Charles hovered in midair, eyes fixed on the Phantom Lord's mobile fortress slowly approaching in the distance. He had to admit—Phantom sure was rich. Forget the cost and resources needed to turn their headquarters into a mobile fortress—just the scale of the construction alone dwarfed Fairy Tail's entire guild hall.
It was a castle. A literal castle. There was no way Fairy Tail could build something that massive.
Not because they didn't earn enough—more because they couldn't hold on to any money. Fairy Tail was full of wrecking balls like Natsu. Every time he went on a job, the reward wasn't even enough to cover the damages and the Council's fines. No wonder Makarov always kept his heart medication close.
You could say it was already impressive that Fairy Tail could even keep their finances balanced.
Snapping out of his train of thought, Charles looked up at the looming fortress.
"Well then... let's give them a proper greeting."
…
Down on the beach, Natsu shaded his eyes with his hand and stared up. "What's Charles doing up there? He said to wait for his signal, but didn't say what the signal was."
Erza said calmly, "Let's trust Charles. But Natsu—are you sure you'll be okay? That's a vehicle, remember?"
Natsu froze, as if just realizing something, and a miserable expression immediately took over his face.
Of course Charles had considered that issue—Natsu's vehicle motion sickness was one of the main reasons Charles was making this flashy opening move.
Charles raised both hands, holding them as if gripping an invisible weapon. A stream of light extended between his palms.
"Come forth, Martial Saint!"
The Azure Dragon Crescent Blade materialized in his grip—Charles's second innate weapon.
He exhaled a misty breath, his entire body surging with power. Every ounce of strength from his Dragonblood Mode and Qilin Technique flowed into this single strike.
The dragon carved into the blade glowed as if it had come to life, blazing with flames in its eyes.
Slowly, Charles raised the blade above his head, then brought it down in a powerful arc. A flaming divine dragon erupted from the weapon and flew straight toward Phantom's fortress.
In the astonished gazes of the onlookers, the fire dragon crashed into the fortress's lower side.
That was no ordinary attack—it was a slashing strike incarnated as a dragon. The rocky foundation beneath the fortress was carved away in a single blow, and three of its metallic legs were severed completely.
With an entire side of its support structure destroyed, the enormous fortress tilted and crashed into the sea, triggering a massive circular tidal wave. Seawater surged into the port and splashed at everyone's feet.
Mouth agape, Erza declared, "I guess that was the signal! Having a comrade that strong really fires you up. Let's move out!"
"Happy! Let's go!"
"Aye, sir!"
Happy grabbed Natsu and soared toward the now-crippled fortress.
Gray pressed his hands together, gathering a huge amount of magic before slamming them down onto the water's surface.
"Ice Make: Ocean!"
From Gray's palms, a sheet of ice rapidly spread out, reaching beneath the fortress and freezing the remaining three legs and parts of the structure solid.
The others charged across the ice toward the Phantom Lord's base while Charles had already flown above it.
Inside the fortress, Charles's slash had caused chaos. The sudden tilt of the fortress threw everyone into a panic.
Jose barely managed to regain his footing, roaring, "What happened!?"
A masked Phantom mage responded, "Master Jose! The lower part of the fortress has been damaged. We've lost mobility!"
Jose laughed darkly. "So Makarov's little brats do have some bite!"
Just then, another masked mage reported, "Master Jose, someone has infiltrated the fortress and engaged Lord Totomaru!"
"And the main Fairy Tail force is approaching. What are your orders?"
Jose's smile twisted into a snarl. "How bold of you... Fairy Tail..."
Before he could finish, the ceiling exploded with a thunderous crash. Smoke and debris filled the room, blinding everyone.
Footsteps echoed through the chaos. A voice followed.
"Jose, Master of Phantom Lord, I've finally found you!"
As the smoke cleared, Jose saw Charles standing there casually, like he was out for a stroll.
"So you're Makarov's new recruit, huh? You've got guts showing up alone," Jose growled.
He was Jose, one of the Ten Wizard Saints—among the strongest mages on the continent.
Makarov was one thing, but this brat dared to be so arrogant in front of him? Jose's fury boiled over.
Dark magic oozed from his body. The oppressive aura of death overwhelmed the room, and even his subordinates collapsed, crawling away just to escape.
"This is bad! Master Jose's pissed!"
"Run!"
…
Rather than darkness, Jose's magic was more like pure negative energy. It had tangible power and struck directly at the spirit.
But Charles's will was unshakable. He knew fear, but never because of something like Jose's magic.
"Magic Domain: Dragon's Nest!"
Charles's domain expanded, instantly suppressing Jose's deathly aura. In Jose's pupils, he saw a blazing crimson dragon—and even thought he could hear its roar.
Jose smirked coldly. "So that's why you dared show up. But brat... this isn't enough to beat a Wizard Saint."
Dark magic spun above him and condensed into ghost-like soldiers.
This was Jose's signature spell—Ghosts, the origin of the guild's name, Phantom Lord.
These wraiths embodied the power of death. Even a touch would drain your life force.
"A Wizard Saint, huh..." Charles clenched his fist. Flames erupted from his palm.
"You're just the kind of opponent to get me fired up!"
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Charles threw a punch that smashed several ghosts into each other, incinerating them in a blaze of fire.
But they reformed immediately, merging back with the others and surging toward him again.
Jose laughed maniacally. "Do you see now? This is the power of a Wizard Saint! Time to die!"
Charles showed no hint of concern. Instead, he sneered. "You're acting like you've already won."
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Waves of fire followed Charles's sweeping arms, blasting the ghosts away once more. But again, they regrouped and charged.
"What an annoying spell."
Charles stepped forward. Flames exploded from underfoot, vaporizing the entire wave of ghosts.
Before they could regenerate, Charles appeared in front of Jose and landed a solid Fire Dragon's Iron Fist to his face, sending him flying.
The ghosts chasing Charles vanished instantly—their master had been struck down.
"Master Jose, if that's all you've got, then this magic isn't going to help you. If you don't start getting serious, I'll finish this right now!"
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