"You two did great."

Makarov approached Marco and Laxus, speaking these words.

But truth be told, the situation developing this way was something Makarov hadn't anticipated.

He felt a sense of powerlessness as events slipped beyond his control—everything had happened far too suddenly.

Jose Porla was desperate for revenge, Laxus was eager to prove himself and Marco couldn't stand watching Laxus being overpowered by Jose.

The battle erupted swiftly and escalated rapidly in intensity until reaching this irreconcilable state.

They had come here simply to demand Jose to hand over Totomaru, who had already gained their recognition and was willing to become their comrade.

Yet somehow, they ended up in this unexpected fight.

Jose Porla's madness had destroyed half of Oak Town.

If not for him and Marco holding back, the other half would likely have been affected too—this was truly an unforeseen accident.

Of course, unexpected as it was, Marco and Laxus defeating Jose was still commendable.

Regardless of whether Jose was at his best this time, Makarov hadn't intervened during the battle, only stepping in afterward to protect the town.

This victory was indisputable.

It wouldn't be long before news of this battle spread.

When it did, Marco and Laxus would both gain fame together.

Moreover, Marco's previous achievements would be brought up again for people to relish.

All of Jose and Phantom Lord's recent efforts to dispel rumors would prove futile.

"I hope Totomaru is alright."

Looking at the collapsed Phantom Lord guild hall, Marco quietly offered a prayer for Totomaru.

They had come to take him away—it would be terrible if they ended up harming him instead.

"He should be fine... probably."

Makarov wasn't entirely certain either, given how severely the Phantom Lord guild hall had collapsed.

If Totomaru had run fast enough, he might have escaped with his life.

But if he was still being restrained, then he was truly done for.

There was no helping it—the guild hall was the closest building to the battlefield and naturally suffered the worst damage.

Positioned behind Jose Porla, there had been no way to protect it.

In a way, the guild hall had actually shielded the buildings behind it.

The structures directly behind were noticeably more intact than those on either side, meaning its destruction served some purpose by helping Jose Porla cause slightly less damage.

"If that guy couldn't escape, then he wasn't worthy of joining us anyway."

Laxus's words were merciless.

He didn't know Totomaru at all—if someone couldn't even survive the aftermath of a battle, what was the point of recruiting them into the guild?

They'd just be another deadweight holding the guild back.

In Laxus's view, the guild should only have members like him and Marco.

Then they wouldn't just be Fiore's top guild—they'd be the number one guild in all of Ishgar!

Of course, there wasn't actually any official ranking system for magic guilds across the entire Ishgar continent.

If there were, perhaps "Fairy Tail" would already be in first place.

After all, although the Kingdom of Fiore occupies only a small part of the entire Ishgar continent, it boasts the highest number of Magic Guilds on the entire landmass, making it a true paradise for mages.

In the Kingdom of Fiore, even in cities primarily focused on fishing or tourism, or where the magical atmosphere isn't particularly strong, at least one in ten people possess the basic magical power to use magical tools.

This is truly a nation of mages.

Of course, this proportion refers to "cities."

The urban population in the Kingdom of Fiore is relatively small, while rural areas are mostly inhabited by "Muggles."

Although the number of registered mages in Fiore is considerable, having one in ten of its nearly twenty million population be mages would be somewhat exaggerated.

"Don't say that, Laxus. Totomaru is quite strong—a very capable fire mage."

Marco defended Totomaru.

Even within their guild, Totomaru could be considered an elite mage, especially excelling against fire mages, making him nearly invincible against those of the same attribute.

"So what? Should we dig him out?"

Looking at the pile of rubble, Laxus curled his lip.

"Of course we'll dig. Not just to save him, but half of Oak Town needs rescuing. Who knows how many people were affected?"

Makarov took over, issuing his instructions.

The priority was naturally to do their best in rescuing Oak Town.

They couldn't just walk away—they had to help however they could.

Moreover, the "Magic Council" would likely arrive soon, and they'd need to properly explain the situation.

This time, they weren't the ones causing destruction; rather, they had protected half of Oak Town from the crazed Jose Porla.

"Actually, it might not have caused much impact. Once the battle escalated, the residents of Oak Town probably evacuated long ago." Marco added to Makarov's point.

The residents of Oak Town undoubtedly had that level of awareness.

Oak Town, as a historically significant magical city even within the kingdom of Fiore, had residents who instinctively knew when to seek refuge.

It was ingrained in their bones.

Take Magnolia, for example—it even had a dedicated "Gildarts Mode."

Cities without any emergency measures against magical attacks wouldn't last long in the Kingdom of Fiore, and people with insufficient danger awareness wouldn't survive for long either.

"That... does make some sense." Makarov's lips twitched, but he nodded.

Marco's words might sound a bit outrageous, but they did align with Fiore's national circumstances.

After all, this country was unique—while it had the most Magic Guilds, it also had the most Dark Guilds.

And those Dark Mages from Dark Guilds, the magical beasts in the mountains, even "demons," could threaten the city safety.

Naturally, everyone's sense of security would be heightened.

This also explains why the members of "Fairy Tail" often cause destruction in town without injuring anyone—partly because they're careful themselves and partly because the residents everywhere have strong instincts for self-preservation.

"Jose Porla. What should we do with him?"

Marco looked at Jose Porla, who remained motionless on his knees.

"Let's detain him first. We'll hand him over to the Magic Council later—they should arrive soon enough." Makarov spoke up.

Given the scale of the commotion here, even if the Magic Council were deaf, they would've noticed by now.

However, Makarov wasn't sure if the Magic Council even had an office in this city.

But at this point, it didn't matter—if there had been one, it was likely already flattened by Jose Porla's explosions.

"I hope no one was hurt." Makarov offered a quick prayer for the Magic Council members.

Their assistance would still be needed for the cleanup afterward.

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