"The Council's here! Run!"
Compared to the calm reactions of Chase and the others, Natsu—that idiot whose brain only worked during fights—instinctively tried to make a run for it.
In his simple, straightforward impression, the Magic Council members were never good people.
But he'd barely taken two steps when a magical circle inscribed with special runes formed beneath his feet, firmly locking him in place.
The one who made the move was Lahar, the captain of the Enforcement force, wearing a sword and glasses, looking every bit the refined gentleman.
This guy used a type of magic similar to Freed from the Thunder God Tribe—a rule-based barrier magic.
"What an idiot…"
Gray pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
"Natsu, relax. We're the victims here, remember?" Mira reminded him with a smile.
"The only solution is to twist Natsu's legs into pretzels."
Erza's expression was dead serious, showing no sign she was joking.
"That's right, that's right! Mira's got it! Mister Messenger, you from the Council have to get justice for us!"
Makarov switched on his acting skills, pouring out his grievances with tears and snot running down his face. "How despicable! They went and wrecked our guild, the place we rely on to survive, into this state…"
His pitiful display was so over-the-top that the Fairy Tail members could barely keep a straight face, turning away to stifle their laughter.
The Council messenger and Lahar both frowned simultaneously, looking at the tearfully dramatic Makarov, then at the ruins of Phantom Lord's headquarters on the lake, and finally at the battered, bruised Jose and his men.
For a moment, it was genuinely hard to tell who the real victims were!
"We'll conduct a thorough investigation into the details. For now, all of you must come to the temporary camp outside town for questioning," Lahar said expressionlessly.
In truth, before leading the team here, the Magic Council was already well aware of how things had unfolded. They knew that Fairy Tail was actually in the right this time.
But a trial had its procedures.
If they just declared Fairy Tail innocent on the spot, where would that leave the Council's authority as the governing body of the magical world?
At the very least, they needed to take Fairy Tail—fresh off their victory over Phantom Lord—down a peg. Couldn't let them get too full of themselves.
That was the task personally assigned to the Enforcement force by the Chairman of the Magic Council.
"Wait, questioning? Isn't this an obvious open-and-shut case?!"
"Exactly! No matter how you look at it, we were only acting in self-defense!"
Cana, Max, and the others protested.
Meanwhile, Laki spoke with unusual seriousness: "Interrogations? I'm good at those. Back home, we have lots of ways to create a sense of emotional distance…"
"Get a grip on the situation, would you?! We're the ones being interrogated here!" Macao shot back, completely exasperated. "And what the hell is 'a sense of emotional distance' supposed to mean?! Is that some kind of wooden torture device?!"
Apparently, according to the guild girls, Laki's dorm room was filled with all sorts of strange wooden contraptions…
"Princess, I agree."
Virgo suddenly popped up from underground, staring at the Enforcement troops' weapons with wide, sparkling eyes.
"You really never miss a chance, do you…"
Lucy, already used to this, sighed and covered her face with one hand.
Thanks to her emotional release earlier, she was feeling much calmer now.
The bizarre turn of events left the Council messenger utterly bewildered.
Even the Enforcement force—who prided themselves on strict law enforcement—stood there with complicated expressions, unsure of how to proceed.
"Everyone, settle down. All things considered, let's just cooperate with the Council."
In the end, Makarov stepped in to steady the situation.
Though the Fairy Tail members were frustrated, since the Master had spoken, they held their tongues and let the Enforcement force put magic-sealing cuffs on them without resistance.
Chase, having regained some strength, stood up and walked over to the Council's frog-like messenger, greeting him cheerfully: "Yo, we meet again, Mister Messenger."
"S-s-stay right where you are!"
The frog messenger flinched, instinctively stepping back behind Lahar.
With everyone else in Fairy Tail—even Makarov—he could maintain a detached, even haughty attitude thanks to his special status as a Council messenger.
But Chase? Him he was genuinely terrified of. He still remembered that utterly unreasonable punch from the last time he'd summoned Erza for questioning.
Even Councilor Siegrain couldn't seem to do anything about this guy.
What puzzled him even more was that before leaving for Magnolia, Ultear who rarely concerned herself with guild affairs had specifically instructed him not to give Fairy Tail or Chase a hard time!
"No need to be so tense. Here in Magnolia, I'm a law-abiding citizen," Chase said, smiling as he voluntarily held out his hands.
Truth be told, in his current magic-depleted state, wearing magic-sealing cuffs or not made little difference.
Fairy Tail members: "That's the only thing that sounds so fake!"
In the end, everyone involved in this guild war—including the unconscious Jiemon and his men, along with all of Phantom Lord—were escorted by the Enforcement troops to the camp outside town.
On a mountain cliff on the outskirts of the city…
The setting sun cast its final glow as a gentle breeze rustled the black robe.
Mystogan sat casually on an outcropping of rock, one hand on his knee, silently watching the procession being led out of town by the Enforcement troops.
Behind him, five magic staves glowed faintly—evidence they'd been used not long ago.
"Looks like I might have done a bit too much…"
Mystogan murmured softly, reaching up to undo the buttons of his robe.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
A pile of Phantom Lord flags in various colors floated out, scattering haphazardly across the surrounding trees and bushes.
When he'd learned of Phantom Lord's planned attack on Fairy Tail, he'd taken it upon himself to dismantle all of Phantom Lord's branches—to cut off their reinforcements and throw the situation into chaos.
All by himself.
The Enforcement troops' temporary camp was set up on the southern outskirts of Magnolia, consisting of dozens of tents bearing the Magic Council's insignia. It was quite an impressive setup.
Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord were separated into two distinct, isolated areas. Sabertooth, with its dozen or so members, was assigned to Phantom Lord's side.
The Council's medical team, already waiting at the camp, immediately set to work, carrying the severely wounded from both sides onto stretchers for treatment.
This at least showed that the Council had come prepared.
So why hadn't they stepped in sooner to stop the two guilds from fighting?
One reason was that both Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord were high-profile guilds, neither exactly known for playing nice. The Council needed a legitimate excuse to knock them down a peg and solidify its absolute authority.
The other reason was that Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord had never gotten along. Even if the Council had forced a truce, it would only be a temporary fix—it wouldn't solve the underlying conflict.
Even the outwardly unified Council had internal factions: some supported Fairy Tail, some backed Phantom Lord, others stayed neutral. It was a tangled web of interests.
So instead of wasting resources constantly monitoring these two guilds, it was easier to just let them fight it out and settle things once and for all.
It was the simplest, most brutal solution.
By nightfall, cold moonlight bathed the temporary camp.
Chase and Natsu bid farewell to the attractive nurse and left the medical tent. Accompanied by Enforcement troop personnel, they walked back toward the designated area for Fairy Tail.
They were the only two from Fairy Tail who'd needed treatment.
Chase's main issue was magic deficiency syndrome from overusing his magic.
It was somewhat similar to Makarov's condition after being ambushed by Aria in the original story, though much milder. A magic replenishment IV was enough to fix him up.
As for Natsu, after his brawl with Gajeel, he was covered in bruises and blunt-force trauma.
But the guy was built tough. After some basic treatment and a few helpings of high-quality flames, he was back to his usual energetic self.
Phantom Lord, on the other hand, had far more injured. Even now, many were still receiving treatment in the medical tent.
"Ahahaha! Chase, did you hear that? Those Phantom Lord guys are so pathetic! Some of them actually needed IV fluids for dehydration!"
Natsu burst out laughing, remembering the ridiculous scene he'd witnessed earlier.
"It'd be weirder if they weren't dehydrated after having salted fish stuffed in their mouths for so long," Chase said with a shake of his head.
Those unlucky Phantom Lord mages would probably never look at blue cats or salted fish the same way again.
"That's what they get for underestimating a Fairy Tail mage! Messing with Happy is a bad idea!" Natsu threw a victorious punch toward the Phantom Lord area.
He and Happy had been together since they were little—they were incredibly close. Hearing that his best friend had wreaked such havoc naturally made him overjoyed.
"Aye!"
As if on cue, Happy came flying in from the side of the camp.
They'd reached the Fairy Tail section. Hearing the commotion, their companions poked their heads out of their tents. Even though they'd expected it, seeing that Chase and Natsu were both fine still drew relieved sighs, and they started calling out greetings.
"Everyone from Fairy Tail, you are still under supervision. Please stay inside your tents unless necessary."
The Enforcement troop escort reminded the others, then turned to Chase and Natsu. "You two, your tent is this way."
Due to camp and personnel limitations, the Fairy Tail members had been split into groups of five for easier management during tomorrow's questioning.
Happy, being considered more like a pet, was allowed to move around freely as long as he didn't leave the camp.
Chase followed the direction the soldier pointed. The tent they'd been assigned had its flap closed—unlike the others, where people were peeking out curiously.
He wondered what kind of roommates he'd ended up with.
As he was wondering, the impatient Natsu charged ahead, yanked open the flap, and dove straight inside.
"Ah!!"
Immediately, a startled cry came from inside—clearly not what he'd expected.
There weren't many people in the guild who could make him react like that…
Curious, Chase followed him into the tent.
Since it was a temporary setup, the tent's furnishings were quite simple:
Five cots arranged around a central wooden table, a portable magic lamp hanging overhead, and a water dispenser with tea bags in the corner.
At that moment, Macao and Wakaba were huddled together by the water dispenser, their faces practically pressed together as they eagerly flipped through the latest edition of a gravure magazine they'd wheedled out of Makarov.
They were so absorbed—occasionally letting out lecherous snickers—that they didn't even notice Chase and Natsu's entrance. Or maybe they did, but just couldn't be bothered.
"Oh? This is unexpected. You're here too?"
Chase ignored the two perverts and turned to the figure sitting quietly on the other side. "Mystogan."
"I participated in the battle against Phantom Lord, so naturally I have to answer to the Council," Mystogan said quietly.
He'd come forward voluntarily to explain the situation to Makarov and the Council. After all, attacking—ahem, counterattacking—Phantom Lord's branches was too big a deal to hide.
If the Council found out on their own and he had to explain later, it would only put the guild in a worse position.
With that, Mystogan glanced up at Chase. The single eye visible behind his mask flickered with a hint of something unusual. "Though I didn't expect to be placed in the same tent as you."
His plan had been to use his magic to put his tentmates to sleep whenever necessary, then slip away once the questioning was over.
He hadn't expected to get so "unlucky" as to end up with Chase—currently the only member of Fairy Tail capable of resisting his sleep magic!
"AAAAAH! He talked! Mystogan actually talked!"
Natsu pointed at Mystogan, his eyes wide with shock.
"Aye! First time I've heard Mystogan's voice!" Happy looked just as stunned.
Even Macao and Wakaba, previously lost in their exploration of the "ocean of knowledge," snapped their heads up, staring at Mystogan as if they'd just discovered a new world.
Their reactions weren't unreasonable. After all, on a normal day, they'd be lucky to even see Mystogan, let alone hear him speak!
Maybe I should just put them all to sleep…
Mystogan frowned slightly and reached for the magic staves on his back. The Enforcement troops had removed everyone's magic-sealing cuffs upon arrival at the camp.
Those cuffs were mostly for show, for the sake of Magnolia's residents and the public. Besides, with Makarov here, none of the Fairy Tail members were foolish enough to try anything stupid.
"Chotto matte!"
Seeing Mystogan about to use his magic, Natsu finally snapped out of it and quickly shouted, his fists clenched and wreathed in flames.
"Mystogan, come fight me!"
Well, that statement pretty much sealed Mystogan's resolve to use his sleep magic.
Just as the staves on his back began to glow, Chase couldn't take it anymore. He raised his fist and brought it down on Natsu's head, raising a nice-sized lump.
"You idiot! Read the room, will you? We're still on the Council's turf here!"
Judging from everything Chase had observed, Mystogan clearly cared deeply about Fairy Tail—there was no doubt about that. But considering that before long, Mystogan would have to return to his own world, Edolas, and part ways with everyone here…
Chase thought this was a rare opportunity to let the always-independent Mystogan spend more time with his guildmates. To create more memories.
"Speaking of which, Mystogan, you said you participated in the battle against Phantom Lord. How come we never saw you anywhere?"
At this, Mystogan looked at Chase, who had casually sat down at the central table, then at Natsu, who was temporarily out of commission. In the end, he let out a soft sigh and moved his hand away from his staves.
"I took out all of Phantom Lord's branches."
As if stating something utterly mundane, his voice was completely calm and steady.
***
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