On the doorframe of the guild entrance, dark purple magical runes flowed and rearranged themselves like living creatures.
Happy hovered mid-air, his round blue cat eyes wide as he read the newly appearing text word by word:
"Max vs. Warren... Battle concluded! Winner—Warren!"
"Bisca, Warren, and Nab collaborating against Ace... Battle concluded! Winner—Ace!"
"Laki defeats one opponent, cumulative record: one win!"
"Ace defeats a five-member team including Macao and Wakaba... Cumulative record: nine wins!"
Each new update struck the remaining guild members like a heavy hammer.
Makarov stood before the door, his small frame trembling slightly with rage.
His fists were clenched so tightly his nails nearly pierced his palms.
"Laxus... snap out of it!" The old man suddenly slammed his fist against the invisible barrier with a dull thud.
"When are those brats going to stop this?!"
"Master, calm down!" Mirajane hurried forward to support him, her gentle face filled with concern.
"You'll only hurt yourself..."
"Calm? How can I be calm?!" Makarov turned, his beard and hair bristling as his eyes burned with fury.
"Look at this! We're fighting each other! Guild members battling one another—it's an insult to our bonds! It tramples on everything Fairy Tail stands for!"
He pointed outside, his voice hoarse with emotion. "And time is running out! If they don't defeat Evergreen in time, those petrified girls will turn to dust and never recover! That brat Laxus... he really wants his comrades to destroy each other!"
"He won't."
A calm voice spoke up.
Natsu had somehow reached the door, his hands resting in his pockets as he leaned against the invisible barrier.
His eyes stared at the empty street outside and his face actually carried a trace of a smile.
"Laxus is a huge jerk, and he's done some terrible things, but..." Natsu turned to look at Makarov.
His bright smile clashed sharply with the heavy atmosphere.
"He's still a member of this guild. No matter what he says, I don't believe he'd actually want to kill his friends."
Makarov froze.
"You..." Makarov opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately could only release a heavy sigh.
Natsu turned back to the door.
His expression suddenly shifted, and he pressed himself against the barrier, pounding on it frantically.
"Aaaah, damn it! It's a battle festival! Why can't I join?! I want to fight! I want to punch that bastard Laxus into the sky!"
"Aye! Natsu, calm down!" Happy flew over, patting Natsu's head with his paws, but Natsu ignored him and continued his frenzy.
Happy sighed helplessly.
He fluttered his wings, flying a few circles inside and outside the door.
He passed effortlessly through the barrier, as if the invisible wall that had left Makarov and Natsu battered didn't even exist.
"Happy can come and go freely..." Natsu stopped moving, scratching his head in confusion.
"Why can't I? Could I really be..."
Natsu's earlier words continued to echo in Makarov's heart.
'You consider Laxus a friend... You truly believe he won't go for the kill...' Makarov closed his eyes.
Images from many years ago surfaced in his mind.
'When had those eyes become tainted with arrogance and obsession?'
'When had that child started down this path of turning against his own family?'
"Remaining time—two hours and thirteen minutes," Happy's voice interrupted Makarov's thoughts.
Flapping his wings, he looked at the new information on the magic screen.
"Remaining participants... thirty."
"Thirty..." Makarov opened his eyes, a heavy gravity settling over his features.
Thanks to Ace stepping in, more Fairy Tail members were standing than originally expected.
Yet even so, after Laxus's surprise attack, the petrification magic and the chaotic rule-enforced brawls throughout the city, only thirty people were left.
And that number was dropping fast.
The battle information on the screen refreshed constantly.
Ace's name appeared frequently, with new victories added every few minutes.
He had accumulated twelve wins, meaning twelve groups had already fallen before him.
"That kid Ace..." Makarov murmured to himself. "He's trying to end battles as quickly as possible to minimize casualties. But at this rate, his magic power will be completely drained..."
Before he could finish, the information on the screen suddenly froze.
Then, a new line of text slowly appeared.
The font was larger than before and glowing a glaring crimson:
[Ace (12 Wins) VS Mystogan (0 Wins)]
...
Somewhere else in the city, Laxus watched the updates.
"Mystogan... So you've returned after all." He smirked. "Perfect. I'll use you to drain a bit more of Ace's power."
Laxus raised his hand, palm facing upward.
Throughout the city, the last traces of magic were forcibly extracted from the guild members who had been defeated and paralyzed by the spells.
The stolen energy transformed into pale blue streams of light that converged into his palm.
Golden lightning surged wildly around him, growing brighter and more violent, like a sun about to erupt.
...
"Mystogan?!" Mirajane gasped back at the guild. "He's back?!"
The room erupted into chaos.
Mystogan, one of Fairy Tail's most secretive S-Class Mages, was known for constantly taking long missions and rarely returning to the hall.
"That guy..." Natsu stopped his frantic pounding, staring at the screen with a burning fighting spirit.
"I heard he's really strong! I wonder what happens if he fights Ace..."
Makarov remained silent.
His eyes were fixed intently on the screen, his expression even graver than before.
...
Meanwhile, on a street near the edge of the Clock Tower Square in Magnolia's western district.
Ace stood in place, breathing slightly heavily.
At his feet lay five scattered guild members, all knocked unconscious with precise force.
They weren't seriously injured, but they wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
This was already the twelfth group.
Freed's spells had turned the entire city into a massive arena with simple rules: if you meet someone, you fight.
Winners advance, and losers are disqualified.
The penalty for losing was a temporary loss of mobility, held in place by the runes until the game ended.
Ace could feel the strain.
Even though these opponents were nowhere near his level, fighting back-to-back battles while actively holding back to avoid hurting his friends was genuinely exhausting.
More importantly, he could sense eyes watching him from the shadows.
It was Freed.
The Thunder God Tribe strategist was monitoring the entire battlefield through his spell formations.
He was manipulating the matchups, deliberately drawing the stronger members toward Ace to wear him down.
"Such an annoying tactic..." Ace murmured under his breath.
Just as he was about to turn and head for the next area—
Hum.
The air suddenly vibrated.
It wasn't a pulse of magic, but something deeper—a fundamental "ripple."
Like a stone dropped into calm water, concentric circles of disturbance spread outward.
Wherever the ripple passed, the light twisted slightly, sounds grew muffled and even the flow of the wind slowed down.
Ace halted his steps and slowly turned around.
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