Just at that moment, the doors to the guild were slammed open with a loud bang, revealing Master's short figure, a stern expression on his face as he stood there with his arms crossed. The guild fell silent, wondering just what had happened.
Erza went up to him and asked, "Master, did the Magic Council say something?"
Master gave a cough and stared at the members of the guild and started, "Oh, in fact they did. I heard many happy tales while I was there. Perhaps you all would like to hear some of it?"
No one dared to reply. Lucy wondered if it was her imagination, but Master seemed to be growing by the second, staring them down with his livid eyes. Gray was the first to face his wrath. He shouted, "Gray! You were supposed to save one girl! Instead I hear of how you took out a building along with several Royal Guards!"
"Eh, well, they were in the way…" Gray mumbled with a guilty look on his face.
"Natsu and Lucy!" Master shouted, turning to them. "Taking down a dark guild does not include taking down half a town! How will you pay for the damage now?"
Lucy slumped down in her seat as she muttered, "But I didn't even do anything…"
"Ahaha, that was a great time, right, Lucy?" Natsu laughed, completely ignoring Master. "We even got a free meal!"
Master just shook his head and said, "Of course, this is all minor compared to the real problem" His eyes fell on Layna, who was calmly finishing a bowl of water as she sat on the table. He shouted, "Layna Nightmare! Putting aside the fact that you broke the rules again, how will you explain the mess you made? There are three towns in need of repairing and a crater in the mountains! You caused a drought in one town and flooded another! You really had the nerve to come back!"
Lucy's mouth dropped open. She stared at Layna, who still looked calm. Together, Erza, Gray and Natsu had destroyed most of the mountains once. To think that Layna had done all that damage by herself… Lucy shivered. She was never going to fight against Layna.
Finally, Layna put down her bowl and jumped onto her feet. She scratched her head and said, "Well, Master, you see, the person I was after was in all of those towns, so I did my best to drive him out of them until he got into the mountains. Besides, the mountains still look as good as ever, and I already gave the towns the money for repairs, brought the water from the first town to the second, so all I had to do was come back and give you this."
She held out her left hand. A magic circle appeared and she dragged something big and heavy out of thin air. It landed on the ground with a dull thump as some coins fell out of the top of the bag, chiming as they hit the floor. Lucy stared at the brown bag in as Layna patted the bag and said, "Ten million jewels, all for you, Master… and of course, this guild."
Jaws were dropping onto the floor as everyone stared at the bag that stood twice Layna's height. Only Erza looked at it with a calm look while Mirajane just continued to smile like it was normal for Layna to have that much money. Master stood firm, his brows furrowed as he said, "You think I'll forgive you because of this?"
"I hope so," Layna said. "Of course, I could just take back the money…"
Master sighed and said, "Fine, fine. I'll let you off just this once. But back to business. I have graver news from the Council."
He took out a small note and held it out to Erza, who read it with a serious look. He said, "A few days ago, the Magic Council intercepted a letter that was about to be sent to the mayor of Magnolia. They called me to discuss the note. It's lucky they did. It could have caused much chaos and trouble for the town."
Everyone crowded around Erza to read the note. Lucy stood on tiptoes and managed to read:
To the mayor of Magnolia and all its residents:
Greetings.
I rather dislike bloodshed, but sometimes that is a necessary means of survival.
To keep casualties at a minimum, please tell the citizens to leave Magnolia for the next few weeks and leave all valuables behind.
If you follow our directions, I promise to leave Magnolia in the condition it is in. If not, be prepared to suffer fighting and chaos.
Everything we want will always become ours.
I wish you a good day.
Grim Reaper
A dead silence seemed to fall over the guild. No one spoke a word as the words of the letter hung grimly over their heads.
"What's Grim Reaper?" Lucy whispered to Levy. She was unnerved by the silence in the guild. Nothing scared or threatened Fairy Tail.
"You don't know? For the past few years, they've been raiding towns of food and money. If they decide to raid a town, everyone has to let them take whatever they want or else there'll be a mass slaughter. No one has been able to fight against them," Levy whispered back. Her fearful look backed up her words.
Lucy let the thought sink in. Her home was being threatened, and they, the strongest guild in Fiore, could do nothing about it? How could that be?
"Old gramps, don't tell me you're letting this guild have their way," Natsu said, breaking the silence. He made a fist with his left hand and planting it into his right like he was ready for a fight.
"Yeah, it's about time someone showed them who's the boss around here," Gray agreed, his clothes somehow disappearing in the process.
Soon, most of the guild members were shouting out ideas and suggestions before Master ordered them to stop. He cleared his throat and said, "Listen up, everyone. This is our home. No one can order us to leave our home and agree to unjust terms. Soon we will be facing a battle to protect our home, our family, and our friends. We will show them the true power of Fairy Tail when we are united as one, but first, I need someone to agree to this plan."
Everyone followed Master's gaze as he stared directly at Layna. She was frowning like she wanted to be elsewhere, but under the watchful eyes of her fellow guild members, she let out a long sigh. When she returned Master's gaze, the wild glint in her eyes that Lucy had first seen had returned as she smirked, "All right. Let's go destroy these bastards."