Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Oak.
August, x784.
A few hours before Lucy encountered the blue-haired woman, Juvia, outside of her apartment building, a convoy of three military style troop transport vehicles drove through the gates of Oak Town in Fiore.
As most people's days started fairly early in the Kingdom of Fiore, many people saw the vehicles. The thing that surprised the residents of Oak was the fact that each of the three vehicles was adorned with the Fairy Tail guild emblem. Considering the rivalry between Fairy Tail, and the local guild, Phantom Lord, it was rare to see the Fairy Tail emblem anywhere close to Oak Town.
"Is someone really showing off the Fairy Tail mark so blatantly in Oak?" A middle-aged shop owner asked as she flipped the sign on her shop from "Closed" to "open."
"That's what it looks like." The neighboring shop owner said from the front door of his shop. "I just hope that Phantom Lord doesn't feel too provoked by this."
"Yeah, otherwise the people driving those magic vehicles are in for a tough time." The first female shop owner replied. "I didn't see the driver of the first one, but the two in the back were driven by such young people. I doubt they were even twenty years old."
Many similar conversations took place as the three magic vehicles made their way through the town toward their destination, Phantom Lord's guild hall.
After another ten minutes, all three transport vehicles arrived outside a rather large and imposing building that resembled a fortress from the outside as the entire building was surrounded by stone walls. However, unlike a normal fortress, the main gate on the walls seemed to lead directly into the building they were built around.
As soon as the vehicles stopped and the engines were cut off, Fairy Tail wizards began to pour out of the compartments in the back. On top of that, Natsu, carried by the clearly exhausted Happy, also landed near the forming crowd.
"Thanks, Little Buddy." Natsu said while cradling Happy in his arms.
"*Pant* Aye… *Pant*" Happy replied in a tired tone while raising his hand.
Once the three vehicles were emptied of their passengers, Makarov stepped to the front of the group. Then, without turning around, he addressed the crowd.
"My Children!" Makarov shouted, not caring if the wizards inside Phantom Lord's guild hall could hear him or not. "Today we shall punish those who would dare to harm our comrades! Aree you ready?"
"Yeah~~~~!" The Fairy Tail wizards shouted with anger.
After getting the response he was expecting, Makarov stepped forward. Then, he increased his size until he stood as the same height at the gates leading inside the guild hall.
*Boom!*
"Jose! I've come to make you pay for your crime of attacking one of my children!" Makarov shouted as he kicked the gates off their hinges and sent them flying into the guild hall. "Now! Get down here and receive the punishment you deserve!"
A few minutes before the Fairy Tail wizards arrived at Phantom Lord's guild hall, Gajeel, having run for the entire night, had just arrived in Jose's office and reported how things went on his mission to Jose Porla, Phantom Lord's guild master.
"Though it is a surprise that the Magic Seamstress could fight on par with you, if only for a moment, and managed to stop you from injuring all three of your targets, I'm satisfied with your results, Gajeel." Jose said through a magic projection. "This will undoubtedly force Makarov to act."
"Thank you, Master Jose." Gajeel replied with a grin. "The next time I run into that girl, I'll show her the difference between a normal wizard and a Dragon Slayer."
"I have no doubt." Jose replied. "And if you can make it so that she can no longer run her business, it would be even better. All Fairy Tail scum should be crawling on the ground like the insects they are. That's the price they will have to pay for comparing themselves with Phantom Lord."
"Hehehe. That sounds like it could be fun." Gajeel said with a sinister chuckle.
"Anyway, go inform the rest of the guild to get ready." Jose said. "I expect the scum from Fairy Tail to arrive around noon. That should give us plenty of time to set the stage for their end. Not to mention, that would give Sol and Juvia more than enough time to complete their task."
"Understood, Boss." Gajeel replied with a nod before turning on his heels and making his way out of Jose's office.
*Boom!*
"Jose! I've come to make you pay for your crime of harming my children!" Makarov's enraged shout echoed through the building. "Now! Get down here and receive the punishment you deserve!"
Before Gajeel could leave the office, however, the sound of a few heavy impacts sounded followed by Makarov's enraged declaration.
"How did they get here so quickly?" Jose wondered aloud.
At the same time, Gajeel ran toward the window overlooking the front of the guild hall.
"It looks like they had some secret vehicles hidden away." Gajeel said while licking his lips. "I bet the metal parts will be pretty tasty."
"You can worry about that later, Gajeel." Jose said, snapping out of his thoughts. "Tell Aria to come up here and prepare himself for the plan."
"Got it, Boss." Gajeel replied as he quickly left the office.
"Now, I'm looking forward to seeing the despair on your children's faces after what I have planned for you, Makarov."
At the same time, on the first floor of the guild hall, Makarov and the rest of the members of Fairy Tail entered the guild hall to the shock of all the Phantom Lord wizards who were present. However, as one of the two strongest guilds in Fiore, the Phantom Lord wizards reacted quickly and prepared to fight the intruders.
Immediately afterwards, spells from both sides started flying around the guild hall.
"[Fire Dragon's Roar]!" Natsu chanted loudly as he spewed a torrent of fire toward the enemy wizards.
In response, many of the Phantom Lord wizards proficient in [Water Magic] erected a defense. Unfortunately, Natsu's emotion fueled fire was too much for the hastily erected defenses, resulting in a giant steam explosion that sent wizards flying in all directions.
Meanwhile, Erza was dashing through the enemies, not even [Requipping] out of her normal armor, the Heart Kruez Armor. Instead, she simply summoned a second sword, masterfully switching between offence and defense as she cut down anyone unlucky enough to end up in the range of her swords.
Like Erza, Sun was also dashing through the ranks of the Phantom Lord wizards wither sword using both her [Sword Magic] and [Voice Magic] interchangeably. Meanwhile, Cana formed different combinations of her magic cards and unleashed all kinds of different magics on the enemy. At the same time, Mirajane in her [Satan Soul Take Over] was smashing her fists and unleashing torrents of [Darkness Magic] all over the battlefield.
Although those five drew the most attention on the battlefield, all the other Fairy Tail wizards were not to be out done. Alzack with his twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory, that Alfonzo crafted for him changed magazine's frequently. Each Magazine holding a different kind of magic bullet, leaving all sorts of effects Wherever his pistols pointed. While Alzack peppered the battlefield with his bullets, Bisca found a good vantage point and sniped any Phantom Lord wizard who intended to sneak attack one of her guild mates. Then there was Laki, who sent enemies flying with her [Wood-Make magic] while leaving everyone who heard them confused by her nonsensical spell names.
However, until this moment, there were three Fairy Tail wizards who had yet to engage in the ongoing battle. The first was Makarov, who ignored the fighting altogether. Instead, with his magic power flaring and dissuading any would be attackers, he made his way up to the higher floors. Naturally, his target was Jose.
The second of the seemingly idle Fairy Tail wizards was Alfonzo. Standing in place just in front of the destroyed front entrance of the Phantom Lord guild hall, his eyes were trained on the rafters. He could feel multiple pieces of metal hidden high above the battlefield, and he was waiting for their owner to reveal itself before he joined the fray. Still, the iron sand floating around him defended against any stray attacks with ease.
The last notable Fairy Tail wizard missing from the battlefield was Elicia, who, as soon as the battle started, disappeared from everyone's sight and had not been seen since.
Meanwhile, the source of metal that Alfonzo sensed, Gajeel, was watching over the battlefield with a grin on his face.
"Those Fairy Tail scumbags are pretty good in a fight." Gajeel commented to himself. "Still, there nothing special in the long run."
At that moment, Gajeel felt a gaze directed toward him from below. When he saw the owner of that gaze, Alfonzo, his grin grew into a full smile.
"Hmm…. I was wondering why I didn't see him earlier." Gajeel said. "It looks like he was waiting for me. Looks like I'll get to show him who the real Master of Metal is."
With that, Gajeel jumped down from the rafters, intending to land on Macao feet first. However, before he could land on his target, he was swept away by a current of iron sand.
*Bang!*
As an Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel received no damage from the iron sand. However, his course was altered greatly, causing him to slam into a wall, cracking it on impact. Unbothered by the impact, Gajeel stood up leisurely, dusting off his clothes. Then, he smiled viciously in Alfonzo's direction.
"If that's all you've got, this won't even be a challenge." Gajeel said while walking towards Alfonzo.
Meanwhile, due to the loud impact, the ongoing battle paused momentarily. When the wizards of Phantom Lord saw Gajeel, their morale was raised instantly, resulting in them fighting back with much more fervor than before.
"You're in the way, loser." Gajeel said as he used his [Iron Dragon's Club] to knock away a lower ranked member of Phantom Lord that was knocked into his path.
"How could you do that to one of your friends?" Natsu shouted angrily after seeing Gajeel's actions.
Ignoring Natsu's shout, Gajeel started to pick up his pace. First walking at a brisk pace, then jogging. Finally, after a few moments, he sprinted at Alfonzo with a battle thirsty smile on his face.
"Now, let me show you what a real Master of Metal can do." Gajeel said as he approached. "[Iron Dragon's Lance]."
With that, Gajeel raised his right arm with his hand pointed at Alfonzo. Then, his hand transformed into an iron spearhead before extending directly at Alfonzo's chest.
In response, Alfonzo did not move in the slightest, looking as if he were incapable of dodging. However, just before Gajeel's attack could land, the spear bent around Alfonzo before piercing into the wall behind him.
"Looks like you missed." Alfonzo taunted with a smirk. "I think you should try harder."
Alfonzo's taunt easily angered Gajeel. At the same time, however, he was also much more wary of Alfonzo than before.
'He can even control my iron?' Gajeel thought to himself. 'How is that possible?'
Although it was true that Alfonzo did take control of Gajeel's [Iron Dragon Spear], it was not as easy as he made it look. Until the speared head was a certain distance away from Gajeel, he could not exert any control over it with his [Metal Magic]. In fact, he originally planned to have his iron sand block it, thinking that using his [Electromagnetism Magic] would be overkill.
Instead of contemplating the loss of control of his iron, Gajeel increased his speed even further and quickly closed the distance between himself and Alfonzo.
"Why don't you try that again?" Gajeel shouted as he raised his right arm. "[Iron Dragon's Sword]"
Immediately, Gajeel's right hand transformed once again. Then, he slashed at Alfonzo, intending to cut him from his left shoulder to his right hip. In response, Alfonzo created a pair of Eskrima sticks in his hands, using the left one to parry Gajeel's slash while thrusting with his right at Gajeel's throat.
Instead of dodging, however, Gajeel lowered his head and bit down on the incoming metal rod.
"You didn't really think that would work, did you?" Gajeel asked while biting off pieces of the Eskrima stick.
"And you really can't be that dumb, can you?" Alfonzo asked in a flabbergasted tone.
"Huh?" Gajeel muttered in confusion.
"It looks like you forgot." Alfonzo mumbled in disappointment. "I guess you really are that dumb."
Frowning in response, Gajeel was unable to react to Alfonzo's next move before it was too late.
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Stun Gun]." Alfonzo chanted.
In the next instant, Alfonzo flowed an electrical current through the Eskrima stick in his right hand. Unfortunately for Gajeel, the other end was still in his mouth, resulting in his electrocution.
Instead of stopping at a quick jolt, Alfonzo kept it up until he saw Gajeel's eyes roll into the back of his head and foam start coming out of his mouth. At the same time, the Iron Dragon Slayer's spikey hair stood on end while the scent of charred flesh wafted around the Phantom Lord guild hall.
A few moments later, Alfonzo cut the flow of electricity. Then, he gently pushed the Eskrima stick forward, causing Gajeel to fall back on to the floor. With that, the battlefield fell silent, once again.