"Boom!!!"
An explosion roared, sending the ruins of the Phantom Lord Guild hall flying, a whirlwind of sand and stones scattering everywhere.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Followed immediately by successive blasts, magic continuously striking. Obviously, there seemed to be quite a few people trapped beneath the ruins.
Before long, a complete exit was blasted open, and the mages hiding in the guild's basement began to emerge one by one.
Leading them was the very one Moen and the others had been looking for, Totomaru.
When the guild hall was hit, the members inside had immediately chosen to hide in the underground shelters.
After all, in that situation, there was absolutely no way to escape; with the guild hall nearly collapsing from the impact, who would dare go out?
The only option was to hide underground before the building fell, which was safer. No one was reckless enough to go out, and Totomaru, from the start, had been imprisoned underground.
When the guild members hid below and were leaderless and panicking, naturally they thought of Totomaru, previously one of the "Three Elements."
Totomaru was always righteous and strong. Everyone didn't mind letting him out, especially now, when they really needed a figurehead to lead them.
The fact that Totomaru had been imprisoned was never fully supported by the guild members.
The Phantom Lord Guild members weren't foolish either. If Totomaru could be treated this way, who's to say they wouldn't be next?
Although they might not have been strong enough to suffer the same treatment, the feeling of "mourning one's own kind" was inevitable.
Totomaru hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, it could be said he had acted with utmost justice. He had intended to leave the guild, yet he brought back his defeated companions instead of letting them disgracefully run to Fairy Tail.
He could have left immediately after submitting his resignation, but he waited until Jose Porla was released to personally bid farewell to the guild master, giving him face.
But all this was met with a backstab from Jose Porla.
Jose Porla's actions in his shame and rage were an absolute blunder. For the already fragile Phantom Lord Guild, it was yet another severe internal blow.
The guild's continued existence, its ability not to collapse entirely, was entirely due to Jose Porla's "terrifying rule."
Yet Jose Porla's behavior was not entirely incomprehensible. He was headstrong, arrogant, and prideful.
After suppressing his injuries and barely managing to leave confinement, seeing his reputation become like this, he fell into a rage, wishing he could eliminate all the media spreading lies to restore his "innocence."
The defeat of the "Three Elements" was the perfect fuel to his fire.
"Air Element" Aria was captured by the Magic Council, "Earth Element" Sol severely injured, even Gajeel looked dazed and only you, Totomaru, remained unscathed, yet still planned to leave the guild.
Under these circumstances, Jose Porla didn't care about the actual events, didn't care if they went to Magnolia to provoke him, didn't care that Aria had gone mad there, or about the lives of Magnolia civilians.
He placed all the blame on the "inaction" and "retreat" of Totomaru, outright refusing to let him leave the guild and forcibly imprisoning him.
This obvious illegal behavior drew dissatisfaction from everyone, yet no one dared oppose Jose Porla at that time. They could only watch as the innocent Totomaru was imprisoned.
Once freed, Totomaru bore no grudge. He didn't complain that no one had spoken up for him when he was confined.
After all, no one daring to oppose Jose Porla was completely normal. Jose Porla was the tyrant of the Phantom Lord Guild.
After gaining freedom, Totomaru took the initiative to lead everyone in breaking through the ruins.
He probably guessed some of the current developments. His plea for help to Fairy Tail had likely been received, and it should be Fairy Tail coming to rescue him.
Moreover, it was highly likely that Master Makarov had come personally, otherwise Jose Porla would not have unleashed such power.
Totomaru was deeply moved. That elder truly kept his word. Just because of a promise made back then, he had traveled so far to rescue him.
"What… what happened here?"
Emerging from the ruins, Totomaru gaped at half-intact, half-destroyed Oak Twon. The other guild members were the same. Was this really the work of Master Jose Porla?
They all knew that the guild hall's collapse was Jose Porla's doing. After all, his magic power, full of deathly aura, was unmistakable. That terrifying dark magic could belong to no one but their guild master.
After their initial shock, they saw guild members scattered on the ground and Master Jose Porla kneeling. Their eyes widened further.
"The guild master was defeated?"
Though utterly shocked, the reality before them could not be denied. It seemed the Phantom Lord Guild had been wiped out.
"Totomaru! Lead your people and come help!"
Seeing the mages emerge from the ruins, Makarov shouted. They were short on manpower, so Totomaru immediately led his people to assist in the rescue.
"All right!"
Totomaru reacted quickly, promptly gathering his people to help with the rescue.
"Master Jose… has he gone mad?"
While clearing debris, the Phantom Lord Guild members couldn't help but wonder. Why would Master Jose Porla unleash such powerful magic in Magnolia?
"For his pride."
Totomaru's face darkened. He hadn't expected Jose Porla could go this far. That guy had truly lost his mind!
As time passed, the rescue operation progressed smoothly. Though many houses had collapsed, few residents were injured. They had either been organized to evacuate early or had hidden in underground shelters.
The residents protected by Moen and Makarov also joined the rescue efforts, freeing more and more people who had hidden underground.
At this time, the Magic Council finally arrived, fashionably late. They seemed to always know the right timing to appear after a battle concluded.
"Master Makarov, what's going on?! Again Fairy Tail?! And this time you personally led them?!"
Upon seeing Makarov, the Magic Council leader appeared unsurprised, as if it suddenly made sense. He seemed very familiar with handling Fairy Tail-related matters.
The only thing he hadn't expected was that Makarov personally led the operation this time. Truly, "a crooked beam makes crooked pillars", what kind of general produces what kind of soldiers!
"Wait, Dekarisu, don't make it sound like this was our fault too."
For the first time, Makarov could defend himself in such a situation instead of silently accepting the accusation.
"You're saying it wasn't you? Do you think I'd believe that? Shall I list Fairy Tail's record over the past two months? Three streets burned, half a downtown destroyed, an entire dock area blown up, more than two hundred shops and houses damaged! And you tell me it wasn't you?!"
Leader Dekarisu spoke through gritted teeth, reciting Fairy Tail's exploits as if by rote. He clearly dealt with many Fairy Tail-related incidents.
"…."
Makarov's face darkened. It was awkward to be confronted with such a detailed tally right to his face.
"I'll just say this: in the past two months, the losses caused by Dark Guilds were far less than the losses caused by Fairy Tail!"
Dekarisu, not young himself, showed no respect for Makarov. While directing his subordinates to join the rescue efforts, he continued to criticize, making Makarov's face darken further.
"That criticism is a bit harsh. At most, we only caused property damage. Unlike Dark Guilds, we don't kill people."
In Fiore, few could make Makarov feel insecure, but the Magic Council had that ability.
No choice, Fairy Tail's kids really did have a knack for causing trouble.
"Yes, you've been very lucky. You caused massive destruction, yet so few were injured each time. Otherwise, Fairy Tail would have been considered a Dark Guild long ago!"
Makarov's words forced Leader Dekarisu to admit it.
Fairy Tail's luck was unexpectedly good. They never considered the circumstances when fighting, their destruction was excessive, yet somehow they always avoided hurting people.
"But… Makarov, restrain your guild members. You can't expect luck every time.
Every time you act recklessly and destroy at will, someday something will go wrong. Look now, after such large-scale destruction, can you guarantee that everyone is safe?"
Although past events proved Fairy Tail's luck, Dekarisu didn't believe in "luck."
Every time he saw the aftermath of Fairy Tail's chaos, he was anxious, fearing the horrifying casualty numbers.
"I already said it wasn't us. If you check, you'll see this damage was caused by Jose Porla's dark magic. In fact, the half of the city still intact is thanks to our protection. Dekarisu, please stop always seeing Fairy Tail with biased eyes."
Makarov's helpless defense. What Dekarisu mentioned was indeed caused by them in other incidents, but this time, it really wasn't them!
"Really? I don't believe it."
Dekarisu's face was suspicious. With Fairy Tail present and large-scale destruction occurring, could it be anyone else? No one would believe it.
"…"
Makarov shook his head, saying no more, letting Dekarisu see for himself.
"Also, there shouldn't have been any casualties this time."
Makarov's words were conservative. The rescue operation was not yet complete, so he couldn't fully guarantee no casualties, but the situation seemed to be returning to the rhythm he knew.
"…"
Dekarisu remained silent. He followed Makarov to the battle center and immediately felt the lingering aura of dark magic in the air, extremely dense.
Jose Porla's magic was instantly recognizable. The air carried death and fear, uniquely his dark magic's aura.
"Master Jose… this is?"
Seeing Jose Porla lying motionless, Dekarisu was shocked. This was one of the "Ten Wizard Saints"! How could he be in such a state, seriously injured?
After the shock, Dekarisu looked at Makarov. Only Makarov could have defeated Jose Porla like this. The old man's strength was truly unfathomable, and Jose Porla looked like he had never fought at all.
"What exactly happened?"
Dekarisu asked, frowning.
"Jose Porla crossed the line."
Makarov shook his head and briefly recounted the events.
"Jose Porla violated the Magic Council's laws, forcibly imprisoning a mage who wanted to leave the guild."
Hearing the cause, Dekarisu was dumbfounded. This was no minor issue, it violated the core laws of the Magic Council.
The Magic Council, recognized by mages for protecting all their interests, would of course side with the mages, not the guild.
Thus, Jose Porla was clearly at fault this time. He should pray his magic caused no casualties; otherwise, multiple charges would be more severe than Aria's.
Aria herself had also faced multiple charges, having provoked Fairy Tail, which violated one of the Magic Council's core laws forbidding conflicts between guilds.
"Makarov, your actions weren't exactly compliant either."
Dekarisu glanced at Makarov, but he had no grounds to criticize Fairy Tail. Jose Porla had clearly started the wrongdoing, making Makarov justified.
"Upholding the Magic Council's laws is Fairy Tail's duty!"
Sure enough, Makarov had thought this through before bringing people here. He wouldn't leave such an obvious handle.
Moreover, in today's battle, Fairy Tail didn't strike first; Jose Porla did. Makarov merely shouted a warning, and Jose Porla immediately attacked, they were completely reacting defensively.
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