The first-floor hall of the Blue Pegasus villa was enveloped in a deathly stillness following Ankh's show of force.
The floor was cracked, and dust settled slowly.
Ichiya, buried face-first in the dirt, struggled to raise a hand.
Even in this state, he was still making that strange signature gesture with his fingers.
A muffled voice emerged from the soil, "Yo! Ankh-san, so you're here too! A fine Parfum of power!"
"If you dare sniff around Erza again, I'll cut off your nose and throw it in the toilet!"
Ankh's voice was icy, and no one present doubted he was serious.
He glared down at the buried mage.
Ichiya gave an OK sign with his trembling hand and then began struggling to pull his head out of the ground.
"Oof! Hmph!"
The host club trio (Hibiki, Eve, Ren), seeing this, hurried over to help.
They grabbed his legs and yanked Ichiya out like a stubborn radish.
Pop!
"Thank you, Men!" Ichiya gasped, shaking dirt from his hair.
Lucy timidly sidled up to Erza and whispered, "Does that Ichiya guy know you, Erza? Ankh seems to really dislike him. I've never seen Ankh so aggressive."
Erza, looking utterly unfazed now that Ankh had intervened, explained, "My brother and I ran into Ichiya on a mission years ago. He was just as obnoxious back then, so my brother taught him a lesson."
She sighed. "Ichiya is an S-Class Mage from Blue Pegasus. While he can be reliable occasionally, he's mostly quite annoying."
Ankh withdrew his hand, his aura dissipating.
His expression softened once more as he formally introduced Ichiya to the confused group.
"Everyone, this... thing... is Ichiya. He's their ace."
Carla frowned at Ichiya, crossing her arms.
She remarked sarcastically, "All I'm seeing is the 'mostly annoying' part..."
After being pulled out again and dusted off, the three members of The Trimens became considerably more subdued.
They realized Fairy Tail wasn't here to play games.
Hibiki cleared his throat and approached Wendy.
"You must be Miss Wendy, correct? Has Cait Shelter only sent you? It seems the beautiful young lady has earned great trust from Guild Master Robaul~"
Wendy felt somewhat embarrassed by the praise. She giggled nervously as she bowed in greeting.
"Y-Yes! I'll do my best not to be a burden!"
Seeing that a fight was no longer likely between the men, Gray commented boredly, leaning against a pillar.
"Looks like we're only waiting for Lamia Scale's members now. They're late."
"So eager to see us, Gray?"
A cool voice drifted in from the entrance.
Gray's eyes widened.
He quickly turned his gaze toward the door.
A very familiar figure walked in—silver-gray hair and that coat that looked like it could easily slip off his shoulders.
It was Lyon Vastia, Gray's senpai who had parted ways with him at the Cursed Island.
"Lyon? You joined Lamia Scale?!"
Despite his shock, Gray couldn't help but smile slightly. "Seems you've found something you want to do too instead of chasing ghosts."
"It's not just Lyon-sama!"
Beside Lyon came another high-pitched voice that made Lucy's scalp tingle with memories of giant rats.
"Sherry has also joined Lamia Scale for the sake of her love~ for Lyon-sama!"
Sherry Blendy—Lucy's opponent on Galuna Island who had given her quite a hard time back then—posed dramatically next to Lyon.
Natsu watched the two with good humor, laughing. "You guys joined a guild too? That's great! We can fight again!"
Ankh calmly observed the newcomers without greeting them enthusiastically.
Truth be told, back on Galuna Island, Ankh hadn't properly met them face-to-face as "Ankh of Fairy Tail."
When he had confronted Lyon back then to stop the ritual, Ankh had disguised his appearance and identity.
Lyon only knew about a masked man who was with Ultear, which had no connection to his current identity here.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. It seems we're the last to arrive."
A tall, burly man entered behind Lyon and Sherry.
His face was stern and square-jawed, dressed in very distinctive folk-style clothing, holding a staff, and sporting a very noticeable, shiny bald head.
"Jura."
Lyon and Sherry immediately made way for him, showing clear respect.
Erza looked at the man who appeared forty but was actually twenty-seven.
She leaned over to explain to the clueless Lucy beside her.
"That is Jura Neekis. He is Lamia Scale's ace Mage. His strength far surpasses mine. Like my brother, he's one of the Ten Wizard Saints."
Lucy swallowed nervously. "Ten Wizard Saints? So this uncle has strength similar to Ankh and the Master?"
Jura obviously overheard Lucy and Erza's whispered conversation.
His intimidating, authoritative bald head turned toward them.
However, his tone was surprisingly humble and gentle:
"That's absolutely not the case, young lady. The title is awarded by the Council based on strength, yes. But among the Ten Wizard Saints, I'm merely the lowest-ranked. Even with the same title, the difference between Ankh-san and myself is quite substantial. He is a monster in his own league."
Gray clearly had more confidence in Ankh than in himself.
He smirked at Lucy, "See? Have some faith in our own people, Lucy. If we're talking about pure strength, if Ankh got serious, I doubt even the Master could win against him."
Hearing this, Ankh and Jura showed little reaction, accepting the praise and humility respectively.
But Lyon, standing nearby, immediately glared and sneered at Gray:
"Gray, Jura-san was just being polite. It's not your place to judge. Jura-san is incredibly powerful."
Gray's gaze turned sharp as he curled his lips. "I'm just stating facts. Ankh is stronger."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
Seeing the two fellow disciples at odds, Sherry immediately chimed in to support her "love."
Natsu, spotting another opportunity for action, began shouting about settling things with another fight.
Lucy couldn't help but whisper to Erza, "Their argument is so strange..."
Erza nodded. "Defending one's guild members and refusing to back down—such behavior was common among immature young Mages."
Though she privately agreed Jura couldn't compare to Ankh.
In short, it was a slightly childish debate between two youngsters arguing over whose big brother was more impressive.
"Wait a minute!"
Just then, Hibiki from the Host Trio suddenly shouted, interrupting the tension.
"Our Ichiya-sama is also the ace of Blue Pegasus—he's no less impressive than any of you! Don't forget him!"
"Men~?" Ichiya chimed in with his signature catchphrase, posing.
The scene suddenly fell silent.
A few seconds later, the two youngsters (Gray and Lyon) and their respective supporters resumed their debate, everyone pretending not to have heard the Host Trio's remarks.
The Blue Pegasus members lined up in the corner, squatting on the ground in dejected tears.
"Ignored..."
"Alright, enough squabbling. Let's discuss the battle plan," Ankh interjected timely, finally calming everyone down with a clap of his hands.
Blue Pegasus then rallied.
Ichiya leaped up, recovering instantly. He struck a proud pose under the spotlight as he declared.
"Excellent! Now that everyone is here, let me explain the plan we've devised!"
"First, the location of Oración Seis is in the Worth Woodsea..."
Ichiya paused, his face turning pale.
He suddenly sidestepped to make an escape.
"But before that, I must experience the Parfume of the restroom—"
Clap.
A hand abruptly pressed down on Ichiya's head, stopping him in his tracks.
Ankh smiled menacingly as he stared at the now-sweating Ichiya.
"Finish speaking first. Or hold it forever."
Ichiya elegantly conceded. "Understood!"
He waddled back under the spotlight with his legs clamped together tight.
Ankh released his grip.
As Ichiya began the briefing, Ankh casually glanced toward the second-floor corridor.
He saw a small, dark figure flash past in the shadows and vanish.