Chapter 335: Prepare for War!
"Dante you're okay" stated Mira in a happy and relieved tone when Dante walked into the guildhall along with the rest of the rescue team. Soon Mira had her arms around Dante as she hugged him tightly. Smiling at Mira's affection, Dante started to speak.
"I told you I would be Mira. Me being okay shouldn't be a surprise. I'll always come back home to you" responded Dante in a warm tone as he returned Mira's hug. Mira smiled sweetly at her big brother and husband before she leaned forward and kissed him lovingly on the lips. Wrapping her arms tighter around Dante, Mira imparted all of the love and affection she had for her husband through the heated kiss. After a short while Mira leaned back from Dante's lips and started to speak.
"I know that Dante but I still worry about you, I can't help it" responded Mira in her signature sweet tone. Smiling lovingly at his little sister and wife, Dante started to speak.
"I suppose I can understand Mira. I still worry about you even though there are very few people who can take you on in battle" responded Dante in a playful tone before he captured Mira's lips with his own. Moaning into her big brother's open mouth, Mira enjoyed the wonderful feeling of kissing Dante. After a short while Mira leaned back from Dante's lips and started to speak.
"I'm just glad the rescue mission went well" responded Mira in a happy tone. Nodding his head as he stepped back from Mira's loving embrace, Dante started to speak.
"We were able to rescue Master Markov with little problems" responded Dante with a smile as he motioned towards Markov. At this point the entire guild was watching the interaction as Markov started to speak to all of them.
"It's good to see all of my precious children again. Seeing that Fairy Tail has remained together despite everything warms my heart" stated Markov to the entire guild. Loud celebrations broke out, everyone cheering for the safe return of Markov. Motioning for everyone to quite down for a moment, Dante started to speak.
"Master Markov isn't the only person joining us. Fairy Tail has a new member and I'd like all of you to welcome her with open arms" stated Dante with a kind smile as he gestured towards Winter who was standing next to him. Right before Dante was about to announce Winter's name to the guild, Weiss stepped out of the crowd and started to speak.
"W-Winter?! Is that really you" asked Weiss in disbelief. Winter smiled at her little sister as she started to speak.
"Yes Weiss, it's really me" responded Winter with some tears of joy in her eyes. Weiss took a moment to process the fact that her long lost older sister was still alive and standing in front of her before she rushed over to Winter. Crashing into Winter, Weiss wrapped her arms around her little sister as she started to speak.
"I t-thought you were dead" responded Weiss between chocked sobs as she realized that Winter was real. Returning the hug, Winter started to speak.
"I thought the same thing about you Weiss. I'm glad to see you are safe and happy" responded Winter in a warm tone. Weiss took a moment to continue hugging her long lost sister before she stepped back and wiped away her tears of joy before she started to speak.
"I don't understand how" asked Weiss trying to understand how Winter could still be alive. Smiling at her little sister, Winter started to speak.
"There will be time for that later when I can explain to you what happened. For now let's just enjoy being together again" responded Winter in a warm tone. Nodding her head in agreement, Weiss decided for now to simply enjoy being reunited with Winter. Clearing his throat in order to bring everyone's attention back to him, Dante started to speak.
"Like I was saying. Fairy Tail has a new member. This new member was until recently a high ranking official in the Alvarez Empire and without her help we could never have rescued Master Markov. Please join me in welcoming Winter Schnee as a proud member of Fairy Tail" stated Dante to the crowd. The guild erupted into loud cheers as everyone welcomed Winter as a member of Fairy Tail. Touched by the warm welcome, Winter started to speak.
"Thank you everyone. Already I feel as if Fairy Tail will be a wonderful home" responded Winter with a smile, thinking that she made the right choice. While Winter was a high ranking officer in the Alvarez Empire, it never felt like a home. Fairy Tail already felt like a home despite Winter being a member for a short time. While the guild erupted into celebrations for Winter joining Fairy Tail, Dante and Markov slipped unnoticed into the guild master's office.
"I know we talked about it a bit on the ship but we should discuss what's coming for Fairy Tail" stated Dante in a serious tone, the loud celebrations could be heard from beyond the closed office door. Nodding his head, Markov started to speak.
"It pains me that I was unable to prevent such a thing from occurring but war is coming for Fairy Tail" responded Markov in a serious and worried tone since his precious children where in grave danger.
"You're certain that Emperor Spriggan is Zeref? There's no change you mistook his identity" asked Dante hoping that Markov would say yes.
"There is no doubt that Emperor Spriggan and the black wizard Zeref are the same person. Zeref intends to use the power of the Fairy Heart to defeat Acnologia" responded Markov while Dante let out a tired sigh before he started to speak.
"I guess there's some comfort knowing Zeref and Acnologia aren't on the same side although it really doesn't matter since both of them want to destroy Fairy Tail. If we're lucky maybe they will kill each other" responded Dante in a somewhat joking tone.
"I don't think we can count on such luck" responded Markov while Dante nodded his head in agreement.
"Yah you're right. We can't let Zeref get his hands on the Fairy Heart. Besides it being the body of our first master, we can't let someone like Zeref get his hands on infinite magical power" responded Dante in a serious tone.
"Zeref will stop at nothing to get the Fairy Heart and he has an entire empire at his command" responded Markov in a steady tone. Nodding his head in agreement, Dante started to speak.
"Which means war. Fairy Tail has to go to war with the Alveraz Empire" responded Dante with a tired sigh. Nodding his head, Markov started to speak.
"Yes, very soon the Alvarez Empire will march onto Fairy Tail. We must evacacute the guild before that" Markov started to say before Dante cut him off.
"Come on are you really trying to sacrifice yourself for the guild" asked Dante in a somewhat annoyed tone. Seeing that he still had Markov's attention, Dante continued to speak.
"We just got done saving you, there is no way I am letting you put yourself in danger to save everyone else. Like it or not this war involves every member of Fairy Tail, it's up to each individual member if they want to participate and you already know what their answer will be" stated Dante with a smile.
"You are just children; you have no idea what sort of danger" Markov started to say before Dante started to speak.
"Master you forget that I was on the magical council for the past year. For the past year I've done nothing but prepare for a potential war against the Alveraz Empire. We are not completely unprepared; I've made certain preparations and have trained like crazy" responded Dante with a confidant smile. Seeing that he still had Markov's full attention, Dante continued to speak.
"I know the Alvarez Empire is strong but so is Fairy Tail. We can do this if we all stand together, you have my word on that as the Seventh Master of Fairy Tail" stated Dante in a confidant tone. Markov took a moment to consider these words before he started to speak.
"Very well, if you feel this strongly about it then I will not stand in your way seventh master" responded Markov, proud of the leader Dante had become. Smiling at Markov, Dante started to speak.
"Let's go inform the guild then, it's time they knew everything" responded Dante as he started to walk out of the office with Markov following behind him. Soon Dante and Markov had explained the situation to the rest of the guild and it was silent in the newly constructed guildhall before Lucy started to speak.
"We really have to go to war with the Alvarez Empire" asked Lucy in a worried tone. Nodding his head, Dante started to speak.
"Yes, war is unavoidable by this point. Zeref and the Alvarez Empire is coming for the body of our first master. They seek the eternal magical power of the Fairy Heart, we cannot allow that to happen. I know this is asking a lot and that this will be the toughest challenge Fairy Tail has ever faced, but we must fight not just for Fairy Tail but for all of Fiore. If anyone wishes to not fight, raise your hands now" responded Dante to the entire guild. A moment of silence followed while not a single person raised their hand. After another moment of silence, Gray started to speak.
"Come on, did you really think anyone was going to raise their hand" asked Gray with a smile.
"That's right, Fairy Tail has never backed down before and this is no different" responded Erza in a confident tone. Slamming his fist into his open palm, Natsu started to speak.
"Oh, yah I'm all fired up" yelled Natsu in an excited tone. Smiling at his guild family, Dante started to speak.
"If you are all on board then listen up. The information that Master Markov has gathered tells us that it will take two weeks for the Alverez Empire to muster their forces. We have two weeks to prepare. The first thing that needs to get done is a total evacuation of Magnolia. The city will become the battleground for the way, and we can't have innocents caught in the crossfire" shouted Dante to the guild. After saying these words Dante formed teams to help with the evacuation while assigning other teams to sore up the defenses around the guild hall and the city itself. Once the teams were formed, Dante continued to speak.
"While you are focused on your assigned task I will call an emergency meeting with the magical council. I may not be a member of the council anymore, but I still have enough clout to call a meeting. The council will be ready to assist Fairy Tail when the time comes" shouted Dante thinking he liked his chances of success if the other Wizard Saints and Gods of Isgar stood with them. Seeing that everyone understood what they needed to do, Dante continued to speak.
"One last thing before you are all dismissed. This fight will be the toughest challenge ever but don't let fear consume you for even a moment. Remember that you are not going through any of this alone. In Fairy Tail you never shoulder your burdens alone, you always have your Fairy Tail family standing beside you. Together Fairy Tail can accomplish anything and you have my word as your Seventh Master that Fairy Tail will win this fight" shouted Dante to the cheers of the entire guild. After Dante concluded his speech the guild went about their assigned task.
"That was a fine speech seventh master" stated Markov with a proud smile. Giving Markov an annoyed look, Dante started to speak.
"You better not call me that all the time master" responded Dante in an annoyed tone. Laughing at Dante's response, Markov started to speak.
"Sorry my boy but I couldn't help it. It makes me proud to finally seeing you fill the role as guild master" responded Markov in a proud tone. Not helping the smile that broke across his face, Dante started to speak.
"Yah well I still will need your guidance master so don't think about retirement just yet" responded Dante in an amused tone. Dante knew that the next two weeks would be crucial, he would have to do everything he could to prepare. It didn't matter what the Alvarez Empire throws at them, Dante would defend his guild no matter what. With Fairy Tail standing beside him, Dante knew that failure wasn't possible, they would win he was sure of that.
End of Chapter 335