The members of the Fairy Tail Guild soon arrived at the Heartfilia Family's territory and began walking on foot; flying directly into someone's home would be somewhat impolite.
Gray couldn't help but remark, "This town is huge, and the scenery is quite nice!"
Erza looked up at the warm sunlight in the sky and smiled. "It gives off a peaceful feeling."
Although the town was large, it lacked the bustle of daily life; not a single person could be seen.
Lucy stretched comfortably and said with a smile, "No, this is already my home's garden!"
She pointed ahead. "Everything up to that mountain over there is my home."
"A garden??"
Everyone looked up at the distant, barely visible mountain peaks and was instantly petrified.
Lucy asked in confusion, "Eh, what's wrong with everyone?"
"What do you mean 'what's wrong'?!"
The group snapped out of it, their faces full of envy and jealousy. That damnable Lucy—how could she ask what was wrong so nonchalantly? This was a blatant show of wealth.
Gajeel's jaw nearly hit the ground. "Is this a rich person's house? Just how big is it?"
"What a dazzling light!"
I wouldn't even dare to dream of this!"
Thinking of their own humble homes—most of them still lived in dorms—they shed tears of envy.
They were all in the same guild, yet the wealth gap was simply too vast.
"Young Lady!"
"I didn't realize your family was this rich!"
Although they had long known the Heartfilia Family was wealthy, they hadn't expected it to be this exaggerated.
Makarov and Mavis sighed even more. They felt that even if they sold the entire guild as a package, they couldn't afford a single garden at Lucy's house. It was heartbreaking.
Lucy waved her hand modestly. "It's alright!"
Happy crossed his small paws and commented, "Lucy must be feeling very smug inside."
The place where he and Natsu lived wasn't even as good as a doghouse here.
Unable to stand their resentful expressions, Lucy hurriedly said, "Alright, alright! Let's get moving, there's still a long way to go."
After walking for a full hour, the group finally saw a castle on a vast and desolate plain. It was exquisite and elegant, though half of it had collapsed, ruining its beauty.
They continued along the path for another ten minutes before finally arriving at the main gate.
They discovered the castle was more severely damaged than it had appeared from a distance. There were not only traces of magic attacks and fire burns but also dried blood and piles of rubble.
"Young Lady, you're back!"
"Thank goodness, you're safe!"
"The Fairy Tail emblem... are you Young Lady Lucy's companions?"
The servants of the Heartfilia Family saw Lucy leading the Fairy Tail group and crowded around them excitedly.
Lucy looked at their injured state and hurriedly asked Mrs. Spruit at the front, "What exactly happened at home? Who did this?"
Though they were servants, they were elders who had watched her grow up; they were family to her. It pained her to see any of them hurt.
Mrs. Spruit said urgently, "Things haven't been peaceful lately. Please, go see Lady Layla quickly."
Lucy nodded. "Okay!"
No matter what happened, her Fairy Tail companions were all here; any trouble would be resolved.
Soon, the group reached the interior of the castle. On a hospital bed, they saw two women who looked seventy to eighty percent similar to Lucy, both wearing patient gowns and wrapped in bandages.
Natsu shouted, "Lucy, you have two moms?"
The others were also surprised. If Lucy were placed next to them with the same hairstyle, it would be truly difficult to tell them apart.
However, one could still tell by their eyes; Lucy's eyes still held a hint of clear stupidity.
Lucy explained, "The one on the left is my mother, and the one on the right is my aunt."
Anna had come from four hundred years ago. To avoid unnecessary trouble, she was publicly declared as Layla's older sister. Only Layla, Anna, and Jude knew the truth; it was even hidden from Lucy.
Layla looked at the Fairy Tail group and expressed her apologies. "I'm sorry I can't get up to host you."
"Mrs. Spruit, please arrange for more chairs to be brought in."
Makarov waved his hand and smiled. "Don't go to any trouble, the youngsters can just stand."
"That won't do!"
Under Layla's instructions, servants soon brought in chairs for everyone, along with fruit and snacks.
This sickroom was twice as large as the Fairy Tail Guild hall. No matter how chaotic the group was, it wouldn't be crowded.
Setting chaos aside, even the usually rowdy Natsu and Gray were somewhat restrained. After all, they were in the presence of elders and in such a luxurious castle.
The exquisite ornaments and walls seemed to shine with a dazzling light; they were afraid they might break something and be unable to pay for it.
Lucy walked to the bedside, her eyes welling with tears. "Mom, Auntie, who beat you up like this?"
Layla stroked her head and said gently, "Lucy, why are you back?"
Lucy took out the s-class mission and said, "I saw the mission posted by the family. Why didn't you tell me the house was attacked?"
Layla was both surprised and gratified; her daughter was already able to take on s-class missions.
She explained, "The enemies this time are very strong. There were two groups in total: one was for the Eclipse Gate, and the other was for the infinite clock."
Acnologia frowned slightly. "Two groups?"
He suddenly realized things were more complicated than imagined; there might be something deeper hidden within.
In the original Key of the Starry Sky Arc, the Legion Troops of the Sendorfia Church were deceived by Lapointe, created by the Oración Seis, into seizing the infinite clock.
However, the Oración Seis hadn't been released from prison yet, and the Sendorfia Church wasn't evil. Even if they wanted to seize the parts of the infinite clock, they shouldn't have used this method.
As for the Eclipse Gate... events involving space-time were always serious, but the infinite clock might be even more troublesome.
Layla continued, "There were only two people who came to snatch the Eclipse Gate, but their strength was terrifying. All the Mage guards were killed. If it weren't for the fact that they weren't interested in us, no one would have survived."
She and her ancestor Anna had fought back together. Although they no longer had the zodiac keys, their magic power was genuinely Super S-Class, yet the opponent defeated them with just a wave of a hand.
"What was their identity? Any clues?"
Makarov felt that the lady named Anna was not inferior to himself in the slightest. Who could have such ability?
Layla shook her head. "The opponent's strength is immense, but I've never seen them, nor have I ever heard of them."
"The second group that snatched the infinite clock parts came afterward. At that time, we had little resistance left, and all the parts were taken by them."
"They said they were the Legion Troops of the Sendorfia Church, and they wanted to use the power of the infinite clock to eliminate the ultimate evil in the world."
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