Finn rubbed his temples, staring at the live feed on his desk monitor. If his elite guards were truly so useless that they couldn't even properly intimidate a ragged group of Fairy Tail mages, he might as well fire them all. He absolutely despised the concept of "plot armor" or "protagonist aura." It was a ridiculous crutch for a chaotic world.
He recalled the historical records of the Magic Council, noting how many times the previous headquarters had been completely obliterated by random mages. He let out a long, exhausted sigh. This world really is ridiculous.
Ignoring the commotion outside his gates, he leaned back in his leather chair and continued stamping documents.
Through his mental link, his cold voice echoed in the minds of his security chiefs. "Should I repeat my orders?"
"No, Sir!"
Instantly, the chaotic perimeter shifted. His guards snapped out of their momentary daze, swearing to themselves they wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
Outside the grand gates of the Magic Council's Fiore Branch, the surviving members of Fairy Tail were entirely dumbfounded. They stared at the smoking crater where the heavy iron gates used to be.
Then, all at once, they screamed: "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, NATSU?!"
"I DON'T CARE! I'M GONNA—"
Natsu's words died in his throat.
Click. Clack. Click.
The terrifying sound of hundreds of magical gun mechanisms locking into place echoed through the courtyard. In the blink of an eye, the core members of Fairy Tail were completely surrounded by heavily armored Rune Knights. Every single barrel was aimed directly at their heads, including Makarov's.
"Wait! Wait! Please stop!"
Bisca sprinted forward, throwing her arms out defensively, desperately trying to stop the Council soldiers from opening fire on her family. "We don't intend to start a war! We're from Fairy Tail! We just came to talk with the Chief! There's nothing else to it!"
If there was one reason the guards hadn't immediately opened fire, it was because of Bisca. She was the only outsider who had clearance to frequently move in and out of the estate. Still, letting a hothead like Natsu blow up the main gate was a massive dereliction of duty.
A high-ranking guard stepped forward, his eyes cold beneath his visor. "Connell. While we trust you, we have zero reason to trust the vagrants behind you. Tell them to power down their magic immediately. The absolute moment one of them makes a move, we will officially label Fairy Tail a Dark Guild. Is that what you wish?"
Bisca froze. She slowly turned her head. Natsu's fists were ignited, Gray was stripping off his shirt, and Erza had already materialized a sword in her hand. They were actually trying to fight the Magic Council!
Suddenly, a massive shadow fell over them. Makarov had drastically expanded his size, towering over his own guild members.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!
"Guwah!"
"It hurts!"
"Gramps, what are you doing?!"
Makarov's giant fist slammed into his own guild, pinning Natsu, Gray, and Erza to the cobblestones.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU IDIOTS!" Makarov roared, his mustache bristling with absolute fury. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU BLOW UP THE COUNCIL GATE?!"
Makarov was sweating bullets. Before coming here, he had quietly asked Yajima—a former Council member—about the new Head of the Fiore Branch. Yajima's opinion had been grimly complex. The results of Finn's leadership were undeniable... but his methods were utterly ruthless and... slightly corrupt.
Makarov knew Fairy Tail absolutely could not afford to make an enemy of the Magic Council right now. But he never expected them to instantly threaten a Dark Guild designation!
Makarov shrank back down, dusting off his coat, and bowed his head respectfully to the guard. "My name is Makarov Dreyar, the Third Master of Fairy Tail. I deeply apologize for the reckless actions of my children. But isn't threatening us with a Dark Guild designation a bit extreme?"
"It is," the guard replied flatly.
"...." Makarov stared at him.
"The Chief understands that labeling you a Dark Guild would be politically difficult, given your historical allies," the guard continued, his voice devoid of emotion. "So, instead, we will simply put your guild on indefinite probation. We will freeze all your accounts, demand immediate payment for your entire debt, and legally ban every single member from accepting quests. We will starve you until you are forced into homelessness."
"..."
Makarov, Gray, Erza, Natsu, Lucy, and everyone else stood entirely frozen, the blood draining from their faces.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Natsu roared, struggling under Makarov's grip.
"Try it, Flame-Boy," the guard sneered, staring down the barrel of his rifle directly at Natsu's forehead. "The absolute second you make a hostile move, we will pay you back a hundredfold—"
Suddenly, all the guards stiffened. They lowered their weapons in perfect unison, stepping back as a cold voice echoed in their minds.
The guard sighed, shaking his head. "Anyway... if you show us respect, we will respect you. Is this how a so-called 'legal guild' operates? By forcefully blowing up government property?"
"....." Fairy Tail remained dead silent.
"My words are useless anyway. The Chief told me to bring you in. Follow me."
As they were escorted into the massive estate, the air grew incredibly heavy. Hundreds of hidden magical sentries tracked their every movement. The sheer density of security arrays made Erza's skin prickle with tension. This man is incredibly dangerous, she thought.
Natsu remained uncharacteristically silent. Beating up a bad guy was easy. But making his family homeless? He couldn't do that. The enemy wasn't some weak thug like the Twilight Ogre guild; this was the political titan of Fiore. Unless they wanted to become hunted criminals, they had to play by the rules.
"Natsu..." Happy lowered his ears, sensing his partner's deep frustration.
"Honestly... who in their right mind blows up a gate?" Carla sighed helplessly.
"Carla, shh!" Wendy frantically covered the white cat's mouth.
Bisca walked silently behind the group. She knew it was useless to lecture Natsu. But inwardly, to save her guild from utter destruction, she had already made up her mind. She would offer Finn whatever he wanted from her to wipe the debt away. It was the only way.
"This is the place. The Chief is working. Remain absolutely quiet until he addresses you."
Those were the guard's final words before the heavy double doors swung open.
The core members of Fairy Tail stepped into a sprawling, immaculate office. The air smelled of bitter black coffee and expensive tobacco. Behind a massive mahogany desk sat Finn.
He was breathtakingly handsome, yet radiated an aura of absolute ice. He wore a crisp, double-breasted black suit with a tailored coat draped over his shoulders. A lit cigar dangled lazily from his lips. His dark blonde hair fell neatly across his forehead as he quietly reviewed a stack of documents, completely ignoring the legendary mages standing in his office.
Dozens of his secretaries typed away at their stations, paying Fairy Tail no mind.
"..."
The silence stretched on for five agonizing minutes. Finn didn't even look up. He treated them as if they didn't exist.
"Calm down! Calm down!" Gray frantically whispered, grabbing Erza's arm as she began to furiously step forward, insulted by the blatant disrespect.
But while Gray stopped Erza, he completely forgot to grab Natsu.
"STOP IGNORING US, YOU BASTARD!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Flames erupted in the office as Natsu leaped forward, slamming his burning fist directly into the center of Finn's mahogany desk, shattering the expensive wood into a thousand burning splinters.
The room went dead silent. The secretaries didn't even flinch.
Finn calmly brushed a few burning embers off his tailored sleeve, taking a slow, deliberate drag from his cigar. He finally looked up, his predatory eyes locking onto Makarov.
"That was a custom-made desk worth exactly three million Jewels," Finn said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "I sincerely hope you have the cash to pay for that, Master Makarov."
"......."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Makarov's agonizing, soul-crushing scream echoed through the entire estate.