"Hehe, kill me? I'm a Wizard Saint, boy! I'd like to see a mere S-class mage try." Said Jose with a wicked expression as he stood up and raised his arms while fearlessly eyeing me. "You won't see it… You'll experience it." Stepping forward, I was about to lunge at Jose, but a large magic circle suddenly appeared beneath my feet, illuminating the ground. "Did you think this little trap of yours would stop me?" With a mocking grin, I eyed Jose and dashed forward, running across the magic circle.
"Ho, if I were you, I wouldn't step out of that circle, Cooper." Said Jose with a concerned expression, though I simply scoffed at him, yet just as I was about to step out of the magic council, I sensed grave danger, causing me to immediately come to a halt as I fell face-forward, though by digging my nails into the ground, I managed to narrowly catch myself before touching the ground outside the magic circle. Slowly standing upright, I removed my nails from the ground and slowly backed away while narrowing my eyes at Jose; my instincts warned me of danger, but it wasn't directed at me.
"Smart boy… Stepping out of that magic circle would've brought a great catastrophe upon Fairy Tail." Jose said with a grin as he walked down the steps and stood just outside the magic circle. "What did you do!?" Clenching my fists while glaring at Jose, he slowly walked around the magic circle. "I didn't do anything, but a mage I hired to carve this magic circle did; I don't know the details since she refused to tell me, but I do know that whoever stands within the magic circle now holds the life of every mage with the same guild symbol." Stated Jose with a nonchalant expression, flashing a wicked smile as he stopped, causing me to grit my teeth.
"Here's the fun part; so long as you stay within that circle, Fairy Tail is safe… But the moment you step out of that circle, your friends will experience agonizing pain that'll only increase the longer you remain out of that magic circle." Said Jose with a smirk, raising his head as if he were looking down on me. "So, all I have to do is kill you and break the magic circle?" Despite my words, I knew it couldn't be this simple; if Jose planned a trap like this, I wouldn't be able to break it so easily. "Hehe, defeating me isn't possible, but breaking that magic circle? Go ahead… It'll make my life that much easier to destroy your guild." Stated Jose with a sinister smile before turning around and walking away. "Where the hell are you going, bastard!?" "Hehe, my guild is being attacked; as the Master, it's only right to protect it." With a wave of his hand, Jose left the room, leaving me alone and trapped within the faintly glowing magic circle.
Glancing down at the magic circle, I thought about stepping out; perhaps Jose was bluffing, though, I still couldn't take that risk, especially not right now when they were fighting. 'DAMMIT!' My chest heaved up and in an unprecedented fury, only for my eyes to widen when I realized where Jose was going. 'Fuck, he's too strong for any of them to handle!' Gritting my teeth, I took a deep breath and projected my voice throughout the Guild.
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Erza POV
Requiping into my Heaven's Wheel armor, I manipulated ten swords to fly through the guild hall, slashing several enemies while I fought several others, defeating every one of my opponents with only one or two blows. "Come on, Fairy Tail!" Thrusting my sword into the air, raising our morale, I continued to lead us through the onslaught of Phantom Lord Mages, only to briefly halt when Cooper's voice echoed throughout the guild. "ERZA! RETREAT!" I was in disbelief as the Cooper I knew would never utter such words, not even when facing death, especially not when fighting to avenge his family.
'It's probably just a mage trying to trick me.' Shaking my head, I shifted my attention to the matter at hand and was about to continue, though just as I commanded my swords to return to my sides, a mighty and sinister magic power flooded the guild hall, causing me to subconsciously shiver in fear. "J-Jose Porla!?" Widening my eyes, I gazed upon the figure of the Phantom Lords Guild Master on the opposite side of the guild hall and tightly clenched my swords. 'Why is he here? Shouldn't big bro be keeping him busy? Was he defeated? No, that couldn't possibly happen.'
Although thoughts raced through my mind, I knew I couldn't stall, and although it pained me, I listened to Cooper and followed his orders. "Retreat! Everyone retreat!" "Tsk, dammit!" None were happy at the prospect of retreating, neither was I, but we all sensed the power of Jose Porla's magic power and knew if we stayed behind for a moment longer, we'd be easily defeated; as for Cooper, we'd just have to trust him. "Hehe, do you think I'll allow you to retreat so easily? Go after them, my shades!" Raising his arms, hundreds of ghost-like entities emerged from his body and rapidly flew towards us before brutally attacking without a shred of mercy. "Ugh, t-they're so strong!" "I-I can't freeze them!" "Dammit! Are they immune to fire!?"
"Quickly retreat! I'll cover our flank!" Yelling at everyone, I didn't hesitate to summon all of my swords, numbering a hundred as I manipulated them to attack the numerous shades, though even with my strength, I found it very challenging to deal with them. 'T-To think the difference between me and a Wizard Saint is so massive!' Narrowing my eyes at Jose, who did nothing but stand in the distance, I was attacked from behind by one of the shades as it flew through my body, causing me to feel nauseous while another clawed my chest, tearing through my armor and leaving behind three shallow gashes.
Coughing blood, I swiftly switched to my Adamantine Armor and slammed my arms together, creating a thick shield that I used to block multiple shades, though even so, the sheer power vibrated my organs as I flung out of the guild. "I-I got you, Erza." I could not offer Loke a thank you as we weren't out of harm's way yet. "C-C'mon, we must leave." Loke landed on the ground, and he set me down while I gestured to everyone. "Where is big bro, Erza?" Asked Nab in concern, causing me to bite my lip as I glanced back at Phantom Lord before shaking my head. "Don't worry about big bro, he'd want you all to get to safety first." Although Nab and the others weren't satisfied, they still listened as we fled Phantom Lord.
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Makarov POV
"Old fool, one of them has awoken." Said Porlyusica with a grunt, snapping me out of my nap as I quickly raised my head, looking at Droy, who was groaning in pain while rubbing his head. "Droy! H-How do you feel, my child?" Extending my arm, I gently lifted Droy's head while he violently coughed, expelling some blood in the process. "T-Terrible, Master… H-How is Jet and Levy?" Asked Droy as he glanced at me before shifting his gaze to Jet and Levy, who were both sleeping to his right. "They're alive, just sleeping." With a slow nod, I lowered Droy back onto the pillow while he silently gazed at the ceiling.
"We're already avenging you as we speak, Droy; nearly everyone headed to Phantom Lord with Cooper leading them. I'm sure we'll hear good news soon." With a forced smile, I attempted to cheer Droy up, though it seemed to have a negative effect as his eyes widened. "N-No! T-They've s-set up a trap f-for Big-urgh, bro!" Hearing Droy, I furrowed my brows and gently pushed him back onto the bed, preventing him from moving. "What do you mean, Droy?" Before he could respond, I heard voices, prompting me to leave the infirmary as I stepped out into the guild hall, only to see my children, though they were all injured and exhausted, especially Erza; however, what worried me the most was that I didn't see Cooper.
"W-We apologize, Master, but we failed and were forced to flee." Said Erza with an ashamed expression while bandages covered her chest. "No, it's fine, so long as you all are alive; however, where is Cooper?" Gently patting Erza, I sat her down in a chair. "He stayed behind, Master; we don't know why, but mid-way through, he ordered us to retreat." Said Laki with a concerned expression, causing me to clench my fists as I thought back to what Droy said, though before I could gather more information about the battle, the door was suddenly opened, and to my shock, a heavily injured Reedus leaned against the doorframe. "Reedus! What happened, man!?" Yelled Natsu as he and Nab quickly helped Reedus to the bar.
"T-They took, Lucy, Master. P-Phantom Lord, t-they took Lucy!"