"I want... to completely empty all the magic power in Edolas."
Looking at Marco, Mystogan finally voiced his thoughts.
To others, Mystogan might still hold back, but facing Marco, he could seriously discuss the feasibility of this matter.
He didn't believe Marco would work against him.
"All of it?" Marco frowned, somewhat failing to grasp Mystogan's meaning.
Did "all" truly mean literally everything?
"That's right. All magic power, even including all magical creatures."
Mystogan nodded seriously, giving a precise answer and explanation.
"..."
Marco fell silent for a moment.
This move was truly ruthless.
This guy Mystogan really intended to turn "Edolas" into a magic-less world, not even allowing a trace of residual magic power.
"But how can that be achieved?" Marco asked curiously. Such a thing sounded incredibly difficult to accomplish.
"Still relying on Anima."
Mystogan gave an answer that wasn't entirely unexpected.
The magic "Anima" had practically defined Mystogan's life up to this point.
And in the end, Mystogan would use this very magic to bring everything to a complete close.
"I've developed an Anima without any restrictions. Once released, as long as it isn't stopped, it will drain all the magic power from Edolas, including those magical creatures. They will all be sucked in. I want to use this magic to end it all."
Mystogan's expression was serious, he wasn't joking.
This decision had been made after careful consideration.
However, this was ultimately a matter with enormous consequences.
Mystogan needed to seek support, needed to seek others' approval.
The first person he thought of was Marco.
With Marco's support, he could release this magic without any reservations.
"..."
Marco was silent for a moment, then asked, "You want to send all this magic power, these magical creatures... to Earth Land?"
"Correct."
Mystogan nodded.
This was also the main reason he had been hesitating.
If it were just magic power, it might be manageable, but those magical creatures, including even the "Exceed"—to send them to "Earth Land" without even a word of warning, like throwing out trash—that really didn't seem like something a decent person would do.
"..."
Marco wasn't surprised by this answer.
Currently, only these two parallel worlds had been discovered by them, so the transmission target for "Anima" naturally could only be "Earth Land."
"It's not entirely impossible, but we must resolve the issue of the Exceed here in Edolas first before proceeding." Marco nodded and spoke, ultimately agreeing with Mystogan's idea.
It had to be said, although Mystogan's method was ruthless, it was indeed a good solution to the problem of "Edolas."
Completely severing any thought of relying on magic—how could that not be considered solving the issue of "Edolas's" magic depletion?
If no one used magic anymore, and there were no magical creatures, then magic power itself would lose its reason for existence.
Something without purpose—if it depletes, it depletes. It wouldn't have any impact.
As for whether it would affect the "Earth Land" world, Marco believed it shouldn't.
After all, "Edolas" truly had very little magic power left.
Even if all of it were poured into "Earth Land" at once, it wouldn't cause much of a stir.
As for those magical creatures, in "Earth Land" where Mages were abundant, they wouldn't amount to much.
They might even be hunted to extinction quickly, especially since the number of magical creatures in "Edolas" was already scarce, with the largest group being the "Exceed."
As long as the "Exceed" issue was resolved, Mystogan's plan would pose no hidden dangers to "Earth Land."
Edolas had been stealing magic power from Earth Land for so long; this would be like repaying the debt in one go.
"Alright! Then let's go solve the Exceed problem!"
With Marco's support, Mystogan made up his mind.
He had no attachment to magic whatsoever. Facts had proven that magic was not the path "Edolas" should take—they needed to forge their own way forward!
...
Over the next few days, everyone was busy.
They suppressed those who wanted to cause trouble, reassured the ordinary citizens of the royal capital, and simultaneously sent notices across the entire "Edolas Kingdom," informing them of the old king's abdication and the upcoming coronation of the new king.
This announcement naturally caused a great stir throughout the Edolas Kingdom.
The succession of the throne was no trivial matter, and it was all too sudden—no one had any time to prepare.
Amid the chaos in the "Edolas Kingdom," Panther Lily, who had been away on a mission, returned belatedly to the royal capital.
The cat was in a daze, struggling to accept reality.
He had only been away for a few days—how had his home been taken over?
And now, as the captain of the First Mage Fighting Squad, he had been branded a rebel?
"Captain Lily, Prince Jellal has been waiting for your return."
Seeing Panther Lily appear, the guards did not attempt to arrest him.
Instead, they politely invited him to the palace to meet Mystogan, who was still only a prince at the time—clearly, they had received instructions in advance.
"Jellal..."
The name made the bewildered Panther Lily freeze once again.
Of course, he knew Jellal.
In fact, they had been quite close.
He had been exiled back then precisely because he helped Jellal.
At the time, he didn't know Jellal was a prince from the human kingdom; he had helped the young boy purely out of kindness.
It was because of this act of help that he saw the true nature of the "Exceed Kingdom."
He couldn't accept their ideology—a country where even helping a human child was considered a mistake.
Thus, he calmly accepted his exile.
After arriving in the "Edolas Kingdom," he saved the prince and was quickly entrusted with important duties by King Faust, rising straight to the position of "Captain of the Mage Fighting Squad."
This was partly because Panther Lily's abilities were indeed considerable, and partly because his identity as an "Exceed" held symbolic significance.
King Faust naturally wouldn't let such a figure go to waste.
He had served in this role until now.
After Prince Jellal left, Panther Lily had actually begun to doubt everything.
But he was alone and powerless, making it impossible to stop King Faust.
Moreover, he himself harbored deep dissatisfaction toward the "Kingdom of Exceed" and desired to change everything, which was why King Faust exploited him, turning him into his pawn.
Lily remained silent as he followed the guards toward the palace, his mind swirling with turbulent thoughts as countless ideas converged in his head.
He was aware that Jellal had been thwarting King Faust's plans in the world of "Earth Land," and this knowledge filled him with unease.
He had no idea what Jellal's attitude toward him would be.