The night was cool as water, a full moon hung high in the sky, its bright and clear moonlight spilling over the earth.
The entire town of Magnolia had been almost reduced to ruins in the previous great battle.
The residents who originally lived in the town had been evacuated before the major battle.
Currently, Magnolia stood as an empty shell of a town.
The originally silent empty town suddenly echoed with bursts of boisterous sounds.
"Natsu, with so many ladies present, how can you just take your clothes off!"
"Gray, you have the nerve to talk about Natsu!"
...
Following the sounds, at the edge of the town stood a three-story tower-like building.
On the middle level of the building was a mark resembling some kind of tail.
While the entire town was pitch black, only this three-story tower-like building was brightly lit.
The boisterous sounds were clearly coming from inside this tower building.
Focusing inside the building, dozens of mages could be seen in the hall, raising their glasses in celebration.
Seeing this joyous scene, no one would imagine that everyone present had been in a life-or-death decisive battle just hours before.
"Make way, make way! Watch me perform the Rolling Barrel Cart!" Natsu stood with both feet on a circular barrel. The barrel, acting like a wheel, carried Natsu rolling back and forth across the hall.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Seeing Natsu's performance, Macao and the other mages who were drinking cheered enthusiastically.
"I'm joining in too!" Gray leaped onto a barrel.
Soon, Natsu and Gray began a duo performance.
But the good times didn't last long; Natsu and Gray's barrels soon collided head-on.
Crash-
For a moment, barrels and their contents flew everywhere.
"Gray, did you do that on purpose?!"
"What are you talking about? I think you did it on purpose!"
"Wanna fight?"
"Bring it on! You think I'm scared?!"
Natsu and Gray, now confrontational, quickly started fighting.
For a while, various barrels flew around chaotically.
Gajeel, who was drinking, happened to be hit by a flying barrel.
"Hey, you two! Cut it out-!" Gajeel originally meant to say, "You two, know your limits!"
But before Gajeel could finish, a fist from either Natsu or Gray in the midst of their fight connected with his face.
"You...!" The furious Gajeel soon joined the fray as well.
Soon, a full-on melee broke out in the Fairy Tail's guild hall.
The scene became extremely chaotic.
"Everyone sure is full of energy," Wendy looked at the chaotic scene, glanced at Kenichi beside her, then turned her gaze back to the melee and said with an awkward wry smile.
"Are you sure this is them being 'full of energy'?" Carla next to Wendy said irritably.
While Wendy and Carla were talking, Erza nearby also sighed helplessly.
If it were before, she would definitely have rushed over to stop them.
But now, she didn't intervene.
"Really, these guys are so reckless. Aren't you going to stop them?" Porlyusica looked at the melee and asked Makarov.
"It's fine, it's fine. Nothing major will happen. Everyone just went through a big battle not long ago. Let them have their fun!" Makarov said with a smile.
No sooner had Makarov spoken than Natsu, who had been brawling with Gray and Gajeel, suddenly collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious.
"Natsu? Natsu?!" Seeing Natsu, who had been lively just a second ago, suddenly collapse, everyone was shocked.
Makarov's expression also changed. He glanced at Porlyusica, then stood up and walked towards where Natsu lay.
"I told you to stop them, but you didn't. Now something's happened, hasn't it?" Porlyusica said irritably.
Although she said this, her actions weren't slow at all.
Soon, she and Makarov reached Natsu's side and began examining him.
Wendy also came to Natsu's side, using her Healing Magic in an attempt to restore him.
"Could it be overuse of magical power?" Makarov looked at the unconscious Natsu and asked Porlyusica with a grim face.
Porlyusica didn't answer immediately.
After carefully examining Natsu, she said with a grave expression, "Something terrifying has awakened inside this child's body!"
'Something terrifying?'
Hearing Porlyusica's words, Kenichi's expression shifted slightly. A name immediately came to his mind: E.N.D.
"It's not working! My Healing Magic is completely ineffective!" After treating Natsu for a while and seeing no reaction, Wendy immediately stopped using her Healing Magic on him.
"Let me try." As soon as Wendy finished speaking, Kenichi walked to Natsu's side and said.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Kenichi grasped Natsu's hand.
In the next second, Kenichi's consciousness appeared in a vast, white space.
In this space, besides Kenichi, there was a humanoid monster enveloped in crimson flames.
"Yo, Natsu... No, I should call you E.N.D." Kenichi looked at the Natsu enveloped in crimson flames before him and said with a smile.
Hearing Kenichi's words, Natsu, like a beast that had lost its reason, charged directly at Kenichi. His speed was abnormally swift, reaching Kenichi in almost the blink of an eye.
"As long as I eliminate you, Natsu should be able to recover!" Kenichi said calmly, looking at the charging E.N.D.
Simultaneously, Kenichi activated his Space-Time Magic.
In the next second, E.N.D.'s figure vanished from Kenichi's sight.
As E.N.D. disappeared, the demon seed within Natsu's body gradually dissipated as well.
Immediately after, under everyone's gaze, the previously comatose Natsu slowly opened his eyes.
Seeing Natsu awake, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Natsu, you scared us to death!"
"Luckily, Kenichi stepped in and saved you!"
…
The guild hall, which had grown somewhat subdued, once again became boisterous.