At the same moment Charles defeated Faust, Jellal had also infiltrated the innermost chamber of the royal palace—the heart of the super-magic Anima system.
He stood before the massive, still-operating magical device, a conflicted expression on his face.
Draining all the magic from Edolas… even though he had resolved to do this long ago, when the time came, he still hesitated.
But that hesitation quickly vanished. Jellal firmly pressed his hand against Anima's control console.
Mystogan was undeniably a genius. A supermassive magical tool normally requiring the highest-level royal technicians—he had reversed its operation all on his own.
Still, this was a spell capable of altering an entire world. It would take some time before it fully activated.
Mystogan exhaled in relief. All that was left was to present himself to the people as a tyrant, and then wait for a new hero to appear.
Just as he thought that, the door was pushed open.
One glance at the newcomer, and Mystogan relaxed.
Lily walked to his side and looked him in the eyes. "Prince, so this is your plan?"
Mystogan froze for a second, then replied, "You've met the Charles from Aslant, haven't you?"
Indeed, Mystogan hadn't shared his entire plan with Lily—he had hidden the part about sacrificing himself.
He feared Lily would try to stop him. After all, Lily had always been one of his candidates for the role of "hero."
But now that Lily had learned the truth from Charles, Mystogan was left wondering how to convince him.
Then he noticed Lily's armor was damaged and bloodstained.
"You're hurt?" Mystogan asked in concern.
Lily shook his head. "His Majesty never trusted me. The army broke away from my command during the march. These wounds are from that moment."
Mystogan frowned. He'd anticipated the king's distrust, but during the capital's chaos, Lily's troops had never appeared.
And Lily had commanded over half of the Magic War Division. As strong as he was, he couldn't have held them all back alone.
Lily saw Mystogan's thoughts and explained, "It was Fairy Tail. They suddenly appeared and helped me delay the Magic War troops."
Mystogan was stunned. Since everyone from Aslant's Fairy Tail was in the capital, Lily must mean Edolas's Fairy Tail.
"As expected of Fairy Tail," Mystogan said. "No matter the world, they're always the same."
In every world, Fairy Tail never lacked the courage to fight.
The massive magical device roared as the reversed Anima began to activate.
Mystogan said, "That's it—it's over."
He glanced at Lily, confused by his composed demeanor.
Lily smiled and said, "Prince, go take a look outside—you'll understand."
Mystogan seemed to sense something and quickly walked out.
The battles in the capital were mostly over, but the city was in chaos. Anima had begun activating, and giant holes had opened across the sky, drawing magic power upward.
Streetlights across the city went dark as their energy sources drained. Even the floating island above began to sink—it really did look like the world was collapsing.
With the magic draining away, panic among the citizens was expected—but Mystogan heard Natsu's voice.
Running across rooftops, Mystogan quickly approached the central district and saw Natsu—wearing some ridiculous curved-horn headpiece and a ragged blanket for a cape.
"I am the Great Demon King Dragneel! The magic of this world now belongs to me!"
He shouted while spouting fire. It looked silly, but to the citizens, it was oddly convincing.
"That's—!"
"It's His Majesty the King!"
Someone recognized the man tied to a post next to Natsu—Faust.
Natsu grinned smugly. "That's right! I've defeated your king! And being the generous Demon King I am, I've spared his life! Wahahaha!"
Seeing the battered Faust only deepened the citizens' panic.
Natsu added fuel to the fire: "My Demon King army—go and destroy the entire city!"
"Who's your underling?! Don't go ordering us around!"
Gray and Gajeel shouted from below, clearly mortified. The others all looked like they wanted to disappear.
Still, to support Mystogan, everyone swallowed their shame and began playing the roles of the Demon King's minions, tearing through the city.
Of course, they only damaged buildings—they didn't harm any civilians. But even that was enough to deepen the public's fear.
Charles leaned against a wall, watching as his guildmates stirred up a storm. Come to think of it, this kind of thing really was Fairy Tail's specialty.
"Wendy, what are you doing? You're not scaring anyone like that—you actually look kind of cute!"
Ed-Charles, sitting across from him, muttered, "I really don't get you people. Why would you do something so childish?"
"Childish?" Charles shook his head. "This is just how Fairy Tail operates."
As they spoke, Mystogan arrived—just in time to hear Natsu reveal his true identity. He immediately tackled Natsu, and the two began punching each other.
"So that's it. This is your plan."
Ed-Charles was smart. He figured it out in an instant.
"And with this… maybe this country really will change."
He looked around at the people beginning to rally behind Mystogan. Despair and fear were already giving way to hope.
Charles glanced at him. "And you? What are you planning to do next?
I'll tell you right now—if you try anything, I won't let you jeopardize Mystogan's future."
Ed-Charles looked at Mystogan, still brawling with Natsu, and replied, "Even without magic, no one in this world can control me. You sure you're okay leaving me here?"
Charles answered, "Ever since I heard there was another me, I've been curious—what kind of person he was, what kind of life he had. So I made an effort to understand.
And you… you hate betrayal so much because you lost someone important to it, didn't you?
You say you don't believe in trust, but deep down you've always known your former comrades still believed in you."
"Shut up!"
Ed-Charles leapt up and grabbed Charles by the scarf, his eyes blazing.
Charles sighed. "You're such a pain. But someone like you… I don't think you'd oppose the world your comrades once hoped to see."
Ed-Charles released him and silently turned, walking into the shadows.
"I'll be watching. If this world strays again… I won't hesitate to destroy it."
Charles said nothing in return. Magic light had already begun to envelop him, drawing him into the sky.
There hadn't been time to say goodbye, but he was sure Mystogan and Fairy Tail of this world would be just fine.
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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