"Ah..." Natsu suddenly bolted awake. Happy cheered from his side, "He's awake!"
Natsu looked left and right, then barked at Happy, "Where is that bastard Laxus? For that matter, where is everyone?"
"Oh, if you're asking about that, they've all gone to participate in the Battle of Fairy Tail. It's happening right outside. You should hurry up and join them," Chen Fan said to Natsu. He thought to himself that Natsu's heart was clearly too "corrupt" in his own wayno wonder the barrier wouldn't let him out.
Just as Chen Fan expected, the moment Natsu heard about a contest to decide the strongest, he sprinted for the exit. Boom! He slammed face-first into the wall.
Suddenly, after Natsu hit the transparent wall, new runes appeared in the air. "What is this?"
The light drew Chen Fan and Makarov over. Makarov looked at the text floating in mid-air and read, "A live battle update."
Alzack Connell VS Droy and Jet. Winner: Alzack Connell.
"Oh! Alzack is quite capable, isn't he? He actually defeated both Droy and Jet," Chen Fan remarked from the side.
Thwack! Makarov smacked him on the head. "What kind of time is this for jokes? I really don't know how that brain of yours is wired."
"So what? Actually, taking this opportunity to let them scrap a bit isn't a bad idea, right Natsu?"
"Yeah! If I get the chance, the first person I'm fighting is Chen Fan!" Natsu shouted.
Chen Fan's eyes narrowed playfully. "Hmm... maybe we should take this chance to go a round right now."
"Fine by me! Let's go!"
"Behave yourselves, you two brats!" Makarov barked, hitting both Chen Fan and Natsu on the head again. He then turned to Chen Fan. "Why would you say such a thing?"
"Actually, their battles are just meant to incapacitate the opponentmeaning they just need to knock them out or drain their magic until they can't fight anymore. No one is fighting to the death. This is basically just another platform for combat, not much different from a regular tournament. The principle is the same," Chen Fan explained slowly.
Makarov, Natsu, and Happy stared at Chen Fan with skeptical eyes, making him feel quite uncomfortable. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"How do you know all this?" Makarov asked, voicing his suspicion. Natsu and Happy nodded in agreement.
Uh-oh, exposed. Chen Fan quickly improvised an explanation. "Well, it's my magic, obviously. My magic... yeah, it's magic."
"Oh..." Seeing that they seemed to believe him, Chen Fan wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. He told himself he was still too pure; telling a lie actually made him feel guilty.
"There's something I've wanted to ask for a long time," Natsu said, turning to Chen Fan. "What kind of magic do you actually use?"
"Did I never mention it?"
"You never mentioned it!"
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Oh. Well, I guess I won't then."
Thud! Natsu collapsed in frustration, and Happy fell out of the air.
"But who is going to stop Laxus?" Makarov said, pulling the conversation back to the matter at hand.
Suddenly, Gajeel's voice rang out. "I'll give it a shot."
"Gajeel! You were here? You mean you're going to stop Laxus?" Natsu looked at Gajeel in surprise.
"That guy still owes me one. Alright, leave it to me." Gajeel walked toward the door with an air of immense confidence. Seeing Gajeel like this, Chen Fan wordlessly buried his face in his hand.
Boom! Gajeel slammed right into the transparent wall.
"Oh... is your soul 'corrupt' too?" Natsu teased him.
"No way!"
"Then why can't you pass? You must have something on your conscience!"
"You wanna go, pal?"
"Try me!"
While Gajeel and Natsu were bickering, the floating runes changed several times. Calculating that the timing was about right, Chen Fan walked over to the stone statues. His movements caught the attention of Natsu, Makarov, and Gajeel, who watched him with confusion.
Suddenly, Chen Fan reached out toward Erza with a mischievous grin. "Ah! Chen Fan, you're shameless! You won't even let a statue off the hook!" Natsu screamed at him.
"Nonsense! I'm saving Erza, you know? How could a pure-hearted man like me do something like that?" Chen Fan turned and shouted back. But this time, Natsu, Happy, Makarov, and even Gajeel turned their heads away in collective disdain.
Chen Fan ignored them and continued reaching out. Crack. A fissure appeared on Erza's statue. Bang! Erza returned to her original form just as Chen Fan's wandering hand accidentally pressed against her chest, giving it a quick squeeze.
Erza's face turned bright red. "You pervert! Get your claws off me this instant!"
Wham! Erza's fist connected with Chen Fan's face. Chen Fan went flying with a look of bliss, crashing into the transparent barrier at the door with a loud thud.
"What happened here?" Makarov asked Erza.
"I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps it's because of this right eye," Erza said, touching her right eye.
"I see. Because your right eye is an artificial eye, the magical effect was halved," Makarov realized.
At that moment, Chen Fan's voice chimed in from the wall. "I knew that was the reason, that's why I..."
Before he could finish, Erza interrupted him. "Shut up! You corrupt pervert!"
Chen Fan was left utterly crushed by her words. Erza continued, "I was turned to stone, but I could still hear everything happening outside." After finishing, she ignored Chen Fan, spoke a few words to Makarov, and prepared to head out.
As she reached the door, the runes in the air changed again. The number of participants increased by two.
Natsu asked, confused, "One is Erza, but who is the other?"
"It's Little G. He told me he was coming back recently," Chen Fan said, finally recovering his composure.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!" everyone shouted in unison. Only Gajeel was left scratching his head, wondering who "Little G" was.
Erza turned to Makarov. "I'm going then, Master." Before leaving, she shot one final, resentful glare at Chen Fan.
Watching Erza head into the fray, Natsu punched the transparent wall. "Dammit! Why can't I join the Battle of Fairy Tail?"
"You actually believed what Chen Fan said!" Makarov and Happy sighed, unable to even bother correcting him anymore.
Natsu suddenly turned back, rubbing his chin in thought. "Wait a minute. If Erza could hear our conversation, does that mean everyone else could too?"
"Uh... oh... NO..." Chen Fan didn't react at first, but when it hit him, he clutched his cheeks in horror and screamed.
A short while later, Mirajane and the others also recovered. They hadn't been able to hear the outside like Erza had, so Makarov gave them a brief explanation. As for the others who wanted to tell Mirajane and the girls about Chen Fan's behavior, they were all silenced by Chen Fan's threatening gaze.
Suddenly, a cluster of red runes gathered in the air, gradually forming a massive skull made of floating text. Its jaw moved up and down in an eerie fashion.
Laxus's voice boomed from it. "Can you hear me, old man? And the rest of you guild brats? Since one of the rules has disappeared, I'm adding a new one. To keep this Fairy Tail battle going, I'm activating the Thunder Palace. You have one hour and ten minutes left. Let's see if you can actually defeat us. Hahaha..." The runes slowly dissipated.
"What are you thinking, Laxus? Do you really intend to drag innocent people into this?" Makarov shouted at the empty air.
Pat. Chen Fan placed a hand on Makarov's shoulder. Makarov looked back in surprise.
"Alright, Master, leave everything to me. Just wait here for the results. I'll bring Laxus back. Sigh... and here I was, hoping to slack off a bit longer." Chen Fan stretched his limbs and walked toward the door.
"Stop, Chen Fan! You should know that the rules of the Jutsu Shiki are absolute!" Makarov shouted.
"Rules? That depends on who makes them." As he spoke, Chen Fan placed his hand against the transparent wall at the entrance.
"..."
A sound like shattering glass echoed. Makarov watched, slack-jawed, as Chen Fan simply walked out.
In the distance, Freed Justine felt his enchantment being broken by brute force. He finally understood why Laxus, despite wanting to fight Chen Fan so badly, had ordered him to place a specific rule on Chen Fan.
Laxus, who was monitoring the guild's status, also realized what happened. He licked his lips with a bloodthirsty grin. "As expected of the opponent I acknowledge. I knew Freed's Jutsu Shiki couldn't stop you. Come, then! Let the world know who is truly the strongest in Fairy Tail! Hahaha!" Laxus laughed maniacally.
Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Do you really think you're worthy of making Chen Fan take action, Laxus?"
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