Chapter 56: Give Me Some Face
"You bastards dare to attack my children! You want to destroy my guild! It seems the Magic Council is asking to be wiped out! Dino, let's tear down the entire Council together!"
"You got it, Gramps!"
Makarov's fury exploded. His body expanded to gigantic proportions, and the overwhelming pressure of his magic crashed down on every mage present. As one of the Ten Wizard Saints—and highly ranked among them—Makarov's combat power was nothing to scoff at.
The sheer density of his magical energy made it difficult for weaker mages to even breathe.
What the hell had those idiotic Council members been thinking? Trying to execute someone like Dino—who was already a monster in terms of power—and a member of Fairy Tail, no less! Makarov's guild! One of the Ten Wizard Saints! Had these morons lost their minds? They couldn't blame anyone else if the Magic Council got destroyed now. It was over. The Council was finished. They were all finished, killed by these incompetent fools.
Suddenly, Yajima spoke up. "Makarov, calm yourself! Even those arrogant fools would need actual capability to execute someone."
"Look—young Dino is completely unharmed. Meanwhile, the Magic Council has already paid a heavy price for their mistake, wouldn't you say?"
Makarov paused. Now that his giant form gave him a better vantage point, he could see the full scope of the destruction.
Holy crap! The massive crack in the ground looked like someone had carved a new Grand Canyon. The earth was torn apart everywhere, and not a single building remained standing—everything was rubble. Only scattered fragments of blue and white stone hinted that structures had once existed here.
This brat really went all out, Makarov thought. Five years ago, he only destroyed half the building and barely damaged the ground. Now… even if they rebuild the Council, they'll have to relocate entirely.
Dino put on his most pitiful expression. "Grandpa Yajima, you're wrong about that. Sure, my body is fine, but my heart has been severely traumatized. This might transform me from a gentle, kind person into a villain with destructive urges."
"If the world gets destroyed because of this trauma, it'll all be the Magic Council's fault."
"Alright, alright! Makarov, Dino—you've beaten up the Council members and smashed their buildings. Time to let it go."
"Do this old man a favor and don't pursue this further. These mages are all innocent."
Makarov shrank back to normal size. "Fine, Yajima. I'll give you face this time. After all, this whole mess started because Phantom Lord attacked my guild in the middle of the night. Dino just went to settle the score."
"It's one thing for your Council to arrest and judge Dino, but you actually tried to… Forget it. But I will need an explanation from the Council later. Let's go, you brat."
"Hey, you there—the one who brought us here. Teleport us back." Makarov waved at Doranbolt.
Doranbolt's face went pale. He'd already exhausted himself teleporting Makarov here from Fairy Tail with continuous jumps, and now he had to send them back immediately? He felt like coughing up blood.
But seeing his colleagues' hopeful expressions—clearly desperate to send these two calamities as far away as possible—he had no choice. He began teleporting again.
Whoosh!
Dino and Makarov vanished, and everyone in the Magic Council let out a collective sigh of relief. Having Dino stand there had felt like a mountain crushing down on their chests, making it impossible to breathe freely.
"Yajima! You actually ran away while the Magic Council was under attack!"
"That's right! And you're closely connected to the criminal who destroyed the Council! Are you even fit to be a Councilor?"
Yajima sneered. "Even at a time like this, you're still trying to shift blame. You really do think everyone in the Magic Council is a fool, don't you?"
"Uh—!"
The Council mages looked at the accusing Councilors with distrust. The Council had been peaceful for years. Of course someone would go berserk if you sentenced them to death out of nowhere! If Councilor Yajima hadn't intervened, who knows what would've happened?
At that moment, Ultear and Jellal appeared together.
Councilor Beluno pointed angrily. "Ultear! Siegrain! Were you just watching the whole time? Siegrain, you're one of the Ten Wizard Saints, for heaven's sake!"
Siegrain spread his hands with a bitter smile. "Councilor Beluno, you misunderstand. I'm merely a Thought Projection—my real body isn't here. Besides, even if my true body were present, do you honestly think a Wizard Saint would be a match for that monster?"
Councilor Reiji turned to Ultear. "What about you, Ultear?"
Ultear smiled sweetly. "Me? I simply wanted to preserve myself to be of use later. Besides, didn't I mention I've been feeling unwell these past few days? Were you planning to force an indisposed woman to fight that monster?"
"Anyway, let me restore the Council to its original state first."
As Ultear spoke, she activated her magic. The cyan crystal orb in her hand floated into the air, and magical light blossomed outward, covering the entire Council grounds.
Soon, everyone watched as the cracked earth began slowly mending itself. The shattered ground repaired itself as though time were reversing. Within moments, the terrain had returned to its pre-destruction state.
Then, one by one, the Council buildings began reconstructing themselves to their original forms.
Before long, the Magic Council was completely restored—aside from the injured personnel—every structure and floor returned to its pristine condition, indistinguishable from before the destruction.
Sweat beaded on Ultear's forehead as she panted. Clearly, restoring everything had consumed enormous amounts of magical power.
"Oh my god! Everything that monster destroyed has been restored!"
"Miss Ultear is incredible!"
Ultear's actions completely silenced the four accusing Councilors. Now, everyone in the Magic Council owed Ultear a tremendous debt. More importantly, without Ultear's intervention, they might never have been able to use the Council facilities again.