Brushing off the Low-Ranking Members of Grimoire Heart

Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Open Seas.

December 15, x784.

Shortly before the Grimoire Heart airship landed on Tenrou Island, the soldiers of the Magic Council's naval fleet were monitoring the ongoing situation. And luckily for them, they were able to see everything on the island once the barrier surrounding it broke.

"Sir, the sun is about to sink below the horizon." The fleet captain said to Lahar.

"I am aware." Lahar said as he watched the happenings on Tenrou Island through his binoculars.

*Swish!*

As lahar finished his sentence, a man wearing a high-collared orange shirt appeared on the flag ship's deck next to Lahar. As he did, all the soldiers and Rune Knights who saw him drew their weapons to subdue the intruder.

"Stand down!" Lahar ordered after feeling the familiar presence that appeared next to him. "Doranbolt, how did your mission go?"

"Unfortunately, it was a failure." Doranbolt replied. "The guild has done nothing that could warrant immediate disbanding."

"They were only holding their annual S-Class Promotion Exam." Lahar said while quickly glancing at his colleague. "What were you hoping to find?"

"Honestly, I didn't think I'd find anything." Doranbolt replied with a shrug. Though, Lahar did not miss the hint of disappointment in his tone.

"I know he doesn't like Fairy Tail, just like most of the members of the Council.' Lahar thought to himself as he glanced at Doranbolt once again. "But if he wasn't expecting to find any damning evidence, why is he disappointed.'

The reason for Doranbolt's disappointment was simple. He failed the optional mission of bringing Wendy, the Maiden of the Sky, as she has been called, back with him.

"I do think that my cover had been blown, though." Doranbolt added.

"So, they knew you were from the Magic Council?" Lahar asked.

"I don't think so." Doranbolt replied while shaking his head. "But they were all abnormally suspicious of me. Which means they thought I was someone suspicious. Even after I altered all their memories with my [Memory Control Magic]."

"I guess that means your magic is not as potent on those with a greater amount of magic power than you." Lahar said as he brought his binoculars up to his face again. "And since there are so many strong S-Class wizards in Fairy Tail, though I doubt they saw through it completely, they probably warned the other members just in case."

"As much as I hate to admit it, that makes sense." Doranbolt said while shaking his head.

If only Doranbolt knew that his identity had been seen through by a pair of reincarnators, he would probably question everything he ever knew.

"Anyway, how is the battle going?" Doranbolt asked.

"Currently, Master Makarov is facing off against Hades." Lahar replied. "But it looks like that battle will be ending shortly. It appears Makarov's age is finally catching up to him."

"I guess that means we will be losing another Wizard Saint this evening." Doranbolt replied.

"Wait, it looks like Makarov was just saved." Lahar said, surprise evident in his tone.

"Sir, there are a large number of Grimoire Heart wizards surrounding the Maiden of the Sky and two of those talking cats from Fairy Tail!" A soldier, who was watching another part of the island, shouted at nearly the same time."

Hearing the soldier's report, Doranbolt could only clench his fists in regret.

'I knew I should have just taken her, regardless of the consequences.' Doranbolt thought to himself as he stared at Tenrou Island in the distance. 'Letting someone with the ability to heal die in this conflict is pointless. Her abilities could help so many people'

Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.

As the soldier on the Magic Council flagship reported, Wendy, Carla, and Panther Lily were surrounded by at least thirty low-ranking members of Grimoire Heart.

"Ha! It's just a brat and a couple of cats." A male wizard said with a sneer on his face. "This will be the easiest assignment ever.

"If you really think it will be that easy, then you've truly underestimated us." Panther Lily replied as he started growing in size.

Eventually, Panther Lily grew to the size he had in Edolas. On top of that, the sword on his back grew to match his current size.

"Now, let's see if you're as strong as you think you are or just over confident due to your numbers."

"What the hell kind of cat is that?" A female wizard asked in surprise.

"It doesn't matter.!" Another male wizard shouted. "Just kill them. That's what Master Hades ordered, and that's all we need to do."

"Yeah!" All the low-ranking Grimoire Heart wizards shouted in unison.

"[Wind Magic: Drilling Air Bullets]."

"[Fire Magic: Grand Inferno]."

"Lightning Magic: Chain Lightning]."

With that, spells of all kinds of elements were fired in the Fairy Tail trio's direction.

In response, Panther Lily sprouted a pair of wings and evaded many of the spells while slashing his sword at those he could not. To his surprise, as well as the surprise of the opposing wizards, the spells Panther Lily slashed were dispelled on impact.

"That's new." Panther Lily said after dispelling several spells. "I guess I really owe Alfonzo an apology. This sword really is better than Bustermarm. It can even do this. [Buster Bomb]."

With his chant, the sword in Panther Lily's hand began to glow brightly as he flew toward the nearest group of wizards at high speed. Then, once he was in range, he swung his sword with all his might.

*Clang!*

*Boom~~~!*

Upon impact with the magic sword of one of Grimoire Heart's wizards, a large explosion was triggered, sending a number of the surrounding wizards flying with injuries of varying degrees.

Meanwhile, Wendy pulled Carla behind her as she evaded some of the incoming spells while she devoured all those of the wind element.

"Is she eating our magic?" one of the female wizards who used a wind spell asked. "Is she a God Slayer like Lord Zankrow?"

"No, I'm not." Wendy said as she and Carla flew forward. "I'm a dragon Slayer. [Sky Dragon's Wing Attack]."

With her chant, Wendy flapped her arms in the dark wizards direction. As she did, a pair of long, slender cyclones were generated around her arms and extended forward as they engulfed the nearby wizards and sent them flying in all directions.

"[Sky Dragon's Roar]." Wendy chanted another spell as Carla turned her towards a second group of enemy wizards.

With that, Wendy breathed out a larger cyclone that flung many wizards away due to the air currents.

At the same time, Levy and Gajeel had been surrounded by a similar number of low-ranking wizards from Grimoire Heart while in the forest.

"And here I was getting bored because I didn't get to fight anyone during the exam." Gajeel said with a feral grin on his face. "It made me wonder why I even teamed up with this Pipsqueak."

"What was that?" Levy asked with a tick mark on her forehead. "Was the chance to fight the only reason you teamed up with me, Gajeel?"

"Of course, it was." Gajeel replied. "Why else would I have teamed up with you?"

"I don't' know… Maybe to help me become S-Class?" Levy said angrily.

Finally noticing Levy's tone, Gajeel glanced at his teammate. And after seeing the angry expression she was wearing, he looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry about that, Pipsqueak." Gajeel said in apology. "But you know how much I like to fight strong people."

"Whatever." Levy replied while looking away.

"If your little lover's quarrel is over, can we start this battle?" One of the two wizards appearing to the lead the group of low-ranking wizards, a humanoid goat with short brown fur and a prominent flat nose wearing red samurai armor with the Grimoire Heart symbol embossed on the chest plate and a katana hanging on his hip, asked disdainfully.

"Why are you even bothering to talk to these weaklings, Cock-a-do." The second of the leading wizards, an anthropomorphic rooster with human arms as well as wings wearing an orange, eastern apron, black pants that showed off his avian legs, and a simple cloth belt, asked. "Just kill them, Cock-a-doodle-do!"

"Agreed." The humanoid goat replied while crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Attack!"

As soon as the order was given, all the low-ranking members of Grimoire Heart rushed forward while shouting their battle cries.

"Yeah, this is gonna be fun." Gajeel said while cracking his knuckles.

"I'll handle this." Levy said, stopping Gajeel from rushing forward. Then, with her light pen, she wrote a few words in the air in front of her. "[Solid Script Magic: Fire, Gale]."

A moment later, a flame appeared in the air in front of Levy. Then, in the next moment, a strong wind blew, feeding the fire as it transformed into a fire storm that rushed towards all the attacking wizards.

"Ahh~~~~~~~!"

"It burns!"

"Someone, help me!"

As the flames washed over all the attacking wizards, Gajeel glared at Levy with discontent.

"Am I ever gonna get to fight?" Gajeel asked.

"Hmph!" Levy snorted in response while looking away.

In response, Gajeel could only scratch his head while looking at Levy helplessly. He knew what he said was wrong. But he only said it because he was caught up in the moment. On top of that, he was really looking forward to fighting at least one of the S-Class wizards during the exam.

"I have to say." The humanoid goat said, breaking the awkward silence. "It looks like I've truly underestimated you."

"Cock! They're strong. Doodle-do." The anthropomorphic rooster added from the sky.

As the flames died down, the remaining two wizards from Grimoire Heart could be seen completely unscathed. While the rooster had flown above the flames, the goat had created a barrier in front of him to block them.

"Out of respect for the strength you've shown, I'll tell you my name. "The humanoid goat said as his barrier faded. "My name is Yamazu, one of the strongest low-ranking members of Grimoire Heart. I serve Master Caprico of the Seven Kin of Purgatory."

"And I'm Kawazu, Cock-a-doodle." The anthropomorphic rooster, Kawazu, added. "I also serve Lord Caprico, Cock-a-doodle-do!"

"Yeah, that's great." Gajeel replied. "Not that I needed to know your names to beat you up. The only thing necessary to know is that you are enemies."

After Gajeels reply, he looked at Levy.

"It's alright if I take them on, right?" Gajeel asked, hoping that Levy would not just lay waste to the enemies like she had done with the others.

"Fine." Levy replied. "But I'll back you up. I can tell they're stronger than the others."

"Yeah, but they're not as strong as they think they are." Gajeel said with the feral smile reappearing on his face. "And I'll prove it. [Iron Dragon Incarnation]."

With that, Gajeel was covered in iron, making him take the shape of a humanoid version of Metalicana. Then, as soon as his exoskeleton was formed, he flapped his wings and shot off in Yamazu's direction.

"Quite impressive." Yamazu said, drawing the katana on his hip. "But it's not enough. [Orient Sold Script: Zan]."

As he chanted, Yamazu slashed the kanji "Zan" into the air with his sword. Then, he slashed his sword in Gajeel's direction several times.

*Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!*

As a result of his slashes, several air blades were sent flying IN Gajeel's direction. Though, the [Iron Dragon Slayer] did not move to defend or evade. And as it turns out, he did not need to, as the air blades simply struck his scales and dissipated.

"[Egg Buster]." Kawazu, who was still airborne, chanted as he spit out several eggs in Gajeel's direction.

Before the eggs could get too close to Gajeel, however, a curtain of flames appeared in the sky, thanks to Levy's [Solid Script Magic], burning all the eggs to cinders as they passed through it.

"You dare destroy my eggs?" Kawazu squawked after seeing his eggs being burned. "I'll destroy you, and everything you hold dear, Cock-a-doodle-do!"

"Your partner really is a bird brain." Gajeel growled as he neared Yamazu.

"Even if he is…" Yamazu said as he sheathed his katana. "You won't live long enough to tell anyone about it. [Dark Sword: Narukami]."

With his chant, Yamazu rushed forward. Then, as he entered the range of his attack, he drew his sword, slashing Gajeel across the chest. At the same time, a dark pulse was created that followed up his attack.

"Gah!" Yamazu groaned in pain as Gajeel slammed his shoulder into his abdomen.

"Not bad." Gajeel said with a manic smile. "You actually cut through a good bit of my scales. But did you really think you could penetrate the scales of an iron dragon with only one slash?"

As Gajeel said, Yamazu's [Sword Magic] spell cut into his scales, leaving behind a rather large gash. Unfortunately for him, it was not enough to penetrate the scales completely. As a result, Gajeel came out completely unharmed and slammed into Yamazu as he tried to rush past him.

And now, with Yamazu on his shoulder, Gajeel flapped his wings and took to the air.

Meanwhile, Kawazu, who was infuriated by the fact that Levy had destroyed his eggs, had focused all his attention on the petite, blue-haired girl, releasing dozens of eggs in the hope to kill her for what she had done.

Unfortunately, due to his fury, Kawazu had lost track of what was going on in Yamazu's battle with Gajeel. As a result, he was caught off guard when the two slammed into him from behind, causing him to squawk in pain.

"Now that I've got a hold of both of you, I think it's time to end this." Gajeel said as he stopped his forward momentum and let go of the two Grimoire Heart wizards. Then, he took a deep breath as he brought his hands to his mouth in the shape of a trumpet. "[Iron Dragon's Roar]."

With that, Yamazu and Kawazu were hit with the blunt force of the swirling mass of [Metal Magic] while being slashed by the sharp iron shards that flowed along the swirling magic power, before they were slammed into the ground.

 As a result, both dark wizards lay at the bottom of a crater, unconscious.

A moment later, Gajeel landed next to Levy. Then, he dispelled his [Iron Dragon Incarnation] reveaingl the satisfied smile on his face before he subconsciously patted Levy on the head.

"Well, the fight didn't last as long as I would have liked, but it was fun, nonetheless." Gajeel said in a happy tone. "Thanks a lot for letting me be your partner, Pipsqueak."

"Sure, no problem.' Levy said in a small voice while lowering her head to hide the blush on her face.