Alyan frowned slightly. "Is this related to Lucy?"
"Yeah. Apparently, someone from the Heartfilia family approached Phantom Lord," Makarov said gravely.
"I understand. Then don't tell Lucy about this for now. I'll ask Aunt Layla myself," Alyan instructed.
"Don't worry. I never intended to tell her in the first place."
After thinking for a moment, Alyan stood up and headed toward an empty train car. Taking out a communication lacrima, he connected the call.
Soon, a woman who looked ninety percent identical to Lucy appeared on the crystal screen.
"Oh my, Alyan? It's been a while. Did something happen? Did Lucy get herself into trouble again?" Layla asked with a gentle smile.
"Lucy is doing fine. I contacted you because there's something you should know."
Alyan relayed the information Makarov had given him.
Layla's expression remained calm, but a cold light flashed through her eyes.
"I see. Thank you, Alyan. I'll handle things on my side. Please continue looking after Lucy for me. I have something to deal with now, so we'll leave it here."
"Understood."
After ending the communication, Layla's face turned icy.
"Very good. It seems some people in the family need to be cleaned out."
She had merely stepped back from managing family affairs—not died. Yet someone actually dared to hire people to capture her daughter.
If she didn't teach them a lesson, they really would think the Heartfilia family head was easy to bully.
Alyan put away the communication lacrima and returned to his seat.
Lucy looked at him curiously. "Big Brother Alyan, where did you go?"
"Nothing important. Just handling some family matters," Alyan replied casually.
"Ahh… even though it's wrecked, the guild still feels the most comfortable," Macao sighed happily while leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah. Drinking here really is the best," Cana agreed while gulping down alcohol.
"Cana, don't drink too much, okay? Be careful or Alyan might punish you later," Lisanna whispered mischievously into Cana's ear.
"Pfft—what nonsense are you saying, Lisanna?!" Cana spat out her drink immediately, her face turning bright red.
Meanwhile, over at Phantom Lord headquarters, Jose's face was dark with fury.
Reports of every Phantom Lord branch being destroyed poured in one after another.
With a furious roar, Jose smashed the table before him into splinters, his eyes filled with malice.
"Excellent. Very well done, Makarov. Since that's how it is, then let's strike directly at the heart."
At Jose's command, the Phantom Lord members immediately sprang into action.
The heavy grinding of gears echoed continuously as the entire Phantom Lord guild transformed, mechanical limbs extending outward as it began marching toward Magnolia.
Inside Jose's office, the Four Elements gathered one after another.
Aria—the leader of the Four Elements—a massive obese man with cloth covering his eyes.
Juvia Lockser—the Water Element—a beautiful woman with long blue hair, pale skin, and a melancholic aura, carrying an umbrella.
Sol—the Earth Element—a towering muscular man with green hair and cross-shaped markings on his face.
Totomaru—the Fire Element—a young man with black-and-white split hair and a flashy kimono-style outfit.
And finally, Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer, still wrapped in bandages after being brutally beaten by Alyan.
All of Phantom Lord's upper echelon had assembled.
"So we're finally launching the full assault? How tragic," Aria muttered while crying dramatically.
"At last, those Fairy Tail fools will witness what true gentlemanliness looks like!" Sol declared while striking a ridiculous pose.
"Drip… drip…"
Totomaru glanced at Gajeel mockingly.
"Hey, Gajeel. You got beaten up pretty badly. Maybe you should stay behind at the guild. Otherwise you might actually get killed."
"What did you say, bastard?!"
Gajeel tore the bandages off his body furiously, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
"If you want, I can kill you before the real battle even starts."
"That's enough."
Jose interrupted coldly before turning toward Gajeel.
"Can you still fight?"
"Hmph. That damned guy… I'm definitely going to smash his face in. No—I'll beat it beyond recognition!"
Yet the more Gajeel spoke, the more vividly the memory of his brutal defeat resurfaced in his mind.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A tremendous rumbling suddenly shook the ground.
"What's that sound?"
"What happened?!"
One guild member rushed outside to investigate before running back in panic.
"C-Chief! You all need to come look! A giant steel monster is heading toward Magnolia!"
Everyone rushed outside.
At a glance, they saw it—
The transformed Phantom Lord headquarters slowly advancing forward like a gigantic steel behemoth.
It finally stopped in the middle of the waterway.
Then, under everyone's horrified gaze, an enormous black cannon barrel extended outward from within the structure.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Natsu exclaimed.
"The entire guild is moving?!" Mirajane cried in shock.
Makarov's expression changed drastically as a terrible premonition filled his heart.
He immediately ordered the guild members nearby to evacuate the civilians.
At the same time, a massive magic circle lit up across the cannon barrel.
Mavis gasped.
"It's the Magic Converging Cannon—Jupiter!"
"What?!"
Makarov's face twisted with rage.
"Has Jose gone insane?! Using a city-destroying magical weapon inside Magnolia?! Is he trying to destroy the entire city?!"
"Now's not the time for that, Third," Mavis warned while staring at the charging cannon. "The attack is coming."
"Everyone, get behind me! Hurry!"
Makarov stepped in front of the guild members, his body instantly enlarging through Giant Magic.
"Master, let me handle this," Alyan said as he drew Alaya Consciousness.
"Stand down."
Makarov rejected him immediately.
"As long as I'm still here as your father figure, how could I let you children stand in front of me?"
The next instant—
A pitch-black beam overflowing with destructive power erupted forward, tearing through the water and annihilating everything in its path as it shot toward Fairy Tail.
"Three Pillar Gods!"
Makarov immediately activated his strongest defensive spell.
Three massive pillars of light formed a triangular barrier before him.
The devastating Magic Converging Cannon: Jupiter slammed directly into the barrier, sending violent ripples across its surface.
After several moments of fierce resistance, the cannon's energy was finally exhausted.
Makarov emerged completely unharmed.
However, his complexion was noticeably paler.
Though uninjured, the spell had consumed a tremendous amount of his magic power.
"Master, are you alright?" Alyan and the others hurried over anxiously.
"I'm fine," Makarov waved dismissively. "Just used up quite a bit of magic power."
Once again, Fairy Tail witnessed just how monstrously powerful their Guild Master truly was.
He had tanked the Jupiter Cannon head-on without suffering a single injury—
At the cost of only his magic power.