"All right!" Natsu slammed his fist into his palm, his fighting spirit surging again. "Then let's charge straight in! Smash that coward's shell to pieces!"
"Aye!"
"Just what I wanted." Gray rolled his neck and curled his lips into a cold grin.
The hall buzzed with excitement again as everyone geared up for a fight.
Just then-
Thud!
An exceptionally deep boom suddenly reached their ears. Judging by its direction, it had come from the north!
Everyone froze at once.
Thud! Thud!
The sounds came at perfectly steady intervals. With each one, they felt the ground tremble, the shaking growing stronger and stronger, as though some colossal creature were approaching one step at a time.
"Wh-what now?" Lucy's face turned pale.
Blanc's smile faded. His gaze shot straight north through the hole in the hall.
The scarred, burly man trembled all over, sheer terror filling his eyes. "Th-that direction... that's the Headquarters Fortress... The Guild Master has brought 'that' here!"
Makarov's expression darkened, and he barked, "Let's go take a look!"
The northern outskirts of Oak Town.
The Fairy Tail members rushed out of Phantom Lord's guild like gusts of wind, raced to the northern edge of town, then stopped in unison.
Beyond the town lay rolling green hills, but now the distant forest was rapidly collapsing in great swaths.
An enormous shadow that blotted out the sky emerged from the billowing dust.
It was a castle-like fortress forged entirely from steel, bristling with spires, black Phantom Lord flags whipping wildly in the wind.
What stunned them was the six thick mechanical spider legs extending from its base. They rose in orderly succession, then plunged heavily into the earth.
With every step, dirt and rubble surged to either side like waves. Trees in its path were swept aside and