The room fell into a heavy silence as that number sank in. Five hundred. It wasn't just a number; it was a psychological weight. Even if every one of them took down ten men, they'd only clear a fraction of the force. For a mage, facing those odds was a brutal test of magic reserves, physical stamina, and mental focus.
The gap between fighting one person and fighting two was already massive. Facing an army of five hundred mages meant a constant, suffocating barrage. Even if they only used basic magic, a coordinated volley from that many people would be impossible to withstand.
"Yeah, and that's just a conservative estimate," Hibiki said, his voice flat. "But our primary targets are still these six."
He activated his Archive Magic, and six images flickered into existence in the air.
Hibiki began the briefing: "Cobra, the Poison Dragon Slayer. Hoteye. Angel, a Celestial Spirit mage. Racer—judging by the name, his magic is centered on speed. Then there's this guy; intel on him is scarce, but he's known as Midnight. And finally, their commander, Brain."
"Every one of them possesses enough magic power to flatten an entire guild by themselves. They're lethal. Add five hundred subordinates to the mix, and we're looking at a war of attrition."
"U-Um... I'd really appreciate it if you didn't count me as part of the 'combat force'..."
Lucy raised her hand, her face drained of color. She was already drowning in regret. She'd only followed them because she heard there were only six enemies.
In her mind, Kael could handle at least half of them, and with Erza, Natsu, and Gray, they could have easily mopped up the rest. She'd planned to just stand in the back, walk through the motions, and soak up the reputation boost. She'd enjoyed the perks of her rising status lately, and she figured this was her ticket to the top. She never expected to find herself in the middle of a five-hundred-man slaughter.
Honor and fame were great, but they weren't worth dying for.
"I'm... I'm not good at fighting either," Wendy whispered, her small hand shaking.
"Wendy!! Stop being such a coward!!" Charle shouted.
"More than five hundred? That's going to be a problem," Jura muttered, his brow furrowed. With his strength, taking out a hundred fodder mages wasn't the issue. The issue was the Oración Seis. If they coordinated with their subordinates, the battlefield would become a nightmare.
Jura glanced at Kael. In terms of pure magic capacity, Jura was the highest in the room, but he knew the teenager standing there was the real wild card. Kael's expression hadn't shifted once. He looked at the images of the Oración Seis and their army with the same boredom he'd have for a fly.
Ichiya struck a pose. "Don't panic! Our objective isn't a head-on collision. We just need to locate their base. If we can lure them all into one spot, we'll use our guild's pride—the Magical Bomber, Christina—to bury the base and everyone inside it!!"
"A Magical Bomber?!"
Blue Pegasus was famous for the Christina, a massive airship capable of long-range magical bombardment. Only a handful of guilds in all of Ishgar possessed that kind of high-level military technology.
"Hell yeah!! I'm getting fired up now!! Gather 'em all up and I'll take the whole lot on myself!!"
Natsu shouted and sprinted out of the villa before Ichiya could finish his sentence.
"Natsu, you moron! You didn't even listen to the plan!!" Gray shouted.
"Forget it," Erza said. "Let's move."
"We aren't letting Fairy Tail take all the credit. Let's go, Sherry!" Lyon called out.
"Understood!!"
Lyon and Sherry chased after them, with the Trimens following close behind.
"A-Aaaah!" Wendy shivered, looking like she wanted to cry.
Kael walked over to her, a dry smile on his face. "Relax. You'll be fine."
"Who are you?" Charle asked, looking at Kael with suspicion.
Happy puffed out his chest. "That's Kael! He's our S-Class Ace!"
"Kael?!"
Both Wendy and Charle had heard the name. He was the most famous man in the Fiore Kingdom—hell, maybe all of Ishgar.
"I thought Kael was a giant old man with a huge white beard! How are you just a kid?"
"Wendy, you brat, that was just a transformation," Charle said sharply.
"Oh! Right!"
"Let's get moving," Jura said. "If they get too spread out and surrounded, we're in trouble."
"Wait! Before that, let me hit the head!" Ichiya blurted out.
"We're going. Catch up with the airship later."
The remaining group left the villa and marched toward the Worth Woodsea.
"There it is!! The forest!!"
Natsu laughed as the massive treeline appeared ahead.
"Wait up, Natsu!" Gray yelled.
"Not a chance! I'm going to crush these guys! If I'm late, Kael's just going to handle everything himself again!"
After Eisenwald, the Tower of Heaven, and the Battle of Fairy Tail, Natsu was sick of watching Kael do the heavy lifting. He wanted a piece of a real Dark Guild leader.
Erza shouted a warning. "Don't you dare run off alone!!"
Facing the Oración Seis plus five hundred mages meant that even if you could one-shot them, the sheer volume of attacks would drain your magic.
"Wait up!!... Everyone... is... too fast..."
Lucy was panting, her legs heavy. She lacked the conditioning of the others and was already falling behind.
Suddenly, a massive shadow swept over them. The Christina soared through the sky, its sleek frame drawing everyone's eyes.
"Whoa!!" "The legendary Pegasus!!" "Incredible!!"
The airship reached the forest, but then something went wrong. Its gun ports began to pivot, locking onto the coalition members on the ground.
Gray frowned, his gut twisting. "What the hell? Why are the barrels pointed at us?"
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!
The gun ports opened fire, tearing up the earth around them.
"TAKE COVER—!!"
The group scrambled for safety as shots stitched the ground.
"WHAT THE HELL, PEGASUS?!" Lyon shouted at the Trimens. "Explain this now or I'll freeze your hearts!"
The Trimens looked horrified. "We... we don't know what's happening!!"
WHIRRRRR—!
The airship's main weapon—the main magic cannon—began to glow with destructive light.
"Damn it! It's the main gun!!"
Erza reached for her Requip, but the cannon was already charging for a direct hit.
"DOWN—!" a voice shouted.
Everyone hit the dirt.
"Rock Wall!!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Stone pillars erupted from the ground, curving into a massive protective arch over the group.
"Master Jura!!" Sherry and Lyon cried out, recognizing the magic.
Above the arch, a single figure appeared, standing calmly atop the stone.
"Kael!"
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