Kaien launched a fierce chase-and-pummel on Natsu.
Mirajane rested her cheek on her hand. "Ahh… every time Natsu comes back, this place gets destroyed."
Wakaba retorted, "It's already destroyed!!"
Lucy looked around at the scene inside the guild, completely immersed in excitement. So this is what a real mage's workplace looks like…
Mirajane walked up to Kaien. "Kaien, welcome back. How did the mission go?"
Kaien smiled confidently. "With me on the job? Piece of cake. Everything went smoothly."
"That's great!"
Mirajane was one of the people most familiar with Kaien in Fairy Tail. While he was incredibly strong, he had one major weakness—he couldn't last long.
Every persona he "Takes Over" had terrifying power, but the more powerful the form, the faster it drained his magic. Within just a few minutes, he could burn through all his magic, leaving him in a weakened state—vulnerable even to minor enemies.
That's why every time Kaien took on an S-Class Mission, Mirajane couldn't help but worry.
"Is she a newcomer?"
Of course, Mirajane had already noticed Lucy. Long blonde hair, a curvaceous figure, a cute face—she was an incredibly pretty girl. And seeing her arrive with Kaien triggered a small, subtle sense of hostility in Mirajane's heart. Still, she maintained a bright, welcoming smile.
"Wah~~! Mirajane!! It's really you!!"
To Lucy, it was like seeing a celebrity. Mirajane's beauty and charm were famous throughout the entire Kingdom of Fiore. Countless girls dreamed of having her looks and figure.
"H-Hello… I'm Lucy, a newcomer hoping to join Fairy Tail. Please take care of me!"
Mirajane offered a warm smile. "I'm Mirajane. Nice to meet you."
By now, the brawl in the guild had grown even more intense. What started with just Natsu and Krov had somehow escalated to involve nearly the entire guild. Tables, chairs, dishes, and bottles were flying in all directions.
"Shouldn't we… stop them?"
Lucy asked, bewildered by the chaotic scene.
Mirajane smiled calmly. "Same as always. Just let them be. Isn't it kind of fun?"
"Fun?!!"
Lucy was dumbfounded. With everyone acting like they were trying to knock each other's brains out, what part of this was fun?
Crash!
Gray, completely naked, flew past Lucy and smashed into a table beside her.
Natsu grinned, proudly waving Gray's underwear like a flag.
"Ah—! My underwear!!"
"Don't wave that at me!!"
"Miss, could I borrow your underwear?"
Lucy punched Gray in the face. "Like hell I would!"
Elfman shouted, "A real man settles things with his fists!!"
Wham!
He was immediately sent flying by a punch from Natsu. "Shut up and fight!"
"AAAAHH!! It's too noisy! I can't even drink in peace—enough already!"
Cana finally snapped. She had been trying to drink, but with bottles flying everywhere, it was impossible. She pulled out a magic card, which sparked with electric energy.
"I'm mad now!"
Gray clenched a fist and placed it in his other palm, gathering cold air—ready to cast a spell at any moment.
"OOOOHHHH!!"
Elfman roared, his right arm transforming into a hairy, beastlike black bear's arm.
"Hmph! What a bunch of noisy brats." Loki muttered, stroking the ring on his finger.
Seeing everyone about to unleash magic, Natsu got even more fired up.
Flames burst from his hands as he shouted with excitement, "Come at me with everything you've got!!"
Lucy was stunned. "They're actually going to use magic?!"
Magic was no joke—it could level buildings. If they all went wild here, wouldn't the entire guild be demolished?
"This is getting a bit out of hand," Mirajane murmured, her eyes shifting toward Kaien. Right now, he was the only one who could stop this madness. Kaien nodded at her as if to say, "Leave it to me."
"Full Take Over: Toji Fushiguro!!"
Kaien activated his magic. In a flash, he transformed into a middle-aged man in a black T-shirt and gray pants, with a noticeable scar at the corner of his mouth.
Wearing a playful smirk and speaking with a deep, magnetic voice, he said, "Yo. Fighting, huh? Sounds fun. Let me join in."
Whoosh!
The entire guild fell silent.
Everyone stared at Kaien in pure horror.
"Nope! Nope! We're not fighting! Just messing around! Right, Natsu?!"
"Aye~!"
Gray and Natsu quickly slung arms around each other's shoulders, their bodies trembling, knees shaking uncontrollably.
Lucy muttered, "Did Natsu just turn into Happy?!"
"What about the rest of you?"
Kaien glanced around at the others.
They all immediately followed suit, throwing arms over each other's shoulders like best friends.
"We were just playing! No fighting here!"
"Totally! We're all best buddies!"
"Kaien, please, just turn back! I'm scared!" …
Some even sounded like they were about to cry.
Lucy was completely confused. Why is everyone so afraid of Kaien like this?
Mirajane chuckled and explained, "Because last time they got into a guild-wide brawl, Kaien used this form and beat everyone to a pulp. Natsu and Gray couldn't get up for three days."
"EHHHH?!"
"Everyone?!"
Lucy's eyes widened. There had to be at least seventy or eighty people in this guild, if not more—and Kaien had beaten them all by himself?
These weren't ordinary people either. They were full-fledged mages, members of the famous Fairy Tail.
Kaien is this strong…? But then why haven't I ever heard of him? Like how Natsu is called the "Salamander"…
She turned to look at Mirajane—only to see her staring at Lucy in shock.
"W-What? Did I say something wrong?"
Mirajane smiled and shook her head. "Looks like you really are a total newbie."
"Kaien has plenty of titles. For example—'Flame Emperor.'"
"Flame Emperor?!"
The Flame Emperor was a powerful mage who had risen to fame across the Ishgar continent over the past six months.
"I've heard of him! He wiped out dozens of infamous pirate crews! That was Kaien? No wonder his fire magic is so powerful. I didn't know the Flame Emperor was part of Fairy Tail!"
"And also… the Tyrant."
"The Tyrant?!"
"You mean the one who crushed over ten thousand bandits?!"
Lucy's jaw dropped. That incident had made huge waves when it happened. A massive bandit alliance had plundered an entire country, and a single man wiped them all out.
Mirajane pointed at Kaien with her chin. "Yup. That's Kaien's Tyrant form."