Chapter 74 - Shattered Mandates

Date: Mid-July X786 (Night into Pre-Dawn)

Location: Era — Magic Council Citadel & Outskirts

Midnight inside the Citadel's tactical operations hub glowed under shifting green light from magical screens. Maps flickered constantly — guard rotations, vault anomalies, sabotage glyph indicators.

A hush spread as Councilor Bran entered, his cloak trailing sharply. Warrod and Org rose from their positions.

Bran's voice cracked through the silence. "Update on Teresa's mission."

Warrod pointed to a pulsing map. "She struck three glyph caches. Success, except for one."

A single red icon blinked near the western Crocus hills.

Bran scowled. "That site was supposed to be neutralized already. Something blocked her."

Earlier that night in the Citadel's courtyard, Teresa stood in the torchlight, her cloak shimmering faintly, rune sigils along the hem glowing in the cold air.

A squad of Rune Knights waited, rigid with tension.

Sergeant Quintus stepped forward. "Councilor Bran orders the Grand Strike Team to accompany you — oversight only."

Teresa's eyes narrowed. "Witnesses, then."

Quintus hesitated, then nodded. "We follow your lead. Intervene only if overrun."

"Understood."

They moved beyond the gates, into moonless mountain roads snaking toward the western ridge.

At the designated site, Teresa knelt beside the old beacon stone. The glyph had burned deep into the foundation, nearly invisible.

Fingers brushing along cold seams, she activated Silken Nerve Control. Her senses stretched, nerves humming.

Quintus called out softly, "Found one."

She confirmed it with a slow breath. "Spread out. Move carefully."

Quintus leaned closer. "Wait — it's layered. I—"

A sharp crack echoed.

The glyph detonated.

Teresa spun, Yoki Reinforced Defense flaring. A kinetic shield burst around her, deflecting the brunt of the blast. Quintus tumbled backward; two knights fell, stunned but alive.

From the hillside above, two cloaked attackers slid down hidden chutes, staffs charged with crimson runes.

Blasts fired — designed to pierce defenses.

Teresa lunged forward, Phantom Step. She vanished into the first attacker's guard, Void Sever slicing his staff in a single clean arc.

The second attacker fired Windcutter, a blade-like air slicing downward.

Teresa dropped low, Silken Nerve Control carrying her under the strike, twisting upward, her fist driving into his ribs.

He crumpled, staff shattering beside him.

Other shadows fled into the night. Teresa let them go — her focus locked on the fractured glyph beneath the stones.

Inside the Citadel, the squad staggered back into the strategy halls, uniforms scorched.

Quintus stood before Bran, voice raw. "Ambush confirmed. Sabotage — not purely external."

Bran examined a detonator stone. "Triggered internally. Only Council clearance could activate this."

Warrod's expression darkened. "Internal collusion."

Bran's jaw tightened. "Lockdown. Full internal audit."

In a private summit chamber, Ethne, Warrod, Org, Fitzroy, Mana, and Bran gathered under the moonlit stained glass.

Org's voice was sharp. "Teresa's attack tonight revealed Council mages shielding that glyph."

Bran clenched the detonator. "Signature matches Council-issue arcane runes. We have traitors."

Fitzroy looked ill. "Impossible..."

Warrod's reply cut through him. "Yet true."

Ethne spoke calmly. "What next?"

Bran's voice carried finality. "Lockdown. Audit. Restrict ward access. And interrogate Bali — under Fitzroy's watch."

Fitzroy recoiled. "Bali? She's loyal—"

Warrod's eyes went hard. "Legacy doesn't shield betrayal."

Deep in a sealed chamber, Bali sat shackled.

"You can't do this," she hissed.

Bran stood over her, eyes flat. "You planted the glyph."

She spat, "The order came from above. Protect the vault."

Bran's voice dropped. "Stand with us — or stand with Voldane."

She went silent.

On a frostbitten terrace above, Warrod stood beside Org.

Warrod's breath steamed. "We fracture from within now."

Org didn't turn. "If we expose this, Era crumbles."

Warrod sighed. "Then we keep Teresa outside their web. I'll warn her myself."

In pre-dawn Crocus, Teresa returned to Fairy Tail, two Rune Knights trailing behind her — courtesy escorts, not guards.

Inside, the hall fell silent as she entered.

Macao stepped forward. "Word?"

She nodded. "Internal sabotage confirmed. They need me west tonight."

Macao's gaze darkened. "Council oversight again?"

Her eyes stayed unwavering. "Trust nothing bred inside their walls."

She unsheathed her blade and touched it to the guild threshold.

Claymore Arsenal flickered — armor, cloak, resolve manifesting fully.

She stepped forward. Calm. Final.

"They need me beyond their walls now more than ever."