably wouldn't stand a chance to do anything."
Despite carrying the title of one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Jura knew he was still far behind people like Makarov or Jose.
"Fairy Tail, the strongest guild in Fiore… if they can erase one of the Three Great Dark Guilds with just one person…"
"Doesn't that mean he could wipe out all of us by himself?"
Lyon sounded like he was asking a question, but it felt more like he was begging Jura to deny what he was thinking.
Jura said nothing.
Because Lyon was probably right... Fairy Tail really could do something like that.
"Guild Master Kazuma, congratulations on becoming Fairy Tail guildmaster," Ichiya said brightly. "Our master wanted to visit and congratulate you, but we got assigned a mission so suddenly."
"So we didn't have time. Oh, and our guild master and your former master, Makarov, are good friends."
Ichiya immediately led his troupe of pretty boys forward to flatter him. Even those who usually hated men were acting obedient now.
After all, the heads were still right there on the floor. They had no choice but to behave.
"I know," Kazuma said with a smile. "The old man told me. From now on, we're allies."
"Yes, allies. Friendly allies," Ichiya replied eagerly.
He hadn't realized it yet. He thought Kazuma meant a normal guild alliance.
What Kazuma meant was the Fairy Tail Grand Alliance.
"Um… since everything's over," Wendy said timidly, raising her hand, "can we… go home now?"
"Kid…"
"YES!" Wendy snapped to attention instantly.
"Don't be so scared. Life and death are normal between mages," Kazuma said calmly. "If you can't face that calmly, you won't become a qualified mage."
"And honestly, I like kids quite a bit. Especially cute girls like you. I know a lot of them."
He reached out and gently patted Wendy on the head, recalling what Porlyusica had told him before.
"Grandeeney… the Dragon King Festival… the Black Dragon Acnologia," Kazuma murmured. "Let's see who ends up destroying who."
A faint red light flickered in his eyes. In the past, he might have been worried. Now, he only had one thought.
The Black Dragon's claws may be sharp, but the fangs of Damocles are no less so.
"W-Wendy, are you okay?!"
Carla looked at Kazuma, then at Wendy, who seemed frozen in place. She tugged gently at Wendy's skirt.
"I-I'm fine," Wendy said softly. "Carla, he… he doesn't seem that scary anymore. Just now, I felt something besides fear."
When Kazuma's hand came down, Wendy had truly thought she was going to die.
But when it actually touched her head, she realized those hands weren't frightening at all.
They were warm. Strangely warm.
"Oh, right," Kazuma said suddenly. "Kid, are you looking for a dragon named Grandeeney?"
"Yes!" Wendy's eyes lit up instantly. "Grandeeney is my mother! I—I've been looking for her! Do you know where she is?!"
Her longing for Grandeeney completely overwhelmed her fear of Kazuma. She grabbed his hand without thinking and looked up at him eagerly.
"Hmm… I don't know," Kazuma said. "But I can introduce you to someone. If you meet her, I think you'll be very happy."
"And she'll definitely like you too."
He thought of Porlyusica. The old lady was pretty lonely. Bringing her a little apprentice to keep her company would probably make her very happy.
"Who is she? Does she know anything about Grandeeney?"
"I—I really want to meet her. Please, let me see her."
Still holding Kazuma's hand, Wendy pleaded earnestly, her eyes shining.
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