Chapter 229
"If the coordinates are right, that villa up ahead should be the place."
Marshall appeared in a dense forest together with Gray, Wally, Lucy—who was dressed as a maid—and the Apostle version of little Ultear.
He gave a low whistle.
"Looks like we’re late. Everyone else is already inside~"
"We teleported here, so it’s not like we had to worry about travel time..."
Gray glanced at Lucy in her maid outfit, then at Wally, whose entire body was hidden beneath a black cloak.
"But what exactly is going on with you two?"
Lucy immediately looked away.
"I-I just happened to feel like wearing a maid outfit today. Don’t worry about it."
There was no way she could admit that she was still trapped in her one-month "pet contract" with Marshall, and that if she refused to wear the maid outfit, her alternative was one of his animal costumes.
’Damn you, Marshall, you little pervert. Once this month is over, I swear I’m going to...’
"My identity should remain hidden until I see my brother."
Wally adjusted his cloak.
Of everyone present, he was taking this operation the most seriously.
Little Tia, meanwhile, contained Ultear’s actual soul.
She quietly followed beside Marshall without saying a word.
"Come on."
Marshall started toward the villa.
"Let’s go meet our friends from the other two guilds."
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
The group entered Master Bob’s villa without any dramatic entrance. Everyone inside was supposed to be an ally, after all.
"Marshall-sama~!! I finally get to see you again!"
The instant he walked through the door, Sherry, who had clearly been waiting for him for quite some time, threw herself toward him.
The three "hosts" who had been circling around her moments earlier could only stare as the beautiful girl who had barely acknowledged them happily launched herself into someone else’s arms.
Their world seemed to collapse.
"Looks like everyone has arrived."
A broad, composed man stepped forward.
"Sir Marshall, I’ve heard a great deal about you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet."
Jura Neekis.
One of the Ten Wizard Saints.
After Jellal had been stripped of his title, Jura should now rank somewhere near the bottom of the remaining Saints.
Marshall quietly assessed him.
Approximately 180,000 Magic Power.
In terms of raw reserves alone, Jura was probably the strongest person currently present.
Next was...
"Everyone from Fairy Tail, welcome. I hope our three guilds can work together beautifully on this mission~"
A pleasant voice.
An unmistakable perfume.
And an appearance so eccentric that Marshall wasn’t quite sure where to begin.
This was Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki, Blue Pegasus’s S-Class Mage.
His Magic Power was a little over 30,000, but his Magic didn’t depend heavily on raw reserves, and he was still a fairly famous Mage in his own right.
And after him...
"Marshall-sama. Gray. It’s been a while."
Lyon Vastia, Gray’s senior under Ur.
His Magic Power was below 30,000, making him weaker in raw reserves than Gray after Gray’s successful Origin Opening.
Apparently Gray really was going to get his chance to show off.
Beyond those worth particular attention, Blue Pegasus had also sent its famous trio of pretty boys: Hibiki, Ren, and Eve.
Each possessed a little over 10,000 Magic Power, just enough to cross the rough threshold Marshall used for S-Class strength.
"Hey there~"
The three noticed Marshall almost immediately.
It couldn’t really be helped.
Even among Blue Pegasus, a guild practically overflowing with handsome men, Marshall’s appearance stood in a league of its own.
Eve, whose whole appeal was built around his youthful little-brother charm, visibly paled.
"A powerful opponent! His little-brother aura surpasses mine!"
Ren, the dark-skinned tsundere of the group, clenched his teeth.
"I refuse to admit defeat! I haven’t lost yet!"
He abruptly turned toward Sherry.
"Miss Sherry, I’m absolutely not upset that you abandoned us! I’ll prove my worth!"
Hibiki, an old classmate of Marshall’s, had originally been preparing to throw out some trash talk along the lines of "the guys can go home now."
But the moment he got a proper look at Marshall’s face, something in the back of his mind suddenly panicked.
He actually took a step backward.
"Why does he... look kind of familiar...?"
The three retreated behind Ichiya and began loudly whispering among themselves.
"That’s Marshall, the scholar from Fairy Tail, right? I heard he’s the youngest S-Class Mage ever, but he doesn’t have many famous combat achievements. So he probably... isn’t that strong?"
"No idea. But according to rumors, he’s the only strategist among those muscle-brained lunatics in Fairy Tail. Supposedly, the guild only reached its current position because of his planning."
"What?! So he’s an intellectual-type Mage? Then his actual combat ability must be average, right? Hibiki’s combat ability is pretty average too..."
Marshall completely ignored the three hosts and cheerfully greeted everyone else.
Then he suddenly tilted his head.
"By the way, Mr. Jura."
Jura looked toward him.
"How many allies are here in total?"
"Hm?"
Jura counted briefly.
"Three from Lamia Scale, four from Blue Pegasus, and five from Fairy Tail."
"That makes twelve."
Marshall glanced around the villa.
"And there’s nobody else inside this building?"
"No."
Jura shook his head.
"Only us."
"Twelve people, huh~"
Marshall smiled.
"But I can hear thirteen heartbeats."
The instant the words left his mouth, he vanished.
A startled cry came from somewhere deeper inside the villa.
A second later, Marshall teleported back into the room, holding a white-haired young woman firmly by the back of her clothes.
"Angel of Oración Seis?!"
Jura’s expression changed dramatically.
"How was she inside the villa?!"
Even with his senses, Jura hadn’t detected another person nearby.
Yet Marshall had identified her presence instantly.
Was this the talent of Fairy Tail’s most gifted Mage of the younger generation?
"Guh—l-let me go!"
Marshall formed restraints from Light Magic and applied the Magic-sealing technique he had learned from Millianna, completely suppressing the woman’s ability to use Magic before binding her securely.
"So you’re Sorano, codename Angel, one of Oración Seis?"
Marshall looked her over.
"You’re not particularly strong."
She was striking, certainly, but in Marshall’s opinion, she still wasn’t as adorable as his Mira.
"What?! He defeated one of the Oración Seis in an instant?!"
"H-He’s actually that strong?"
"I heard Marshall’s mastery of Spatial Magic and Light Magic was extremely advanced, but seeing it in person is something else..."
The Blue Pegasus trio stared in shock.
Fairy Tail’s group, on the other hand, barely reacted at all.
Lyon and Sherry, who were already familiar with Marshall’s strength, weren’t surprised either.
As far as they were concerned, something like this was exactly what Marshall should be capable of.
Sorano stared at him warily.
She had been completely overwhelmed before she even understood what was happening.
She hadn’t managed to reach for a single Celestial Spirit Key before Marshall captured her.
The difference between them was simply too large.
"If you don’t want to die, let me go!"
Sorano glared at him.
"You won’t get any information out of me!"
’This pink-haired guy... what’s his relationship with that person?’
’Damn it. I’m completely outmatched.’
’I need to call for help first.’
Marshall raised an eyebrow.
He had been about to interrogate her more carefully when he suddenly paused.
"Well."
His expression became amused.
"Looks like we don’t need to go searching for the enemy anymore."
Jura’s face darkened almost immediately.
"Not good."
He looked around sharply.
"We’re surrounded."
Then he turned toward Ichiya.
"Ichiya, where is Christina?"
"Christina?"
Marshall glanced over.
Ichiya quickly explained.
"It’s our guild’s magical airship. It carries an extremely powerful Magic-convergence cannon."
He struck a pose.
"Our original plan was to use Christina to wipe out Oración Seis all at once."
Marshall smiled faintly.
"Well, friends..."
"Looks like the plan just changed."
The instant he finished speaking, the entire roof of the villa exploded!
Shouts of battle erupted outside from every direction.
Once the dust finally settled, all six members of Oración Seis stood before them.
Through the shattered walls of the villa, they could also see row after row of Dark Guild Mages surrounding the building outside.
At their head, Brain stepped forward with a cold smile.
"You foolish Legal Guilds."
He looked around at the gathered Mages with open contempt.
"Did you truly think news of your alliance could be hidden from us?"
Brain spread his arms.
"Surrender."
"You’re already completely surrounded."
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