The moment the book touched Zorn, it turned into a streak of light and entered his body. A golden magic circle appeared in his left eye and a blue one in his right. Light lifted his body, suspending him in the air.
"Damn it, Zorn!" Lightning crackled all over Laxus as he stepped in front of Cana and the villagers. He stared at Zorn with a grave expression and a deeply furrowed brow, clenching both fists and gathering magic power around them, ready to attack at any moment. Once he was prepared, he called out to Zorn, hoping to find out what state he was in.
"Zorn?" Cana tried to rush straight to his side, but Laxus stopped her with an outstretched arm. "Don't go over there yet."
"I'm fine. I'm all right." An ethereal voice came from Zorn's direction. After speaking, Zorn turned to look at the fearful villagers behind Laxus.
"This is the last protection your ancient ancestor bestowed upon you." Zorn pressed his palms together and drew on all the magic power in his body. The magic circle activated again, and magic power, half gold and half blue, soared into the sky. Behind Zorn appeared a woman wearing a crown and a magnificent gown, her blue hair flowing as she gazed lovingly at the villagers.
"This is...? The story was true?" The old village chief was the first to realize it. His face filled with shock, and he was the first to kneel. Seeing how reverent the chief was, the villagers followed suit.
Zorn tilted his head back and recited ancient words no one could understand. He separated his hands, and a ball of golden-blue energy appeared between his palms. A gigantic golden-blue magic circle also appeared in the sky, covering part of it and forming a beautiful starry sky that echoed the magic circle on the ground.
"So beautiful," Cana murmured without thinking.
Cana and Laxus watched the wondrous sight together. The magic covered part of the sky, using its own power to project a starry night. Countless stars shone overhead, their radiance slowly raining down.
"Ultimate Magic: Starlight Blessing!" The magic light in Zorn's hands slowly floated away from his palms. The magic circle in the sky caught the starlight and transformed it into a beam that merged with the golden-blue ball of light. The ball drifted down and entered the bodies of Laxus, Cana, and the villagers.
Cana looked down at her glowing body and glanced around. Laxus clenched and unclenched his hands, feeling for any difference in himself, while the villagers looked at their bodies to see what had changed.
As the magic was completed, the noble figure behind Zorn slowly faded. At the end, she closed her eyes as though her wish had been fulfilled and vanished into the air. Zorn also descended slowly.
As soon as Zorn's feet touched the ground, his legs gave way and he began to topple. Cana and Laxus immediately dashed over and caught him before he fell.
"Are you all right?" Cana placed Zorn's head on her lap and looked anxiously at his weakened face. Beside her, Laxus also watched with some concern as Zorn lay pale, his magic power almost completely depleted. In all the time he had known Zorn, he had never seen him so battered and weak. It seemed the magic had taken a tremendous toll on him.
"I'm fine. I just used up a little too much magic power. Haha, I miscalculated." Zorn spoke haltingly, his voice so faint and hoarse that it seemed a gust of wind could scatter it. Even so, he struggled to speak to show that he was all right.
"Honestly, you're still trying to act tough." Seeing this, Cana poked Zorn in the forehead and scolded him.
"This magic uses a person's powerful will and prayers, combining the wish in their heart with magic power and starlight to make it come true. It takes immense magic power and a pure wish of love to even have a chance of succeeding. Luckily, this magic circle had absorbed the magic power of many wizards in the past. With my magic power added to it, I just barely managed to cast it. As for the queen's wish and mine, I still don't know whether they'll come true."
Zorn took a moment to recover. With the sunlight shining on him, his body regained some strength, and he sat up to explain it to everyone.
"Wishes?"
"Yes, wishes. The queen wished for her people to be spared from disaster and disease forever. As for mine, well, I hoped you could be happy forever."
"So, how is it? Can you feel anything?" After explaining, Zorn leaned closer to examine Laxus and Cana, hoping to spot a difference.
"As for me, I'm already very happy." Cana smiled gently, her eyes like brilliant stars, filled with love. The corners of her mouth curved upward, revealing an overwhelming sweetness.
Zorn's heart fluttered too, and he was completely captivated. Ignoring everyone around them, including Laxus, the two were just about to embrace when—
"Ahem." A cough brought them back to reality. Zorn and Cana turned to see an uncomfortable Laxus and the villagers beside him happily watching the young couple's intimate moment. They felt a little awkward too, and Zorn scratched his head and gave a couple of dry laughs.
After the mission, the three of them walked along the road back to town...
"Laxus, how did you know Zorn and I were on a mission here?" Cana looked at him in confusion. She and Zorn had decided the order of their missions on the road, so no one else could possibly have known.
"Coincidence. I came to do a mission nearby, and Zorn sensed me with his Observation Haki, that's all." Laxus was simply telling the truth. He really had come to carry out a mission in the area.
"That's right. Laxus and I are really in sync," Zorn chimed in, giving Laxus a thumbs-up with one hand.
"Tch." Laxus couldn't bear to look and turned his head away.
Cana seemed to sense something and turned to check. Zorn quickly withdrew his hand before she could notice, so all she saw was Laxus turning away in disdain and Zorn laughing awkwardly.
Their strange behavior made Cana very suspicious, but without any proof, she kept her doubts to herself.
"What about those three...?" Cana asked Zorn, looking at the three bound people floating in the air beside them.
"We'll hand them over to the Magic Council. That's the best choice for them, isn't it, you three?" Smiling at the three before him, who still held on to hope, Zorn spoke of their final fate in the gentlest of tones.
The three captives could only nod in agreement. Even their mouths had been sealed, so that was the only way they could express themselves.
After handing the three over to the Magic Council in the nearest town, Cana, Zorn, and Laxus boarded a train bound directly for Magnolia.
Fairy Tail...
"Everyone, we're back!" Zorn pushed open the guild doors. The noisy guild fell silent, but when everyone saw that Zorn and Cana had returned, the place erupted in even louder cheers.
Erza and Mirajane immediately pulled Cana aside and asked whether anything interesting had happened on their journey. Cana took the photo album from Zorn's backpack and explained the pictures one by one. The instant they turned to the page with the ugly photo of Laxus, the girls froze. A hand of lightning instantly snatched out the photo and crushed it.
"Pfft!"
Erza and Mirajane stared blankly for a few seconds, then snickered and burst out laughing, as though they had seen something incredible. It was the first time they had seen this side of Laxus.
"Zorn, didn't you promise me you'd destroy it?!" Lightning crackled all over Laxus as he glared at Zorn, furious and mortified.
Natsu, Gray, and the others who had been crowding around Zorn instantly scattered, leaving a large open space for Laxus and Zorn.
"Th-this, listen to me... No, there's a reason." Zorn was at a loss for words and began to stammer. He had intended to take the photo out and put it away separately this time. He really had destroyed the others before, so he hadn't lied to Laxus. He hadn't expected one of the last remaining photos to be exposed here.
"Take a punch from me first. We can talk about the rest afterward." Laxus cracked his knuckles and stepped toward Zorn, looking vicious.
Seeing trouble, Zorn immediately tried to dash away, but Natsu and Gray each grabbed one of his legs.
"Sorry, Zorn, but Laxus offered us too much."
"Damn it!" Trapped in place, Zorn raged helplessly.
The guild members burst out laughing at the sight. Makarov watched the scene with a happy smile, showing no intention of stopping them. Every now and then, he secretly peeked at another ugly photo of Laxus in the inner pocket of his clothes.
To be continued~