"Lyon!"
Gray cried out in surprise as he stared at the man who'd frozen Ichiya.
Seeing his shirtless junior, Lyon froze; he clearly hadn't expected to run into Gray here. He snorted and flung the creature in his hand toward him.
Gray dodged the projectile—Ichiya. "What are you doing, Lyon!"
"You struck first." Lyon chuckled. "I'm a Mage of Lamia Scale now; your actions could be taken as a challenge, couldn't they?"
Lyon's words irritated the Blue Pegasus contingent.
Ivan: "That's harsh."
Ren: "And you dared lay a hand on our Ichiya-sama…"
Hibiki: "Why don't you boys head home before you scare the girls?"
The moment Hibiki spoke, every male in the hall turned to stare. The guy really was a born Host. Just then, two more people walked in.
One was Sherry, the only female Mage in the Guild Alliance besides Lucy. Originally one of Lyon's three subordinates on Karna Island, she'd followed him into Lamia Scale.
The other was a tall man holding a slender magic wand. His tremendous magic power silenced the noisy crowd the instant he appeared.
Ichiya stood, straightened his white suit, and stepped forward. "I never expected Grandma Oba to send you, Jura-sir."
The towering man called Jura said gravely, "Oración Seis's goal is too dangerous. To stop them claiming 'Nirvana,' we need our strongest fighters."
Natsu looked at Lucy beside him, puzzled. "Who's that?"
Lucy didn't know, but Blue Pegasus's Hibiki answered, "Jura of the Iron Rock, Lamia Scale's ace—and a Ten Wizard Saint."
Lucy clapped a hand over her mouth in shock.
For security, each guild's team had been kept in the dark about the others; none had expected a Saint-level powerhouse.
After a few words with Ichiya, Jura turned to Natsu and the rest. "Which S-Class Mage did Fairy Tail send?"
Before Natsu could answer, Jura sensed something and looked to the second floor where a black-robed figure sat on the railing.
"It's you!"
"Fairy Tail's most mysterious man—Mystogan!"
A spark of excitement lit Jura's normally calm face. "I've always wanted to test myself against you. If possible—"
"Not interested."
Mystogan's reply was as terse as ever.
Jura let it drop; a duel could wait. He counted the members of the three guilds.
Fairy Tail: four humans and one cat.
Blue Pegasus: four.
Lamia Scale: three.
Jura nodded. "All three guilds are present. Now we're only missing the Mage from Blue Moon."
Ichiya said, "I hear that guild sent just one person to the Alliance."
Everyone frowned.
For a mission as dangerous as crushing Oración Seis, Blue Moon was dispatching a single Mage—how powerful must that person be? While they wondered, hurried footsteps echoed down the villa's corridor.
All eyes turned to the hall's doorway as a cute little girl—about eleven or twelve with long dark-blue hair—ran in and promptly executed a classic face-plant.
A bad feeling swept the room.
The girl scrambled up, dusted her skirt, and spoke in a soft, sweet voice, "Um… sorry I'm late. I'm Wendy from Blue Moon. Nice to meet you!"
The announcement made everyone blanch. What was Blue Moon thinking, bringing a child on a mission against Oración Seis?
Sherry couldn't help protesting. "What is their master thinking, sending such a cute kid alone—"
"She isn't alone."
The voice came from the doorway. There stood a white cat in a little dress who, like Happy, could speak human tongue.
Wendy stared at the cat. "Carla, why did you follow me…?"
Carla placed her paws on her hips. "Obviously. No one's comfortable letting you come by yourself."
Jura tapped his staff on the floor. "Good. Now every guild is represented."
The others still felt Wendy was far too young, but if Jura, Ichiya, and Mystogan raised no objection, they would just have to watch out for her.
After all, the big shots had spoken; they'd simply keep the girl safe.
Wendy's adorable looks quickly drew the full attention of The Thunder God Tribe, who waited on her like princesses-in-waiting, leaving Lucy and Sherry at a loss. She was only eleven!
Watching Lucy and Sherry snatch Wendy away from the trio, Natsu frowned thoughtfully; he felt he'd seen her somewhere before but couldn't place it.
"Hey, Gray, help me think."
Think about what? Gray was baffled; Natsu's brain had short-circuited again.
Once Lucy and Sherry pulled her aside, Wendy relaxed. Glancing up, she spotted Mystogan sitting alone on the second-floor rail.
A jolt of familiarity struck her.
She ran beneath him, stared into his eyes, and asked tremulously, "Big brother… may I see your face?"
Everyone turned, curious whether the cloaked Mage would refuse the sweet child.
Truth be told, they all wanted to know what lay beneath that mask; even Natsu and the others were dying of curiosity.
Mystogan didn't move; he simply gazed at Wendy.
Just as disappointment spread, he sighed and, dropping the fake gravelly tone, spoke gently: "Wendy… long time no see."
Tears instantly flooded Wendy's eyes; she looked ready to burst into sobs.
Mystogan leapt down and knelt before her, resting a hand on her head. "Sorry, Wendy. I've been gone so long. My name is Mystogan now."
Without a word Wendy threw herself into his arms and wept.
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