"Hope..." Laxus glanced at the newcomer, his brow furrowing slightly. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I should be the one asking that. Why did you come to the Northern Continent?" Hope's gaze swept over Kirin lying on the ground and the surrounding messy streets, casually using 'Time Arc' to restore the buildings.
Clearly an extremely rare time-type magic, yet he was using it as a means to clean up destruction.
Laxus didn't answer; he just clutched his blood-drenched chest, his breathing slightly rapid. Having forcibly gouged the dragon slayer crystal out of his flesh earlier, the aftereffects were now kicking in.
Hope originally thought that having Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel—who loved to mess around in battle—was enough, but he didn't expect Laxus to go as far as self-mutilation to trade for an opportunity when he got fired up.
"Why use such a bloody method to remove a dragon slayer crystal? Using an 'Enchantment' to separate it would have been fine, and painless too."
After saying that, Hope looked at Laxus's somewhat darkened face and added as an afterthought, "Oh, I forgot you don't know Enchantments. No wonder it was such a struggle to strip a dragon slayer crystal."
Laxus: So what if you know a lot of magic! Big deal!
Hope: Sorry, knowing a lot of magic really does mean you can do whatever you want.
By the time Erza and the others arrived, Laxus's injuries had already been healed under Hope's treatment. After learning the cause and effect of the situation, everyone gasped in shock at Laxus's reckless audacity.
"Eating the soul of the Thunder Dragon King?!"
"For real..."
"Speaking of which, such an absurd act should be something only Natsu could pull off, right?"
"Aye! That's right."
"Hmph, when it comes to eating random things, this great one isn't any worse than the Fire Dragon!"
"So what exactly are you proud of..."
"..."
Watching these guys smoothly shift the topic, Hope couldn't help but admire their ability to ramble. Suddenly, he felt a faint fluctuation of aura coming from behind him.
The unconscious Kirin's fingers twitched, showing signs of waking up.
Hope raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
When he was hiding to the side watching the battle earlier, he saw very clearly that the final blow Laxus struck using the Thunder Dragon King's power was quite impressive.
The magic power that erupted in that instant wasn't even below that of the second of the Ten Wizard Saints, Hyberion; it was barely enough to arm-wrestle with a serious Gildarts.
This guy named Kirin, after taking Laxus's move head-on, could actually wake up so quickly; one had to admit he had some skills.
Laxus turned back to look at Kirin lying on the ground. "Hey, you're not dead yet, are you?"
Kirin struggled to open his eyes and looked at Laxus.
"Can you still hear the voice of the Thunder Dragon King now?"
A flash of bitterness appeared in Kirin's eyes, his voice raspy and weak. "Alerxong's voice... has disappeared."
Laxus turned away. "What I said about Alerxong before was actually all made up. I didn't expect you to actually take it seriously."
"You mean, Alerxong didn't want to kill me?"
Kirin was stunned for a moment, then let out a long breath.
He understood. The attitude he had previously shown toward the Thunder Dragon King's soul had been noticed by Laxus, becoming a flaw that broke through his psychological defenses.
Just as Laxus said, Kirin had grown from a child to the man he was now, and he had been with the soul of the Thunder Dragon King for too long; over time, he had subconsciously come to think of Alerxong as a friend.
Kirin had always endured the Thunder Dragon King's murmurs demanding a heart, but if Laxus could eat the soul of the Thunder Dragon King, how could he, as a Dragon Eater, not be able to do so?
In the end, Kirin had developed feelings for the Thunder Dragon King, Alerxong, from the bottom of his heart. He would rather continue to be mentally tormented than eat the soul of someone he considered a "friend."
Now that Alerxong had found its heart, its obsession could finally end, and he could finally let go.
Hope looked at the expression of a fulfilled wish on Kirin's face, then at Laxus's back, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
Laxus had indeed lied to Kirin.
But was the lie the one during the battle, or the words just now?
Hope didn't want to guess.
However, there was one thing he could confirm: this Laxus, who usually wore "I'm so cool" on his face, now had a human touch.
Heehee, his training with the kiddie ride back then really wasn't in vain!
To celebrate, Hope planned that after this Hundred Year Quest ended, he would distribute some photos of Laxus making a fool of himself within a small circle of the guild. He had taken quite a few during the Harvest Festival civil war; it was time for everyone to enjoy them together.
Seeing Hope's expression turn wretched again, Mirajane couldn't help but poke his forehead with her hand. "What bad thing are you thinking about now?"
"Ah? Is it that obvious?"
Cana let out a hiss. "What do you think?"
"Hehehe..." Hope scratched his head.
Under Erza's command, Natsu and the others captured the other three Dragon Slayer Mages who had been defeated by Laxus earlier and tied them up with Kirin.
However, Erza was a bit undecided on how to handle them, since "Diabolos" was, after all, a local guild of this continent.
"Hope, what do you think?" Erza simply threw the question to her man, saving him from brewing more mischief there.
"What do I think? Naturally..."
Hope made a throat-slitting gesture. "Their guild master, Jorg Leissen, was beaten half to death by me and thrown who-knows-where."
"Status unknown means he's dead."
"Plus, Laxus ate Kirin's dragon soul friend. We should be mortal enemies with the Dragon Devourer Guild now, an irreconcilable life-and-death feud."
Everyone couldn't help but have a question mark pop up. How did he calculate it like that? Yet, Hope's nonsense seemed to have a tiny, tiny bit of logic to it.
Kirin and the others: Where is the logic...
Hope cleared his throat. "Since no one has any objections, I announce that for the heinous behavior of these four guys in destroying the town and bullying the residents, they will be given the punishment of 'A Spicy Hand Destroying the Flower'."
"Objection!" Kirin immediately voiced his opposition. "I didn't participate in those things, why should I be punished along with them! Also, the term 'Spicy Hand Destroying the Flower' isn't right, is it?"
The other three Dragon Eaters:!!!
What to do when sold out by your own captain? Asking online, it's quite urgent.
Hope pulled a red card out of nowhere and slapped it on Kirin's face. "Objection overruled. Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel, you guys go buy ten pounds of the spiciest chili peppers or chili powder in the city, preferably 'insanely spicy'."
"Today, I'm going to treat these four Fifth Generation Dragon Slayers to a good spicy meal."
Kirin and the others' pupils dilated in shock.
So the 'flower' in 'Spicy Hand Destroying the Flower' refers to the 'chrysanthemum' flower...
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