After saying this, Kira chugged the last of his cold drink and smashed the empty cup with a flourish. "It's just so… ugh, not enviable—despicable!"
"Even if they provide food and shelter, making a bunch of kids do this kind of work for eight years straight? That kind of black-hearted boss deserves a beating!" Dispel added, his voice brimming with righteous anger. "Does that jerk think not paying wages means it's not child labor?!"
His words made everyone turn to Dispel with odd looks, especially Kira, who wondered if Dispel was subtly throwing shade at him for not paying wages. Nah, that can't be it. He's the one who said he didn't want pay, right?
"Where'd you even pick up talk like that?!" Kira snapped. "Is that really the point here?"
Dispel didn't back down. "I read it in one of your books…"
The group's weird glances shifted back to Kira.
Kira froze, flustered. "N-nonsense! You're slandering me! That was just a novel—stuff in novels doesn't count!"
But before Kira could finish his dramatic defense, Natsu cut him off. "Treating his own comrades like that? This Jellal guy—I won't forgive him!"
"Ahem…" Kira crossed his arms, throwing in a warning. "Don't underestimate him! He's one of the Ten Wizard Saints, you know!"
Lucy's eyes widened at the mention of Jellal's strength. "A Wizard Saint? Like the Guild Master or Jose from Phantom Lord? Is this Jellal guy that strong?"
"Absolutely!" Kira nodded confidently. "The Council's Siegrain—Jellal's thought projection—is one of the Ten Wizard Saints too."
"How do you know so much about this?" Lucy asked, curious. "Did Erza tell you?"
At her question, Natsu and Gray shot Kira jealous looks, as if saying, Yeah, why do you know all this when we don't?
Kira smirked, puffing out his chest. "Who do you think I am? I'm Fairy Tail's intelligence expert and chief strategist! Of course I'd know something this important. Even Erza doesn't know I know!"
As they spoke, the Tower of Heaven loomed closer.
Looking ahead, they could see several figures moving back and forth, clad in heavy armor and wielding long spears—clearly a patrol team. Beyond them, at the entrance to the deeper passages, two burly guards stood watch every hundred meters or so.
With defenses this tight, sneaking in unnoticed would be nearly impossible.
Lucy's voice wavered slightly. "It looks like there are a ton of guards… Are we really just gonna charge in like this?"
"Hm?" Kira stood at the ship's bow, striking a dramatic pose. "Who do you think I am? Pull the ship over!"
Unfortunately, the others didn't quite catch the flair of his performance and just nodded quietly, seemingly on board with the plan.
With Kira leading the charge, plus Dispel—who had once taken down Jose with a single strike—alongside Natsu, Gray, and Juvia, Lucy wasn't too worried. As the ship sailed boldly forward, their resolve only grew stronger. They stepped up to stand beside Kira, ready to storm the shore, rescue Erza and Happy, and give Jellal a thrashing.
"Who's there?!"
The patrol team quickly spotted Kira's ship—not surprising, since he wasn't trying to hide at all. If he'd wanted, there were plenty of ways to slip into the Tower of Heaven without alerting the guards. Airships or invisibility magic could've let them waltz in and out like ghosts. But charging in so openly? That was to show the enemy their determination!
Definitely not because someone forgot those stealth options or because certain items can only be used once!
"Let's say hello first!"
Kira transformed in a flash, donning a stylish white cape. He raised his right hand, fingers tracing a mysterious, seemingly random symbol in the air. The golden glow at his fingertips radiated power, and the faint pulse of magic made the non-mage guards tremble in fear.
Gray, unimpressed, rolled his eyes. "What are you doing? Now's not the time to show off."
"What are you talking about?" Kira didn't even turn around. "The attack's already started!"
"Huh?"
Dispel tapped Gray with his sheathed sword and pointed upward. "Look up there!"
The group glanced skyward and saw a massive golden magic circle shimmering in the air. At its center was a giant, ten-meter-wide ring—not part of the circle, but the manifested barrel of Kira's spell.
A cannon that big?
"What's that?!"
Before they could ask more, Kira unleashed his attack. A colossal beam of magic energy erupted from the golden barrel, unstoppable as a cascading waterfall, awe-inspiring as a falling meteor.
No need for precision—this attack wasn't aimed at anyone specific. The golden beam tore through the sky, outshining even the midday sun.
BOOM!!!
The beam slammed into the enemy's stronghold. Before the guards could react, a deafening explosion roared behind them, followed by a powerful shockwave.
The wind howled, the tower trembled, the enemies screamed—and Kira laughed.
"That kind of magic… it's even stronger than the Jupiter Cannon!" Juvia gasped. "Back when Phantom Lord fought Fairy Tail, if you'd used something like this…"
"Their Ghost Lotus Castle would've been reduced to rubble!" Kira cut her off. "I'm not some heartless thug. Even if two guilds go to war, even if you guys wrecked our guildhall and attacked our friends, I wouldn't use this kind of magic on you."
Juvia tilted her head, puzzled. "Why not?"
"It's simple—Phantom Lord didn't deserve that level of punishment!" Kira's expression softened. "In my book, magic exists for love, justice, and peace. The stronger the magic, the more it should be used to punish evil and uphold good, not to settle personal grudges."
Lucy's mind flashed to her late mother's words—"The origin of magic is love"—and something clicked, deepening her understanding of magic's essence.
The others didn't fully grasp Kira's philosophy, especially Natsu and Gray, who valued their comrades above all else. To them, if someone was an enemy, you fought with everything you had—as proof of your strength, loyalty to your friends, and respect for your foe. Still, they couldn't deny Kira had a point. Hurting innocent people wasn't right.
Despite their rough childhoods, they were still young, barely adults.
Among them, only Dispel could somewhat relate to Kira's perspective. As the oldest, with strength close to Kira's and eight years of traveling across Earth Land alone, he understood the weight of wielding great power and the burden of lives taken in battle.
"Hard to believe you of all people would say something so profound," Dispel teased. "Did you lift that from a book too?"
"What? Got a problem with my principles?" Kira shot back.
"Nah, I just thought you were some nutcase before. Guess you've got a bit of that S-Class wizard vibe after all."
"Heh," Kira chuckled lightly, waving to the group. "Let's do this!"
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