Chapter 163

Chapter 163: Chapter 163

For several seconds, the entire guild could only stare at the tiny creature Marshall had proudly introduced as his secret weapon.

Phoebe looked less like an ultimate weapon and more like a child’s doodle that had somehow climbed off the page and put on a little top hat.

Her fluffy golden hair and tiny body did absolutely nothing to inspire confidence, and more than a few people glanced between her and Marshall as though waiting for him to admit this was another joke.

Gray was one of them.

Marshall caught his expression and immediately gave him a rather sinister smile.

"Gray, Phoebe is an Apostle I created using the same basic principles as the Gugas. More importantly, she inherited most of Deliora’s—"

"What?!"

Gray’s face changed before Marshall could even finish.

Deliora had been a monster powerful enough to destroy entire towns and force Ur to sacrifice herself just to stop it.

The idea that Marshall had already extracted that demon’s abilities and incorporated them into a new artificial life-form was enough to make every bad memory in Gray’s head wake up at once.

Marshall, however, had no intention of stopping for a lengthy explanation.

"Later. We’re on a clock."

He opened the golden-covered Book of Phoebe, summoned a pen, and immediately began rewriting the magical structure recorded inside it.

The skill Marshall had just strengthened with Inspiration was one of Makarov’s signature specialties: Giant Magic, or, more accurately, the broader magical discipline beneath it—Form Magic.

He had pushed Form Magic directly from Level Two to Level Four.

And, by some miracle, the sudden increase did not seem to have saddled him with any bizarre uncontrollable side effect.

Probably.

Marshall had considered strengthening several other abilities instead, but after confronting Jose directly, he had already realized that the fundamental problem could not be solved simply by improving one or two offensive spells.

Jose possessed too large an advantage in raw magic power.

No matter how sharp Marshall made a single blade, there was still an enormous difference between roughly ninety thousand units of magic and more than half a million.

Form Magic, however, attacked the problem from another direction entirely.

Information Magic had already gathered enough data during Marshall’s brief confrontation with Jose to give him a rough picture of the Wizard Saint’s fundamental attributes.

[Mind: approximately 2,000]

[Vitality: approximately 1,000]

[Magic Power: approximately 530,000]

Jose was almost the textbook definition of a pure Mage.

His magical reserves were terrifying, but his body itself was nothing exceptional.

Marshall’s own current values were very different.

[Mind: 12,431]

[Vitality: 10,201]

[Magic Power: 93,624]

Jose possessed more than five times his magic power, yet Marshall’s physical and mental attributes exceeded Jose’s several times over.

In simpler terms, Jose had an enormous mana bar.

Marshall had an absurdly thick health bar!

And that difference in constitution was not merely Marshall’s advantage.

It was potentially Fairy Tail’s greatest weapon in the coming fight.

There was another factor working in their favor.

Jose specialized in Darkness Magic, while Marshall was exceptionally proficient in Light Magic.

The two elements countered one another directly, much like fire and ice.

When opposing attributes collided, neither side enjoyed a simple defensive advantage; each became unusually destructive to the other.

That was dangerous for Marshall, but it was also exactly what gave him a path to victory.

If Marshall had specialized in Darkness Magic as well, Jose’s overwhelming reserves would simply crush him through sheer output.

Against Light Magic, however, Jose would have to spend significantly more power whenever he defended.

Marshall’s attacks would hurt Jose more than ordinary magic, while Jose’s Darkness Magic would likewise be unusually dangerous to Marshall.

The difference was that Marshall was confident he could land his attacks.

Jose could not say the same.

Between Marshall’s speed, Spatial Magic, Information Magic, and vastly superior physical endurance, the battle did not have to remain a contest between two mana pools.

If Fairy Tail played it correctly, they could turn it into a contest between Jose’s magic reserves and their own ability to keep attacking without being hit cleanly.

In other words, Marshall intended to trade health for mana.

Force Jose to defend.

Rotate attackers.

Make him spend more magic than they did.

And if there was one thing Fairy Tail produced in ridiculous abundance, it was Mages who could take far more punishment than any reasonable person should survive.

That was the opening hidden inside the difference in their basic attributes, and it was precisely why Marshall had chosen Form Magic.

Few spells in his arsenal could increase physical durability, mass, and bodily strength as efficiently.

Even better, Deliora’s own core ability turned out to belong to the same family.

At its foundation, the demon’s tremendous size and physical enhancement were essentially an advanced variation of Giant Magic.

Which meant Form Magic.

Marshall had spent the previous night experimenting with Life Magic and, in the process, created what he currently considered the pinnacle of his artificial-life research.

Phoebe.

Now he was rewriting her entire structure around Level Four Form Magic.

The abilities incorporated into Phoebe’s design included, but were certainly not limited to:

[Script Magic LV4]

[Light Magic LV4]

[Form Magic LV4]

[Heteromorphic Magic LV3]

[Soul Magic LV3]

[Link Magic LV3]

[Enhancement Magic LV3]

[Heavenly Body Magic LV3]

[Life Magic LV1]

Almost all of them were among Marshall’s core disciplines.

Life Magic was the only real exception; at its current level, its contribution was primarily what allowed Phoebe to begin developing something resembling a genuine humanoid life-form.

The Seven Sins Gugas had taught Marshall another important lesson as well.

More abilities did not automatically mean a stronger creation.

In many cases, specialization was far more effective.

The Seven Sins drew on emotional energy through their Curse-derived systems. Phoebe was built around something entirely different.

Her fuel was sunlight.

Or, more precisely—light itself.

Phoebe had very few flashy abilities. Her entire design revolved around one concept within Form Magic: mass.

By absorbing light, she could continuously increase or decrease both her mass and physical size.

The more energy she accumulated, the farther she could push that transformation.

When Marshall had first created her, his own Form Magic had only been Level Two, so Phoebe’s potential had been severely limited.

He had never expected her to become a serious battlefield asset this soon.

Now that Form Magic had reached Level Four, however, her ceiling had risen dramatically.

If his calculations were right, the ridiculous little creature everyone was staring at might genuinely become one of the deciding factors in the war.

While Marshall hurriedly rewrote the Book of Phoebe, the rest of Fairy Tail prepared as well.

People checked weapons, replenished whatever magic they could, distributed items, and reorganized themselves for another assault.

Someone even managed to contact Laxus in the hope that he might return.

Laxus’s face appeared over the communication device wearing precisely the arrogant expression everyone expected.

"Oh? So now you need my help?"

He folded his arms.

"Sure. I’ll come back."

Several people brightened before he added, "On one condition. Marshall joins my Thunder God Tribe. Agree to that, and I’ll come back right now and help you flatten Jose."

His gaze settled on Marshall.

"Well? Think about it."

Marshall never even looked up from Phoebe’s book.

He simply raised one hand and gave Laxus the middle finger.

"Go screw yourself, Laxus. I can kill Jose without you!"

His pen continued moving.

"Oh, and I almost accidentally killed your father earlier. Hope you don’t mind."

Laxus’s expression immediately darkened.

"Hmph. Marshall, you’re going to regret this."

The communication cut off.

Someone stared at the now-empty projection.

"What an asshole."

Marshall finished another line in the book without looking up.

"Forget him. Honestly, Laxus staying out of this mess is already good enough. Ivan is standing on Jose’s side, remember? Throwing Laxus into the middle of that family disaster would only make things more complicated."

A few minutes later, Marshall finally finished Phoebe’s modifications.

He closed the golden book, clapped his hands together, and rose to his feet.

Now came the part Fairy Tail actually understood.

Getting angry.

Marshall looked around the guildhall at the faces gathered before him.

Makarov’s defeat had shaken them, but the fear had already begun turning back into anger.

All that emotion needed was somewhere to go.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!"

The room quieted.

"Everyone here saw what Phantom Lord did. They wrecked our guildhall, ambushed our friends, beat them half to death, and then used a cheap trick to take down our Guild Master."

The more he spoke, the colder the expressions around him became.

Marshall raised his voice.

"Are we supposed to swallow that?"

"NO!"

The response shook the hall.

"Jose thinks that because he has some power and a Wizard Saint title, he can walk straight up to our front door and do whatever he wants.

Phantom Lord wants Fairy Tail’s position as Fiore’s strongest guild.

They want the businesses and industries we built with our own hands.

They want us to hand over one of our own people, then dissolve our guild and scatter like beaten dogs."

Marshall swept one hand toward everyone.

"Are we going to accept that?"

"NO!"

The answer was even louder.

Marshall grinned.

"Good. Because Fairy Tail has no cowards."

Magic began rising throughout the guildhall.

Erza’s hand settled on her sword, Mira’s expression sharpened, flames rolled around Natsu’s fists, and frost crept outward beneath Gray’s feet.

"Today we fight Phantom Lord to the end. Not for money, not for fame, and not because we give a damn about some ranking. We fight because they came into our home, hurt our people, and expected us to lower our heads afterward."

Marshall thrust one fist into the air.

"So today we make sure every Mage in Fiore remembers one thing—Fairy Tail is not a guild you can walk over."

The room erupted.

Marshall shouted over them.

"Then answer me! Would you rather die on your knees, or live on your feet?!"

"LIVE ON OUR FEET!"

The chant came back again and again, rattling the windows.

"LIVE ON OUR FEET!"

"LIVE ON OUR FEET!"

Marshall pointed toward the river.

"Then move!"

"Crush Phantom Lord!"

"Take Jose down!"

The guild doors burst open beneath the surge of bodies and magic.

Fairy Tail marched to war!

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