Chapter 255

["Aye! The closest one to here is Crocus."]

["The royal capital? Doesn't matter, our current identity is the hunter of Phantom Lord, how about this name?"]

["Sounds good, however... now our nature should be considered a Dark Guild, right?"]

["It's that the two of us are a Dark Guild, this matter has nothing to do with Fairy Tail."]

["I understand this, will we turn over a new leaf afterwards?"]

["Otherwise? Can't always be a Dark Guild, right? Stop talking nonsense, let's go."]

["Aye!"]

[The figure of one man and one cat gradually went away.]

[But, that sentence after sentence clearly fell into Gajeel's ears.]

[He didn't doubt whether Black Natsu was lying.]

[From the situation where he made a big scene in this city... is there any possibility of lying?]

[Staring blankly at the calm night sky.]

[Gajeel couldn't help but shake his head.]

["Destroy the entire Phantom Lord... we... what kind of guild have we provoked?!"]

[Fiore Kingdom.]

[The Royal Capital!]

[This is a city enveloped in flowers.]

[Recently, it has been the season for flowers to bloom in full.]

[Therefore, people coming and going in the royal capital are endless.]

[It is exactly the peak tourist season.]

[However...]

[BOOM!!!]

[A violent explosion erupted inside a tavern on the outer ring of the royal capital.]

[The terrifying roar resounded across the sky, and the intense firelight immediately attracted the attention of countless people within the royal capital.]

[Even the Magic Knight Squads stationed within the kingdom were alarmed by this.]

[The entire Wang Gong was thrown into chaos because of it.]

["Third Squad, Fourth Squad! Follow me!!"]

["Someone is attacking the royal capital!!"]

[Inside the Wang Gong, Arcadios, as the captain of the Knight Squad, shouted at the top of his lungs.]

[Soon, the fully armed Knight Squads had gathered.]

[Arcadios’s expression was grave.]

[He roared at the knights below.]

["Just a short while ago, the Phantom Lord branch on the outskirts of the Wang Gong suffered a terrorist attack; the enemy is suspected to be a man with cherry-blossom-colored hair."]

["Therefore, we must act as quickly as possible to bring him to justice!"]

["OHHH!!!"]

[The moment Arcadios’s voice fell, a burst of hysterical roars came from the knights below.]

[The royal capital is the face of the royal family, and also the face of the entire Fiore Kingdom.]

[At such a time, when countless eyes are gathered in the royal capital because of the blooming flowers.]

[Such an unmasked terrorist attack actually occurred within the royal capital.]

[This is simply slapping the royal family in the face.]

[As the most loyal knight to the royal family, this is something Arcadios cannot allow.]

[Must... bring him to justice!]

[With this determination, Arcadios drew the blade at his waist, preparing to lead the Knight Squad to the scene.]

["Stop, Arcadios."]

[Just at this moment, a melodious voice came.]

[It stopped Arcadios.]

["Princess Hisui??"]

[Arcadios stared blankly at the little girl who had suddenly appeared before them, spreading her arms to block them.]

[The girl looked to be only eleven or twelve years old.]

[Most striking was that long, jade-colored hair.]

[Hisui E. Fiore!]

[The princess of the entire Fiore Kingdom, the biological daughter of the Fiore Kingdom’s King, Toma E. Fiore.]

[Out of etiquette, the moment Hisui appeared.]

[All the knights lowered their heads and knelt on one knee on the ground.]

[Even Arcadios was no exception.]

["Princess Hisui, please do not block us; that thug must be stopped."]

[Listening to Arcadios’s words, Hisui sighed helplessly.]

[She shook her head gently: "You cannot stop him."]

[She said.]

[Arcadios and the others couldn't help but furrow their brows upon hearing this.]

["Princess, please trust in our combat strength."]

["As the trump card guarding the Wang Gong, you have seen our strength with your own eyes; it is merely capturing one person."]

[But, to this, Hisui shook her head.]

["Just a short while ago, we received news from Oak Town."]

["Just last night, an identical incident occurred in Oak Town."]

["But..."]

[Speaking to this point, Hisui’s small face was full of gravity.]

["The mayor of Oak Town once reported this matter exactly as it was to the Magic Council."]

["The strange thing happened right there."]

["Even though the footage and such were already placed on the desks of those councilors."]

["But... the matter was strangely and forcibly suppressed."]

["The Council only gave a conclusion that it was under investigation, but in reality, they did not take any action."]

["From this, do you not feel that something is wrong?"]

[Hearing Hisui say this, even Arcadios fell silent.]

[After a long while, he looked up: "You mean... even the Magic Council does not want to manage this matter?"]

[Seeming not to believe such a conclusion himself, Arcadios stared fixedly at Hisui’s face.]

[But, Hisui nodded in agreement.]

[Now, Arcadios had to think about it seriously.]

[Arcadios would not underestimate the words spoken by the eleven or twelve-year-old Princess Hisui before him.]

[After all... although she is young, she has been raised as the future queen of the Fiore Kingdom since childhood.]

Furthermore, Jade had never failed to live up to everyone's expectations; at such a young age, her strategic vision was already something that transcended the ordinary.

[But, now that even Hisui says so...]

["Then, Princess Hisui, what do you think... we should actually do?"]

["Play dumb!" Hisui said.]

["Analyzing it carefully, since this matter is something even the Magic Council does not want to participate in, does it not prove that this thug named Natsu is a huge trouble in himself?"]

["If you ask me, just don't bother with him; surround the area and isolate the gaze of all the citizens."]

["Anyway, his target from beginning to end is Phantom Lord."]

["He will not involve other citizens without reason; once he resolves it, he will naturally leave."]

["Afterward, we will issue a statement saying that we encountered an attack by some Dark Guild, but they have already been killed on the spot; that will suffice."]

[Hisui’s method also made Arcadios nod gently.]

[However, the dignity of being a knight still made him unable to help but sigh.]

["So, in reality, we still bowed our heads to that person..."]

["Even though it was just one person."]

["But he alone is enough to rival an army of thousands!" Hisui said gravely.]

[Staring at the sky outside the window: "I think this is the part that even the Magic Council finds tricky."]

[Arcadios came to Hisui’s side simultaneously.]

[He opened his mouth, and although he was somewhat hesitant, he still asked.]

["So, Princess Hisui, sometimes, can the strength of one person really force an entire kingdom to concede?"]

[To Arcadios’s question, Hisui also smiled somewhat bitterly.]

[After a long while, she nodded gently: "I think... yes."]

["In the world of magic, when you are strong to a certain extent, not only the kingdom, perhaps... even the world must concede to it."]

["Natsu Dragneel! He is such a person!"]

0 (Requesting flowers)

[...]

[Click...]

[That was the sound of charred wooden planks being stepped on and broken.]

[Black Natsu had already changed into a trench coat that reached his calves. His hands were tucked into the pockets of the trench coat.]

[He didn't even look at the Phantom members screaming and wailing all around.]

[He walked straight toward the end of the main hall ahead.]

[Then he stopped.]

[He looked up at the Phantom flag above.]

["By the way, have Laxus and Mystogan started acting too?"]

[Black Natsu seemed to have thought of something and asked Happy, who was to the side.]

[Happy nodded upon hearing this.]

["Mystogan just sent a message a short while ago; ever since the news of the Oak Town incident spread last night, they couldn't sit still either."]

["They have successively started clearing operations against the surrounding Phantom branches."]

[Speaking to this point, Happy furrowed his brows: "Mystogan’s letter also mentioned that Laxus’s movements seem very fast, as if... he intentionally wants to compete with us."]

["Compete?"] [Black Natsu turned his head to look at Happy.]

["That’s what the letter says."] [Happy waved his hand, and the magic letter from Mystogan suddenly floated in mid-air.]

[Looking at the speculation at the end of Mystogan’s letter, Black Natsu couldn't help but smile.]

["Since that’s the case, we have to speed up; I haven't lost yet."]

[Happy smiled knowingly: "Aye!"]

[Then he spread his wings and flew to the top of the wall.]

[With one grab, he tore down the Phantom flag, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into the backpack on his back.]

[Then he made an OK gesture toward Black Natsu.]

[Black Natsu nodded and turned around.]

[His gaze glanced at that group of guys lying on the ground, constantly wailing.]

[His footsteps...]

[Tapped the floor!]

[BOOM!!!]

[Flames directly broke through the shackles of the earth, rising up in the shape of a pillar of fire, and in a very short time, directly enveloped the entire guild within the range of the fire pillar.]

[In an instant, all the screams vanished in the flames.]

[When the flames dissipated, the original Phantom building had completely disappeared.]

[Except for leaving a ground full of carbon-like ashes, there was nothing else.]

[The slaughter... is still continuing!]

[In just half a day, another town’s Phantom branch was completely wiped out by Black Natsu, the kind that leaves absolutely no survivors!]

[At the same time, the actions of Mystogan and Laxus also achieved significant results.]

[Phantom’s strongholds are like flags, being pulled out by the roots one by one by the three from Fairy Tail.]

[Mystogan’s methods might be relatively gentle; if you run into him, you might be able to survive.]

[But... once you run into Black Natsu or Laxus, there is no way to survive.]

[After all... these two have never treated Phantom’s people as human beings!]

[This day, for all of Phantom’s branches and all their mages, was simply a nightmare-like existence.]

[Inside a secret conference room.]

[Jose’s true body slammed his fist onto the table in anger.]

[His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at Gajeel, who was covered in bandages.]

["What?"]

["Did I hear that right? Mr. Gajeel."]

["That Fairy brat? Actually dared to tell me to bring my head to see him??"]