Chapter 144: George: I'm Really Not That Strong
The Stunning Spell hit Gajeel, and his eyelids immediately began to droop.
However, as a Dragon Slayer, his body possessed dragon-like traits, granting him high resistance to magic. Combined with his immense magical power and strong willpower, his eyelids barely closed before snapping open again.
But George wasn't surprised. He simply waved his wand repeatedly.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!"
One Stunning Spell after another flew out until, after over a hundred spells stacked together, Gajeel finally succumbed, closing his eyes and falling into a deep slumber.
No matter how high one's magic resistance is, unless they're outright immune, sheer numbers can still overwhelm them.
Dragons in the Harry Potter world also had high magic resistance, but a hundred adult wizards casting Stunning Spells in unison could still take one down.
"George… you actually defeated Phantom Lord's Gajeel?!"
When George descended with the unconscious Gajeel in tow, Levy and the others were still in shock.
Gajeel was an S-class mage of Phantom Lord, while George was best known in the guild for his miraculous Repairing Magic—never for his combat prowess.
Even Erza and the others only knew that George had fast mana recovery and could cast many powerful support spells.
When he killed Erigor, Erza had done most of the heavy lifting. George had only landed the final blow when Erigor was nearly out of magic.
But today, George had handled Gajeel like a parent disciplining a child. Gajeel hadn't stood a chance, and the fight ended in just two or three minutes.
How could they not be shocked?
If they hadn't fought Gajeel themselves, they might have assumed he was overrated.
But they had personally experienced the Iron Dragon Slayer's strength. The three of them had barely lasted a move against him, and all their attacks had been effortlessly countered.
The sheer gap in power still left them shaken.
"It's not what you think. I'm far from that strong. Beating him was mostly luck."
George waved his hand dismissively. He wasn't being modest—if not for his powers perfectly countering Gajeel, the fight wouldn't have been so easy.
Fighting Gajeel was like Magneto facing Wolverine: the matchup was just too one-sided.
Gajeel specialized in Iron Dragon Slayer Magic, which relied entirely on metal. If he had diversified his skillset, George wouldn't have had such an easy time.
Against Natsu, for instance, George wouldn't have achieved the same result.
"Seriously, I'm not lying. I have a spell specifically for metal, and he just happened to walk right into it."
Seeing Levy and the others still skeptical, George could only sigh helplessly.
"Alright, let's take him to the dorm first. Then Mirajane can find the Master and decide what to do next."
This wasn't just about vandalizing an empty guild anymore. Phantom Lord's ace mage had attacked Fairy Tail members. If George hadn't been here, Levy and the others would've been in serious trouble.
This blatantly violated the Magic Council's rules, and with Gajeel caught red-handed, there was no denying it.
Knowing Makarov, George doubted the Master would let this slide like he had earlier.
"Right! Let's find Mirajane. We can't let this go!"
Levy snapped out of her daze, puffing her cheeks in anger. She jumped up and slapped the floating, unconscious Gajeel.
"Ow! His face is like iron!"
Unfortunately, her slap did zero damage to Gajeel while leaving her hand stinging.
The Iron Dragon Slayer's body was as hard as metal, making the slap no different from hitting a steel block.
Thus, the trio—plus Happy—marched toward Fairy Tail's dormitory with their captive in tow, their indignation palpable.
For Levy and the others, the guild was like their home, and the Master and Mirajane were like their grandfather and older sister. When wronged, they naturally turned to their family for justice.
South Gate Park wasn't far from the dormitory, so they arrived in under ten minutes.
"Jet, Droy, go to the boys' dorm and call Natsu and the others down. Levy, head to the girls' dorm and get Mirajane and Erza. I'll wait here with Gajeel."
At George's instructions, the three split up and rushed into the respective dorms.
Soon, angry shouts erupted from both sides as the guild members learned about the attack on Levy's group.
Chaos ensued as everyone armed themselves and stormed downstairs.
"Jet, you're the fastest. Go to Lucy's place and tell Erza and the others to come back. I'll find the Master. We might have a big operation tonight!"
Even the usually gentle Mirajane wore a rare expression of fury. After giving Jet his orders, a pair of demonic wings sprouted from her back, and she flew off toward East Forest.
"So it's true."
Watching Mirajane's demon wings as she flew away, George's expression turned thoughtful.
Listening to gossip in the guild hall every noon, he had heard rumors about Mirajane.
The most shocking one was that the sweet, gentle big sister—who often teared up because of Natsu and Gray's antics—was actually an S-class mage.
Supposedly, Mirajane had once rivaled Erza in strength, a rebellious girl who loved challenging her.
Her magic hadn't been the Transformation Magic she used now but the most terrifying form of Take Over—Demon Soul, which allowed her to fuse with demons in battle.
After a mission led to her sister's death, her personality changed drastically. She became the person she was now, abandoning Demon Soul and transitioning into a support role for the guild.
But the aura and magical power she had briefly unleashed in her anger just now were unmistakably beyond that of an ordinary mage.
So the rumors might not be false after all.
"So this is Phantom Lord's Gajeel? He actually ambushed our Levy? When he wakes up, we'll beat him so badly even his guild master won't recognize him!"
After Mirajane left, the Fairy Tail mages glared at the floating Gajeel, practically salivating at the thought of tearing him apart.
If not for their pride as mages—and the fact that Gajeel was currently defenseless—they would've already attacked.
Petite, kind-hearted Levy was incredibly popular among the guild's male mages.
"Levy, I never thought you guys could defeat Phantom Lord's ace, Gajeel. Looks like you've gotten a lot stronger!"
Once everyone had calmed down a bit, the guild's resident intelligence expert—a bucktoothed mage—looked at Levy with admiration.
(End of Chapter)