Just as Gajeel collapsed into the crater, several figures came rushing around the corner of the street.
Jet, visibly anxious, sprinted ahead with Erza, Natsu, and the others close behind.
"What... what happened here...?"
Gray's voice faltered as he stared at the ruined street, then at Gajeel lying motionless, eyes rolled back. The devastation left him speechless.
"I didn't expect Phantom Lord to send someone so dangerous."
Erza's expression turned grim as she recognized the enemy. Her eyes flashed with a trace of barely restrained fury.
"The Iron Dragon Slayer... Gajeel Redfox."
She shuddered at the thought of what could have happened to Levy and the others if Chase hadn't stepped in ahead of time.
"Levy! Troy! Are you two alright?!"
Lucy and the Dark Magician Girl hurried over to check on their friends. Both Levy and the other girl had small cuts and bruises on their cheeks and arms, but nothing serious.
"Thanks to Chase, Lu-chan, and the Dark Magician Girl... we're okay."
Levy smiled as she clasped Lucy's hand, her voice soft. But when she glanced back at Gajeel lying unconscious in the crater, a flicker of fear lingered in her eyes.
"Darn it... I was still one step too slow. Chase already ended the fight!"
Natsu, having made sure everyone was safe, finally let out a sigh of relief then scowled.
He stomped over to the crater and grabbed the collar of Gajeel's shirt, shaking it fiercely.
"Hey! Wake up! You call yourself a Dragon Slayer?! Get up and fight me, you jerk!!"
Happy floated down beside him and raised his little paws helplessly.
"Natsu... he's already out cold."
While Natsu vented his frustration, Chase had quietly walked over to the ruins nearby and found the Saber Fang member Gajeel had previously sent flying.
The guy clearly a background character was lying motionless in the rubble, pretending to be dead. But the moment Chase loomed over him, he instantly dropped to his knees and started babbling incoherently, pleading for mercy with the flattest, most pitiful voice imaginable.
"Chase, who's this?" Erza approached from behind, watching with cautious eyes.
Without a word, Chase knocked the man unconscious with a swift blow to the neck, then grabbed the edge of the man's torn clothing and ripped it open revealing a strange guild emblem etched on his chest.
A stylized sword and tiger pattern glinted faintly in the moonlight.
"Hm... this emblem... I've never seen it before," Erza murmured, folding her arms with a troubled look.
She hadn't expected some unknown guild to be involved in the ambush against Levy and Troy.
"It's Saber Fang," Chase explained. "Just a minor guild, not very well-known."
"Saber Fang...? What are they doing getting involved with Phantom Lord?"
"Maybe it has something to do with me beating up their guild master at the last Guild Conference. Guess he's still holding a grudge."
"What? You beat up the president of Saber Fang?!"
Erza turned to him in surprise.
Erza's eyes widened in disbelief.
She had been involved in the Lullaby incident, but not once had Chase or Master Makarov mentioned anything about this.
"We'll talk about the details after we bring this one back to the guild. I want to hear what he has to say myself."
As Chase spoke, he drew a blank card from his deck. With a flick of his fingers, the unconscious Saber Fang member was sealed inside a shimmering magical prison locking around him like transparent glass.
While the exact motive remained uncertain, knowing Germain's reputation as a muscle-brained meathead with no strategic sense, it was pretty clear: Saber Fang was most likely being used as a pawn by the cunning Jose.
At this stage, Saber Fang wasn't a real threat to the overall situation. But since it now involved two guilds, this was something better left to Master Makarov to sort out.
"What about Gajeel?"
Erza pointed to the crater where Gajeel was still lying unconscious currently being smacked around by a very persistent Natsu.
Her instincts told her that Chase had something else in mind.
"I've got a better idea than dragging him back to the guild," Chase said with a sly grin.
Given Lucy's special background as the daughter of the Heartfilia Konzern, it was now inevitable that Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord were going to collide head-on. Continuing to tolerate things would only give Jose more freedom to act however he pleased.
If that was the case... why not throw a spark into the powder keg and let Phantom be the first to blow?
As for how to do it?
Wasn't Jose pulling all these petty stunts just to provoke Fairy Tail into starting a war?
Then let's flip the script give him a taste of his own medicine... delivered Gajeel-style.
"Erza, if I'm remembering right... Phantom Lord's largest branch is in Oak Town, northeast of Magnolia, right?" Chase asked, smiling.
"That's right... wait, Chase what are you planning?"
Erza narrowed her eyes, already half-guessing his intent.
Once Lucy, Gray, and the others joined them, Chase calmly explained his idea.
The reactions were immediate and mixed.
"Ahahaha! Now that's more like it!" Natsu roared with laughter.
"Aye, sir! I love it!" Happy raised a paw with enthusiasm.
"Hah... you're something else, Chase. Didn't think you had such a dirty side." Gray chuckled, arms crossed.
"Brother Chase, isn't this a bit..." Lucy looked conflicted, her big, kind eyes filled with sympathy.
Erza, who always valued discipline and rules, shook her head slowly. She was silent for a moment, thinking it through then let out a soft sigh and nodded.
Truthfully, she was just as furious as Natsu. But she had been holding back because of the Master's orders.
Still... Phantom Lord's ambush tonight had crossed a line. One that Fairy Tail could not ignore.
It was time to send a message.
So, the team split into two groups.
Chase and Natsu took the unconscious Gajeel with them, mounted their pterosaurs, and soared into the night sky racing toward Oak Town under the cover of darkness.
Meanwhile, Erza, Lucy, Levy, and the others carried the card containing the imprisoned Saber Fang member and returned to Fairy Tail to report everything to Master Makarov.
The Next Morning Oak Town's Central Plaza
In the middle of the bustling downtown square, the tallest and most iconic tower had drawn a huge crowd. Curious townspeople and passersby gathered around, pointing and whispering in astonishment.
"Excuse us, coming through! Phantom Lord personnel, NoNoNo~!"
The Four Elemental Warriors of Phantom Lord the guild's elite squad pushed their way through the crowd after hearing the commotion and rushed to the front of the scene.
The moment their eyes landed on the tower, all four of them froze in place, jaws dropping in disbelief.
There on the wall of the tower was Gajeel Redfox, Phantom Lord's ace wizard... completely naked, magically bound in the shape of a glowing six-pointed star.
His entire backside was exposed to the public. One cheek bore a messy version of the Phantom Lord guild emblem, and the other featured a giant, painted middle finger pointed straight upward.
Chase, mercifully, had chosen not to show Gajeel's face to the crowd or to the various magical recording lacrimas hovering nearby.
"That's... Gajeel?!" Bunnymaru, the fire-element warrior, cried out in shock.
"Don't worry," Juvia said in her usual flat tone, holding up her umbrella. "The rain will wash away the awful graffiti soon. Drip drip..."
"This is... really humiliating. NoNoNo~" muttered the earth-element mage, twisting his body in discomfort as he stared at Gajeel.
"Gajeel... defeated? Ohhh, the shame... the disgrace... my poor comrade!" sobbed Aria, the wind-element, melodramatically wiping her tears.
Unlike Natsu's explosive rage when he saw Levy strung up, the Four Elemental Warriors despite their varied reactions didn't actually seem too upset. Their emotions were subdued at best.
Click... Click...
The heavy sound of leather boots echoed across the plaza.
Joseph Porla stepped forward.
His face was shadowed, his expression unreadable but the storm of ghostly magic surging around him made his fury unmistakable.
He didn't care much about Gajeel himself.
What truly enraged him... was the message this stunt had sent.
Phantom Lord's strongest wizard, mocked in broad daylight publicly humiliated for the entire city to see.
If word of this spread...
How would the rest of Fiore view Phantom Lord, the guild that claimed to be the strongest in the land?
"You're gutsy, Makarov..."
Joseph's voice was ice cold. His eyes locked onto the middle finger graffiti on Gajeel's bare backside, then shifted to the murmuring crowd.
Each word of gossip cut into him like a dagger.
If Makarov's weakness was his precious children, then Joseph's was clear
His pride. His reputation as the master of Fiore's mightiest guild.
And now?
That pride had been trampled in front of hundreds.
"Aria. Contact Germain. Wake up the Six-Legged Assault Walker."
A deep violet magic surged from Joseph's body, twisting the air itself as it spread across the entire square like a wave of dread.
"Everyone... prepare yourselves."
"We're going to war with Fairy Tail."
"All-out war!!"
.....
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