Laxus narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"Because of you?" Laxus repeated, stepping closer. "What the hell do you mean by that, Blondie?"
Lucy broke out in a cold sweat.
The sheer pressure radiating from Laxus was suffocating, but she forced herself to maintain her bowed posture.
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she whispered apologetically.
"I... I heard it from Juvia of the Element Four. Phantom Lord didn't attack us randomly. They were hired by my father, specifically to capture me and bring me home. He even funded them to make it happen."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"My family is the root cause of this war. I brought this destruction to the guild. Causing everyone so much trouble... it's all my fault alone!"
The silence on the roof was heavy.
Ankh stood to the side, leaning against a piece of rubble.
He watched Lucy, bent over with guilt, and a wry chuckle escaped his lips.
He walked over and placed a hand on her trembling shoulder.
"Lucy, lift your head," Ankh said gently. "This isn't on you. Your father was likely manipulated by Jose. Phantom Lord didn't just want to return a runaway daughter; they planned to kidnap you to extort your family's massive fortune and use that money to crush us."
He gestured to the ruins around them. "As for 'causing trouble'... Lucy, don't joke with me. Look at the results. Do you think we really suffered any losses in this war?"
Ankh began to count off on his fingers, his tone casual.
"Although Phantom Lord had the numerical advantage, Mystogan wiped out all their branches before the battle even really started, leaving them isolated. The so-called Element Four—their elite mages who were supposed to be on par with our S-Class—were utterly defeated."
Juvia was handled by Gray, Sol was taken down by the Strauss siblings. Totomaru and Aria, who could have been threats, were swept aside. Aria, in particular, had the misfortune of running into Erza. The result was predictable—he was instantly defeated by a single strike.
Ankh pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the horizon where Gajeel had vanished.
"And their ace, the Iron Dragon Slayer? He met a similar fate. Knocked out cold by a single punch from Laxus. We don't even know where he landed in."
Ankh smiled warmly. "Honestly, aside from some scratches and bruises among the members, the core of the guild is fine. We decimated a rival guild and took zero casualties."
He patted her shoulder again, firmer this time. "Fighting for our companions has always been Fairy Tail's creed. This battle was destined to happen. With or without you, Jose's jealousy would have brought Phantom Lord to our doorstep eventually. You just gave him an excuse, not a reason."
Lucy remained dejected, sniffing loudly.
She appeared unable to lift her spirits despite Ankh's logical breakdown.
Ankh sighed internally.
'I really don't have the Master's persuasion skills. If the Old Man were here, he'd have her laughing in seconds. Comforting a crying girl is harder than killing a demon.'
Laxus, having heard enough, merely snorted disdainfully.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked straight past Lucy, bumping her shoulder slightly.
"Tch," Laxus spat, his tone dripping with contempt. "A weakling, yet daring to claim she could trouble Fairy Tail? Don't be so arrogant. You aren't important enough to destroy us, you foolish girl."
Lucy froze as Laxus walked away, his coat billowing in the wind.
Ankh watched Laxus depart with amusement, then leaned in to whisper to Lucy.
"Don't mind him. What he meant was: 'You're one of us, so don't worry about it. People who provoke our family get crushed, regardless of the reason.'"
Lucy blinked, wiping her eyes.
She looked at Ankh, then at the retreating back of the lightning mage.
"His personality..." Lucy murmured, twitching an eyebrow. "...is it always this tsundere?"
Ankh nodded deeply in agreement. "He's all bark, no bite. Just ignore his attitude and listen to his actions. It saves a lot of headaches."
Hearing this, Lucy's mood finally improved.
A small smile touched her lips, though she secretly resolved in her heart: Such things must never happen again.
'I need to go home. I need to confront my father and make everything clear, once and for all.'
Soon after, the recording of Jose's confession was completed.
Mystogan, looking relieved to be done with the cameraman duty, handed the lacrima to Ankh for safekeeping.
Ankh pocketed the evidence and turned his gaze to the fallen Guild Master.
"Now, for the final step," Ankh said cold.
True to his word, Ankh placed his hand on Jose's chest.
Dark, swirling energy gathered in his palm. He used his signature Death Wave magic, but with surgical precision.
He didn't kill Jose; instead, he targeted the magic Container.
CRACK.
With a dull thud, Jose's Magic Source was thoroughly destroyed.
The vast reserves of mana dissipated into the air, leaving him empty.
Jose gasped, his eyes widening as he felt the power leave him. He was completely reduced to an ordinary person—no stronger than a shopkeeper.
Unable to use magic, Jose sat in disheveled shock, his body trembling.
He looked up at Ankh, his eyes burning with vengeful fury.
He knew his life as a wizard was over, but the hatred in his eyes promised that if he ever found a way, he would seek revenge.
None of this escaped Ankh's notice.
But Ankh wasn't afraid of retaliation. In fact, he was counting on Jose's silence.
While destroying the magic source, Ankh had secretly implanted a seed of Death Wave energy deep into Jose's soul.
It was a slow-acting curse. Once this incident blew over and the Council stopped watching, the energy would expand.
Jose would die naturally of "organ failure" within a few months, without any trace of foul play.
"Enjoy your retirement," Ankh whispered.
Shortly after, following a brief celebration among the ruins, the Fairy Tail members were promptly arrested.
The arresting party was, unsurprisingly, the "timely arriving" Council forces.
Hundreds of elite Rune Knights marched onto the scene, surrounding the exhausted wizards.
Under Ankh's strict direction, none of the Fairy Tail members resisted or attempted to escape—not even Natsu.
They obediently allowed themselves to be taken to the local base for questioning.
Fortunately, although the incident had caused a massive stir in the magical world, Ankh had an ace up his sleeve.
Using his alter-ego as Council Member Anselion, Ankh exerted pressure from the inside.
Combined with the undeniable video evidence of Jose's confession, the Council found their hands tied.
Fairy Tail was released after merely being questioned about the details of the conflict.
While they avoided disbandment or imprisonment, the Council wasn't about to let the troublemakers off completely.
After several days of meetings, they decided on Fairy Tail's disciplinary measures.
Everyone in the guild was familiar with these "insignificant" penalties.
It was the usual trifecta: public criticism, heavy fines, and the dreaded Written Self-Criticism Reports.
"Not again!" Natsu wailed when he heard the news. "I hate writing!"
"This is the fifth time this year," Gray groaned.
The Master was long accustomed to it, but he had a plan to share the misery.
Originally, Makarov had wanted to drag Ankh into writing the self-criticisms too, arguing that since this was entirely Ankh's plan, he should share the paperwork burden.
But Ankh quickly found an excuse and slipped away.
"Wait, old man!" Ankh interjected before Makarov could hand him a pen. "I have a better idea. The guild hall is destroyed, right?"
"Yes..." Makarov said, eyeing him suspiciously.
"The guild has long been outdated anyway," Ankh argued smoothly. "Taking advantage of the mess Mirajane made earlier, and the damage from Phantom Lord, I plan a complete expansion and renovation. A bigger, better Fairy Tail!"
Ankh grinned, pulling out a heavy pouch of jewels from his pocket.
"And the construction costs will come entirely from my own pocket. You won't have to spend a cent."
The shameless Makarov immediately dropped the pen.
"Deal!"
Ankh's dual identities, especially his role as Council member Anselion, provided him with ample embezzled—ahem, legitimate—funds.
Coupled with his S-Class mission rewards, rebuilding the guild hall was no issue at all.
It was a small price to pay to avoid writing a ten-page apology letter to the Council.
Thus, after finalizing the new guild blueprints with the Master and local specialists, Fairy Tail's first-ever renovation kicked off in full swing.
The site of the old guild was transformed.
Banners stretched a hundred meters beyond the original perimeter, marking a massive construction zone.
Inside, it was a hive of activity.
Every single Fairy Tail member pitched in to help, turning manual labor into a festival.
"Hoorah!"
Natsu and Gray were competing fiercely, as always.
Natsu was carrying a stack of ten massive logs on his shoulder, while Gray was sprinting with a literal boulder on his back.
"I'm winning!" Natsu yelled, spitting sawdust.
"In your dreams, Ash-for-brains!" Gray retorted, sweating ice.
Their rivalry added a chaotic but productive energy to the atmosphere.
Erza had taken charge completely.
She had changed into rugged work clothes, wearing a hard hat over her scarlet hair.
She marched back and forth with a clipboard, hauling materials that would require a crane for normal humans.
"Move it! We're behind schedule!" Erza barked.
"Aye, Foreman!" the guild shouted back in terror.
Some members used magic to fuse stone; others relied on brute force.
Everyone worked enthusiastically to build their new home.
The atmosphere was both warm and bustling, the sounds of hammers and laughter filling the air.
Wakaba and Macao, the two middle-aged veterans, were the exception.
They couldn't work for long before they collapsed on a pile of lumber while clutching their backs.
"Ow, my aching back," Wakaba groaned, lighting a pipe.
"We're getting too old for this," Macao agreed.
Clearly, they'd been "paying their dues" at home these past few nights and had no stamina left.
Macao looked at the vast construction site foundation and wondered, "Why is it so big? It feels twice the size of the old guild!"
Levy, wearing an oversized hard hat that kept sliding over her eyes, giggled.
She adjusted her magical glasses and said, "Ankh requested it. He said since our family is growing, we should take this chance to expand the guild significantly."
Ankh, who had been slacking off nearby with a cold drink, immediately came over upon hearing his name.
"Exactly," Ankh explained, gesturing to the busy crowd. "The guild is growing stronger. New members, new quests. The old space just won't cut it anymore. We need a castle, not a pub."
Mirajane appeared next to them.
She was covered in dust but still looked radiant. She held up a sketch of the design she had been working on while smiling sweetly.
"This is the proposed completion drawing I made!" Mirajane beamed. "Ankh, take a look. What do you think?"
Ankh, Macao, and Wakaba leaned in to examine the drawing.
They froze.
It was... certainly a drawing.
It was clearly hand-drawn, in the sense that a human hand had held a crayon.
But the style was exceptionally "ahead of its time."
It looked like a potato had exploded inside a shoe box.
A three-year-old would probably take one look at the crooked lines and horrifying perspective, pee themselves, and run away.
Wakaba hesitated, sweating. "How... should we describe this..."
"It's drawn terribly..." Ankh blurted out without thinking.
He pointed at a blob. "Which idiot drew this? Is that a door or a monster?"
The silence was instant.
Ankh felt the temperature drop.
He looked up to see Mirajane's brilliantly radiant smile still fixed on her face, but her large blue eyes were suddenly filled with tears.
She stared intently at Ankh, her lip quivering.
Ankh shuddered, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
He suddenly realized his mistake.
"Waaah!" Mirajane burst into tears, covering her face with the sketch. "Ankh is mean! I worked so hard on it!"
"Uh, wait! Actually, I was just joking!" Ankh stammered, waving his hands frantically. "It's great! It's abstract art!"
"You called me an idiot!"
"No, no! Hey! Look how... how... wonderful this is! It's so good! The perspective is... revolutionary! I'll frame it!"
Macao, Wakaba, and Levy watched from a safe distance.
They glowed with exasperation as they saw the fearsome "Grim Reaper" panic, trying to comfort the crying girl.
"Ankh, you made Mira cry!"
Happy flew into the scene, spreading his wings and raising a paw with a mischievous grin.
"Aye!" the cat chirped. "That's so like Ankh!"
"Shut up, cat!" Ankh roared, defeated.