The Magic Council's Destruction!
Central Magic Council, ERA Headquarters Supreme Meeting Hall.
Nine ornately carved high-backed chairs, symbolizing supreme authority, were neatly arranged around the circular table.
The eight councilors each sat in a corner, with a magical holographic map of the entire Kingdom of Fiore floating in the center of the table, displaying statistical cursors of the magical fluctuations of various guilds.
A newly elected member of parliament with white hair slammed the documents in his hand onto the table, and launched the first attack with a fierce glare.
"The Grand Magic Games have concluded, Fairy Tail not only swept all the honors, but even their second team could treat other teams' main teams like punching bags!"
"Even more absurd was the dragon mutation in the capital!"
The bald congressman next to him gritted his teeth and echoed, his tone full of displeasure.
"Several mythical ancient dragons that emerged from a spatial rift four hundred years ago were supposed to Magic Council using royal troops and forbidden spells. Instead, that troublemaker from Fairy Tail named Jiang Bai single-handedly wiped them all out!"
"The entire Royal Capital Plains are now clamoring that Fairy Tail is the savior, treating the authority of the Magic Council like a stepping stone to be trampled underfoot!"
"Fairy Tail, that violent guild, is a bunch of lawless bastards from top to bottom, and it's become even more uncontrollable than before!"
In the left corner of the long table, a gaunt old man with only his right arm was leaning back in his chair, resting with his eyes closed. His empty left sleeve was tied in a knot and hung down to the outside of the armrest of the chair.
He was the only former member of parliament to remain in Oge.
Seeing that Oge had pretended to be deaf and dumb throughout and ignored Fairy Tail's denunciations, Councilor Reiji turned around and changed his target.
"Why haven't you said a word from beginning to end, Representative Oge?"
Reiji crossed his arms, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Speaking of which, Representative Oge, who exactly severed that arm that was completely lost after the Tenrou Island incident? Are you still unwilling to tell your colleagues?"
Upon hearing this, several councilors around him cast amused glances at him.
After the Tenrou Island incident, the previous Magic Council's top officials all resigned to take responsibility, but Oge managed to retain his seat as a councilor despite the pressure.
But everyone knew that all the senior officials of the former Magic Council, except for Yajima, had been punished by the mysterious powerful figure on the same day, and all of them had their preferred arms severed.
Oge slowly opened his eyelids, glanced coldly at Reiji, and let out a cold, mocking sound.
"Hmph! How I lost my arm is none of your business."
Oge picked up his teacup and took a sip, thoroughly too lazy to waste words on these self-important politicians.
The hatred of losing his arm was indeed etched in his heart, but Oge knew better than anyone else what was going on.
On the one hand, Jiang Bai's unfathomable and terrifying power is something that the council Magic Council control simply by virtue of its large numbers; daring to cause trouble is tantamount to courting death.
On the other hand, when the Magic Council forcibly activated the Etherion back then, they gave Acnologia a first aid kit, causing Fairy Tail to fall into crisis.
Having made a grave mistake and narrowly escaped death, Oge, though stubborn and concerned about his reputation, was not so foolish as to deliberately provoke Jiang Bai, that scoundrel.
Thump! Thump!
Two dull thuds of gavels abruptly broke the tense standoff between the lawmakers.
Speaker Gran Doma, seated at the center of the long table, put away his gavel, rested his hands on his chin, and surveyed the entire room.
"Quiet!"
"Past scores can be settled later. Today, I've urgently summoned you all back to headquarters to discuss the ultimate crisis that truly shakes the foundations of the kingdom—the last dark guild of the Balam Alliance, the Tartaros!"
Gran Dorma opened the top-secret dossier at hand and tapped his fingers heavily on the cover.
"According to unusual intelligence reported from various branches, the Tartaros Demons, which had disappeared for over a hundred years, have recently been frequently appearing in the far northern wastelands and major mining areas, even openly plundering magical resources."
"This is an extremely dangerous sign."
Congressman Michello adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and replied with a serious expression.
"The Tartaros are known for their Hidden and cruelty. All its members are high-ranking demons created by the Book of Zeref. Their current unusual activity suggests they are secretly plotting a grand conspiracy to overthrow the magical world."
Female councilor Belno nodded in agreement.
"We must formulate comprehensive defense measures in advance and deploy regular troops to guard the border in case of unforeseen circumstances!"
Inside the hall, the councilors chatted amongst themselves, and the atmosphere grew increasingly serious and tense.
Just as the discussion was reaching a fever pitch...
Boom--!
Without any warning, the solid foundation of the entire council building began to tremble violently!
A dazzling, intense white light instantly tore through the floor of the conference hall, and a violent, high-pressure air surged out from the earth's core like a tsunami bursting its banks!
The sturdy granite walls and the ornate dome, reinforced with multiple defensive spells, were instantly ripped apart and shattered!
Bricks, rubble, and wood chips scattered wildly in a radial pattern, and thick white smoke and a pungent smell of burning instantly engulfed the entire Supreme Council building.
I don't know how much time has passed.
The smoke and dust that had been pressing down on us dissipated a little.
A figure in a tattered uniform struggled to prop himself up from the rubble.
Doranbolt (Mest) shook his throbbing head, panting heavily. Warm blood dripped from the open wound on his forehead, obscuring half of his vision.
He wiped the blood from his face and Doranbolt to straighten up, leaning against the broken stone pillar. The devastated scene before him was a sight to behold.
"W-What happened?!"
The magnificent hall that was holding solemn discussions just a moment ago has now been completely transformed into a barren, scorched basin!
All around were broken, haphazardly placed load-bearing pillars, and the Magic Council flag burned to ashes in the wind.
Doranbolt stumbled, his gaze suddenly fixing on a pile of rubble not far ahead.
Lahar, dressed in a white captain's uniform, lay face down in a pool of blood, his chest caved in, the ground beside him soaked in blood and turned dark red.
"Lahar!!"
Doranbolt stumbled forward, his knees slamming heavily onto the gravel, his hands trembling as he turned his friend's shoulders.
"Cheer up, Lahar! Wake up!!"
The body I touched was cold and stiff.
Lahar's eyes were tightly closed, his nose and throat had completely stopped breathing, and the source of his magic power had long since dissipated.
He's dead.