"To be honest, everything about you disgusts me right now, and you've committed an unforgivable crime."
Zorn stood within the range of his own magical aura, his clothes billowing from his Magic Power. His eyes were full of disgust, his brow furrowed as he formed a Light Sword in his right hand and looked coldly at Jose.
Zorn thought back to the anime he had watched in his previous life, to what Jose had done to hurt his guildmates and the disgusting things he had said. Armament Haki slowly coated the Light Sword in his right hand, and a brilliant black-and-gold light filled the entire venue.
Cracks instantly spread across the walls and floor of the venue, and even the clothes of the spectators were sliced apart. Startled, everyone hurriedly channeled more Magic Power into their Defensive Magic.
"Oh, what kind of power is that? Makarov, do you know?" the Chairman asked, somewhat puzzled as he looked at the unusually glowing sword in Zorn's hand.
He could clearly sense no Magic Power fluctuations from the black substance, but he could already feel the danger emanating from it.
"No comment." Makarov folded his arms and ignored the Chairman's question. This was a power Zorn had brought with him; even as guild master, Makarov had no right to disclose any information about it.
"Chairman, shouldn't we stop this? The strength Lord Zorn has shown is already enough to earn him the title of one of the Ten Wizard Saints."
Seeing this, one of the Council Members hurried forward to make the suggestion to the Chairman. He wasn't trying to make excuses for Jose; the main issue was that the venue was already starting to fall apart!
He looked down at the shattered floor, the wall that had already disappeared, and the badly damaged walls around it. The Magic Council would have to spend a lot of money again...
"There's no need to stop them. Can't you see how eager Jose still looks down there?"
Hearing Makarov's reply, the Chairman thought no more of it. He could understand; he had only been curious for a moment, so he let the matter drop. Without turning his head, he answered the Council Member beside him and focused on the fight below again.
"Damn it, what does Fairy Tail amount to? My Phantom Lord is the number one guild in this kingdom, so just die!"
"Black Magic: Darkness Beam!"
The black Magic Power behind Jose instantly turned into black beams that shot straight at Zorn. His eyes were filled with unwillingness, rage, and ruthlessness as he drew on all his Magic Power, and the dark Magic Power around him slowly gathered.
He condensed a powerful sphere of black energy in his hand and hurled it out, forming a powerful shock wave that rushed toward Zorn.
"Black Magic: Death Storm!"
"No one can block this attack, and you can't either, brat."
"It seems you still haven't understood the gap between our strength."
The black-and-gold light radiating from Zorn's Light Sword drew inward, ready to burst forth. Zorn crouched slightly and looked coldly at Jose.
When the dark beams came within a meter of Zorn, they were instantly purified, reverting to raw Magic Power that appeared around him. As Zorn gathered his strength, an inexplicably terrifying premonition surfaced in Jose's heart: he might die.
"Impossible, impossible! I don't believe it!"
"I'm one of the Ten Wizard Saints! You're just a mere brat; there's no way you can beat me!" Jose stared in disbelief at the sight before him, pouring even more power into the Death Storm in his hand as it slammed against the barrier in front of Zorn.
"What does Fairy Tail amount to? If we call ourselves second, no one would dare call themselves first. I said it."
"One Sword Style: Holy Light Judgment: Heaven-Splitting Kill!"
Zorn swung his Light Sword with all his might. A massive slash instantly split the Death Storm apart and surged toward Jose with irresistible force, reducing everything in its path to dust.
"Zorn!"
A tremendous shout suddenly rang out from the stands. Hearing it, Zorn pressed his lips together, a little unhappy, but still flicked his Light Sword upward. The speeding slash instantly changed direction and flew toward the upper right, passing right by Jose.
As the slash swept across the sky, it was as though an invisible line had cut the entire heavens open. A brilliant flash of sword light tore across the horizon in an instant, splitting the sky in two. It was as if even heaven and earth could not withstand the power of that strike, and the whole world shook.
At that moment, everyone was stunned. They could not believe their eyes, nor could they believe the power they felt. The slash unleashed by the Light Sword had not only split the sky but also shaken them to their core. At that moment, the whole world fell silent, with only that powerful energy reverberating in the air.
Jose's eyes were vacant and his mouth hung wide open. He hadn't even noticed that all his clothes were gone. His knees buckled, and he fell to his knees before Zorn, then collapsed onto the ground, staring blankly at the rift cut through the sky.
"Zorn, S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail, by the unanimous decision of the Magic Council, you are hereby granted the title of one of the Ten Wizard Saints. We hope you will continue to make outstanding contributions to this continent and safeguard the peace of the magical world."
After the Chairman finished reading the Magic Council's decision in the center of the venue, Erian stepped forward from behind him and presented the Silver Badge representing the Ten Wizard Saints with both hands.
"Thank you to the Magic Council for your recognition."
Zorn reached out and picked up the badge representing the Ten Wizard Saints. He examined it in the sunlight; it didn't seem any different. He pinned it to his chest.
"Then we'll take our leave."
The Chairman left the venue with his entourage, taking Jose away with them. They went ahead to prepare the various reports and publicize the news: a young man under twenty becoming one of the Ten Wizard Saints was sure to set the entire continent ablaze.
"Lord Makarov, Lord Zorn, the Magic Council has prepared a banquet tomorrow and hopes you will both attend." Erian greeted the two Wizard Saints while maintaining a respectful bow.
"No, we're in a hurry to get back. Please apologize to the Chairman for me."
"Yes."
"Master, let's hurry back too. The guild members must be getting anxious waiting for us," Zorn suggested to Makarov beside him. After the guild master nodded, a magic circle appeared beneath their feet, and the two vanished from the spot.
That same day, news that Zorn had defeated the examiner and become one of the Ten Wizard Saints spread across the continent. Out of consideration for Jose's reputation, the Magic Council did not reveal that he had been the examiner; otherwise, the man might have died of anger on the spot.
The various dark guilds and the Twelve Holy Shield of the Alvarez Empire on the western continent also received the news...
The dark guilds reined in their rampant behavior, except for the three great dark guilds—Oración Seis, Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros. They didn't care in the slightest and remained as arrogant as ever.
Hades used Black Magic to crush the newspaper in his hand and gazed resolutely at the distant sky. No one knew what he was thinking.
The Twelve Holy Shield of the Alvarez Empire on the western continent were much the same, paying no attention and each occupied with their own affairs. After all, they still didn't know where their emperor, Zeref, was.
To be continued~