The Battle Begins

"Requip!"

Erza shouted and changed into a suit of black-and-silver armor.

This armor covered most of her body and had an exceptionally heavy design, making its defensive capabilities look formidable.

"That's impossible, Erza!" Gray shouted worriedly. "Even the Adamantine Armor, with its incredible defense, can't withstand the Magic Cannon!"

"Erza, don't do anything foolish!"

"We'll face this together!"

The others urged her as well.

"Five—" Jose's smug voice came from Phantom Lord.

"Four—" Ifrit calmly continued.

"Ifrit, get behind me!" Erza hurriedly said, but Ifrit ignored her.

"Three—" Jose said.

"Two—" Ifrit continued.

"One!" Jose roared.

Ifrit spoke as well.

"War."

"Begin."

Boom!

The instant his words fell, lightning appeared from nowhere and struck Phantom Lord's highest level with brutal force!

The Magic Cannon that had been about to fire was hit head-on by a terrifying bolt of lightning as thick as a pillar, and its barrel exploded on the spot!

Boom!

The massive explosion destroyed the movement mechanism beneath Phantom Lord headquarters.

Phantom Lord headquarters, like a robot that had lost power, was forced to slump crookedly into the sea.

"Laxus!"

Everyone cried out in surprise.

"Ahhh!!!"

Natsu roared, transforming into a fire dragon as he charged straight at Phantom Lord.

"Ice-Make: Stairs!"

Gray cast his magic, creating a staircase of ice leading up to Phantom Lord.

"Charge!"

Erza led the way, and everyone followed.

Ifrit remained where he was, not moving.

In the original story—

The Guild Master had been ambushed by Aria and fallen unconscious after losing his magic.

Laxus had not returned.

Erza had taken a shot from Jupiter head-on and entered the battle already injured.

Lucy had been protected and kept away from the battlefield, which instead gave others an opening.

Jupiter had not been damaged and could still fire another shot, hanging over everyone like the sword of Damocles.

Then there was Phantom Lord's Guild Master, Jose, whose powerful wide-area magic suppressed everyone so badly they could barely breathe. Nearly all of Fairy Tail's lower- and mid-level fighters had been restrained by that spell.

That was why the battle had been so difficult.

But reality was different now.

The Guild Master was on his way back. That was everyone's confidence—so long as they held on, they could win this war.

Laxus had returned and directly challenged Jose, preventing him from casting large-scale magic. He had also caused Jupiter to explode, damaging the Magic Cannon and disabling Phantom Lord headquarters' movement mechanism.

Erza was at full strength, raising their odds of victory even further.

Lucy was also fighting shoulder to shoulder with everyone. Even if some powerful enemy appeared, they would be able to protect her.

And finally—

There was Ifrit, whose magic had already spread across the entire battlefield.

Under the influence of his magic, everyone had a fair chance to fight their enemies, and it guaranteed the lower limit of defeat—they would not be killed.

With conditions this favorable, how could they not fight to their hearts' content? How could they not give it everything they had?!

In short, screw Phantom Lord!

Naturally, such a fiery battle attracted plenty of attention.

Reporters from every side had long "predicted" that a war was coming and were already "lying in wait" nearby.

Their cameras clicked nonstop as they photographed and took notes at full speed.

Still.

Their material couldn't compare to mine.

Ifrit took out his camera and stepped onto the ice stairs.

He took photos as he walked.

Before this battle, everyone had been holding back their anger. Now, they were finally venting it to their hearts' content.

Fairy Tail's overwhelming presence had come out in full force.

Among them, Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and the others performed exceptionally well.

Erza was even more unstoppable, cutting her way toward the highest level.

Lucy and Cana worked together, achieving impressive results as well.

Natsu, who had been sprinting forward, suddenly leaped back.

Boom!

An iron rod smashed through the wall from the side, barely missing Natsu's head.

Natsu turned around.

A black-haired man with a wild grin slowly withdrew the iron rod. It transformed into his arm.

"Fairy Tail's Fire Dragon Natsu." The man spoke with battle intent blazing in his eyes.

"Phantom Lord's Iron Dragon Gajeel." Natsu turned to face him directly.

Boom!

The battle between the two Dragon Slayer Mages erupted.

Gajeel had high defense, while Natsu was tough as nails.

And they were both reckless brutes who only got more fired up the longer they fought.

Fire and iron clashed in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Either iron punched through flames, dealing blunt-force damage to Natsu.

Or flames melted the iron, leaving large burns across Gajeel's skin.

Neither could gain the upper hand in a short time.

"It sounds like a blacksmith's workshop." Ifrit snapped photos while mocking the sounds of their fight.

"Those two will be fighting for a while."

Ifrit knew it would be difficult for those two to determine a winner quickly with their stamina.

And as they fought, one could devour fire while the other could eat iron, so their magic power would hardly run dry.

In the end, it would come down to whose willpower was stronger.

Ifrit continued onward.

Elfman was fighting Sol, one of the Element Four.

Sol could manipulate sandstone, but defeating Elfman with that ability alone would be difficult.

Elfman's Absorption Magic had absorbed the Beast King. With the Beast King's arms, Elfman could practically smash each sandstone construct with a single punch—one force overcoming ten thousand methods!

Then Sol created a clay doll of Lisanna, restraining Elfman and beating him viciously.

But Elfman had an abnormal constitution too.

After taking a beating, Elfman suppressed his psychological trauma and continued fighting, putting enormous pressure on Sol.

Finally, Sol revealed his trump card.

Elfman's older sister—Mirajane had somehow been captured.

Sol controlled the sandstone and wrapped it around Mirajane. The sand kept creeping upward and had already sealed her mouth. If it rose any further and blocked her nostrils, she would suffocate to death within minutes!

This is troublesome, Elfman. What are you going to do?

Ifrit rubbed his chin.

"Mmph—"

Mirajane let out a pained sound.

When your sister was being bullied, what would you—

Wait.

Ifrit lowered his camera.

Bullying Mirajane?

How could that be allowed?!

Ifrit remembered that promise.

If Mirajane remembered this afterward and used it to cancel out his merits and faults...

Whoosh!

Ifrit drew Hani and sliced the sandstone apart in a single slash.

"Ifrit."

Mirajane weakly fell out from inside and into Ifrit's arms.

"Miss Mirajane, I'm late. Are you all right?" Ifrit pretended he had only just arrived.

"Cough, cough... I'm okay." Mirajane steadied herself with a hand on Ifrit's shoulder, though she looked weak.

"I'll escort you out," Ifrit said.

"Elfman..." Mirajane looked worriedly at her younger brother.

"Wait, who are you?!" Sol stared at Ifrit in shock. He had no idea when this person had appeared.

Then cold sweat broke out across his body. If this person had not come to rescue his companion, but had attacked him instead, he would probably already be dead!