But the moment Gray turned and saw Natsu, he forgot all about his clothes. "Ooooh! Natsu! Let's settle this!"
"Go put some clothes on first," Natsu scoffed, not even looking at him as he continued to brawl with another guild member.
Gray, seeing this, just jumped into the fight.
"Boring."
A tall, imposing figure appeared right behind Lucy, making her jump. It was a muscular, white-haired man. "Squabbling like a bunch of brats," he grumbled. "A REAL MAN speaks with his FISTS!"
"So... he's just going to join the fight, too?" Lucy muttered.
Natsu and Gray, in a rare moment of unity, both punched Elfman at the same time, sending him flying.
"And... he's also really weak," Lucy deadpanned, staring at the scene.
"Hmm? It's so noisy," a handsome, orange-haired man said, looking over.
"Ah! That's Loke! He's always in the top rankings for 'Wizard I'd Most Want as My Boyfriend' in Weekly Sorcerer!" Lucy squealed.
Loke, with an arm around a girl on each side, just sighed. "I guess I'll go break it up..."
"Good luck, Loke~" the girls cooed.
"Okay, my illusion is shattered," Lucy said, her face blank. "What is wrong with this guild? Is there anyone normal here?"
"Lucy, you made it. How was your trip?"
Hearing a familiar voice, Lucy looked up and saw Noah leaning against the counter, smiling at her.
"Noah! I'm so glad to see you!" Lucy rushed over to his side, letting out a huge sigh of relief. The bizarre behavior of the other members had her completely stressed out. Seeing a familiar face was a huge comfort.
"Shouldn't you... stop them?" she asked, pointing at the massive brawl.
"They're always like this," Noah said, unconcerned. "Just let them be. Besides... isn't this hilarious?"
"It's a little too hilarious..." Lucy said, her eye twitching as Natsu and Gray started hitting each other with tables.
"Noah, is this girl a friend of yours?"
At that moment, Sorano and Mirajane walked over, both of them looking Lucy up and down with an appraising, almost intimidating gaze. Lucy shivered.
"Ah, yes. This is Lucy, from the Heartfilia family I've been working with. Lucy, this is Sorano and Mirajane."
"Wow! You're the 'Angel' and 'The She-Demon'? I've heard so much about you!" Lucy's eyes sparkled. The S-Class women of Fairy Tail were famous for their beauty and power.
"So you're the one," Sorano said, her gaze softening after a quick scan. "Nice to meet you! I'm Sorano."
"Hi there! I'm Mira," Mirajane said with a bright smile, her own inspection complete. "Noah's told us all about you and your parents. Thank you for taking such good care of him!"
"Oh no! Not at all!" Lucy waved her hands frantically. "Noah has helped our family so much! My parents are always talking about how grateful they are!"
"Still, we're grateful to you," Sorano insisted, shooting a quick glare at Mirajane, who just smiled back innocently.
Just then, a body flew through the air and crashed into a nearby table, shattering it. It was a completely naked Gray. Natsu stood over him, triumphantly holding up Gray's boxers.
"MY UNDERWEAR!" Gray shrieked, looking down at his body in a panic.
"Eeeeeek!" the younger girls screamed. Wendy, Yukino, and Meredy all clamped their hands over their eyes.
"What did I tell you!" Sorano yelled, marching over and punching Gray, sending him flying into another group of brawlers. "Don't corrupt my innocent sisters!"
"A real man fights with his FISTS!" Elfman roared, only to be punched into the air by Natsu.
"Get out of my way!"
Elfman sailed across the room and crashed into the table where Cana was sitting, trying to do a card reading. The table exploded, sending her cards scattering.
A vein throbbed on Cana's forehead. "My... reading..." she growled, pulling out her magic cards. "You bastards RUINED it!"
"I'M PISSED NOW!" Gray yelled, getting up and slamming his fist into his palm.
"FIST OF A MAN!" Elfman roared, his arm beginning to transform.
"Such a pain..." Loke sighed, magic beginning to glow from his ring.
"A real fight? Excellent!" Mirajane's face lit up with excitement as her magic power flared.
"I told you not to corrupt them!" Sorano yelled, her own magic flaring to life.
"BRING IT ON, ALL OF YOU!" Natsu roared, his hands igniting.
"They're... they're going to use magic?!" Lucy panicked. She turned to Noah. "You have to stop them!"
"Ah, yes. This could be a problem," Noah said, still looking completely calm.
"QUIET, YOU BRATS!"
Suddenly, a giant's voice boomed through the hall, and a massive shadow fell over everyone.
"SO... BIG!" Lucy stammered, staring up in terror.
The entire guild froze.
"Oh, hi, Master. Didn't see you there," Sorano said, cheerfully dissipating her magic.
"M-Master?!" Lucy squeaked.
"Tch."
"Hmph."
The brawl dissolved as everyone sheepishly went back to what they were doing.
"Scared you, didn't I?" Loke said, already back to flirting with his companions.
Cana knelt to pick up her cards. Mirajane's magic vanished, and she was back to being a smiling, dress-wearing bartender.
"AHAHAHA! You all totally freaked out!" Natsu laughed, planting his hands on his hips. "Guess that means I w—"
His taunt was cut short as a giant foot stomped on him, silencing him completely. Lucy looked like she was about to faint.
~~~
Get early access to 50+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn