Silence! Members of Fairy Tail outside the courtroom, please maintain order! Speaker Crawford struck the gavel, his voice tinged with resignation, clearly having anticipated this scene.
Hop stood at the podium, smiling, and even gave an excited Natsu in the audience a secret thumbs‑up.
The gesture caused several senators on the bench to furrow their brows.
One senator said gravely, "Defendant representative of Fairy Tail, please take this trial seriously!"
"Yes, yes, I'm very serious," Hop shrugged, but his relaxed demeanor bore no resemblance to seriousness.
The trial proceedings officially began.
A toad‑like humanoid magical creature, small in stature but loud in voice, announced, "Now, the representative of Defendant No. 1, the Ghost Dominator, will make the opening statement."
Sol lifted his head, his face twisted in sorrowful anger, but his voice sounded weak, "Honorable Speaker, esteemed senators, our Ghost Dominators have always followed proper procedures and kept to the rules."
"It was Fairy Tail who launched an unprovoked sudden attack on our Ghost Dominator headquarters; we were forced to respond and were caught off guard."
"To deal with our guild, Makalov even disregarded the citizens of Oak City, transformed into a massive giant, and used forbidden dark magic on our president Joseph!"
"..."
"We ask the Council to clear the Ghost Dominators' name, punish the culprits severely, and order Fairy Tail to compensate our guild for all losses!"
Watching Sol's tearful, impassioned accusation of Fairy Tail's "atrocities" caused some onlookers who had traveled from abroad for spectacle to instinctively side with the Ghost Dominators.
Yet the locals of the Fiore Kingdom sneered and cheered the Ghost Dominators' plight.
Crawford fell silent, then gave a slight nod to a senator, who instantly understood the Speaker's intent and turned to look at Hop.
"Defendant representative of Fairy Tail, the Ghost Dominator representative accuses you of unilaterally starting a guild war and using excessive force in the conflict."
"Furthermore, you employed forbidden magic expressly prohibited by the Council, causing irreversible damage to the Holy Ten Mage Joseph."
"Fairy Tail representative, do you plead guilty?"
As Crawford's words hung in the air, Natsu from the Fairy Tail side was the first to speak up from the audience, "Bullshit! It was the Ghost Dominators who launched the surprise attack on our guild!"
"Exactly! They even kidnapped Lucy!"
"And Mira Jane!"
"We only went to war to rescue our comrades!"
"..."
The crowd's rebuttals threw the scene into temporary chaos; Makalov crossed his arms and let out a cold snort. Though he didn't shout like the younger members, his displeased aura filled the hall.
"Silence! No shouting in the courtroom!"
Crawford struck the gavel again to restore order and asked Hop, "Fairy Tail representative, what do you have to say in response to the Ghost Dominator's accusations?"
"Objection!"
Hop stood upright, a practiced business smile on his face, "Honorable Speaker, we plead not guilty."
The Ghost Dominators first damaged our guild, and we tolerated that. Then they escalated by kidnapping our members; for the safety of our comrades, we chose to approach the Ghost Dominators for negotiations.
Who could have known the Ghost Dominators would, taking advantage of their numbers, launch the first attack on us, leaving us no choice but to retaliate.
Thus, Fairy Tail's actions at most constitute excessive defense.
The previously silent senator interjected, "Nonsense. Does a negotiation require every member of your guild to mobilize?"
Hop replied evenly, "Just to show our presence. The Council's trial is this grand—ten senators present and the army guarding—so why can't our guild summon people?"
"Then you used excessive force..."
"With so many mages fighting, neither side could hold back, and we only struck as far as necessary; it certainly isn't excessive force."
"Hmph, still making excuses!"
"Makalov turned into a massive giant inside the town and used forbidden magic on Joseph—how is that not excessive force!"
As the senator pressed his point, Hop raised the corner of his mouth, "It seems the Magic Council's competence is lacking; have you really conducted a thorough investigation over these seven days?"
"It was Joseph who first activated the Super Mage Giant and unleashed the 'Mage Cluster Cannon – Jupiter,' capable of easily wiping out a city. Our president, to protect us and the citizens of Oak City, had to become a giant and shield the city from that blast."
"When Joseph disregarded the lives of Oak City's residents, why did no one accuse him of excess?"
"Or perhaps, in the eyes of you lofty senators, ordinary lives count for nothing?"
"Moreover, 'Fairy Tail's Law' has never been forbidden magic; you can't even distinguish between super magic and forbidden magic. I think some people simply don't belong in the senate."
The senator, shaken by Hop's sarcastic yet logical rebuttal, trembled and could not speak.
Another senator, Zikrein, who is also one of the Holy Ten Mages alongside Makalov and Joseph, stepped in to mediate, "Since the two representatives' statements are contradictory, please each call your witnesses."
Sol's expression shifted; yesterday President Joseph had ordered Alia, Julia, and Rurutama to cooperate with him, vowing today to bite Fairy Tail without letting go.
But who could have known that today Julia and Rurutama would simply disappear.
Having only Alia alone is clearly insufficient.
As Sol grew frantic, he suddenly saw a sight that made his eyes widen in disbelief.
Among the witnesses presented by Fairy Tail, besides Lucy and Mira Jane, were also Gajiru, Julia, and Rurutama!
Damn it! They've defected!
Seeing Sol's fluctuating expression, Hop gave a slight smile.
She had Gray use his charm to secure Julia.
When replying to Haie Beryan's invitation, she asked him to persuade his former pupil Rurutama to lend a small favor.
As for Gajiru, he had originally been taken in by Senator Beruno as an adopted son, but Hop, with a single line—"Madam, you wouldn't want us to pursue your son for sabotaging the Fairy Tail guild, would you?"—successfully convinced Beruno to let Gajiru testify for Fairy Tail.
There are six high‑ranking Ghost Dominators, and half of them have already defected to Fairy Tail's side—that's Hop's winning defense.
Half of their leadership are my men; what can you use against me?
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