Chapter 253

The second day…

Inside Fairy Tail's guildhall,

The fairies at this moment had also received the news from the outside newspapers, and the entire Fairy Tail fell into bewilderment and dejection.

Just yesterday Aces was still holding a banquet with them, cheering, and the very next day such a situation had befallen — no one had expected such a ~drastic turn of events.

In fact, in the past, when a companion ran into danger, given Fairy Tail's usual style, they could simply storm the place.

Just as with the Phantom Lord incident before — no need to worry about anything, just storm the place; afterward at most they'd receive condemnation from the Pingyi Society, and it would pass quickly.

But this time was different — standing opposite Fairy Tail this time was the Pingyi Society, the colossal organization that controlled over four hundred Mages' Guilds across the Ishgar continent, including Fairy Tail itself.

"Execution tomorrow?"

"This can't be real." Lucy stared at the newspaper in her hand, her eyes revealing intense shock, utterly unable to believe what was printed.

"No… no… not sure, but right now the whole street is full of this news."

Having just delivered the newspaper back, Dorairel of the Thunder God Party panted heavily as she spoke.

"And not only that — according to what I just gathered, the Pingyi Society's interior is in complete chaos right now. Although it hasn't been confirmed, no clarification has come either; I'm afraid this is real."

"How could this be…" Lucy said in disbelief.

"Why did it turn into an execution? Didn't the Guild Master say he would plead for mercy?" Gray said, his face looking very ugly.

"According to the Pingyi Society's rules, even if Aces was in the wrong first, that still wouldn't amount to a capital offense. And does the Pingyi Society truly not care about the Whitebeard Pirates standing behind Aces?"

One must understand that every person from another world who descends here is overwhelmingly powerful, and the forces behind them in particular inspire dread.

To rashly kill a person from another world — Gray did not believe the councilors were unaware of the reasoning behind this.

"Not sure, the news hasn't been confirmed yet."

The Guild Master was absent. At this moment, Erza, acting as their mainstay, stepped forward and said: "Right now we can only place our hopes on the Guild Master — there's no other way."

"The Guild Master has gone to the Pingyi Society headquarters for a meeting. Once he returns, we'll know the situation."

"Bam—!"

"Are we really just going to accept this fate?!"

Scorching flames burned the newspaper in his hand; Natsu slammed his palm on the table, his face blazing with fury.

"No way — I'm going to find the old man!"

After a day of waiting, Natsu, who was already hot-tempered by nature, could barely hold himself back any longer.

Upon hearing the disposition for Aces, he could no longer restrain himself and completely exploded.

"I'm going."

However, before he had gone far, Gray also rose to his feet.

Although he wielded ice-attribute magic, beneath the cold magical power hid a burning heart.

But his concern for his companions was no less than Natsu's.

But just as before, before they could reach the main door, Erza's figure had already blocked their path!

"Go back!"

"Erza, are you really planning to just stand by and watch Aces die for people like that?"

Seeing this, Natsu said with a face full of rage.

"Natsu, do you think I want to just watch like this?!"

"If you do this, you'll only cause trouble for the Guild Master — and might even affect Aces!"

"I don't know anything else. All I know is that if we don't act, Aces will be executed tomorrow!"

At this moment, in front of Erza, Natsu — who had always been able to do nothing but play the obedient child — could no longer hold back and exploded!

"Natsu."

In the past, Erza would have used overwhelmingly forceful means to threaten Natsu, but this time she did not do so, because she could understand Natsu's feelings.

But what good was understanding?

Perhaps the Pingyi Society had repeatedly suffered humiliation at the hands of forces from another world, but it had to be said — no matter how much the Pingyi Society was humiliated, as long as it held the power of the Magic Spirit for even one day, this colossal behemoth remained something they could not shake.

Moreover, with the return of the Ishgar Four Heavenly Kings' first- and second-ranked Heavenly Kings, the Pingyi Society's power had risen once again — and on top of that, the recently joined person from another world, Blackbeard Teach.

One could say that even if everyone present concentrated their fire, they might not necessarily be able to take down any single one of those three in one strike.

Heavenly Kings, huh…

The final strike from Ulfheim earlier — Erza still remembered it vividly to this day.

Just how powerful a Mage capable of surpassing Ulfheim could be, Erza could not imagine. And precisely because of this, she stopped Natsu and the others from going to their deaths.

· ·······Seeking flowers··· ·········

However, if the result truly was as the outside world rumored, Erza would not sit and wait for death either.

To watch a companion die with her own eyes — Erza would never allow such a thing to happen, even at the cost of her own life!

The reason she could still hold back was entirely because of the entrustment Makarov had given before leaving.

Therefore, she was waiting — waiting for a result.

Until a definite result was obtained, she would carry out the task the Guild Master had given her, and would not let anyone hinder the Guild Master's negotiations with the Pingyi Society!

"Stand down, Natsu!"

"Step aside, Erza!"

*Tap-tap-tap*—!

Just as the two were about to burst into further argument, a figure walked in through the main door.

"Sorry, I'm lost."

"Excuse me, how do I get to the Pingyi Society headquarters from here?"