Ankh grinned with a feral, manic excitement.
In his hands, he brandished a terrifying scythe formed from the dark energy of his Death Wave.
The weapon hummed with a sinister vibration as he relentlessly pressed the attack, pouring on the aggression with everything he had.
For Ankh, this was a moment of pure, unadulterated joy.
Having spent so many years in this world, this was the very first time he had crossed blades with a mage who held the prestigious title of the Ten Wizard Saints.
He was naturally thrilled beyond measure.
Sparring with Makarov and Gildarts was always too restrained.
But Jose Porla? This man was an outsider, an enemy, and a target.
Compared to the Master and Gildarts, Jose made for a much better punching bag!
"Is that all you have old fool?" Ankh taunted, swinging the scythe in a blur of black motion.
Seeing himself at a distinct disadvantage and growing more frustrated by the second, Jose finally snapped.
His magic aura flared wildly as he parried a strike that nearly took his head off.
"Ankh! Don't you dare push your luck!" Jose roared, his composure crumbling.
'Oh? Throwing a tantrum now?' Ankh smirked disdainfully.
He couldn't be bothered to respond with words. Instead, he spun his weapon and continued swinging the scythe toward Jose's blind spots with lethal precision.
A cold chill ran down Jose's spine.
With his sharp combat instincts honed over decades of scheming and battling, he instinctively jerked his hips backward—just a split second before a cold, black gleam sliced through the air exactly where his dick had been moments before.
'Holy shit!' Jose's eyes bulged. 'This brat fights dirtier than I do!'
That was the final straw.
Jose had had enough of this humiliation. Furious beyond reason, his face twisting into a mask of pure rage, he bellowed to the walls of his own guild.
"Activate the guild! I want these foolhardy fairies wiped off the face of the earth!!"
In the control room located at the very pinnacle of the Phantom Lord headquarters, several black-clad members sprang into action.
They had been waiting for this order.
Their hands flew across the Lacrima's, channeling immense reserves of mana into the building's core.
Moments later, Ankh felt the floor beneath him tremble.
It started as a subtle vibration, rattling the teeth, before escalating into a violent quake. It felt as if the entire Phantom Lord guild was about to topple over.
"What now?" Ankh muttered, stabilizing himself with a thought.
Down on the lower floors, chaos erupted.
The guild's increasing tilt made it impossible to find stable footing. Tables slid across the room, glass shattered, and people began tumbling uncontrollably toward the entrance.
"Whoa!"
Gajeel, caught in the sudden shift, reacted on instinct.
Two hooked iron nails sprouted from the soles of his boots, piercing the wood and stone to anchor him firmly to the floor.
He stood steady amidst the chaos, arms crossed, watching the mayhem.
Natsu wasn't so lucky.
"Waaaah!" Natsu cried out, rolling uncontrollably down the inclined floor like a barrel.
He was heading straight for a smashed window until a hand clamped onto his scarf.
Erza grabbed him just in time, planting her armored boots to prevent him from being flung out into the street below.
Erza stared gravely at the walls around her.
The building wasn't just shaking; it was groaning, shifting, and reconfiguring. She made a decisive call.
"Evacuate Phantom Lord immediately!" Erza ordered, her voice cutting through the noise. "We need to get outside to avoid being crushed! Move!"
The Fairy Tail members obeyed without hesitation, helping each other leap out through the gaping hole that served as the entrance.
The hot-headed Natsu tried to claw his way back up the slope, eyes locked on Gajeel.
"Let me at him! I'm gonna turn that iron scrap into a puddle!" Natsu screamed.
"Not now, you idiot!" Gray grabbed Natsu by the waist, dragging him away. "We're leaving!"
Once everyone had exited the guild and landed on the solid cobblestones of Magnolia, the Fairy Tail members turned back to stare in shock at the scene unfolding before them.
The once-silent Phantom Lord guild, had begun to move.
With the sound of tearing metal and grinding stone, the structure sprouted several massive, spider-like limbs from its base.
It uprooted itself entirely from the town's foundation, water cascading off its rising form.
It stood up, towering over the city like a monstrous crawling beast, evoking an overwhelming sense of dread in everyone who witnessed it.
"What... what the hell is that...?" Gray stammered, his eyes wide.
He voiced the question on everyone's mind as he gaped at the colossal entity.
Phantom Lord actually had such a ridiculous trick up its sleeve!
...
Back inside the "head" of the giant, Ankh stood firm.
He used his gravity manipulation to keep his feet planted on the ceiling—which had now become the floor.
He watched the cackling Jose with a smirk curling his lips.
He'd known all along that this old fox wouldn't play fair. A schemer like Jose was bound to bring out a weapon of mass destruction eventually.
The entire Phantom Lord guild headquarters was, in fact, a mobile mega-base equipped with a destructive magic convergence cannon capable of obliterating any structure—Jupiter.
Although the Jupiter Cannon's destructive power couldn't compare to the legendary Etherion of the Magic Council, it possessed enough raw firepower to effortlessly vaporize a guild hall and everyone inside it.
Jose's features contorted as he bared his teeth in a manic roar.
He felt invincible inside his fortress!
"This Phantom Lord headquarters is mobile! It acts as an amplifier for my magic!" Jose shouted, his voice amplified by the room.
"And it is equipped with the ultimate magic cannon!"
He turned his gaze back to the young man standing casually across the room.
"Come on then, Ankh! Do you dare fight back now?"
Jose arrogantly spread his arms wide, triumphantly lifting his hideous face as he stood boastfully before Ankh.
He believed he held all the cards.
"If you dare lay a finger on me, the Jupiter Cannon mounted outside the guild can shatter the city and your comrades at any moment! Their lives are in my hands!"
Jose leaned forward, tapping his cheek.
"Hit me! Hit me again, you bastard! I dare you!"
Ankh raised an eyebrow, the dark aura around him stilling for a moment.
'Well now,' Ankh thought, amused. 'I never heard such a strange request.'
But as the old saying goes: Since I'm already here...
"It would be impolite not to oblige..." Ankh whispered.
Seeing Jose's completely undefended posture, Ankh could no longer resist the itch in his fists.
His body shot forward without hesitation, moving faster than Jose's eyes could track.
Dark, heavy gravity energy swirled around his clenched fist, compressing the air until it shrieked.
BAM!
He delivered a mighty, bone-crushing blow straight to the old man's face!
Thud—
Taking the heavy punch squarely on the nose, Jose spat out a mouthful of blood and broken teeth.
His body instantly flew backward like a broken kite, tumbling through the air with remarkable elegance.
Accompanied by a dashing spray of crimson blood from his mouth, Jose's body traced a perfect parabola through the air before flopping down onto the metal grating like a ragged doll.
Ankh flexed his fist, rolling his shoulder and exhaling contentedly.
"Ah... So satisfying~"
Jose violently coughed up blood foam stuck in his throat.
He propped himself up on trembling arms, staring at Ankh in utter disbelief and shock.
"How dare you...!" Jose roared, spit flying. "How dare you actually attack me! Aren't you afraid they'll die?! I have hostages!"
Ankh scratched the back of his head, his ruby-like eyes blinking with feigned innocence.
"Didn't you tell me to hit you?" Ankh asked, sounding genuinely confused. "I was just following your orders. Besides..."
Ankh's expression darkened slightly, his grin returning. "You think that broken Jupiter of yours can threaten anyone? What are you thinking?"
Jose's eyes burned crimson with humiliation.
His voice was hoarse as he screamed in furious frustration, slamming his hand on a control rune.
"FUCK YOU! I will wipe your guild from history!"
"Magic Convergence Cannon Jupiter! Fire now!"
The Phantom Lord members in the control room immediately sprang into action upon hearing Jose's command.
They dared not disobey the madman.
Outside, under the watchful, terrified eyes of the Fairy Tail wizards, a massive dark hatch slowly opened in the "mouth" of the Phantom Lord's enormous base.
From that giant hole, a thick, black iron cannon barrel gradually extended.
The air around it began to warp as powerful Magic Power was compressed inside the chamber.
Hummmmmmm...
The sound was deep and resonating.
The Magic Power continuously compressed and collided, causing a jet-black vortex of terrifying magical energy to emerge from the cannon's mouth.
It accumulated fearsome explosive power, glowing with a menacing purple light.
High atop the guild roof, watching the cannon charge, Gajeel stood with his arms crossed.
He looked down at the fairies about to face the cannon fire, his expression complicated.
"Even if your strength is considerable," Gajeel muttered to himself, "under Jose's schemes, Fairy Tail cannot win."
He paused, his red eyes narrowing. "It's just a pity..."
"Pity what?"
Suddenly, a voice interjected from behind him.
Gajeel didn't flinch.
He narrowed his eyes, his expression turning cold and stony again as he spoke over his shoulder.
"Pity I didn't get to personally finish off that Salamander. I wanted to break his legs."
After he spoke, two figures stepped out of the shadows.
Aria, the leader of the Element 4, wept dramatically, huge tears streaming down his face beneath his blindfold.
Beside him stood Totomaru, the master of fire who's looking bored.
They positioned themselves on either side of Gajeel.
"So sorrowful!" Aria wailed. "But mere fairies could never defeat the fearsome phantoms! Their destruction is inevitable!"
With Phantom Lord unleashing their ultimate weapon, the Fairy Tail members below fell into chaos.
Facing such a massive bombardment-type Magic Device, no ordinary Mage had any reason to remain calm.
Even Natsu, Gray, Cana, and the others couldn't help feeling a heavy pit of apprehension form in their stomachs as the light of Jupiter grew brighter.
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