Chapter 271: Regrouping
With Aria defeated, Sorano's mood improved considerably.
She was about to say something when the entire Magic Giant began to shake violently.
Outside, the guild members watched as the massive magic circle in the sky began to fade, its colors draining away until it vanished completely.
Then, the giant stopped moving. Without the magic from the Element 4 to power it, the construct began to destabilize. Huge chunks of its magical body broke off and fell.
BOOM! BOOM! SPLASH!
The falling debris was enormous, especially the main body, which crashed into the water, sending a massive tidal wave toward the shore where the guild members were standing.
Noah reacted instantly. He waved his hand, and a thick wall of earth rose from the shoreline, blocking the wave completely.
The guild members sighed in relief, then erupted into cheers.
"YES!"
"They did it!"
"The giant stopped!"
"Way to go, Natsu!"
"They pulled it off!"
They cheered while continuing to fend off the remaining Shades.
"What's your plan now?" Makarov asked Noah. "The Element 4 are down, but the Iron Dragon and Jose are still left."
"Hmm... I'll head inside," Noah decided. "Jose will probably make his move now that he's down to just himself and the Iron Dragon. If I'm closer, I can help if needed."
"Good. I'll feel better knowing you're in there."
Makarov nodded, but then his face twisted in pain. "But how am I going to explain this mess to the Council?!"
"We prepared for this," Noah reminded him. "We're the victims acting in self-defense. Phantom Lord ignored the safety of Magnolia's citizens and used forbidden magic. All the evidence points to them being at fault. We'll be fine.
"I'm going in now."
"Right. Be careful."
Makarov composed himself and nodded seriously.
Noah split off a Thought Projection to stay behind and help Wendy and the others heal the injured, then headed toward the now-stationary giant.
Inside, Mirajane, Gray, and Elfman also felt the tremors. They stopped running, steadying themselves as they looked around.
"What happened?"
"Did Natsu break something?"
Gray's first thought was Natsu. That level of destruction seemed right up his alley.
"It stopped! Abyss Break is gone!" Mirajane said with a smile.
"Really?"
"Someone must have beaten the Wind Element. I wonder who?" Gray grinned.
"Now it's just the Iron Dragon and Jose. They should be on the top floor. The others will probably head there too. Let's meet them," Mirajane said.
"Right!"
"Okay, Big Sis!"
Gray and Elfman followed Mirajane as she ran toward the upper levels.
"IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
The moment Abyss Break was dispelled, Jose knew. He screamed in fury and disbelief.
"The Element 4... wiped out by Fairy Tail trash?!"
He had hand-picked the Element 4 himself. He believed they were stronger than Fairy Tail's S-Class wizards, capable of winning one-on-one or even one-on-two. His only real concern had been Makarov, and he'd had a plan to trap him. Even if that plan failed, he looked forward to a rematch of their duel six years ago.
But now, reality had slapped him in the face. His elite team was defeated.
"Eep!"
"No..."
"There must be some mistake..."
The Phantom Lord members around him were equally shocked and terrified.
Jose clenched his fist, veins bulging. "Where is Gajeel?" he demanded.
"U-Uh... we don't know where he went..." a member stammered.
"I'm right here, Master."
Gajeel walked in from the doorway.
"The Element 4 got wiped? Hmph. If they got beaten by trash, they were trash. Gi hi hi! I should have joined the fight sooner!" Gajeel grinned arrogantly.
"Where were you?" Jose ignored his boasting.
"I figured the Fairy-butts wouldn't bring Lucy to the battlefield, so I went looking for her. But I followed her scent... and she's right there on the front lines. Makarov is near her."
Gajeel's grin vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
Jose looked at the scrying screen. There she was, the blonde girl, directing her spirits in battle.
"I didn't expect them to put Lucy Heartfilia on the front lines either. No matter. The primary and secondary objectives are now in the same place. We'll complete them together."
Jose's face was dark.
"Wait, is something wrong?"
"The Shades... there's more of them?"
"And they're stronger!"
"Gah!"
Down below, the Fairy Tail members were caught off guard as the Shades suddenly surged in power and numbers. Many members were injured in an instant.
"Ice-Make: Eagle!"
"Darkness Cyclone!"
Lyon and Simon, the strongest present aside from Makarov and Noah, unleashed massive area-of-effect spells to clear the wave. The guild members regrouped.
"Fairy Tail scum! Since Lucy is with you, I'll just have to kill you all!"
Jose's voice echoed from the giant. He had strengthened the Shades specifically to wipe them out.
Makarov's rage exploded. "Jose!" He started to charge, but Noah's Thought Projection blocked him.
"Gramps, stay here and protect everyone. My main body will handle Jose."
"Make him pay!"
"Absolutely."
After calming Makarov down, Noah saw the guild was flagging. He raised his hand, and a gentle light bathed them. Their magic and stamina were instantly restored.
"Oh! Nice!"
"I can keep fighting!"
Reinvigorated, the guild pushed back the Shades. Noah nodded, satisfied.
On the top floor, Jose stood up.
"Master, where are you going?"
"A few insects have crawled inside."
"Is the Fire Dragon one of them?"
"Yes. But I'm going to teach them that miracles don't happen twice. I will deal with them personally."
"Then leave the Fire Dragon to me. I wanna see who's stronger. Gi hi hi!"
"Fine. But don't lose."
"Of course not. I'm Gajeel, the strongest wizard in Phantom Lord! I don't lose!"
Jose nodded and walked out, Gajeel following with a grin.
"Sorano! Natsu! There you are!"
Sorano turned to see Mirajane, Gray, and Elfman entering the room.
"You guys made it," she smiled.
"Hey, who's that on the floor?" Gray asked, pointing at the unconscious Aria.
"That? That's probably the Wind Element. He was pretty strong," Sorano said casually.
"So you beat him? We were wondering who got the last one," Mirajane said.
"Sorano, Mira, Natsu! You're all here!"
Another group arrived—Ultear, Erza, and Cana.
"You guys too? How'd it go?" Mirajane asked.
"Bad luck," Cana said. "None of us ran into an Element 4 member. Just a bunch of grunts."
"Same here," Ultear said. "We cleared them out and met up. Then Abyss Break stopped."
"So you guys beat the Element 4. What's the breakdown?" Erza asked.
"Natsu beat Fire, Gray beat Water, Elfman beat Earth. And the Wind Element..." Mirajane looked at the unconscious man, then at Sorano, Natsu, and Happy.
"Sorano beat him," Happy said. "With one blast."
"So that just leaves the Iron Dragon and Jose..." Erza said grimly.
~~~
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