"So the Dragon faction is causing trouble? And the origins of these giant dragons are completely unknown?"
The Magic Council mbers grew uneasy as they listened to the joint report from Lahar and Doranbolt.
In the original tiline, Doranbolt had secretly altered the mories of nearly everyone who knew about the Eclipse Gate, including Lahar, in order to prevent its dark magic from destabilizing the Kingdom of Fiore. As a result, the dragons that appeared that night was dismissed as nothing more than a magical illusion.
But now, even Doranbolt himself was unaware of the Eclipse Gate’s existence.
There had been no mory manipulation, only a straightforward, factual report delivered alongside Lahar.
Which ant the Council was now facing a grim reality: Seven unknown giant dragons had attacked the Royal Capital of Fiore.
Council Chairman Gran Doma raised his hand, silencing the murmurs and probing questions in the chamber.
"First," he said gravely, "report the casualties. How severe is the damage?"
Lahar responded imdiately.
"There were many injured, but thanks to tily treatnt, and Mr. Rhodes summoning dragons to confront the attackers, the city ultimately suffered heavy damage, but avoided total destruction."
The chamber erupted into discussion.
So Council mbers marveled at Rhodes’ strength. Others regarded the news with thinly veiled wariness.
They had known he was powerful, but not this powerful.
If Lahar’s report was accurate, then Rhodes had effectively stood against six or seven dragons at once.
Considering the incident on Tenrou Island, the Council realized that their evaluation of Acnologia, the Black Dragon, would likely need to be revised upward yet again.
Since Lahar claid ignorance regarding the dragons’ origins, Gran Doma pressed on.
"During the Grand Magic Gas," he asked, "were there any suspicious incidents? Or any suspicious individuals observed?"
"Yes," Lahar replied after a brief pause.
His thoughts imdiately turned to Ultear.
Although he personally believed Cri Sorcière had nothing to do with this incident, he could only report what he knew.
After all, with so many witnesses, secrecy was impossible.
At the ntion of Ultear’s na, the Council reacted sharply.
Several mbers demanded on the spot,
"Since a repeat offender from Cri Sorcière was seen, why was she not apprehended imdiately?!"
Lahar replied calmly,
"It was unnecessary."
Another councilor imdiately snapped back,
"Do you expect soldiers to point their weapons at soone who just saved their lives?"
"She is a criminal! The mastermind behind the destruction of the Council headquarters!"
"And even so," ca the retort, "the primary enemy at that mont was the giant dragons, both airborne and terrestrial!"
"Then why not pursue her after the battle?!"
"In frontline command," another mber interjected, "one must consider troop morale and physical condition! I see no issue with Captain Lahar’s decision!"
"Allowing a repeat offender to escape before your eyes is a disgrace to law enforcent!"
The chamber descended into heated argunt.
Lahar himself felt conflicted.
He knew this could be seen as a dereliction of duty, but he also believed his decision had been the correct one.
Amid the shouting, a knock sounded at the door.
Two frogn couriers entered, each carrying a sealed letter.
Gran Doma tapped the table sharply, restoring order before allowing them to proceed.
After reading both letters, he announced,
"One letter is from Jura Neekis. The other is from His Majesty, the King of Fiore."
"Jura’s letter is brief," Gran Doma continued.
"He states that he believes his abilities are insufficient to hold the title of Fifth among the Ten Wizard Saints, and requests that Rhodes’ ranking be advanced. He is willing to take the final seat himself."
The Council mbers exchanged glances and discussed quietly.
"This is a minor matter," one concluded.
"Claiming insufficient ability and volunteering for the lowest rank is excessive. Jura’s strength and contributions are clear to everyone, he’s simply too modest."
"Indeed," another agreed. "As for ranking adjustnts... based on Rhodes’ performance, placing him within the top three would not be unreasonable. He might even replace that person."
Silence fell across the chamber.
On one hand, there was the mysterious disappearance of God Serena.
On the other, there was Rhodes’ terrifyingly rapid ascent.
During earlier evaluations, his magical power had been deed rely average.
How had he vanished for six years, only to return at this level?
The original top four Wizard Saints were known as the Four Gods of Ishgar, monsters whose power surpassed human limits.
Now, it seed another such monster had erged.
"Let us exchange Rhodes’ and Jura’s rankings," Gran Doma decided.
He had no intention of truly placing Jura at the bottom.
After all, the Ten Wizard Saints were not ranked by combat strength alone.
And Rhodes was still young.
There was no doubt, he would continue to grow.
"The letter from the Kingdom of Fiore is largely consistent with Captain Lahar’s report," the Council President said. "It primarily details the incident and additionally expresses gratitude to Lahar and his unit."
He passed the letter around the table, then looked back at Lahar."One more thing. What exactly is the situation regarding the cannon?"
Lahar answered promptly.
"Dragon Treasure activated the cannon that night and fired a highly concentrated magical blast at the royal palace. Later, the Royal Knights, assisted by Fairy Tail, successfully seized it."
"I strongly suspect that it is connected to the reason behind the Dragons attack. However, the Kingdom of Fiore insists on conducting the interrogation themselves. After all, the palace was directly attacked, and from our position, we cannot forcibly extract the suspects."
The Council mbers nodded in agreent. The reasoning was sound, Fiore would interrogate first, and the Council could follow up afterward.
After a brief pause, Lahar continued,
"If we want to trace the origins of the Dragons, we may have another lead. This ti, we brought back several special prisoners."
"They were hired by unknown individuals to assassinate Mr. Rhodes and steal Miss Lucy Heartfilia’s Celestial Spirit Key. If we can trace the guilds they belong to, we may uncover useful information."
Assassin Guilds and Thieves’ Guilds, strictly speaking, fell under the Magic Council’s jurisdiction.
And given that this involved an attempted assassination of a Ten Wizard Saint, the Council treated the matter with utmost seriousness, agreeing that an outright purge would be justified.
Several mbers exchanged glances and nodded in tacit agreent, already preparing to authorize an imdiate crackdown on the two guilds involved.
With these comparatively straightforward matters resolved, the eting moved on to its most difficult topic.
What should be done about the released Fire Dragon?
If there was anything that truly unsettled the Council more than the rest, it was this.
The Fire Dragon that had shattered multiple buildings within the capital, and then vanished without a trace.
Alongside it, the once-again-disappeared Cri Sorcière.
Both were deeply troubling.
According to Fiore’s report, the Fire Dragon had chosen to go into hiding and would not act independently.
But for the stability of the entire magical world, the Council could not simply ignore such an existence.
After all, it was an anomaly.
And a powerful one.
Yet at the sa ti, Fairy Tail, currently the only known force capable of directly confronting giant dragons, appeared to be on unexpectedly friendly terms with it.
After extensive debate, the Council reached a cautious consensus.
For now, they would focus on locating the Fire Dragon, closely monitoring its movents, and avoiding any actions that might provoke it.
At the sa ti, they would quietly prepare for the worst, drafting contingency plans and developing potential dragon-slaying asures.
As for Cri Sorcière, their cris could not yet be forgiven, but given recent developnts, their priority level would be temporarily lowered.
The remaining agenda items no longer required Lahar’s presence.
He saluted and exited the chamber at the appropriate ti.
Only then did he realize, the eting had begun in the morning,and had lasted all the way until dusk.
..
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