Chapter 58: Battle of Fairy Tail, The Beginning of the Duel (4)
"Heh… not bad, Freed, not bad at all. You and those Thunder God fools!"
"This isn't the time to be impressed, Natsu! Reedus went out to fetch medicine to cure the petrification!"
"Cure it? Tch, that was all a bluff."
"You really think it's a bluff, Natsu?"
Inside the guild hall, the number of participants had dropped like flies. From nearly forty left, only eight remained.
While Natsu burned with the will to fight, impressed by the Thunder God Tribe's strength, Laxus's voice echoed again throughout the guild.
"Laxus!"
"It's just a projection!"
A thought-body appeared, manifesting Laxus inside the guild. He looked at Natsu with mild surprise, raising a brow.
Natsu—who was always the first to charge into any fight—still hadn't left the guild. To Laxus, it was unexpected.
"…And why are you still here, Natsu?"
"Shut up! I can't get out, that's why!"
"…Laxus…"
Laxus quickly lost interest. If Natsu couldn't leave, he wasn't worth the attention. Ignoring his protests, Laxus turned toward Makarov.
"Old man. Or should I say—you used to call them 'our children.' Does it not tear at you, watching them shed blood against each other?"
"..."
"With Natsu and Erza both out of the picture, there's no one left who can take down the Thunder God Tribe, is there?"
"There's still Gajeel!"
"Too bad~~ Looks like he hasn't even joined in. That guy never cared about this guild anyway."
"I'm still here!!"
"You can't even get out of the building, Natsu. What use are you?"
While the bickering continued, the battle count dropped again. Only three remained.
Makarov's face darkened. At last, he exhaled heavily and looked squarely at Laxus's projection. His heart ached. Pride meant nothing if it came at the cost of his children bleeding each other dry.
"I surrender. That's enough, Laxus."
"Master!!"
"Don't be absurd… the mighty Master of Fairy Tail, surrendering over something this trivial? No. If you want this battle to end, then hand me your title. Make me the Master of Fairy Tail."
Makarov had believed his surrender would end it all. But Laxus's ambitions were clear—he ignored the declaration and pressed on with his true purpose.
"You coward! Afraid to fight me head on, huh?!" Natsu barked.
"So that's it… this was your aim from the very start…" Makarov realized, his voice heavy.
Yes. It had always been Laxus's plan. To weed out the weak. To reshape Fairy Tail into a guild of only the strongest wizards. To prove himself the rightful successor.
In his eyes, Fairy Tail needed a master who ruled by survival of the fittest—himself, not the gentle hand of Makarov.
"The statues will crumble in an hour and a half. Think it over well, old man."
"Despicable…!"
"If you want to forfeit, announce it through the guild's amplifier. Let the whole town hear you say it: that you hand over Fairy Tail's master seat to me. Decide what matters more—your position, or their lives."
"Wait!!" Natsu roared, but Laxus's thought-body vanished, leaving nothing but the sting of his words behind.
Natsu's fist struck empty air where Laxus had been. Useless.
Makarov closed his eyes briefly, then opened them, his voice grave.
"To be frank, the Master's seat itself means little to me."
"What do you mean, 'means little'?!" Natsu barked.
"But Fairy Tail can never be entrusted to Laxus. He's too reckless, too immature. His conviction isn't firm. His heart isn't steady."
"But if things go on like this… everyone will crumble to dust—"
"Tch! Isn't there anyone who can take down Laxus?!"
"There is—me!!"
Now, only Natsu and Makarov remained inside the guild, both trapped, both unable to leave. Two useless pawns left behind.
As the two of them bickered in desperation, Happy perked up at a faint rustling sound from the corner of the bar. His ears twitched, and he pointed frantically.
"Natsu! Master! Over there—someone's here!!"
"What?!"
"Who could it be?"
All eyes turned toward the bar counter. Bits of scrap metal clattered to the floor as a figure emerged—long black hair, heavy piercings, and a kettle of iron clenched between his teeth.
"Gajeel!"
"Stop eating the kettle!!"
At that moment, Gajeel's appearance felt like a ray of light in their hopeless situation.
He vaulted over the bar and sauntered forward, Makarov's face lighting up with relief as he quickly asked,
"C… Could it be—you'll fight in our stead?"
Gajeel flashed a toothy grin, walking confidently toward the door.
"Heh. I owe that bastard anyway. Leave it to me."
"Ooooh!!"
Makarov's eyes gleamed with hope. At last, a fighter strong enough to stand against Laxus. Surely, with Gajeel, they had a chance.
Gajeel, too, was brimming with resolve—ready to repay the beating Laxus had given him in the past. Every step toward the door carried the weight of that grudge.
But then—
Thud!
"O–Ogh?!"
"...."
"...."
"...."
"What the hell—what is this?!"
[You too?]
Piiii—
The invisible barrier stopped him cold. The same runic wall that trapped Natsu and Makarov repelled Gajeel mercilessly.
His grand entrance, his vow for vengeance, ended in humiliation.
Which meant—the last of Fairy Tail's fighting strength had already been erased.
Only two useless dragon slayers remained inside—unable to even reach the battlefield.
The crushing realization left Makarov and Happy collapsing to the floor, pale with defeat.
"N… No… so that means… I wasn't even counted as a fighter in the first place…?"
"And I don't even count as part of the headcount?!"
Fairy Tail's wizards—fallen one after another, defeated not only by the Thunder God Tribe but by each other. Every last one had been eliminated.
All that remained were two dragon slayers shackled by runes, unable to act.
No hope. No moves left.
Makarov's heart sank. Perhaps the only option now… was surrender.
But then—
"Guess there's no choice… Let's bring Erza back!!"
"What did you just say?!"
"Hah, and here I thought I'd finally get the chance to show off to her…"
Natsu clenched his fists and began stomping toward the petrified statues on stage.
Makarov's eyes widened.
"W–Wait! Stop right there! Just what do you think you're planning…?!"
"If I burn her, the stone'll melt, right?!"
"Don't you dare!!"
The petrified girls had been turned completely to stone, through and through.
This wasn't wax that could simply be melted—so Makarov roared in protest, trying desperately to stop Natsu.
But Natsu refused to give up.
Ignoring the old master's words, he summoned flames to his hands and began pressing them against Erza's stone body.
"We won't know until we try!"
"I know, I know! But don't do something so reckless! Do you want to kill Erza?!"
"Natsu! Don't grope her with fire!!"
"…Why do your hands look so… erotic?"
"I learned it from Ciel."
As Natsu continued searing her stone form, everyone gasped in horror as a crack split across Erza's forehead.
Instead of melting, her stone shell began to break apart—if they weren't careful, she would die.
"This is bad! She's cracking apart! Quick, get some glue! Happy, glue!!"
"Aye!!"
"You idiot! Glue won't work! Let me melt my iron with your flames and weld it back together!!"
"You fools—!!"
Despite their frantic "emergency care," fissures spread all across Erza's stone body, shards beginning to flake away.
Natsu dropped to his knees, palms pressed together, apologizing frantically.
But then—the unbelievable happened.
The petrification shattered completely, and Erza's body emerged, alive.
Feeling the heat burning on her skin, she instantly reeled back and swung her fist straight into Natsu's jaw.
"It's hot… Natsu! Was it you, you idiot?! What the hell were you thinking?!"
"Guhhhhaaack!!"
"Erza's back!!"
"Erza… but how…?"
At Makarov's question, Erza covered her right eye with her hand.
"I'm not entirely sure myself… but it may be because of this right eye."
Long ago, she had lost her right eye in the Tower of Heaven.
Feeling pity, Makarov had begged Porlyusica to craft a magical prosthetic eye for her.
It seemed that artificial eye had reduced the effect of the petrification magic, sparing her.
"Erza… do you understand the situation?"
"Yes. I heard everything."
With Erza revived, Makarov's heart blazed with hope again.
Finally—an opponent strong enough to face Laxus had returned.
The time for counterattack had come.
"…So the count of remaining members has changed with my revival."
She looked up at the glowing runes above the guild doors: Remaining: 3.
The precision of Laxus's game drew a grudging remark from her lips.
"He really went to great lengths…"
"Three left… that must mean you, Natsu, and Gajeel."
But then—suddenly, the number shifted.
3 → 5.
Everyone froze in shock.
All of Fairy Tail had already been wiped out.
Only Erza had returned, while the rest remained stone statues upon the stage.
So who… who were the other two?
"The count increased."
"Who is it?!"
"Everyone's… still petrified, then who in the world…?"
"Hmph… looks like that man has finally joined the fray."
Erza scoffed under her breath.
There was still one wizard of Fairy Tail outside the town—a candidate for Fairy Tail's strongest, Mystogan. It could only be him who had entered the battle.
But even she couldn't guess who the other mystery survivor was.
With the roster suddenly restored to three fighters, the Battle of Fairy Tail announced its restart.
....
South Gate of Magnolia.
"…What in the world is that supposed to be…?"
"Master Bob's… gravure poses…?!"
"Looks like a wizard, but… which guild is he from?"
"In this town? It has to be Fairy Tail…"
At the southern gate, Mystogan appeared, dragging along the coffin—and immediately drew jeers and ridicule from the townsfolk.
The reason was obvious: the coffin he was pulling was decorated with statues of Master Bob in his infamous gravure poses.
"My god… I can't watch this anymore."
"Inside the town, Fairy Tail's wizards are beating each other bloody, and outside? Some pervert parades a coffin mocking the dead…"
"Fairy Tail really has gone downhill, hasn't it?"
"Yeah… back when Ciel was around, they at least acted proper…"
"Tch, tch, tch…"
Mystogan's face flushed red as he endured the laughter, dragging the coffin onward toward Kardia Cathedral.
Before entering town, he had already been briefed on the situation by Ciel—where Laxus was, and what had happened.
Ciel had asked Mystogan to guide him to Kardia Cathedral, insisting he would face Laxus himself.
Mystogan had only meant to act as a porter, but with things this dire, how could he leave Ciel alone to fight?
Especially when Ciel's body still looked too fragile to move.
At the very least, he would buy the time.
That's what Mystogan told himself… but all the while, shame, humiliation, self-loathing, and rage boiled inside him.
And with every step, he cursed both Laxus and Ciel.
"…I should have just abandoned this thing at the town gates… Damn that Laxus… damn that Ciel… I'll repay this humiliation one day. I swear it…"
What made it worse was the coffin itself.
Just earlier, Ciel had been walking beside him in spirit, laughing at his misery. But now, sealed silently inside the coffin, Ciel gave no response at all.
Appearing only when no one else was around, mocking him, and vanishing again—such was his "master."
Mystogan clenched his jaw. One day, he would repay this humiliation in full.
Bearing the shame like a cross, Mystogan dragged the bizarre coffin step by step toward Kardia Cathedral.
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