"The Council's coming! Run for it!"
Unlike Chase and the others who remained calm, Natsu whose brain only functioned during a fight bolted on instinct.
In his simple mind, the people from the Magic Council were never on their side.
But before he could take more than two steps, a magic circle with intricate runes lit up beneath his feet, freezing him on the spot.
The caster was Lahar, the captain of the Council's Custody Enforcement Unit. He wore glasses, a formal uniform, and carried a longsword at his side, his expression calm and refined.
This guy used a kind of barrier magic similar to Freed's Rune Magic rules-based and airtight.
"This idiot…"
Gray sighed and slapped a hand to his forehead.
"Natsu, relax. We're the victims here, remember?"
Mira said gently, flashing a warm smile.
"It seems the only way to calm him down is to twist his legs into a knot,"
Erza muttered with a dead-serious expression that made it clear she wasn't joking.
"Yes, yes! Mira's right!"
Makarov immediately played along, turning to the envoy with a dramatically tearful face. "Sir, the Council must stand up for us! It's outrageous! Just look at what they did to our beloved guild!"
His snotty, blubbering display was so exaggerated that the entire Fairy Tail crew had to look away, barely holding back their laughter.
The Council envoy and Lahar both frowned, glancing from Makarov's sobbing figure to the remains of Phantom Lord's enormous headquarters now a sunken ruin in the lake. Then their eyes turned to Jose and the other battered Phantom mages, bruised and swollen.
Honestly, it was hard to tell who the real victims were.
"We'll investigate the full scope of the situation. For now, all of you are to accompany us to the temporary base outside Magnolia,"
Lahar said flatly.
The truth was, before even arriving, the Council already knew the general circumstances and had concluded that Fairy Tail was in the right this time.
But the law was the law.
Even if the Council believed them, they couldn't just dismiss everything here and now. If they did that, what would become of the Council's authority as the regulatory body of the magical world?
No, the best they could do was keep Fairy Tail's head from getting too big. After all, they'd just defeated one of the most powerful dark guilds. That kind of momentum needed tempering.
Suppressing their pride was a direct order from the Chairman to the Custody Force.
"Hold on, interrogation? Isn't this situation obvious enough?!"
Kana protested, backed up by Macao and a few others.
"Exactly! You can clearly see we were defending ourselves the whole time!"
Marcus chimed in.
"I think I'm pretty good at interrogations myself,"
Levy said innocently. "Back home, I've always been told I'm hard to read emotionally."
"Just to be clear we're the ones being interrogated right now!"
Macao groaned, exasperated. "Also, what kind of weird explanation was that? 'Emotionally distant' what is this, a wooden torture rack?!"
He'd heard the girls in the guild whispering about how Levy's dorm room was filled with all sorts of odd wooden contraptions...
"I agree with the princess."
Bacchus suddenly popped up from a hole in the ground, peering excitedly at the weapons the Council enforcers were carrying.
His eyes sparkled with interest.
"You really don't know how to skip a bargain, do you…"
Lucy, already used to this nonsense, just sighed and covered her face with one hand.
After letting off some steam earlier, her emotions had finally settled down.
The sudden turn of events left the Council's envoy dumbfounded.
Even the Forced Inspection Unit, usually known for their unwavering law enforcement, stood frozen in place, wearing complicated expressions as they hesitated on what to do next.
"Everyone, calm down. In any case, let's cooperate with the Council."
It was Makarov who stepped forward to restore order.
Though the members of Fairy Tail were visibly displeased, they respected their master's decision. Without complaint, they silently allowed the Custody Force to clasp the Demon-Sealing Shackles onto them.
Having regained a bit of strength, Chase also stood and approached the Council's clam-faced envoy with a bright, cheerful smile.
"Hello again, Mister Envoy."
"You y-you stay right there!"
The clam-like messenger jumped in fright, instinctively taking two steps back and hiding behind Lahar.
When dealing with the rest of Fairy Tail even Makarov he could maintain a cold or even arrogant demeanor, thanks to his status as a Council emissary.
But Chase? Chase made him genuinely nervous. The last time they crossed paths, Erza had delivered a punch so unreasonable and terrifying that he still remembered it vividly.
Even Councilman Siegrain hadn't dared provoke that guy.
What puzzled him more was that before departing for Magnolia, Lady Ultear who rarely involved herself in guild matters had personally instructed them not to make trouble for Fairy Tail. Especially not for Chase.
"Don't be so nervous. I'm a law-abiding citizen here in Magnolia," Chase said with a grin, raising his hands in mock surrender.
Truthfully, in his current condition, so drained of magical energy, it hardly mattered whether they sealed his magic or not.
Everyone in Fairy Tail thought the same thing: "That's the most suspicious thing we've ever heard from him!"
In the end, all participants in the guild war including the unconscious Germain and the rest of Phantom Lord were forcefully escorted by the Inspection Unit to a temporary base just outside the city.
On a cliffside overlooking the outskirts.
The amber glow of the setting sun spilled over the treetops, and a forest breeze fluttered through a long, dark cloak.
Mistgun sat casually on a jutting rock, one hand resting on his knee, quietly observing the line of people being led away by the Council's forces.
The five magical staffs behind him gave off a faint shimmer, proof that they had just been used.
"Looks like I acted for nothing,"
Mistgun murmured softly, raising his hand to unfasten his black cloak.
Swish swish swish.
A cascade of Phantom Guild banners, each in different colors, fluttered out from within his cloak and scattered across the surrounding trees and bushes.
Upon hearing that Phantom Lord intended to attack Fairy Tail, he had taken preemptive action obliterating all of Phantom's branch guilds across the region to sever their reinforcements and plunge the entire campaign into chaos.
All of it done by just one person.
The temporary base of the Forced Inspection Unit had been set up on the southern edge of Magnolia. It was large in scale, consisting of dozens of tents bearing the symbol of the Magic Council.
Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord had been placed into two separated sections, while the small guild Saber Tooth who only had around a dozen members was assigned to stay in the Phantom camp.
The Council's medical team, already stationed and ready, quickly got to work. Severely injured members from both sides were lifted onto stretchers and brought in for emergency treatment.
Even from this, it was obvious: the Council had fully prepared for this kind of large-scale conflict.
The real question was why hadn't they stepped in earlier to stop it?
One reason the Council didn't intervene earlier is because both Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord are well-known guilds and both have a reputation for being difficult.
They needed a justifiable excuse to put them in their place and reassert the Council's absolute authority over the magical world.
Another reason is the long-standing grudge between Fairy Tail and Phantom. Even if forced mediation temporarily eased the tension, it was never a real solution.
The core of their conflict remains unresolved.
And truthfully, even though the Council presents a united front to the outside world, it's deeply fragmented within. Some factions favor Fairy Tail, others back Phantom Lord, and some remain neutral, each entangled in a complex web of conflicting interests.
So rather than wasting resources constantly monitoring these two guilds, the Council simply allowed them to clash let them tear each other apart and burn off the hostility all at once.
It's the simplest and most brutal solution.
As night fell, the moonlight bathed the temporary camp in a pale silver glow.
Chase and Natsu, having bid farewell to the beautiful nurse who'd treated them, stepped out of the medical tent and followed the Custody Force members back toward the supervision area designated for Fairy Tail.
They were the only two from Fairy Tail who needed medical attention.
Chase had mainly exhausted his magical reserves and was showing signs of magic depletion.
It was a condition similar to what Makarov experienced in the original story after being hit by Aria, though Chase's case was much milder. A few IV infusions of magic replenishment were enough to stabilize him.
As for Natsu most of his injuries came from blunt trauma during his intense battle with Gajeel.
Luckily, Natsu's body was as tough as ever. After a short rest and munching on a few high-quality flames, he was already back to his usual fiery self.
Meanwhile, the Phantom Lord side was a different story. Many of their members remained in the medical tents with serious injuries, still under treatment.
"Ahahaha! Chase, did you see that? Those Phantom guys are pathetic! Some of them actually needed tons of water!"
Natsu burst into loud laughter, recalling a particularly hilarious moment from earlier.
"Well, they did have salted fish stuffed in their mouths for who knows how long. Of course they're dehydrated,"
Chase replied with a grin, shaking his head.
Those poor Phantom mages were probably going to be traumatized at the sight of blue cats or dried fish for the rest of their lives.
"Still, that's a Fairy Tail wizard for you! You'd better not underestimate Happy!"
Natsu grinned proudly and pumped his fist toward the Phantom camp.
He and Happy had been together since they were little, so hearing that his best buddy had caused a bit of mayhem made him glow with joy.
"Love~!"
Right on cue, the little blue Exceed came flying over from the nearby camp.
They had just arrived back in the area assigned to Fairy Tail. The moment they appeared, their guildmates peeked their heads out from their tents. Though they had been expecting them back, seeing that Chase and Natsu were unharmed brought visible relief, and everyone greeted them with warm smiles.
"Fairy Tail members, please remain in your tents unless necessary."
One of the Custody Force officers accompanying them gave a polite reminder before turning to Chase and Natsu.
"You two your tent is this way."
Due to limited space and manpower, the Fairy Tail members had been split into small groups of five and were being held separately for easier questioning the next day.
As for Happy, being considered a pet, he was allowed to move freely inside the camp but not beyond it.
Chase followed the direction the officer pointed in. The tent he was assigned to had its curtain closed tightly, the only one not peeking out like the others.
He wondered what kind of roommates he was about to meet.
Just as he was thinking that, the impatient Natsu rushed ahead, yanked the curtain open, and barged right in.
"Ah!!"
A startled, unmistakably surprised scream rang out from inside the tent.
There weren't many people in the guild who could make Natsu act so strangely.
With curiosity tugging at him, Chase stepped into the tent.
Since it was a temporary setup, the interior was pretty basic:
Five portable beds lined the sides of a central wooden table, with a glowing magic lightbulb hanging overhead. In the corner stood a small water dispenser, complete with tea bags for convenience.
At that moment, the ever-perverted duo Macao and Wakaba were huddled by the dispenser, grinning over the latest issue of a swimsuit photo book they'd shamelessly asked Makarov to bring them.
The two were so absorbed that they let out the occasional dirty chuckle, completely oblivious to Natsu and Chase entering the tent. Or perhaps they noticed and simply didn't care.
"Oh? What a surprise, you're here too?"
Chase ignored the two old creeps and instead turned toward the quiet figure sitting on the far side of the tent.
"Mistgun."
"I took part in the battle against Phantom, so naturally, I have to comply with the Council's interrogation,"
Mistgun replied in his usual calm tone.
He had come here of his own accord to explain the situation to both Makarov and the Council. After all, attacking well, counterattacking Phantom's branch guilds was no small matter. It wasn't something that could be swept under the rug.
If he waited until the Council discovered it themselves, it would only put Fairy Tail in a more difficult position.
At that point, Mistgun looked up at Chase, his only visible eyes glinting faintly beneath the shadow of his hood.
"But I didn't expect to be placed in the same tent as you."
In his original plan, he was going to lull his roommate to sleep with magic and make his quiet exit once the interrogation was done.
He just didn't expect to be "unlucky" enough to end up with Chase one of the only two people in the entire guild who could resist his sleep magic.
"Whaaat?! He spoke! Mistgun actually spoke!"
Natsu raised a hand and pointed at Mistgun as if he'd seen a ghost, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Love~! That's the first time I've ever heard Mistgun's voice!"
Happy echoed with just as much shock.
Even Macao and Wakaba who had been lost in their world of "research" snapped their heads up and stared with wide eyes, as if they'd stumbled upon a rare mythical beast.
Their reaction wasn't surprising. Mistgun was barely ever seen around the guild, let alone heard. Hearing him speak aloud? Practically a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Mistgun frowned slightly and instinctively reached toward one of the magic staffs on his back.
When they had arrived at the base, the Custody Force had already removed the Demon-Sealing Shackles from the Fairy Tail members.
Those cuffs were mostly symbolic anyway meant to reassure the public in Magnolia. With Makarov around, no one in Fairy Tail was reckless enough to actually flee under investigation.
"Too many fools to deal with…"
Seeing Mistgun about to cast a spell, Natsu tensed and quickly raised his flaming fists.
"Mistgun, come and fight me!"
At that moment, Mistgun more or less confirmed in his heart that it was better to just put everyone to sleep.
Just as the magic staff on his back began to glow, Chase couldn't take it anymore. He raised his hand and landed a heavy punch straight onto Natsu's head.
Bonk!
A big bump immediately swelled up on Natsu's head.
"Idiot! At least look around before picking a fight. We're still on Council grounds, you know!"
From everything he'd seen so far, Chase could tell that Mistgun held deep affection for Fairy Tail. That much was certain.
But soon, Mistgun would return to his own world Edolas and completely sever ties with everyone in this one.
That's why Chase felt this rare time together shouldn't be wasted. If Mistgun, who was always distant and secretive, could connect with his comrades a little more maybe even share a few memories it would be worth it.
"By the way, Mistgun,"
Chase said, casually walking over to the tea table in the middle of the tent and sitting down like it was his own place.
"You said you were part of the fight against Phantom… but how come none of us saw it?"
Mistgun glanced at Chase, then at Natsu, who was still smoldering and clearly not in a fighting condition. Finally, he sighed and lowered his hand from his staff.
"I took out all of Phantom's branch guilds."
His tone was calm, almost indifferent like he was just stating a minor errand he'd run earlier in the day.
....
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