"Half an hour left! Once time's up, anyone among the seven who hasn't been rescued will immediately be turned to stone forever by Evergreen's Petrification Eye!"
Laxus roared through gritted teeth, his face contorted with menace as his lightning projection flickered above the guild hall.
Backstage, Ankh twitched his mouth upon hearing Laxus's words.
'Laxus's acting skills are pretty good...' Ankh thought, impressed.
Petrification Eye?
What a joke—of course Ankh wouldn't dare let Evergreen actually use something like that on his watch.
High-risk magic would undoubtedly be like dancing on old man Makarov's fragile heart; what if the shock gave him a real scare?
To put it bluntly, in this civil war, the goal was simple: How could they maximize benefits while minimizing losses?
That required reviewing why the "original" civil war had happened in the first place.
Essentially, it was just Laxus—in his rebellious phase—wanting to team up with the Thunder God Tribe to challenge and defeat the entire guild's combat force through this "game," ultimately claiming the Guild Master position "deservedly."
But was that ambition alone enough to expel Laxus from the guild?
Of course not.
Natsu challenged Erza every day.
The problem wasn't Laxus's goal—it was his methods.
Threatening comrades with their lives, turning them to stone for real, setting up Thunder Palace bombs over the city, forcing friends to fight each other to survive... every keyword here was enough to drive the "child-obsessed" old man Makarov crazy.
Although Laxus's legendary moment of casting Fairy Law without harming anyone had proven he wasn't a complete bastard deep down, Makarov himself believed he needed to give an explanation to the members injured in the civil war.
And then... it ended in that gloomy conclusion: Expulsion.
Now, as the mastermind behind this version of the civil war, Ankh only needed to completely avoid these pitfalls—then continuing the civil war wouldn't actually be a bad thing.
As long as no one got hurt seriously and they maintained proper boundaries, given old man Makarov's tough-exterior-soft-heart nature—plus members pleading for mercy—the worst punishment would probably just be "that" penalty from Sorcerer Weekly... public embarrassment.
As for placing the seven girls in separate locations—Ankh wanted to create an "entertainment bracket" system to blur the concept of "battle" and add some ambiguous suspense.
Simply put... it was Fairy Tail's version of a dating show.
With so many pretty girls "kidnapped," the male members who lived and worked with them daily—some already developing feelings—would never stay rational!
Whether they were admirers, secret lovers, close friends, or family, they'd all mobilize to show off and be heroes.
I'm saving Bisca!
I'm saving Levy!
I'm saving the booze!
As for other female members? They were all good sisters—perfectly possible they'd tear into each other for their best friends' sake too.
Besides, who said only male heroes could win a beauty's heart...
This way, not only could everyone enjoy the spectacle and gossip about who liked whom, but they could appropriately transform the "civil war" into Fairy Tail's exclusive festival event.
A glorified game of Capture the Flag.
Moreover, both the Master and members would—after learning the truth—have little to complain about beyond muttering "How sneaky of Laxus" and "Ankh tricked us."
After all, they were the ones who got carried away and played along.
And it also satisfied the immature kids—Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe—desire for attention and recognition.
While quickly relocating the sleeping girls to their designated "towers," Ankh reviewed the plan again and couldn't help patting his own shoulder in satisfaction.
Now, he just needed to quietly control the overall situation and let everything follow the script.
Ankh then whispered to the members of the Thunder God Tribe behind him.
"Proceed as planned. No real damage."
Freed nodded, adjusting his rapier. "Understood. If anything unexpected happens, I'll contact you using the Magic Formula."
After the Thunder God Tribe and others retreated into the shadows, Ankh also silently returned to the front hall. Laxus's Thought Projection declaration was nearing its end.
"The seven locations have been left here. You powerless weaklings, struggle all you want! Prove to me you deserve to be in my guild!"
After Laxus's lengthy chuunibyou speech, he finally succeeded in conveying the message to the guild members.
Then, with a flash of lightning, Laxus's figure immediately vanished from the hall.
Since Evergreen was present earlier and the girls backstage had indeed disappeared, the members didn't doubt the truth in Laxus's words. Panic ensued.
Kagura stood below the stage, clutching her sword hilt.
She stared blankly at the chaotic guild hall, feeling completely at a loss.
'Fairy Tail... truly lived up to its legend,' she thought, sweatdropping. 'Always causing some major commotion every day. Is this normal?'
"Is this messy guild really the strongest Mage guild in Fiore?" Kagura muttered.
Her eye twitched.
If it was like this after just two days as a guest, how terrible must this guild usually be...
"Although it's noisy, everyone is actually quite strong when it matters."
Ankh appeared beside Kagura unnoticed, smiling meaningfully.
Kagura was startled by Ankh's sudden appearance—he moved like a ghost—but still held some doubt about his words.
However, aside from a few like Erza and Ankh, everyone else seemed rather abnormal...
And indeed, in the guild at that moment, few maintained normal composure, with howls and shouts rising one after another.
"What should we do now?! The girls have been kidnapped!"
"Obviously, we rescue them! I'm not letting Bisca turn to stone!" Alzack shouted, loading his guns.
"But that's Laxus we're talking about..."
"I don't care! No one can stop ME! Bisca, wait for me!"
"Levy-chan—!!" Jet and Droy cried in unison.
The chaos below continued, and then, led by Natsu and Gray's riotous charge, a group of gangster-like members surged out of the guild doors.
"Let's go!"
Kagura and Ankh followed closely behind.
As soon as they stepped outside the guild, purplish-black characters automatically floated around them in the air.
"It's a Justu Shiki," Kagura noted.
She quickly read the appearing text aloud:
"Seven members are located in four directions around Magnolia."
"East: Lucy and Cana."
"West: Juvia and Bisca."
"South: Levy."
"North: Erza and Mira."
"It seems Laxus wants us to split up and fight?" Kagura analyzed.
After reading what was clearly a hint deliberately left by the Thunder God Tribe to disperse the forces, Kagura watched the massive hundred-plus person group split at the street intersection.
They clearly formed several crowds heading in different directions based on who they wanted to save.
"Let's head North," Kagura suggested, her eyes narrowing. "After all, Erza's combat ability is the highest, so her guard must be the strongest. I should go help... Huh?"
Just as Kagura made the suggestion, she turned her head.
Ankh was gone.
"Where is he?" Kagura looked around, baffled.
'Really, is he a fairy or a ghost?! He vanishes every time I turn around!'
...
Meanwhile, back at the entrance.
Makarov stood at the guild doorway, helplessly watching everyone leave.
He tried to step forward.
BZZT!
He hit an invisible barrier.
The Magic Formula had been laid all around the guild perimeter at some point.
When Makarov tried to run out of the guild, he was blocked by an invisible wall of runes.
The characters floating on it clearly stated: [Only guild members other than the Guild Master may pass through this door.]
Ankh remembered that in the original story, Natsu and Gajeel were trapped by the condition 'Those over 80 years old and Stone Statues cannot pass'.
So he specifically had Freed modify this rule to avoid that plot hole and let Natsu loose.
Now this damn door truly only prevents the Guild Master from leaving!
Makarov watched the crowd gradually moving away, veins bulging on his forehead.
"That brat Ankh..." Makarov grumbled.
Although Ankh had told him earlier that curing Laxus' bad habits required "strong medicine," he never expected it would turn into such a grand spectacle involving the whole town.
But fortunately, with Ankh overseeing the situation from the shadows, nothing major should happen...
Right?
Makarov sighed, sitting down on the steps.
"I'm getting too old for this shit."