Laxus Loses His Composure

Gray gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, turned and rushed toward the door, his steps heavy and hurried.

He needs to find Evergreen; once he defeats her, the petrification will be broken.

Makarov stood in the center of the hall, his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth with heavy steps, his brows furrowed in a deep frown as he rapidly calculated in his mind.

"Who can defeat Laxus now? Erza, Mirajane, and Riyao —all three of them are petrified..."

He stopped and let out a long sigh, his white beard trembling with each breath.

Behind the pillar next to it, a huge shadow tried to shrink into the shadows, trembling as it poked out half its head.

Makarov spotted it immediately and frowned.

"Reedus, what are you doing there?"

Startled by the shout, Reedus shuddered and nearly slipped out from behind the pillar, clutching his arms tightly and speaking in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.

"I... I'm a little afraid of Laxus..."

Makarov paid no attention to Reedus's cowardice, strode over, jumped up, and patted him on the shoulder with such force that it almost knocked Reedus to the ground.

"Go find Porlyusica in the forest on the eastern outskirts of the city. She might have a potion that can cure petrification. Go quickly!"

Reedus felt as if he had been granted a pardon, nodded repeatedly, and took off running towards the back door, faster than anyone else.

Just then, a muffled groan came from the corner of the hall.

Natsu crawled out from under the overturned table, staggered to his feet, his head still spinning, and pressed one hand to the spot on his chest where he had been struck by lightning.

He looked around blankly, then shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Where is everyone? Where did everyone go? And where is Laxus?"

Makarov turned to look at Natsu, his cloudy old eyes flashing as he quickly pondered.

Natsu might be able to defeat Laxus, or he could defeat Evergreen to remove the petrification; having one more person is always better than having one less.

He slapped his thigh and shouted loudly at Natsu.

"Natsu! The festival has begun! Laxus is somewhere in Magnolia! We should defeat Evergreen first to break free from petrification! Let's go, Natsu!"

Natsu's eyes lit up instantly, his fists burst into flames, and he let out an excited roar.

"Oh! No problem!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already dashed towards the door like an arrow released from a bow, the floorboards creaking under his feet.

Bang!

Natsu felt as if he had crashed into an invisible wall; his face was squeezed out of shape, and his limbs were spread wide and pressed against the invisible wall, making him look like a flattened gecko.

Makarov, Happy, and Reedus, who was about to leave, all froze, their eyes wide with surprise.

Makarov's lips twitched, and he pointed at Natsu's image stuck to the wall, his voice distorted.

"What on earth is going on?! Natsu, are you eighty years old? Are you a stone statue?"

Natsu struggled forward, his face contorted in the effort, trying to squeeze through the gaps in the invisible wall with both hands and feet, but the wall remained unmoved.

Happy leisurely flew in and out, flapping his wings, easily passing through the gate each time, then flying back, then out again, then back again, deliberately lingering in front of Natsu.

Natsu was sweating profusely with anxiety.

"How should I know! Why can you go out but I can't!"

At this moment, the incantation text above the door frame flashed again, and new lines of text appeared:

"Jet vs. Troy vs. Alzack"

"Biggs VS Nab"

"Warren vs. Max"

"Macao vs Wakaba"

"Mayonnaise Samurai VS Shameless Samurai"

"Nine Bags of Noodles VS Evil Marshmallow"

"Loves drinking animal milk VS Owes parking fees"

Throughout Magnolia, magical barriers were activated one after another, forcing guild members trapped inside to fight each other. Magical flashes and explosions echoed from every corner of the town.

Natsu, lying on the invisible wall, listened to the sounds of battle coming from afar and shouted in bewilderment.

"Why are our own people fighting?!"

Happy flew to Natsu's head, rested his chin on his little paws, and began to explain in a serious manner.

"Magnolia has been enchanted with spells everywhere, forcing those trapped inside to fight each other; this is what Laxus called the Battle of Fairy Tail."

Makarov was trembling with rage, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked, veins bulged on his forehead, and his teeth chattered.

Natsu gritted his teeth, the flames on his fists flickering, and his voice was squeezed out from between his teeth.

"I just can't understand why."

This anger resonated slightly with Makarov and Happy, who both fell silent for a moment, thinking that Natsu had finally grasped the absurdity of this civil war.

The next second, Natsu slammed his fist on the invisible wall and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I want to go out and fight too! I can't understand why I can't go!"

Makarov nearly choked on his breath, his beard bristling with anger, and he and Happy complained in unison.

-_-||

"So that's what you mean, you bastard!"

Makarov jumped up and slapped Natsu on the back of the head.

(▼ヘ▼#)

"What the hell was that you doing, brat, joining the fray?! Everyone got played by Laxus!"

He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and his voice became calm and more serious than ever before.

"If we can't stop Laxus within the limited time, the Riyao and his allies will turn to sand and never be able to recover."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Natsu suddenly stopped his angry expression, tilted his head, grinned, and revealed his signature row of sharp teeth.

"He's infuriating, but he definitely wouldn't harm his guildmates."

Makarov was taken aback. Looking at the carefree smile on Natsu's face, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back.

A golden bolt of lightning flashed out of nowhere.

Laxus's Thought Projection appeared in the center of the hall, its semi-transparent body floating in the air, lightning crackling around it, a cold smile on its arrogant face.

"Do you think I'm bluffing, Natsu?"

Happy was so startled that his wings stiffened, and he almost fell from the sky.

"Laxus!"

Laxus ignored Happy, his gaze sweeping across the entire hall, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Natsu, what are you still doing here? And where's that bastard Riyao? This time I'm going to defeat him completely."

His tone carried a stubborn obsession, and he clenched his fist, lightning crackling between his fingers.

Happy flew to Laxus, pointed his little paw at the little dragon statue on the platform, and said timidly.

"The Riyao has turned into a stone statue."

Laxus's gaze followed Happy's paw.

The stone statue maintained a half-smile, half-smile, with its dragon horns standing proudly upright and its tail slightly upturned, making it look like an exquisite work of art.

Laxus's lips twitched.

It twitched again.

He was silent for three seconds, a vein throbbing on his forehead, before he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth.

"... That idiot, why did he have to cross-dress now of all times?"

He was even considering whether to just let Evergreen break free of the petrification, since they still had the Thunder Palace as a backup plan.