Chapter 107: Guild Alliance
"You're overthinking this."
Dino's calm demeanor had a way of putting people at ease—it always had.
Regarding the dark guilds… Dino had no intention of wiping them all out. That kind of thinking was naive. These things were like weeds—you could never kill them all.
As long as darkness existed in human hearts, a new generation would always rise to replace the old. And those inexperienced fools would be even more reckless, making them harder to deal with individually.
The same principle applied to the Magic Council. As long as some experienced veterans remained in charge, they'd maintain a peaceful coexistence with him.
"You brat, you think violence solves everything?"
"Pretty much."
Makarov sighed. "This time is different from before. In the past, it was just small-time dark guilds causing trouble. Even if some got destroyed, the bigger organizations didn't care.
"But if we move against the Oración Seis, we need to be prepared for retaliation from the Balam Alliance."
"No matter how strong you are, you still need to eat and sleep. Your stamina has limits. What's more, the enemy has countless different types of magic. One wrong move and you could get caught off-guard."
"More importantly, other guild members could become targets for revenge. Even with Fairy Tail's power, fighting that many dark guilds would result in serious casualties."
Dino remained silent because Makarov had a point. After he'd destroyed those thirteen dark guilds in a single night, more dark guilds across Ishgar had started forming alliances.
When it came to magic resistance, he was nowhere near dragon-level. After all, he wasn't actually a mage.
Still, magic wasn't exactly easy to use against him either, especially after awakening his Devil Fruit ability.
Even though he wasn't training as intensely these days, he could feel his body undergoing a strange transformation—something fundamental changing at a cellular level.
Complete transformation would take considerable time. At least he hoped he wouldn't end up as tall as Whitebeard's 666 centimeters.
"So Master, what's the plan?"
Makarov grinned. "Alliance! If the dark guilds have their Balam Alliance, then we legal guilds can join forces too. That way, we can support each other against any retaliation.
"Four guilds—Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter—will each send representatives to work together and take down the Oración Seis!"
Makarov quickly announced the mission roster: led by Dino, the team would consist of Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy—basically the usual troublemakers.
This lineup caused quite a stir throughout Fairy Tail. Dino and Erza were recognized as the guild's strongest male and female mages respectively, both taking on S-Class missions or higher as standard.
Natsu and Gray's combat abilities ranked among the guild's top tier as well. As for Lucy… well, her assets were certainly impressive. The Master was clearly taking the Oración Seis seriously this time.
On a cliff overlooking a vast sea of trees…
"Master Brain, news from the legal guilds has arrived," one of the Oración Seis reported.
"Oh? They're forming a coalition to deal with us? How predictable."
"Hehehe! Looks like those softies are getting nervous about our activities." The man with a cobra wrapped around his body grinned wickedly.
"Apparently that man will be part of their force this time."
"That man? Who?" Angel, the only female mage among the Oración Seis, asked curiously.
Brain, leader of the Oración Seis, smiled darkly. "Fairy Tail's Super S-Class Mage—Dino Maxim. One of the Ten Wizard Saints."
"But that's just his public identity. Among dark guilds, he's known by another name: 'The Destroyer'—the man who annihilated thirteen powerful allied dark guilds in a single night.
"In a way, we have him to thank for Oración Seis rising to prominence so quickly."
Cobra, one of the Oración Seis members, smirked. "'The Destroyer,' huh? I'd love to test myself against him."
"You won't have to try very hard to meet him. This time, let's see just how strong this man feared throughout Ishgar's underworld really is."
Meanwhile…
"Why was I chosen for this?!" Lucy looked distinctly uneasy as she sat in the carriage heading toward the rendezvous point.
Happy chimed in cheerfully. "Aye! Because your figure's really sexy!"
"You perverted cat!" Lucy grabbed Happy and started shaking him.
"Ow~! It wasn't me who said it—the Master said it!"
"That perverted old man! He checks me out AND assigns me to dangerous missions!"
Erza smiled warmly and patted Lucy's shoulder. "Don't worry, Lucy. I won't let anyone harm my guildmates."
Gray leaned back casually. "The Master only asked you to come along. The combat power we already have is enough to crush the Oración Seis. In other words, the Master has no intention of relying on the other guilds at all."
Lucy looked at Gray with a deadpan expression. "Could you put on some clothes before acting cool?"
"Gah! When did that happen?!" Gray looked down and immediately panicked. Once again, his stripping habit had struck without warning.
Lucy realized she'd been overly frightened by the Balam Alliance's reputation. Thinking about it rationally, Natsu was here. She'd partnered with him on numerous missions and knew exactly how strong he was.
Gray seemed roughly equal to Natsu in power. Erza was Fairy Tail's S-Class Mage, naturally incredibly powerful.
Most importantly, Dino—the monster ranked among the Ten Wizard Saints—was with them. There really wasn't much to worry about.
Lucy glanced at Dino, who had his eyes half-closed. "Dino looks kind of tired… there are dark circles under his eyes, and his complexion seems off. Has he been staying up late recently? Must've been working on some really difficult mission."
"Yeah, it was pretty exhausting. Faced some really powerful opponents. Nearly didn't make it through."
"What kind of opponent could possibly give Dino trouble?" Everyone asked in surprise.
Erza's face flushed slightly as she discreetly pinched Dino's side.
At that moment, the carriage came to a halt.
"We're here!"
Everyone filed out one by one. Before them stood a villa—though its design was rather… unusual. Hearts decorated every visible surface.
"What questionable taste!"
"This is Guild Master Bob's villa from Blue Pegasus."
Lucy immediately recalled meeting that particularly memorable individual at the guild masters' conference. "Master Bob? That person?! No wonder the aesthetic is so… special!"