Chapter 430: Internal Strife, Fire and Iron Trapped Inside

Chapter 430: Internal Strife, Fire and Iron Trapped Inside

Gray and Elfman attempted to step out the door, only to return unaffected.

The two exchanged a glance and nodded, each grabbing the Guild Master's shoulder and arm. One pushed from inside while the other pulled from outside, showing no courtesy to the Guild Master.

The old man was lifted into the air by the two, his body sticking to the barrier formed by the spell. Yet, he couldn't even extend a finger beyond it.

"Stop! Stop it!" Makarov called out to the two unreliable kids, letting himself go. "This is a spell, and even I can't forcefully break through it from the inside."

The two released the Guild Master, allowing him to stand firmly on the ground.

Elfman complained, "Is this Fried's magic? Even the old man can't do anything about it. Is he that powerful?"

"The rules of the spell are absolute," Makarov pondered for a moment. "As a trap, it's an excellent magic in itself. However, the learning curve for spell magic is incredibly steep. For Fried to create a double spell with both material and age restrictions, he's surpassed most spell archmages by far!"

Fried rarely appeared in the guild, and his last visit was half a year ago. As a result, everyone in the guild lacked a comprehensive understanding of his abilities, including Makarov, who wasn't entirely clear about Fried's strength.

Never would they have imagined he had become this powerful.

To break the spell, only someone who uses this type of magic could possibly rewrite it.

But the Guild Master had mentioned that it was a difficult magic to learn, and rewriting Fried's spell would be even more challenging.

If Reby hadn't been petrified, there might have been hope. But none of the others present had any expertise in that kind of magic.

"With this, the old man can't join the battle, and the stone statue can't be sent to Babaya Grandma," Gray observed, looking at the remaining guild members.

Seeing Rod, Mira, Elfman, and Natsu, who had just gotten up, Gray felt slightly relieved. Even without the companions outside, the remaining guild members still had the strength to fight.

"Damn you, Laxus! Don't think you can escape!" Natsu jumped up, instantly becoming lively and noisy, eager to go after Laxus.

Gray raised an arm to stop him. "Calm down, Natsu. It's already chaotic outside! Let's hear what the Guild Master and Rod have to say first."

"Oh," Natsu surprisingly obeyed and stopped.

But as soon as Gray lowered his arm, Natsu immediately broke into a proud smile and dashed towards the door. "Ahahaha... I'm going to defeat Laxus right now! I'm the strongest in the guild, and..."

A loud bang sounded, and Natsu, like the Guild Master, collided with the invisible wall.

In midair, the words flashed, the same rule as before: "Prohibits entry and exit for stone statues and those over 80 years old."

"Why?!" Natsu struggled forward, squishing his cheeks flat, but he couldn't take a single step forward.

Everyone in the guild was shocked. Were there other restrictions? But the floating rule only stated that one condition.

Gray sighed, "What are you doing at a time like this?"

"How would I know?!" Natsu clenched his fists and pounded the wall, only to create more mysterious words with each punch.

Happy flew over, astonished, and said, "Natsu, are you over 80 years old?"

"No way!" Natsu shouted in denial, but when he saw the other condition, he paled in shock. "Am I a stone statue?"

Elfman denied, "Although stone statues are manly, it's obviously impossible."

"Hehe... Useless fire dragon," Gajuru tossed the remaining spoon handle into his mouth, supporting himself on the table with one hand, and gracefully jumped over it. "Since the fire dragon is of no use, it's time for me to show my strength."

This guy always had a grudge against Natsu.

"Damn you! Who are you calling useless?!" Natsu was ready to pick a fight with him.

Gray grabbed Natsu's neck to stop his recklessness, and Elfman intervened, "You calm down too."

Elfman felt he should listen to his brother-in-law.

"Hehe..." Gajuru glanced at Rod, "Don't get the wrong idea. I don't plan to help, so I won't listen to any 'tactician's' orders. I just happen to have a score to settle with that yellow-haired kid."

"Isn't beating him up within the guild rules? I can settle the score from last time too," Gajuru said, walking forward. "You guys just watch..."

However, like Natsu, he collided with the invisible wall, unable to take a single step outside the guild.

Everyone was shocked again. "Huh?"

"Why?"

"Is Gajuru affected too?"

Only Natsu burst into laughter, "Ahahaha! You can't get out either! Useless guy!"

Gajuru's face turned red with anger as his words were thrown back at him' to indicate the action the model should take.

Action: He pounded the 'wall' in frustration. "What's going on here?"

Wilhelm, Rachel, and Laxus also tried, but they faced no obstacles going out or coming back.

Rod, initially concerned about his age, tested it and found no issues.

It seemed that only Natsu and Gajuru were affected.

Those two didn't look a day over 80, let alone stone statues.

Their most distinctive feature was being Dragon Slayers. Could Fried have secretly placed restrictions on them in this regard?

However, there was no time to ponder this, as new words appeared in the air at the guild's entrance.

"Alzack vs. Varo vs. Troy."

"Winner: Alzack."

"Varo and Troy lose combat ability."

"Remaining Fairy Tail Members: 82."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, taking a few seconds to realize that Varo was Jet's real name.

They had always called him by his nickname, and almost forgot his real name.

Makarov frowned, "Is this a battle report? Why are they fighting each other?"

"Joey vs. Wang."

"Winner: Wang."

"Why is Joey fighting Wang?" Mira was perplexed.

Joey and Wang Qiangji's relationship was similar to Makarov and Wakaba. Although they would occasionally scuffle, most of the time, they would sit together and drink.

Especially at such a critical moment, they shouldn't be fighting among themselves.

"Crov vs. Niki."

"Both lose combat ability."

"Remaining Fairy Tail Members: 79."

In Rod's memory, Crov and Niki were two people who got along very well, even pranking him together.

One with buck teeth and the other with a mushroom-like hairstyle, Rod held no grudges against them.

Despite their close relationship, they were suddenly fighting at this crucial moment, even to the point of mutual injury. This couldn't have been their intention.

"There must be a compelling reason for them to fight... No, perhaps it's because they're so close that they're fighting."

Rod gazed at the spell floating in front of the door, recalling his encounter with Fried that morning. "In the worst-case scenario, Fried might have set up countless spells in Magnolia."

Precisely because of their close relationship, they would act together and step into the same spell.

The rules set by the spell might be 'Only the winner can leave' or even more stringent, 'One must lose consciousness for the other to leave.'"

Impulsive individuals might directly attack their companions, while those with softer hearts might sacrifice themselves to let their friends escape. Those who remain calm...

There are no calm people left; those who can maintain a little composure are still inside the guild.

This explained why Laxus dared to confront the entire guild with just three people and why he told Rod that it didn't matter how many people he brought.

His goal was to use Fried's spells to select those with sufficient strength, perhaps even subjecting them to a second round of screening by the Thunder God Tribe, before they could 'qualify' to fight him.

Fried's confidence stemmed from the numerous spells he had set up in advance.

Others couldn't detect the spells before stepping into the trap, but they knew the trap's location like the back of their hand. They could take advantage of the spell to reap the benefits or even use some unique traps to fight.

Under such rules, numbers meant nothing to Laxus.

"Stop it! Stop this madness, you damn brats!" Makarov was so anxious that he stomped his feet. This wasn't their usual bickering but a forced self-slaughter to save their petrified comrades.

In this situation, neither those harmed by their companions nor those who had no choice but to harm their friends would feel good.

But the one suffering the most was undoubtedly Makarov, who could only watch helplessly as his children fought each other and Laxus wreaked havoc.

His body expanded, and his fist grew larger, slamming into the wall beside the door.

The wall shattered with a boom, but the massive fist couldn't pass through the wall's boundaries by even a hair's breadth.

Fried's spell, of course, enveloped the entire guild.

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"Wilhelm, use your magic to inform those outside about Laxus's intentions. Tell them to beware of traps and not gather in groups. Spread out..."

Rod paused halfway through his sentence. What good would spreading out do?

Perhaps it could reduce some infighting, but after dispersing, there were few who could rival Laxus, let alone the Thunder God Tribe.

"First, let's stop the internal conflict."

"Yes!" Wilhelm immediately complied, but his face soon contorted in discomfort. These guys were arguing in the public channel, and few of them would listen to others.

"Makarov vs. Wakaba."

"Both lose combat ability."

"Remaining Fairy Tail Members: 77."

Natsu was both anxious and furious, "Damn it! Let me out! I want to join too!"

Gray scolded, "Idiot, this is all Laxus's scheme. What do you want to join for?"

"Of course, it's the ultimate battle! I want to defeat Laxus!"

Gray grabbed Natsu's collar, pointing at the stone statues on the stage, "That guy is using Erza and Lucy's lives to force us to fight each other. What kind of ultimate battle is this?"

Action: Three hours later, if they don't resolve this...”

“No way! Even someone as annoying as Laxus wouldn't go this far. It's just a scare tactic, right, old man?”

Makarov looked at Natsu in surprise, never expecting that even in the face of such chaos, Natsu would still believe that Laxus wouldn't actually take his companions' lives.

The others weren't as optimistic as Natsu.

Rod, too, wasn't certain if Laxus, with his youthful impulsiveness, would actually let Erza get petrified by the remote spell.

"Misha vs. Sally vs. Ees."

"Winner, Misha."

"Remaining Fairy Tail Members: 75."

"Marcus vs. Tono."

"Battle in progress..."

...

Battle reports flashed one after another, indicating that many had already fallen into traps or were engaged in fierce battles and couldn't stop.

Makarov's body returned to its original size, and he clutched his chest, his face contorting in pain.

Each report felt like a knife twisting in his heart, as if he were watching his children fall one by one.

“Guild Master?”

“Guild Master!”

Rod quickly supported Makarov: “Mira, quickly, under the counter!”

“I know!” Mira rushed to the counter, retrieved a medicine bottle, and placed three pills into the Guild Master's mouth.

Ever since learning about the Guild Master's heart condition, Rod had begged Babaya Grandma for extra medicine.

One bottle was kept in the infirmary, one under the counter, and one in the Guild Master's room.

Three pills down, Makarov's complexion improved slightly.

Rod gently patted the Guild Master's back: “Don't panic, please. It's just a fight, and even if they go overboard, there's no real danger. Don't worry, we can handle this. We'll resolve it right away! Take deep breaths, slow and steady...”

“Huff... Huff...” Makarov's lips turned pale, but at least the pain seemed to lessen.

“Mira, take the Guild Master to rest now.”

“Okay.”

As soon as Mira carried the Guild Master away, Rod asked, “Wilhelm, can you pinpoint their locations?”

“Yes, they're not hiding. Laxus is in the cathedral, and the other three are moving. Their current direction is...”

“Good. Now, we have two urgent tasks. First, undo the petrification to get them out of danger, and second, dispel the spell to stop the infighting.”

“I have no interest in playing Laxus' game of the strongest, but I also won't mind breaking his legs and dragging him back for punishment after these two tasks are done.”

Rod spoke rapidly, his words laced with anger.

The members in the room grew solemn, as Rod's words echoed their own thoughts.

“Let's get moving now. Laxus, Bigs, you two head southeast and northeast, respectively, and take a detour to the eastern forest to fetch Babaya Grandma. Maintain distance from others and be cautious of Freed. If you can't leave the city, notify Wilhelm immediately.”

Freed had mentioned that the entire city was the battlefield, and someone like him, who always preached rules, wouldn't joke. It was highly likely that he had also placed spells like 'Archmages Forbidden' on the city's outskirts.

But they had to give it a try.

Although Wilhelm's telepathy could cover the entire city, Babaya Grandma's treehouse was too far.

“Understood.” Laxus and Bigs set off, taking turns to avoid stepping into battle traps.

“Gray, Elfman, you two split up as well. One of you find Freed, and the other, Erza. Also, maintain distance from others. Mira and I will catch up with you later. We'll deal with them as quickly as possible.”

Whether it's dispelling the spell or undoing the petrification, defeating the caster is worth a try.

Gray spoke up: “Leave Freed and Erza to me and Elfman. You and Mira can handle Bickslow and Laxus.”

Rod shook his head: “I said not to be led by Laxus. Rushing to deal with them is pointless. Freed and Erza are the key.”

Once the spell and petrification issues are resolved, they'll face the entire Fairy Tail... The current Fairy Tail is in disarray, and if we're slow, we might not even have half left.”

The top priority now is to ensure the safety of the petrified girls and stop the infighting.

Dealing with the troublemakers is secondary.

Moreover, once Erza, Juvia, and Cana are revived, and Natsu and Gajeel leave the guild, the secondary issues will soon cease to be issues.

Gajeel stood by, feeling awkward. This person's thoughts were too clear, almost unaffected by the enemy's actions.

Was this how Phantom Lord had been played by this man and his companions?

He now wondered if the earlier commotion could have been avoided had those who ran out of the guild listened more and acted less impulsively.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end