The so-called "Love Festival"—the chaotic precursor to the Parade—had finally concluded.
Everyone in the Fairy Tail guild, except for the poor, heart-stricken Master Makarov, had at least some sense of participation and fun.
Later that evening, inside the Guild Master's office.
The two instigators, Ankh and Laxus, were currently standing side-by-side, being lectured by a furious Makarov.
"Do you have any idea how much panic you caused?!" Makarov shouted, slamming his fist on the desk.
Laxus looked completely indifferent.
He simply turned his head away, picking his ear when faced with Makarov's scolding, radiating an aura of "I'll do it again."
Ankh, on the other hand, stood there earnestly.
He nodded at the right times, taking the reprimand seriously on the surface.
However, his eyes were slightly unfocused; his mind was already miles away, busy calculating formulas and planning improvements to the Dragon Gem based on the data collected from the fight.
Makarov stared at the handsome young man before him, feeling so frustrated he could almost feel his heart constrict.
'Laxus was somewhat understandable,' Makarov thought, sighing internally.
'I have long been mentally prepared for his rebellious behavior. He's always been a problem child.'
'But Ankh? I had always regarded him as the sensible one. How had he ended up becoming a troublemaker like this too?'
"Ankh! Are you listening?!"
"Hey, hey... causing trouble is kind of a guild tradition, Master," Ankh joked lightheartedly, flashing a charming smile.
"As long as things turned out fine in the end, right?"
Makarov was left on the verge of tears.
'If possible, I would rather not have this tradition!'
'Come to think of it, which generation did this destructive tradition even start with... Was it me?'
Ankh sat beside Makarov on the bench, smiling as he watched the others roughhousing nearby in the infirmary area.
The side effects of the prototype Dragon Gem were clearly long-lasting.
Natsu and Gajeel were wheeled in.
Both were in wheelchairs, wrapped head-to-toe in white bandages.
Their faces were blank and dazed, drool leaking from the corners of their mouths.
"Heh. Look at you now, Salamander," Laxus sneered.
Laxus and Gray were mocking the dazed Natsu, posing his limp limbs in all sorts of ridiculous positions for laughs.
Gajeel, however, was being well taken care of.
Levy was fussing over him, adjusting his bandages and checking his temperature.
It seemed Ankh's plan to deepen their relationship through the "rescue mission" was indeed successful.
If only they could ignore the two fuming individuals nearby (Jet and Droy)...
"That thing... that Gem..." Makarov said with a frown as he watched the paralyzed Natsu and Gajeel.
"It is truly terrifying. It's best not to use it on them so casually. It drained them completely."
Ankh nodded and replied seriously, "I know. It was a prototype. I'm working on improving it. I'll make sure it's safe next time."
"As long as you know what you're doing."
After a moment of silence, Makarov spoke again, his voice softer.
"About Laxus... thank you, Ankh."
Ankh smiled dismissively, waving his hand. "No need to be so formal, Master. We're family."
Makarov lowered his head.
He sounded like a defeated old man as he murmured.
"I regret what happened with Laxus. Ever since his father, Ivan, left the guild, I haven't been able to resolve the issues in his heart. I didn't know how to talk to him. Instead, I left it to you to be there for him."
Makarov looked at his grandson, who was laughing with the others.
"During that time, if it weren't for you, I think things would have turned out much worse. He might have truly lost his way."
Ankh patted Makarov on the shoulder and comforted him with a smile.
"Don't think like that, Master. Things wouldn't have turned worse. Laxus has always been Laxus. He's stubborn, but his heart is in the right place."
Makarov looked up at Ankh, who was gazing thoughtfully at the bustling guild.
"Master," Ankh said suddenly. "I know you've always wanted me to take over the guild one day, but..."
Ankh pointed at Laxus.
"In my opinion, the current Laxus is more suited for that position than anyone else."
This wasn't just to comfort Makarov—Ankh genuinely believed it.
Searching his heart, Ankh knew he could never be like Makarov, Laxus, or even Natsu and Lucy.
They were people who radiated warmth and positivity to everyone around them—they were like the sun.
Ankh was different.
He quite enjoyed resorting to any means necessary to discreetly handle troublesome matters in the dark, then simply basking in the sunny life at the guild created by others.
He was a shadow, not a figurehead.
'Like master, like disciple,' Ankh thought.
Just as Makarov had molded the once-radical Ankh into who he was today, Ankh didn't want to raise a bunch of stubborn old codgers himself.
Ankh looked thoughtfully at Makarov and said with a grin, "So, Master, why not take life a bit slower? Don't retire yet. Things will always get better in the future."
Makarov scratched his balding head and grumbled in mock annoyance, hiding his emotion.
"Since when did you get to lecture me, you brat..."
"Hahaha!"
....
Days passed one after another.
Grand battles weren't an everyday occurrence. Even the perpetually noisy Fairy Tail guild had its moments of exhaustion and peace.
After two full days of handling aftermath tasks and repairs, the commotion of the "Love Festival" gradually faded away.
However, rumors were spreading.
It was said that the day's events—the "Fairy Beauty Contest," the "Hero Saves the Princess" drama, and the earth-shaking "Three Dragons' Duel"—were spreading like wildfire throughout the entire Fiore Kingdom.
It was easy to imagine that Fairy Tail's popularity was about to skyrocket even further.
But at the moment, the Fairy Tail guild had no time to dwell on fame, because tomorrow evening, the Magic Parade was finally set to begin!
Everyone had already returned home to prepare for their respective performances.
...
Meanwhile, at Ankh's private estate.
Ankh stayed in his study, fiddling incessantly with the Dragon Gem in his hand.
Threads of white Life Divine Power seeped into the gem like silk, rewriting the code within.
"All done."
Ankh grasped the modified jewel.
He threaded it onto a sturdy silver chain and tossed it to Laxus, who was dozing off in a chair in the corner.
"Catch."
Laxus caught the jewel, eyeing its golden sheen with confusion.
"It changed color?" Laxus asked. "It used to be clear."
Ankh stretched lazily in his chair and explained, "I infused it with your specific Magic Power signature. Now, only you can use this gem. It's keyed to you."
"Let's call it the Thunder Dragon Jewel Necklace for now. It's a weaker version of the previous consumable type, but much more controllable and reusable."
Ankh pointed at it. "You can channel Magic Power into it, and the necklace will activate."
Laxus hung the necklace around his neck.
He focused his mind and slowly channeled a small amount of Magic Power into it.
Crackle.
A few golden Thunder Dragon Scales began to appear on Laxus's right arm, hardening his skin.
"The more Magic Power you input, the higher the degree of dragonization," Ankh explained with satisfaction. "This way, the Dragon Slayer Mage can gauge it themselves and avoid situations like last time, where forced, total transformation led to complete exhaustion."
This application of Divine Power was relatively straightforward compared to the prototype.
The previous type was a "consumable jewel," equivalent to going full throttle from the start, completely disregarding the Mage's own energy expenditure limits. It was an adrenaline shot.
This version, however, was like adding a flow valve to the dragon's life sequence.
It controlled the degree of dragonization based on the amount of Magic Power input. It was a regulator.
It sounded simple, but for Ankh, who was feeling his way forward step by step with the Life God Magic, it was significant progress.
Ankh then took out Red and Dark Green jewel necklaces from a box nearby.
He handed them to Laxus and said.
"By the way, give these to Natsu and Gajeel when they wake up fully. Theirs have more safety measures than yours because they are idiots."
Ankh leaned back. "Tell them to take it slow and adapt gradually. They can use the jewels for training, aiming to enter Dragon King Mode without relying on the jewels eventually."
Laxus looked at the gems. "That mode consumes a lot of energy. Honestly, I think it's more practical to just transform into a dragon directly and crush the enemy."
Laxus took the necklaces.
Ankh spread his hands and said, "That's how it is for you because you are stronger, but they need a process to adapt. Besides... turning into a full dragon might not necessarily be a good thing right now."
"Why?" Laxus asked.
"It's about the essence," Ankh explained.
Although the gem could alter the racial sequence of Dragon Slayer Mages, Ankh had ensured the core human sequence remained fundamentally unchanged in this new version.
It was equivalent to appearing as a dragon visually and statistically, but in reality, they were merely humans with enhanced physical attributes and magic power, transformed into a dragon-like form.
"This was also done to prevent a certain risk," Ankh murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. "The possibility of a Dragon that despises dragons catching their scent and flying over to blast them..."
This was probably the reason why the two entities inside Natsu and Gajeel no longer resisted the dragon transformation back then.
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