Shatter the dragon's organs…
Hunt the dragon's soul…
Dragon Slayer Secret Art…"
"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!!!"
Magnolia, inside the cathedral of Kardia—
Unprecedented crimson dragonfire condensed into a blazing sword. The searing heat threatened to incinerate the world itself. The flames wrapped around the pink-haired boy like molten fluid, transforming the surroundings into a world of fire. Unstoppable, unrelenting—it shot forth to pierce through his enemy!
"Natsu! What are you doing?!!"
At the critical moment, a blue figure rushed forward. With both arms braced, Mira blocked the strike head-on. The torrent of dragonfire split around her like water striking stone, creating a hollow corridor of safety that shielded Laxus.
"Move, Mira!!" Natsu's expression was twisted in ferocity, as he forced every last drop of magic from within, pushing the flames harder, determined to break through the obstacle in front of him.
"Why… why are you fighting each other to this extent?!" Mira unleashed her magic, desperately holding the two apart, her voice laced with anguish.
"An opening!!"
Behind her, Laxus's eyes gleamed as he realized the chance before him. He surged forward, lightning crackling around him, striking out like a dragon bursting from its lair.
"You… you want to kill him, don't you?"
A voice, cold and devoid of emotion, suddenly echoed through the hall.
Laxus froze mid-attack. It was as if a thunderbolt had split through his very thoughts. His magic scattered instantly, his strength drained, and he collapsed to the ground, powerless.
At the same time, Natsu's body gave out. Exhausted of magic, he slumped to the floor. Mira's hands dripped with blood, nearly ruined from the strain, but she still glared at Natsu with heavy breaths.
From the cathedral's grand entrance, Paipa walked in step by step. His eyes swept briefly over Natsu, Gajeel, and the others—and in that instant, their injuries vanished as if they'd never existed.
"Gramps!!!" Natsu's face lit up with relief at the sight. As long as Paipa was there, Laxus's scheme could never succeed.
Levy rushed from the corner, panicked and eager to explain before another disaster broke out, "Gramps, during the festival, Laxus suddenly showed up with the Thunder God Tribe… then Natsu tried to stop him…"
"Mm." Paipa only gave a noncommittal hum. He already knew. By the original flow of events, this outburst of Laxus should have happened later.
But his presence had already shifted the course.
"No way…" Mira stared in shock after hearing Levy's account, turning her disbelieving eyes on Laxus. "Laxus… is this true?"
"So what if it is."
Defeated, his entire plan crumbled, Laxus answered her with bitter apathy.
Mira's heart sank, though a shred of hope still lingered. "Then why… why did you tell me to go ask Gramps for help?"
"Because I wanted to lure that old man away, of course. If he's here, how could I carry out my plan?" Laxus replied as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Mira stood frozen, as though struck by lightning herself.
At that moment, a giant dimensional ring opened. Out stepped Lisanna, Mirajane, Edolas Lucy, and one by one, the entire Edolas Fairy Tail.
Because their numbers were large, Mira had chosen the cathedral as the gateway's destination—spacious enough to accommodate everyone, and also perfect for giving this world's Fairy Tail a surprise.
That was why she'd appeared in time to stop Natsu. And why she had no idea what had unfolded before her eyes.
From her perspective, she had walked into Natsu, unleashing a Dragon Slayer secret art with the clear intent to strike down Laxus.
"Sis Mira, what's going on here?" Lisanna asked as she entered. She ignored the shocked, ghost-struck look plastered on her childhood friend Natsu's face and instead walked straight to her sister, full of confusion.
She remembered: her sister and Laxus weren't even close. Why was Mira reacting so strongly to him? Could something have happened during the two years she was gone?
"At first, I didn't intend to ask Gramps to bring you back," Mira confessed, voice heavy with loss. "It was Laxus who told me about his true background. He said Gramps might know a way to revive you… and urged me to seek his help."
Lisanna nodded slowly. So, in a way, she owed her return to Laxus.
But wait—something didn't add up.
She turned and asked directly, "How did you know I was in another world, Laxus?"
He had said earlier that he only wanted to distract Paipa. But that explanation didn't fit. Lisanna hadn't died—she had simply been pulled into Edolas. No one but herself should have known this.
So how could Laxus have been so certain she was in Edolas—and even use it as leverage?
Even Laxus was startled by her sudden reappearance. But quickly, he masked it with a cold laugh, offering no answer.
Mira's doubts deepened. She still hoped it might all be a misunderstanding. Her eyes turned toward Paipa, silently pleading for the truth.
"He was gambling, that's all," Paipa replied calmly. "Betting that his words would be enough to distract me."
The guild members nodded, outwardly accepting the explanation.
But in truth, it wasn't that simple.
While Mira and the others were distracted, Paipa spoke directly into Laxus's mind: "It was the Council who fed you that information, wasn't it?"
"…How did you—?!" Laxus's face blanched in terror. The words slipped out before he realized the trap, and he fell silent, despair crushing him.
A guild civil war was one thing. But colluding with outside powers? That was another matter entirely.
He still clung to the belief that everything he did was for Fairy Tail's sake—to raise it higher, to strengthen it. But if the others learned he had allied with their enemies, even that last shred of conviction would be stripped from him.
No one else seemed to notice.
Mira still hung her head in sorrow. Lisanna moved toward a Natsu who looked as though he'd seen a ghost. Gajeel shifted awkwardly, sneaking wary glances at Paipa. The Edolas Fairy Tail stood frozen, dumbstruck, utterly confused.
The truth was not a story of passion or ideals, but one of politics and power.
Paipa's very existence, as a super-individual, warped the balance of the world. His power brought immense, unseen benefits to Fairy Tail, but at the same time, created formidable enemies.
Those who had once profited under the old order now gathered in resentment, united to protect and reclaim their losses.
When Paipa was forgotten, that alliance dissolved. But once he was remembered, they formed again in an instant, ready to oppose Fairy Tail.
Laxus was merely one of their pawns. His pride, his ambition for the master's seat—it had taken only the slightest push for them to use him.
And as for Lisanna's whereabouts? That had been a mix of deduction and luck.
If Edolas could observe Aslant, then surely the more advanced Aslant could resist and counter-observe in turn. That was why they had long known Mystogan's origin.
High-ranking figures in Aslant already knew of Edolas's existence, and even of the great magic [Soul], a super-subspace technique. With that knowledge, they reevaluated Lisanna's "death."
An ordinary mage—not even S-class—could never perish in such a way that their body and magic fully sublimated into the environment. That fate was reserved for monsters like August.
But by chance, Aslant had detected traces of [Soul] activity at the time of Lisanna's disappearance.
That left only one possibility: she hadn't died, but been drawn into another dimension.
From there, all that remained was a gamble. If it were true, then surely someone like Paipa would be drawn to Edolas in pursuit. That would give Laxus his opening.
If not, then it didn't matter.
Paipa glanced once at Laxus, then turned and left without another word.
"You… you're Lisanna?"
Natsu's face was still frozen in a grotesque expression, his jaw slack, teeth like a shark's, as if the world's logic had collapsed. Seeing another Natsu, Lucy, and Mirajane from Edolas only made his brain shut down further.
"…It's been so long, Natsu, Happy."
With tears streaming down her face, Lisanna threw herself into the arms of her partner and her beloved Exceed.