"Hey, hey, wasn't this supposed to be solved through negotiations?"
Hearing the screams of the Twilight Ogre members constantly echoing from inside, Wakaba couldn't help but quip.
"Sure enough, there's just no comparison!"
Seeing this, Macao couldn't help but sigh with emotion. During these seven years, he could only be submissive and fearful in the face of Twilight Ogre. But as soon as the Master returned, he went straight to their door, gave them a beating, and paid back all the bullying and resentment they had endured over the years.
"However, seeing things like this, it feels like we've truly returned to seven years ago."
"How nostalgic!"
Seven years ago, they were lawless like this, confronting anything they found unpleasant directly.
Forget a small guild like Twilight Ogre, they didn't fear even a large guild like Phantom Lord.
Seven years had smoothed their edges and made them lose their original courage.
Magic Council
"Councilor Org, thank you for your hard work today."
Lahar greeted the approaching Org as they met.
Org nodded. "Mm, you've all heard by now, haven't you?"
"You mean the return of Fairy Tail's core members? Now, the burden on your heart can finally be set down, Doranbolt."
Lahar said while looking at Mest beside him.
"..."
Mest remained silent. Hearing that Fairy Tail's core members had returned, he did indeed breathe a sigh of relief. Although what happened back then had little to do with him and he was powerless to rescue them.
But a little girl like Wendy had ultimately been caught up in it because of him. The guilt of not saving a single person had haunted him for seven years.
"The magic world will probably become restless again. Seven years ago, Acnologia and Zeref were discovered. However, it is a pity that their whereabouts remain unknown to this day. Our reconnaissance units must commit more manpower; these seven years have been far too quiet."
"Two of the Balam Alliance have already been destroyed. The last one, Tartaros, is too mysterious; there hasn't been a single suspicious move from them."
"But such a calm situation is too strange, like an endless night. Perhaps the dawn is coming? Will it be a spectacular daybreak for the magic world?"
Mest asked, "Are you talking about... Fairy Tail?"
"Muhahahaha! Even though I hated Fairy Tail so much, I still find myself constantly thinking about them. I've grown old too!"
Org spoke as he walked away. As a two-term magic councilor, he knew how much Fairy Tail had contributed to the peace of the magic world.
If it weren't for Fairy Tail, Oración Seis and Grimoire Heart might have turned the magic world upside down long ago.
He used to hate Fairy Tail because they frequently caused trouble and brought him many headaches, but now that there was no trouble, he actually missed it a bit.
Two weeks passed quietly. The news of the return of Fairy Tail's core members appeared in the newspapers. After all, as the former strongest mage guild in Fiore, it still carried a certain influence.
Sorcerer Weekly also came specifically to do an exclusive report, though the impact was quite limited.
To many people now, Fairy Tail was like a flower of yesterday.
"Sabertooth?"
"Exactly! Sabertooth. In the seven years you were gone, Sabertooth became the strongest mage guild in Fiore."
Gray frowned. "Never heard of them!"
Alzack explained, "They were nothing special seven years ago, but their Master recruited five very powerful mages, and then they became the strongest guild."
Lucy was very surprised. "Only five people had that much influence?"
Natsu became interested. "Ooh, I like this development."
Wendy asked curiously, "Then what rank is our guild now?"
Happy was startled. "Do you really want to know?"
Just looking at the current pathetic state of the guild was enough to tell.
"At the bottom, of course."
"The weakest guild in Fiore."
Only then did Wendy realize she had misspoken. "Ahhh, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked!"
"Gahahahaha!! Great!! Isn't this interesting!!"
Natsu stood on a table with one foot in excitement.
"Huh? What's interesting about it?"
Gray looked speechless.
"Climbing up from the weakest guild and working hard to become the strongest—isn't that very interesting! I'm all fired up!!"
Max said helplessly, "It's not that easy! Not even talking about monsters like Laxus, Gildarts, and Kael, the rest of us lost a full seven years, you know. Seven years bring a lot of change."
Natsu's interest was instantly piqued. "Then perfect! Let's have a fight and see how everyone's strength is now."
"Then let's give it a try!"
In the past, Max would definitely not have agreed to fight Natsu. Natsu's Fire Dragon Slayer Magic was no joke, and he had even earned the title of 'Salamander.'
Now it was different; he had been training for several more years than Natsu.
Soon, several people arrived next to the guild. This was an isolated area to begin with, and there was enough space for the two of them to duel.
"Here I come!!"
Natsu shouted, and his whole body quickly charged toward Max. His fists attacked Max continuously, but Max dodged all of them.
"Sand Rebellion!!"
"Uwaaaaa!"
"Burn for me!"
Natsu released flames from his entire body, blowing the sand away.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!!"
"Sand Wall!!"
A wall of sand blocked Natsu, stopping his fist.
"I'm not the same as I was seven years ago. I've gone through proper training during these seven years too!"
"How is this possible?!"
"Natsu actually can't beat Max?!"
Lucy and Wendy were very surprised seeing this.
Vijeeter cheered, "Unbelievable, that Max actually..."
"Has Natsu suppressed."
Warren was a bit dazed. In the past, they were completely unable to fight Natsu.
"Does that mean we can also take on Natsu..."
Seeing that Max could suppress Natsu, Nab was also eager to try. After all, the opponent was that Natsu.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Sand Land!"
Natsu spat out flames, but the sand on the ground beneath his feet moved rapidly, causing his foot to slip, and he fell to the ground.
"Sand Trap!"
Soon, the sand on the ground moved quickly to surround Natsu's body. In the blink of an eye, it wrapped Natsu's whole body into a ball shape, with only his head exposed outside.
"Ga!! What is this!"
As Natsu struggled, his whole body began to shake and spin violently, immediately making him feel like throwing up.
"I still remember your weakness, Natsu."
"Blegh~~! Blegh~~! I give up~~!"
------------------------
Currently on Patreon: Chapter 410 available.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LIZBETH1242
If you leave reviews, I'll upload more chapters faster