The eight blue orbs vanished into thin air, leaving a heavy silence in their wake. Evergreen finally collapsed to her knees, gasping for air as the crushing pressure lifted.
"Kael... you really are a ruthless man," she wheezed, looking up at him with trembling eyes. "You were actually willing to let your own woman die just to prove a point!"
Kael turned around slowly. His right hand was still held up, index and middle fingers crossed—the unmistakable stance for a magic release. He remained poised to strike at a microsecond's notice.
"Aaah!"
Evergreen instinctively flinched, shielding her head with her arms, before remembering that Kael was still blindfolded.
"You should be grateful," Kael's voice was cold, devoid of any warmth. "If my magic sensing had detected even the slightest flicker of magic in your pupils—even for a hundredth of a second—I would have unleashed my magic, shattered your concentration, and let those orbs tear you apart before you could even blink."
Evergreen's expression froze. Cold sweat began to pour down her face once more. She realized then that Kael had never intended to abandon anyone. He simply had absolute confidence in his ability to kill her before she could execute her threat.
If she had genuinely tried to harm Mira or the others, she wouldn't have succeeded; she would simply be dead. She knew Kael wasn't bluffing. Having felt the sheer weight of his power, she understood she was nothing more than an ant to him.
"Go find the Master later and answer for what you've done," Kael said. "If you ever try a stunt like this again, I'll make sure you spend a month in a vegetative state, even if everyone ends up safe."
Flash!
In an instant, Kael was gone.
Evergreen slumped onto the pavement, her chest heaving as she tried to process the lingering terror. "That... that was a nightmare... Is that the true Kael?"
Watching his power from a distance was one thing, but facing it head-on was a different reality entirely. Her magic couldn't touch him, yet his magic could erase her effortlessly. Even with her wings, there was no escaping a man who could move that fast. The psychological pressure was simply overwhelming.
Fairy Tail Guild
Kael VS Evergreen — Winner: Kael
Ping!
Inside the guild hall, the grey, stony tint faded from the petrified girls as they all returned to normal simultaneously.
"Huh? What happened?" "What happened to Juvia?" "Where... where are we?"
The girls looked around, dazed and disoriented, trying to piece together their last memories before the darkness took them.
Makarov let out a jubilant shout when he saw them awaken. "Well done, Kael! Well done!"
His greatest fear had been for their safety. Now that the hostages were free, Laxus had lost his leverage, and this senseless "Battle Royale" could finally be brought to a close.
"Master? What's going on? Why is the guild empty?" Erza asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. Makarov quickly filled them in on the details of Laxus's rebellion.
"The Battle of Fairy Tail?!" Lucy's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She had only been "out" for a few minutes, yet the guild had descended into a total civil war.
"Laxus... he really went through with it?" Cana muttered. Having joined the guild at a young age, she was one of the veterans who had known Laxus since they were children. She couldn't believe he'd fallen this far.
"But it's over now," Makarov said, his voice brimming with relief. "Now that the petrification is broken, you don't have to play along with Laxus's petty game anymore."
Suddenly, a shimmering figure materialized in the center of the hall.
"The game isn't over yet, old man."
"Laxus!"
The girls glared at the figure. It was a Thought Projection—a magical hologram of the rebel mage.
"Laxus!" Makarov shouted, his face turning a dangerous shade of red. "The hostages are free! No one is going to play your games anymore! Now come back here and face your punishment like a man!"
"Kael was the opponent; I expected Evergreen to lose," Laxus's projection said with a bored scoff. "I just didn't expect her to fail quite so fast. Luckily, I prepared a backup plan. It's time to initiate it."
"In order to keep the Battle of Fairy Tail going, I'm activating the Thunder Palace."
"The Thunder Palace?!" Makarov's eyes widened in sheer horror. He knew exactly what that was—a forbidden array of magic capable of leveling an entire city.
"Laxus, what are you thinking?! What is your ultimate goal here?!"
"My goal? Simple. Hand over the title of Guild Master to me."
"Is that what this is all about?!" Makarov whispered, unable to believe his grandson's obsession.
"Yeah. This guild has grown soft, and you've grown old. It's time for a change in leadership, but you've been dragging your feet. Since you won't give me what's mine, I'll just have to take it. Use the guild's speakers and announce to the whole town that Laxus Dreyar is the new Master. Do that, and the game ends."
Makarov didn't hesitate for a second. "Never! I've already chosen my successor, and it isn't you. I already offered the position to Kael. If the boy hadn't turned me down, he'd be the Master right now!"
"Kael?!" "The Master already picked Kael?!"
The girls—except for Mira, who had been in the loop—were stunned. They hadn't realized the line of succession had already been decided in secret.
Laxus's projection stood frozen for a moment, the shock visible on his flickering face. Then, his features contorted into a mask of pure, unadulterated rage.
"YOU OLD FOOL!" Laxus bellowed, his voice trembling with fury. "You'd give the guild—my birthright—to some brat who's been here for a year?! You'd give it to a stranger before your own blood?!"
Laxus had grown up believing the guild was his destiny. He had always assumed the mantle of Master would naturally pass to him. To hear that he had been passed over for a "newcomer" felt like his legacy had been stolen from under him.
"Fine! If that's how it is, I'll take what's mine by force! You brought this on yourself, old man!!"
With a final sneer, the projection vanished into sparks of lightning.
"Hey! Look outside!" Lucy shouted, pointing toward the windows.
The group rushed out of the guild. High in the sky, dozens of glowing, spherical Lacrima began to hum with volatile power. Each orb was gorged with lightning magic. They moved in perfect synchronization, forming a massive ring that completely encircled the city of Magnolia.
Makarov's face went pale. "The Thunder Palace... are you insane, Laxus?! You're going to involve thousands of innocent people?!"
"Guh—!"
Suddenly, Makarov gasped, clutching his chest as a searing pain shot through his heart.
"Master!" "What's wrong?!" "Oh no! His medicine!!"
Mira cried out, turning and sprinting back up to the second floor to find his heart medication. Makarov collapsed to the pavement, his breathing ragged as the physical toll of the stress and shock finally broke him.
"Master! Hang on!"
Kardia Cathedral
Freed stood behind Laxus, his expression grim and conflicted. "Is this truly necessary, Laxus? To go this far?"
Laxus's face was a mask of cold, unyielding rage. "I didn't want it to come to this. But that old man... he gave me no other choice."
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