Chapter 33: Phantom Lord – The Beginning of War (6)
Natsu charged straight into Phantom Lord's headquarters and made his way to Jupiter's power source.
There, he was confronted by Totomaru of the Element 4, wielder of the Flame God magic, and a battle quickly erupted.
"I'm seriously pissed off now!"
"Natsu! That's enough! Calm down!"
"Shut it!"
Natsu's flames proved ineffective against Totomaru, who could freely control fire, forcing Natsu into a difficult fight. Frustrated, he abandoned magic and lunged at Totomaru with his bare fists.
Totomaru, unimpressed, scoffed at him.
"Giving up on magic and going bare-handed? Then my sword gives me the advantage."
Drawing the blade at his waist, Totomaru easily sidestepped Natsu's punches and countered with swift sword strikes.
Natsu blocked the attacks with his body, then once again channeled magic into his fists, launching a blazing punch.
"You really don't learn, do you…?"
"Ghh—"
Unable to control the redirected flames, Natsu ended up punching himself in the face. Yet, by sheer accident, he discovered something.
"Urgh…!"
"Wha—!"
The flames swirling around his body spread outward, brushing against Totomaru. Realizing this, Natsu's eyes sharpened, and he grinned.
"Heh…"
"…Tch… You extended the range of your flames far enough to reach me?!"
When Natsu formed a massive fireball in his hand, Totomaru quickly leapt back, moving to a range where Natsu's attacks couldn't reach.
"I won't fall for the same trick twice!"
"Natsu!"
"Uoooooh!!"
"Fall to your own flames!"
Totomaru tried to seize control of Natsu's fire again—only to realize with a shock that he couldn't. Natsu was blocking his magic.
The ability to read an opponent's magic and shut it down wasn't something that could be mastered instantly. Even a seasoned mage would need prior knowledge and preparation—but Natsu had figured it out mid-battle.
"Natsu!"
"These flames are mine! Don't you dare move them!"
A huge mass of fire surged toward Totomaru, its power immense. But the aim seemed poor, allowing Totomaru to dodge effortlessly.
"Ha! If it doesn't hit, it's useless!"
"I was never aiming for the likes of you in the first place!"
"What?!"
From the start, Natsu hadn't been targeting Totomaru—he was after the massive lacrima behind him. With Jupiter's firing sequence down to a single minute, Natsu's attack smashed the lacrima to pieces.
Totomaru, aghast at the destruction, turned back to Natsu.
"You're next."
"Eeek!"
Totomaru was terrified. Jose had boasted that with Fairy Tail's main forces down, it would be like fighting helpless babies. Totomaru had believed that too—until now.
Fairy Tail still had wizards as dangerous as Makarov and Erza… and Natsu was one of them.
...
Several Fairy Tail members cried out when Jupiter's muzzle exploded and the massive cannon came crashing down—but there was no time to celebrate.
Before them, standing in the path of hundreds of Shades, was a figure that sent ripples of shock through the guild.
"No way… Is that really Ciel?"
"That's impossible! Ciel is dead!"
"Don't tell me… Did Jose actually bring Ciel back?!"
The wizards wavered in disbelief. The man before them was enough to terrify anyone—one who had once fought Gildarts to a standstill and handled Laxus as if he were a child. He was the universally acknowledged strongest wizard in Fairy Tail.
And now, Ciel Illusian stood before them… as an enemy.
Cana swallowed hard, a bitter look on her face as she stepped forward.
"Ciel, stop!"
He didn't respond. His expression remained blank as he walked toward Erza and Mirajane—both unable to fight, one incapacitated and the other drained of magic.
Realizing she was the only one who could stand in his way, Cana planted herself before him, though her face twisted in pain.
She remembered the man who had been kind to her and the other younger members, who helped without hesitation whenever they were in trouble.
The one who had invited her over when she didn't want to go home, offering a humble party and a place to sleep… to Cana, he had been like an older brother.
Even knowing he was Jose's puppet, she didn't want to fight him. That was her true feeling.
"Ciel… please, snap out of it! I don't want to hurt you. Even if you've been revived as Jose's puppet, I don't want to fight you…"
No answer. He continued forward, step by step.
"But if you come any closer with the intent to attack… I'll fight back."
Ciel's face remained unchanged as he closed the distance.
"Ciel!"
"Damn it… Card Magic—The Sun!"
Grimacing, Cana hurled an attack card. A massive sphere of flame slammed into Ciel.
The explosion roared, flames engulfing him, and Cana quickly called to Max and Loki to move the wounded to safety. But before they could act, Ciel stepped out of the fire without a single scratch.
"…I knew it… That won't be enough…"
The moment she reached for another card, Ciel's hand darkened and he blurred forward. In an instant, he was in front of her—and his fist crashed into her face. Cana was sent flying by a single blow.
"Kyaaaaaah!"
"Cana!"
"Ciel! Wake up! We're guildmates! Please, come to your senses!"
Max, unable to stand by, rushed forward—only to be kicked away just as effortlessly.
The watching guild members knew the truth: if they wanted to save Ciel from Jose's control, they had no choice but to bring him down.
"We can't do it any other way! We have to defeat him!"
"I haven't been here long, so I don't know him… but right now, he's our enemy!"
"I'll fight too!"
Loki had never met Ciel in life, but from Mirajane and the others, he had heard the stories. Even so, the man before him was an enemy threatening their own.
Those who agreed launched their strongest magic at him.
From the sidelines, Mirajane and Erza trembled, crying out to stop.
"Everyone… stop! It's Ciel! Please… please, stop!"
"No… you can't beat Ciel… not like this!"
Their voices went unheard.
And so, the battle between the resurrected Ciel and the wizards of Fairy Tail began.
While they fought, the walls of Phantom Lord's fortress collapsed—revealing its true form.
....
"Ugh… ugh… urgh…"
"What's… what's wrong with you…?"
As Phantom Lord's headquarters revealed its true form and began transforming into a massive moving fortress, Natsu clutched his mouth with both hands and started gagging.
Totomaru, who had been tense moments earlier, relaxed as he watched the fire wizard sway unsteadily. His narrowed eyes gleamed with sudden realization.
"Wait… are you… motion sick from the movement?"
"Heh… so you're weak against vehicles, huh?"
A grin spread across Totomaru's face. The dangerous fire wizard who had just been reading his magic was gone—before him now was just a helpless rookie doubled over in nausea. Finishing him would be as easy as swatting a fly.
"Yes! My chance to turn the tables! Even if my flames can't hurt you, what happens if you get hit like this?"
He raised his arms dramatically.
"Behold! My ultimate magic—Rainbow Fire!"
Seven-colored flames flared to life behind him. Natsu, unable to muster his strength in his seasick state, had no solution.
Just as Totomaru reached out toward the dizzy Dragon Slayer—
"Huh? W-wait—"
"Wh-what?!"
Ice began creeping up his outstretched arm, freezing him solid in an instant. Totomaru's shocked cry was cut short as his entire body crystallized in frost.
A massive beast-like hand clamped down over his frozen form.
Realizing what was about to happen, Totomaru screamed at the top of his lungs—
"Waaaaugh!"
The colossal arm hurled him high into the distant sky with overwhelming force.
Happy looked up at the two figures who had frozen and launched Totoomaru, relief lighting his face.
"Gray! Elfman!"
Gray smirked. "Pathetic, Natsu."
Elfman crossed his arms. "A real man makes the vehicle sick, not the other way around."
"O-oh! You guys are so cool… uurrgh—!"
Natsu barely managed to thank them before doubling over and vomiting on the spot. The two didn't bat an eye—they'd seen it more times than they could count.
Gray glanced at the debris around them. "Is this what's left of Jupiter? Not bad."
"Aye!" Happy chirped.
"But why did the building suddenly tilt and start moving?"
"Huh?"
The fortress shuddered to a halt with a loud groan.
Natsu straightened up slightly, curiosity overcoming his nausea.
Sensing something was wrong, Happy spread his wings and zipped toward a window.
"I'll go check outside!"
When he emerged into the open air, his eyes went wide.
"Wha—what is this?!"
The castle's outer walls had collapsed away, revealing a massive, humanoid, robot-like structure. The transformed Phantom Lord fortress extended enormous mechanical arms, preparing to activate a magic array.
Through the rising smoke, Happy could hear fighting everywhere. The noise was deafening, but he managed to catch enough of a conversation to grasp the danger.
He rushed back inside.
"This is bad! The guild's turned into a giant—and it's about to use magic!"
"You're kidding!"
"I'm not! It's some spell that can even wipe out Kardia Cathedral!"
"That means half the town would be gone!" Gray's eyes widened.
If the attack could reach the cathedral in the town center, its destructive range would indeed obliterate half the city.
The three exchanged tense looks before scattering.
"We have to stop it!"
"Let's split up and find whatever's powering this moving fortress!"
"Out of the frying pan and into the fire—!"
With that, they darted off in three different directions, determined to halt the colossal guild's advance.
....
"Everyone…"
It was overwhelming.
Including Loki, everyone had charged in. Even with the injured among us, nearly a hundred wizards surged forward together.
Yet the scene before my eyes was nothing but all of them—collapsed, sprawled out on the ground.
"No way…"
"This is… Ciel's true power…?"
In just a little over ten minutes, Ciel had taken down every last member of Fairy Tail.
No one had died, but they were injured so badly they couldn't fight anymore.
Only Mirajane, Cana, and I—barely holding onto consciousness—could do nothing but stare as Ciel stepped over the bodies of our comrades, walking calmly toward the guild.
"…We can't win… That's not even the power of a normal wizard anymore."
"This is impossible…"
"That's it! I'll go!"
"Mirajane!"
Even with her body in no condition to fight, Mirajane dashed toward Ciel.
Cana and I wanted to stop her, but neither of us could move. All we could do was call her name.
Something about Ciel right now was dangerous—enough to make me wonder if it was even really him.
The fighting style was his, yes. But he wasn't using magic—only strengthening his body with magic power and relying purely on brute force to knock out guild members.
That wasn't like Ciel at all. Approaching him now was practically suicide.
"Ciel!"
"…."
"Stop this! We're comrades! We're both members of Fairy Tail!"
"…."
At her words, Ciel's steps halted.
I swallowed hard, watching him and Mirajane. Cana's eyes narrowed as she noticed him pause as well.
"Ciel… If it's really you, then snap out of it… You love your comrades—you love Fairy Tail, don't you? Please… stop this."
"…."
"Come on… let's end this pointless cruelty…"
"…."
Ciel didn't move. Had he really stopped because of her words?
He hadn't reacted to anything we said earlier, but…
"Ciel… stopped?"
"Is it because of Mirajane?"
The moment Cana and I let our guard down, Ciel's unfocused gaze sharpened—and he drove his fist into Mirajane's stomach.
"Keugh—?!"
"Mirajane!"
Feeling the surge of magic gathering in his hand, I realized the truth.
He hadn't stopped in response to her—he had been charging his magic for a finishing blow.
This wasn't the Ciel Illusian we knew.
As Mirajane was sent flying, Cana's tear-filled eyes hardened. She forced her battered body upright and hurled her cards at him.
"No way!"
"…."
"Do you know how much Mirajane cares for you? How much she's been hurting over you?!"
"…."
"Why won't you wake up?! Mirajane—she… she…!"
"…."
"How can you attack your own family?! Answer me!"
Her voice didn't falter as she sent card after card flying.
Even amid the blasts and flames, Ciel's face didn't change. He kept walking toward us.
The sheer terror sent chills down my spine, but I still glared at him, refusing to back down.
"Ciel… you really—"
"Ghhk?!"
"Cana!"
Ciel broke through her magic, seized her by the arm, and slammed her into the ground.
The dull thud echoed as Cana lost consciousness instantly.
My body was already a wreck. All I could do was glare at him, powerless.
It was humiliating. I couldn't save my comrades… couldn't even protect them.
Why were we fighting each other?
Why did it have to hurt like this?
I clenched my fists, but my body refused to move.
Ciel stepped toward me.
"Ciel…"
"…."
He gathered magic into his foot and raised it above my head.
Was this the end?
I had failed to save anyone.
Just as I closed my eyes, thinking that, a miracle happened.
"?!"
"Huh…?!"
From somewhere, a white owl swooped in and began attacking Ciel.
He swung at it, but the owl's nimble movements dodged every strike, its beak pecking at his head.
Trying to process what was happening, I froze—until an all-too-familiar voice rang in my mind.
[Erza, I need your strength right now.]
It was a voice I had never once forgotten—Ciel's voice.
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