Ever since the Lullaby incident, Erza had often teamed up with Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy. This lineup was considered even stronger than Laxus's Thunder God Tribe, and many in the guild referred to it as Fairy Tail's strongest team.
Natsu had once suggested that Charles join this powerhouse squad, but a four-member team was the most efficient configuration. Adding Charles would lead to redundant strength and issues with reward distribution.
Besides, Charles had also considered Makarov's peace of mind. The current team already kept the old man up at night. If he joined too, Makarov might not be able to sleep at all.
Sure enough, Natsu and Gray had destroyed half a town during their last mission. When Charles contacted Mirajane, he heard that Makarov had once again been summoned and reprimanded by the Council.
Now, the team had completed their mission and was on their way back.
That evening, while staying at an inn, the group was ambushed under cover of night.
The peaceful night shattered in a burst of fire and explosions. Half the inn's roof was blown off, and Natsu, still in his pajamas, leapt out with flames spewing from his mouth.
Countless tiny cubes piled up in front of him, forming a blocky figure—both face and body geometrically angular.
"Boy! A man must live with the elegance of a gentleman!"
"Shut up already! Who the hell are you, and why are you attacking us?" Natsu shouted.
The blocky man shook his head. "That attitude is far from elegant. If you can't live with grace, then you might as well die! Understand?"
As he spoke, the man turned into a pile of cubes, vanishing. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in front of Natsu with an arm transformed into a cannon pressed against Natsu's forehead.
Just then, an ice pillar shot up from beneath them, piercing the remaining half of the roof.
Natsu jumped back onto the intact portion of the roof and shouted down through the hole, "Hey, underwear freak! You trying to take me down too?!"
From below, Gray snapped back, "Shut it, scarf idiot! I've got my hands full down here!"
Gray was facing off against a tall man standing in the shadows. The man wore a turban and a patterned shawl draped over his shoulders. Most peculiar of all, a metal mask covered his chin.
Lucy, running down the corridor, was searching for the others amid the chaos.
The attack had been so sudden that it caught them all in their sleep. If not for their keen instincts, they might've been wiped out immediately. But Lucy was still completely confused—she had no idea who these attackers even were.
Then she spotted a cat-eared girl walking toward her.
"Found Erza's companion, meow!"
Before Lucy could react, a cat tail-like rope wrapped around her wrist.
She instinctively pulled out her key to summon her newly contracted Celestial Spirit, Loki—but the gate wouldn't open.
"What?! My magic's not working!" Lucy gasped.
The cat-eared girl said, "Of course not. My Restraint Magic can seal magic."
Lucy's eyes widened, and before she could resist, the girl hoisted her into the air with the rope. More ropes wrapped around her body.
But perhaps due to character design... the way she was tied up looked oddly suggestive.
Elsewhere, Erza had sensed the ambush and rushed out of her room—only to run into a dark-skinned boy.
"I finally found you… Erza-sis."
That familiar term of endearment stirred distant memories. Erza immediately recognized the boy.
"Hugh! Is that you? Are you… alright?"
With a twisted smile, Hugh replied, "'Alright?'"
Erza realized the question had touched on painful memories and quickly stammered, "No, that's not what I meant—"
Hugh shook his head. "You're concerned about me? That makes me happy, Erza-sis."
At that moment, a bundled-up figure was thrown through the air—it was Lucy, tied up from head to toe.
The cat-eared girl walked over and said, "Long time no see, Little Erza!"
"Millianna, you're here too? Lucy is my companion—what have you done to her?"
"Companion?" Hugh said coldly. "Weren't we once your companions too… before you betrayed us?"
Erza froze, her mouth opening slightly but unable to speak.
The blocky man formed again from tiny cubes and said, "Hey now, don't bully Erza like that, Hugh! A gentleman must always maintain his composure—understood?"
"That voice… you're Wally!"
Despite how different he looked, Erza still recognized him.
"You've all learned magic…"
She'd already noticed that her former friends weren't just grown up. The rope binding Lucy and Wally's blocky transformation made it clear—they had become mages.
Suddenly, the ceiling above exploded and a large man dropped down.
"Nothing surprising. Anyone can learn magic if they grasp the fundamentals."
"Simon?!"
Erza recognized the last arrival as well.
Lucy, still struggling in her binds, shouted, "Erza, who are these people? What's going on?!"
"They're my old companions," Erza said quietly.
Not wanting to discuss it further, she looked up at the four and said, "We can talk about this later. Let Lucy go."
Wally shook his head. "I'm afraid not."
He raised a blocky pistol aimed at Lucy's head. "We've come to take you back. Cooperate… or else."
Just then, a voice called out from above.
"Yo! Touching reunion you've got here. Mind if I join?"
Everyone looked up to the rooftop, where a figure stood silhouetted on the edge of the hole, his scarf fluttering in the moonlight.
"Charles?! What are you doing here?" Erza and Lucy exclaimed.
Charles sighed. "I heard what was going on, so I rushed over to help."
Before the words even finished, Simon and the others were stunned to find Charles had vanished from the moonlit ledge.
"Honestly, Lucy, that's pretty pathetic. Maybe it's time to train harder?"
Everyone turned stiffly. The man who'd just been on the roof was now squatting next to the bound Lucy.
A flame flicked from his hand, burning through the ropes. As Lucy regained her freedom, she quickly retreated.
None of the four attackers dared to move. Charles's oppressive aura held them frozen in place, like prey before a dragon.
Only when Lucy stood safely behind Erza did the heavy pressure fade, allowing the four to finally move again.
Wally wiped his forehead nervously. "A gentleman knows when to retreat—and this is one of those times."
Hugh said reluctantly, "Not necessarily… With my magic, I might still be able to take Sis back."
Simon cut him off with a cold voice, "Jellal said if we encounter certain people, we're to abort the mission. He's one of them. You want to go against Jellal's orders?"
Hugh fell silent and didn't press further.
Simon looked at Charles and said, "This was just a greeting. We'll meet again."
"Dark Magic: Dark Instant!"
A thick darkness spread, even obscuring Charles's vision.
When it cleared, the four were gone.
"Tch… You're good at running, I'll give you that," Charles muttered.
Behind him, Erza suddenly collapsed into Lucy's arms. She hadn't been hit by any attack, yet she looked stricken with pain.
Charles sighed. It seemed those memories haunted Erza more deeply than he had imagined.
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