The Magic Council.
Because of Ultear and Jellal's actions, the Magic Council underwent a complete restructuring. Nearly every councilor from the previous council was replaced.
After all, while they were arguably victims of Ultear and Jellal's deception, being fooled to that extent was a sin in itself. Furthermore, they were the ones who authorized the firing of the Etherion; someone had to take responsibility for that.
"This is preposterous!! How can there be this many letters of apology!!"
"Are all of these problems caused by a single guild?!"
"Fairy Tail... they've been a headache since the previous generation."
Org spoke up, "It's not quite that severe. They also deserve credit for annihilating the Oración Seis of the Balam Alliance."
While the other councilors had been replaced, Org was the only one from the previous administration to remain in the new Council.
"The Council has no record of authorizing them for combat."
"That was an arbitrary move by a local guild alliance."
"Strictly speaking, even if it's a dark guild, they violated the treaty prohibiting fighting between guilds. Moreover, due to this incident, it is highly likely the Balam Alliance will retaliate against legal guilds."
"No... that won't happen. Although they call themselves an alliance, it's nothing more than a non-aggression pact."
"..."
Org remained silent. Facing these new colleagues, he felt a sense of growing annoyance. These guys seemed to have mindsets that were even more stagnant and decaying than those of the previous era.
"We are the newborn Magic Council! We must show the citizens exactly what 'new' means!"
At that moment, the new Chairman of the Magic Council, Gran Doma, stood up. "To reclaim our lost trust, we must strictly crack down on problem guilds. Fairy Tail gets no more warnings. If there is a next time, the guild will be disbanded. Everything is for the sacred order of the magical world!!!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap!!
The new councilors burst into applause at his words.
Org rubbed his temples, feeling a massive headache coming on. The new Chairman was decent enough, but his style was far too aggressive, and these new councilors were all desperate to prove themselves.
These people's understanding of the current magical world was far too superficial. They believed the Magic Council was a supreme authority with the power to crush anything in its path.
He used to think the same way—until the moment he saw the Magic Council's ultimate weapon, the Etherion, being warped away.
He had conducted a thorough investigation after that and reached a conclusion he almost couldn't believe himself.
That conclusion was so staggering that he had decided to bury it deep within his heart forever.
Behind the Fairy Tail guild.
"Freed, are you sure your Runic Barriers are sufficient?"
Makarov asked Freed.
"Don't worry, Master! There won't be any issues. After the last incident, I specifically improved the script to significantly enhance its defensive capabilities."
Freed was quite proud of his Script Magic. He had been completely humiliated by Kael during their last encounter, but that loss had served as a massive motivation. He felt that Laxus had only lost because he hadn't managed to stop Kael or drain enough of Kael's magic first.
Since then, he had studied tirelessly. He stopped focusing on complex rules and instead prioritized protection. He discarded the long, tedious scripts in favor of a life-link system that could increase defensive power more than tenfold.
"Mhm... that's good then." Makarov didn't want the guild he had worked so hard to rebuild to be destroyed again.
Of course, he was still uneasy. Both of these individuals were monsters capable of erasing the entire city of Magnolia from the map with ease. He had no idea what would happen when two such people clashed.
At this moment, the members of Fairy Tail were all watching the two figures in the distance with intense interest, their faces filled with anticipation and excitement.
The two men standing there were Kael and Gildarts.
Two days ago, Gildarts had proposed a spar with Kael when they had the time. Kael had agreed, and today was the day they were finally facing off behind the guild.
When the news broke, the Fairy Tail guild had practically exploded with hype.
Gildarts was the strongest mage in Fairy Tail. His magic was based on Crush, an incredibly destructive Caster Magic that could pulverize nearly anything it touched.
While "Crush" wasn't as reality-breaking as "Fairy Law," it was still far more terrifying than any ordinary magic.
He had been the strongest mage in Fairy Tail for over twenty years, and he remained the strongest to this day.
Then there was Kael, who was also considered the strongest in the guild. By taking over various powerful spirits from other worlds, he unleashed power that defied all common logic.
Even though he had only been in Fairy Tail for a year and a half, his record was staggering. Of the Wizard Saints recognized by the Council, two had been defeated by Kael, and another had admitted inferiority.
These two were among the top mages on the entire continent of Ishgar. How could anyone not be excited for such a showdown?
"Who do you guys think is going to win?"
Gray asked the people around him as he watched the two in the field.
Natsu said enthusiastically, "Gildarts, for sure!"
Kael was incredibly strong, but he lacked the same level of raw endurance. Gildarts was a genuine monster through and through.
Elfman agreed with Natsu. "It's probably Gildarts. I mean, it's Gildarts!"
The only word Elfman could find to describe Gildarts was "Gildarts." The old man was impossibly strong. Kael was a monster too, but he was still too young. In terms of raw magic power, he was still a step behind Gildarts.
In terms of magic itself, Gildarts' Crush was a Super-magic that wouldn't lose to anything. Taking everything into account, Gildarts seemed like the stronger bet.
"I think it's Kael. Kael is super strong!"
Lucy hadn't witnessed the full extent of Gildarts' power yet, but she had seen Kael's strength with her own eyes. Kael had defeated so many powerful foes. Even if Gildarts was strong, he was likely just Wizard Saint level, right? He couldn't be much stronger than that, otherwise the Council would have given him the title.
"What do you think, Erza?"
Lucy looked toward Erza. As an S-Class mage, Erza was very familiar with both Gildarts and Kael.
"Mhm... my guess is that Gildarts is still a bit stronger."
Erza said after a moment of thought. Kael's magic was powerful, but Gildarts' magic was even more frightening. Combined with his years of combat experience and massive magic reserves, Kael's chances of winning were probably less than thirty percent.
"Is that old man really that incredible?! He's stronger than a Wizard Saint?!"
Lucy was surprised that even Erza didn't favor Kael to win.
Erza nodded firmly. "That man is just that good!"
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