User blog comment:FairyRaven/Fairy Tail Chapter 400: Wings of Hope, Review and Commentary/@comment-77.195.192.50-20140913110802/@comment-5268982-20140913112050

It's called right timing. Many people have been waiting to see what the deal with Igneel is, and it finally happened in chapter 400. I'm sure we'll learn everything about Layla in due time, and I am almost 100% sure that Lucy will have a MAJOR role to play in this arc, or the next. Maybe even bigger than Natsu himself. We've been receiving signs that she's no ordinary Mage, and she also knows about One Magic and stuff. She will do something more than breaking a key, but when it is essential for the plot.

Same for Makarov. Lumen Histoire will be of significance, but not yet. If Layla + Acnologia + LH + Igneel were crammed into 1 chapter, that would be just rushed, don't you think?

As for FT's reactions to Acnologia, some mangakas like showing minor characters often(like Oda, Mashima) and some don't (like Kubo), but FT's always been like that, or else we wound't be seeing Jet 7 Droy or Macao fighting Motherglare's hatchlings.