Inside the impeccably preserved, conceptually reinforced hall of the Celestial Forge, Rimuru Tempest felt the approach of the hostile force.
Her demon lord senses, infinitely sharper than any human magic radar, instantly registered the massive group of incoming mages, their malicious intent sharp and focused.
She looked up at the main viewing window and saw the approaching army of Phantom Lord mages.
"So this is the famous Celestial Guild. Nothing much,"
One of them, a bulky mage with rough attire, sneered with disdain.
"Let's destroy their guild and then their shop. We also need to catch that mage for our Master,"
Another commanded, their eyes locking onto the figure of Lucy Heartfilia.
Lucy, terrified by the sheer number of hostile mages and the explicit mention of being captured, instinctively dove and tried to hide behind Rimuru, clutching the small digimon tightly.
Rimuru, maintaining her serene composure, didn't panic. She was a Demon Lord, capable of wiping out this entire group with a single thought, but decorum and hierarchy were important.
"Shion, Shuna,"
Rimuru called, her voice calm.
"Take the lead."
Shion stepped forward, her massive sword, the Machete of the Ogre, resting easily on her shoulder. Shuna moved to her side, her robes flowing, her magical power already focused into a refined point.
"Who are you? Why have you come to our guild with that kind of intention?"
Shion asked, her voice dangerously low. She felt their magic and could tell they were pitiably weak, but Rimuru had taught her to always ascertain true intentions before engaging in bloodshed.
"We are Phantom Guild Mages! We came to teach you newbies not to be too confident! Let's burn their guild!"
The bulky mage roared, taking the initiation of hostilities as a sign of their superiority.
A volley of mismatched magic—fireballs, shards of wind, weak iron projectiles, and bursts of rudimentary darkness—shot toward the Celestial Forge hall.
The result was instantly devastating—not for the guild, but for the attackers.
The magic didn't even scratch the surface layer of the guild's outer wall.
The spells hit the structure and were immediately nullified, thanks to Arthur's conceptual enforcement of the building. The walls were not just made of stone and mortar; they were conceptually defined as
"Impenetrable by Inferior Magic."
The mages recoiled in shock, stumbling over themselves.
"W—What is this guild made of?"
One mage cried out in disbelief, staring at the unscathed surface.
"My magic! It bounced back at me!"
Another screamed, realizing his own attack had rebounded, slamming him into his comrades.
That was the moment Shion and Shuna made their move.
The sheer disparity in power was laughable.
Shion, the Ogre Master, moved like a blur. Her Machete of the Ogre did not need to be swung with brute force; it was coated in her unique Herculean Strength, making every touch a catastrophic impact. She moved through the ranks of the Phantom Lord mages, striking them with the flat of the blade or delivering powerful, non-lethal strikes that sent them flying back in concussive waves.
Shuna, the Princess of the Ogre Clan, used her Creation Magic. She didn't need complicated spells; she simply warped the ambient magic into binding threads of pure, refined energy, instantly trussing up dozens of mages simultaneously. The fight was less of a struggle and more of a systematic, brutal clearing out.
The commotion of the failed attack and the subsequent, one-sided beatdown was loud enough to attract the attention of the nearby Fairy Tail mages, who had just been relieved by Arthur's return and the capture of Gajeel.
They flocked to the battle zone, expecting to jump in and defend their sister guild. Instead, they stopped dead in their tracks, mouths agape.
They watched, now eating snacks pulled from the wreckage of their own previous hall, as Shion casually knocked out an entire platoon with a single backhand and Shuna delicately wrapped mages into immobile, magical cocoons.
"The Phantom Guild is going to regret attacking Celestial Forge..."
Whispered one mage, utterly mesmerized.
"Yup, I want to see what Arthur-san would do to their guild,"
Another added.
"He is easygoing normally, but I know he hid something deep inside of him."
"Something very dark and scary..."
Mirajane Strauss, who had arrived to deliver Arthur's dinner and witnessed the start of the chaos, nodded her head, her siblings and their team watching beside her.
She knew a true power when she saw it, and the measured, cold violence of Shion and Shuna only confirmed the frightening, contained strength of the Celestial Forge.
The Phantom Lord mages were defeated, trussed up, and humiliated in minutes. Rimuru stepped out onto the porch, looking at the captured enemy.
"Excellent work, Shion, Shuna,"
Rimuru praised. She looked down at the trussed-up mages, a deceptively kind smile on her face.
"It seems we have a lot of new guests who need to be delivered to their Master."
Craze: Read up to chapter 500 at [email protected]/phelio