Natsu picked up the glowing white gemstone, examining it from all angles.
He couldn't help but swallow hard.
Though it wasn't fire, it somehow looked delicious.
"There's a note here too," Lucy said.
She pulled out a piece of paper from the ornate treasure box and read aloud:
"Dragon Gem. Effect: Can temporarily grant Dragon Slayer Mages power nearly equivalent to that of a true dragon. This is Laxus's location, go defeat him."
Below the text was a crudely drawn map with a bright red dot marking the center of Magnolia town—Kardia Cathedral.
The blush from the wedding projection faded from Lucy's face as she pinched her chin in thought.
"Dragon Gem... I've never heard of such a thing in any magic book. Could this be one of Laxus's traps? Maybe it explodes if you eat it?"
Natsu weighed the gem in his hand, baring his teeth in an eager, feral grin.
"Doesn't matter! Trap or power-up, I'm going to fight Laxus directly!"
With that, Natsu grabbed the map and sprinted toward the Cathedral according to the directions, leaving a trail of dust.
"Hey Natsu! Wait!" Lucy hurriedly shouted after him. "At least call everyone to come with you! You can't beat Laxus alone!"
Natsu's figure gradually disappeared into the distance, his voice carried back by the wind:
"You go help everyone else first! I'm going to find Laxus and end this myself!"
Lucy sighed helplessly, her shoulders slumping.
'Did this guy even understand the current situation...'
People from the guild had been inexplicably gathered by Laxus to participate in this senseless battle.
The seemingly coerced girls turned out to be fine, so what was Laxus's real purpose?
It couldn't just be for setting off those fireworks and embarrassing wedding photos earlier, could it?
"Ugh..." Lucy groaned, picking up Happy. "Who came up with such a boring, elaborate prank?"
...
"Achoo!"
Ankh sneezed violently in the distance, rubbing his nose.
He scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Is someone praising me? Or cursing me?"
Erza walked over from nearby, sheathing her sword. "Brother, most of the fighting in the city has ended. The 'kidnapped' girls have all been 'rescued' safely."
Ankh nodded, satisfied.
Mirajane, standing nearby, chuckled almost gleefully, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Everyone had quite some situations," Mirajane reported with a giggle.
"Bisca was just asleep, but Freed's Magic Formula stated 'The Sleeping Beauty must be awakened with a kiss from her Prince.' Alzack actually thought she was cursed! He panicked and followed the formula—he kissed her right in front of everyone! Their expressions afterward when she woke up were priceless!"
"Juvia and Gray were trapped in a Magic Formula that prevented Magic use. They got caught together in a sticky spiderweb trap and were tied into a ball. Gray was furious but Juvia seemed quite happy to be stuck to him."
"As for Cana, she was under some illusion Magic calling for her dad, which scared Macao and Wakaba—who came to rescue her—so much they froze. Then she woke up, got embarrassed and angry that they saw her vulnerable side, and beat them up again..."
Watching Mirajane's sparkling eyes as she recounted the gossip, Ankh couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
You really enjoy watching the drama, don't you? Ankh thought.
Indeed, white-haired people are all black-hearted when you look deeper.
And Freed... although we agreed beforehand to let him improvise in other zones to make it interesting, I never expected he could perform so... brilliantly!
These people probably won't dare show their faces for months now due to the embarrassment.
How tragic~ (OwO)
Erza, however, methodically organized the guild members, assigning them to handle the various disturbances around the city and fix the property damage.
Fortunately, this commotion was just a brawl among Fairy Tail's mere hundred members. It caused little actual damage to the city structure compared to a real war—at worst, they'd receive some noise complaints from the Council.
Frowning, Erza stood beside Ankh and asked doubtfully, "Brother, will Natsu and Gajeel be alright over there? Laxus is... in a mood."
Ankh smiled mysteriously and said, "Of course there's no problem. I gave them a secret weapon."
"Have everyone gather at the cathedral later. Let's see who will be the final winner of this festival."
Although Erza still didn't think any secret weapon could make those two strong enough to defeat Laxus, she obediently nodded.
"I'll handle the crowd."
Then Ankh flashed away, stepping on gravity to fly ahead toward the cathedral.
...
Soon, Ankh arrived on the roof of the Kardia Cathedral.
For this operation, Ankh had specifically sought permission from the mayor of Magnolia and the church bishop beforehand.
Through a series of promises and the power of money, Ankh agreed to cover all festival expenses and potential damages.
So no matter how damaged the cathedral got during the fight, it would just count as a "pre-paid renovation."
Though come to think of it, Ankh mused, looking at the ornate tiles, this year's expenses exceeded all previous years combined.
Only Ankh, who treated money as mere numbers due to his family's vast inheritance, could afford it within the guild.
'I should consider whether to start a company,' Ankh thought. 'No matter how much family wealth there is, it would eventually run out—better to make money generate more money to pay for Natsu's destruction.'
Shaking his head to clear away distracting thoughts, Ankh peered through the rooftop skylight to observe the battle below.
CRASH!
Gajeel seemed to have just arrived.
He was holding a struggling Natsu by the scarf in one hand, while the scorched ground nearby had collapsed into a large, smoking crater.
It appeared Gajeel had just saved Natsu from Laxus's thunderous assault.
Unfortunately, Natsu didn't seem grateful at all. He snarled with bared teeth, swinging his fists.
"Let me go! What are you doing here?! Laxus is mine to defeat! I don't need help from a rusty nail like you!"
Gajeel couldn't help rolling his eyes. He casually tossed Natsu to the ground like a sack of garbage, which only provoked another roar of protest.
"Shut up, Salamander."
Silencing Natsu's complaints with a glare, Gajeel turned and stared solemnly at Laxus, who was standing on the altar podium within a storm of yellow lightning.
"Though I hate to admit it," Gajeel stated gravely, his iron skin hardening, "neither of us can defeat him alone. We'll only stand a chance if we fight together."
As someone who had been personally "instructed" by Laxus, Gajeel understood his power all too well.
If Laxus truly intended to kill, Gajeel knew he would be defeated in a single punch.
As for Natsu... it wasn't that Gajeel looked down on him, but during their previous battle in the Phantom Lord war, they had been evenly matched.
How could Natsu possibly be Laxus's opponent solo?
Natsu snorted two jets of steam from his nostrils as he reached into his pocket.
"Fine! In that case, let's use this!"
Natsu pulled out the glowing white gem.
Gajeel stared at the gem in Natsu's hand, momentarily stunned.
"You have one too?" Gajeel asked.
Natsu looked at him in confusion, then watched as Gajeel pulled out an identical gem from his own pocket.
"You've got one too?" Natsu grinned. "Perfect! I have a feeling this will taste delicious."
He brought the gem to his mouth.
"Hey! Wait!" Gajeel shouted, horrified. "Who in their right mind would eat something of unknown origin?! That could be a bomb!"
Natsu licked his lips, grinning brightly.
"It's fine. I can smell it—there's a very familiar scent on this."
"Anyway, leave this to me! You stand back!"
Crunch.
Natsu bit down on the gem.
Ankh, watching from the skylight, couldn't help but smile.
That so-called Dragon Gem was something Ankh had personally created and named.
Moreover, it represented a milestone invention in Ankh's recent development of his Life God Power.
After obtaining the Life God Power, Ankh discovered it could not only restore and heal life, but also evolve and transform life without upper or lower limits.
In other words, according to Ankh's conception, that Dragon Gem truly contained enough concentrated life essence to temporarily trigger a hyper-evolution.
It was enough power to transform a Dragon Slayer Mage... into an actual Dragon!