ERA.
The Magic Council chambers were bathed in soft daylight that filtered through tall stained-glass windows.
Multicolored patterns danced slowly across the polished marble floor, shifting with every subtle change in the light.
Around the massive round table sat the council members, each clad in the heavy robes of their office.
Normally these figures carried themselves with unshakable dignity, their auras deep and commanding.
Today, though, that composure had cracked.
Brows were furrowed so tightly they looked carved from stone.
Lips pressed into thin lines.
Eyes darted with barely concealed frustration—and something sharper.
Apprehension.
Bang!
The wizened old councilman with the pointed goatee and perpetually stern expression brought his palm down hard enough to send ripples racing across the surface of the water in every cup on the table.
"Fairy Tail again!" His voice cracked like dry wood. "This time it was the forest reserve. They didn't level half the woodland like last year, no—but they disturbed dozens of protected Magical Beasts and trampled rare medicinal herbs into mud, it was Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster. Again."
"How many incidents has it been this month alone?" The woman beside him pinched the bridge of her nose, voice thick with exhaustion.
Dark circles shadowed her eyes. "Every single commotion, every single complaint that crosses our desk… there's always the shadow of those lunatics from Fairy Tail lurking somewhere behind it. As long as that guild exists, we will never have a single peaceful day."
A younger councilman leaned forward with a bitter sneer. "And what exactly do you propose we do? Eliminate them? How? Fairy Tail is a legitimate, officially recognized guild. Their strength is no joke. Without ironclad proof of a felony so grave it would turn public opinion against them in an instant, our hands are tied."
He paused, letting the silence settle heavier.
"What's worse…" The Man's voice dropped, almost conspiratorial. "Even if we could move against the guild itself, the current Fairy Tail has Makarov at the helm. And Gildarts Clive backing them from the shadows. And now…" He swallowed once. "Now there's that new variable.... Ace."
The name landed like a stone dropped into still water.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
Eyes met across the table—wide, grave, and unmistakably afraid.
"The Digital Summoner," the goateed elder rasped.
His fingers tightened around the arm of his chair until the knuckles bleached white.
"In what—two years?—he's gone from complete unknown to S-Class in his single year. He's personally dismantled more Dark Guild strongholds than most of us have even heard reports about. And every single one of those Summoned Beasts he calls forth… each one is more monstrous than the last."
He leaned forward, voice dropping to a hoarse whisper.
"I received a sealed intelligence report not three weeks ago. In Hargeon, eyewitnesses saw one of his creatures fighting. The energy signature was comparable to a localized natural disaster. And it wasn't any of the beasts he's publicly shown before."
The sharp-eyed young man cut in, teeth almost grinding together. "That's not even the worst part. The worst part is how fast he's growing unnaturally fast. And yet… he still maintains some kind of twisted moral line. He evacuates innocents before he levels a Dark Guild hideout. He's almost… considerate.... toward ordinary people."
"But toward us? Toward the Council? He ignores our 'rules.' He ignores our mediation orders. He feigns compliance when it suits him and vanishes the moment it doesn't. His personal power is already unreadable. Add those obedient nightmares he summons… If that man isn't stopped soon, he will become an existential threat to the entire magical order."
The woman gave him a flat, tired look. "And who exactly is going to stop him? You?"
The young man's mouth opened, closed.
He looked away.
"Don't pretend any of us wants to volunteer," she continued, softer now. "Besides the Summoned Beasts, there are persistent rumors he also wields Requip Magic. Even if the reports are exaggerated… I have no interest in finding out how much."
Silence stretched again.
The goateed elder finally spoke. "Back when he first started making waves… we should have fabricated whatever excuse we needed. Taken him out before the roots went too deep. Before he became this… this monster."
His words hung in the air, unfinished.
No one contradicted him.
No one agreed out loud either.
They did not know that Ace did not actually possess Requip Magic at all.
....
Meanwhile, far from the polished marble and stained glass, the magic-powered train rattled along the tracks toward Oshibana Town.
Inside one of the passenger cars, the mood could not have been more different.
Natsu was currently the approximate color of old parchment.
He clutched the edge of his seat with white-knuckled fingers, sweat beading on his forehead, cheeks puffed out as he fought a heroic (and losing) battle against motion sickness.
Happy hovered anxiously beside him, offering unhelpful commentary.
"Aye… you're turning green, Natsu.... Like really green."
"Shuddup..."
Lucy sat curled against the window, knees drawn up to her chest.
She kept stealing quick glances across the aisle—at Ace.
Ace lounged back in his seat like someone on holiday.
Legs stretched out, arms folded loosely behind his head.
Gatomon perched elegantly on his right shoulder methodically grooming one of its white paw.
The Digimon looked utterly unbothered by the train's sway or the faint metallic scent of magic in the air.
Lucy finally worked up the courage.
"Um… Ace? Erza?" Her voice came out smaller than she intended. "What… exactly is our mission? I mean, I've heard of Oshibana Town before."
Erza opened her eyes.
The sharp glint inside them made Lucy sit up a fraction straighter.
"Intelligence indicates the Dark Guild Eisenwald has been unusually active in the region," Erza answered, calm and precise.
"We believe their target is a sealed magical artifact hidden within the ancient ruins outside the town. Something powerful enough that Eisenwald would risk open confrontation to obtain it."
Ace cracked one eye open and reached up to scratch lightly behind Gatomon's ear.
The cat leaned into the touch without pausing her grooming.
"Their leader of Eisenwald is Erigor," he added casually. "Wind Magic specialist. Officially rated just shy of S-Class. His attacks are hard to predict and even harder to block once momentum builds."
Erza nodded once. "Our plan is straightforward. We reach Oshibana, then immediately begin surveillance: the main station, all known entrances to the ruins, any open areas large enough to accommodate a large-scale Magic Circle. The instant we spot Eisenwald members, we move. Arrest if possible, neutralize if necessary. If they're after the sealed item, we secure it first—or at minimum reseal it before they can break the wards."
She turned her gaze to Lucy.
"Your Celestial Spirits could prove invaluable here, Lucy. Stay alert, adapt and you'll do fine."
Lucy swallowed hard.
The knot of nerves in her stomach loosened—just a little—at the calm trust in Erza's voice and the easy smile Ace sent her way.
"Yes," she said, firmer this time.
She uncrossed her arms and straightened her back. "I'll do my best."
The train whistle shrieked once as Oshibana Station slid into view.
The team stepped onto the platform in loose formation.
For approximately three seconds, everything was quiet.
Then the air itself screamed.
Without warning, towering walls of tornado erupted from the ground all around the station perimeter.
Spiraling funnels of razor wind connected earth to sky in seconds, howling with enough force to rattle teeth and send loose gravel skittering across the platform like frightened insects.
The entire station was instantly caged.
"It's a trap," Erza said flatly.
Happy's wings beat faster. "Aye… this is bad."