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"I am August, leader of the Spriggan Twelve. By order of His Majesty, I have come to receive you. May I ask which one of you is Guild Master George?"
Magic King August, holding a staff and dressed in an ornate robe, floated down from the imperial airship and appeared opposite the Golden Dragon.
George dispelled the Golden Dragon's defensive barrier with a wave of his hand and flew toward August, spreading his wings.
"I am George, Guild Master of Fairy Tail."
"Please follow me to the capital. His Majesty is willing to receive you in the royal palace," August replied with a warm smile, though his eyes were filled with subtle curiosity.
He hadn't expected that the mage powerful enough to project his voice from the coastline to the capital would turn out to be... a little golden cat.
Still, he remained cautious—his instincts told him this cat was far from ordinary. The magical array that had protected the airship was exceptional.
The imperial commander had just reported that their airships had launched a sustained full-power bombardment, and it hadn't even left a scratch.
And yet, under his own pressure, this cat didn't flinch.
"No problem. Please lead the way, sir," George nodded, then returned to the Golden Dragon.
On the deck, the Fairy Tail mages looked up at August floating in the air, all with heavy expressions.
None of them were weak, so they could clearly sense the overwhelming pressure coming from his immense magical power.
"The Spriggan Twelve... they're no joke."
Gildarts crossed his arms and muttered with a sigh. Even he felt tremendous pressure from August—let alone the others.
"Why... do I feel such familiarity when I look at him? It's like I've seen him somewhere before."
In her ghostly form, Mavis sat on the mast, gazing at August with a puzzled look.
Anna, who hailed from four hundred years ago, also found herself filled with complex feelings.
She couldn't help but admire how much richer the magical energy of this future era had become—powerful enough to produce such astonishing mages.
At the same time, she wondered if Zeref had founded the Alvarez Empire for the purpose of uniting the Western Continent's strength to defeat the Black Dragon.
"Pressure can be a great motivator—this might actually be a good thing."
George silently took note of everyone's reactions but didn't say anything more.
Aside from Gildarts and Jellal, even Laxus wasn't quite at the same level yet. A bit of pressure would help push their growth.
With August's airship leading the way, no other imperial vessels dared block them, and the Golden Dragon arrived smoothly at the empire's capital—Vistalion.
"What a huge city!"
Seeing the colossal city ahead—more than ten times larger than the capital of Fiore—the Fairy Tail members couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment.
It made sense. The Kingdom of Fiore was the most powerful nation in the Eastern Continent, but it was still just a kingdom.
Alvarez, on the other hand, was an empire that had unified the entire Western Continent for over a hundred years. The scale was on a different level.
"Shrink!"
Once they landed, George shrunk the Golden Dragon back into a palm-sized object and stored it in his re-equip space. August, who had been silently watching, murmured inwardly:
"Magic that alters object size... somewhat similar to Brandish's morph magic. So this is the guild my mother founded... as expected, it's extraordinary."
While Fairy Tail's members were observing him and the empire, August was also observing them.
Back when his mother, Mavis, died from Zeref's curse, he had already been conceived—granting him vast magical power from birth.
After being separated from the crystal by Fairy Tail's second guild master, he was abandoned—only to unexpectedly encounter his father, Zeref.
Because he resembled Mavis, Zeref took him in and brought him to the Western Continent.
So he had always known about the Fairy Tail guild. If his father hadn't desired Fairy Heart, he wouldn't have wanted to oppose the guild his mother had created.
Upon entering the city, they followed the wide stone streets and soon arrived at the magnificent royal palace. Just before reaching the palace doors, the group came to an abrupt halt.
From within the palace, twelve distinct and overwhelmingly powerful magical signatures radiated outward.
Among them, one in particular stood out—a terrifying aura that exuded death itself.
It felt as though it could take your life at any moment.
"That's Zeref's aura. He's really here!"
Anna immediately recognized the familiar energy.
"Although... it feels different than before. Like something is missing."
Four hundred years ago, Zeref's magic, though steeped in death, didn't feel cold. But now... his magic felt like an ancient, icy glacier.
"Zeref, what are you planning?"
The ghostly Mavis stared at the palace with a complicated expression.
"Why do I feel like I can't breathe...?"
Lucy, being the weakest among them, trembled slightly from the intense pressure, even before entering the palace.
And it wasn't just her—Natsu and the others also seemed to struggle with each step forward.
Only Gildarts and Jellal appeared relatively unfazed.
"Looks like Zeref isn't the only one here—the rest of the Spriggan Twelve must be present too."
George took the lead, walking at the front. Suddenly, his terrifying magical power exploded outward, blasting away the oppressive pressure pouring from the palace and instantly relieving the group.
Though he hadn't taken his dragon form, the magical power he had cultivated through countless incarnations across worlds had already reached the pinnacle of this world's mages—even in his cat form.
"President's power... it's grown so much in just one year!"
Natsu and the others were shaken by the magic George had just released.
They had known George was strong, but in their minds, his strength was still stuck at the level he'd been a year ago—when he took the century-long quest to the Northern Continent.
Back then, his power was only slightly above that of Gildarts and Jellal.
But now—it was clearly on a whole different level.
Equally surprised was August, who was walking ahead of them.
The burst of power George had just unleashed to break through the suppression—it was even greater than his own.
Though magic power alone doesn't determine a mage's overall strength, it did say a lot.
It now seemed George's magical strength far exceeded his original assessment.
But it wasn't a serious concern. No matter how powerful George was, he still wasn't a match for the Spriggan Twelve.
Especially with his father present.
If they couldn't persuade Zeref, then chances were—they were all destined to die here.
After all, most of the Spriggan Twelve were eager for war, hoping to conquer the Eastern Continent, claim Fairy Heart for Zeref, and earn his favor.
(End of Chapter)