Façade | Jerza

12 | Prelude to Battle

The wizard summoned a sword in his right hand, raising it so it was just above Natsu's neck. "Say goodbye, Salamander."

Before the blade reached his neck, Totomaru was ambushed from behind and flew away from the Dragon Slayer. He felt Jellal's weight on his back, followed with a hiss, registering that the Wizard Saint had kneed him.

Jellal gracefully landed on both feet and got up, turning to the lacrima about to fire Jupiter. "I hope you don't mind if I destroy it."

"Ten seconds until Jupiter fires."

The Phantom Lord mage groaned heavily, standing up with frivolous effort. Totomaru grit his teeth as he replied, "I very much do mind."

Jellal shot heavenly beams out of his palm. They circled around the giant ball of infused ethernano, destroying the lacrima.

"I suppose I didn't hear you correctly. My bad." Unapologetic he was.

"One second until-" the system's voiceover did not carry out said task. "Jupiter cannot operate. Please try again later."

Gray jumped in alongside Elfman, freezing the member of the Element 4. The control room was out of commission thanks to Jellal's untimely entrance.

Gray expressed his concern when he set eyes on his friend. "Jellal, what are you doing here?"

"To help the guild, obviously."

"But aren't you not allowed to be here? I thought councillors were to remain neutral in a war at all times."

Jellal smiled at Gray's thoughtfulness. "It's alright, the guild's safety is more important than the Magic Council."

Elfman sniffled, "Jellal's the manliest of the men there."

"We still have to take out the other three before Abyss Break's activation is complete. My observations have led me to conclude that Aria is the biggest threat."

Gray nodded, "What's the plan?"

"While the others are fighting Jose's Shades, we need to assign ourselves to a member of the Element 4. Elfman, go with Natsu and team up against Sol. Gray, go against the Rain Woman Juvia. She's the weakest out of the remaining mages. And I'll take care of Aria."

Elfman scanned the room for Natsu, "Let's go, big guy...Natsu?"

Now that the contraption stopped moving thanks to destroying the lacrima controlling it, Jellal's eyes darted to the window, and he came to a dreadful conclusion. "If I had to make a guess, he went after Gajeel."

"Aye, sir!" chimed Happy.

"We have to stop him! That idiot will lose against him!"

"True, and our odds of stopping the Abyss Break are much lower now since Gajeel's not our priority at the moment."

Gray cocked an eyebrow quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"Abyss Break is a small powered by four primary elements that trace back all magic to these common ancestors. The elements are Fire, Water, Air, and Earth Magic. Gajeel does not use any of these elements, nor is he a regular mage. Like Natsu, he's a Dragon Slayer."

"That's why going after Gajeel is pointless," concluded Gray, earning a nod from Jellal. "So you're telling us to attack the remaining of the Element 4?"

"Exactly. Our priority is to stop the Abyss Break from activating. To my knowledge, Gajeel does not have any of the Fairy Tail members captive, which means we can hold off on attacking him."

Mirajane studied Erza's injuries. She was unconsciousness, perhaps uncomfortable. She laid on a wooden table in a small corner of the guildhall that wasn't violated with iron beams.