"This is..." Laxus struggled to support his body, tentatively stepping back, but was immediately dragged forward by the gravity for a considerable distance.
Bruno seemed capable of roughly controlling his target, so even those watching from afar were caught in the gravitational pull.
"Ahhhhh..."
Elfman and Ibarglin clung to a tree, hand in hand, while Gray directly froze his feet to the ground.
Natsu held onto a large rock with one hand, the other grabbing Hapi, who was almost sucked away.
Jubia and Lisana gripped the ground forcefully, while Lucy and Wendy clung to small trees, swaying in the wind.
The only one with a problem was Gajeel.
Originally hidden behind a tree, he was unexpectedly drawn in, and at this rate, his unconscious body would soon crash into Bruno's magic.
Laxus clearly saw this scene.
He then directly abandoned resistance, allowing his body to fly forward, the golden lightning coiling around him gradually moving to his right fist.
Where his clothes shielded, scales like dragon scales appeared on Laxus's body, while the fangs in his mouth seemed sharper.
Bruno dismissed it: "It's useless, even lightning can't escape my infinite gravitational field!"
Laxus charged straight towards the black sphere, the intense gravity aiming him without need for targeting.
His right fist was completely enveloped in golden light, resembling a golden fountain, surging outward like golden liquid lightning:
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Thunder Roar!"
The 'pure and hefty' golden lightning was drawn in by the infinite gravitational field, continually pouring inside.
The seemingly endless powerful lightning 'occupied' all the gravity of the field, leaving it no strength to attract anything else.
Unconscious Gajeel narrowly escaped danger, and others freed themselves from the gravitational pull, allowing Laxus to regain his footing.
Bruno frowned, continually enhancing the gravity within the black sphere with magic.
But after regaining his footing, Laxus instead continued to charge forward, using his fist to heavily strike the black sphere.
Lightning flashed, cracks appeared on the black sphere's surface, and thunderous roars emanated from the gaps until it shattered explosively.
Bruno couldn't believe it: "My... infinite gravitational field... Whoa!"
Laxus's fist landed on Bruno's chest.
Bruno spat blood from his mouth as he flew backward, into the pit he had created to suppress Natsu and the others, crashing against the opposite pit wall.
With a crackling sound, the wall shattered, and Bruno fell to the ground, buried beneath rubble, golden arcs of electricity flickering through the cracks.
"We won!" Ibarglin cheered.
Others joined in the cheers, rushing to Laxus's side.
Such a formidable enemy, without Laxus's arrival, who knew what would have happened next.
Laxus exhaled a breath, fighting this battle was no easy task: "Sorry for interfering with the guild's affairs, but can someone tell me what happened, where's the old man?"
Everyone began recounting the ordeal of the Demon's Heart S-Class exam.
...
Elsewhere, Makarov, Carla, Lahar, and Mest slowly regained consciousness in the forest.
All four were somewhat injured, but thanks to Mest's speed, Makarov and Carla didn't get completely hit by the 'Amaterasu Formula 100' with no magic power left.
However, currently, Mest's condition was the worst, needing Lahar's support to stand.
Lahar was bidding farewell to Makarov: "Sorry, Makarov President, the situation has exceeded our expectations.
"Neither the Demon's Heart nor the Black Mage Zeref are something we can handle, and neither is Fairy Tail.
"Why not retreat with us? If we can retrieve the Communication Magic Crystal, we can immediately contact the Council headquarters. If not, we can still avoid risks."
"Sorry, I refuse," Makarov said, "Celestial Wolf Island is the holy land of our guild, we can't just run away after being invaded."
"But you just saw Hades's power, it's simply..."
Makarov gently shook his head: "Don't underestimate Fairy Tail's power. Even facing a former president, we will not lose."
"..." Lahar paused before saying, "I understand. If that's your choice, I'll find a way to contact headquarters and send reinforcements."
"Reinforcements? Use Magical Elf Power on our holy land?"
Makarov could imagine those guys from the Council, once they hear of the Black Mage Zeref, they would do anything.
"This..." Lahar couldn't refute, as he also believed this outcome was likely.
If such an attack was launched on a guild's holy land, it would be no different from declaring war on that guild.
The Council might deliberate, but after heated debates, they would probably approve such a proposal.
"Leave, you can use the sailboat we came on, but we don't need reinforcements," Makarov said, "By the time you return to headquarters, we should have already won. As for the Black Mage... that's also our enemy."
Makarov wasn't sure if Zeref was as powerful and omnipotent as rumors claimed.
But regardless, anyone threatening the guild was an enemy.
Lahar and Mest left silently, intending to check if there were any survivors on their ship, and then return on Fairy Tail's ship.
"President, what should we do?" Carla asked, "I'm a bit worried about Wendy."
Makarov said, "The second generation went off somewhere, let's regroup with others at the camp first."
At that moment, Precht was following the dark aura, searching for Zeref.
As he walked, he suddenly clutched the eye patch on his right eye: "How's it possible, even Bruno was defeated? By those kids?"
With his magic 'Eye of the Demon,' he clearly saw his pride, the Seven Purgatory Dependents, and Vice President Bruno all defeated.
"Makarov, that guy, really turned Fairy Tail into a rather impressive guild."
Precht pondered for a moment, considering the use of demon laws...
No, he couldn't.
He wasn't sure if he subconsciously considered Zeref an enemy, and if he attacked Zeref too, it would be a disaster.
Even without it, Precht was confident that no one in Fairy Tail now was his match.
Feeling the increasingly close dark aura, Precht felt more excited. If he could obtain Zeref, the loss of the Seven Dependents wouldn't matter.
He walked out of the forest, encountering a silly-looking green giant crab.
"..."