Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 350: We won!

"Jose is a complete moron!"

"The weakest of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

"Small PP"

"What's one thousand minus seven?!"

"A loser who got buried in the ruins not once—but twice!"

Warren dramatically pointed at his forehead like a blade with one hand, and aimed his other hand straight at Jose, unleashing every insult Rhodes had ever taught him, and adding plenty more from his own creativity. His words echoed directly inside Jose's mind.

To be honest, Warren felt kind of bad. This move was seriously cruel. He half expected Jose to snap his neck the next second but this was war, and Warren would do anything to help his friends win.

Jose's mind reeled in confusion.

What in the name of Zeref is this?! Who weaponizes telepathy like this?!

Furious, he glared at Warren. With his vast reservoir of magic power and deep magical knowledge, he forcefully severed the connection with a jolt of will.

But the window of opportunity had already opened.

Erza, now clad in her Fairy Armor, a radiant pink armor representing the guild itself was already in motion. Green lightning crackled along her blade. The glowing red aura of the buff swirled around the tip of her sword, igniting it in roaring flame.

Just as Jose shook off Warren's interference, Erza's blade pierced through the black serpent of dark magic coiling around his left hand and thrust straight toward his chest.

On the opposite side, Mira had fully entered her Satan Soul form. Her right hand had transformed into a claw wreathed in hellfire. Reinforced by the red buff, she tore through the black serpent in Jose's right hand and clamped her burning grip around his throat.

Jose grunted, straining with all his might. With his left hand, he seized Erza's blade to halt its advance. With his right, he latched onto Mira's wrist to stop her from crushing his windpipe.

But it was too late.

Erza's sword had already stabbed deep into his chest. The crackling lightning surged into his muscles. The red flames from the enchantment surged into his bloodstream. Blood erupted from the wound, soaking through his shredded robes. Even the palm that caught the sword was slashed open and smoking.

Mira's claws dug deep into both sides of his neck. Her grip tightened, choking the air from his lungs. Her claws burned like embers and sliced like blades, embedding painful crimson lines along his throat.

Jose's right hand burned against Mira's wrist. The flames of hell scorched his skin as if branding his soul. The pain in his neck mirrored the fury in his chest.

"Damn... brats!" Jose roared, his face twisted with malice.

His sclera darkened completely, leaving only black pits for eyes. Magic surged through him raw, wild, and corrupted.

From each of his palms burst enormous purple-black orbs, nearly two meters wide. They ballooned outward in a blink, engulfing both Mira and Erza in pulsating, corrosive darkness.

"AAAHHHH!!"

The two women screamed in unison, wracked by unbearable pain as the spheres seared and tore at their bodies with demonic force.

But neither one of them let go.

Neither would yield.

Erza clenched her teeth, eyes blazing with determination. Her heels dug into the dirt, forming small craters beneath her feet. With every fiber of her being, she pushed forward.

Mira's arms trembled as the hellfire around her surged hotter and wilder. She gritted her teeth, straining with all her might to tighten her grip around Jose's neck.

Jose was on the verge of suffocating. His hands seared with pain, his breath was ragged, but he didn't stop. He pushed his magic harder than ever, pouring all his power into the swirling darkness in a desperate attempt to overwhelm both Erza and Mira.

He had the advantage in raw magic power. If it continued like this, Erza and Mira might be the ones to fall.

But just as the pressure reached its peak,

A figure shot out from the ground behind Jose like a spear of hope.

Rhodes.

In the blink of an eye, he take over the Mountain Dragon form, his body crackling with magic. He pulled back his right fist, his frame coiled like a drawn bowstring, gathering all the power he had.

The amplification magic from Vijeeter, the muscle enchantment from Joey, red buff blazing around him, Rhodes poured it all into this one strike.

Behind him, his friends held their breath.

And then, he unleashed.

"Mountain Dragon's Collapsing Strike!"

The punch tore through the air like a comet trailing fire, like a mountain compressed into a single blow. With explosive force, it smashed into the back of Jose's head.

The impact rippled outward.

The dark spheres that had enveloped Mira and Erza shattered.

The oppressive energy Jose had been radiating vanished.

The choking darkness was gone. The cursed, suffocating air lifted.

Erza's sword tip drove forward, tearing a deep wound across Jose's chest.

Mira's burning claws carved red gashes along his neck.

But the two of them, their strength depleted and bodies battered by the earlier counterattack, fell to the ground.

Jose's body twisted as he was sent flying like a broken kite, his limbs slack and his eyes rolled back.

But the fight wasn't over yet.

Above, the sniper team fired volley after volley of flaming bullets toward Natsu.

Macao hurled a blazing blast of violet fire.

Cana flung a brilliant card that exploded midair like a small sun, "Solar Detonation!"

Lucy, and all the others who couldn't use fire magic, flipped open their grimoires and cast every flame-based spell they could find.

Natsu stood tall, arms open, grinning.

"I'll take all of your fire!"

He opened his mouth, and devoured every ounce of their combined flames.

"I accept it all, your flames, your strength!"

High above, as Jose's body twisted mid-flight, his eyes snapped open with hatred.

He barely managed to lift his left hand and point it at Rhodes.

His voice, hoarse but venomous:

"If I die... I'm taking you with me—DEATH STORM!"

A ball of dense purple-black light gathered in his palm. It erupted into a searing beam of destruction, shooting straight at Rhodes.

"NATSU!!!" someone shouted.

"I got it!" Natsu answered.

"Elfman!!"

"MAN!"

Elfman roared and transformed into his Beast King form. He charged forward, seized Natsu by the ankles, and spun him around like a human hammer.

With one final roar, he released— ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Natsu flew like a meteor trailing fire.

The beam of cursed magic struck Rhodes and swallowed him whole,

"Ugh—!"

Even in his Mountain Dragon form, Rhodes felt the searing pain shoot through his body like molten blades carving into his bones. The attack from Jose had pierced deeper than he expected.

"Rhodes!"

Mira, now returned to her normal form, struggled to rise to her feet. Staggering toward him with panic in her eyes, she reached for him.

"Enough!"

Natsu's roar cracked through the air.

Flames erupted around him brighter, wilder, more alive than ever before. Crimson and gold scales shimmered faintly along his cheekbones and jaw. The fiery aura blazed with such intensity that the very ground around him began to melt, but to his friends, it felt warm, comforting... familiar.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art-Guild Flame: Crimson Lotus... Phoenix Blade!!"

Trailing a radiant, golden tail flame, Natsu charged forward.

He slammed into Jose head-on, engulfing the Dark Mage in an inferno of celestial fire. The flames roared and surged, lifting both of them high into the sky like a divine phoenix taking flight.

From the ground, it looked like a blazing arrow ascending into the heavens—until it exploded into a shower of flaming petals, like fireworks at the peak of summer.

Jose's body convulsed in the flames. His eyes rolled back, mouth gaping, clothes reduced to blackened rags. His magic broke. His will shattered. He fell limp, unconscious.

Together, they plummeted toward the lake.

"Natsu—!"

Happy dove like a bullet, wings beating desperately. Just as Natsu lost altitude, the creature caught him mid-air, preventing him from crashing into the water.

Crack—! Plop!

Jose wasn't so lucky. He crashed through the ice bridge Gray had constructed earlier and plunged into the freezing lake below.

...

"Wah!"

Makarov suddenly bolted upright in bed, panting and drenched in sweat. His body trembled.

He had dreamed that the guild was in flames, the children overwhelmed by Phantom soldiers, and Lucy, his dear, new family member, dragged away by Jose.

And worst of all, in that dream, he couldn't do anything to stop it.

"It was just a dream... right?" he whispered.

"You're awake earlier than expected," came Polyusica's tired voice.

"Let me guess. A nightmare?"

The words grounded him, but his heart still thundered.

He turned to her, frantic.

"How's the guild? Has Phantom moved?"

Polyusica sighed, her gaze serious but soft. "I don't know. But... I can sense it. There's a battle happening right now."

She paused and added gravely, "Just moments ago, I felt an enormous wave of magic. I think Jose has made his move."

Without another word, Makarov threw off his covers and leapt out of bed, moving faster than any old man should have. When he reached the doorway, he had already changed into a crisp white robe emblazoned with the emblem of the Ten Wizard Saints.

Polyusica watched silently.

Before she could stop him, Makarov turned slightly and said, "Thank you, Polyusica. But there's no time for rest—

My children need me."