"Su Yan is back!"
The shout erupted from the Fairy Tail guild, bringing relief and renewed hope to everyone present.
Mira, standing among the members, exhaled deeply, a soft smile spreading across her face. No one knew Su Yan's strength better than her. As long as he was here, Fairy Tail would stand strong.
"Su Yan, are you okay? What about the Master?" Mira asked with concern.
Su Yan's reassuring smile calmed the guild members instantly. "Don't worry. We're fine. The old man will return soon. I was just a little worried and came back ahead of him. Looks like I made it just in time."
"Su Yan, those ghosts—"
"Don't worry," Su Yan interrupted, his tone turning cold. "I'll make them pay."
His sharp gaze shifted to the looming Phantom Lord fortress. A murderous glint flickered in his eyes as he surveyed the colossal structure. If he had been even a little later, the Fairy Tail guild—and Mira—could have been in grave danger.
Inside the Phantom Lord Headquarters
"President! It's him! He's the one who hurt us and Gajeel!" shouted a panicked member of Phantom Lord in the control room, pointing to Su Yan.
Jose Porla's eyes darkened, killing intent flashing across his face. "So, it's you, brat. Seems the Magic Council failed to stop you. No matter. At least I managed to distract Makarov."
"Jose," Su Yan said coldly, "are you ready for Phantom Lord to disappear?"
Jose sneered. "You've got guts, kid. Beating Gajeel might have given you some confidence, but you're nothing. Let me show you the true strength of the Phantom Lord!"
With a rumbling boom, the massive doors of the Phantom Lord fortress opened, and countless guild members poured out.
Two thousand. Three thousand. A flood of mages surged forward, their eyes burning with ferocity as they advanced on Fairy Tail.
"That's... so many people!" Lucy exclaimed, her voice trembling as she watched the seemingly endless crowd of enemies.
The Fairy Tail members stood frozen for a moment.
"This is insane! How can they have so many mages?!" Natsu said, his voice tinged with disbelief.
Gray's face turned grim. "The Phantom Lord guild has branches everywhere. They recruit anyone with magic, no matter their methods. I didn't think they'd amassed this many people, though."
Fairy Tail's members clenched their fists. Even if they each took down ten opponents, the sheer numbers seemed insurmountable.
"Hahaha!" Jose's laughter echoed across the battlefield. "Do you see this? This is the might of the Phantom Lord guild—the strongest guild! My forces outnumber you twenty to one! What does Makarov have that I don't? What does Fairy Tail have that can stop me?"
Jose raised his arm dramatically. "Erase them. Destroy Fairy Tail completely!"
The Phantom Lord members roared, raising their weapons and charging forward in a dark wave of destruction. The ground shook under their collective force, their murderous aura palpable.
Fairy Tail's Resolve
"Su Yan!"
The Fairy Tail members turned to Su Yan, their eyes filled with desperation. With Makarov gone, Su Yan was their strongest member and their leader in this dire moment.
What should they do? Fight or flee? Everyone waited for his decision.
Su Yan smirked, the corner of his mouth curling upward in disdain. "Is this all? Just a flock of turkeys and dogs?"
"Om—!"
A sudden, invisible pressure erupted from Su Yan's body.
It was the Overlord's Haki.
The force surged outward like a tidal wave, slamming into the charging Phantom Lord members.
"Ahhhh!"
The Phantom Lord mages froze mid-charge, their bodies locking up as if time itself had stopped.
Then, one by one, they collapsed.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of thousands of bodies hitting the ground echoed like falling dominoes.
In an instant, the entire Phantom Lord army was incapacitated.
The Fairy Tail members stared in stunned silence.
"Boom!"
The residual force of Su Yan's Haki reached the fortress, shaking its very foundations. Inside the control room, the operators slumped over unconscious.
Inside the Fortress
"What's happening?!" Jose shouted, gripping a nearby railing as the fortress trembled. His eyes darted around in disbelief.
The Phantom Lord's mighty army—the source of his pride—lay unconscious. Only the Four Elemental Ghosts and Gajeel remained standing.
"Impossible! What just happened?!"
Fairy Tail's Cheers
"That's incredible!"
"As expected of Su Yan!"
"He took down thousands of them with just one move!"
The members of Fairy Tail erupted into cheers. They had heard stories of Su Yan's strength, but witnessing it firsthand was another matter entirely.
This was their strongest wizard, their unshakable pillar.
Jose's Fury
"You... you brat! You did this!" Jose growled, his face contorting with rage as he glared at Su Yan.
"Jose," Su Yan said, his voice calm and cold. "I warned you. If you provoke Fairy Tail again, I'll make sure Phantom Lord ceases to exist."
Su Yan raised his right hand, his body radiating an overwhelming aura. The air around him vibrated as his Haki gathered above him, forming a massive black-and-red sword of pure energy.
"Cut," Su Yan said simply, his voice like a death knell.
The sword slashed down, cutting through the sky.
"Crack—!"
Red and black lightning flashed as the sword descended.
"Boom!"
The colossal blade struck the Phantom Lord fortress, splitting it cleanly in half. The force of the attack continued beyond the fortress, slicing through the lake behind it.
The Aftermath
The Fairy Tail members stood frozen, their mouths agape as they took in the scene.
The once-mighty Phantom Lord headquarters lay in ruins, completely severed down the middle. The lake behind it was bisected, water cascading into the void left by Su Yan's devastating strike.
"That... that's impossible," someone whispered.
"Su Yan... is he even human?"