"What?!"
"The 'R System' from ten years ago still has remnants!"
In the main hall of the Ishugal Magic Council headquarters, the newly seated Second Councillor Ogg wore a shocked expression as he listened to his colleagues relay the news.
Chairman Crawford had just gone on vacation when this huge trouble was thrust upon him, giving the interim coordinator Ogg a serious headache.
Nevertheless, the problem still had to be solved.
Ogg pinched the bridge of his nose, forced himself to stay calm, and looked at the youngest ever councillor, Zikrein. "You submitted this information—can you verify its authenticity?"
Zikrein nodded. "Councillor Ulutia has already used the Mage Satellite Array to locate the Paradise Tower, in the near seas of Karurum."
Ulutia immediately transmitted the satellite imagery onto the conference table.
A massive tower stood on a small island, its soaring spire piercing the sky, clearly already completed.
"It's already built... the 'R System'."
A councillor spoke solemnly, but Zikrein corrected, "It's not the 'R System'; it should be called the Paradise Tower, right?"
"That name has been used before, but..."
"Enough. This isn't the time to debate the name; whichever term you use, it's just a label for that black magic."
Another councillor slammed his hand onto the table. "The 'R System' is a forbidden black magic that can twist life and death, easily spawning extremist thoughts and causing massive chaos."
"The immediate priority is to dispatch troops and request assistance from the Mage Guild, to suppress the enemies within the 'R System' as quickly as possible!"
"But we still don't know who the enemies occupying the tower are..."
"What? We don't even have information on the opponent? What is my intelligence department for!"
"Don't say that. We just received news of the last Paradise Tower belonging to the Dark Magic Sect; we can only confirm that the enemy is not the Dark Magic Sect."
"The only thing we know so far is that the tower's master is a mysterious mage named Geral."
"The enemy doesn't matter; once the army presses in, everything will be fine."
"Incompetent fools!"
The angry outburst silenced the debating councillors, who stared in surprise at Zikrein, the usually gentle and calm youth—what had caused his sudden loss of composure?
Zikrein rose, slamming his hands onto the documents on the table. "Sending troops and the Mage Guild is a completely incompetent strategy!"
"Zik! Do you even know what you're saying?"
"That's the Council's standard emergency response protocol!"
"You guys haven't even figured out the situation yet!"
Zikrein's voice grew angrier. "That thing is dangerous—extremely dangerous! There's only one way to swiftly destroy the Paradise Tower."
"Activate the Mage Satellite Array to unleash 'Mage Spirit Power'!"
The moment he said that, everyone's face changed; both the moderate and radical councillors wore expressions of disbelief.
Chrono‑spatial Destruction Magic—'Mage Spirit Power'.
This is the Council's foundational power on the Ishugal continent—its destructive capacity is immense, and its area of effect is incalculable; it could potentially level an entire large nation.
It's even more dangerous than the 'R System' magic.
But if the Council wants to annihilate the 'R System' in a very short time, 'Mage Spirit Power' is the only option.
"There's no time to waste; we must prevent the Paradise Tower from activating!"
Zikrein, his expression fierce, declared, "The chairman is absent, so the nine of us will vote to trigger 'Mage Spirit Power'. Hurry—who's for, who's against?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ulutia raised her hand. "I vote in favor."
The remaining councillors wore solemn faces; just three more affirmative votes would be enough to pass the decision to activate 'Mage Spirit Power'.
A councillor wiped cold sweat from his forehead, "It shouldn't have come to this yet..."
"Zikrein is a'Saint Ten', and his judgment on this matter is more accurate than ours old‑timers," another councillor agreed.
At that moment, the satellite feed suddenly changed.
A sailing ship bearing the Akani Resort flag entered the waters near the Paradise Tower.
"Damn! Uninformed tourists!"
"Damn it, when did that resort even have a sea‑going program!"
As the councillors were about to erupt in curses, the usually silent Sixth Councillor Yajima noticed a familiar figure on the ship.
"Ulutia, could you zoom in on that ship?"
Ulutia enlarged the image to its maximum.
Although the faces of the passengers remained indistinct, every councillor unerringly focused on a short figure, all breaking into delighted smiles.
The reason was obvious: Makalov's Mediterranean hair.
Wherever he was, the Mediterranean‑styled hair atop the man's head glowed like fireflies at night—so vivid and striking.
"It's Makalov!"
"The others on that ship must be the Fairy Tail mages."
"Makalov took part in the campaign to eradicate the Dark Magic Sect ten years ago; he's seen the Paradise Tower before, so he's definitely heading straight for it now."
"Great!"
"..."
The councillors, who had just been grim over the decision to trigger 'Mage Spirit Power', now each wore a look of relieved relaxation.
Even those who previously disliked Fairy Tail now genuinely smiled.
Just kidding—who in the magical world doesn't know that Fairy Tail's specialty is destruction? Sending a demolition crew like them after the tower would be a piece of cake.
With veteran Saint Ten mage Makalov backing them, failure seemed impossible.
Zikrein's expression froze for a moment, then returned to his usual warm smile, though his clenched fists betrayed his inner tension.
Ulutia watched the scene, a corner of her mouth lifting, then she slipped away from the hall with a convenient excuse, retrieving a communication magic crystal in a deserted corner.
"Makalov is heading straight to the Paradise Tower. Our self‑serving pawn plan is falling apart—should we send someone to assist him?"
"Oh? Makalov?"
On the other end, a deep voice paused, "Very well, I'll have Brunotte make a trip."
Upon hearing Brunotte's name, Ulutia's expression shifted—sending that murderer who had slaughtered an entire army... How consistently cruel you are, Chairman Hades.
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