"All right." Roger pulled out a vial of life-restoring potion, his fingertip twitching to guide the glowing crimson liquid into a thin stream that slipped right into Simon's mouth.
"Magic infusion complete," Roger said, pocketing the empty bottle. "Sure, the magic source comes with some battle experience baked in, but that's just fragments of someone else's memories at the end of the day."
"You'll need tons of real fights and practice to really absorb it all, make it your own."
"Mm." Simon managed a weak nod, forcing down the faintly sweet elixir.
Almost instantly, a soothing warmth slid from his throat, spreading through his limbs like a gentle tide. The ripping agony that had him in shreds? Gone, washed away.
His eyes flew wide in shock. He reached down instinctively, probing the spots that'd been screaming earlier—now just a dull ache lingered.
"Whoa..." He muttered in awe, then tested his arm, pushing up off the ground. To his surprise, he sat up smooth as anything.
"It doesn't hurt anymore—like, instantly!"
Color crept back into his pale cheeks. He glanced at Roger and the crew, a soft laugh bubbling up with a touch of wonder. "Man, ever since running into you guys, I've seen more wild stuff than in the last twelve years combined."
"So," Roger said, a grin tugging at his lips as he stepped forward, right fist cocked in the air.
"Wanna join our guild?"
Simon blinked at the offered fist, then his eyes lit up like fireworks.
He grinned back, bumping his own fist against Roger's with solid force. "Hell yeah! Even if you tried kicking me out, I'd beg to stay!"
"Hah!" The two locked eyes and cracked up, laughing in sync.
Erza watched the easy camaraderie from behind, her lips curving into a faint smile.
She turned and strolled over to Millianna and Wally a bit farther off, left hand on her hip, red hair swaying in the sea breeze.
"What about you two? Feel like joining our guild?" she asked with a warm smile, her voice softer than usual.
The pair froze, caught off guard. Wally hesitated, pointing at himself like he couldn't believe it. "U-Us? We can join too?"
He fidgeted, rubbing his hands together. "But our magic's not that strong, and we always get all flustered in fights—"
"Of course you can!" Mirajane chimed in with a bright grin. "Fairy Tail's not about raw power—it's about having a good heart."
She winked. "That pure worry in your eyes when Simon was getting his magic boost? That's all the proof we need you're top-tier guild material~"
Erza nodded along. "Plus, once you're in, you can take on jobs, rake in the Jewels, and buy whatever you want."
"Really, nya?!" Millianna's eyes sparkled like stars. She bounced on her toes, clasping her hands to her chest. "Does that mean I can have a whole room full of kitties, nya?"
"Absolutely," Erza said firmly. "Save up enough, and you could buy your own house—fill it with as many cats as you like."
"Yay! That's awesome, nya!" Millianna whooped, pumping her fists in the air like a victory dance. "Full power ahead!"
Lucy sidled up beside her, chuckling. "The guild's a total blast—super lively and fun! Though yeah, it gets rowdy sometimes."
She shrugged helplessly, but her eyes glowed with affection. "Still, that's kinda Fairy Tail's charm, y'know?"
Everyone was buzzing about guild life, all hyped, when the massive magic crystal underfoot flared up blinding white, washing their faces ghostly pale.
"Wh-What's happening?!" Happy's fur poofed out in panic, and he rocketed into the air. "Is it gonna blow?!"
Roger's brow furrowed. He shut his eyes, holding his breath to sense it out.
After a beat, he opened them, voice grave. "It's the massive magic buildup inside the crystal—been bottled up too long without venting or using it. The energy's going haywire."
He hustled to Laxus's unconscious side, fingers dancing in the air.
Ancient runes shimmering with faint light popped up, swirling around him. [Text Magic: Harmonize Balance Soothe Fuse]
Roger reined the intricate symbols in, shrinking them down to a glowing orb in his palm, pulsing with soft, potent energy.
He knelt and pressed his hand gently to Laxus's forehead.
[Imbue Magic: Text Imprint]
The glowing runes came alive, seeping from his fingertips into Laxus's skin bit by bit.
His complexion shifted—wheat-toned fading to stark white, then almost translucent, like blank paper.
Seeing the change, Roger knew step one was solid.
He drew a deep breath, steadying his ragged breaths from the magic drain, then channeled more power.
[Illusion Magic: Tangible Mirage]
A fierce purple glow erupted at his fingertips, like leaping violet flames.
He lifted his hand, using his finger like a brush, painstakingly etching a way more complex script on Laxus's brow.
Tiny purple sigils bloomed on the forehead, then snaked downward like vines.
As time dragged, Roger's strokes slowed—each one like carving stone with an invisible chisel. Sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down his cheeks.
When the final stroke landed, Laxus was wrapped head to toe in dense purple runes, radiating an eerie energy hum.
Roger tried to stand, but his legs buckled, and he pitched forward. In a blink, Mirajane and Erza were there, steadying his shoulders like they'd teleported.
"You okay?" Erza asked, worry creasing her brow. "Magic burnout?"
Propped up between them, Roger looked washed out, flashing a tired smirk. "Yeah... didn't expect juggling all those spells at once would nearly tap me dry."
"Feels like forever since I've been this wiped."
He mustered the strength to fish a mana potion from his system inventory and chugged it.
The cool liquid hit his throat, exploding into a rush of warmth that flooded his veins, refilling his drained reserves fast.
Sensing the rebound, Mirajane eased off, relieved.
"That was some combo spell, right?" she said.
"Way more intricate than anything I've seen."
"Spot on," Roger replied, energy creeping back. He grabbed Laxus by the collar and hauled him west.
"I used imprint and text magic to overhaul Laxus's base physiology."
"Then layered on illusion and rune magic for a second rebuild—turned his body into a 'stabilizer core' of sorts."
"Once he fuses with the R-System, it'll flip the whole thing on its head."
"From reviving one person to a nonstop magic absorber—and releaser. A 'magic expansion engine.'"
"Think suck in one part magic, pump out five."
"Of course, I've got some extra tweaks in mind, but we'll see if they stick."
Gray's face was all confusion. "So... that's basically a perpetual motion machine?"
"Why would those magics overhaul the R-System like that?"
"The illusion magic's the star," Roger explained. "It warps Laxus's reality at the root—lets him become the R-System's 'heart' once integrated."
"Plus, I poked around the R-System's guts out of curiosity before. Used text and runes to slap in some guide arrays—like rewriting code. Swapped the old 'revive' command for a fresh 'expand' one."
Mirajane tilted her head, puzzling it out. "Hmm—like slipping an extra character into Detective Conan to make it Detective Beat-Conan?"
"Nailed it!" Roger shot her an approving look. "Laxus is that game-changing extra bit."
Lucy stared, jaw slack, a twitch at her mouth. "=_= Y-You can just... hack reality like that?! This is nuts—"
Roger reached a special crystal on the west side, channeling a trickle of magic per his memory.
A huge blue control crystal rose from the ground. He laid Laxus flat on it.
Next instant, Laxus sank in like he was melting into water, the massive blue crystal swallowing him whole.
Once he vanished, the glaring lights from all the surrounding crystals dimmed to calm.
But then—rumble rumble—the whole R-System groaned like thunder, shaking like crazy!
Roger whipped up an air current, scooping everyone and jetting them to safety on the sea nearby.
The giant magic crystal vibrated wildly, shrinking at a visible clip!
Like an invisible fist crushing it down—gone in breaths, swapped for a fist-sized azure orb hovering midair.
"Whoa!!" Millianna's cat ears shot up, eyes bugging out. "It was huge and now it's tiny, nya!!"
"Not just smaller—" Simon sensed the orb, face dead serious, voice edged with a faint shake. "The magic crammed inside... it's insane. One leak could wreck me."
"After all, it's the condensed ethernano of a whole system, with a Wizard Saint's body as the core," Roger said, beckoning the blue ethernano orb to his palm light as a feather.
"Now—let's test if my bonus features kicked in."
He pulled a drained, dull gray magic crystal and eased it near the orb.
On contact, blue light flooded the base like a spring, racing up to fill it solid in a blink.
"Nice—basic recharge works fine." Roger nodded, pleased.
Then he switched his internal magic to dragon-slaying mode and fed it slow into the crystal.
The blue edges bled a scorching red! Like a spark to dry grass, it spread fast, turning the whole thing a fiery, flame-veined crimson.
"Got it!!"
Natsu poked at the crystal's magic, head cocked in wonder. "Whoa—this feels like my magic?"
"Bingo!" Roger held up the hot red crystal. "Ethernano's a mashup of all sorts of attributes, fused in this wild way for bigger power."
"I just nudged the fusion higher and 'tainted'—er, 'assimilated'—the output a tad."
"Like how rainbow colors blend to white. Ethernano plus the reworked R-core makes a near-'null' pure magic."
"Super easy for other attributes to infect and take over."
"So this one's Natsu's dragon-slaying vibe assimilated into... a Fire Dragon Slayer Lacrima!"
"Dragon Slayer Lacrima!?"
The group yelped in unison, faces screaming disbelief.
"Wait!" Gray's eyes widened like he'd seen a ghost, voice pitching high from shock. "Laxus said his dragon magic came from implanting a lacrima! So doesn't this mean—we could crank out Dragon Slayers nonstop?!"
"Or... infinite Laxuses?!!" His voice cracked at the end.
"Probably not that easy," Erza said coolly, arms crossed as she pondered. "Lacrima origins are a mystery, but most theories tie 'em to dragons themselves."
"Even if this works for dragon magic, the punch wouldn't match the guild's real Slayers."
"Erza's right," Roger agreed with a nod. "This one's still morphed from a regular crystal at heart."
"The magic inside's dragon-slaying, sure—but the 'shell' is plain old lacrima stock."
"So right now, it's more like a fancy magic tool or power source."
"But," Roger rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "if we scored actual dragon bits—or a core—for making crystals? Boom, mass-produced Slayers for real."
"Big 'if,' though," Happy piped up from the air, paws splayed in defeat. "Natsu's hunted Igneel forever—no luck, and zilch on other dragons too."
"Not gotta be a full dragon, right?" Mirajane tossed out. "On jobs, we run into those dragon-ish beasts sometimes—packing a sliver of dragon blood."
"Those could whip up watered-down lacrima, maybe?"
Lucy eyed Natsu, who looked lost as hell in the tech talk, and couldn't help asking: "Hey—Natsu, doesn't bug you we're chatting about turning dragons into gear?"
"Huh?" Natsu perked up at the one thing he got, staring at her like she was the dim one. "You guys ain't talking Igneel—why would I care?"
He planted hands on hips, all bold. "Like, you gonna spare a monster 'cause it kinda looks human?"
Lucy: "=_= Wh—He's this level-headed about it?!"
"Anyway," Roger said, stashing his gear in the system pack. "We'll hash out the research and tweaks back at the guild."
"For now, we gotta wait on one more person to wrap this up for good."
"One more?" Lucy tilted her head, puzzled. Right on cue, a lazy female voice drifted from behind.
"Looks like I didn't miss the party? Took forever to track this place down."
Gray went rigid, whipping around, shock all over his face. "Ultear?! What're you doing here? Weren't you off on a job?"
Ultear stood on the waves, a thin layer of frosty ice cradling her feet, chill wisps curling up.
Behind her, a trail of icy footprints stretched across the sea like a frozen path to the horizon.
She brushed back her short hair ruffled by the wind, left hand casual on her hip, right dangling a comm lacrima with a faint smile. "Job wrapped early—right nearby. Was gonna chill, but Roger's message popped up saying you needed backup, so here I am."
She scanned the empty ocean, a bit thrown. "But... looks like the fighting's done?"
"Yep," Roger nodded, stepping closer. "Didn't call you for a brawl. I want you to join the Council—as a new councilor."
Everyone but Roger gawked, then exploded in perfect sync: "Wha—?! Another councilor?!"
Lucy's jaw hit the deck, voice jumping an octave. "Even you can't just slot two people onto the Council back-to-back, Roger! They'd never go for it!"
Roger arched a brow, smirking sly at her. "Oh? Wanna bet on it, Lucy?"
"No way in hell!" Lucy recoiled like a cat with its tail stepped on, crossing her arms in a massive X. "I'm done with bets for life—that last one scarred me forever!"
But she paused, squinting suspicious. "Wait—since you're offering odds, that means you're dead sure it'll work, right?"
"Lucy's catching on quick—didn't fall for it," Roger teased, fighting a grin. "Smart girl."
"=_= Is that a compliment or...?" Lucy grumbled.
Roger dropped the ribbing and pulled a weird button gadget from his pack—topped with a creepy grinning clown mask.
"This? 'Common Sense Scrambler.'"
"Base function: pump in magic, and it tweaks folks' perceptions in a small radius."
"Like making someone think they should shower before eating when they're starving."
"But the more it bucks reality, the easier the cracks show."
"Thing is, I stumbled on this recently—if you feed it illusion-tinged magic, the rewrite power skyrockets."
"Stronger input, bigger range, sneakier effect—harder to spot."
"Hold up!" Lucy's eyes bugged, hand flying to her mouth. "'Recently stumbled'? Wait—did it mess with our heads sometime?!"
"Who knows?" Roger flashed a cryptic smile. "You'll figure it out soon enough. Business first."
He jiggled the clown button. "Official story for this mess: Simon leads, you back him up—together you take down Laxus and nix the R-System just in time, stopping Jellal's revival."
"The Council's brass knows by now—their ethernano blast helped Jellal come back."
"That screw-up? Chairman's toast, and those two traitor seats are wide open."
"Enter two powerhouses with the massive cred of 'thwarted Jellal, saved magic world's peace.' Boom—makes total sense for them to slide into councilor spots."
"Normally, it'd be audits and red tape forever, but the scrambler skips it all."
"Bypasses to the 'feels right' level—folks'll just know it's legit thanks to the heroics."
Ultear arched a brow, still wary. "But my power's barely S-class fresh—miles from Wizard Saint. 'Powerhouse' feels like a stretch. And y'all real Saints are the ones who stopped it."
"Nah," Roger shook his head. "Your Deliora seal's legendary—huge rep."
"And you're the only mage to pull off Absolute Zero and walk away."
"We spin it: wild encounter in the freeze—you snag a special anti-R-System spell. Simon's the key to unleashing it."
"Old Deliora glory plus the new Jellal save? Stacks to vault you right in."
"—Got it." Ultear mulled it, then nodded. "So, what's my move now?"
"Nothing." Roger grinned. "It's over."
"Hit this button, and everyone's memories auto-tweak to match the 'facts' I laid out."
He raised the clown button, pouring in illusion magic steady.
The mask seemed to twitch alive, glowing eerie. Pale face flushed red from the bottom up till it blazed crimson.
When it hit full red, it unleashed a shrill, spine-tingling cackle!
At the peak, Roger mashed the button without a second thought!
Flash!
An invisible pale-purple wave rippled out from the core, like pond ripples—racing over ocean, peaks, cities in breaths, blanketing the whole Ishgar continent.