Suddenly—
The curtains closed. Darkness fell over the entire guild. A single spotlight lit up the stage.
Everyone expected Mirajane to start singing.
Instead, sitting center stage was Gajeel, dressed in a white suit with a guitar in his arms.
"Eh—?!!"
"Gajeel—?!!"
The entire guild erupted in shock. No one had expected him to sing.
Gajeel began strumming and singing, his voice rough:
"A guild willing to hire me is rare. Even a stray wolf learns to be tame. Yesterday's enemies—this song is for them. I wrote it myself. It's called 'Best Friends'. Let me play it for you first…"
"..."
Everyone in the guild was stunned speechless.
Mirajane commented lightly, "The guitar playing is awful, but the lyrics aren't bad!"
Kaien Blaze winced in pain. "Great singing. Just don't ever do it again."
"Ahaha!" Mirajane couldn't help but laugh at Kaien's deadpan remark.
And he wasn't the only one who couldn't take it. The entire guild began throwing whatever they could at the stage, trying to get Gajeel to stop. Before anyone realized, it had turned into an all-out brawl.
"OL—!!"
Later, the Fairy Tail Weekly was released.
Apart from a few pages, the rest of it was a chaotic mess.
In a tavern in a remote village…
"Yahahaha! Look at this!! Idiots! Fairy Tail!! I don't get how those clowns ever got popular."
"They've even got a swimming pool in their guild. What the hell are they thinking?"
"Check out this guy—he looks pathetic!!"
"If not for that freak Kaien Blaze, Fairy Tail would've just been a second-rate guild."
"Second-rate? More like third-rate!"
"Bwahaha!!"
Just then, a shadow loomed behind the three drunkards. They turned around, expecting trouble—
—and instantly froze.
"Th-That's Laxus from Fairy Tail!!"
"What the hell is he doing in a backwater place like this?!"
"W-We meant no offense!!"
The trio scrambled out of the tavern in a panic.
They'd dared to mock Fairy Tail behind its back, but when it came to facing its infamous wizards in person? They were cowards. Laxus was one of the most feared among them.
He glanced down at the crumpled Fairy Tail Weekly on the floor.
"Even idiocy has its limits, old man."
Suddenly—
"Eeya! Yahahaha! No wonder they ran—one glare from the big shot and they're pissing themselves! Classic! So, you're Makarov's grandson, huh? What should we call you—Daddy's Meal Ticket?"
A man with a frizzy explosion of hair, flashy golden teeth, and the face of a monkey grinned mockingly at Laxus.
Laxus stared at him without a word.
"Ooooh, scary~"
The tavern owner trembled as he begged, "Zat... please don't cause trouble…"
Zat was a member of a nearby dark guild.
Laxus, however, was from the famous Fairy Tail.
If a fight broke out, this little tavern wouldn't survive.
"What trouble could I possibly cause with a trash guild like that, Dallas? Aside from that Kaien freak, the rest of 'em are garbage."
Zat sneered with utter contempt. Kaien's strength had been witnessed by all during that broadcast—the Ten Wizard Saints couldn't even match him. No one dared mock him.
But the others? No respect.
"Zat? Never heard of you."
"Exactly. We operate in the shadows—unlike those clowns embarrassing themselves in magazines."
Crack! Crack!
Golden lightning sparked around Laxus's head.
His eyes sharpened. He was clearly pissed.
"If you're really that eager to die, I'd be happy to help."
The tavern owner panicked. "Sir! Please! Don't start a fight! Zat is—"
"Outside."
Laxus didn't want innocents involved.
"Oh? The one going outside is you!"
BOOM—!!
Laxus was blasted through the tavern wall, crashing into the street.
"YAAAAAH!!"
The tavern patrons screamed and fled in terror. A wizard battle could kill bystanders without even trying.
"Yahahahaha!! Weak as hell! Fairy Tail's a joke. Maybe I'll go hunt me some little fairies tomorrow!"
Zat laughed wildly—until a blinding light flared beneath his feet.
CRACK—!!
A surge of golden lightning erupted from the ground and hurled him into the sky.
"WAAAHHHHH!!"
BAM!
Zat hit the ground, charred all over, and passed out cold.
"L-Lightning…?"
"From the ground?!"
"You're kidding, right?!"
"Who is that guy?!"
The onlookers were stunned, voices buzzing all around.
But Laxus stood silent, no joy on his face.
"This is pathetic. Since when did people dare mock my guild so easily… Old man…"
Crushing a weakling like Zat was as easy as breathing.
But Laxus didn't feel victorious.
He felt furious.
Fairy Tail Guild Hall
After the interview chaos, the guild had returned to its usual noisy self.
"Is there a job I can do solo?"
Lucy was browsing the request board, looking for anything she could manage alone.
"What's this? Not teaming up with Natsu today?" Mirajane asked, surprised.
"He said he's training. But if I don't take a job soon, I won't make rent this month…"
Mirajane encouraged her. "Then take your time and look carefully. There's gotta be something that suits you."
"Hmm... Monster hunting? Too hard. Deep-sea treasure hunt? I'd drown on my own… Huh? 'Hiring Magic Instructor for Children's Class'?! I can do that!"
Lucy reached for the flyer—
—but another hand grabbed it faster.
"Hey! I saw that one first!"
"Finder's keepers, right?"
"Can you even handle this kind of job?!"
"I'll do whatever job I want. Wanna fight about it?"
"Ugh!! Not fair!!"
Lucy stomped furiously as Gajeel walked off with the flyer.
He brought it to Kaien Blaze.
"I'm taking this job."
Kaien glanced at it and deadpanned, "With that face? You'll traumatize the kids."
Due to the Magic Council's current issues, Makarov had been busy—so Kaien was temporarily acting as Guild Master.
"Shut it."
"Fine. Go work."
Just as Gajeel was about to head out—
—he bumped into someone at the door.
"Sorry," Gajeel muttered, about to move on.
"Hey! You think a quick 'sorry' is enough after knocking into someone?"
"You wanna—"
CRACK!!
Golden lightning exploded onto Gajeel's back.
"GUAHHHH!!"
He screamed, blasted off his feet.
"LAXUS?!"
Everyone in the guild froze at the sight.
CRACKLE!!
Another bolt of lightning flew toward the fallen Gajeel.
PAK!
A figure appeared in front of him, effortlessly swatting the bolt aside.
BOOM!!
The lightning struck a nearby table, shattering it to pieces.
Kaien Blaze stood between them, glaring coldly at Laxus.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Laxus?"