Ryoma slowly stood up and casually dropped a sentence.
"I'm going out for a bit."
As soon as he finished speaking, he strode towards the stairs leading to the ground.
"Hey! Ryoma!"
Natsu's furious roar instantly broke the dead silence.
He rushed over in one leap, blocking Ryoma's path, his face filled with urgency and excitement.
"Where are you going? Are you going to beat up those Phantom bastards? Count me in!"
"That's right!" Gray also followed. "How can I be left out of something like this?"
"Aye!" Happy raised his tiny fists.
Looking at these three hot-blooded guys in front of him, Ryoma didn't even bother to say anything more. He just walked around them and continued upwards.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Natsu relentlessly chased after him.
"You guys, don't be impulsive!"
Erza frowned and immediately followed, worried that these people might do something irreversible.
Mirajane glanced at the closed small door behind the bar, sighed softly, and hurried out, holding up her skirt.
Makarov didn't want to deal with it now, but she had to keep an eye on things.
The group quickly returned to the destroyed Guild Hall.
Huge iron pillars pierced through the entire building, wood chips and rubble were everywhere, and the wind poured in through the holes, stirring up dust.
Seeing this scene again, Natsu and Gray's anger was reignited.
"Ryoma! What exactly do you want to do?!" Natsu chased behind him and questioned loudly.
Ryoma finally stopped. He stood at the Guild entrance, his back to everyone, looking at the devastated Guild.
"Don't worry."
His voice was light but clearly reached everyone's ears.
"I don't plan on fighting them now."
Now?
Doesn't plan... now?
Natsu and Gray were stunned.
A strange look flashed across Erza and Mirajane's faces.
The subtext in that sentence was too obvious.
If not now, then later?
Natsu was about to say something else but was so shocked by what happened before his eyes that he couldn't utter a single word.
Buzz—
An indescribable, strange fluctuation instantly spread out from Ryoma, engulfing the entire Fairy Tail Guild.
The next second, time seemed to start flowing backward.
The huge iron pillars embedded in the Guild building began to emit a harsh grinding sound, slowly, inch by inch, retracting from the walls and floor.
The torn wooden boards, shattered bricks, as if controlled by an invisible large hand, floated up and transformed into countless specks of light, returning to their original positions.
This was reversal. This was regression. This was completely erasing the fact of destruction from its very root.
Although Natsu, Erza, and others had seen similar and even more incredible sights before, seeing this scene once again still left them visibly shocked.
Rumble...
Just then, the basement door was violently thrown open.
"What's going on!?"
"Are there more enemies attacking again!"
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
Macao, Wakaba, Cana... one after another, Guild members rushed up from below with angry faces, thinking it was the second wave of Phantom's attack.
However, the moment they burst out of the basement and saw the scene before them, everyone was petrified.
What did they see?
Wood chips and rubble filled the sky, as if alive, dancing, circling, and reassembling in the air. Huge iron pillars were spewed out of the building one after another, then vanished into thin air.
The smashed bar, broken tables and chairs, the torn quest board... everything was returning to its original state at a visible speed.
The entire world was undergoing a grand and eerie rewind before their eyes.
"Oh... oh my god..."
"My eyes... am I hallucinating from too much drinking?"
"This... what kind of magic is this?"
Everyone forgot their anger, forgot their frustration, and just stood there blankly, looking up at this miraculous scene.
As the last iron pillar completely disappeared, the last crack perfectly healed.
Buzz...
The strange fluctuation quietly dissipated, and the Fairy Tail Guild was restored to its original state. It was as if the attack in the middle of the night had never happened.
"..."
Everyone held their breath, looking at the figure standing at the entrance, their hearts churning.
"I... how could I forget..." Natsu muttered to himself, his voice carrying a hint of annoyance and shock.
"This guy... he has this kind of magic too."
He remembered that Ryoma had used similar magic back on Galuna Island.
At the same time, inside the Guild, Makarov sat alone in the darkness, clutching a glass tightly in his hand.
Just now, he had felt a powerful magical fluctuation.
He looked out of the Guild and saw the last corner of the Guild being restored to its original state.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
"This feeling... is it Lost Magic, Arc of Time?" He murmured to himself, his tone carrying a hint of uncertainty.
That kid... when did he master this power?
At the Guild entrance, under everyone's shocked gaze, Ryoma said nothing. He didn't even turn to look at his companions behind him, nor did he admire the miracle he had created. He just saw a crystal clear ice flower silently bloom beneath his feet.
The next moment, his figure instantly vanished from where he stood.
Everyone was startled and subconsciously looked up to search. They saw that on the newly repaired Guild roof, that figure was already sitting quietly, his legs dangling over the eaves, overlooking the entire Magnolia. He just sat there, blending into the surroundings, like a silent statue.
Looking at Ryoma on the roof, and then at his companions behind him who were slowly recovering from their shock, their expressions becoming incredibly complex, Mirajane gently sighed.
She walked to Erza's side and whispered, "It seems Ryoma is truly angry this time."
Her voice wasn't loud, but Natsu and Gray nearby heard it clearly.
Yes, truly angry.
Not like Natsu, noisily shouting about fighting back.
Nor like them, just drinking sullenly in the basement, venting frustration and anger.
He used a method no one could imagine to completely erase the humiliating traces left by Phantom Lord but this was not the end.
Everyone understood that this was just the beginning.
Mirajane took a deep breath, turned to all the Guild members, and said in an unprecedentedly serious tone, "Phantom Lord's provocation probably won't end here."
"From today onwards, when everyone goes out on quests or activities in town, it's best to go in groups, and absolutely never go alone."