The stunning spell hit Gajeel squarely in the chest, and for a moment his eyelids drooped.
Then they snapped back open.
As a Dragon Slayer, his body was closer to a dragon's than a human's. His resistance to magic was absurdly high, his reserves immense, and his willpower stubborn enough to grind teeth. A single stunning spell was never going to keep him down.
Rowan wasn't surprised in the slightest.
His wand flicked again.
"Stupefy."
Another flash of red struck Gajeel.
And another.
And another.
Rowan didn't stop. He stood calmly beneath the floating Iron Dragon Slayer, firing spell after spell in rapid succession. Red light hammered into Gajeel from every angle, stacking relentlessly.
Ten spells.
Twenty.
Fifty.
A hundred.
No matter how high one's resistance was, it wasn't immunity. Even dragons could be brought down by sheer volume.
At last, Gajeel's eyes rolled back. His body went slack, and he began to snore midair, completely unconscious.
Rowan gently lowered him to the ground.
"Rowan… you actually took down Gajeel from Phantom Lord?"
Levy, Jet, and Droy stared at the unconscious Dragon Slayer in disbelief, their minds still struggling to catch up.
Gajeel Redfox was Phantom Lord's trump card. An S-class mage. The one who had torn through Fairy Tail's guild hall like it was made of paper.
And Rowan had beaten him in minutes.
Until now, Rowan had been known mostly for his repair magic and absurd stamina. Even Erza only knew that his recovery speed was frightening and that he had a ridiculous number of utility spells.
The last major fight anyone remembered was against Eisenwald, and even then Rowan had only landed the finishing blow after Erza had done most of the work.
But tonight?
Tonight, Gajeel hadn't landed a single clean hit.
It had looked less like a battle and more like an adult scolding a child.
"How is this even possible…" Droy muttered.
They had fought Gajeel themselves. They knew exactly how overwhelming he was. Every spell they cast had been crushed effortlessly. The gap in power had been so wide it was terrifying.
Rowan waved a paw, smiling awkwardly. "It's really not what you think. I'm honestly not that strong. I just got lucky."
This wasn't false modesty.
If his ability hadn't hard-countered metal, this fight would have gone very differently. What he'd done to Gajeel was no different from Magneto dealing with Wolverine. The matchup was brutally one-sided.
Gajeel relied almost entirely on iron. Every attack, every defense, every spell screamed metal.
If he'd learned even a handful of non-metal spells, Rowan wouldn't have been able to shut him down so completely.
Against someone like Natsu, this strategy wouldn't work at all.
"Really," Rowan added helplessly when they still didn't believe him. "I just happen to have a trick that works against metal. He ran straight into it."
Levy stared at Gajeel, then huffed. "Fine. But this isn't over."
She puffed out her cheeks and jumped up, slapping the unconscious Dragon Slayer across the face.
"Hey—!"
She yelped and clutched her hand. "Ow! His face is like steel!"
Zero damage dealt. Significant self-inflicted injury.
Gajeel didn't even stir.
"Alright," Rowan said, suppressing a laugh. "Let's take him back to the dorms and get Mirajane. The guild master needs to hear about this."
This wasn't vandalism anymore.
A Phantom Lord S-class mage had openly attacked Fairy Tail members. If Rowan hadn't been there, things would have ended very badly.
That crossed a line the Magic Council couldn't ignore.
Knowing Makarov, this wasn't going to be brushed aside like the guild hall damage earlier.
"Yeah!" Levy snapped. "We're not letting this slide!"
Together, three mages and one cat hauled their unconscious prisoner toward Fairy Tail's shared dormitory, fury driving their steps.
To them, the guild was family. Makarov was their grandfather, Mirajane their big sister. When you got hurt, you went home and told the adults.
The park wasn't far from the dorms. Within ten minutes, they arrived at the building.
"Jet, Droy," Rowan said quickly, "go wake the guys in the men's dorm. Levy, get Mirajane and Erza. I'll wait here."
They scattered instantly.
Moments later, angry voices erupted from both sides of the building as Fairy Tail's mages poured out, weapons and magic ready.
Mirajane emerged last.
Her smile was gone.
"Jet," she said sharply, "go get Erza and Natsu from Lucy's place. Rowan, I'll fetch the guild master."
Dark wings unfurled from her back, demonic and vast, and she shot into the night toward the East Forest.
Rowan watched her go, thoughtful.
So the rumors were true.
He'd heard the stories at lunchtime gossip sessions. About how the gentle, tearful Mirajane was once as strong as Erza. How she wielded one of the most terrifying forms of Take Over magic.
Seeing that aura firsthand, even for an instant, convinced him the rumors were no exaggeration.
The Fairy Tail mages gathered around Gajeel, glaring at him like he was already halfway to a grave.
"That's Phantom Lord's Gajeel?" someone snarled. "Sneaking up on Levy of all people."
"If he wakes up," another growled, "I'll punch him until even his guild master won't recognize him."
Levy, small and furious, stood with her arms crossed, nodding vigorously.
Once things calmed slightly, the guild's information specialist leaned closer, studying Gajeel with wide eyes.
"Levy… you really beat Phantom Lord's ace?"
Levy glanced sideways, then pointed at Rowan. "He did."
The crowd fell silent.
Every eye turned to the cat standing quietly beside the unconscious Iron Dragon Slayer.