Chapter 25: The Continent's Situation
"Angel's Wing?"
Hearing this completely unfamiliar guild name from Makarov's mouth, Ur was instantly intrigued.
"What kind of guild is that?"
The original story never mentioned a guild called Angel's Wing, so Ur naturally found himself curious. Judging from the age and magic power of those two people earlier, this Angel's Wing wasn't some second-rate organization.
"What? You've never heard of it? Angel's Wing is... hic… is... hic…"
Makarov had drunk far too much, hiccupping nonstop as he spoke, leaving Ur helpless and on edge.
Thankfully, Wakaba stepped in to finish the explanation for him.
"Angel's Wing is one of the two most powerful light-aligned guilds on the continent, standing side-by-side with the Temple of the Divine. Their Guild Master, just like ours, is also ranked among the Ten Wizard Saints."
"Light-aligned guild?"
Hearing yet another unfamiliar term, Ur felt a dull ache pounding in his skull.
He had long suspected that the original series didn't go deep enough into the worldbuilding, but he didn't expect that after being here for such a short time, he would already be running into so many brand-new terms and organizations that never appeared in the anime.
"That's right," Wakaba continued, lighting his pipe as he spoke, "The continent of Ishgar is made up of many nations. Some, like the Kingdom of Fiore, are neutral, but most are constantly embroiled in conflict…"
"The warring factions are split into Light and Dark. Among the guilds aligned with the Light faction, the strongest two are Angel's Wing and the Temple of the Divine. As for the most powerful guilds of the Dark faction, those would be Tartaros, Grimoire Heart, and the Oración Seis—the three pillars of the Balam Alliance."
"I see."
Ur nodded slowly, finally gaining a clearer picture of the continental power structure.
Most importantly, he'd finally heard some familiar names.
"So… what were those Angel's Wing people doing at our guild?" he asked, another thought coming to mind.
Wakaba took a deep breath from his pipe, exhaled a puff of smoke, and replied with a somewhat serious tone.
"Seeking help."
"Help? Are they really going to war with a dark guild?" Ur's heart jumped slightly, blurting out the question without thinking.
"Hm? How did you know?" Wakaba raised a brow, clearly surprised.
"Uh… I was just guessing. So did Master agree to help them?"
"He did."
Wakaba tapped the ash from his pipe and said. "The Guild Master of Angel's Wing is an old friend of ours. He's helped us out on several occasions during council hearings. So naturally, we couldn't say no…"
"But don't get too caught up in it," he suddenly changed tone and added sternly, "You're not qualified to be involved in matters like this yet. Stick to your regular missions for now."
"Relax! I'm not like that hothead Natsu," Ur waved him off. "I'm not stupid enough to go throwing myself into something suicidal."
After nearly getting vaporized by a black magic spell the other night, Ur had zero intention of tempting fate again so soon.
"By the way, which dark guild is Angel's Wing going to war with? Is it Tartaros, Grimoire Heart, or the Oración Seis?"
Ur naturally assumed it had to be one of the top-tier dark guilds. After all, if Angel's Wing, one of the strongest light-aligned guilds, was asking for backup, their opponent must be equally terrifying.
But Wakaba's response caught him completely off guard.
"None of those. Their enemy is a guild called Devil's Fang."
"..."
Ur was speechless.
Ugh, my brain hurts. Another guild I've never heard of? Mashima, you slacker! What were you even doing back then?
In the original anime, you could probably count the major guilds on two hands.
But ever since coming to this world, new, powerful guilds kept popping up one after another, and none of them had ever been mentioned before.
It was starting to make Ur feel a little overwhelmed.
"So what's the deal with this Devil's Fang?" he asked, despite his growing headache. Curiosity had already gotten the better of him.
"Devil's Fang is a powerful dark guild, just beneath the Balam Alliance's Big Three. In fact, when the alliance was originally formed, they invited Devil's Fang to join—but they refused."
"Not long ago, Devil's Fang suddenly launched a sneak attack and destroyed one of Angel's Wing's branch bases, killing dozens of their members. That's what started the war."
"And from what I hear, their Guild Master is rumored to have Wizard Saint-level power as well. Just last night, the Guild Masters of Angel's Wing and Devil's Fang clashed at the border of Fiore. The battle ended in a draw, and that's why Angel's Wing sent people to us this morning."
Wakaba had spoken so much that his throat was dry. He grabbed a glass of juice from the counter and chugged it before continuing.
"Well, technically, we're providing aid. But in reality, our role is more to defend Angel's Wing from sneak attacks by other dark guilds.
As for Devil's Fang? Even if we wanted to help fight them directly, I doubt Angel's Wing would let us. A blood feud like that—no guild would want others interfering.