Chapter 279: The Acting Guild Master, George

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"Anyone over eighty years old and any cats cannot leave!"

A few lines of text, composed of intricate magical symbols, appeared in the air before the guild's entrance.

"This is Fried's doing," Makarov muttered.

He reached out, only to have his hand stopped by the magical barrier.

"This is troublesome."

"Indeed, a bit of a problem," George agreed.

Levy had mentioned before that, among the members of Fairy Tail, she wasn't the most skilled in magic formations. That title actually belonged to Fried of the Thunder God Tribe.

Fried was a master of enchantments and Dark Écriture, with power nearing S-Class. In fact, compared to most S-Class wizards from other guilds, he was even stronger.

The key characteristic of enchantments was that they required time and preparation to set up, but once deployed, they were incredibly powerful.

With Fried's abilities, even Makarov, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, couldn't brute-force his way through. This was part of the reason why Laxus had the confidence to challenge the entire guild with just four people.

"Hahaha! If that's the case, then I'll be the one to take down Laxus!" Natsu declared, stepping forward enthusiastically. "I've been itching for a rematch!"

Without hesitation, he charged toward the guild's exit.

*Boom!*

A loud impact echoed as Natsu was forcefully repelled by the barrier.

"What the hell?"

He rubbed his head in confusion, looking completely baffled.

The others were just as puzzled. Erza and a few others tested the barrier, only to find that they could leave without any issues.

After some trials, they discovered that only Makarov, George, Happy, Natsu, and Gajeel were unable to pass through.

"This is strange," George mused. "Enchantment barriers strictly adhere to their set conditions. So why are Natsu and Gajeel affected?"

George had studied magical barriers extensively back at school and understood their mechanics well.

There was no doubt—Natsu and Gajeel were not cats. That meant the only explanation was that their ages had somehow exceeded eighty. But that was impossible. Gajeel was one thing, but Natsu had grown up under the watchful eyes of the guild members.

"Forget it. This isn't the time to dwell on that."

George waved his hand, conjuring a large mirror using a transfiguration spell. Then, infusing it with spatial magic, he handed it to Erza.

"Erza, you can fly. Take this mirror and absorb all the magic lacrima floating in the sky into the mirror's space. That way, the Hall of Thunder won't be able to harm the townspeople. Once we break the barrier, we'll go after Laxus."

"Leave it to me!"

Erza swiftly switched into her Black Wing Armor, took hold of the mirror, and shot toward the floating lacrima in the sky.

Meanwhile, George called over Levy to help him break Fried's enchantment barrier.

The other Fairy Tail wizards, following Makarov's orders, didn't act recklessly. Among the remaining members, aside from Gray and Juvia, the others wouldn't stand a chance against Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe.

"This enchantment is really complicated. It won't be easy to break," Levy noted after examining the formation. She scratched her head in frustration.

"I need to check the library for reference materials."

"No need," George replied. "I've memorized every book on enchantments in the library. Just tell me what you need."

He traced a few patterns on the barrier.

"This should be based on the Gilwen Method, with two layers of transformations. If we work together, we should be able to break it."

In terms of enchantments, George was only slightly above beginner level. Levy was far more skilled than him, and Fried was on an entirely different level.

Setting up an enchantment capable of trapping even a Wizard Saint was far beyond George's abilities.

But breaking an enchantment was different from creating one. As long as he understood the underlying principles, identified weaknesses, and made precise adjustments, it was possible to dismantle it.

Enchantment barriers were incredibly effective against wizards unfamiliar with enchantments. However, for those with even basic knowledge—given enough time and resources—breaking them was always possible.

In this world, enchantment barriers weren't considered mainstream magic. They were more of a supplementary discipline studied by wizards proficient in written magic.

George had read every book in the library related to enchantments. He had memorized all the principles and related theories. Moreover, he could process information with six brains simultaneously, allowing him to break down the barrier with incredible speed.

Even without Levy's assistance, he could have dismantled Fried's enchantment in about ten minutes on his own.

Ordinarily, his main body and various avatars across different worlds were constantly studying and practicing different forms of magic. Because of this, his true expertise wasn't always obvious.

For example, in the Harry Potter world, his avatar was learning alchemy. In the Mage Apprentice world, another was mastering sealing techniques. In Academy City, one was researching Kabbalah formations. Meanwhile, his avatar in Middle-earth was studying Elven magic.

Only his main-world avatar lacked a unique magical system. Instead, it assisted whichever avatar needed the most help at any given time.

However, whenever any of his avatars encountered a critical situation, George could command all his bodies across different worlds to temporarily set aside their tasks and focus on solving that particular problem.

Right now, breaking Fried's enchantment barrier was the priority. As a result, not only was his Fairy Tail avatar processing the enchantment at high speed, but his five other brains were also working in sync, contributing to the analysis.

With six minds operating in parallel and Levy's assistance, Fried's complex enchantment was being deconstructed layer by layer. At this rate, they estimated it would take no more than five minutes to dismantle the barrier completely.

"It's done!"

Five minutes later, under the expectant gazes of the guild members, Levy exclaimed in excitement.

"George, I had no idea you had such a talent for enchantments! I can't believe you managed to reach this level in such a short time."

The key factor in breaking the enchantment so quickly had been George's rapid analysis of Fried's structure, which allowed Levy to grasp the full picture almost instantly.

"I just read a lot of books and have a strong theoretical foundation," George replied with a modest smile. "You're the one actually doing the hands-on work."

Although his advantage lay in theory and his ability to process information with six brains at once, when it came to practical execution, Levy was far superior.

Even though they had already fully deciphered Fried's enchantment and formulated a method to rewrite it, George estimated it would take him at least ten minutes to apply the changes himself.

Levy, on the other hand, could do it in under a minute.

### *A Change in Leadership?*

Makarov, who had been watching the entire process, let out a deep sigh.

"I'm getting old... Maybe it's time to find someone to take over." 

Though George hadn't been in Fairy Tail for long, his contributions had been immense. He possessed the strength required of a leader and had a steady, reliable personality. He had earned the respect of almost every wizard in the guild.

Even the fact that George was a cat didn't matter—after all, Fairy Tail never cared about things like that.

At this moment, Makarov made up his mind.

Before George left to take on the Hundred-Year Quest, he would teach him Fairy Law, the guild's most powerful spell. At the very least, this would allow George to locate Gildarts and ensure his safe return.

And once George came back…

Makarov would step down and officially appoint George as the next Guild Master of Fairy Tail.

At the same time, he couldn't ignore the actions of his own grandson. Laxus had caused this entire situation, and as his grandfather, Makarov felt a deep sense of responsibility. Holding onto the position of Guild Master any longer would only weigh on his conscience.

If it weren't for George's upcoming Hundred-Year Quest, Makarov would have handed over the position to him as soon as the Grand Magic Parade was over.

(End of Chapter)