Under the rain of cursed blue flames, the ghost soldiers were incinerated one by one, reduced to drifting ash that vanished into the air.
"Don't stop!" Natsu shouted between breaths, eyes blazing. "This is the best fire I've ever tasted! Keep it coming!"
"I plan to turn that walking fortress into slag," he added eagerly.
"Relax," Rowan said, lifting his wand. "I've got plenty."
Cursed flames poured from Rowan's wand in a steady stream, all of it swallowed by Natsu without hesitation. Rowan's magic reserves didn't deplete in the normal way. If he could fully control this fire, he could have filled the sky with it from dawn to dusk. As long as Natsu's body could endure it, Rowan could keep feeding him and drastically amplify the next attack.
"Okay, okay, that's too much!" Natsu suddenly shouted. "It's overflowing. I can't hold it anymore!"
This time, he'd absorbed several times more cursed fire than before. His body began to shake under the strain. Rowan immediately stopped.
"Now," Rowan said sharply. "Use it. Release your ultimate flame."
Natsu grinned wildly. "My own fire in my left hand. Your cursed fire in my right. Let's fuse them."
He brought the two together.
"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"
Red dragon fire and blue cursed fire merged into a massive sphere nearly thirty meters across, swirling violently as heat distorted the air around it. With a roar, Natsu hurled it straight at Phantom Lord's mobile fortress.
Inside the fortress, Jose, the remaining Element Four, Gajeel, and the surviving guild mages stared in disbelief.
"That attack…" someone whispered.
They never imagined that Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer, aided by that strange cat mage, could unleash something on this scale.
"You think you can destroy my fortress?" Jose snarled. "Keep dreaming!"
Dark magic erupted from him as he raised a powerful black barrier in front of the fortress. Decades of Phantom Lord's wealth had gone into building this mobile base and its crystal cannon. He would never allow it to be destroyed here.
The remaining Element Four members and Gajeel abandoned cannon charging and threw up their own defensive spells, pouring everything they had into survival.
The fireball collided with the barrier.
The explosion shook all of Magnolia.
The dark barrier shattered, defensive magic collapsed, and the Brilliant Flame was finally extinguished. The fortress and the crystal cannon survived, but the lake beneath them boiled violently. Nearly a quarter of the water vanished into steam in an instant.
"Tough," Rowan muttered, watching the aftermath. "That's a Wizard Saint for you."
He hadn't expected a single strike to decide everything. After watching Jose clash with Makarov, he already knew it wouldn't be that easy.
No matter. Once wouldn't work, twice would. If twice failed, then three times. He would grind them down if he had to.
"Natsu, again."
Cursed fire surged once more into Natsu. Another colossal fireball followed. Then another.
With each collision, more of the lake vanished, until only half remained.
But the fortress still stood.
When Rowan began forming a third massive fireball, Jose finally snapped.
"How is that cat still casting?" Jose growled. "Does his magic never run dry?"
Even Erza and the others could only stare. Rowan looked as calm as ever, pouring out cursed fire like an endless spring.
"We can't keep this up," Jose said tightly. "Change tactics. Abandon the fortress. We attack directly."
As the fourth fireball formed, the remaining lake water evaporated completely. Jose had no choice. He ordered the retreat from the fortress and led his forces straight toward Fairy Tail.
"Finally," Rowan said quietly, lowering his wand. "That was the goal."
Natsu staggered, trembling. He'd pushed far beyond his limits. If Jose had held out any longer, Fairy Tail would have been forced to fight inside the enemy fortress, which would have been far worse.
Now, the situation had flipped.
Jose's forces were drained. The fortress and cannon were abandoned. Fairy Tail's mages were rested, surrounded by prepared traps and attack tools.
Erza moved instantly. "I'll hold Jose. End this fast."
She donned her Black Wing Armor and charged the weakened guild master head-on. Gray, still near full strength, took on Juvia and Totomaru alone. Elfman, Cana, and Macao swarmed Sol together.
Rowan went straight for Gajeel.
"You again?" Gajeel snarled, memories of that humiliating defeat flashing back as his body suddenly lifted off the ground against his will.
"Stupefy," Rowan said calmly.
Then again.
And again.
And again.
Less than two minutes later, Gajeel lay unconscious at the bottom of the dried lakebed.
Rowan didn't stop. The moment Gajeel fell, he turned and sprinted toward Sol, who was already being overwhelmed.