After Charles burned away the evil membrane formed by the Moon Drip's residual fumes, the villagers' memories all returned to normal. They revealed their demonic appearances and soared through the moonlit sky. Like Lucy, Charles also found the scene moving.
Under the bright moonlight, the demons flying around in joy and laughter looked more like angels than monsters.
And because the village chief's son was a demon, he hadn't actually been killed. When he returned, the chief's long-held grudge was resolved, and he no longer seemed so irritable.
All in all, everything was settled, and after the celebration, the group was ready to return to Fairy Tail.
Since this mission wasn't officially accepted, Charles decided—just like in the original story—not to accept any reward.
In the end, per the village chief's wishes, the bonus item—the Golden Key of the Celestial Spirit Capricorn—was given to Lucy, while the 7 million J reward was sent directly to the guild and would not be split among Natsu and the others who carried out the mission.
Gray overcame his psychological shadow, Lucy gained a golden key, and Charles managed to bring Ultear over to his side. Only Natsu ended up with nothing.
Actually... not quite. When he got back, Natsu would still have to face punishment from the guild—just thinking about it was enough to make someone laugh.
After a long and difficult voyage, the group finally returned to Magnolia.
However, as they walked through the streets, Charles couldn't help but feel that the residents of Magnolia were pointing and whispering about them.
He was completely confused, thinking perhaps the Fairy Tail wizards had done something wild again. After all, that wasn't uncommon for Fairy Tail at all.
"Those are Fairy Tail wizards!"
"They don't know yet, do they?"
"So pitiful..."
...
Gray spoke up: "Everyone's looking at us kind of weird, huh?"
Happy added, "Aye, it's kinda irritating!"
Charles nodded. For some reason, there was a tinge of sympathy in the residents' expressions.
Could it be that the guild members had caused so much trouble they were punished by the Magic Council? Charles couldn't help thinking that, but he didn't recall this happening in the original story.
Suddenly, Gray said, "Something's not right with the guild!"
Charles looked up, eyes narrowing.
Fairy Tail was the only wizard guild in Magnolia, located at the city's highest point.
From the street below, one could see the silhouette of the guild. But now it was clear something was wrong.
The guild's three-story building was now riddled with numerous cylindrical objects sticking out in all directions—definitely not part of any renovation.
The group quickly broke into a run toward the guild, while Charles, who stayed at the rear, wore a dark expression.
Once he saw the state of the guild, Charles immediately recalled the relevant plotline—this had to be the attack launched by the wizard guild Phantom Lord against Fairy Tail.
The attacker was the Iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel, like Natsu, a dragon slayer sent from four hundred years ago.
What surprised Charles was that this attack came immediately after the Galuna Island incident was resolved. (Just like in the manga!)
Sighing, Charles picked up his pace and caught up with the others in front of the guild.
The current state of the guild was devastating—numerous iron pillars had pierced through it, destroying much of its structure. If not for those same pillars providing some support, the entire building might have collapsed.
The Fairy Tail sign lay on the ground in several broken pieces, a blatant and deliberate act of provocation.
Natsu gritted his teeth. "Who the hell did this!? They dared to destroy our guild...!"
Everyone else showed expressions of fury—anyone would be enraged to see their home wrecked like this!
"It was Phantom," Mirajane said, appearing behind them. "As much as I hate to admit it, we were attacked."
She led them through an alternate entrance into the underground first floor of the guild.
Charles had always known that Fairy Tail, besides its three above-ground levels, had a large underground area as well.
The first basement floor served as both a storage area and an emergency shelter. Of course, Charles could sense another space below that, radiating a magical energy so intense it even made him uneasy.
That had to be the forbidden zone known only to the master of Fairy Tail, where the body of the first guild master, Mavis, was kept—and where the forbidden magic "Fairy Heart" was sealed.
With the above-ground structure destroyed, everyone in Fairy Tail had gathered in the underground level.
As they made their way through, Charles heard the members of the guild expressing their anger about the attack. Fairy Tail had always been the most unruly guild—they couldn't stand being provoked like this.
The only reason they hadn't retaliated yet was likely due to Master Makarov's orders.
And there sat Makarov, on a stack of wooden crates, wineglass in hand.
"Well, welcome back!"
Though his face wore its usual beaming smile, Charles could clearly feel the restrained fury underneath.
Natsu was the first to shout, "Old man, now's not the time to be drinking!"
"Is that so?" Makarov played dumb, replying, "You all took on an S-Class mission without permission, so prepare to be punished!"
Flames flared from Natsu's throat as he growled, "This isn't the time for that kind of talk!"
Before he could finish, Makarov landed a sharp chop to his head.
"And Charles, Gray—you two went along with Natsu's nonsense!"
Charles hadn't intended to bring Natsu back in the first place, and now, with Gray, received Makarov's not-so-serious reprimanding chop.
Even Happy got smacked, though when it came to Lucy, Makarov's hand landed squarely on her backside.
But the light punishment did nothing to extinguish Natsu's rage. He shouted, "Master, don't you understand what's going on? The guild's been wrecked!"
Makarov sighed and waved a hand. "Calm down. It's not that big a deal."
He even leisurely took a sip of wine, then continued, "Phantom? Those idiots are only capable of this. Smashing up the guild while we were away—what's there to be proud of?"
Mirajane added, "It happened at night, so luckily no one was hurt."
Makarov said, "Opponents who only know how to sneak attack aren't worth our concern. Forget it."
Natsu slammed his hands on the table. "How can we just forget it!? I'm going to go beat them up!"
Makarov declared firmly, "That's the end of it. Until the upper floors are repaired, you'll work down here."
"How are we supposed to focus on work like this?" Natsu complained.
Charles pressed down on Natsu's head. "Enough, Natsu. Try to understand Master a little. He's holding back to protect Fairy Tail."
Was Makarov afraid of Phantom? What a joke. At the annual conference six years ago, Makarov had manhandled Phantom's master Jose without breaking a sweat.
Though they were both members of the Ten Wizard Saints, Jose and Makarov were far from equal. Makarov was simply being mindful of the Magic Council.
The Council imposed strict regulations on the wizard guilds, and inter-guild conflicts were strictly forbidden.
Even if Phantom had made the first move, if Fairy Tail retaliated, it could still lead to serious consequences.
As guild master, Makarov couldn't afford to let personal emotions influence decisions that might harm the guild.
Makarov looked at Charles with gratitude. Clearly, not everyone in the guild was a troublemaker. Why couldn't more people be like Charles?
Before he could finish that thought, Charles turned to him and said, "But Master, even though there's always been tension between us and Phantom, they wouldn't provoke us for no reason.
And they're not the type to stop at just wrecking the guild—they might be planning something worse. You need to prepare for that possibility."
Makarov fell silent. He had been wondering the same thing—what had gotten into Jose to make him provoke Fairy Tail so recklessly?
Suddenly, he shivered and jumped off the crates.
Charles thought he was about to make a decision, but instead, Makarov exclaimed, "I can't hold it anymore!"
Charles watched as Makarov bolted for the restroom and sighed.
Looks like he'd have to take action on his own, ahead of time.
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