Chapter 264: War!
"What?!"
"What's happening?"
The guild members, hearing the noise and feeling the vibrations, were alarmed.
"Is this Phantom Lord attacking?"
"But this commotion is way too big!"
"Let's go check it out!"
Several members ran outside.
"Here already..." Makarov glanced at the map in front of Noah. The red dots had arrived nearby. He stood up, and Noah and the others followed.
"Everyone! Look outside!!" Alzack, who had just run out, burst back in through the rear door, shouting.
Everyone rushed to the back. Noah quickly moved to Erza and the other S-Class wizards and cast a few spells on them.
"What are you doing?" Erza asked, confused.
"I've made you invisible," Noah explained. "Wait for my signal to reveal yourselves. And here, take these." He handed each of them a magical video camera. "Make sure you record everything. We need full evidence of their attack."
"Understood."
They took the cameras and followed the rest of the guild out the back door, through the library, and onto the beach behind the guild hall.
"What... is that?!"
"A walking guild...?"
"Is that... Phantom?"
Normally, the view behind the guild was a peaceful coastline, shimmering in the sunlight. Now, a monstrous structure dominated the sea.
It was over a hundred meters tall—a massive castle mounted on six gigantic mechanical legs. Each step it took sent shockwaves through the ground and a deafening boom through the air.
"I didn't expect them... to attack like this..."
"Wh-What do we do?!"
The guild members stared at the behemoth, panicked.
"Wait... Noah!"
Some of the older members remembered Noah's fight with Gildarts. Noah had created a construct of light even larger than this mechanical monstrosity. He hadn't used it in years, so they had momentarily forgotten.
"Don't panic," Noah said, raising a hand calmly to quiet the members looking at him.
Seeing Noah so composed, the veterans immediately relaxed. The newer members, who had never seen Noah truly fight, looked at him curiously. They knew he was S-Class, but they'd only seen him disciplining guildmates. Seeing the veterans calm down just on his word made them wonder just how strong he really was.
"Jose! Are you trying to start a war between our guilds?!" Noah used his magic to amplify Makarov's voice, projecting it across all of Magnolia.
"That building belongs to Phantom Lord?"
"They're attacking Fairy Tail directly!"
"So that's what Phantom looks like!"
The citizens of Magnolia, already panicked by the noise and the giant walking castle, heard Makarov's voice and immediately began to condemn Phantom Lord. Noah nodded inwardly, hearing the distant murmurs.
In the command room at the top of the walker, Jose stared at the Fairy Tail guild hall, ignoring Makarov's question.
"Prepare the Magic Convergent Cannon: Jupiter."
Phantom Lord members scrambled to obey. A section of the castle wall retracted, and a massive cannon barrel extended, aiming directly at Fairy Tail. Magic began to gather at its muzzle.
"Whoa... that's...!"
"That's a Magic Convergent Cannon!"
"That thing could blow the guild away!"
"Good thing our guild isn't weak either."
The members were shocked but not terrified. They knew their guild hall had been reinforced with powerful defensive magic.
"Annihilate them," Jose ordered coldly.
"Yes, Master!"
"Better not rely on the guild's defenses for this one. Alright, Gramps, you just stay back and watch," Noah said, putting a hand on Makarov's shoulder as the Master started to move forward.
"Fine. I'll leave it to you. Be careful," Makarov said, stopping.
Noah nodded and walked to the front of the group.
"Is Noah planning to block that?!"
"He's strong, but blocking a Jupiter cannon head-on?"
"Stop, Noah! You'll die!"
Some members who didn't understand Noah's true power shouted warnings.
"Calm down," an older member said, patting a younger one on the back. "Noah isn't reckless. If he's going out there, he's confident. Besides... you've never seen his real power, have you? You're about to."
"Real power?" Lucy, who was still trembling from the sight of the cannon, looked confused.
"Yeah. Noah's real power," Natsu and Gray said from beside her. "It's insane."
On the Phantom walker, Jupiter was fully charged. A colossal beam of magic fired, tearing through the ocean surface as it raced toward Fairy Tail. The sheer pressure of the beam was enough to make the weaker members buckle.
Noah extended both palms, facing the incoming beam. His expression was serious. A massive golden magic circle appeared in front of him, the Fairy Tail emblem blazing in its center.
BOOM!
The beam slammed into the magic circle with a deafening roar. The light was blinding, completely obscuring Noah from Phantom Lord's view.
Seeing that the enemy couldn't see him, Noah dropped his arms. He covered his mouth and yawned, tearing up a little.
This level of attack was absolutely no threat to him. He didn't even need to focus.
The guild members behind him sweatdropped. 'We're glad you can block it, but could you show a little respect to the giant death cannon?'
Noah, oblivious to their internal commentary, watched as the beam weakened against his barrier. When it was almost spent, he pushed his hands forward again.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted at the point of impact, throwing up a huge cloud of smoke and dust.
Using the smoke as cover, Noah turned and ran back toward the guild, putting a finger to his lips.
"Shhh..."
He then threw himself onto the ground, rolling around to get covered in dirt and dust, and lay there facing the guild.
The members were confused but stayed silent.
As the smoke cleared, a giant crater was revealed where Noah had been standing.
"A-Amazing..."
"He blocked it..."
"NOAH!! HANG IN THERE!!"
Gray, realizing what Noah was doing, reacted instantly, shouting as he and Natsu ran forward.
Noah gave Gray a thumbs-up hidden by his body, then twitched his limbs as if struggling to get up, panting heavily.
"I thought Makarov would block it, but it was you, Noah," Jose's amplified voice boomed from the walker. "You survived, so your reputation as a genius isn't entirely fake. But it's useless. You're in no condition to fight. Your guild only has two S-Class wizards left, and Makarov is old. You have no chance of winning.
"Hand over Lucy Heartfilia. Now."
Noah, finding Jose's voice a bit too quiet, helpfully used his own magic to amplify it so the entire city could hear the demand.
"You're kidding!"
"What guild hands over their nakama to the enemy?!"
"Lucy is one of us!"
"Yeah!"
"Get lost!"
"We'll never hand her over!"
The guild members shouted back furiously.
"Hand her over," Jose repeated.
"WE WILL NEVER HAND OVER OUR COMRADE! IF YOU WANT HER, YOU'LL HAVE TO STEP OVER OUR DEAD BODIES!"
Noah, looking battered and dirty, propped himself up and yelled back, his voice filled with defiance.
"YEAH!!!"
"THAT'S RIGHT!!!"
The guild roared in agreement.
"NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, OUR ANSWER WON'T CHANGE! WE'LL CRUSH YOU!" Natsu screamed.
"Jose! If you want my children, you'll have to kill me first!" Makarov's rage boiled over, his magic crushing the ground beneath him.
Lucy, hearing all of this, covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face.
"Hmph. Then taste the power of Jupiter again! You have 15 minutes until it recharges. Enjoy the fear!" Jose shouted.
Then, his voice turned calm. "Brother Makarov, I'd love to spar with you. Let's see which of us Wizard Saints is superior."
Makarov was about to step forward, but Noah suddenly vanished. Makarov stopped.
A second later, Noah reappeared... alongside a massive lacrima crystal.
"Jose," Noah called out, still lying on the ground but propping himself up. "Your Jupiter won't be firing again. This crystal... it's the power source, isn't it?"
"You wretched brat!!" Jose roared in fury.
"That huge crystal!"
"They can't fire the cannon!"
"Noah, nice job!"
The guild members cheered. The cannon had terrified them; knowing it was disabled was a huge relief.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake again. The six legs of the walker pushed down, lifting the entire structure.
"?"
"It... it's standing up?!"
"How can something that big move like that?!"
"What now?!"
The guild watched in horror as the Phantom Lord headquarters began to transform. Walls shifted, towers rotated, and slowly, a colossal, mechanical humanoid figure took shape.
"Wh-What is... that?!"
"You've got to be kidding me..."
"A giant... a Magic Giant..."
The sheer scale of the robot was oppressive, its shadow engulfing the entire guild.
"I want one!"
Noah, taking advantage of the shaking, had crawled behind the giant lacrima crystal. Seeing the robot stand up, he couldn't help but comment.
"Hey! What are you saying? That's the enemy!" Gray hissed from beside him.
"It's cool, but inconvenient," Noah critiqued, shaking his head. "My Light-Make giant is better. Sturdier, too."
This mechanical giant looked impressive, but it was clunky.
"What are you doing?" Gray asked helplessly.
"No rush. It's coming," Noah waved him off. "Since Jose brought out the giant, he's definitely going to do that next."
~~~
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