Coco.
Stepping out of the palace, Byro shouted. Before long, a plume of dust rose in the distance.
"In!"
A lively girl skidded to a halt before him, body leaning almost forty-five degrees against her running momentum. She straightened immediately, giving a crisp military salute. Her outfit, oddly enough, reminded one of a rabbit.
"I have a mission for you."
"Yes, Lord Byro." Coco's posture tensed, her expression turning serious at once.
"Gather a squad of royal guards. Remember, this mission must remain secret. Even if the Magic War Division asks, you are not to say a word." Byro's expression grew grave, his tone weighted with importance.
"Understood!" Coco looked slightly confused, but replied with full obedience.
After giving her a few more instructions, Byro dismissed her.
"Another command from His Majesty?"
Not long after Coco left, Knightwalker emerged from another corridor. From afar, she had seen Byro giving Coco instructions and asked casually.
"Just some preparations to welcome the prince," Byro answered naturally, his demeanor completely different from before. Unlike with Coco, he spoke without the heavy gravity, as though it were nothing special.
"The prince? You mean that Jellal who vanished seven years ago? If I recall, the king once declared he no longer had such a son." Knightwalker's tone carried amusement.
"Times change. In His Majesty's visions, the prince seems to play some important role. So even the king must give him due attention."
"And for that, you deceived a naïve little girl." Knightwalker's voice turned more mocking.
"Yes. If Coco cannot handle this mission, then she is unfit to remain in the royal palace." Byro knew his aide well.
Kind—far too kind. So kind, she sometimes disregarded her position.
Once, such a nature was no fault. Back when the kingdom crushed all other nations, the kingdom represented justice and order itself. Naturally, Coco would side with them.
Such a sunny, innocent presence was like a ray of light, even for a worm like him, crawling in the shadows, making him want to protect her.
But now? Things were different.
The domestic rebellion was no longer a real concern. Not even the exalted Exceed were worth fearing.
The true threat was from another world—Aslant. That immense, powerful realm would soon bear down upon them. And as the weak, they had only one choice: to hide in the dark.
If Coco could not hold her ground on the battlefield, then it would be better to cast her out of the inner circle—let her be used merely as a contact with Jellal.
"Pedantic." Knightwalker sneered, though whether she meant Byro wasn't ruthless enough or something else, she didn't clarify.
"Say what you will." Byro brushed off her remark, then added as if recalling something, "Since you already know, I'll trouble Captain Erza to shadow the unit. Just in case anything unexpected happens."
"Fine. I, too, would like to see what this so-called prince is really like." Knightwalker smiled, clearly intrigued.
Meanwhile—
The prince of Edolas, Jellal—or rather, Mystogan—was within one of Pai Pai's Seven Realms: the Realm of Manifested Heart-Voice.
[Entity has vanished.]
"That's impossible! Master Pai Pai couldn't have just…" Mystogan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Please, this is really important. Could you check again? I truly must meet him!"
After leaving the Fairy Tail guild, the turbulence in the [Anima] had suddenly calmed. Mystogan was left utterly baffled by the bizarre development. He barely managed to appease Fairy Tail's curiosity and then obtained Pai Pai's contact information from Makarov.
But at the crucial moment, no one answered. The tablet on the other end remained silent.
Helpless, Mystogan had come to Pai Pai's residence instead.
[Entity has vanished.]
The ethereal voice remained as impassive as ever.
[If he isn't here, where else could he be?]
No answer came.
Mystogan began piecing things together, sketching diagrams in his mind. First, a circle for Edolas—marked "low magic."
Then another circle for Magnolia—marked "rich magic."
Between them, a channel: [Anima], with the function of siphoning magic.
Inside each circle, he marked individuals—Faust and Sugarboy for Edolas, Makarov and Fairy Tail for Aslant.
On a massive scale, the balance barely tilted toward Edolas. But with one additional factor added, the scales tipped violently in Magnolia's favor.
Even if Fairy Tail and the Magnolia government were removed from the equation, the disturbance in the [Anima] still resolved itself.
This could only mean… even if it were just Pai Pai alone against the entirety of Edolas, the balance still tipped toward him.
Which led to one chilling conclusion—Pai Pai had gone to Edolas.
"This is bad. I must return at once." Mystogan's hair stood on end.
He had intended to help Aslant deal with [Anima], yes. But all his actions were based on one premise: that doing so would benefit Edolas.
Better to destroy the old world and rebuild order from its ruins than to let Edolas leech off other realms.
That was his philosophy.
But now—if someone as overwhelmingly powerful and possibly malevolent as Pai Pai entered Edolas…
Mystogan dared not imagine the chaos it would unleash.
In Edolas—
A small town, the mayor's mansion.
The black Exceed reclined comfortably as human attendants massaged him.
While sneering at human corruption and weakness, he nevertheless indulged in their service with a look of utter satisfaction.
Suddenly, a soldier rushed in with news. The Exceed jumped to his feet.
"What did you say? A large force of kingdom troops is marching here?"
"Yes, my lord. They are advancing quickly."
"Excellent, excellent! I was just fretting over boredom, and they deliver themselves to me." The black Exceed's eyes gleamed with excitement. Long streaks of victories and glory had numbed him to everything else.
He even believed that simply showing his face would make the kingdom's soldiers flee in terror.
Every report of the kingdom's defeats, every tale of their retreat filled Ellis with envy. He blamed it all on bad luck—had he been on the frontlines, he was certain he would've achieved even greater glory.
He dreamed of entering the palace of Extania, winning the queen's favor, and basking in divine destiny.
Now, the opportunity had come.
"Follow me! Let those wretched vermin learn the meaning of divine might!" Spreading his wings, Ellis soared ahead.
"Yes, my lord!" His subordinates echoed his zeal, seizing their magitech weapons and charging out. They didn't even bother to form ranks.
Nor were they alone. Civilians, driven by their faith in the Exceed, by promises of the rebellion, or by their desire for revenge, seized hidden weapons—or even just pitchforks—and rushed into battle.
They charged forward, filled with hopes of victory.
And then—
The sound of cannon fire.
The world roared.