Chapter 95.1 : Balam Alliance??

Early in the morning, Lucy arrived at the guild and noticed that everyone had very serious expressions on their faces. 

Even Everit, who had been proudly holding his wine gourd for the past few days, was now absentmindedly turning the cards in his hand.

Lucy had heard from Mirajane that turning cards with his index finger was Everit's little habit when he was deep in thought. 

Everit had many such habits that revealed his mood to those who knew him well.

For example:

- When he was angry, he would push his glasses up with the ring finger of his left hand, covering his facial expression with his palm.

- When he was happy, he would smile with his head slightly tilted, often accompanied by some mischievous ideas. According to Lucy's observation, Mirajane had this habit too, though it was unclear who had influenced whom.

- When he was extremely happy, he would spin his cane.

- When he had strong confidence in a battle, he would hold his cane with both hands and display a confident smile.

There were also several nuances to his habit of turning cards:

- If he turned the cards away with a flick, it meant he was thinking in a cheerful mood.

- But like now, with a blank expression and constantly turning the cards, it indicated that he was unconsciously thinking about something unpleasant.

"What's going on?" Lucy wondered as she approached. She saw a diagram floating in front of her with many names connected by lines.

"Lucy, you're just in time," Mirajane said.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, curious.

"There's a task. Let me explain it to you," Mirajane replied. "Look at this picture." She pointed to the diagram and continued, "This is the power map of the dark magic world."

Reedus, standing nearby, added, "I drew this."

"The mission is related to this," Mirajane said. "Lucy, you already know about the Dark Guilds and Dark Wizards, right?"

"Yes," Lucy nodded. "Formal guilds that accept legal commissions are regulated by both the Magic Council and the Kingdom's laws and consist of official wizards. All members of formal guilds are recorded in the register. On the other hand, those who accept illegal commissions, are not regulated, and are expelled from the Magic Council are considered criminals among wizards. These are dark wizards. They feel no guilt even when killing ordinary people. Such individuals form dark guilds, which are extremely harmful. Just like the Death's Head Caucus Guild, which followed John Ahanita's orders and committed numerous atrocities, including human trafficking and illegal imprisonment."

"That's correct," Mirajane nodded. "In fact, not only have our Formal Guilds formed an alliance, but the Dark Guilds have also formed an alliance called the Balam Alliance."

"The Balam Alliance consists of dozens of subordinate dark guilds led by the three most powerful dark guilds: the Oración Seis, Tartaros, and Grimoire Heart. These guilds have always been involved in various evil plots. Lucy, the Eisenwald guild, and the Death's Head Caucus that you encountered before are all members of it."

"Huh?" Lucy gasped in surprise.

"That's a subordinate guild of the Balam Alliance," Gray explained.

"What do the crosses on it mean?" Lucy asked again. "Does it mean they've been dealt with?"

"Yes," Mirajane nodded.

Macao added, "The Grim Reaper was destroyed by the Thunder God Tribe not long ago."

"Juvia and Mr. Gajeel, when they were still in Phantom Lord, also took down a lot of dark guilds. They were all subordinates of the Balam Alliance," Juvia said to Gray with a smile, seeking approval.

"That's impressive," Gray nodded.

Juvia's face lit up with happiness.

"Doesn't that mean we've been targeting each other's guilds? We won't get into trouble for that, right?" Lucy remembered the Phantom Lord guild and asked with some concern.

The Phantom Lord guild was still a legitimate guild, despite its despicable actions. At least it had a bottom line.

But dark guilds have no bottom line at all!

"Don't worry about being held accountable," Guild Master Makarov assured. "Because we will take the initiative to attack them!"

"What?" Lucy was stunned.

Makarov continued with a serious expression, "I attended a Council meeting a few days ago. It's been confirmed that the Oración Seis are engaging in evil actions. We can't wait for them to complete their plans, so we've decided to strike first and defeat them!"

"We?" Lucy was shocked. "The Oración Seis sounds really terrifying!"

"It's not just us. Given how strong the enemy is this time, several powerful guilds have formed a joint army," Makarov explained.

"Joint army?" Lucy echoed in confusion.

"That's right. Selected members from the five major guilds—Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Cait Shelter, and Elf—will form a joint force to defeat the Oración Seis."

"No way." Lucy suddenly had a bad feeling. Remembering what Mirajane had just said, "You came at the right time," could it be that...

"I will now announce the list," Makarov said. "Erza."

"Yes." Erza nodded.

"Natsu."

"I'm fired up!" Natsu was full of fighting spirit.

"Gray."

"This is going to be a pain," Gray grumbled slightly.

"Lucy."

"Seriously? I'm in?!" Lucy exclaimed in fear.

"Because I recommended you. Let's go together, Lucy!" Natsu patted Lucy's shoulder, grinning widely.

"You...!" Lucy wanted to cry but had no tears.

"Everit."

"I don't want to go," Everit tossed a card away, which turned into a black stream with a few strands of gold and flew back to his palm.

"Don't be so stubborn, Everit!" Makarov frowned and scolded.

"Oh, fine." Everit nodded reluctantly.

"Thank goodness Everit is going too," Lucy felt inexplicably relieved but still asked, "Everit doesn't seem very interested. It's rare to see him like this."

"Well," Gray smiled, "because his nemesis will also be there."

"Nemesis?" Lucy was very confused. Someone who could be called a nemesis must be someone Everit found difficult to deal with. Is there such a person in this world? This made her very curious.

"Yes." Gray picked up a newspaper and said, "Get to know her."

Lucy looked at the largest report on the newspaper—

a picture of a stunning beauty, with the headline "The Elf Goddess Destroyed Three Dark Guilds in One Night."

"Of course, I know her," Lucy nodded. After joining the guild, she learned a lot about the magic world—

this Elf Goddess is a mage whose reputation rivals that of Titania Erza. She is not only beautiful but also has pointed ears that look like an elf. She is also incredibly powerful.

"This person has beaten Everit more than once," Gray said.

"Impossible!" Lucy widened her eyes in shock. "Everit was beaten? I can't even imagine it! Even in the battle with the Phantom Lord, he wasn't injured after defeating Master Jose!"

"When he fought Laxus, it's said that Laxus didn't even touch him before falling."

"In Ahhanita Town, he faced seven S-class wizards, fought one against two, and still managed to support other battlefields. He was just a little sweaty after the fight."

"Everit was beaten? I can't imagine it at all," Lucy repeated, stunned.

"So, she's his nemesis," Gray said. "Everit takes a detour when he sees her."

"But she's such a beautiful woman," Lucy said, looking at the newspaper in surprise.

"Gray," Everit's voice came through, dark and serious, "Is it fun to spread rumors?"

Gray was speechless for a moment. "Keep being stubborn. Anyway, the truth will be revealed when we meet her."

"I'm not afraid of her! That violent, arrogant, rude female gorilla with elf blood, and demons with pointy ears. She's obviously a demon, no, a goblin!" Everit said angrily.

Lucy, who was initially uncertain, now believed it, seeing Everit's rare display of frustration.

"Alright," Makarov interrupted, "Let's get ready and set off."

"Gray-sama, Juvia can't go with you this time," Juvia said, her eyes full of tears. "You must be careful!"

"Yes," Gray nodded. "You should also be careful with your mission."

"Gray-sama is so gentle!" Juvia exclaimed, overjoyed at Gray's concern.

"Everit, Erza," Makarov said, looking seriously at the two, "Bring everyone back safely!"

"Yes!" they both nodded solemnly.