"Natsu!!" Upon hearing Natsu's words, Happy lunged into his arms, his eyes brimming with tears.
"I had already forgotten about that, thank you for remembering!"
Gently stroking the little cat's head, Natsu said softly, "No one is allowed to bully you!"
"If anyone dares to harm a single hair on your body, I will wipe out their entire guild!"
Happy was moved to tears, wiping his eyes and nose all over Natsu's clothes.
"Natsu!" Happy suddenly called out weakly.
Looking at Happy with a face full of affection, Natsu asked, "What is it?"
Happy suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, "WHERE IS THE BIG FISH YOU PROMISED ME?!"
"How long has it been?! You promised me a big fish and you haven't delivered!"
"You've eaten your fill, but I've starved until I'm thin! Look at me, I've shrunk a whole size!"
"You must fulfill your promise and give me that big fish today!!"
Natsu shrugged.
Well then.
He had completely misread the emotional moment.
The thing Happy cared about most was still his big fish.
Natsu scratched the back of his head and said with a smile, "Wait until the day I can truly eat my fill, then I'll go catch a big fish for you!"
Hearing that, Happy instantly became incredibly gloomy.
To let Natsu eat his fill... who knew how much food that would take? He estimated that even if you added up all the food in an entire city, it might not be enough. Or perhaps only a volcanic eruption where Natsu could eat the magma would do the trick.
The current Natsu was just too gluttonous!
Waiting for Natsu to be full was less realistic than finding his own fish to eat.
"Grumble!!" A strange sound echoed.
Natsu's expression instantly turned sour, and he cursed under his breath, "Damn! Gaining strength is a good thing, but this side effect is too terrifying!"
"It took four months of devouring everything in sight just to get my body to the strength required for Dragon Force."
"If I want to reach END Mode or Demon Dragon Mode in the future, I'm afraid I'll have to eat the entire magic world to get there!"
"I'll pass on Lightning Flame Dragon Mode for now. With every extra mode, the required physical strength must increase several times over!"
"And I'm definitely not eating Laxus's lightning!"
"Natsu! When did you turn into Macao?" Happy looked at him with a face full of disgust.
"Hey! Don't copy Gray, alright? One minute I'm Cana, the next I'm Macao!" Natsu retorted loudly.
"Grumble!" Another strange sound rang out. Natsu felt half of his physical strength vanish, making even walking feel like a chore.
Happy covered his mouth and snickered, intentionally using a rolling tongue: "Muttering is Macao's specialty!"
"Tch!" Natsu didn't have the energy to argue back. He started trudging step by step toward Erza.
He had just managed to get a small snack, destroyed a station, and wiped out the Eisenwald guild, and now he was freaking hungry again.
Life is too hard!
City Hall!
The city's army had surrounded the place so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.
"Damn Dark Mages... the honor of the army cannot be trampled! We must annihilate them!"
"We must capture those Eisenwald mages before the Fairy Tail mages get to them!"
"If we wait for Fairy Tail, this City Hall will end up just like the station!"
"Damn mages... always destroying my buildings without regard for civilians. We must not let them succeed!"
"No mages are allowed into the City Hall! The honor of our army must remain in our own hands!"
...
On the other side...
All the Masters attending the regular meeting of the Magic Guilds had learned about what happened in the neighboring town.
Makarov's soul was practically flying out of his body!
"Another station destroyed... How am I going to pay for this?!!"
Makarov's bitter weeping drew the sympathy of the other Guild Masters.
Goldmine looked at Makarov with a hint of envy: "Though the destructive power is a bit high, their strength is beyond doubt. Four people taking out a whole Dark Guild—they are quite capable!"
Bob was busy trying to catch Makarov's escaping soul: "Makarov-chan! Don't get so worked up. Lullaby hasn't been recovered yet. Let Erza-chan work a bit harder!"
"AHHH!!! If she works any harder, the neighboring town will be gone!" Makarov shrieked. His soul floated even higher, and Bob couldn't reach it even by jumping.
The Magic Council!
Nine councilors stood upon a magic circle.
Siegrain sneered, "That bunch of idiots from Fairy Tail are quite capable, aren't they?"
Ultear smiled, "A bit foolish, but their ability is quite good."
"No! This kind of behavior shouldn't be encouraged. We have to teach them a lesson, especially that Erza!"
Yajima said deeply, "Now is not the time for that. You all know the consequences if Lullaby is played."
"Tens of thousands of deaths in a single city—the Council cannot take that responsibility!"
"We must find a way to stop Eisenwald from playing Lullaby!"
Siegrain sneered, "If Lullaby is played, all of our heads will roll!"
"We'll talk about Fairy Tail later. First, organize mages to stop the flute from being played!"
"The demon created by the Black Mage Zeref!"
"That is an existence none of us can afford to provoke!"
The Magic Council possessed more information than all the guilds combined. Once they pulled the files on the flute, the relevant details were immediately clear.