"BOOM!!!"

With a deafening explosion, the ruins of Phantom Lord's guild hall were blasted apart, sending debris and rubble flying in all directions.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

A series of subsequent explosions followed as magical attacks continued relentlessly.

Clearly, there were still many people buried beneath the wreckage.

Soon, a complete exit was blasted open, and the mages who had taken shelter underground began emerging one by one.

Leading them was none other than Totomaru—the very person they had been searching for.

When the guild hall came under attack, its members had immediately sought refuge in the underground shelter.

Under such circumstances, escaping above the ground was impossible.

With the guild hall on the verge of collapse, who would dare venture out?

Their only option was to take cover underground before the building collapsed—at least there, they stood a chance of survival.

No one was reckless enough to try fleeing outside.

As for Totomaru, he had already been imprisoned underground from the start.

With the guild members underground left leaderless and panicking, they naturally turned to Totomaru, one of the former "Elements Three."

Totomaru had always been known for his loyalty and formidable strength, so no one objected to releasing him.

At this critical moment, they desperately needed a leader to guide them.

His imprisonment hadn't been widely supported in the first place.

The members of Phantom Lord weren't fools—if Totomaru could be treated this way today, who's to say they wouldn't be next?

Totomaru hadn't done anything wrong.

If anything, he had gone above and beyond—even when planning to leave the guild, he had brought back his defeated comrades rather than letting them suffer the humiliation of being retrieved from Fairy Tail.

He could have simply submitted his resignation and left, yet he waited until Jose Porla emerged from his hiding to personally bid farewell to the guild master, showing Jose every courtesy.

But in return for this, Jose stabbed him in the back.

Jose's actions, driven by wounded pride, were a disastrous misstep—dealing yet another heavy internal blow to the already crumbling Phantom Lord.

The guild's continued existence, its very cohesion, now relied entirely on Jose Porla's "reign of terror" to hold it together.

Yet Jose's behavior wasn't entirely inexplicable.

The man was inherently arrogant, stubborn, and self-important.

After suppressing his injuries and barely managing to emerge from seclusion, only to find his reputation in tatters, Jose flew into a rage, wishing he could slaughter every media outlet spreading "lies" to restore his so-called "good name."

And the defeat of the "Elements Three" was like pouring oil on the fire.

Aria, the "Sky Element," had been captured by the Magic Council; Sol, the "Earth Element," was severely wounded; even Gajeel had been left dazed and disoriented.

Yet here was Totomaru, completely unharmed—and now trying to quit the guild.

Under such circumstances, Jose Porla couldn't care less about how things had unfolded, whether they had actively provoked trouble in Magnolia, or that Aria had gone berserk in Magnolia without any regard for the lives of its civilians.

Jose Porla pinned all the blame on Totomaru, accusing him of "inaction" and "desertion," outright refusing to let him leave the guild and forcibly imprisoning him instead.

Though everyone was clearly dissatisfied with this blatant violation of the rules, no one dared to oppose Jose Porla at that time.

They could only watch helplessly as the innocent Totomaru was locked away.

After being released, Totomaru harbored no resentment.

He didn't blame anyone for failing to speak up for him during his imprisonment.

After all, it was perfectly understandable that no one dared to defy Jose Porla—he was the tyrant of Phantom Lord.

Once freed, Totomaru took the initiative to lead everyone in clearing the rubble.

He had likely guessed how things had progressed—his plea for help must have reached Fairy Tail, and they must have come to rescue him.

Moreover, it was probably Master Makarov himself who had arrived.

Otherwise, Jose wouldn't have erupted with madness.

Totomaru was deeply moved.

That old man truly kept his word—he had traveled all this way to save him, all because of a single promise.

"What... what happened here?"

Emerging from the ruins and seeing half of Oak Town intact while the other half lay in shambles, Totomaru was stunned.

The other guild members were equally shocked.

Had their Master done this?

They all knew the guild hall's collapse was Jose Porla's doing—his deathly aura of magic was unmistakable.

That terrifying dark magic belonged to no one else but their Master.

After their initial shock, they spotted their fellow guild members sprawled unconscious on the ground and Jose kneeling.

Their eyes widened in disbelief.

"The Master... was defeated?"

Though utterly stunned, the undeniable reality before them forced them to accept it—Phantom Lord seemed to have been completely wiped out.

"Totomaru! Get your people to help!"

Seeing the group of mages emerging from the rubble, Makarov called out.

They were short on hands, and now that Totomaru and his group had appeared, there was no way he'd let them stand idly by.

"Got it!"

Snapping out of his daze, Totomaru quickly responded and immediately led his people to assist in the rescue efforts.

"Master Jose... has he gone mad?"

As they dug through the wreckage, the Phantom Lord members couldn't help but wonder—what could have driven Jose Porla to unleash such destructive magic in Oak Town?

"For his pride..." Totomaru's expression darkened.

He never imagined Jose Porla would go this far.

That man had truly lost his mind!

As time passed, the rescue operations progressed smoothly.

Though many buildings had collapsed, few of Oak Town's residents were injured—most had either been evacuated earlier or taken shelter in underground bunkers.

The residents of Oak Town, who had been protected by Marco and Makarov, also joined the rescue efforts.

More and more people hiding underground were being saved.

Meanwhile, the Magic Council arrived belatedly, as usual, always managing to show up right after the battle ended.

"Master Makarov, what's going on here?! Fairy Tail again?! And this time, you're leading the charge personally?!"

Upon seeing Makarov, the Magic Council's team leader didn't seem surprised at all—as if everything suddenly made sense.

Clearly, he'd dealt with Fairy Tail-related incidents many times before and was quite familiar with Makarov.

The only thing that caught the team leader off guard was that this time, Makarov himself had personally led the operation.

Truly, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree—what kind of general you are determines what kind of soldiers you have!

"Wait a minute Aqua, don't make it sound like we're responsible for this mess too."

For once, Makarov didn't just take the blame.

It was the first time he could actually defend himself in such a situation.

"Not your doing? You think I'd believe that? Should i list Fairy Tail's 'achievements' over the past two months?

Three streets burned down, half a shopping district destroyed, an entire dock area blown up, no fewer than two hundred shops and houses wrecked! And you're telling me it wasn't you?!"

Aqua gritted his teeth as he recounted Fairy Tail's "track record" in detail, proving just how often he'd handled incidents involving them.

"..."

Makarov broke out in a cold sweat, his expression turned awkward.

Having all these 'facts' thrown in his face was hard to take.

"Let me put it this way—over the past two months, the damage caused by Dark Guilds hasn't even come close to what Fairy Tail has done!"

Aqua didn't spare Makarov any face.

While directing his subordinates to assist in the rescue, he kept his gaze into Makarov, whose expression darkened further.

"That's a bit harsh. At worst, we only cause property damage—we don't kill people like Dark Guilds do..."

In the Kingdom of Fiore, few could make Makarov lose his confidence, but the Magic Council had that power.

What could he do? The kids in his guild were just too good at stirring up trouble...

"True, you've been incredibly lucky. Despite all the large-scale destruction, there's hardly ever any serious injuries. Otherwise, Fairy Tail would've been labeled a Dark Guild long ago!"

Even Aqua had to admit Makarov had a point.

Fairy Tail's luck was baffling.

They fought recklessly, causing massive destruction, yet somehow always managed to avoid harming bystanders.

"But... Makarov, you need to rein in your guild members. Do you really think your luck will hold forever?

If you keep acting without restraint, causing destruction left and right, disaster will strike eventually. Look at this mess—can you honestly guarantee no one got hurt this time?"

Though past events had proven Fairy Tail's uncanny luck, Aqua refused to rely on chance.

Every time he saw the mess caused by Fairy Tail, his heart would race with fear, terrified of seeing shocking casualty numbers.

"It's been said this time it wasn't us. If you'd just run a test, you'd find this destruction was caused by Jose Porla's dark magic. In fact, it was us who protected this half of the city that remains intact. Aqua, please stop always viewing Fairy Tail through tinted lenses."

Makarov's helpless defense was justified—while many past incidents had indeed been their doing, this time it truly wasn't them.

"Really? I don't believe it." Aqua wore a skeptical expression.

With Fairy Tail members present and large-scale destruction occurring, how could it not be their doing?

No one would buy that story.

"..."

Makarov shook his head, giving up on further explanation.

Let Aqua see for himself.

"Moreover, there likely weren't any casualties this time either."

Speaking cautiously to Aqua, Makarov couldn't guarantee zero casualties yet as rescue operations were ongoing.

But the signs pointed that way, and everything seemed to be following that familiar pattern again.

"..."

Aqua fell silent.

Following Makarov to the battle's epicenter, he immediately sensed the lingering traces of exceptionally potent dark magic in the air.

Jose's magic had an unmistakable signature.

The aura of death and fear permeating the air was uniquely characteristic of Jose Porla's dark magical energy.

"Master Jose... What is this?"

Staring at Jose Porla lying motionless on the ground, Aqua was stunned.

This was one of the Wizard Saints!

How had he ended up in such a pitiful state? His injuries appeared severe.

After the initial shock, Aqua turned to Makarov.

Who else but Makarov could have reduced Jose Porla to this condition?

"What exactly happened here?" Aquar frowned as he questioned Makarov.

"Jose Porla crossed the line." Makarov shook his head before briefly recounting the events.

"Jose Porla violated the Magic Council's laws by forcibly detaining mages attempting to leave his guild..."

Hearing the cause, Aqua couldn't help but click his tongue.

This was no minor offense—it struck at the foundational laws of the Magic Council.

The Magic Council existed to protect all mages' interests, earning their recognition.

That was why it held authority.

On such matters, the Magic Council and magic guilds would never stand together—they would inevitably side with the individual mages.

Thus, Jose Porla was bound to suffer the consequences this time.

He'd better pray his magic truly caused no casualties, otherwise combined charges would land him a harsher sentence than Aria's.

Aria himself had faced multiple charges too—initiating provocation at Fairy Tail's guild also violated one of the Magic Council's fundamental laws prohibiting inter-guild conflicts.

"Makarov, your guild's actions this time weren't exactly compliant either." Aqua glanced at Makarov.

Although he said that, he truly couldn't use this reason to pressure Fairy Tail, because Jose Porla was the one who made the mistake first.

Makarov's actions were justified.

"Upholding the laws of the Magic Council is Fairy Tail's unwavering duty!"

As expected, Makarov had already considered this point thoroughly before bringing his people here.

He wouldn't leave such an obvious vulnerability.

Moreover, in today's battle, it wasn't Fairy Tail who struck first—it was Jose Porla.

Makarov had merely shouted once, and before he could even say anything more, Jose Porla launched the attack.

They were completely on the defensive.

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