Chapter 292: Everyone's Happy, Right?
"Gwahaha! I am the Dragon who destroys everything!"
Natsu roared, spewing fire as he swung around in the air.
"Wh-Whoa! Amazing!"
"Is that a real dragon?!"
"I... I can't breathe..."
"Me neither..."
"I'm scared!"
The audience felt the temperature rise, and the overwhelming pressure made their hearts pound.
Even though they knew they were in a theater watching a play, the sheer intensity made them momentarily forget reality. They could only stare dumbfounded at the "dragon" flying before them.
"If it's come to this, we have no choice but to join forces!"
Gray looked conflicted for a moment, then turned to suggest this to Erza.
"Oh... O-Oh... That... sounds wonderful!"
Erza responded in her stilted, robotic manner.
"You're the one who summoned him!"
"What kind of plot twist is this?!"
The audience couldn't hold back their tsukkomis anymore, shouting over the pressure filling the theater.
"I will hold him off! You two run!"
Lucy waved her arm dramatically, shouting her line.
"Hey! What are you saying, Princess?!"
The audience retorted again.
"Right!"
"W-We're saved!"
Hearing Lucy's cue, Gray and Erza turned and ran away with perfectly synchronized movements.
"They just ran?!"
"Hey... this play... is pretty terrible, isn't it?"
"It's not just regular terrible..."
The audience buzzed with criticism.
"This mascot costume... is so heavy..."
Happy, straining to hold Natsu aloft, complained.
Suddenly, his grip on the rope slipped.
"Ah..."
"Gah?"
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Happy, Natsu, and Lucy cried out simultaneously. Lucy scrambled to dodge.
Natsu, in his heavy dragon costume, plummeted from the ceiling, crashing onto the stage and smashing the scenery and floorboards.
"!!!"
The audience gasped, shocked by the sudden accident.
Dust billowed from the stage, obscuring everything.
"Cough! Cough!"
As the dust settled, Lucy stopped coughing. She realized something was wrong. Looking down, she saw the hem of her dress was on fire, the flames spreading rapidly.
"WAAAAHHH!!! Gray! Help! Ice! Ice!"
Lucy screamed, running toward backstage.
"Got it! Ice—Gah!"
Gray took a stance to cast magic, but suddenly, a foot stomped on his head, driving him into the ground.
Erza used Gray's head as a springboard, leaping into the air with her sword raised.
"Not happening."
Noah, who had been mentally commenting on Erza and Gray's swift retreat, was momentarily stunned by Natsu's fall. But he reacted quickly to Erza's next move. Knowing exactly what she was about to do (cut Lucy's clothes off to save her), he waved his hand.
Four wooden panels shot up around Erza and Lucy, completely blocking them from view.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The sound of a blade cutting through air echoed from behind the panels. Erza's strikes hit the wood, but Noah had reinforced them with enough magic to withstand her assault.
Estimating she was done, Noah lowered the panels.
As expected, Lucy's princess dress lay in tatters on the floor. Lucy herself was now wrapped in Erza's green cape.
"Aww..."
The audience, realizing what had just happened (and what they had missed), sighed in disappointment. The men looked particularly crestfallen.
Noah rolled his eyes. Like he'd let a bunch of strangers ogle a female guild member. especially with her parents right there in the audience.
"Princess... a-are... are... you... okay?"
Erza asked Lucy with a serious expression.
"How can you still be in character when the play is this messed up?!" Lucy retorted without missing a beat.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! That hurt!"
Natsu, still stuck in the floorboards from his fall, couldn't take it anymore. Tears in his eyes, he opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of fire.
As he thrashed his head back and forth, the flamethrower breath swept across the entire theater.
Seeing this, Noah leaped from backstage. He waved his hand toward the audience, casting a protective barrier over everyone to shield them from Natsu's rampage.
"Stop it, Natsu!"
Gray fired his Ice-Make magic at Natsu to stop him.
"YAAAAH!"
Instead of stopping, Natsu got even more fired up, spewing flames even more intensely.
Still wearing the mascot costume, he started brawling with Gray. Fire and ice flew everywhere.
"S-Since... it has come to this... t-then... I will eliminate you all!"
Erza watched the fight. Her stuttering disappeared halfway through the sentence, replaced by fluent aggression.
She raised her sword and charged into the fray, joining the battle between Natsu and Gray.
The audience was stunned by the sudden chaos.
Then they saw fire, ice, and sword beams flying all over the theater. Some projectiles even headed straight for them.
Terrified, they squeezed their eyes shut and cowered.
But after a moment, they realized they weren't hurt. They opened their eyes to find a faint barrier protecting them.
The attacks struck the barrier but failed to penetrate.
Realizing they were safe, the audience's mood shifted instantly.
Fear turned into excitement.
They had never experienced anything this thrilling. Safe inside their shields, they sat back and enjoyed the spectacular brawl unfolding before them.
"It's total chaos!" Lucy screamed, clutching her head. "And... I have a really bad feeling about this..."
She looked around the theater, trembling. A sense of impending doom washed over her.
Noah nodded in agreement.
He had planned to stop the fight after shielding the audience, but seeing their excitement, he paused. Since they were enjoying it, he decided to let it play out a bit longer.
CRACK!
Suddenly, a loud noise came from above. Noah looked up to see a crack appearing in the ceiling, growing rapidly.
"Ah... crap."
Noah slapped his forehead. He quickly expanded his barrier to cover the entire structural integrity of the theater—or what was left of it.
Then, the theater split open. Literally. Right down the middle.
Supported by Noah's barrier, the building cracked open like an egg, exposing the stage and the audience to the bright sunlight outside.
"I knew it!" Lucy cried, tears streaming down her face.
"Oh my, oh my!" Master Bob held his cheek, laughing delightedly.
"I knew this would happen!" Makarov looked like he wanted to cry.
"Maru, you should really retire soon," Yajima advised him again, more certain than ever that Makarov wouldn't survive the stress.
"My, my. Just as expected," Mirajane giggled.
"I knew waiting this long to see them perform wouldn't be a waste!" Sorano laughed happily. She had predicted this outcome perfectly.
"Natsu and the others sure are energetic," Ultear commented.
"Brother Natsu..." Wendy watched the brawl with worry.
"Lucy and her friends seem to be having fun," Layla laughed, chatting with Ur.
"Indeed. They're very lively," Ur nodded in agreement.
Jude listened to them with a speechless expression. Obviously, the performance was a disaster. But seeing Lucy so full of energy brought a smile to his face too. As long as she was happy and healthy, that was enough.
"YEAAAAAHHH!!!"
While Lucy stood despondently amidst the ruins, a roar of approval erupted from behind her. She turned to look at the remaining audience seating.
The audience wasn't scared. They were ecstatic.
"That was awesome!"
"Amazing!"
"Hahahaha!"
"I've never seen a play like this!"
"Incredible!"
"Prince Frederick!"
Thunderous applause filled the open-air theater. Lucy could feel their genuine enthusiasm.
"Everyone's happy, so isn't that enough?"
Noah said to Lucy, then turned toward the brawling trio. "Let me join in too!"
Brilliant light effects illuminated the entire venue. Noah launched attacks at Erza, Natsu, and Gray simultaneously.
A dazzling galaxy of stars, created by Noah's magic, filled the space. The audience went wild.
"So beautiful!"
"This is great!"
"Wonderful!"
"I love this!"
The cheers grew even louder.
"I guess so," Lucy laughed.
~~~
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