Gajeel didn't know how to describe Councilor Belno
As a member of the Magic Council, she seemed to neglect her official duties just to spend all day chasing him around to lecture him about his behavior.
But oddly, he didn't seem to dislike her that much—he just found her constant nagging a bit annoying.
He shook the thought away as he focused on the battle.
Raizel didn't dodge the Iron Dragon's Sword hurtling towards him. Instead, he swung his own arm blade with immense force, preparing to clash directly with Gajeel's attack.
"Gihi," Gajeel grinned, baring his teeth.
Watching Raizel's movement, he had already imagined his iron sword shattering Raizel's armor into pieces.
CLANG!
The sound of the arm blade colliding with the Iron dragon's sword echoed through the forest.
"Nani?!" Gajeel's confident smile vanished.
Something had broken, but it wasn't Raizel's armor, it was his Iron Dragon's Sword!
Gajeel watched in disbelief as his hardened steel blade snapped cleanly in two, the front half falling uselessly to the ground.
He froze in shock, an expression of utter disbelief on his face, for this was the first time someone had ever broken his iron scales.
'So fast!'
Still reeling from the shock of his sword being broken, Gajeel caught a glimpse of a white afterimage in his peripheral vision.
Even with his enhanced Dragon Slayer eyesight, he could only barely track the residual shadow.
A sharp pain shot through his abdomen. His metal clothing was torn, and a deep gash appeared, blood continuously flowing out.
The impact of the horizontal slash sent him flying uncontrollably through the air, crashing directly into a thick oak tree.
"Iron Dragon's Scales!"
Gajeel used his magic power to continuously repair the wound on his abdomen, an application of his Iron Dragon Slayer Magic that allowed him to turn his body into metal to heal injuries or mitigate damage.
"How... is this possible?!" Gajeel struggled to get up, watching Raizel's next move warily.
Raizel hovered in the air, his Jesmon armor gleaming.
The Three Sword Spirits formed a triangular formation around him, gathering intense magic power aimed directly at the Iron Dragon Slayer.
"You're no match for me, and Phantom Lord is no match for Fairy Tail," Raizel stated coldly.
"Tch, what are you trying to say?" Gajeel gritted his teeth against the pain in his abdomen, still refusing to admit defeat.
"Simple. I can let you go, but you have to do me a favor."
"I refu—" Gajeel tried to stubbornly say 'I refuse'..... but.
BOOM!
A blast of concentrated fire from the Three Sword Spirits cut him off, scorching the earth and leaving two large, smoking craters on either side of his head.
'My life is more important than this shit...'
After weighing his options against the overwhelming power displayed before him, Gajeel quickly made a decision.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he turned his face away from Raizel and grunted.
"Speak!"
...
Levy, Jet, and Droy arrived at the guild early in the morning, warning the members to be cautious since Phantom Lord members had attempted to attack them the previous night.
"What?! Phantom Lord members attacked you guys last night?"
CRASH!
Natsu punched another wooden crate, shattering it to pieces—no one knew what grudge he had against the innocent boxes, but they were paying the price for his anger!
"Levy-chan, are you okay?" Lucy grabbed Levy's hands, checking her over anxiously.
Lucy was very worried about Levy getting hurt.
Since coming to Fairy Tail, she and Levy had become close friends, bonding over their shared love of reading.
Levy was particularly fond of novels, and after learning that Lucy was writing one herself, Levy had made a promise to be the first reader once Lucy finished her book.
"I'm fine, Lu-chan. Didn't I tell you Raizel saved us? I'm completely unharmed," Levy reassured her with a smile.
"If anyone is injured, please let me know, and I can heal you," Wendy offered, looking at the Shadow Gear team with deep concern.
"Mm, thank you, Wendy, but I'm fine," Levy said, gently shaking her head.
Mirajane's brow furrowed deeply, her expression gradually turn dark.
Her hand gripping the serving tray tightened with enough force to bend the metal, radiating a terrifying aura that warned others to keep their distance.
"I never expected Phantom Lord to be so audacious," Mirajane whispered, her voice dangerously low. "Not only did they destroy our Guild Hall, but they also dared to ambush our members in the streets of Magnolia."
"Mira-nee..." Lisanna quickly grabbed Mira's hand, sensing the rising killing intent.
"Ara, ara, my apologies, everyone," Mirajane immediately snapped back to reality, covering her mouth with her left hand and smiling with narrowed eyes.
But paired with her earlier demeanor, the smile seemed unsettlingly eerie.
"Phew~~"
Everyone in the Guild, including Natsu, quietly let out a sigh of relief that the 'Demon' had retreated.
"Why was everyone so scared just now? Even Natsu?" Lucy whispered to Happy.
"Aye! This is the Demon Mira," Happy explained while munching on a fish, sitting atop a crate. "If she gets angry, probably only Raizel or Erza can stop her. Back in the day, she used to beat up Natsu and Gray all the time."
'So Mira-san can be this terrifying too...'
A few drops of cold sweat formed on Lucy's forehead as she realized the sweet barmaid had a hidden dark side.
Makarov wore a stern expression.
After listening to Levy and Jet's description of the attacker, he spoke gravely.
"Based on your description, it matches Phantom Lord's ace—the Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel Redfox."
"Gramps, we can't let this slide, right?" Natsu clenched his fists tightly, glaring angrily at Makarov.
"If it were just about smashing the Guild's tavern, I could still tolerate it," Makarov began, his voice growing increasingly deep.
"But no parent would stand idly by while their children are bullied!"
CRACK!
Makarov's grip on his wine glass tightened until veins bulged, and the wooden cup shattered in his hand.
Although Levy and Jet weren't injured, it was only because Raizel had intervened.
If Raizel hadn't stopped it, Makarov didn't dare imagine what might have happened—Phantom Lord's ace jumping a young girl in the middle of the night.
Harming his children was a declaration of war against him, and no one was more protective of their own than he was!
He had to make Jose understand this.
"Sorry to interrupt, but you're holding a war council without me?"
Raizel slowly descended the stairs to the underground storage, looking calm.
"Raizel! Where's that so-called Iron Dragon?" Natsu rushed over as soon as he saw him.
"I let him go," Raizel told the truth.
"NANI?! Why did you let him go? Are you afraid of Phantom Lord?" Natsu jumped up and down, pressing for answers.
"What are you planning, Raizel?" Makarov asked, having just mustered the momentum to declare war when Raizel interrupted him, leaving him feeling slightly awkward.
Raizel had anticipated Makarov's question and quickly replied.
"Phantom Lord attacking our Guild members is a fact, but if we retaliate directly now, we become the aggressors in the eyes of the Council. We won't have the moral high ground. So, we need them to come to us first."
Makarov slowly shook his head and argued, "Impossible. Jose sent Gajeel to destroy the Guild and ambush our members precisely to provoke us into making the first move. He won't attack directly unless we strike back."
Instead of explaining his reasoning, Raizel countered with a question.
"Gramps, what kind of person do you think Jose Porla is?"
Makarov lowered his head, closed his eyes to recall his impression of Jose, and then said, "A rising talent with decent magical aptitude, somewhat arrogant, quick-tempered, and holds grudges."
The reason he and Jose ended up fighting years ago was simply because they had too much to drink and started bickering, but Makarov had forgotten about it shortly afterward.
However, Jose gave Makarov a different impression—he's really petty!