— — — — — —
The next morning, bright and early, the Magic Council summoned Makarov away.
Out on the streets, the scandal about Fairy Tail had vanished. The headlines had completely flipped.
"Fairy Tail destroys the Phantom Lord guild!"
"What? I thought Phantom Lord was the number one guild in Fiore. How could they lose to Fairy Tail?"
"That's got to be fake news. No way!"
"What nonsense. Since when was Phantom Lord number one? Fairy Tail has always been first in Fiore!"
"You kidding me? Those Fairy Tail idiots? How are they anywhere near Phantom Lord?"
"Play all you want, joke all you want, but don't mess around with strength. Fairy Tail does weird stuff, sure… but they're actually strong. Way stronger than Phantom Lord."
"I heard their master got one-punched to death."
"And apparently Phantom Lord was doing kidnappings and extortion. No guild spirit at all."
"You… you're lying!"
"Lying? It's printed right there in the paper. Everyone knows. You defending them so hard… you part of Phantom Lord or something?"
"You in a dark guild? Should I report you for bounty money?"
Rumors flooded the city. At first, people didn't believe Phantom Lord had fallen. Then witnesses spoke up, saying they'd seen Laxus destroy an entire branch by himself.
Others claimed they saw Mystogan and more at Phantom Lord branch locations.
Doubt turned into fact. Shock swept the streets.
Once people accepted that Phantom Lord was gone, those who had been victimized by the guild started stepping forward, crying and accusing Phantom Lord of countless crimes.
Shock turned into disgust. Disgust turned into public hatred.
...
"Damn it…!"
Gajeel crushed the newspaper in his fist, hidden under a cloak.
Phantom Lord had become a rat on the streets. Everyone fled the guild. Most members had only ever been there for work or survival, not loyalty. With the guild destroyed and the master dead, they had no reason to stay.
"Ugh…"
Gajeel glanced at the crowded street, turned into an alley, and walked away. He wasn't planning revenge. He just wanted somewhere quiet to wait out the storm.
---
Meanwhile, inside the Heartfilia mansion, in its most luxurious room, Lucy's father, Jude Heartfilia, was fuming.
"Phantom Lord is useless. I spent so much money just to have them bring Lucy back."
"They couldn't even handle that. Calling themselves the top guild in Fiore… ridiculous. And that newspaper—whatever company owns it, buy it. I want it gone."
He slammed the paper on his desk. First he saw humiliating photos of his daughter. Then the guild he hired failed and got exposed.
Infuriating.
"Sir, I already looked into it… but that newspaper company already fled. It was just two people, and their office was rented."
"They ran immediately after printing. We can't find them, let alone buy them out."
The butler sighed. He'd never seen a business like this. Print one issue, then disappear. What were those women even trying to do?
"…Forget it. Go get Lucy. No—send someone with a letter. Tell her to come home. I don't want her embarrassing the Heartfilia name outside any longer."
Jude drafted a letter and sent someone to deliver it.
— — —
At the same time
Inside the Magic Council's courtroom, the council members sat neatly in their designated seats. Standing before them was Makarov.
"Master Makarov of Fairy Tail," one councilor announced, "your guild has violated Article Four of the inter-guild treaty. Guilds are forbidden from engaging in combat."
"The following are the details and evidence…"
What followed was a long parade of accusations and reports. The councilors listed one issue after another, laying out every piece of evidence they had gathered.
Makarov listened for a while, but he couldn't help drifting off. Thanks to Kazuma keeping him up all night, he hadn't slept well, and now the endless speeches up above were the perfect lullaby. Before long, he was standing there fast asleep.
"That concludes the list of violations. Master Makarov, do you acknowledge these offenses? Master Makarov? Master Makarov!"
Makarov jerked awake and looked up with bleary eyes.
"Here!"
"Master Makarov… were you asleep just now?"
"No. Absolutely not. This is a serious setting—how could I possibly fall asleep? I was thinking. Deeply. Not asleep at all." He answered without missing a beat.
Sitting above, Councilor Yajima covered his face. Same old Makarov—hopeless as ever.
Even Jellal, seated further up, couldn't hold back a laugh. Only this old man could fall asleep in a courtroom and then lie about it with a straight face.
"This man is infuriating. He's blatantly disrespecting us," the Second Seat snapped.
"With evidence this solid, Fairy Tail has clearly violated inter-guild law. I propose the guild be dissolved immediately!" added the Third Seat. Fairy Tail had always been unruly, and he'd never had enough justification to disband them before.
But now? A full-scale battle between guilds was a major offense. Fairy Tail was finished.
"Ahem."
Yajima cleared his throat.
"It's true that a battle took place between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord. That fact can't be changed," he began calmly. "However… this situation began when Phantom Lord kidnapped Fairy Tail member Lucy Heartfilia."
"The guild acted to rescue one of their own. The fault lies with Phantom Lord, not Fairy Tail."
He sighed. Even if Makarov was unreliable, they had known each other for decades. They'd risked their lives together more times than he could count. He couldn't just sit and watch him be condemned.
"Yajima, I know you're close with him, but you can't ignore the treaty like this!"
"The boy Kazuma has caused trouble more than once. First he wiped out a branch by himself. Then he single-handedly escalated things between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord."
"And he killed a Wizard Saint—Jose Porla! This is outrageous!"
"If we don't punish this, the magic world will fall into chaos!"
The Second Seat slammed a fist onto the table.
"Hold on," Makarov finally said. "I have something to say."
"What? Are you here to defend that Kazuma?"
"No. I'm saying it wasn't his idea alone. It was the collective will of all Fairy Tail mages, including myself."
"The declaration of war wasn't made by him. I made it."
Makarov's expression hardened. "Jose insulted me? Fine. He stole work from the guild? Whatever. But…"
"He dared lay a hand on one of our children. That, I can never permit."
"We fought this time, and if it happens again, we'll fight again. And again after that. There is no other choice."
He wasn't trying to shield Kazuma. Fairy Tail did what they did. Kazuma wasn't wrong; if Makarov were in his place, he would have fought for his family too.
"You—are you provoking us?" someone shouted.
"Calm down," another councilor tried to smooth things over. "We're members of the Magic Council. Maintain composure."
"... I'll admit Kazuma's methods were extreme. But he's young. Young mages being hot-headed isn't unusual. Besides, in a mage's battle, being soft-hearted only gets you killed."
"The same applies to Jose and the Element 4. It was a kill-or-be-killed fight. Death is a natural outcome."
"If you're not prepared to kill or be killed, then being a mage isn't for you. Better off opening a restaurant instead."
"...He's right." Yajima's tone remained steady. "Injuries and casualties between mages are normal. What we're evaluating here is legality," another member said. "This is about guild-to-guild conflict, not the conduct of one mage."
"And on that point, I'm sure you've all seen the newspapers by now. Not everything in the news is true, but some of it is."
"Previously, Makarov submitted a recording lacrima. We verified it—everything in it is authentic."
Yajima held up the lacrima containing Jose's own admission and played it for the room.
"As you can see, Jose started this. He committed the kidnapping. His actions and words clearly show he was the one who initiated hostilities."
"Don't tell me this doesn't count as starting a war. Imagine if I kidnapped your granddaughter—how would you feel?"
He looked straight at a councilor across the table.
"Hey—hey! Don't look at me when you say that! My granddaughter is perfectly fine, thank you! Don't curse my family!"
"I didn't say anything," Yajima shrugged innocently.
"The recording may be real… but why did Makarov have it in the first place?" another councilor questioned.
"It was captured by our surveillance during the investigation," Makarov replied.
"What a coincidence."
"What did you say?" Makarov's expression darkened. "Are you implying our guild deliberately allowed Jose to kidnap our own member?"
"That we staged an inter-guild conflict on purpose and planted this recording? Are you joking? We are not a guild that sacrifices our comrades!"
He slammed his hand onto the table, shattering it instantly.
"Makarov, calm yourself," someone said quickly. "I'm sure he didn't mean it like that. He was just asking."
"I also trust your guild would never do such a thing. Let's move on to the vote and decide the final ruling."
The discussion had run its course. The council members filed out of the courtroom to deliberate.
After a long period of debate, they returned to announce the verdict.
Jose was stripped of his title as a Wizard Saint. Phantom Lord was to be dissolved immediately. Fairy Tail received nothing: no punishment, no commendation. The council swept the entire incident under the rug as if nothing had happened.
.
.
.