Recaps

Blanc used a spatial trick to make Gajeel believe he had backed away from the roof, then left him hanging in his underwear from an iron pillar above Fairy Tail’s guildhall. The next morning, Fairy Tail members and townspeople gathered to laugh at Gajeel as he dangled there with the guild mark drawn on his chest.

• Blanc offered Gajeel a choice between becoming his enemy or his comrade, and Gajeel defiantly stepped forward.
• Gajeel discovered he had somehow moved backward, then charged at Blanc and found himself back in the park, terrified and confused.
• The next morning, a bakery owner and other townspeople spotted Gajeel bound in vines and hanging from an iron pillar on Fairy Tail’s roof.
• Macao and Wakaba arrived, recognized Gajeel, and laughed at him with the growing crowd.
• Elfman praised the humiliation as fitting revenge, while Levy, Jet, and Troy reacted to the drawing on Gajeel’s chest.

Blanc arrived at Fairy Tail and revealed that he had caught Gajeel stalking Levy, Jet, and Troy, then stripped him and hung him from the guild roof. Makarov learned the enemy had been preparing to attack his guildmates, and his shock turned to anger and relief.

• Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray, and Erza found Gajeel hanging from the guild roof, and Erza identified him as Phantom Lord's Iron Dragon.
• Blanc arrived with breakfast and admitted that he had caught Gajeel sneaking around the night before and taught him a lesson.
• Cana and Lisanna scolded Blanc for displaying Gajeel outside the guild, while Mira warned him not to expose their Guild Mark that way again.
• Makarov arrived and stared in disbelief at Gajeel hanging from the roof.
• Blanc explained that Gajeel had been following Levy, Jet, and Troy to ambush them, and Makarov's shock turned to anger and fear for his guildmates.

After Fairy Tail captured Gajeel, Makarov questioned him about the attack, and Gajeel revealed that Lucy Heartfilia was Phantom Lord’s target because of her family’s wealth and her presence in the guild. Lucy admitted she had hidden her identity, then blamed herself for the guild’s destruction as Blanc suspected someone had manipulated events.

• Makarov ordered Blanc to wake the bound Gajeel and questioned him about why Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail.
• Gajeel revealed that Lucy Heartfilia was Phantom Lord’s target because she had joined Fairy Tail as the Heartfilia family’s young Miss.
• Gajeel claimed Guild Master Jose wanted Lucy in Phantom Lord and that Phantom Lord planned to wipe out Fairy Tail’s other members.
• Natsu tried to attack Gajeel, but Gray held him back while Blanc wondered whether Siegrain had engineered the conflict.
• Lucy told the guild that she had hidden her identity because she wanted to join as an ordinary girl, then sobbed that the guild’s injuries and destruction were her fault.

After Fairy Tail reassured Lucy that she belonged with them, Makarov declared war on Phantom Lord for targeting his guild and its family. The guild rallied to fight, with Lucy determined to stand beside them.

• Lucy cried over her connection to Fairy Tail, and Natsu told her she could stay while Happy, Erza, Levy, and the others comforted her.
• Natsu reminded Lucy that she was Lucy of Fairy Tail, and she accepted her friends' support.
• Gajeel taunted the guild about Phantom Lord's Guild Master Jose, prompting Makarov to unleash his magical pressure.
• Makarov declared war on Phantom Lord, and the guild cheered and prepared to fight.
• Lucy resolved to fight alongside her guild, while Blanc said they should wipe Phantom Lord out root and branch.

Forest Blanc and Fairy Tail launched a surprise attack on Phantom Lord, trapping many of its members in magic-absorbing trees. Makarov and the Fairy Tail guild arrived at the ruined hall, confronting the remaining Phantom Lord members.

• Phantom Lord members mocked Fairy Tail and bragged about Gajeel's attack on Magnolia.
• Trees burst through Phantom Lord's guild hall, capturing and disabling many members by absorbing their magic.
• Fairy Tail members broke through the guild's front doors and entered the ruined hall.
• A Phantom Lord member recognized the attackers as Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail overwhelmed Phantom Lord’s remaining members while Makarov went to confront Jose on the top floor. Makarov’s attack revealed that Jose was using a Thought Body, and Jose argued that a direct battle would devastate Oak Town.

• Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Mira, Erza, and the other Fairy Tail wizards routed Phantom Lord’s remaining members.
• Phantom Lord’s wizards charged Makarov, who grew enormous and crushed them before demanding that Jose appear.
• Makarov told Blanc to handle the battle below and leaped toward the top floor, while Blanc secretly followed to watch over him.
• Makarov confronted Jose in his ruined office and attacked him with an enormous fist.
• Jose’s body rippled like a reflection, revealing that Makarov had struck a Thought Body, and Jose said a battle between them would destroy Oak Town.

Blanc foiled Jose’s attempt to ambush Makarov by rescuing him from Aria and exposing the fake Laxus. Humiliated and furious, Jose vowed to unleash Phantom Lord’s true power before vanishing.

• Jose presented Makarov with a fake Laxus and tried to stab him, luring Makarov into Aria’s ambush.
• Blanc stopped Aria with a punch and warned Makarov that Jose had used a Phantom Soldier as a decoy.
• The fake Laxus dissolved into shadow, and Blanc explained that Makarov had let worry cloud his judgment.
• Blanc mocked Jose for disguising his retreat as concern and reminded him that Makarov had beaten him six years earlier.
• Jose snapped, threatened Blanc and Makarov, and vanished after promising to show them Phantom Lord’s true power.

After Fairy Tail defeated the Phantom Lord members at their guild hall, Makarov learned Jose had escaped and Blanc forced a prisoner to reveal where he was. The group discovered Phantom Lord’s real headquarters lay on a hill north of town and prepared to pursue Jose.

• Natsu and Gray argued while the Fairy Tail members recovered amid the wrecked Phantom Lord hall.
• Makarov returned with Blanc and explained that Jose had been only a Thought Body, while Blanc identified the unconscious Aria as the attacker who had tried to drain Makarov’s magic.
• Erza and Lisanna worried that Jose would target Lucy again, and Blanc suggested questioning the Phantom Lord prisoners.
• Blanc restrained a scar-faced prisoner with magic-draining vines and pressured him until he revealed the location of Phantom Lord’s real headquarters.
• Makarov looked north and vowed to find Jose at the hill outside town.

Phantom Lord's mobile fortress arrived outside Oak Town and Jose fired its Jupiter cannon at Fairy Tail and the town. Blanc summoned a giant Wooden Human to block the blast, leaving it badly damaged but protecting everyone; the battle remained unresolved.

• A colossal steel fortress with mechanical legs approached Oak Town, and Makarov recognized it as Phantom Lord's weaponized headquarters.
• Jose aimed the fortress's Jupiter cannon at Fairy Tail and Oak Town, prompting Erza to step forward in Adamantine Armor to shield her friends.
• Blanc appeared in front of Erza and raised a hundreds-of-meters-tall Wooden Human as a barrier.
• Jupiter struck the Wooden Human and blasted away much of its arms and damaged its chest, but Blanc's magic protected Fairy Tail and Oak Town from harm.

Jose transformed Phantom Lord’s fortress into the steel giant Phantom MK II, which destroyed Blanc’s Wooden Human in a brutal clash. As Fairy Tail’s members panicked, Jose demanded that they surrender Lucy Heartfilia in exchange for safe passage from Oak Town.

• Jose saw that the Wooden Human had survived Jupiter’s blast but decided it was close to collapse, then activated Phantom Lord’s forbidden transformation.
• Phantom Lord’s fortress transformed into the steel giant Phantom MK II, startling Lucy and impressing Natsu.
• Phantom MK II battled the Wooden Human, broke through its defenses, and tore it apart until it collapsed.
• Fairy Tail’s members were shaken by the Wooden Human’s destruction, while Blanc watched the steel giant in silence.
• Jose mocked Blanc and offered to let Fairy Tail leave Oak Town alive if they handed over Lucy Heartfilia.

Lucy nearly stepped forward to surrender herself, but Erza and the Fairy Tail members refused to give her up. Jose began casting Purgatory Shatter and sent the Element 4 to attack, while Juvia became captivated by Gray.

• Lucy blamed herself and moved to step forward, but Erza warned her not to surrender and vowed the guild would protect her.
• Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Happy, and the other Fairy Tail members declared they would never hand Lucy over to Jose.
• Jose ordered the Iron Giant to cast Purgatory Shatter, which he said would destroy the land in fifteen minutes, and unleashed an army of Phantom Soldiers.
• Earth Sol, Great Flame Totomaru, and Ocean Juvia introduced themselves as members of Phantom Lord's Element 4.
• Juvia saw Gray among the Fairy Tail members and felt her heart suddenly beat wildly.

Makarov prepared to use Fairy Law against Jose and Phantom Lord, but Blanc stopped him to spare the elderly Guild Master the spell’s cost. Blanc reassured Makarov and prepared to fight as Fairy Tail gathered around him.

• Juvia blushed and secretly watched Gray, making him uncomfortable.
• Makarov transformed into a giant and threatened Jose with Fairy Tail’s judgment, preparing to cast Fairy Law.
• Blanc stopped Makarov by catching his hand in a giant wooden hand and urged him to let the younger guild members handle the fight.
• Makarov regained his composure, lowered his magic, and told Blanc to finish the fight quickly.
• Natsu and the others surrounded Blanc and asked why he had been silent, and Blanc said he did not know what blow they meant.

Blanc overwhelmed Phantom Lord’s forces by summoning a vast forest and the three Egyptian Gods. The Magic Giant remained trapped among the colossal beasts as fourteen minutes remained until Purgatory Shatter activated.

• Blanc summoned a forest that destroyed more than half of the Phantom Soldiers and forced the Element 4 to flee.
• Blanc cast three composite spells and summoned Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra around the Magic Giant.
• The Element 4, Jose, and Fairy Tail’s mages were stunned by the scale of Blanc’s summons.
• Blanc said the three gods were just a normal attack, leaving everyone staring at him in disbelief.

The three colossal gods shattered Jose's Purgatory Shatter and defeated the Iron Giant, while Fairy Tail overcame Phantom Lord's remaining fighters. Makarov confronted the exhausted Jose, who rejected his words and insisted that victory was all that mattered.

• Jose ordered the Iron Giant to attack, but the Giant Soldier crushed its fist and struck its chest while the Sky Dragon brought it down and blasted apart the Magic Giant.
• The Golden Winged God Dragon pierced and shattered Jose's magic circle, ending Purgatory Shatter.
• Natsu ate Totomaru's flames, and Totomaru surrendered after seeing the Ultra Magic Giant fall apart.
• Elfman trapped Sol in roots underground, pulled him out, and knocked him unconscious, while Gray's ice defeated Juvia and the sunlight made her collapse in delight.
• The three colossal gods destroyed the Iron Giant, and the wounded Jose crawled out as Makarov approached.
• Makarov praised Jose's strength and urged him to use it for good, but Jose rejected the lecture and declared that the winner took all.

Makarov defeated Jose and warned him to stay away from Fairy Tail, while the guild members discovered that Gajeel had escaped and destroyed their guild hall. Makarov chose to build a new guild hall for the next generation, and he and the others comforted Lucy and welcomed her as a true member of Fairy Tail.

• Makarov struck Jose down and warned him that Fairy Tail would destroy Phantom Lord if it crossed them again.
• The Fairy Tail members returned to Magnolia and realized no one had stayed behind to guard Gajeel.
• Erza, Gray, and Mira found that Gajeel had escaped from the basement and damaged the guild hall on his way out.
• Blanc offered to restore the guild hall with time magic, but Makarov decided to build a new hall for the younger generation instead.
• Lucy blamed herself for the guild's destruction, but Levy, Blanc, and the others reassured her.
• Makarov told Lucy that her comrades shared one another's joys and sorrows and affirmed that she was a member of Fairy Tail.

Lucy thanked everyone through her tears while Makarov realized Fairy Tail could face serious punishment for the battle with Phantom Lord. The Magic Council arrived to investigate, and Natsu and Gray made their questioning even more troublesome.

• Lucy cried as Levy comforted her, while Blanc watched and Makarov worried about the consequences of Fairy Tail's actions.
• Magic Council troops surrounded the guild members, and Lahar announced that Fairy Tail was under investigation and could not leave Magnolia without permission.
• The Council brought the guild members to a temporary camp to record their statements about the battle.
• Natsu demanded that the interrogators bring him Gajeel so he could challenge him, and he accidentally burned his interviewer's notes.
• Gray undressed during questioning without realizing it, prompting the interrogator to accuse him of sexual harassment and add it to his investigation file.

Fairy Tail members were questioned about the battle, but their interrogators got little useful information as Elfman rambled, Mira manipulated her interviewer, and Cana got hers drunk. Lucy entered her own questioning confident she could charm the interrogator.

• Elfman told his interrogator about fighting Phantom Soldiers and a hidden attacker, then spent half a day talking about his childhood and what it meant to be a real man.
• Mira made her young interrogator believe Phantom Lord had attacked first and that Fairy Tail had acted in self-defense, then revealed she had been pretending to cry.
• Lucy witnessed Mira fool the interrogator and quietly backed away, frightened by how easily Mira had deceived him.
• Cana drank liquor during questioning and persuaded her interrogator to join her until he was drunk and crying, leaving his notes ruined.
• Lucy resolved to use her charm to influence the investigation report, entered her tent, and winked at the interrogator.

Fairy Tail members gave chaotic accounts of the battle during the investigation, while Blanc repeatedly defended his actions to Lahar by saying Phantom Lord attacked first. Lahar continued questioning Blanc about the damage caused by the battle.

• Lucy tried to charm her interrogator, who ignored her and questioned her about hiding after summoning her Celestial Spirit.
• Happy demanded grilled fish as payment for his testimony, ate them, and fell asleep before answering questions.
• Erza gave a precise account of the battle and corrected her interrogator's spelling of Totomaru's name.
• Macao and Wakaba argued over who defeated more enemies, Loke drew a line of female soldiers, and Makarov sent his interrogator away with apologies for the Magic Council.
• Lahar questioned Blanc about the damage to the terrain and Phantom Lord's guild building, while Blanc repeatedly insisted Phantom Lord had attacked first.

After a week of questioning in Magnolia, Fairy Tail learned that Makarov and Blanc would face a Magic Council tribunal over the battle with Phantom Lord. On the way to the hearing, they encountered the imprisoned Jose, who threatened Makarov but showed fear of Blanc.

• Lahar warned Blanc that the Magic Council was displeased with the commotion, and Blanc thanked him before Lahar ordered him out.
• Fairy Tail stayed in the military camp, where Mira ran a bar, Cana befriended her interrogator, Happy stole a soldier’s fish, Natsu returned from a failed attempt to confront Gajeel with a black eye, and Gray sensed Juvia watching him.
• After the questioning dragged on for a week, Lahar announced that Makarov and Blanc would appear before the Magic Council tribunal the next morning.
• Makarov told Blanc to learn from his experience as they walked through the Council headquarters toward the tribunal.
• Makarov ignored the imprisoned Jose, while Blanc wished him well and Jose reacted with fear and resentment.

The Magic Council disbanded Phantom Lord and sentenced Jose Porla to life in prison, while finding Fairy Tail not guilty and assigning Blanc the battlefield cleanup. Yajima warned Makarov that Fairy Tail’s standing was worsening, but Makarov said he had to keep leading the guild because no suitable successor was ready.

• The Council ordered Phantom Lord to disband and stripped Jose Porla of his Wizard Saint title, sentencing him to life imprisonment.
• Makarov and Blanc were caught asleep during the hearing, then pretended they had been reflecting with their eyes closed.
• The Council found Fairy Tail not guilty but made Blanc responsible for clearing the forests his magic had left across the battlefield.
• Yajima explained that he had helped defend Makarov and Blanc, while Makarov left with him to celebrate and sent Blanc to begin the cleanup.
• Yajima warned Makarov that Council members were discussing disbanding Fairy Tail and urged him to retire.
• Makarov said the potential successors either refused, caused trouble, or were too young, so he would keep carrying the burden for the guild.

Fairy Tail rebuilt its guildhall while its members worried about the trial facing the Guild Master and Blanc. Laxus arrived and insulted the guild, provoking Erza and the others.

• Natsu and Gray competed to carry timber while Gray reminded Natsu that the guildhall was meant to be built by their generation.
• Levy and the others worried that the Guild Master and Blanc might receive harsh sentences at the Magic Council, but Mira reassured them that the Guild Master knew how to handle the situation.
• Natsu threatened to burn down the Magic Council if it ruled unfairly, and Erza struck him to stop him.
• Laxus arrived, mocked Fairy Tail for being full of weaklings, and provoked Erza into confronting him.

Laxus returned to the guild and berated its members for their fight with Phantom Lord, but Mira showed him footage of a fake Laxus being attacked to remind him of the Guild Master's concern. Blanc had secretly recorded the scene to embarrass Laxus, leaving him furious as the guild tried not to laugh.

• Laxus insulted Erza, Levy, Jet, Troy, and Lucy for their roles in the conflict with Phantom Lord.
• Mira rebuked Laxus for blaming the guild and showed footage of Jose using a Phantom Soldier disguised as Laxus to lure the Guild Master into danger.
• Mira explained that the Guild Master's worry for Laxus had been real, but Laxus dismissed the Guild Master's judgment.
• Lucy asked who had recorded the footage, and Mira revealed that Blanc had made a copy and left it with her for safekeeping.
• The guild struggled to hide its laughter while Laxus silently blamed Blanc.

Laxus insulted Fairy Tail’s members and declared that he would inherit the guild and make it the strongest. After he left, Lucy learned he was the Guild Master’s grandson and wondered whether Blanc would make a better successor.

• Laxus dismissed the recording crystal as a fake and blamed Fairy Tail’s destruction on its members being weak.
• Natsu attacked Laxus, but Laxus dodged and knocked him into a pile of lumber.
• Erza confronted Laxus with her sword, but he brushed it aside and vowed to expel the guild’s weak members when he inherited Fairy Tail.
• After Laxus left, Lucy asked how he could become Guild Master, and Mira revealed that he was the Guild Master’s grandson.
• Lucy suggested Blanc as a better successor, then hesitated as she remembered his recent trouble with the Magic Council and his odd behavior.

Lucy learned that Blanc had refused the Guild Master position because he dreaded writing apology reports, and feared Laxus might take over Fairy Tail. At the Tower of Heaven, Ultear confessed that she had invented Zeref’s ghost and manipulated Jellal, then broke her spell and begged him to stop before it was too late.

• Mira told Lucy that Blanc had rejected the Guild Master position to avoid writing apology reports, and the guild members agreed that the work was overwhelming.
• Lucy imagined Laxus taking over Fairy Tail and throwing her out, while Happy teased her about being the first one kicked out.
• North of Oak Town, Blanc sneezed while arguing with the Magic Council’s cleanup crew and wondered if someone was talking about him.
• Jellal reflected that Ultear’s visit had forced him to accelerate his plan after she tried to persuade him to stop.
• Ultear confessed to Jellal that she had impersonated Zeref’s ghost, manipulated him into building the Tower of Heaven, and had deceived him for years.
• Ultear severed the supposed link to Zeref’s ghost and urged Jellal to stop, while he lowered his head without revealing his reaction.

Jellal revealed that he had always known Ultear was deceiving him and attacked her, insisting that he would resurrect Zeref to gain eternal freedom. Ur rescued Ultear from the throne hall, and they fled across the sea as Ultear realized Jellal could no longer be persuaded to turn back.

• Jellal pretended to be shaken by Ultear’s confession, then blasted her when she tried to help him.
• Jellal told Ultear he had known her supposed Zeref whispers were a trick and had used her for her Council connections and resources.
• Jellal explained that he intended to resurrect Zeref for the power to secure his own eternal freedom, then prepared to kill Ultear.
• Ur appeared, blocked Jellal’s attack with Ice-Make Magic, and escaped through the window with Ultear.
• As Ur carried her across the sea, Ultear realized Jellal’s desire to pursue Zeref had become his own and worried that he would clash with Blanc.