"Listen here, Makarov, Guild Master of the Fairy Tail Wizards' Guild..."
"You've allowed your guild members to commit violence! To destroy towns!"
"You've allowed your members to drink and party openly during the day at your guild!"
"You ignored the rules set by the Magic Council and had your guild members assault their peers."
"You've turned the entire continent of Ishgar into a place of fear!"
"And worse yet, you dared to show contempt for the court during trial…"
"As a result, based on the unanimous decision of the Chairman and council members of the Magic Council, your punishment is... a fine of 500,000 J!"
The judge, looking down at the magical judgment device in his hands, showed a smug expression. The punishment for Makarov had just been updated, and after hearing about Makarov's disdain for the court, the Chairman had decided to increase the penalty. With excitement, the judge loudly declared Makarov's crimes to the jury.
However, once he saw the final punishment on the device, his voice faltered in disbelief.
"Five hundred thousand?!"
"Is this a joke?"
"Did the Chairman make a mistake?"
"Makarov has done all these terrible things, and the punishment is just a 500,000 fine?"
"And this is considered a heavy punishment?"
"If this is the severe penalty, what would the light one have been—letting him go free?!"
"Shouldn't he be stripped of his title as one of the Ten Wizard Saints and have the Fairy Tail Guild disbanded?!"
The judge couldn't contain his frustration.
"What?"
"Another 500,000 fine added?"
"No way!"
As the judge finished speaking, Makarov, who had been nonchalant and dismissive of the council, suddenly burst into loud sobs.
"Uh…"
This reaction stunned the judge, and he became puzzled. "I'm not sure what just happened, but it seems our punishment is having an effect. Though honestly, this penalty doesn't seem like much at all."
In the judge's mind, even a fine of 500,000 J was too little for Makarov. However, Makarov was now weeping uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, the Magic Council members gathered elsewhere.
"Chairman…"
"Isn't our punishment for Makarov a bit too lenient?" one council member timidly asked Crawford Seam, the current Chairman of the Magic Council.
"No! This punishment is enough," Crawford replied with a firm shake of his head.
"Do you know the new 'Wizard Saint' from Fairy Tail, Ur?"
"She became the fourth-ranked Saint…"
"Because some of the highest-ranked wizards—the 'Four Gods of Ishgar'—personally recommended her."
"Do you understand what this means?"
"It means that Fairy Tail has powerful backers."
"Even if we don't show respect to Fairy Tail, we must show respect to these great figures."
Crawford's explanation silenced the dissenting council member, who then shook his head apologetically.
"My apologies. I hadn't considered that."
"Hmph." Crawford snorted and said no more.
In truth, Crawford was a complete fool. His only interest as Chairman was to exploit his position for personal gain. As long as Fairy Tail didn't interfere with his money-making, he couldn't care less about them.
Even though his lackadaisical attitude towards his duties annoyed some of the other council members, it ended up benefiting those who supported Fairy Tail.
For instance, Councilman Torch Endeavour, who had been saved by Ur and Gildarts in the past, and Councilman Yajima, who was Makarov's old friend.
At the Fairy Tail Guild, meanwhile…
"Speaking of which…"
"Ur, you've finished your training with Master Warrod, right?" Gildarts remarked, sitting at the guild's bar, looking at the elegant Ur beside him.
"With your current strength, you're probably about as strong as I am…"
"No wonder you're ranked fourth among the current Ten Wizard Saints."
Ur chuckled, "Stop flattering me."
"I know exactly how strong I am."
"When I can, after fasting for three days, crush Ian's meteor with the same ease you did earlier, then we can talk about me catching up to you."
She took a sip of her beer and waved her hand humbly at Gildarts.
"You're too modest."
"By the way, my earlier proposal still stands."
"Ur, would you team up with me?"
"By now, you should have no reason not to, right?"
"After all, you've reunited with your daughter, and you've regained your passion for pursuing the path of magic."
"Most importantly, if the two of us team up, we should be able to take on that mission."
Gildarts' eyes lit up with the thrill of adventure.
"This…" Ur hesitated, her grip tightening around her beer glass.
"Gildarts, may I ask what mission you're referring to?"
"As far as I know, with your current power, there shouldn't be any mission on this continent you can't handle."
After a moment of thought, Ur asked seriously.
"As you said…"
"There are no missions on this continent that pose any real challenge to me anymore."
"Not S-class, not even SS-class…"
"Even the Ten-Year Missions are no longer difficult."
Gildarts spoke with a hint of regret.
"It's been so long since I've felt the joy of adventure."
"So team up with me, Ur!"
"Let's take on the legendary 100-Year Quest together!"
Gildarts' excitement was palpable, his eyes filled with the fervor of a man chasing his dreams.
"Can it be done?" Ur asked softly.
"We'll do it! Don't worry—I'm the strongest after all…"
Gildarts reassured her with a confident smile.
"You'll die," Ian interrupted, unable to hold back.
The last person who claimed to be the strongest was cut in half by the real strongest—reduced from five to two and a half…
Well, Gildarts, who also once boasted of being the strongest, had half of his body sliced away during the 100-Year Quest…
Except this time, it was a diagonal cut!
In just an instant, before Gildas could react!
He was disabled by the invincible Black Dragon King Acnologia, losing an arm, a leg, and half of his internal organs.
Fortunately, Gildas was tough and resilient, which is how he managed to survive!
But it left him with two prosthetic limbs, and for several chapters after, his body was covered in bandages.
Since then, Gildas was never at full strength before the final battle...
Such was the power of Acnologia.
Though Ian couldn't help but wonder, wasn't Gildarts supposed to be on a quest to slay the Five Dragon Gods in the northern continent of Guiltina?
How did he end up encountering Acnologia?!
Or in Gildarts' mind, did any dragon count?
Regardless, neither the Black Dragon nor the Dragon Gods were foes they could hope to defeat.
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