"Go on! Go on!" Wakaba shouted from the sidelines, only to be pushed aside by Lucy as she arrived.
"Wait, are those two serious?" Lucy asked in surprise.
"Oh, Lucy, you're here!" Mira greeted her from the sidelines.
"Of course they're serious. If you aren't serious, how can you call yourself a man?" Elfman said.
Mira turned to Elfman. "Erza is a girl, you know."
"A female monster," Macao chimed in.
"But if the strongest team fights each other..." Before Lucy could finish, Gray interrupted her. "The strongest team? What's that?"
Lucy continued, "Isn't that Natsu, Erza, you, and Xi Feng?"
"Ah, how ridiculous. Who said that?"
Suddenly, Mira covered her face and began to cry. Gray said in a panic, "Miss Mira, you said it?"
"Gray, did you make Mira cry?" Xi Feng appeared behind Gray, watching him with a broad smile.
"I'm sorry!" At the sound of his voice, Gray dropped straight to the floor to beg for mercy, leaving Lucy unable to hold back her criticism.
"You have no backbone at all!"
Hearing this, Elfman said, "I do acknowledge Natsu's and Gray's strength, but I can't stay silent if we're talking about who's the strongest. Fairy Tail has plenty of powerful members, like me and Xi Feng."
"The strongest women would be Erza and Mira."
Levy spoke up from the sidelines.
"Mira?!" Lucy struggled to wrap her head around Levy's words. Looking at Mira's gentle smile, she couldn't imagine how she could be one of the guild's strongest women.
"Mira is really strong, Lucy. Don't underestimate her!" Lisanna and the Lisanna from Edolas arrived as well.
"Lisanna, you're both here too!" Lucy called out at the sight of the two Lisannas. She had been utterly shocked when she first saw them together, only understanding the situation after Lisanna explained it.
"Whatever the case, this fight should be interesting."
"Really? I think Erza will win hands down."
By then, Erza and Natsu had begun fighting. Erza changed into her Flame Emperor Armor while flames blazed around Natsu's hands. They traded probing attacks as the spectators cheered them on.
Just as Erza and Natsu were finally about to clash head-on, a clang! rang out, and someone with a toad-like face pushed through the crowd.
"Everyone stay where you are! I am an envoy of the Magic Council."
"The Magic Council?" Levy said in surprise.
"Why would an envoy come here?" Droy asked.
"Why isn't anyone mentioning how rough she looks?" Lucy muttered from the sidelines.
"In connection with the Eisenwald incident the other day, Xi Feng is under arrest on suspicion of property damage and eleven other offenses."
Before Xi Feng could say anything, everyone shouted in agitation, "What? What did you say?"
Xi Feng merely frowned and went along without any resistance.
A subdued atmosphere settled over the guild. Makarov sat on the counter with his eyes closed, and the other members remained silent. A heavy weight pressed on everyone's hearts.
"Let me out!! I'm going to find Xi Feng!!"
"Stop shouting, Natsu! You're driving me crazy!" Erza snapped as Natsu kept yelling. With Xi Feng taken away, neither Natsu nor Erza was in the mood to continue their duel.
"I'm going to save Xi Feng!! Hurry up!!"
"It's the Council. There's nothing we can do," Gray said flatly as he watched Natsu shout.
"I don't care! They're the ones who got it wrong!!"
"No matter what you say, if the Council calls something white, it's white. If they call it black, it's black. They aren't going to listen to you."
"There has to be something else going on. There just has to," Lucy said, slumped over a table.
"Let me out! Let me out!" Natsu kept shouting.
"Are you sure you want me to let you out?" Makarov asked, watching him with an amused look.
"Uh..." The little lizard fell speechless.
Suddenly, Makarov waved his hand. A flash of light shattered the bottle, and with a thump!, Macao landed on the floor.
"Sorry. I owe Natsu a favor," Macao said sheepishly, rubbing his head.
Everyone was surprised. They hadn't expected that it wasn't Natsu in there at all. So where had Natsu gone?
Meanwhile, Xi Feng and the toad-faced envoy were walking down the corridor toward his trial when Xi Feng noticed someone standing beside a pillar.
Xi Feng showed no surprise at the sight, his expression as indifferent as ever.
"Hey, long time no see, Xi Feng. You're still as unconcerned as ever."
"There's nothing surprising about seeing you," Xi Feng said flatly, glancing at Jellal. "So, was this all your doing?"
"It hurts to hear you say that. I've been defending Fairy Tail, you know. But those old men were afraid the responsibility would fall on them, so they had to find someone to take all the blame. And you're that scapegoat."
"Then I really am lucky."
"You haven't changed." After looking Xi Feng over, Jellal turned and walked away. "See you in a bit."
"I never imagined you knew someone so important," the frog-faced envoy said to Xi Feng, fear showing on her face.
"Just a clown." With that, he headed into the Courtroom first, leaving the bewildered toad-faced envoy behind.
Chapter 37: Mystogan (Please leave flowers and bookmark)
The Magic Council's enormous chamber was presided over by the councilors seated high above, with the chairman occupying the highest seat of all!
Standing alone in the dock, Xi Feng faced those lofty figures without the slightest change in his expression.
"Defendant Xi Feng, in connection with the terrorist attack carried out by Eisenwald several days ago, you have been found responsible for destroying a station, damaging an iron bridge, and completely demolishing the meeting hall in Clover Town, among other acts. Do you plead guilty?" the chairman of the Magic Council asked first.
"What can you do if I don't?" Xi Feng asked calmly, looking at the chairman with a trace of mockery in his eyes.
"You..." Xi Feng's words enraged the chairman, who immediately slammed the table. "You're a criminal now!! Don't get arrogant!!"
"So what if I'm arrogant? I've got the strength to back it up!!"
"..." Xi Feng's words made everyone present frown. In truth, they really didn't dare act against him. After all, he was now a candidate for the Ten Wizard Saints, and taking action against him would be troublesome.
"All right, Xi Feng, could you improve your attitude a little? This is only a formality," Makarov's friend Yajima said, standing up.
"Mm..." Upon seeing Yajima, Xi Feng softened considerably. After all, Yajima had done quite a lot to help Fairy Tail.
"Yajima..." Seeing that Yajima had spoken the truth aloud, the chairman knew the trial could go no further. In the end, he let Xi Feng go without resolving anything.
"I'm the real Xi Feng! You've got the wrong person..."
A voice echoed through the chamber. Then a wall of the enormous Magic Council chamber collapsed, and an unidentified object came flying in.
As the dust slowly cleared, a figure stood in the huge gap left by the collapsed wall. He wore the same style of coat as Xi Feng, along with a scarf, and had cherry-pink hair.
"This guy..." Looking at Natsu, who had barged in, Xi Feng shook his head and sighed. Still, he was quite touched.
The councilors stared at the scene, dumbfounded. Whatever else might be said, the Magic Council governed the wizard guilds. For these wizards to barge right into its headquarters showed a complete lack of respect for the Council!
"Interesting, interesting." Among the councilors, only Jellal and Ultear looked gleeful at the commotion.
"How dare you! Who are you people? How dare you trespass in the Magic Council!" A frog-man jumped out. He was immensely pleased with himself. He had waited years for an opportunity like this, and he was certain his standing in the Council would soar from this day onward.
"I'm..."
Thump! Just as Natsu was about to speak, Xi Feng punched him on the head and said,
"Use your brain, would you? All right, we're going back."
"Huh?!" Natsu stared blankly at Xi Feng as he walked out.
"What are you standing there for? Let's go," Xi Feng called to the stunned Natsu.
"Oh, right!" Hearing him, Natsu followed. Although he had no idea what had happened, he knew Xi Feng was all right.
The chairman sat at the head of the chamber with a dark expression. He hadn't expected Fairy Tail's members to show such blatant disregard for the Magic Council, but there was nothing he could do.
After Xi Feng returned to the guild safe and sound, its usual lively atmosphere returned as well.
"By the way, Natsu, your duel with Erza never finished, did it?" Lucy said to the excited Natsu.
"That's right! That's right! Come on, Erza! Let's finish our duel!" Natsu said confidently.
"I don't want to fight anymore." Unlike the excited Natsu, Erza was utterly indifferent.
"If Erza doesn't want to, I'll take her place," Xi Feng said to Natsu as he walked over to Erza.
"Really?!" Natsu looked at Xi Feng excitedly.
"Yeah."
"Then I won't hold back!" Flames sprang up around Natsu's right fist as he charged straight at Xi Feng.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Lucy said worriedly as she watched Natsu rush at Xi Feng.
Sure enough, the instant Natsu reached him, Xi Feng sidestepped the attack and drove a heavy punch into Natsu's stomach.
Before you continue