After some conversation, Melkobia gave the "Water God Dragon Key" that could summon him, as well as the method to craft the key, to Hope as a reward for his assistance.
Hope picked up the key, which was shaped like a small dragon coiled around it. Having the crafting method was enough; this thing was actually useless to him.
Melkobia might be powerful, but if there were an enemy that even Hope couldn't handle, summoning him with the key would be pointless.
But this item, which seemed like "chicken ribs" to Hope, was a coveted treasure for others.
Unless someone could summon the Celestial Spirit King in his prime, Melkobia could be said to be the strongest summoned creature in the world.
Hope turned to look at the others, who were still fighting enthusiastically over there.
At this moment, Gajeel, whom he had disguised as himself using Transformation Magic, was being pinned down and pummeled by Natsu, while Erza stood by calmly directing them.
"To the left, to the left. Yes, use more force."
Gray had joined the fray at some point, and Mirajane was arguing with Cana over whether to use a leather whip or a long whip.
"I feel like... they're having a lot of fun." Hope's lip twitched. "Hey, you can stop now. We've settled things over here."
Natsu poked his head out. "Hope? Why are you over there? Then who are we beating up right now?"
Everyone scattered, looking at the guy they had beaten black and blue. Mirajane, who had long noticed something was off, raised her hand to dispel the Transformation Magic. Only then did everyone realize the person they had been thrashing was actually Gajeel.
Natsu scratched his head and suddenly realized. "Oh, so that's it! No wonder it didn't feel right when I was hitting him. If I'd known, I would've used flames..."
Before Natsu could finish, Gajeel sprang up from the ground with a kip-up, his body wreathed in a dark aura.
"You bastards... you had a lot of fun hitting me just now, didn't you?"
Gajeel's knuckles cracked as his gaze swept over everyone's faces, finally landing on Hope. "Especially you, Hope! You let this great me take the beating for you?!"
"Despicable guy! You even sealed my voice so I didn't even have a chance to explain!"
Hope spread his hands innocently. "How can you call that taking a beating for me? This is an interaction to enhance the bond between guild members. See, when Natsu was sitting on you and punching you just now, look how sincere and invested his expression was."
"Sincere my ass!" Gajeel roared. "Is there ever a time when this guy isn't invested in a fight?"
"Calm down, calm down." Hope took a step back. "Think about it. If I hadn't used Transformation Magic on you, I would've been the one getting beaten. Taking the fall for me, your guild senior, isn't something you should feel wronged about."
"You only joined Fairy Tail a month earlier than me!"
"Never mind a month, even if it was just one day, I'm still your senior!"
In the end, in a state of extreme anger, Gajeel's anger dissipated on its own, and he went off to hug Levy for comfort.
Erza cleared her throat, dropped her commanding posture, and changed the subject without a change in expression. "In any case, the misunderstanding is cleared up. Hope doesn't have that kind of strange fetish, which is good."
"Wait, Erza." Hope spoke gloomily. "You were directing them so enthusiastically just now, and now you want to turn the page with just 'a misunderstanding'?"
Mirajane smilingly put away the leather whip and long whip set she had pulled from who-knows-where, saying regretfully, "Oh dear, I was looking forward to it for nothing."
Cana nodded frantically beside her.
Hope's eye twitched. "Mirajane, there's a big problem with your wording. What do you mean 'looking forward to it for nothing'? What were you originally looking forward to?"
"Of course, I was looking forward to seeing you pinned down and thoroughly disciplined by everyone, Hope." Mirajane tilted her head with a pure smile. "That would surely have been very interesting."
"..."
Wow! There was actually an S and M segment!
If I'd known, I wouldn't have let Gajeel take my place... I seem to have exposed some strange hobby...
Hope took a deep breath and decided not to argue with this sweet-faced but dark-hearted woman for now. He turned and tossed the newly acquired Water God Dragon Key to Lucy.
Lucy caught the key in a fluster and looked over with a bewildered expression. "Hope... what is this?"
"This thing is much more powerful than celestial spirit key. From now on, the Water God Dragon will be your summoned dragon." Hope then mentioned that Melkobia was acquainted with the Aquarius celestial spirit.
Only then did Lucy understand. It turned out she had gotten a huge bargain for free. She never expected that one day she would benefit from her celestial spirit partners' connections.
And this was a dragon! It was much more powerful than celestial spirits who couldn't fight at full strength because her magic power level was limited.
Lucy immediately took out the Aquarius key, intending to summon Aquarius to tell her the news.
But thinking of Aquarius, who was currently dating scorpio, and the incredibly slow flow of time in the Spirit World compared to this world, Lucy suddenly felt there was no rush.
Mainly, she was afraid of interrupting Aquarius's date and being scolded mercilessly...
"Alright, I've received the reward, time to get to work." Hope looked at Melkobia. "Tell me the specifics of the magic power going berserk in your body."
Melkobia switched back from spectator mode and sighed. "I have lived for too long, and my ever-growing magic power has slowly exceeded the scope of my control. It's like a kettle constantly pouring water into a cup; the cup was full long ago, but the water is still being poured in."
Simply put, Melkobia's magic power had become so strong that it exceeded the upper limit his body could withstand, which was why it was going out of control.
Fortunately, the dragon race's incredibly powerful constitution managed to hold it in. If this situation had occurred in a human, they would have been finished long ago.
For example, when Ultear was a child, her innate magic power was so strong that her young body couldn't withstand it, putting her life in danger. This was why Ur sought help everywhere and eventually trusted someone she shouldn't have, leading to a series of tragedies.
Laxus was in a similar situation, except his father, Ivan, hadn't been blinded by desire yet and went to great lengths to buy a Lightning Dragon Slayer Crystal for the young Laxus to share the burden of his innate powerful magic.
Hope suddenly remembered something; Laxus's dragon slayer crystal seemed to have come from the Giltina continent.
"Almost forgot."
Hope walked up to Melkobia, pressed his hand on his shoulder, and closed his eyes to sense for a moment.
Melkobia asked nervously, "Can it be solved?"
"Piece of cake."
Hope opened his eyes, and a faint blue light emanated from the palm of his hand pressed against Melkobia's shoulder as 110,000 Horsepower of Magnetic Field Power began to rotate.
In the Magnetic Field World, there was a move that could seal the power of the weak, making the target's power unable to grow ever again. A ruthless practitioner could even completely lock down the Magnetic Field Power, turning the target back into an ordinary person.
If someone hit by the 'Heavenly Lock' tried to force a breakthrough, there would be only one end: their body would explode.
Unless another force that surpassed or equaled the sealing horsepower level unlocked it, their life's progress could be said to be at an end, with no more chance to grow.
And this move was called—
Magnetic Heavenly Lock!
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