Exactly one month had passed. Little Goku had already removed the Mandrake leaf from his mouth and preserved it in a crystal vial. He was now merely waiting for Dumbledore to return tonight so they could bury it together on the grounds of Hogwarts.
There was no other way around it—the next stage of the Animagus ritual required a moon, and the moon of this world had already been blown to bits by him.
Consequently, he had to take the vial containing the Mandrake leaf and his saliva to Hogwarts, where a moon still graced the night sky, to bury it. Because he had finally finished the month-long requirement of holding the leaf in his mouth, he was finally able to speak again.
However, his reason for stopping Laxus wasn't just a simple desire for a sparring match.
After taking down the Phantom giant and the Wizard Saint Jose Porla, Goku had begun to realise that his true strength had likely already surpassed the Ten Wizard Saints of this world. At the very least, his Grandpa Makarov likely wasn't his match anymore, let alone an S-Class mage like Laxus.
His plan was to fight Hades, the Master of Grimoire Heart, and then seek out God Serena, the rank-one member of the Wizard Saints and leader of the Four Gods of Ishgar. If even God Serena couldn't stand against him, he would leave this world behind to seek adventure in a new dimension.
In truth, his real motive for stopping Laxus was that he had just used Legilimency on him.
He had sensed Laxus's internal monologue.
Laxus was Grandpa Makarov's grandson, and Goku could feel the immense love Makarov held for him. Goku wasn't great at mediating disputes or giving speeches to reconcile families, so he decided on a much more straightforward, "Goku-style" solution.
He would fight him. He would beat Laxus so thoroughly that the man would wake up and realise his strength wasn't nearly as peerless as he imagined.
If Laxus lost, he would at least be forced to abandon his plan for a violent coup. After all, if he couldn't even beat a kid, no one in the guild would ever respect him as Master. And if a beating didn't wake Laxus up, Goku would simply tell Grandpa Makarov about the secret takeover plan and let the Old Man handle it himself.
"Son Goku, do you think because you beat Jose and destroyed that giant machine, you can beat me?"
Hearing Goku issue a direct challenge, Laxus showed no fear. On the contrary, he responded instantly:
"Fine. I accept your challenge. We'll settle this at the same plaza where you beat Erza."
He then spared a glance at Mystogan. "You can join in too. Today, I'll show everyone who the strongest mage in this guild really is!"
He had ignored Natsu's challenge because Natsu's power was still leagues below his own. But Goku was different; Goku clearly had the strength to stand on a stage with him. Laxus wanted to use this opportunity to prove his absolute dominance before he executed his plan to seize the guild.
As for losing? The thought never crossed his mind. He possessed absolute confidence in his power. Others saw him as an S-Class mage, but in reality, most S-Class mages couldn't even survive a single move against him.
At full power, Laxus was certain his strength reached the level of the Wizard Saints—and not just the average ones. He truly believed that neither Jose nor his grandfather, Makarov, was his match anymore. Even his subordinates, the Thunder Legion, were all at a high S-Class level by the standards of the outside world.
"I will not participate," Mystogan replied, shaking his head. He remained completely swathed in bandages and cloaks, with only his eyes visible.
However, his gaze lingered on Jellal for a few seconds before he silently lowered his head again.
"If you don't play, I'll take that as your forfeit," Laxus said with a quirk of his brow. To be honest, he was actually more wary of the mysterious Mystogan than he was of Goku.
"Son Goku, I'll be waiting at the plaza."
Passing by Goku, Laxus transformed into a bolt of lightning and vanished from the guild hall. The three members of the Thunder Legion followed suit immediately.
Once they were gone, Lucy leaned over and whispered to Natsu. "Does he... does he not know that Goku destroyed the moon?"
"Probably not," Natsu said, blinking.
Laxus and the Thunder Legion were loners who rarely interacted with the rest of the guild, and when they did speak, it was usually in a tone that made you want to punch them. While the core members of the guild knew about the moon incident, Master Makarov had strictly forbidden anyone from speaking of it to prevent the Magic Council from interfering.
In the meeting just now, the Master had only touched on the highlights of the Galuna Island mission, omitting the part where Goku obliterated a celestial body. Laxus knew Goku had destroyed the Phantom Lord giant and killed Jose, but he had only read those reports in magic magazines. He hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
And as the saying goes: hearing is one thing, seeing is another.
If Laxus had witnessed that fight, he would never believe he had a chance of winning. When Goku used that move to break through Forbidden Magic and destroy the giant, it wasn't that his limit was reached—it was simply that the target was too small.
It was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito. The cannon didn't struggle to kill the mosquito; the mosquito was simply the only thing there to hit. If you aimed that same cannon at an elephant, the elephant would be just as dead.
"Goku... give him a proper lesson!" Makarov said, taking a deep breath and looking at the boy standing at the door. He felt that Laxus needed a wake-up call before he strayed too far down a dark path.
"Makarov, your grandson is a lost cause. How about I just finish him off for you?" Warrod, whose head resembled a block of wood, suddenly spoke up, patting Makarov's shoulder with a heavy expression.
The mages in the room stared with wide eyes.
"No way! Laxus has a bad temper, but he's still our comrade! You can't just kill him!" Natsu and the others immediately began pleading for Laxus's life. Despite their anger, they still viewed him as family—the kind of brother you might argue with, but would still risk your life to protect.
"Just kidding!" Warrod suddenly burst out laughing. "That boy talks tough, but I can feel that his heart is still kind. He cares for this guild deeply."
Makarov, used to the old man's antics, explained to the stunned crowd, "This old guy's biggest hobby is playing pranks. Don't take everything he says seriously."
Makarov himself had been fooled by "Uncle Warrod" plenty of times as a child. The guild members collectively face-planted at the anticlimax.