— — — — — —
"When did that bastard Kazuma get back? Wasn't he supposed to be out on a mission?!"
Evergreen froze where she stood. Every muscle in her body tensed on instinct.
She turned her head to look at her companions beside her. Bickslow and Fried were just as frozen, unable to move.
"Wh-what do we do now, Fried?" Bickslow whispered. "Do we even have a chance?"
His soul was trembling.
Bickslow's eyes possessed magic that could peer into the soul itself. And in his vision at that moment, everyone else in the guild had vanished. The only thing left was Kazuma, sitting there calmly.
The pressure radiating from him drowned out everything else. Bickslow couldn't see anyone or anything beyond Kazuma.
"Evergreen, release the spell," Fried said with a quiet sigh. "We've lost."
Their plan had been solid. But unfortunately, Kazuma had returned yesterday, and they hadn't gotten the news in time.
From the moment he came back, their plan was already doomed. In the face of absolute power, schemes meant nothing.
"…Yes."
Evergreen dispelled her magic. The girls who had been turned to stone immediately returned to normal, one after another.
The invisible pressure vanished as well. Evergreen felt like a fish thrown back into water, gasping desperately for air.
"That kid Kazuma is getting scarier by the day. Before, he was only at the level of the Ten Wizard Saints. And now? You can't even measure him anymore."
Makarov's hair was still standing on end. Just a moment ago, he'd felt a very real sense of impending death.
It wasn't killing intent. It wasn't Conqueror's Haki. It wasn't even magical pressure.
It was just Kazuma's presence.
Pure presence alone had suppressed everyone in the guild, even though it wasn't directed at them. And yet, it still made everyone feel genuine danger.
"Erza, I'm so glad you're okay again!"
"Cana!"
"Levy!"
Seeing everyone restored, the guild let out a collective sigh of relief. Then, in the next instant, their gazes turned sharp as they locked onto the three members of the Thunder God Tribe.
"Hey now, no need to look so serious," Kazuma said casually. "Fried and the others put a lot of effort into preparing this game."
"It'd be a shame to waste all that preparation. Though I think we should switch the host."
"I'll be running it instead. This Battle of Fairy Tail."
Kazuma suddenly stood up and walked onto the stage. The holidays were coming up soon anyway. Might as well make things lively in the guild.
"A game?" Makarov snapped. "You little brat, what are you plotting now?"
He stared at Kazuma, a bad feeling rising in his gut. This kid was definitely up to something again. This was not the time to be fooling around.
"Starting now, the entire town is the battlefield," Kazuma announced. "Anyone who survives until the end and ranks between tenth and fourth gets five hundred thousand J each."
"Third place gets one million J. Second place, one and a half million. First place gets three million."
"And anyone who manages to capture and defeat Evergreen, Fried, or Bickslow gets an extra five hundred thousand J."
"Well? Interested?" Kazuma grinned.
"You idiot!" Makarov roared. "There's no way the guild would agree to something that makes comrades fight each other! Stop messing around and—"
"Wooo! It's on!"
Natsu was the first to explode with excitement. He swung his fist straight at Gray. "I'm the strongest in Fairy Tail!"
"Natsu, you're going down!" Gray shot back, punching him without hesitation.
Those two fought even when there was nothing at stake. Now there was prize money involved.
"Aye! Kazuma, if I make it into the top ten, do I get the reward too?" Happy raised his paw and asked.
"Of course," Kazuma replied. "Happy, you're a member of the guild too. As long as you're one of the last ten standing, you get the money."
"Doesn't matter if you hide, fight, or team up with others. Anything goes."
Kazuma stepped down from the stage. Seeing Makarov's expression, like he'd just swallowed something foul, Kazuma smiled brightly.
"Aye!"
Happy immediately flew off. He had no combat power, but he was fast. If he just hid somewhere, he could still get at least five hundred thousand J.
How many grilled fish could that buy?
Happy had to give it his all.
In an instant, chaos broke out. Some guild members started fighting. Others began planning elaborate games of hide-and-seek. Some were gearing up to give the Thunder God Tribe a very thorough beating.
As for the three of them, they ran.
They knew the situation was hopeless. Their only remaining hope now was Laxus.
...
Before long, only five people returned to the guild hall: Kazuma, Erza, Makarov, Juvia, and Mirajane.
"Old man," Kazuma said with a smile, "our guild members were never obedient little angels."
"It's just a game. A bit of sparring between friends. Honestly, isn't that kind of fun?"
"Fun my ass," Makarov snapped, shooting him an annoyed look. "What are you really up to?"
"It's simple. I'm hosting a game," Kazuma replied. "Given how things were going just now, if I'd straight-up crushed the Thunder God Tribe…"
"They probably wouldn't be able to survive in the guild anymore after that. Instead of pushing them into a corner, this kind of game lets them blend back in."
"Those three never really saw us as enemies anyway. They're just… socially awkward, that's all."
Kazuma sat down and poured himself a glass of juice. The moment he saw the surprise on their faces when they noticed him earlier, he understood.
They didn't have friends.
When he returned, almost everyone in the guild knew about it. Those three didn't. That said everything.
"You little punk…" Makarov stared at him, genuinely stunned. Was this really the Kazuma he knew?
Based on everything he knew about the kid, Kazuma should've knocked the three of them flat without a second thought. Yet now he was actually thinking about the guild as a whole. The method was still rough around the edges, but it worked.
This… this was what a real guild master looked like.
"No need to praise me," Kazuma said smugly. "I know I'm amazing."
"Who's praising you?" Makarov shot back. "I'm saying you're ridiculously full of yourself."
He'd been about to compliment Kazuma, but suddenly he didn't feel like it anymore. The urge died on the spot.
"Kazuma, Master," Erza said seriously. "The Thunder God Tribe didn't act on their own. This was almost certainly Laxus pulling the strings."
"So what do we do now? Track Laxus down and beat him senseless?"
She was already fired up, clearly ready to knock some sense into him.
"This time, you don't need to get involved," Makarov said, his expression turning grave. "I'll handle my foolish grandson myself."
He hadn't fulfilled his duty as a grandfather. But now, there was still one thing he could do.
One last thing.
He would use his own strength to beat some sense into Laxus.
"Don't push yourself, old man," Kazuma said calmly. "If you could really bring yourself to do it, you would've done it long ago. It wouldn't have dragged on until now."
"Leave it to us. I told you before, didn't I? If you can't do it, I'll help you."
He looked straight at Makarov. There was resolve on the old man's face, but also hesitation and confusion.
"Kazuma," Erza asked suddenly, "do you already know where Laxus is?"
"Yeah," Kazuma replied. "I'm waiting for him to finish preparing."
He turned his gaze toward the distance. Buildings blocked everyone else's view, but that meant nothing to him.
With his Observation Haki, Kazuma could clearly see Laxus and feel the magic power steadily gathering around him.
At that very moment, deep within the church at the center of the city, Laxus felt Kazuma's gaze lock onto him.
"So you think you've already won?" Laxus sneered. "Not yet. Try taking what I've prepared for you!"
Lightning surged wildly around his body. When Kazuma's presence had pinned Fried and the others earlier, Laxus had felt it immediately.
He'd started preparing at once.
Now, it was ready. The spell he'd prepared specifically for Kazuma.
"Thunder Palace!"
The lightning around Laxus exploded into motion. In an instant, more than five hundred golden lightning magic crystals rose into the sky.
Each one contained terrifying lightning power. Every strike carried the same destructive force as one of Laxus's own lightning blows. Enough to instantly defeat someone on Natsu's level.
And there were five hundred of them. That was like five hundred Laxuses attacking at once.
...
Back inside the Fairy Tail guild hall—
"Hahaha! Kazuma, aren't you supposed to be amazing?" Laxus's voice rang out through the magic array. "Come on, then. Let's see how you deal with this!"
"Laxus, have you lost your mind?!" Makarov roared. "If that attack comes down, the entire town will be destroyed! Everyone will die!"
"You've gone too far this time! Stop it right now!"
The moment Makarov saw the Thunder Palace suspended in the sky, fury surged through him. Veins bulged on his forehead.
"Don't you dare order me around anymore, old man!" Laxus shouted back.
"I answer to no one but myself! I'm Laxus! I decide what I do, not you!"
"The Fairy Tail you're running is weak! People laugh at us, don't you know that?! But that's fine. Once I become guild master, Fairy Tail will be the strongest. No one will dare laugh at us again!"
His anger burned hotter with every word. He cut off the transmission mid-rant.
Outside, the Thunder Palace continued to swell with power, faster and faster.
"..."
"LAXUS."
Makarov's rage reached its peak.
He could tolerate anything. But he would never forgive anyone who harmed innocent people or his children.
Never.
Grinding his teeth, Makarov took a step forward, then another, determined to go out there and stop Laxus himself.
After just two steps, he collapsed.
Clutching his chest, he grimaced in agony. A bad heart could never handle this kind of shock.
.
.
.