Shards fluttered down like snowflakes, revealing the stage and the scene behind the curtain to the crowd.
Several stone statues stood there silently in various poses.
Cana was frozen holding her cards, Juvia had her hands cupped to her cheeks... Evergreen had just removed her glasses and turned all the other female members who had been performing into cold, hard stone.
Their expressions were locked in the exact moment right before petrification—some showed surprise, some fear, and some confusion.
They looked eerie yet tragically beautiful under the glow of the lightning.
"You bastards!!!"
Makarov's roar boomed like a clap of thunder.
The short old man's hair and beard stood on end as a terrifying magical pressure erupted like a mountain torrent, knocking the people around him back several steps.
He stared intently at the statues, his face ashen and his eyes burning with furious rage.
"You're all family! Why would you do this?! Turn them back right now!!!"
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening thunderclap exploded over the plaza, and a blinding flash of electricity tore through the festive sky.
While everyone was still reeling from the shock of Lucy being petrified, the massive curtain behind the stage was suddenly torn to shreds by an unseen force!
A lazy voice drifted down from the sky.
"Don't get so worked up, Gramps."
Everyone snapped their heads up.
Up in the sky, a golden figure was slowly descending.
It was Laxus Dreyar, clad in his heavy fur-collared coat.
His short blond hair stood on end amidst the crackling lightning.
He floated in mid-air with his arms crossed, wearing a playful smile as he looked down at the chaotic plaza below.
Behind him, three more figures descended.
To his left was Evergreen, who had just cast the petrification magic. She had put her glasses back on, a mocking smile curving her lips.
To his right was a tall, slender man in a suit: Freed Justine, the tactician of the Thunder God Tribe.
At the very back was the burly Bickslow, carrying a strangely shaped doll.
The entire Thunder God Tribe had arrived.
Laxus's gaze swept across the plaza.
When it landed on a few specific spots, his brow furrowed slightly, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
"Tch. Erza, Mirajane, Lisanna... they actually escaped the petrification?" His gaze fell on the edge of the plaza.
Erza was pulling Levy, who had been closest to her, and they were staring warily at Laxus and his group.
On the other side, Ace had one hand on Mirajane and the other on Lisanna.
He shielded them behind him as his Digital Soul faintly circulated around his body.
"The big fish got away, but whatever." Laxus quickly regained his smile, his gaze turning back to the stone statues.
"These hostages should be enough to make him think twice."
"Laxus!!!" Makarov's voice trembled with rage. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?! They are your comrades! Your family!!!"
"Comrades? Family?" Laxus laughed, his smile full of ridicule. "Gramps, you're still so naive. Fairy Tail doesn't need weaklings. We don't need useless trash that only holds everyone back. Look at these people—"
He pointed at the statues. "Cana does nothing but drink all day. Juvia is a newcomer; who knows if she's a spy? Lucy, what can she do besides cry? And the others..."
His gaze swept over the rest. "Their only value is to serve as pawns in my game."
"Game?" Gray's voice was as cold as an arctic wind.
He stood in the center of the plaza, his hands already covered in frost, his eyes locked on Laxus.
"You turned them to stone for your 'game'?"
"That's right." Laxus spread his arms, golden lightning dancing wildly around him.
"Let's play a game, old man. No, I should say... all of Fairy Tail will play with me."
A bolt of lightning as thick as a tree trunk suddenly fell from the sky!
It tore through the air with a destructive aura, aimed straight at the stone statues in the center of the plaza.
It was Laxus's lightning—a clear declaration that he was truly willing to destroy these "hostages."
"No—!!!"
"Stop!!!"
Several cries rang out at once.
But the distance was too great and the speed was too fast; most people couldn't react in time.
"Bastard!!!" Makarov could no longer suppress his fury.
A terrifying surge of magic shot toward the sky, but just as he was about to act, a figure had already charged out ahead of him.
It was Gray.
"Ice-Make: Lance!!!"
Gray's roar exploded amidst the thunder.
The instant the lightning struck, a terrifying chill erupted from his hands.
Dozens of ice lances materialized in a flash, shooting toward Laxus in the sky with bone-chilling cold!
He held nothing back in this attack; it carried the full force of his rage, and each ice spear was powerful enough to pierce steel.
Golden lightning burst from Laxus's fingertips, forming a thin but highly condensed beam of electricity.
The beam split in mid-air, precisely striking each ice spear.
The lightning dissipated, and the ice spears slowly shattered, turning into a shower of ice crystals that fluttered down to the ground.
The crystals refracted the sunlight into a rainbow of colors.
This light illuminated the completely unharmed statues behind the ice wall, as well as Gray, who was kneeling on one knee with his hands on the ground, panting heavily.
Laxus looked down at the kneeling Gray, a flicker of surprise in his eyes for the first time.
Although that lightning bolt wasn't his full power, Gray's ability to react under those circumstances and instantly create ice lances strong enough to block it was impressive.
His reaction speed, magic control, and timing were far beyond Laxus's expectations.
"A little interesting," Laxus muttered to himself.
The contempt in his eyes faded slightly, replaced by a look of appraisal.
He had originally thought that, besides Ace and Erza, no one else in the guild was worth his attention.
Natsu had potential but was too impulsive. In his memory, Gray was just a kid on par with Natsu who bickered all day.
He paused, his voice deepening. "But you think you can defy me with just this?"
Before his words even faded, Laxus's figure suddenly vanished.
Actually, he hadn't vanished; he was just so fast that he left only a golden trail of lightning in everyone's vision.
The very next second, he appeared right in front of Gray.
His right leg swept out like a whip, carrying a terrifying electrical force as it kicked straight toward Gray's chest!
"Gray, watch out!!!"
Erza's cry rang out, but it was too late.
Gray didn't even see the attack coming.
He only felt an irresistible force slam into his chest.
The sharp pain of breaking ribs shot through him, and his entire body was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
He crashed through three festive archways before slamming heavily into the guild's outer wall, cracking the stone like a spiderweb.
"Cough, cough..." Gray spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to stand, but the intense pain in his chest made his vision go black.
He collapsed to the ground again.
The hall fell deathly silent.
Everyone was stunned by this scene.
Gray's strength was definitely top-tier in the guild; he was an S-Class candidate and a genius among Ice Mages.
But in front of Laxus, he couldn't even take a single hit?!
Laxus slowly retracted his leg, looking at the struggling Gray with a cruel smile on his lips.
"See that? This is the difference," his voice resonated throughout the area, amplified by his lightning.
"The weak should act like the weak. Be obedient pawns, and don't even think about resisting."
He turned, once again facing Makarov and the furious guild members who didn't dare to speak.
"The rules are simple," Laxus began slowly, each word landing like a heavy hammer on everyone's heart.
"I will set up a barrier throughout the entire city of Magnolia. All of you have three hours to find me and the Thunder Legion, and then—"
He paused, a fanatical light flashing in his eyes.
"—defeat me."
"If you can do that, I'll undo the petrification and release all the hostages. But if three hours pass and you still haven't found me—or if you find me but can't win..."
He pointed at the statues.
"These stones will turn to dust, one by one. This is the after-party for this year's Harvest Festival. The Battle of Fairy Tail—begins now."
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