Phantom Lord, Part Two

The next day, the Fairy Tail guild was in an uproar!

The atmosphere in the hall was like a powder keg that had been lit. The members were all indignant, their fists clenched so tightly they cracked, the tables and chairs were slammed shut, and the wine glasses were shaken and tilted.

Levy and her two companions were found lying in the park, barely alive, by residents who were out for their morning exercise.

According to witnesses, the scene was horrific.

An older woman carrying a shopping basket patted her chest as she recalled the past, her face crinkling with wrinkles.

"When we found them, their faces were all red from being beaten, so red they looked like they could bleed!"

An elderly man walking his dog nearby shook his head and sighed; the leash in his hand had come loose.

"That little girl's head was buried in the ground, half of her head was stuck in the soil, it was heartbreaking to see."

Another woman doing her morning exercise covered her mouth, looking terrified.

"Oh my goodness, those injuries are terrifying to look at! Those two young men were covered in iron filings!"

As for Iron Dragon Gajeel, he collapsed at the entrance of the Phantom Lord Guild.

When he was found, he reeked of alcohol, and his snoring was so loud it rattled the door.

After waking up, he couldn't remember anything from yesterday. He rubbed his head, looking completely bewildered. The others thought he might have blacked out.

Actually, Mirajane had hit him too hard, Riyao kindly treated Gajeel and threw him back, only doing a little something to his brain area to make his memories of last night blurry.

Sometimes forgetting the pain is a good thing.

Mirajane felt great after the fight and was especially happy today.

Her long silver hair shimmered in the sunlight, a gentle and radiant smile graced her lips, and she hummed a little tune as she wiped the bar, her steps light as if she were walking on clouds.

Makarov glanced at Riyao, his eyes clearly saying, "Look what you've done," but he didn't say anything.

The short man leaped onto the bar, slammed his fist on the table, and roared angrily. His voice was old yet loud, making the glasses tremble.

"My minions! Let the Phantom Lord scum taste our wrath!"

"Wow! Let's get this party started!"

Natsu was the first to respond, his fists bursting into flames and his eyes shining like two fireballs.

"Freeze all the Phantom Lord scum into dust!"

Gray clasped his hands together, and icy blue magic gathered in his palms.

"A real man must kick their asses hard!"

Elfman crossed his arms and nodded with a serious expression.

Riyao raised his hand and shouted, his voice louder than anyone else's, his fist waving in the air.

"Hang them up and whip them for three days and three nights!"

Makarov pressed down on Riyao's shoulder, his short hand surprisingly strong, and pushed him back into his seat.

"You stay here and guard the house!"

"Ah! I don't want to!"

Riyao grumbled and whined, like a child whose toys had been confiscated, and slumped into his chair.

"I want to go and fight too!"

Mirajane clenched her fist and swung it, her long silver hair drawing an arc in the air, her eyes flashing with fighting spirit.

I'll get yours.

After saying that, he leaned over and kissed Riyao's cheek. His lips were soft and warm. After kissing him in front of everyone, he even licked his lips, looking like he wanted more.

Riyao's complaints stopped abruptly, the tips of his ears turned slightly red, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up.

"Okay, then I'll stay behind."

Once they set off to cause trouble for the Phantom Lord, the hall fell silent.

When Riyao arrived at the ward and opened the door, he saw Levy and the other two leisurely reading books.

Levy her legs crossed, flipping through a book on magic theory, while Jet and Troy each held a comic book, engrossed in their reading, showing no signs of injury.

"Your acting skills still need improvement."

Riyao leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, looking disgusted.

Levy she thought about her experience lying on the board in the park that morning.

Riyao also gave them terrible battle-damaged makeup, with bruises and welts all over their faces, and even drew a big bump on her forehead.

When surrounded by onlookers, she just wanted to bury her head in the ground and not face the truth.

"This is so embarrassing! I promise I'll never come home late again, sob sob."

He covered his face with the book as he spoke, his voice muffled as it came from beneath the pages, his short blue hair scattered on the pillow.

Jet and Troy hugged each other and cried bitterly. The two grown men sobbed uncontrollably, snot running down their faces.

"If we were any stronger, we could have easily crushed that Iron Dragon!"

Riyao said sternly, without a trace of sympathy in his tone.

"Stronger? Then you can choose a more aesthetically pleasing way to fall."

The three of them fell silent, and the only sounds in the ward were the rustling of pages and the occasional sob.

Ur walked in, his wooden body creaking. He leaned against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, tilting his head to look at Riyao.

"It will definitely be black when you cut it open."

Riyao shrugged, looking completely indifferent.

"There's no other way; you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days straight. We can only feel at ease if we disperse them all."

Soon another patient joined the ward; Makarov had been ambushed by Phantom Lord, Element 4 Aria.

When the news reached them, the atmosphere in the entire guild plummeted to freezing point.

The members were all dejected; some squatted in the corner, some slumped over the table, and some silently wiped away their tears.

Everyone was in low spirits. Mirajane leaned listlessly on Riyao's shoulder, her long silver hair hanging down and covering half of her face. Her usual gentle smile had disappeared, replaced by deep worry.

Riyao stroked Mirajane's head, running his fingers through her silver hair, gently soothing her.

He always felt like he had forgotten something, something flashed through his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it.

Elfman slammed his fist on the table, denting it and making the water glasses on it bounce.

"The Phantom Lord are despicable! They're not manly at all! What kind of skill is a sneak attack!"

Cana sighed and rubbed her forehead, her wine glass wobbling slightly.

"This has nothing to do with being a man, can you please stop dragging men into everything?"

Gray was so angry that he forgot to take off his shirt. He sat in the corner fully clothed, his hands behind his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Lisanna began contacting members who were away, her short white hair swaying gently under the lights as her fingers flew across the communication crystal ball, preparing to get revenge.

Laxus's attitude was extremely hostile, and his arrogant laughter came through the communication crystal ball.

"Huh? The old man got ambushed? Haha! I'm stuck outside, you guys have fun."

Lisanna gritted her teeth and refrained from retorting.

Unable to contact Mystogan, they could only leave messages via mail. The crystal ball remained silent; the hooded man was always the same, appearing and disappearing without a trace.

Gildarts scratched his wild, orange-red hair, looking troubled.

"I can't get back now; it will take some more time."

Cana shouted at the crystal ball, her voice as shrill as a cat with its fur standing on end.

"You old geezer! Your daughter's been bullied!"

Gildarts immediately flew into a rage; his furious voice echoed from the crystal ball, causing the screen to tremble.

"Wait! Dad can't get back in time, I'm going to wipe out those branches nearby! I'll teach them a lesson for messing with my daughter!"

Cana's eyes were slightly red, but she couldn't help but smile.

A rumbling sound came from outside the guild, the ground trembled slightly, and the water glass on the table rippled.

Everyone stood up and walked outside.

The giant Phantom Lord headquarters is seen approaching from the sea.

It was a giant, mobile mechanical fortress, like a steel mountain floating on the sea, blocking out the sky and casting a shadow that covered half the harbor.

Huge gears slowly turned on both sides of the fortress, emitting a dull rumble, churning the seawater into white foam.

The outer walls of the fortress were engraved with the symbol of the Phantom Lord, which reflected a cold metallic luster in the sunlight.

Riyao looked out the window, clicked his tongue, put his hands in his pockets, and spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"Old man, that old devil Jose thinks he's got us cornered. This huge show of force... he's probably brought out all his savings."

Makarov poked his head out of bed, his gray hair disheveled, his face still somewhat pale, but the anger in his eyes had not diminished at all.

His tone was angry, and his beard twitched with rage.

"That bastard really dares to do that!"

Mirajane's eyes widened, her silver eyelashes trembled slightly, and her voice was filled with surprise and disbelief.

"President, are you alright?"

Makarov sat up and stretched his shoulders. Although his movements were still a little stiff, he had clearly recovered most of his strength.

Riyao chuckled, stood up from his chair, put his hands behind his back, and looked smug.

"I activated a Life Link for all of you before you set off. There were too many people and the distance was too far, so the effect was a bit weak. The old man was fine when you returned."

He paused, then added.

"But the fact that old Jose dared to come so brazenly means he came prepared. The real show is yet to come."

Outside the window, the massive Phantom Lord Fortress slowly approached, its shadow growing longer and longer, like a gaping maw about to devour the entire Magnolia.

Of course, Riyao wouldn't say that he deliberately wanted to make the old man suffer, so that even if the Magic Council came, they wouldn't be able to find fault with him.