The branch restaurant Yajima had opened after his retirement had been smashed to pieces by its uninvited guests.
Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen formed a protective circle around the elderly man, keeping a wary eye on the demonic soldiers surrounding them.
These ordinary troops of Tartaros did not possess the officers' terrifying Curses, but they could still undergo demonization.
Their physical strength and durability far surpassed those of ordinary mages.
Fortunately, the Thunder God Tribe was no ordinary team either. Despite the demons' relentless assault, they refused to let a single one reach Yajima.
At the front of the battlefield, Laxus coldly studied his own opponent.
The man had long, dark-blond hair, tanned skin, and a face that vaguely resembled a goat's. Thick muscles covered his entire body.
"I never expected to encounter a human this powerful."
Tempester, the goat-faced demon known as Calamity and one of the Nine Demon Gates, raised his charred arm and regarded Laxus with a hint of caution.
Laxus gave a contemptuous snort and curled his fingers toward him.
"Come on, then. Show me what a demon can do."
Tempester narrowed his eyes and uttered a string of incomprehensible syllables.
The air around Laxus immediately changed.
A violent tornado erupted beneath his feet and swallowed him whole.
"ROOOAR!"
With Laxus trapped inside the swirling winds, Tempester released a furious bellow.
His already muscular body began expanding until he transformed into a hulking demon with no trace of humanity left.
"Haaah."
Blazing flames wrapped around Tempester's body as he charged into the tornado toward Laxus.
His Sound Effect Curse allowed him to produce specific attacks by voicing certain sounds, including the flames now surrounding him.
Laxus watched him approach with cold eyes.
Golden light exploded from his body.
A raging flood of lightning tore the tornado apart in an instant and surged wildly across the surrounding area.
At the same time, dark clouds gathered overhead. A thick bolt of lightning crashed from the sky and struck Tempester directly.
"RAGING THUNDER PRESSURE!"
At Laxus's roar, a devastating torrent of electricity erupted and blasted Tempester's entire body black.
The demon crashed into the ground.
Laxus immediately leapt into the air above him, locked both hands together like a hammer, and brought them down on the top of Tempester's skull.
"LIGHTNING DRAGON'S JAW!"
It was one of Laxus's favorite finishing moves.
By concentrating all his lightning into a single downward strike, he delivered an extremely simple—and extremely violent—blow.
Tempester took the attack head-on.
His body sank even deeper into the earth, while the crater around him collapsed several meters and sent clouds of dust bursting into the air.
Laxus withdrew his fists and looked down coldly at the blackened demon, whose bones had nearly all been shattered.
The battle had ended almost as soon as it began.
Laxus had not even lost the coat hanging over his shoulders, making the entire fight look effortless.
And he still possessed far stronger trump cards.
Forget Dragon King Mode—hardly any opponent had even forced him to activate Dragon Force.
"As expected of Laxus!"
The moment the battle ended, Freed hurried over with open admiration shining in his eyes.
"So this is the strength of humanity…" Tempester rasped from the ground. "Unfortunately for you, your enemies are demons."
He could no longer move, but there was no panic in his expression.
As long as the Hell's Core existed, the demons of Tartaros could return no matter how many times they died.
Tempester slowly closed his eyes and attempted to self-destruct, intending to release the Magic Barrier Particles stored within his body.
Then he realized he could no longer move his Curse Power.
"What's happening?!"
His eyes snapped open in disbelief.
"Surprised?" Laxus looked down at him mockingly. "Did you seriously think we'd know you could blow yourself up whenever you wanted and come here without a countermeasure?"
Before Laxus left for the city, Ankh had contacted him through a Communication Lacrima and shared several pieces of information.
One enemy in particular possessed Magic Barrier Particles inside his body.
If they encountered him, they needed to prevent him from releasing them and endangering the civilians.
"Magic Barrier Particles, huh?" Laxus said. "Once Porlyusica examines your body, she should be able to create an antidote."
He had even brought masks designed to isolate the particles, though it seemed they would not need them after all.
While Laxus fought Tempester, Freed had secretly written a Jutsu Shiki over the battlefield that forbade all acts of self-destruction.
Confusion and shock filled Tempester's face.
He could not understand it.
These humans should not have known about the Magic Barrier Particles inside him.
So why…?
Laxus noticed the strange expression and frowned as a possibility occurred to him.
Just as Ankh had suspected, the demon who used Magic Barrier Particles against Jellal's group might not have been an officer of Tartaros at all.
Laxus turned toward Bickslow and Evergreen.
"Just in case, seal this bastard with Stone Eyes and Figure Eyes."
"Got it."
With that, the battle between Laxus, the Thunder God Tribe, and Tempester came to an end.
For the first time, one of Tartaros's Nine Demon Gates had been captured alive.
Yajima's safety was secured, and the Thunder God Tribe soon drove the remaining demon soldiers out of the city, bringing their protection mission to a perfect conclusion.
At the same time, the battles in the other cities were also beginning to turn in the guild alliance's favor.
Tartaros was undeniably powerful.
Now that it had finally revealed itself to the world, the strength it displayed was even more frightening than Grimoire Heart's had once been.
But in the end, it was still only one guild.
And it was fighting every guild in Fiore.
As the ace mages of each major guild entered the battles, the seemingly fearless demon armies in cities without Tartaros officers were quickly driven back.
The cities attacked by officers suffered more heavily, and several retired councilors were killed, but even that situation was gradually being brought under control.
With his beastlike instincts, Natsu naturally managed to find a city where one of the officers had appeared.
The retired councilor he was protecting was Michello—the cat-faced old man who had always spoken badly of Fairy Tail.
Lucy and Wendy accompanied Natsu.
Their enemy was Jackal, the bomb demon Natsu had already fought once before.
This time, Jackal had no desire to drag out the battle. The moment he saw that Natsu, his natural counter, had arrived, he quickly abandoned the city and withdrew.
Under relentless questioning from Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy, the tight-lipped Michello finally revealed his suspicions regarding Tartaros's true objective.
"The Magic Pulse Bomb…"
"Face."
Inside the Communication Lacrima, Michello leaned wearily against a wall as he spoke in a low voice.
On the other side of the connection were the exhausted Magic Council members and the masters of the major guilds.
The moment they heard the name of that weapon, shock appeared on every face.