"You two did very well."
Makarov came to Moen and Laxus and spoke.
But to be honest, Makarov had not expected things to develop into this situation. He felt a sense of powerlessness, as if events had slipped out of his control. Everything had happened far too suddenly.
Jose Porla had been eager for revenge, Laxus had been eager to prove himself, and Moen could not stand watching Laxus being suppressed by Jose Porla. The battle had begun rapidly, and its intensity had escalated just as quickly, until it reached this irreconcilable level in the end.
They had originally come here only to have Jose Porla hand over Totomaru, who had already been acknowledged and was willing to become their companion. Yet somehow, they had ended up fighting a battle.
Jose Porla had gone mad and completely destroyed half of Oak Town. If he and Moen had not stopped it, the remaining half of the town likely would have been affected as well. This was truly an unexpected accident.
Of course, unexpected as it was, Moen and Laxus defeating Jose Porla was still worthy of praise.
Regardless of whether Jose Porla had been in peak condition this time, Makarov had not intervened during the battle, only stepping in afterward to protect the town. This victory was solid and unquestionable.
It would not take long before news of this battle spread. When that happened, Moen and Laxus would rise to fame together.
And Moen's previous achievement would once again be brought up and discussed with relish. All the efforts Jose Porla and Phantom Lord had made during this period to refute the rumors would become useless.
"I hope Totomaru is alright."
Looking at the collapsed Phantom Lord guild hall, Moen quietly offered a prayer for Totomaru. They had come to take Totomaru with them, hopefully they had not ended up harming him instead.
"He should be fine…"
Makarov was not entirely certain either. The Phantom Lord guild hall had collapsed rather severely.
If he had run quickly enough, perhaps he could have escaped with his life. But if Totomaru had still been restricted in his freedom, then it would truly be over for him.
There was no helping it. The guild hall had been the closest building to the battlefield and naturally had suffered the worst damage. Moreover, it had been behind Jose Porla, so there had been no way for them to protect it.
If anything, that guild hall had actually shielded some of the buildings behind it. The structures at its rear were visibly more intact than those on the other two sides. In a sense, it had been destroyed for a purpose, helping Jose Porla cause slightly less damage.
"If that guy couldn't escape, then it just means he doesn't qualify to join us."
Laxus spoke without mercy. He did not know Totomaru. If that person called Totomaru could not even withstand the aftermath of the battle, then what was the point of recruiting him into the guild?
Bringing him in would only mean another burden dragging the guild down. In Laxus's view, everyone in the guild should be people like him and Moen. If that were the case, they would not merely be the number one guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, they would become the number one guild on the continent of Ishgar.
Of course, there was actually no ranking list that evaluated all mage guilds across the entire continent of Ishgar. If there were, perhaps Fairy Tail would already be ranked first.
Although the Kingdom of Fiore occupied only a small portion of the Ishgar continent, it possessed the greatest number of mage guilds on the entire continent. It was truly a paradise nation for mages.
In Fiore, even in cities primarily focused on fishing and tourism, even in cities where the magical atmosphere was not particularly strong, at least one-tenth of the population possessed the basic magic power required to use magical tools. This was a true magical nation.
Of course, that ratio referred to "cities." The proportion of urban population in Fiore was relatively small. In the countryside, most were "Muggles." Although the number of registered mages in Fiore was not small, saying that out of nearly twenty million people at least one-tenth were mages would be somewhat exaggerated.
"Don't say that, Laxus. Totomaru's strength is actually quite good. He's a fairly strong Fire Magic mage."
Moen defended Totomaru. Even if he joined Fairy Tail, Totomaru could still be considered an elite mage. Moreover, he was especially effective against other Fire Magic mages, almost invincible against opponents of the same attribute.
"So what now? Are we supposed to dig him out?"
Looking at the ruins, Laxus clicked his tongue.
"Of course we have to dig. Not just to save him, half of Oak Town needs rescue. Who knows how many people were affected…"
Makarov took over and issued his orders. First and foremost, they had to do their best to rescue Oak Town. They certainly could not just pat their backsides and leave. They had to find a way to help.
Moreover, members of the Magic Council would likely arrive shortly. They would need to properly explain the course of events.
This time, they were not the ones who had caused destruction. On the contrary, they had protected half of Oak Town from the crazed Jose Porla.
"In fact, it might not have caused that many casualties. Once the intensity of the battle escalated, the residents of Oak Town likely evacuated to shelters long ago."
Moen continued after Grandpa Makarov.
Oak Town, as a historic magical city even within the magical nation of Fiore, had residents who certainly knew when to take shelter. It was an instinct carved into their bones.
Just like Magnolia, even it had a special "Gildarts Mode."
A city without any emergency measures against magical attacks would not last long in Fiore. People without sufficient awareness of danger would not survive long in Fiore either.
"That… does make some sense."
Makarov's mouth twitched, but then he nodded. Although what Moen said sounded a little outrageous, it did indeed suit the national conditions of the Kingdom of Fiore.
After all, this country's situation was special. While it had the greatest number of mage guilds, it also had the greatest number of Dark Guilds.
And those dark mages from Dark Guilds, the magical beasts in the mountains and forests, and even "demons," could all threaten the safety of cities. Naturally, everyone's sense of safety awareness would be very high.
This also explained why Fairy Tail often caused destruction in towns yet had never injured anyone. First, they were careful themselves, and second, the residents everywhere had a strong awareness of emergency evacuation.
"What about Jose Porla, how should we handle him?"
Moen looked toward Jose Porla, who was kneeling on the ground without moving. This powerful "Wizard Saint" would not be killed outright by Laxus's single strike of "Fairy Law." After all, before being hit, he had also used his magic power to block it.
"Let's detain him for now. Later, we'll hand him over to the Magic Council. They should be arriving very soon."
Makarov spoke. With such a huge disturbance here, even if the Magic Council members were deaf, they should have noticed it.
However, Makarov truly did not know whether the Magic Council had a branch office in this city. But whether they did or not was no longer important. Even if there had been one, it had probably already been blown flat by Jose Porla.
"I hope they're alright."
Makarov offered a prayer for the Magic Council members. The follow-up work would require their assistance.
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