As Lorne's words fell, the atmosphere in the entire meeting hall dropped to freezing point.
"Impudent!"
Councilman Reji's angry roar sounded again, his fury having reached its peak.
"Watch your words, Lorne!"
"You are the one on trial now! You are not here to question the Council!"
He pointed sharply at Lorne, his voice distorted by emotion.
"Dare to speak disrespectfully again, and our Council has every right to directly classify your Fairy Tail as a Dark Guild!"
This was a blatant threat.
However, Lorne seemed to think even looking at him for an extra second was a waste of time.
"How annoying!"
He had originally wanted to play the so-called game of rules with this group, but now it seemed completely unnecessary.
Reasoning with a bunch of idiots who only squawked was inherently a foolish endeavor.
A hint of impatience appeared on Lorne's face.
"So..."
He spoke slowly, his voice not loud but clearly audible throughout the hall.
"Is this the Council's decision?"
These calm words were like an invisible slap, harshly striking the faces of all the councilmen who supported Reji.
Reji was completely enraged by Lorne's attitude of utterly disregarding him, and he abruptly turned to the Speaker at the highest point.
"Mr. Speaker!"
"This fellow is beyond saving! He has no intention of repenting whatsoever!"
"I propose that the final judgment be carried out on him immediately! Announce it directly!"
Crawford's gaze lingered on Lorne for a moment, then slowly swept over the councilmen's seats below.
He did not make a decision immediately, but instead asked in a deep voice:
"Everyone, what are your opinions?"
As his words fell, Reji unhesitatingly raised his hand.
Immediately after, several councilmen next to him also raised their hands in support.
One, two, three... In the end, except for Agitama, who looked anxious, and the other two councilmen, Org and Mikelo, who had remained silent, all six other councilmen raised their hands high.
Six votes in favor, three against.
The result was self-evident.
Old Man Agitama's heart sank, and he opened his mouth but found himself powerless to change the situation.
Ultear's lips curved into a playful smile, seemingly looking forward to seeing Lorne's expression next.
Looking at those six raised hands, Lorne suddenly smiled.
He slowly flexed his wrists, emitting a slight crunching sound of bones.
The next moment.
"Boom—!"
An indescribably terrifying magical power erupted from Lorne's body!
This magical power even faintly surpassed the so-called Ten Wizard Saints level!
The entire meeting hall trembled violently under this pressure, as if it could shatter at any moment!
"Crack... crackle..."
Under the horrified gazes of all the councilmen, the surface of the anti-magic handcuffs on Lorne's wrists, which were said to completely suppress a Mage's magical power, instantly became covered in a dense, spiderweb-like frost!
"Bang!!!"
With a crisp explosion, the incredibly sturdy anti-magic handcuffs actually shattered in response!
Countless metal fragments, shimmering with cold air, scattered and flew, clattering as they fell to the ground.
"..."
"..."
Everyone in the entire meeting hall stared at this scene dumbfounded, their minds blank.
This... how could this be possible?!
Those were the Council's specially made anti-magic handcuffs; let alone ordinary Mages, even if a Ten Wizard Saints wore them, their internal magical power should be suppressed and unusable!
But now... they were actually... ignored by a young man?!
To what terrifying extent had this fellow's magical power reached?!
Having lost his last resort, Councilman Reji, who had been so arrogant before, now had an unconcealable tremor in his voice.
He pointed at Lorne with a fierce but inwardly weak demeanor, forcing himself to shout:
"You... what do you want to do?!"
"This is the Magic Council! Do you still want to make a move here and openly defy the Council?!"
Lorne did not answer, merely raised his head and swept his calm, unruffled eyes over them.
That terrifying and peerless magical pressure instantly descended like a materialized mountain upon the six councilmen who had raised their hands, as well as the leading Reji!
"Thud!"
"Ugh... ah..."
The seven high-ranking councilmen were struck as if by lightning in that instant!
Their faces instantly turned pale, their breathing became difficult, and they couldn't even utter a word, only managing to desperately grip the tables in front of them to barely avoid kneeling on the spot.
Jellal could only try his best to maintain his Siegrain thought projection.
Ever since reversing Ur's time state and simultaneously pulverizing the demon Deliora into nothingness, Lorne had felt his magical power constantly growing at an incredible rate.
He was stronger now than before.
Much stronger!
Seeing that the atmosphere in the meeting hall had solidified to an extreme, silence reigned, unbroken for a long time.
The Ten Wizard Saints were already the top combatants on this continent.
What's more, this was a monster so young, with limitless potential, and whose strength had already faintly surpassed the scope of an ordinary Ten Wizard Saints!
Just then, Old Man Agitama finally found an opportunity to speak.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly stood up to mediate.
"Alright, alright! Little Lorne, calm down, calm down!"
"Let's talk things over properly; they... they will give you a reasonable explanation!"
As Agitama's words fell, Lorne was willing to give him face, and the terrifying pressure that enveloped the entire hall slightly receded.
The seven councilmen immediately felt the pressure lighten, and Reji subconsciously straightened his back, just about to scold them a few times to save face.
"You..."
However, he had barely uttered a single word when an even more terrifying and solidified pressure than before, precisely locked onto him!
"Thud—!"
This time, Reji could no longer sustain himself; his legs gave way, and he was forced to his knees by this terrifying pressure, his knees even cracking the hard floor!
"Ugh... ugh..."
He lay rigidly on the ground, unable to even lift a finger.
Lorne slowly took a step forward, his voice cold, devoid of any emotion.
"I advise you to think carefully before speaking."
He paused for a moment, his cold gaze slowly sweeping over the other councilmen who were trembling in fear.
"Next time, I might just be... a Dark Guild member, as you called me."
"And you..."
Lorne's voice was filled with an undisguised, chilling killing intent.
"...will surely die."
That almost materialized killing intent made Reji and the other councilmen shudder violently, as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
They had no doubt that this man would absolutely do what he said!
"I'm not very afraid of your so-called Etherion."
"If you don't believe me, you can try."
This sentence became the final straw that broke the camel's back.
"Enough!"
At the highest point, Speaker Crawford finally spoke again, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
He looked deeply at Lorne below and said:
"I understand..."
He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only resolve remained.
"Lorne, is it."
"I, in my capacity as the Speaker of the Magic Council, hereby declare!"
"The Fairy Tail Guild has committed no wrongdoing in this Phantom Lord annihilation incident and is not required to undergo any form of punishment!"
A hint of unconcealed compromise had entered his voice.
With the Speaker's pronouncement, Lorne slowly retracted that terrifying magical power and killing intent back into his body.
The pressure in the entire meeting hall suddenly vanished, and Councilman Reji immediately collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his body already drenched in cold sweat.
Lorne shook his head, looked at the Speaker at the highest point, and a faint curve appeared on his lips.
"To declare innocence now..."
"I'm afraid it's already not enough!"
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