Mirajane quickly assessed the situation, realizing that even if she used Full-Body Take Over: Satan Soul, she might barely hold on against a Wizard Saint, but Gray and Elfman definitely couldn't withstand such pressure.
Furthermore, her own magic power was already running low from her fight with Aria, so staying behind would only become a burden to Raizel, who might have to divert his energy to protect them instead of focusing on the enemy.
"Listen to Raizel, let's go," Mirajane said, nodding firmly after hearing Raizel's words, and she grabbed Elfman to prepare to leave.
Mirajane knew Raizel well enough to know that if he truly couldn't handle the fight, he would say so, and since he said no help was needed, then it really wasn't needed.
"Alright," Gray looked back and forth between Raizel and Mirajane, and sensing the suffocating deathly aura emanating from the magic power leaking out of the room, he wisely chose to retreat with Mirajane and Elfman.
"Oh? You're that confident?" Jose watched as the three of them left, making no move to stop them, as his focus was entirely on the armored man before him.
"To be honest, I didn't expect you to be this strong."
Jose's expression grew increasingly grave, for he never imagined a young man could hold his own against him for so long, and even more surprisingly, he wasn't gaining the upper hand, even though he hadn't used his full power yet.
"I also didn't expect your guild members, without Gildarts and Laxus, to be capable of destroying the Jupiter cannon, defeating the Element 4, and damaging my Magic Giant to this extent," Jose admitted, his face shifting between dark rage and pale shock.
He had initially thought that with the strongest members, Gildarts and Laxus, absent, Phantom Lord might stand a chance, but he never anticipated that the combat prowess of the remaining members would far exceed his expectations.
Raizel shook his head helplessly and said, "I told you, Fairy Tail is far stronger than Phantom Lord, so if you hadn't stirred up trouble, we could have coexisted peacefully."
Raizel originally hadn't planned to do anything to Phantom Lord, believing that if they hadn't caused trouble, each guild could have gone their own way, and in a fight against a common enemy, Jose could even be considered a usable asset as a decent enough combatant.
But Jose's perspective was just too narrow, constantly fixated on being the top guild in the Fiore Kingdom.
Given his status as one of the Ten Wizard Saints, he clearly had the means to access more information, yet his vision remained so limited.
Raizel had thought that with Fairy Tail's current reputation and combat strength, Jose wouldn't have the nerve to start a war, so he never expected Jose to be so stubbornly reckless.
"Dark Pulse: Darkness Stream!"
Jose now had no retreat; he could only steel himself and fight to the end, as the situation was completely different from what he had imagined.
His original plan was for Jupiter to take out either Makarov or Ur first, and then he would deal with the other one, but he never expected Raizel to block the blast and now stand firmly in his path.
He hadn't used his full power initially, partly because he looked down on Raizel and partly because he was saving it for Ur or Makarov, but unexpectedly, he found himself at a disadvantage.
But with the failure of the second Jupiter shot, the Abyss Break spell, and the Magic Giant in quick succession, he had no choice but to go all out and quickly eliminate Raizel.
"It's nothing major, I'll just deal with you all one by one," Jose declared.
The magic power around Jose surged violently, and a pillar of purple magical energy shot skywards, blasting through the roof of the room.
The room, which should have been bright with sunlight, grew dim as Jose's purple magic power affected the sky, plunging the immediate area into darkness.
...
Outside the Mobile Castle—
"Jose is going all out," both Makarov and Ur noticed the surge of terrifying magic power erupting from the top of the Magic Giant ruins.
"Let's trust Raizel," Ur said, feeling confident that Raizel would win, even though she had never fought Jose herself.
By now, the Phantom Lord soldiers and mages were nearly wiped out, leaving only Gajeel and Jose as the remaining combatants.
"It's Natsu I'm worried about," Ur gazed with concern at the battle raging nearby between Natsu and Gajeel.
Had Natsu been at full magic power, Ur wouldn't have been concerned, but Natsu had already fought Totomaru, expended considerable energy destroying the giant Magic Lacrima, and been injured by the scattered magical energy from the crystal explosion.
Now he was fighting a fully-powered Gajeel while wounded.
"Should we help him?" Ur asked.
Makarov watched Natsu struggling but shook his head and said.
"Just as you trust Raizel, I trust Natsu, for he still has untapped potential within him."
..
Natsu seized the iron dragon rod formed by Gajeel's transformed left arm, spun it violently several times to disorient his opponent, and then flung him away.
Leaping high with a powerful stomp, Natsu swung his flame-wreathed fists at Gajeel, who stood on the crumbling wall.
The two clashed repeatedly mid-air, and relying on his formidable physical skills and close-combat talent, Natsu landed a solid punch on Gajeel's face, sending him flying backward to crash against the wall.
The impact created a deep crater before Gajeel collapsed to the ground.
"Fire Dragon's Claw!"
Natsu followed up by flipping through the air and bringing his foot down in a sweeping kick aimed at Gajeel's head.
Though struck squarely on the cheek, Gajeel remained conscious, transforming his arms into metal to block the attack overhead just in time.
"Happy!" Mirajane and the other two arrived at the scene, drawn by the magical energy and sounds of battle.
"Happy, are you okay?" Mirajane crouched slightly, resting her hands on her knees as she looked at the exceed.
"Aye, I'm fine! But Natsu's still fighting," Happy greeted them before turning around.
Mirajane and the others followed his gaze to see Natsu emerging slowly from the swirling dust.
"Natsu looks serious," Mirajane commented, noting his furrowed brow and intense focus.
"Aye, me too! I've never seen Natsu this serious before, but he's really strong right now," Happy placed his hands on his hips with a proud expression, clearly sharing in Natsu's determination.
"You worthless trash, getting carried away aren't you?" Gajeel rose to his feet, stretching his body and cracking his neck while looking at Natsu with contempt.
"That's you! You destroyed our Guild like that and tried to kidnap Lucy! I'm going to smash that ugly face of yours and burn you into iron scraps!" Natsu glared furiously at Gajeel, the flames around his fists burning brighter with his rage.
"Interesting... Let's see you try."
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
They charged at each other again, the sounds of fists striking metal, bricks shattering, and blades cutting through air mingling together in a cacophony of violence.
"What's that dangerous-looking thing on your hand?" Natsu asked grimly after landing and stabilizing himself from kicking off Gajeel's iron sword.
"Iron Dragon's Sword! Anyone touched by this blade will be cut in two," Gajeel boasted.
Gajeel's right-handed Iron Dragon Sword featured numerous serrated edges that began to rotate rapidly like chainsaws when activated, emitting a harsh grinding sound.
"Come taste the flavor of my slash, Salamander."
"That's not even worth a fart," Natsu retorted, and though he could sense an ominous aura from the attack, he refused to back down!
"Lucy! What are you doing here?"
A large circular crater suddenly appeared in the bricks beside Mirajane, and Virgo emerged from the pit holding Lucy in her arms.
"The ghost soldiers and Mages below have all been dealt with, so I came to see if I could help Natsu," Lucy explained as she climbed out of the hole.