"Ice-Make: Battle Axe! Hammer! Crossbow! Sword!"
One after another, weapons formed in Gray's hands, only to be shattered by fists wreathed in blue flames or melted by searing red fire.
Unlike Natsu's fire magic, which burned with raw power, Totomaru's magic controlled flames, allowing him to manipulate their temperature at will. This ability, as frustrating as Natsu's knack for altering fire's viscosity, was the main reason Totomaru had earned his S-Class rank.
With no other options, Gray encased himself in Ice-Make armor. It hindered his movement slightly, but the weight wasn't much of a burden for him.
"Let's see who goes down first!"
Unable to match Totomaru's heat, Gray fell back on his specialty: close-quarters combat.
A fiery fist met icy armor, sending tiny ice shards flying.
"What a pain!"
Totomaru wielded flames of different colors, each with unique properties, switching between them seamlessly. His mastery was undeniable, a skill that would later make him a teacher. His control surpassed most others.
"Seven-Color Fire Fist!!"
Feeling his stamina wane, Totomaru unleashed his ultimate move. Gray, unfazed, clapped his hands together, ready to counter.
"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!"
Ice and fire clashed, evenly matched.
Spotting a weakness in Totomaru's close-range fighting, Gray seized the moment, forming twin ice blades at his elbows.
"Ice-Make: Seven-Slash Ice Dance!"
"What the—argh!!"
Swish, swish, swish! Seven strikes landed in rapid succession!
Totomaru, caught off guard, couldn't react in time and fell, defeated!
Guild Battle: Fairy Tail vs. Phantom Lord
Location: Phantom Lord Base
Participants: Gray vs. Totomaru
Winner: Gray
…
When Kira descended, the scene below was chaos.
"Ugh, a bunch of lunatics who lose all sense when they fight…"
With a helpless sigh, he waved his hand, his white cloak billowing dramatically behind him, exuding an aura of authority.
"Gravity!" "Magnetism!" "Magic Seal!"
Three powerful, area-of-effect control spells swept across the battlefield. Hundreds of fighters froze in place. Weaker ones collapsed under the pressure; those who managed to stay upright dropped their weapons, clanging to the ground under the combined force of gravity and magnetism. Vibrant, colorful magic fizzled out, rendered useless or entirely suppressed.
Only a handful of strong fighters, or those who relied purely on physical prowess without magic or weapons, could barely stand under the triple spell's weight. Even then, they were nearly immobilized.
"What's happening? I can't move!"
"What kind of magic is this? Who is this guy?"
"I know him! That's Fairy Tail's 'Sage,' Kira!!"
Pinned down by a single move, Phantom Lord's members were stunned. Even their guild master, Jose, couldn't pull off something like this!
Of course not—Jose didn't have this kind of magic!
"Is that… Kira?"
"What's he doing?"
"This is a guild war, for crying out loud!"
Fairy Tail's members, though confused, weren't upset. They trusted Kira had a reason for this. He'd gone upstairs with Master Makarov, but now he was back alone—likely on Makarov's orders.
Did the Master already beat Jose, and now we're pulling out?
"Kira, what's going on?" Erza stepped forward.
It had only been about twenty minutes since Kira and Makarov went to confront Jose. Erza didn't buy that Jose, a cunning old fox, could be dealt with so easily—especially with no sounds of battle. Something was off.
Erza's sharp mind quickly pieced it together: Kira had gone to back up Makarov, and his solo return meant something had gone wrong upstairs.
Whether it was a big problem or not, she couldn't tell. Kira always looked nonchalant, even in a crisis…
Impressive as always, Erza, Kira thought. Under the dual pressure of gravity and magnetism, wearing that heavy armor and wielding that massive sword, she's still moving like it's nothing…
To avoid handicapping his own guild, Kira had deliberately amped up the spells' intensity, yet Erza was unaffected.
Glancing around, he noticed she was the only one unscathed, which boosted his confidence in his spell control.
Not bad! My magic's still on point. As for Erza? She was Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard, the Dragon Mother's daughter, stacked with buffs and endless potential. It was no surprise he couldn't pin her down.
As for the others—Kana, Loke, Gray, Natsu—they were all a notch below her, unable to break free. Wait… Where's Natsu?
Spotting Happy in the crowd, Kira released the spell on him. "Happy, where's Natsu?"
Happy flew over. "He's outside, fighting that Iron Dragon guy!"
What? Your girlfriend's in danger, and you're out there brawling?
"Go get him back! The guild's in trouble—we need to head back now!"
"Aye!" Happy zoomed off.
Erza rushed forward. "What's wrong with the guild?"
"Jose, that shameless old creep, took advantage of us being here and went to attack the guild himself! His goal is to destroy Fairy Tail and kidnap Lucy!"
"What?!"
"He's got a Magic Cluster Cannon with him! I set up a defensive magic array beforehand, but it won't hold long. We need to get back immediately!"
"Damn it! Where's the Master?"
"Upstairs, fighting Jose's thought projection!" Kira assigned tasks. "You go guard the Master. Aria from the Element 4 can drain magic power, and he's targeting Makarov! I've put magic-sealing cuffs on him, but I don't trust it without someone watching."
Erza nodded, gripping her sword as she charged upstairs. "Got it! I'll leave this to you!"
As they passed, Kira shouted to the crowd below, "Everyone, Jose's attacking our guild! Stop fighting—we're pulling out now!"
"What?! Their target's the guild?"
"Then Mirajane and Lucy are in danger!"
A Phantom Lord member laughed mockingly. "Hahaha! Our master's one of the Ten Wizard Saints, and he's got the Jupiter Cannon! Your guild's probably already flattened!!"
"Yeah, exactly! You think you can just waltz out after coming here? We're not letting you leave that easily!"
Phantom Lord's members roared with laughter, taunting while everyone was immobilized. Fairy Tail's members glared, itching to punch them.
Then a voice, even more arrogant, cut through. "Have you forgotten who's holding you down right now?"
Kira raised his right hand. A massive white magic circle appeared on the ceiling, unfolding fully before beams of powerful, radiant energy shot down, striking the mocking Phantom Lord members with a crackle.
"Judgment Strike!"
White energy, infused with a divine, natural aura, hit every taunting Phantom Lord member with precision. Those struck collapsed, charred, their magic careers likely ruined without immediate treatment.
"Amazing!!"
Kira dispelled his binding spell and delivered his prepared line. "Now, all Fairy Tail members, retreat! Phantom Lord, stay where you are—don't move! That's my order. Who's with me, and who's against?"
Faced with such intimidation, Phantom Lord's members didn't dare speak, fearing a stray word would get them blasted. They dropped their weapons and sat. Even when a few Fairy Tail members, still riled up, kicked them on the way out, they didn't resist.