In the headquarters of the Phantom Lord, which stood where Blue Skull once was, Joseph was shocked when he saw Caesar suddenly appear.
Joseph tried to stand up and speak, but before he could, Caesar appeared in front of him.
Expressionless, Caesar raised his fist and punched Joseph hard in the face.
Joseph, caught off guard, flew backward and crashed into the ruins, creating a huge hole.
"I've been annoyed with you for a long time. Now that I've caught you, don't think you can get away."
Caesar looked at Joseph rising from the rubble, dark magic swirling around him, and smiled coldly.
"Little devil, you've succeeded in angering me!" Joseph shouted.
He swung his arm, sending a dark red explosion wave toward Caesar.
The blast swallowed Caesar completely.
Joseph sneered as he watched the explosion, but suddenly, a white light burst from the dust, blowing the darkness away.
Caesar stood unharmed.
He exited his take over magic form and said, "I don't even need take over magic to deal with you. Otherwise, it'd be unfair to Serena. What makes you think you deserve the same beating?"
The light around Caesar grew brighter. Black energy wrapped its edges.
"Light magic? No, that's not light magic," Joseph said. "That black color… it's Light Destroying Magic! Where did you learn that?!"
As one of the Ten Holy Wizards, Joseph recognized it instantly.
"The light in the dark. I like it," Caesar said with a grin.
His dragon-slaying magic surged.
"It's happening!"
Joseph raised his hands, summoning ghost soldiers from all directions.
Caesar appeared instantly. His right fist glowed with dark light mixed with violent space energy.
He punched, and the beam erased the ghost soldiers as if wiping paint off a canvas.
Joseph swung his hands, shooting black and purple beams to block the attack.
They collided and canceled each other out.
"How is this possible?! How do you have so much magic power?!" Joseph shouted.
According to his information, Caesar was always short on magic. His mana usually ran out quickly.
Joseph also thought Caesar's prosthetic leg would slow him down.
But things were not as he believed.
Caesar smirked. He knew why his mana had been low — his cards consumed huge amounts of magic.
But now, he had found an energy-saving mode.
Using Namikaze Minato's Kurama Sage Mode and relying only on Space Dragon Slayer Magic and Light God Slayer Magic, he could fight longer.
In that state, he could battle for hours without rest.
Joseph couldn't even challenge Caesar's energy-saving form.
"Roar of the God-Slaying Dragon!" Caesar shouted.
A huge wave of energy mixed with dragon and god-slaying magic roared toward Joseph.
"Death Storm!" Joseph countered, channeling all his dark power.
Dark shockwaves clashed against Caesar's roar.
Caesar sneered. "Didn't you know? The left side always loses."
The roar grew louder and crushed Joseph's attack.
It hit Joseph head-on.
Boom.
The ruins exploded into dust and rubble.
Joseph lay broken among the debris.
His body was covered in wounds. His right arm was gone. His internal organs were visible through deep cuts.
He was not a physical fighter like Serena.
If he hadn't dodged when he did, he would be dead.
Caesar checked his own level. He was now level forty-nine.
Only one more level to reach the max.
He had all the materials for promotion. He could hardly wait.
He looked down at Joseph gasping weakly and sighed.
"You can fight, but you're barely alive."
Killing him would cause problems.
Phantom Lord was not a dark guild, and the Council would interfere. Even Master Makarov couldn't save him from punishment.
"Consider yourself lucky," Caesar said.
He summoned Tsunade and Luo to stabilize Joseph's injuries.
He didn't heal him completely, only enough to keep him alive.
Whether Joseph lived or died after that would depend on the Council's medics.
Caesar carried Joseph back to Makarov and Gildarts.
They were shocked at first but relaxed when they saw Caesar unharmed.
As for Joseph, he was barely breathing.
"Not dead is good enough," Gildarts said.
The battle between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord ended in less than four hours.
Fairy Tail was victorious.
But the Magic Council was furious.
Three of the Ten Holy Wizards were involved in the chaos.
Joseph's Phantom Lord had attacked first, ignoring Council laws.
The Council debated punishment.
"Revoke their guild rights! Disband them!" someone shouted.
Then another voice said, "Wait. Fairy Tail destroyed Phantom Lord in under four hours?"
Silence filled the room.
"Oh. In that case, it's fine," one Council member muttered.
Phantom Lord was finished.
If they tried to reorganize, the Council would reject it.
Unless they became a dark guild.
But if that happened, Fairy Tail would crush them again.