"Remember my name," the long-haired mage sneered. "Phantom Lord. Iron Dragon Slayer. Gajeel Redfox."
The moment the words left his mouth, Gajeel vanished in a blur and charged straight at the group, his speed brutal and direct.
"So you're the one who trashed our guild," one of the Fairy Tail mages shouted, launching himself forward. His body flickered as he activated a high-speed movement spell, closing the distance in an instant. He leapt and drove a kick straight toward Gajeel's face.
Gajeel didn't dodge.
His skin darkened, turning black and metallic in an instant. He took the kick head-on.
A sickening impact echoed through the park.
Gajeel didn't slow down in the slightest.
The attacker, on the other hand, was sent flying backward, tumbling across the ground with a cry of pain. The difference in strength was immediate and absolute.
Levy and her teammate reacted at once. Years of working together kicked in instinctively.
Seeds scattered across the ground, sprouting thick vines that surged upward and wrapped around Gajeel's legs and torso. At the same time, glowing letters formed in the air as Levy wrote a single word.
Stone.
A massive rock materialized overhead and crashed down toward the bound Dragon Slayer.
"Iron Dragon Sword."
Gajeel's right arm reshaped itself mid-swing, transforming into a jagged, rotating blade of steel. The vines were shredded instantly. The stone split apart like brittle clay, fragments scattering harmlessly across the ground.
Before either of them could react, Gajeel was already above them.
Levy's heart dropped.
This was no ordinary enemy. Gajeel Redfox was spoken of as Phantom Lord's strongest fighter, a monster on par with S-class mages. They never stood a chance.
Just as he brought his blade down—
"Stop."
The single word cut through the air.
Gajeel froze mid-strike.
His body locked in place as if seized by invisible chains.
Rowan Mercer finally moved.
White wings unfolded behind him as he rose into the air, drifting calmly between Gajeel and the others. His gaze swept over the Dragon Slayer with cool interest.
"An Iron Dragon Slayer," Rowan said evenly. "No wonder everything about you reeks of metal."
He glanced back without turning his head. "Get them out of here. I can't hold him for long."
Levy hesitated only for a heartbeat. Then she and her teammate hauled their injured friend backward, retreating to a safer distance. None of them had expected Rowan to step in like this—especially not without visible spellcasting.
Rowan wasn't worried.
If this had been any other S-class mage, he would have grabbed Levy and fled without hesitation. Even with his wand, fighting someone like Erza head-on was not something he took lightly.
But Gajeel was different.
Too much iron. Too much metal.
Perfect.
Gajeel snarled as he strained against the invisible force binding him. "Interesting. A talking cat with tricks."
His muscles swelled as his magic surged outward in a violent pulse. With a roar, he forced himself free, snapping Rowan's hold through brute strength alone.
"You think this can stop me?" Gajeel bellowed. "Die!"
His blade came down in a lethal arc, slowed only slightly by the lingering resistance around his body.
"Rowan, watch out!" Levy shouted.
Rowan didn't move.
Instead, he lifted a paw and flicked it upward.
The force restraining Gajeel shifted direction instantly.
Gajeel shot straight into the air like a launched projectile, rising over twenty meters before stopping dead, suspended helplessly in midair.
Rowan's control had limits. He couldn't pin down an S-class body outright. But lifting it? That was easy.
With no ground to push against, no leverage to draw from, Gajeel's overwhelming physical power became meaningless.
For the first time, Gajeel's expression changed.
Suspended in the air, limbs flailing uselessly, he stared at Rowan with genuine disbelief.
"What kind of magic is this?"
There was no visible spell. No magical fluctuation. No warning.
He couldn't sense it. Couldn't disrupt it. Couldn't break free.
That frightened him.
"If that's how it is…" Gajeel growled, tilting his head back and drawing in a massive breath. His chest expanded, magic surging violently upward.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!"
Rowan smiled.
"Turn around."
The invisible force twisted Gajeel's body midair, flipping him flat on his back. His face pointed skyward. Rowan drifted beneath him, perfectly positioned in his blind spot.
Gajeel thrashed, trying to twist back, but there was nothing to push against. He couldn't even see Rowan anymore.
The roar erupted anyway—an immense blast of iron-laced energy—firing uselessly into the night sky.
It dissipated without hitting anything.
"My turn," Rowan said calmly.
He hovered directly beneath Gajeel, maintaining the invisible grip with one hand. With the other, he raised his wand and aimed it squarely at Gajeel's back.
"Stupefy."
A flash of red light struck true.
Gajeel's body went limp midair.