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"Where are Mister Gang and Gildas?" George asked after a moment's thought.
Mirajane shook her head.
"Gildas is in the Northern Continent, and I can't reach him. As for Mister Gang, no one knows his whereabouts except for the Guildmaster.
However, Councilor Yajima has already replied, saying they're holding a meeting on the matter. Once the meeting concludes and a decision is made, they will send someone over."
"Good. As long as we hold out, whether it's waiting for the Guildmaster to wake up or for the Council's representatives to arrive, it will all be over soon."
George nodded.
Even though Laxus, Mister Gang, and Gildas were unable to return, hope remained strong.
In fact, if the Ghosts' response were any slower, the Council's arrest might have already passed by.
"Alzac and Bisca are back."
At that moment, Alzac and Bisca, who had taken Makarov to the Eastern Forest, returned to the guild and briefed everyone on Makarov's situation.
"Senior Boryuska said that the Guildmaster's sudden loss of magic power at his age is quite severe, but she's already contacted Mister Gang to help absorb the Guildmaster's dissipated magic.
If all goes well, the Guildmaster will recover this afternoon."
"That's good news."
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
They had been holding the fort until noon. After finishing lunch and taking a brief rest, a sudden loud noise from outside startled them.
Rushing out of the guild, they saw a huge castle, like an island, moving toward them across the large lake to the south of the guild. The castle, supported by eight massive metallic spider legs, was slowly advancing toward the guild.
And the insignia on the castle clearly showed that it belonged to the Ghost's Master.
"Everyone, get ready! Activate all magical defenses and protective barriers!"
Despite the shock of seeing the Ghost Master's mobile castle approaching, George quickly used a Sonorus Charm to rally everyone, ensuring they executed the defense plan calmly and methodically.
Layer upon layer of protective barriers formed over the guild, while magical defenses sprang to life, setting up in front of the guild as a shield.
The mobile castle, upon reaching the guild, came to a halt and anchored itself to the lake bottom. It extended a massive cannon and began gathering terrifying magical energy.
"This Ghost really has money!"
George couldn't help but mutter, eyeing the massive mobile castle and its magical crystal cannon. He realized just how much money it must have taken to construct a mobile fortress like this, one that housed such a powerful magical weapon.
"Reinforce the defenses!"
Fortunately, George had already anticipated this situation and issued his second command.
In response, the mages with defensive magic quickly sprang into action, further bolstering their defenses.
First, Gray conjured a massive ice shield, then wooden and stone walls rose to provide extra protection.
Finally, Erza summoned her strongest defense: the Iron Dragon Armor, activating the Diamond Barrier as the last line of defense.
Boom!
With its magical charge complete, the cannon fired a devastating magical energy beam straight toward the guild, aiming to annihilate both the guild and all of its mages in one shot.
"This magical crystal cannon is insane."
George watched in horror as the energy beam shattered the magical barriers, tore through the magical defense constructs, and obliterated the ice shield, wooden walls, stone barriers, and every other defense they had erected.
Surprisingly, at least half of the energy remained, striking Erza's giant shield.
What was even more shocking was that despite losing half its energy, Erza's shield began to show signs of cracking.
"Repair to full!"
Standing behind Erza, George immediately raised his wand and cast a repair spell.
Under the effect of the Repairing Charm, the cracks that had appeared on the giant shield immediately healed, only for new cracks to form again. This cycle continued several times, and by the time the magic-powered cannon had exhausted its energy, Erza's armor remained intact, with no magical power consumed.
"That damn cat again!"
Inside the moving castle, Jose, seeing that the first shot had no effect, immediately stood up in fury.
The surprise attack on all the guild's divisions, the complete annihilation of all the mages, and their inability to provide support had already enraged him.
He hadn't expected that, even after modifying the Four Elements Cannon into a Three Elements plus Iron Dragon Mode magic crystal cannon, it still wouldn't achieve the desired effect.
"Fine, if that's how it is, let me send you all to hell."
It took 15 minutes for the magic crystal cannon to fully charge, and during that time, he decided to send a "little gift" to the opposing guild.
"Dark Phantom Soldiers!"
Around him, dense magical circles appeared, and countless ghost soldiers flew out from the arrays, rushing toward the mages of the Fairy Tail guild.
With the ghost soldiers attacking, the mages of Fairy Tail were unable to calmly set up their defenses, leaving them vulnerable to the next shot from the magic crystal cannon, which could completely destroy the guild.
"We can't be so passive. Natsu, come over here. Let's work together to destroy that magic crystal cannon!"
Seeing the ghost soldiers swarm in and the magic crystal cannon entering its charging phase, George called over Natsu, who had been eager to act.
"The core of the magic crystal cannon is the mage powering it. If we don't defeat the powering mage, it's going to be hard to destroy the cannon."
Mirajane explained with a worried expression.
George nodded.
"I know, but I think my plan might forcefully destroy the magic crystal cannon—or even the entire moving castle."
He raised his wand, and once again, the blue Infernal Fire appeared. This time, however, it wasn't aimed directly at the Ghost's moving castle, but at Natsu.
This wasn't the city of Ork, where the Ghost resided, but the city of Magnolia, where Fairy Tail was located.
The Infernal Fire couldn't be controlled directly; if released freely, it might burn down the guild and the entire city before even touching the enemy's magic crystal cannon or moving castle.
Thus, his plan was simple: feed the cursed and special Infernal Fire to Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer, who could devour and use all types of flames. Afterward, Natsu would release it as his own flame.
During the defense preparations earlier, George had already tested this with Natsu, and the result was very promising.
After devouring the Infernal Fire, Natsu's magical power surged dramatically for a short time. The flames he summoned were imbued with the Infernal Fire's properties, and he could fully control them.
"Hahaha, the power is surging!"
As George continued to feed the Infernal Fire to Natsu, the young mage's magical power climbed higher, and he grew more and more excited.
"First, clear out those ghost soldiers."
Seeing the ghost soldiers had reached above the guild, George temporarily stopped feeding Natsu the Infernal Fire and commanded him.
Jose's ghost soldiers lacked solid form and carried dark death attributes, making them difficult for ordinary mages to handle. However, Natsu's Infernal Fire, with its curse properties, could counter them to some degree.
"Fire Dragon Slayer Magic—Fire Dragon Roar!"
Natsu took a deep breath, placing both hands in front of his mouth. A blue flame magic circle appeared, and a torrent of terrifying blue flames erupted, spreading everywhere in a massive, all-consuming wave.
(End of Chapter)