Just as Chase activated his card effects, a Phantom wizard stealthily slipped past the frontlines, creeping toward him from behind.
"There's a blind spot! Haha if I take down S-rank Chase first, I'll be a legend!"
With a crazed laugh, the Phantom leapt into the air, clutching a glowing magic circle in both hands as he hurtled toward his target.
Even though most of Phantom's vanguard had either fled in terror after witnessing Purgatory Shattering or been crushed by Fairy Tail's forces…
There are always one or two reckless hotheads in every guild Phantom included.
For guys like that, taking down an enemy S-Class mage is the highest badge of honor!
His courage was admirable, but the result… was tragic.
Buzz!
Out of nowhere, a dark golden beam of pure magical energy shot down from above and struck the Phantom mage mid-air.
Boom!
The ground split open beneath the impact. The Phantom wizard coughed up blood with a "waaagh!" his eyes rolled back and he dropped to the floor, unconscious before he even landed.
Inside the control chamber of the Magic Giant…
Joseph watched the scene play out through a projection crystal.
Even the sly and self-important master of Phantom Lord couldn't help but twitch his lip in disbelief. "A blind spot? Really? I didn't see one."
"President, judging by his appearance… he's clearly coming for you."
Earth Elemental Totomaru raised a finger, his face twisted in disapproval, as he pointed at Chase who now sported a horn on his head, a magic book floating behind him, and a strange pot orbiting at his side. His movements, strangely elastic and serpentine, gave him the eerie vibe of some grinning, magical contortionist.
"To think this over-buffed fairy, with all those support effects flying around, will soon have his wings shattered by our guild master… just imagining it brings tears to my eyes!"
Wind Elemental Aria clasped his hands reverently, tears gushing out from beneath his bandages like a fountain.
Honestly, no one knew how this guy still had any fluid left to cry out. At this rate, the Water Element might need to be reassigned to him.
As for Juvia… maybe she'd do better as the Flower Element.
Yeah, that's more fitting for the guild's resident flower maniac.
"In the face of absolute power, no matter how much you prepare, it's still just a futile struggle of the weak."
Jose stared coldly at Chase through the projection, his expression icy. "Come to think of it, Makarov really underestimated me."
"These little brats he cherishes so dearly… they need to experience a taste of true hell."
He had long despised Chase, who had repeatedly ruined Phantom Lord's operations. In truth, Jose had been wishing this S-Class pest would show up just so he could unleash every ounce of torture on him.
As he brooded, Jose's gaze shifted to the long-haired man crouching nearby, gnawing on a chunk of steel.
"Gajeel, how are you feeling?"
"I'm back to full power," Gajeel growled, biting the iron in his hands into pieces. Veins bulged across his forehead, his eyes burning with rage.
"Damn Fairy Tail… how dare they do that to me?! I'll make them pay. I'll make them suffer!"
The humiliation of being stripped and strung up on a tower had seared into his bones. He couldn't have known that very scene would later become a running joke within Fairy Tail one that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
"Don't mess this up again," Jose said with a fake smile, though the chill in his voice sent a shiver down Gajeel's spine. "I'd be very… disappointed~"
Gajeel knew better than anyone what Jose's 'disappointment' looked like. He'd seen the man's cruelty and ruthlessness firsthand.
"I got it. I'll go crush the intruder who just broke in."
Gajeel stood up and brushed off his coat. "As for that Fire Dragon Natsu, Ice-Make Gray, and that musclehead Elfman "
"I'll beat them so hard they'll be begging me for mercy."
The near-defeat from the night before had clearly left a scar. The normally cocky Iron Dragon had wised up he didn't even mention Erza or Mira this time.
Because deep down, he was starting to wonder… what if every S-Class in Fairy Tail was a freak of nature like Chase?
After Gajeel left the control room, Jose turned to the two figures beside him Totomaru and Aria.
"You two, move out. Go welcome our uninvited guest."
"Make sure to leave him alive. I want to break him personally, right in front of Makarov."
"Understood."
"Understood~"
Totomaru twisted his body and melted into the ground like a shadow, while Aria vanished into the air with the whoosh of a rising cyclone.
As for Fire Elemental Totomaru and Water Elemental Juvia they had already moved out earlier and had just located the incoming Fairy Tail intruders…
Right at the shoulder joint of the Magic Giant.
"Hiss ow, ow, ow... Erza's still as violent as ever…"
Gray pulled his head out from the rubble, groaning as he rubbed his bright red forehead. Through Warren's telepathic magic, he'd already learned the objective of their infiltration mission: find and destroy the Magic Giant's power source before the forbidden spell Purgatory Shattering could be activated!
"Wait a second… wasn't it just cloudy when we flew over? Why's it suddenly pouring?"
Now that he had recovered a bit, Gray held out his hand in confusion, catching a few of the cold raindrops that had begun falling from the sky. In the blink of an eye, the rain grew heavier, pounding down with a loud crackling sound and draping the area in a thick curtain of water.
Amidst the rainfall, a blurred figure emerged, walking slowly toward him.
It was a woman clad in deep blue, holding a pink umbrella and wearing a small bowler hat tilted neatly atop her head.
"That's right… Juvia is the Rain Woman of Phantom Lord's Element Four. Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
"Element Four? So you're one of Phantom's S-Class wizards?"
Hearing the name, Gray's expression grew sharp, though the corners of his mouth lifted in a small grin. "Then I guess I'm lucky today."
Lucky
Did he say lucky?
Could it be that… meeting Juvia here is some kind of divine arrangement?
Was he… confessing?!
As she stared at the handsome man standing calmly in the rain, Juvia's grip on her umbrella instinctively tightened. Her heart began to pound uncontrollably in her chest for reasons she couldn't explain.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
"Let's go. If you dare harm my guild or my friends, I don't care that you're a woman I won't hold back!"
Gray had absolutely no clue about the storm of emotion whirling in her chest. His voice was calm, resolute, and full of purpose. There was no time to waste the activation of Purgatory Shattering had to be stopped, no matter who stood in his way.
Even an S-Class wizard wouldn't stop him now.
Juvia's expression sharpened at his words, but rather than lashing out, she stood still, making no move to attack. Instead, she locked eyes with him. The two of them stood silently in the downpour, staring at each other without saying a word.
Two and a half seconds passed.
"…Alright, Juvia admits defeat. Best of luck to you~"
She spun on her heel and walked away without the slightest hesitation.
Her heart was pounding louder now. If she kept staring at that calm and serious face any longer, she knew she'd fall for him completely.
Too late.
She already had.
"Hey hey! What the hell kind of fight was that?! Are you messing with me?!"
Gray, who had been totally braced for a major showdown, stood there gaping at the sight of his opponent strolling away peacefully, and couldn't help shouting after her in disbelief.
....
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