As the president of Fairy Tail, Sugisawa Yuuto had two non-negotiable rules:
First: Make jokes.
This was a necessary skill to handle the occasional bureaucratic headaches or unexpected problems from the council.
Second: Protect the guild's "calves."
Every member of the guild was family. No one was allowed to bully them.
Now… Robin was officially a member of Fairy Tail.
The Marines wanted to take her?
Then it was time to fight.
"Change—Armor of the Sky Wheel!"
Yuuto didn't need to move. The moment Momousagi Gion drew her sword, Erza—Fairy Tail's magical "knight"—activated her Heavenly Wheel Armor. The sword wings unfurled, launching her forward like a streak of steel.
Clang! Gold and iron collided.
Erza summoned all her power, driving Gion back from the guild members.
"If you want to fight, I'll accompany you to the end!" Erza spoke calmly, dozens of swords raining up and down, creating a spectacle of magic and steel.
"Elusa… Queen of Fairies," Gion said, stepping back gracefully in a Moonwalk-like glide, eyes calm but calculating. "Your skill with flying swords is impressive. But while it might work on ordinary soldiers… it's useless against me."
She was the Naval Headquarters' Vice Admiral, second only to the top-tier Admirals. Among Vice Admirals, only the legendary Garp could rival her.
Erza's swordplay might dazzle onlookers, but to Gion, controlling dozens of flying swords at once was just a performance. A true swordsman mastered a single blade. Erza's skills were effective against typical foes, but against a master… they would falter.
The Alabasta incident had proven this. In the fight with Mr. 1 Dazbonis, Erza's strength hadn't even reached 10% of her potential. Against someone like Gion, the so-called "Fairy Queen" was just a name.
"Then… let me show you the true strength of a Marine Vice Admiral!"
Erza heard the contempt in Gion's words but didn't care. She raised her hands.
The swords of the Heavenly Wheel blurred through the air, dozens of magical blades flying toward Gion.
Gion's expression darkened slightly, but her focus never wavered. Jinpiluo, her famous sword, glowed with Armament Haki, while Observation Haki tracked every flying blade with pinpoint precision. Not a single sword reached her.
"Sky Wheel—Sword of the Pentagram!"
Erza shifted her armor's form, gripping a sword with both hands. The pentagram blade descended like lightning.
But Gion had already read her move. Jinpiluo, wrapped in Armament Haki, swung down. The sword energy, spanning a hundred meters, smashed Erza's pentagram blade and obliterated her sword wings.
"It's over!" Gion whispered, high-heeled feet propelling her through the air toward the unbalanced Erza.
"It's not over yet!" Erza declared.
"Change!"
The Sky Wheel Armor retracted, vanishing in an instant. In its place, black armor gleamed in the sunlight—Kuroba Armor!
"Kuroba—Moonlight!" Erza launched again.
While the Sky Wheel relied on multiple swords, Kuroba emphasized speed. Erza surged forward, a blur even Gion's Observation Haki struggled to track.
Clang! Metal and magic collided in rapid succession.
For a moment, Gion was forced to block defensively. Her calm, confident expression faltered. She had assumed Sky Wheel was Erza's trump card… yet in the blink of an eye, Erza had changed armor again.
What other armors does she have? thought Gion, mind racing.
When Kuroba failed to secure victory, Erza switched again—this time to the Thunder Emperor Armor. Lightning crackled along her form, and her weapon transformed into a thunder-infused gun.
Bang! Chi-chi!
The Thunder Gun clashed with Gion's Jinpiluo, sending powerful currents of lightning through the blade and into Gion's body. For a brief moment, her muscles froze.
"Drink!" Erza shouted, firing the Thunder Gun with full force. The blast slammed Gion down, crashing her onto the warship's deck.
"Vice Admiral Gion!" Sergeant Skylark gasped, worry written across her face.
"Miss Gion… how could this happen?" Peacock's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"Elusa, the Fairy Queen… what kind of power is this? These armors… how are they changing like this?" Hina whispered, stunned.
Gion coughed, sparks of electricity arching from her mouth as she slowly rose.
"Elusa… I underestimated you. But I won't again. I'll give it my all!"
"Exactly what I wanted!" Erza smiled, spirit ablaze. Swords flashed in all directions, a storm of magic and steel.
"Ahhh! The mainmast—it's going to break!" sailors shouted, chaos spreading across the deck.
"I knew it! Miss Gion can't lose!" Peacock exclaimed, relief mixing with excitement. She spun to face the guild members and flicked the whip at her waist.
"Major Peacock… what are you planning?" Skylark asked nervously.
"We must also enforce justice!" Peacock said firmly.
"But… how can we win?" Skylark murmured. Gion Vice Admiral had almost overpowered their strongest fighter, Erza.
"I want to learn Fairy Tail's techniques too!" Colonel Hina stepped forward, a mixture of support and diplomacy. By engaging, she helped control the chaos while sparring with the guild—a way to honor her rank as Vice Admiral Crane's granddaughter.
"Come on, Fairy Tail President! Let me properly train you!" Peacock called, charming as ever, twirling the whip in her hand.
"Since it's a whip… then let me—"
Before Nami could shift into her Taurus Star Spirit form, an astonishing event occurred. Two streams of seawater surged upward, twisting and wrapping around Peacock like constricting tentacles.
Water Restraint!
Juvia had arrived.