Pudden reacted a moment too late; he didn't have time to cast his magic!
He could only barely dodge to the right rear!
'Swish'
A crescent blade of light slashed through the air, grazing Pudden's neck but missing its mark, instead slicing through Pudden's left hand—still clutching the brown book—that hadn't been withdrawn in time.
'Thud'
Severed at the wrist, his left hand still gripping the book, fell to the ground.
Pudden's pupils contracted sharply, while Jose wore an expression of malicious delight.
Suddenly, there was another, more violent surge of magical energy!
'Boom'
A terrifying explosion completely blew away the ceiling of Phantom Lord's top floor!
On the street below.
Hearing the sound, everyone quickly turned around to see a mushroom cloud rising from the top of Phantom Lord!
"Jehfrit!" Makarov exclaimed in shock.
'Whoosh whoosh whoosh'
Something spiraled out from the top floor of Phantom Lord.
It was Pudden's severed left hand.
'Plop'
The bloody hand landed at Makarov's feet.
Everyone couldn't help but turn to look at Jehfrit standing beside Makarov.
Jehfrit adjusted his glasses and said nothing.
Top floor of Phantom Lord.
The darkness dissipated.
Jose's face was grim. He had just been gloating, not expecting his office to be blown sky-high.
A spiked earth sphere also crumbled into sand and fell, with Pudden inside.
In front of him lay his book.
Even after taking the full force of the explosion and being separated from his severed hand, the brown book remained intact.
Silently, Pudden bent down to pick up the brown book, glancing once at the distant street and locking eyes with Jehfrit.
This glance held no emotion. He withdrew his gaze and started crying again.
Sobbing, he flipped open the brown book with his remaining hand.
Page by page, each one bore a name, then crossed out.
Finally, he stopped at a blank page.
Through tears, he said: "Jehfrit de la Vallière of Fairy Tail is a violator of peace. Such a villain should not exist. I will eliminate this threat to peace!"
Jose coldly asked: "Need my help?"
"No, you have no reason to intervene," Pudden sobbed. "Ah—great Ansa has bestowed upon me the highest oracle. As Ansa's messenger, I shall pass judgment on Jehfrit in the name of peace!"
The blank page spontaneously displayed Jehfrit's name!
On the street.
As they walked, Makarov said: "Jehfrit, you were too impulsive."
"Yes, Master." Jehfrit nodded without making any excuses.
"This is serious trouble. Pudden holds grudges," Erza said.
"Jehfrit," Makarov said sternly, "don't wander far from the guild recently."
"Mm." Jehfrit nodded again.
Seeing this, Makarov sighed. He knew Jehfrit hadn't taken his words to heart.
"We need to call back Laxus and Mystogan," Gray said.
"Those two..." Makarov sighed, "we'll try to contact them as soon as possible."
Laxus was in a rebellious phase, Mystogan always went solo, and Gildarts had been missing for nearly three years. Mira couldn't fight anymore.
Thus, among the S-Class mages, only Erza remained to shoulder the burden alone.
Initially.
If their opponent was only Phantom Lord, they might have considered fighting this battle.
But now, Pudden had intervened.
Pudden was also a renowned powerhouse in the magical world.
Due to his peculiar personality, though he claimed to love peace, the Magic Council found it hard to classify him as a dark mage or not.
Therefore, he never received an invitation to join the Ten Wizard Saints, but indeed possessed comparable strength.
Makarov was uneasy. Pudden wasn't just petty—he was vindictive.
Jehfrit hadn't just injured him. He'd humiliated him. Cutting off his hand was more than a wound—it was a declaration. And men like Pudden didn't forgive declarations.
And yet, Jehfrit stood unshaken.
Regret? He felt none.
He felt no regret. No guilt. Only cold satisfaction.
Moreover, neither Phantom Lord nor Pudden intended to end things like this.
Neither would he!
Everyone returned to the guild.
In this recent battle,
No one died.
But there were many injured.
Natsu successfully rescued Lucy.
Only then did they learn from her the truth about why Phantom Lord targeted Fairy Tail—
Lucy's father had hired Phantom Lord to bring Lucy back home.
This had triggered the whole incident.
Lucy felt extremely guilty.
Surrounded by everyone, she kept apologizing nonstop.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide it from everyone, but I never imagined my father would do something like this!"
"He completely ignored me when I ran away from home a year ago, but suddenly wants me back using such methods."
"Dad really messed up this time!"
"But... ultimately, all this happened because of me. Levy got hurt, everyone got hurt..."
"I'm sorry!"
"I guess I should go back..."
"Enough," Natsu interrupted her. He placed his hand on Lucy's head, which he enjoyed whenever Lucy did it to him.
With tear-filled eyes, Lucy looked up at Natsu.
Usually carefree Natsu was now serious, looking somewhat handsome.
"No need to say more, Lucy," Natsu said earnestly. "You are Lucy of Fairy Tail. As long as you acknowledge that, this is your home, and no one can take you away!"
"Natsu..." Lucy was deeply moved.
"Lucy," Jehfrit placed a glass of water in front of her, saying: "Don't blame yourself too much. Phantom Lord is a major guild. They wouldn't start a war of this scale just for money. They've had this planned for a while. Your situation was merely a pretext."
"The war isn't over yet. Pull yourself together."
"If you're unwilling, use your own strength to drive away Phantom Lord's mages."
"Show them, show your father, your strength, your determination, your growth!"
"Thank you, Jehfrit." Lucy nodded.
"That's right, Lucy. If you want to stay here, we won't let anyone take you away!" Cana said.
"I've long despised those bastards from Phantom Lord. Once Master heals and Laxus returns, we'll defeat them fair and square!" Gray said.
"That's right!"
"This time was so frustrating!"
"One day, we'll settle the score!"
"Protect Lucy!"
"Protect our family!"
"Fairy Tail will never yield!"
Everyone shouted loudly.
"Everyone..." Lucy was overwhelmed with emotion, almost losing control.
Seeing this, Jehfrit nudged Natsu.
"Hey, Jehfrit, what..."
Before Natsu could ask, he felt himself being hugged by Lucy.
"Thank you, everyone. I want to stay in Fairy Tail!"
Lucy hugged Natsu and cried heavily in his arms.
"..." Natsu placed his hand on Lucy's head and smiled brightly, saying: "Then I will protect Lucy!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, touching," Jehfrit shook his head and sighed.
"Yeah, I wonder when Jehfrit will say something cool like that," Cana teased.
"Cana, I haven't settled accounts with you yet. How dare you drug me with sleeping pills, and overdose me! My head still hurts!" Jehfrit immediately became angry.
"Ah, sorry sorry. By the way, it was just beer," Cana said.
"What kind of joke is that? Are you saying I was knocked out by just one bottle of beer?!" Jehfrit became even angrier.
"What gives you the confidence to question that statement?" Cana retorted.