Chapter 67: Monsieur Sol, Master Jose

'Fair?'

'How was this fair?'

Gajeel felt Nate's iron grip tightening around his neck, making it difficult to breathe. He had no choice but to turn his neck into iron.

"Master Jose is at the headquarters!" Gajeel growled. "Just head toward the back mountain, and you'll find him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gajeel's right leg transformed into an iron sword, which he swung upward.

"Iron Dragon Sword!"

The blade, jagged and spinning at high speed like a chainsaw, sliced through the air.

But Nate, with his 'Six Eyes', could easily predict Gajeel's movements. He saw the flow of magic in Gajeel's body as if it were transparent, allowing him to anticipate the attack before it even landed.

With a focused gaze, Nate unleashed a shockwave that sent Gajeel flying dozens of meters away.

At that moment, voices called from behind.

"Nate! Erza!"

Happy flew quickly toward them, white wings sprouting from his back, with Natsu dangling from his tiny claws.

"Happy, Natsu. Where are the others?" Erza asked, turning to look at them.

Nate glanced over, marveling at Happy's strength. For some reason, Natsu, despite being a Dragon Slayer, was notoriously bad with vehicles, but being flown by Happy didn't seem to be an issue.

"Aye~ Everyone's right behind us," Happy replied.

Happy let go, and Natsu landed gracefully on the ground.

"Where are those Phantom Lord bastards?!" Natsu shouted furiously, flames flaring around his body.

He looked around at the demolished remains of the Phantom Lord branch, his expression suddenly confused.

Where was everyone?

This scene was clearly the result of Nate's punch.

"Hmph, Fire Dragon, I've been waiting for you!" Gajeel sneered as he stood up again, provoking Natsu.

"You started this fight, so don't act like it's a misunderstanding, you bastard!" Natsu roared, charging at Gajeel.

Gajeel swung his arm, transforming it into an iron rod that extended outward. Before Natsu could reach him, the rod slammed into his midsection.

Natsu grabbed the rod with both hands, his flames heating the metal. His sandals scraped against the ground as he slid back several meters, absorbing the blow with his body.

"That didn't even hurt, you iron freak!"

"Is that so? Don't come crying later!" Gajeel grinned, retracting the iron rod.

The two Dragon Slayers charged at each other, locking into a fierce battle.

Seeing this, Erza got onto Nate's 'Obsidian' motorcycle, plugged in the SE connector, and said, "Leave him to Natsu. Let's go to the headquarters. Hop on, Nate."

Nate, somewhat surprised, silently thought, 'That's my bike'.

He walked over, sat on the back, and wrapped his arms around Erza's waist. "Just don't wreck my bike. It's expensive."

Erza chuckled softly and revved the engine. The bike roared to life as they sped toward the mountain.

Nate, having already expended a considerable amount of magic on the trip from Magnolia, appreciated the break. Erza didn't want him to waste any more magic, knowing a tough battle awaited them.

As soon as they left, the rest of the 'Fairy Tail' team arrived at the scene.

Seeing Natsu and Gajeel in the midst of their fight, Elfman shouted, "Natsu! Where are Nate and Erza?"

"Huh? They were just here," Natsu replied, distracted for a moment, only to be hit by a punch that sent him flying.

"They went to the headquarters. You'd better get moving too," Gajeel sneered.

...

Phantom Lord's headquarters wasn't far from the branch.

Nate sat on the back of the bike, enjoying the ride. The area was desolate, with no greenery in sight, only barren hills. In the distance, they could see the faint outline of the Phantom Lord headquarters.

Suddenly, Nate said, "Stop."

But it was too late.

He immediately tightened his grip around Erza, leaping off the bike with her in his arms.

At that moment, the ground ahead of them swelled, and two massive hands made of earth shot up, clapping together as if to swat them like flies.

With a resounding boom, the hands crushed Nate's beloved bike into a heap of scrap metal.

Erza was slightly shocked.

Nate, still holding her in mid-air, glanced down at the wreckage and felt a pang of sadness.

'4,200,000 J...'

"I'm... I'm sorry!" Erza apologized, looking a bit embarrassed but maintaining a serious expression. "If you're angry, feel free to hit me!"

Nate shook his head. "Forget it, this makes us even for the armor I broke last time."

Just then, a well-dressed man emerged from the ground in front of the wrecked bike.

The man wore a monocle and a brown suit, his legs seemingly rooted in the earth. His body twisted in strange, boneless movements.

"Bonjour, mages of 'Fairy Tail'. My name is Sol. Please address me as Monsieur Sol."

Erza, still holding onto Nate's neck, recognized him, and her expression grew serious. "It's Sol of the Element 4, from Phantom Lord!"

"Nate, put me down. I'll handle him."

Nate gently descended to the ground, landing a short distance away from Sol.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Erza immediately switched armor, summoning a spear to her hand. She felt guilty about accidentally wrecking Nate's motorcycle but was determined to take it out on Sol.

"Wait!" Nate quickly grabbed her wrist.

Caught off guard by the sudden pull, Erza stumbled back into his arms.

"Master Jose, it's been a while."

Hearing this, Erza frowned and followed Nate's gaze.

A figure appeared out of thin air in front of Sol.

"Jose!" Erza spat, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the man.

"Nice to see you again, Nate, and Ms. Erza," Jose greeted them with his usual smug smile, waving casually. "I'm surprised it's just the two of you. It's a pity Master Makarov didn't join."

In an instant, Nate vanished from his spot.

...

Space-Time Magic: Flying Thunder God!

A golden magic circle appeared where his broken motorcycle had been.

Nate reappeared next to Jose, his fist flying directly toward the man's smirking face.

Despite being one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Jose never expected Nate to possess spatial magic.

His face twisted in shock as Nate's punch landed squarely on his left cheek.

Boom!

Jose was sent flying, crashing into a nearby rock, which shattered upon impact.

He tumbled across the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

"Master!" Sol exclaimed in shock.

Erza was equally stunned, her mouth slightly agape. She found herself feeling a bit envious. Being able to teleport was amazing!

She kept her eyes on Jose. There was no way someone as powerful as him, someone who was on par with Makarov, would go down so easily.

Jose slowly stood up, rubbing his bruised cheek.

"As expected of a Wizard Saint," Nate remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Even with a sneak attack, you took that hit pretty well."

"It still hurt. I think you might have loosened one of my teeth. Impressive, truly. I'm beginning to admire you even more." Jose smiled at first, but then his expression turned cold.

"But now you'll face a calamity, Nate!"

Boom!

A surge of powerful magic erupted from Jose, darkening the sky.

Dark clouds blotted out the sun as the land was shrouded in a dim, oppressive light.

Nate observed calmly, estimating that Jose's magic power was at least six stars... maybe even higher.

With a small smile, Nate replied, "The Magic Council wants to nominate me as a Wizard Saint, but the spots are full. I hope you'll be kind enough to vacate one for me."