— — — — — —
"Medicine! Hurry, give the master his medicine!"
Mira rushed to fetch it, quickly helping Makarov take it down. Her face was tight with anxiety as she turned to Kazuma.
"We need to get Miss Porlyusica here as soon as possible to treat him!"
"I know," Kazuma said calmly. "I've already sent people to fetch Porlyusica."
Only now did he finally stand up. His expression was steady, almost unnervingly so. "Don't panic, Mira. The old man will be fine."
He walked over to Makarov and placed a hand over his chest, channeling natural energy into his heart to ease the condition.
"I'll go bring Laxus back," Erza said, fury flashing across her face as she looked at the fallen guild master.
Being petrified earlier hadn't bothered her much. But seeing Makarov, someone like a father to her, collapse like this made her blood boil.
"No," Kazuma said. "You stay here and keep the game running."
"At a time like this, you're still talking about a game?" Erza shot back. "The master's down. Shouldn't we be rushing to stop Laxus and save the town?"
"We should announce it to everyone," she continued. "Tell them Laxus has turned against the guild. That he's our enemy now."
"And tell them the town's about to be destroyed," Kazuma replied calmly, looking straight at her. "Do you know what will happen?"
Erza opened her mouth, then fell silent.
She understood what he meant.
Right now, no one knew the truth. As long as they didn't, this wasn't a rebellion or an internal war. It was still just a game.
The moment the truth came out, things would spiral out of control. A real civil war might actually begin.
"Since you get it, keep hosting the game," Kazuma said. "As long as you don't panic, the guild won't either."
"As for Laxus, I'll deal with him."
He patted Erza on the shoulder, silently handing the responsibility to her. Then he turned and walked away.
"Juvia will go with you," Juvia said immediately.
"No," Kazuma replied. "Juvia, stay here. Help Mira take care of the old man."
He didn't give her a chance to argue. Alone, he headed toward the church at the center of town.
Juvia watched his back, reluctance welling up in her chest. In the end, she stayed put.
She'd seen the resolve in his eyes.
"Kazuma…" Erza murmured. "You're really starting to look like a guild master."
Watching him walk out alone, she suddenly saw what a true leader looked like.
No matter what happened, he stayed calm. He gave everyone unwavering confidence. And with overwhelming strength, he handled every problem himself.
"In that case, I can't fall behind either!"
Erza switched out of her gothic outfit and into her armor, the clearest symbol of her resolve and fighting spirit.
...
Elsewhere, Mira stood anxiously by Makarov's bedside after he'd been moved to a medical bed.
Outside the town, Mystogan broke through the barrier Fried had set up and entered, intending to stop the battle.
Deep in the forest, Porlyusica learned about Makarov's condition. Though she wore a look of deep annoyance, she still followed the shadow soldiers back without hesitation.
And at the church entrance, Kazuma came to a stop, facing Laxus at last.
"Laxus," he said evenly. "The old man collapsed."
"So tell me. Do you want to fight me first… or go back and see him?"
His tone was flat, his presence still and quiet, like a dead pool of water. There was no killing intent at all.
Laxus's pupils shrank the instant he heard that. Then he twisted into a wild grin.
"Isn't that perfect?" he laughed. "Once I beat you, I can become Fairy Tail's guild master right away!"
Lightning erupted around his body. Facing Kazuma, he felt crushing pressure and didn't dare underestimate him in the slightest.
Kazuma said nothing more.
He raised his hand, and dark-gold light gathered instantly.
Fairy Law formed in the blink of an eye.
A brilliant radiance swept across the entire town. Everyone still fighting froze mid-motion and looked toward the source of the light.
From there, they felt an overwhelming surge of magic power.
At the same time, all five hundred lightning magic crystals in the sky shattered at once.
"Fairy Law… I didn't expect the old man to teach you that too," Laxus said, stunned.
Kazuma had cast it far too quickly.
And Fairy Law was supposed to consume massive amounts of magic, yet Kazuma's aura hadn't weakened at all.
What terrifying reserves.
"But I was ready for this!" Laxus shouted. "I knew you specialized in wide-area attacks, so I cast an Organic Link Magic on every single crystal!"
"Destroying them means you'll take all five hundred attacks at the same time! That's power enough to wipe out the entire town! Hahaha! You're finished!"
Laxus threw his head back in laughter. He could already feel the lightning elements converging. The counterattack was coming. Kazuma was done for.
But... Kazuma still didn't move.
And the next instant, countless bolts of lightning crashed into him.
One. Two. Ten. A hundred.
Every single strike landed squarely on his body.
And yet, Kazuma wasn't injured at all.
Bathed in lightning, he stepped toward Laxus. And with every step, Laxus felt his heart pound violently in his chest.
Watching Kazuma approach, Laxus froze. He couldn't understand it.
How could someone walk away unharmed after an attack like that?
But when Kazuma reached him, and Laxus instinctively took a step back, he finally understood one thing.
He was afraid. And he had already lost. Maybe he'd lost the moment he no longer dared to face Kazuma head-on.
"No. No, no, no. I haven't lost!" Laxus roared. "I won't accept this!"
The moment he realized it, rage flooded his mind. He refused to admit defeat. Refused to end like this.
Gathering every last bit of strength he had, he unleashed his attack.
"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Laxus's left arm, thick as a tree trunk, became completely wrapped in lightning magic. His clothes were torn apart by the surge of power.
Patterns like dragon scales spread across his arm as the thunder roared, sounding almost like a dragon's roar.
"I can win!" Laxus thought wildly. "This punch will do it!"
Under crushing pressure, this strike was far stronger than anything he'd ever thrown before.
He could win. He had to win.
Bang!
Laxus stared at the scene before him, disbelief written all over his face.
"That enough?" Kazuma said calmly. "Had your fill yet? All that resentment you've been bottling up for years. Feel better now?"
He caught Laxus's all-out punch with one hand.
He didn't take a single step back. His expression didn't even change.
"You're done hitting," Kazuma continued. "Now it's my turn, kid."
"No magic. No artifacts. Just my fists."
"So hang in there for a bit," he added casually. "Let me beat the crap out of you properly."
Without drawing on any special power, relying on nothing but his physical body, Kazuma threw a clean uppercut and sent Laxus flying.
"So… so terrifying…"
Laxus spat out blood, his face twisted in pain and disbelief.
No magic. Just raw physical strength, and it shattered his defense. Shattered the defense of someone who had taken on a dragon's power.
"I have to dodge!"
Through the massive hole in the church, Laxus saw Kazuma bend his knees slightly. He knew the next attack was coming.
He tried to turn his body into lightning, hoping to escape with speed alone.
But it was too slow.
"Too slow," Kazuma said flatly. "You're nowhere near fast enough."
Kazuma's body had long been honed to the point where he didn't need magic at all. His speed now surpassed lightning itself. He was the Fairy Tail version of Toji Fushiguro.
Boom
Before Laxus could fully transform, Kazuma's fist smashed into him, interrupting the move and slamming him back into the ground.
Laxus skipped across the street like a stone across water, carving out more than a dozen craters.
"It's not over yet," Kazuma said. "Come on. Again. Again!"
In a flash, he appeared beside Laxus once more, kicked him into the air, and followed up with a relentless aerial combo.
On the ground below, the Fairy Tail members who had been fighting all froze.
They stared blankly at the sky, at Kazuma and Laxus.
There were no massive magical explosions. Just fists slamming into flesh.
And in that moment, they felt an overwhelming sense of domination.
Laxus was being treated like a punching bag, beaten at will. And Kazuma hadn't released even a trace of magic.
"Monster…" Gray muttered as he watched from below.
His own hand-to-hand combat ability wasn't bad, but compared to Kazuma, it wasn't even close.
After all, how was a human supposed to fly by kicking the air under his own feet?
Yet Kazuma was doing exactly that.
If that wasn't a monster, what was?
"Ahhh, I'm fired up now!" Natsu shouted. "I'll ask Kazuma to teach me that technique later."
Watching Kazuma fight Laxus, his blood began to boil. His fighting spirit flared out of control. Just seeing it made him want to find someone and go all out.
BOOM
When Laxus was smashed back down again, he landed right beside Fried.
"Laxus… I'll help you!"
As the leader of the Thunder God Tribe, Fried was fiercely loyal. Otherwise, he never would've followed Laxus into open conflict against the guild.
"Get lost!" Laxus snarled through clenched teeth. "I'm not done yet. I can still fight!"
No one knew how many bones in his body were broken, but he still refused to admit defeat.
"I can still fight!"
"L-Laxus…"
Fried looked at him, battered and broken. He could knock Laxus out right now if he wanted to. He had the strength.
But he didn't.
He followed Laxus not because Laxus was strong. Even if Laxus lost all his power, Fried would still follow him because that was his choice.
Swish—
The next instant, Kazuma arrived, and the fight continued.
"So strong it's unreal…"
Fried watched Kazuma flash past, terror gripping his soul. It felt like standing before some ferocious beast. And that beast wasn't seeing him as an enemy at all.
"Maybe this is why the master never handed the guild over to Laxus," Fried thought. "Compared to Kazuma, Laxus is still missing the most important thing."
Fried respected Laxus deeply. But he had to admit it.
Compared to Laxus, Kazuma was far more qualified to sit in the guild master's chair.
.
.
.