With that, he paused deliberately, making sure everyone was listening closely and that no one had questions before he went on.
"I already used sensory magic to scan the area when I first arrived. To the north of here, there really is a large concentration of evil presences, and a few of those, in particular, are quite powerful by ordinary standards."
Jenny instinctively glanced north. Even with the mansion's walls in the way, she immediately realized what lay in that direction.
"That's the Dark Forest, an enormous forest hardly anyone ever sets foot in."
Ichiya chimed in at this point as well:
"According to what the Cait Shelter's Guildmaster Roubaul told me, there's a powerful magic called Nirvana sealed away in there by the ancients. Putting that together with what Kabe just sensed, my guess is Nirvana is the main reason behind the Six Demon Generals' renewed activity."
Wendy and Sharuru exchanged another glance. Clearly, Guildmaster Roubaul hadn't told them any of this.
"Hmph, that stinking old man!" Sharuru snapped angrily. "When we get back, I'm shaving off every last hair of his beard!"
In the end it was Wendy, kindhearted as ever, who talked her down at length and saved poor Roubaul's beard.
While everyone else was busy wondering what exactly Nirvana was, Jura had already picked up on another crucial detail.
"Lord Kabe, you said there were a great many evil presences out there. Don't tell me the dark guilds under the Six Demon Generals' command have gotten involved as well?"
Kabe nodded, confirming the guess, and answered with an easy, carefree laugh:
"There were quite a few presences I picked up on. A conservative estimate would put it at four or five hundred people."
"Four or five hundred?! That many?!"
Lucy, Wendy, and Sharuru were so startled by the number that the exclamation slipped out of all three of them at once. A moment later, they realized everyone else was looking at them with rather strange expressions.
Sherry, covering her red lips, said to Gray with mock astonishment:
"Say, Lord Lyon's junior, what's the story with this jumpy little blonde? A child like Wendy getting startled is one thing, but since when did Fairy Tail people turn so faint of heart too?"
Gray:
"Lucy, this won't do at all. Even a new recruit needs the courage to face the enemy head on, like me, fearless through and through."
For once looking dead serious, Natsu lectured Lucy with his arms crossed, sounding thoroughly convinced of his own wisdom. But he couldn't hold that pose for long with Gajeel right there ready to knock him down a peg.
"If we're talking newest recruit, I'm the one who's actually been here the shortest amount of time. And what you've got isn't courage. It's just plain mindless recklessness."
"Damn it, what the hell did you just say!"
Barely two seconds into acting serious, Natsu reverted right back to his usual self, fists blazing as he and Gajeel butted heads.
Seeing that because of her, not only was the guild's reputation being questioned, but her own guildmates had started squabbling with each other too, Lucy hurried to steel herself and looked at Kabe with a determined glint in her eye:
"Sorry, I, I overreacted. It's just a few hundred people, that's all. I, I, I definitely won't drag everyone down!"
Watching Lucy's legs still trembling beneath her, Yukino's lips twitched, and she couldn't resist a jab:
"Save the big talk. With this many of us here, we're not just along for decoration."
With that, she paid Lucy no more mind and turned to Kabe instead:
"The Six Demon Generals can certainly command more people than this. They just haven't shown any sign of mobilizing on a large scale yet. Still, we shouldn't underestimate them for that. Anyone called up under these circumstances is bound to be elite."
Kabe nodded in agreement. If anyone had the standing to speak on this, it was him. By what he'd sensed, this group would be far from weak no matter where you set them down. But measured against the people gathered here today, that was an entirely different matter.
"So then, everyone, our objective going forward is a simple one. Clear out these outer members, and stop the Six Demon Generals before they can get their hands on Nirvana!"
Natsu: "Oh, easy enough. I'm already fired up!"
Gray: "Still, there are only six of the Six Demon Generals, and there's a lot more of us than that. Seems like it might be tricky to divide up."
Lyon: "Heh, isn't it obvious? Whoever finds one first gets to claim it."
Gajeel: "Fine by me."
Watching everyone already cracking their knuckles, itching to charge out and throw themselves into the fight, Wendy and Sharuru suddenly felt like they really didn't quite fit in with this crowd.
"Wait, isn't this plan a little too reckless? We're talking about over four hundred of them!"
Sharuru, utterly baffled by how this bunch's minds worked, cried out in alarm, trying to talk them out of their reckless idea.
Kabe raised both hands, patting the air to settle everyone down, and cleared his throat:
"Come now, it's not often the enemy gathers this conveniently all in one place. We can't afford not to keep our eyes on the most dangerous ones among them. Listen up, everyone. Here's how I've laid out the plan for this operation."
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