In the underground floor of Fairy Tail, everyone had gathered together, and the atmosphere was heavy.
The attack by Gajeel had occurred the night before, and by the following day, the entire guild was informed.
Levy glanced around and noticed the grim expressions on everyone's faces. She cautiously spoke up, "Don't worry, everyone. Thanks to Charles arriving in time, none of us were hurt!"
Erza responded, "That's not the point!"
Natsu shouted, "Exactly! Those Phantom guys dared to attack our guildmates—there's no way we can let them get away with it!"
Natsu couldn't tolerate anyone harming his comrades in the guild. Even if the attack hadn't succeeded, the attempt alone was enough to make his blood boil. The only reason he hadn't stormed out to fight Phantom on the spot was one thing.
He turned his head to the center of the group—where Makarov sat. And not only Natsu, everyone's gaze shifted to him.
Makarov wasn't wearing his usual silly pajamas today. Instead, he was dressed in the long white robe that symbolized his status as one of the Ten Wizard Saints.
Crack! Makarov shattered his staff with one hand.
"If it were just the building being destroyed, I could have endured it. But they dared to lay a hand on the children of this guild... that I cannot forgive. We're going to war!"
"YEAH!!!"
…
Unlike Fairy Tail, the mood at Phantom Lord was far less cheerful.
The true headquarters of Phantom was located in a remote, little-known location, while their front-facing branch, used for taking on jobs, was in the town of Oak, northwest of Magnolia.
The day before, the Phantom mages had proudly celebrated Gajeel's attack on Fairy Tail. But by morning, they were stunned to see Gajeel lying beaten outside the guild's front entrance.
Everyone knew that within Phantom, Gajeel's status rivaled and perhaps even surpassed that of the Element 4. For someone like him to be defeated so thoroughly was a heavy blow to Phantom's arrogance.
Jose stared darkly at the heavily bandaged Gajeel lying in bed. "Your injuries were caused by flame magic. Does Fairy Tail even have a fire wizard that strong?
Was it Macao? Or that fire dragon Natsu? No... neither of them is capable of this."
Gajeel opened his eyes and said, "It was some guy named Charles. That bastard is terrifyingly strong—he might even be on par with you, Master. He's at Saint-level."
Jose neither confirmed nor denied it. "Is that so? No matter. As long as we follow my plan, Fairy Tail is doomed to collapse."
Gajeel opened his mouth but said nothing. He knew there was no persuading Jose that some unknown wizard had suddenly emerged with Saint-level power.
Even if Jose believed him, it was already too late. Things had progressed too far to turn back. Even if Jose wanted to stop now, he'd have to ask Makarov if he was willing to stop.
Gajeel closed his eyes again. No matter what Jose decided, he would get revenge on Charles. He believed he'd get that chance very soon.
Just as he was thinking this, a loud crash rang out from downstairs.
Gajeel still didn't understand Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail never waited overnight to take revenge. They had already stormed Phantom's doorstep.
The calm of Phantom Lord's Oak branch was shattered. The main doors were blasted open, and the unlucky mage standing behind them was sent flying by the splinters.
Stepping over the broken door, Makarov declared loudly, "Fairy Tail is here to settle the score!"
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"Ice Make: Lance Cavalry!"
Natsu and Gray charged in from opposite sides, fire and ice blasting through the Phantom mages who failed to react in time.
"Take Over Magic: Beast Arm!"
Elfman's arm morphed, covered in scales and fur, growing thicker as he slammed back the incoming enemies.
"Man! Man! Man...!"
Even though he hadn't yet unlocked his full Beast Soul form, this much was enough to handle the small fry.
"Card Magic: Lightning of Destiny!"
Cana tossed her magical cards, sending bolts of lightning surging across the battlefield, reducing her targets to shadowy skeleton-wrapped figures.
"Bullet Magic: Rapid Fire!"
"Requip Magic: Gunner Mode!"
Alzack's pistol unleashed rapid-fire blasts like a submachine gun, while Bisca dual-wielded heavy firearms to suppress a large wave of enemies.
"Script Magic: Steel!"
Levy, nearly ambushed, had had enough. Cheerful as she was, that didn't mean she lacked temper.
The glowing script floating in the air spelled "Steel." When the word dropped, it flattened several Phantom mages beneath it.
Macao and Wakaba stood back-to-back, flames and smoke swirling around them.
"These youngsters sure are active!"
"We can't fall behind!"
"Purple Flare Magic: Purple Flame Bind!"
"Smoke Magic: Smoke Rush!"
Macao's purple flames turned into ropes, binding nearby enemies, while Wakaba's smoke formed fists that pummeled them away.
"Everyone's so strong!" Lucy exclaimed in awe.
Since Levy hadn't been injured, Lucy didn't have to stay behind to care for her. So she had joined the vanguard as well.
Erza, standing beside her, said, "That's right. These are our dependable comrades. This is the strength of Fairy Tail!"
With that, she slashed down several charging grunts and activated her magic.
"Requip: Armor of the Heavens!"
Erza took on the form of Titania, the Fairy Queen, and her flying blades swept through the battlefield, sending waves of Phantom mages soaring.
Lucy was inspired. "I'm a Fairy Tail mage too—I can't fall behind!
Open, Gate of the Centaur!"
Lucy pulled out the golden key she had obtained on Galuna Island and summoned a rather... "peculiar" being.
Celestial Spirits, as magical beings from the Celestial Spirit World, could adjust their appearance freely.
But Sagittarius the Centaur looked more like a person wearing a horse costume than anything divine.
"Moshi moshi! What are your orders?"
Lucy pointed at the Phantom mages. "They're all enemies. Sagittarius, take them down!"
"Understood! Moshi moshi!"
Sagittarius drew his bow and began firing. Celestial Spirits borrowed power from their summoners to fight, but each possessed their own unique magic far beyond what humans could match.
Sagittarius' arrows—his form of magic—never missed. One after another, his targets were taken down with pinpoint precision.
Fairy Tail's members were generally far stronger than Phantom's. And with the Element 4 and Master Jose absent, Phantom's morale was already crumbling. The battle had barely begun, yet Phantom was already on the verge of collapse.
Charles shook his head. He really didn't know where Jose got the nerve to challenge Fairy Tail.
Setting aside whether the Element 4 could even match Fairy Tail's S-Class wizards, the base-level forces weren't even in the same league.
Phantom's so-called grunts couldn't even beat Happy, who had taken out several of them with just two fish.
Whether they were clever or just stupid was anyone's guess—but some of them actually targeted Makarov, who hadn't acted yet.
The idea of "taking out the leader first" wasn't wrong, but they had no grasp of their own capabilities.
The short old man transformed in an instant, growing into a towering giant who nearly reached the ceiling—and swatted those fools into the floor with a single slap.
"Waaaahhhhh!"
"A monster!"
Makarov didn't deny it. Instead, he said, "You dared lay hands on the children of a monster? Then don't expect human laws to protect you!"
Charles hadn't made a move. He simply walked behind Makarov. In this entire Phantom branch, only two people had magic power worth noting—one was Gajeel, the other had to be Aria of the Wind, one of the Element 4.
Charles was curious to see just how this guy planned to ambush Master Makarov under his watch.
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