Chapter 347: Assaulting Tartaros
"What—?!"
The exclamation tore through the tense atmosphere of the Fairy Tail guild hall. Every single pair of eyes widened in absolute disbelief, the collective shock practically sucking the air right out of the room. The sudden revelation hit them like a physical blow.
Bound and kneeling on the hardwood floor was none other than Crawford Theme.
Could this pathetic, trembling old man truly be the former Chairman of the Magic Council?
"Master Makarov?!" Lucy gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "Is he serious?!"
Crawford shifted uncomfortably against his bindings, glaring up at the towering figure of the current Fairy Tail Guild Master. It had been seven long years since Makarov and Crawford had last stood face-to-face. Back then, Crawford had been a man of prestige and supposed justice. Now, looking at the treacherous glint in the old man's eyes and the dark, corrupted aura clinging to his robes, Makarov quickly realized that the man before him was no longer the respectable Council Chairman he once knew.
"Former Chairman..." Makarov's voice trembled, a potent mixture of profound sorrow and blistering rage bubbling in his chest. "Why? Why are you collaborating with Tartaros?! You used to be the kindest Chairman the Council ever had!"
Hearing Makarov's heavy, disappointed tone, Crawford's lips curled into a nasty, bitter sneer. He knew there was no point in hiding his treason anymore. Fairy Tail already knew exactly what he had done.
His wrinkled face darkened, contorting with ugly resentment. "You have the absolute nerve to ask me why, Makarov? It was because of you! It was because of this wretched, chaotic guild of yours that I lost my position as Council Chairman!"
Crawford spat on the floor, his eyes wide and bloodshot. "I clearly did nothing wrong! I was merely resting at home that day because I wasn't feeling well. But what did your unruly brats do? You fired the Etherion satellite while I was away! You completely humiliated the Council! It's entirely because of you that my prestigious seat as Chairman was stripped from me!"
"I'm collaborating with Tartaros to take back my position, of course!" Crawford yelled, his voice cracking with manic desperation. "They promised me the world!"
Makarov's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned bone white. The sheer absurdity of the old man's logic was staggering. "Just to take back your political seat... you intend to sacrifice the lives of everyone on the continent of Ishgar?!"
The magical pressure radiating from Makarov began to crush the air in the room. The activation of the Face pulse bombs didn't just threaten Fairy Tail's lives; it threatened to strip the magic from the entire continent, leaving every innocent Mage defenseless against Tartaros's demonic hordes.
"So what?!" Crawford shrieked, completely blinded by his own vanity. "Of course my status as Council Chairman is more important than—"
Boom!!
Before the disgraced Former Chairman could finish his sickening justification, a monstrously enlarged fist descended from above, smashing him directly into the floorboards. The wood splintered and cracked under the sheer force of Makarov's Titan magic, leaving Crawford unconscious in a localized crater.
"I never imagined..." Makarov breathed heavily, his giant fist shrinking back to normal size. He pulled his hand back, his eyes laced with painful regret. "I never imagined that someone like this was actually the Chairman of the Magic Council."
Makarov's tone was heavy with resentment. He had met the Former Chairman more than just once or twice. In a way, they were old acquaintances who had shared drinks and discussed the future of the magical world. Crawford had actually looked after Fairy Tail quite a bit in the past. Even though Natsu and the others constantly caused massive property damage and endless headaches, the Former Chairman had always shielded them from the Council's harshest punishments.
Makarov's impression of Crawford had genuinely been good. He simply couldn't accept that such a seemingly benevolent person would eagerly agree to commit mass genocide purely for the sake of political power.
"Wait..." Makarov blinked, suddenly shaking himself out of his stupor. He turned to the dark-haired young man leaning casually against the guild's bar. "Ren, how exactly did you find this guy?"
The entire guild mirrored Makarov's realization. They turned their attention to Ren, their eyes wide with awe. How on earth had he managed to capture the most wanted man on the continent and bring him back without anyone noticing?
Ren straightened his posture, brushing a speck of dust from his dark coat. Erza, standing close beside him, subtly let her fingers brush against his arm, silently projecting her relief and admiration. Ren offered her a reassuring, intimate glance before addressing the guild.
"I captured him directly at the Tartaros Headquarters," Ren stated casually, as if he were talking about picking up groceries.
"Tartaros Headquarters?!" Natsu yelled, flames licking the corners of his mouth. "You found it?!"
Ren nodded, his expression turning serious. "Yes, I found it. I used my spatial magic to bypass their outer defenses and went in to gather some intelligence. It turns out, they had already identified the three Former Council Members who held the organic link keys to unseal the Face pulse bombs. Two of them are already dead. The final key was transferred to the Former Chairman himself."
Ren gestured to the unconscious Crawford on the floor. "I took the opportunity to snatch him right out from under their noses. As long as this guy is alive and in our custody, Face cannot be activated."
"That's great!" Lucy cheered, clasping her hands over her chest.
"As expected of Ren-kun!!" Wendy smiled brightly, her tense shoulders finally relaxing.
"Hell yeah! Now we don't have to worry about losing our magic!" Gray grinned, punching his open palm.
Hearing Ren's breakdown, a collective, heavy sigh of relief washed over the guild hall. The looming threat of the Face bombs had put an agonizing amount of pressure on all of them. If the Face bombs were activated, they would all be stripped of their power and slaughtered without any ability to resist. Thanks to Ren, this apocalyptic crisis was finally halted.
"However," Ren interrupted, his voice slicing through the momentary celebration. "My sudden appearance and the kidnapping of their VIP definitely alerted the enemy. Knowing the Nine Demon Gates, they won't just sit back and take this insult. They are likely on their way here right now."
Tartaros certainly wouldn't give up on the Former Chairman. Not when he was the final key to their grand, destructive design.
"Let them come!" Natsu roared, his fists igniting with blazing, roaring fire. "They actually want to kill us?! Well, we want to take them out, too!"
"That's right!" Gray snarled, a frosty aura radiating from his body. "Those demonic bastards even hurt Laxus, Fried, Bickslow, and Evergreen! They're still hooked up to life support in the infirmary because of them. We absolutely can't let them get away with that!"
"We will completely wipe those monsters off the face of Earth Land!!" Erza declared, summoning a sleek, deadly sword into her hand, her brown eyes blazing with righteous fury.
Everyone in the guild hall erupted into a chorus of righteous indignation. This time, it wasn't just about protecting innocent people; it was intensely personal. Their family had been poisoned. Their companions had been hurt. The enemy was actively attempting to exterminate them all. It was a brutal life-and-death struggle, and Fairy Tail was not going to play defense anymore.
If Ren hadn't appeared, or if he had been a single step too late, the keys would have been transferred, and they might have all been powerless and dead by now.
Makarov's eyes hardened, his small stature radiating the immense, suffocating pressure of a Wizard Saint. "Ren, do you have the coordinates to their headquarters?"
Ren smirked, a dangerous, predatory glint in his eyes. "Of course. The mark I left there is perfectly clear."
"Everyone, listen up!!" Makarov shouted, his magically amplified voice echoing like thunder.
The guild instantly fell dead silent, awaiting their Master's command.
"Macao, Wakaba! You two stay behind to guard the Former Chairman. Protect the guild hall and keep a close eye on Laxus's group in the infirmary!" Makarov ordered, his gaze sweeping over his children. "Everyone else... we move out and take the fight to them!!"
"OOOOOOH!!!"
"I'm all fired up!!!" Natsu screamed, a massive pillar of fire erupting into the ceiling.
[System Prompt: Mass Spatial Transport Initiated.]
Soon, every combat-ready member of the guild clustered together in the center of the hall. Ren closed his eyes, his mana flaring as he wove complex spatial formulas in his mind. He raised his hand, channeling his power. In a blinding flash of golden energy, Ren activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Space violently warped and twisted around them, and in a fraction of a second, the entire Fairy Tail vanguard vanished from Magnolia.
Tartaros Headquarters - Plutogrim
Swish—!
The sharp sound of tearing space echoed through the eerie, dimly lit corridors of the demonic floating fortress. The members of the Fairy Tail Guild appeared seamlessly together, directly inside the heart of the Tartaros Guild. The air around them was immediately suffocating, smelling of ozone, cursed energy, and rotting flesh.
Beep! Beep! Beep—!!
Deep within the Tartaros control room, a blaring, rhythmic alarm suddenly shattered the silence. Red warning lights bathed the fleshy, organic walls in a sinister crimson glow.
"Oh my?" The cyclops-like demon, Franmalth, blinked his singular eye in shock, his armored hands flying over the organic control terminals.
[Akarin's Note: Kyoka's 'Enhancement Curse' allows her to alter the sensation of pain to unimaginable levels and dramatically increase the physical strength of herself or others, often pushing targets past their biological limits until they break.]
"What is it, Franmalth?" Kyoka demanded, her tall, imposing figure stepping out from the shadows. The Demon of Enhancement narrowed her sharp, predatory eyes, annoyed by the sudden disruption.
"This... this is impossible!" Franmalth stammered, tapping frantically on his archive screens. "A massive... an overwhelmingly large number of magical power reactions have just been detected!"
"Invaders?" Kyoka's expression darkened. "Where?"
"They're... they're..." Franmalth swallowed hard, his singular eye twitching. "They're right inside the guild..."
BOOM—!!
A deafening explosion rocked the entire sector. The thick, organic wall of the control room violently burst open, sending chunks of stone and demonic tissue flying like shrapnel. Dust and smoke billowed into the chamber.
As the smoke began to clear, the silhouettes of a dozen angry mages became visible.
"Fairy Tail!" Makarov roared from the front of the pack, his eyes burning with an unquenchable fury. "All-out battle!!!"
"What?!" Kyoka's composed demeanor completely shattered, her expression twisting in fury. "I never expected Fairy Tail to infiltrate the guild so stealthily... bypassing all of our exterior defenses?! This is a huge blunder! Franmalth! Immediately mobilize all members and eliminate Fairy Tail!!"
Franmalth didn't need to be told twice. He slammed his fist onto a massive, pulsing button on the console.
Beep! Beep! BEEP—!!
The alarm echoed throughout the entirety of the floating cube, signaling every demonic soldier and Etherious member of Tartaros to mobilize.
But Fairy Tail wasn't waiting.
Boom—!!
Makarov expanded his arm, smashing through another reinforced wall with a colossal punch, widening the breach and giving his mages room to operate. "Go, brats! Show these demonic bastards exactly what Fairy Tail is made of!!"
"OOOOOOH!!!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!!"
Natsu didn't hesitate for a single second. He took a massive breath, his chest expanding as he spat out a violently spinning, blindingly hot tornado of roaring flames. The searing heat scorched the organic walls, vaporizing the frontline of Tartaros soldiers before they even had a chance to draw their weapons.
"Uwaaaah!" The agonizing screams of demons filled the corridor as they were reduced to ash.
"Ice-Make: Lance!!"
Gray stepped up beside Natsu, his hands forming his signature magical seal. A dozen massive, razor-sharp lances of pure, freezing ice materialized in the air and shot forward with the speed of bullets, impaling the incoming Tartaros reinforcements.
"Waaaah!!" The soldiers who were hit suffered immense freezing damage, their blood turning to ice as the physical trauma tore through their armor.
"Water Slicer!"
Juvia gracefully twirled, her blue coat fluttering as she waved her hand with lethal elegance. She released a massive volley of highly pressurized, crescent-shaped water blades. The blades sliced through the air, cleanly decapitating and dismembering a squad of demons trying to flank them from the right.
"Iron Dragon's Club!!"
Gajeel leaped high into the air, a wicked grin plastered across his face. He raised his leg, shifting his flesh into a massive, heavy iron club. With a brutal roar, he swept it horizontally across the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Uwaaaaah!" A large number of demonic soldiers were violently struck in the midsection by Gajeel's iron club. The sickening sound of snapping bones echoed as they were launched backward, slamming violently into the far wall and leaving deep craters in the fleshy masonry.
The members of Fairy Tail were fighting with everything they had. Their magic was perfectly synchronized, a deadly dance of fire, ice, water, and iron. Because Ren's spatial teleportation surprise attack had completely caught Tartaros off guard, the demonic forces were entirely unable to mount a proper resistance. They were being butchered in their own home.
Watching her soldiers get decimated, Kyoka shouted loudly, her voice dripping with venom. "Stop them at once!! We cannot let this human trash run rampant in our domain!"
The Tartaros soldiers had been flustered at first, completely overwhelmed by the explosive entrance. But they were the elite dark forces of the Balam Alliance; hearing Kyoka's enraged command, they forcefully suppressed their panic and quickly reorganized their formations. Heavy shield-bearers stepped forward, while spear-wielders braced themselves behind them.
Seeing the humans pushing deeper, Kyoka's patience evaporated. Her elegant fingers suddenly elongated, her nails transforming into razor-sharp, metallic blades infused with her Enhancement Curse. With a burst of blinding speed, she lunged forward, sweeping her deadly talons directly toward the frontline of Fairy Tail members.
Clang—!
The deafening shriek of metal grinding against metal rang out as a silver broadsword perfectly intercepted Kyoka's strike. Sparks flew wildly, illuminating the dark corridor as a powerful shockwave rippled from the point of impact.
Kyoka's eyes widened in momentary shock. She gritted her fangs and immediately recognized the crimson-haired woman glaring back at her from behind the blade.
"Titania... Erza," Kyoka hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
While initially investigating Ren's anomalies in the magical world, Kyoka had thoroughly reviewed the files of the other Fairy Tail members. Erza Scarlet was an S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail, a woman who had shone brilliantly in the Grand Magic Games and struck fear into the hearts of many dark guilds.
Erza didn't flinch. She pushed back against the demonic talons, her own strength flaring as she met Kyoka's murderous gaze with cold, uncompromising steel.
"You dare target my family," Erza declared, her voice cold enough to freeze hell itself. "Prepare to pay the price."
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