"You still remember to come back? Look what you've done!"
Faust glared at Jellal coldly. "Stop Anima! Do you want to plunge our world into despair?!"
Jellal stood calmly before him.
"Your Majesty, please don't speak to the prince like that," said Bairo, walking out hunched over. "Isn't the prince just returning home now?"
Faust could no longer hold back his anger. He roared at Jellal, "Look at what you've done! You detected a high concentration of magic power, but what happened? You only extracted this little bit! What exactly are you planning?!"
He pointed at the magic crystal condensed from the power Anima had extracted.
Compared to the massive crystal from before, this one was small — only as tall as a man and could be held by two people.
This was completely different from the readings they had detected.
They all suspected Jellal's interference caused such a small amount of magic to be drawn out.
Jellal remained silent, bearing the accusation without a word.
"Are you mute?! Speak!" Faust shouted. His face turned red with fury, and he swayed slightly from dizziness.
"Father, I have something to say to you alone."
Jellal finally spoke.
Faust frowned and looked toward Bairo and the others.
Understanding immediately, they bowed and left the hall, closing the doors behind them.
Once they were alone, Faust asked, "Speak. What is it?"
"I think you've chosen the wrong path, Father," said Jellal calmly. "It's natural for Edolas's magic power to dry up. Instead of stealing from another world, we should accept reality and find a new way. Even without magic, people in that world live just fine. Can't we do the same?"
"Presumptuous!" Faust shouted, his voice echoing across the hall. "No magic power? Edolas will gain eternal magic power! You must understand this, Jellal! If you refuse to serve your kingdom, I'll have you locked up until you abandon your childish ideas!"
He raised his hand to summon the guards.
Jellal sighed softly. He knew now that words could never change his father's mind. Faust was completely consumed by obsession and madness.
So…
"Caesar, please…" Jellal murmured.
In that instant, as Faust prepared to call for help, a figure appeared before him.
A flash of silver light struck. Faust collapsed onto his throne, unconscious.
"Made it just in time?" Caesar asked with a grin, giving Jellal a thumbs-up.
"Perfect timing," Jellal replied with a faint smile. "A second later and I would've been arrested."
Caesar hoisted Faust onto his shoulder. "How long will it take for you to integrate?"
"Four to five days," Jellal estimated. "Any faster and people might grow suspicious."
"Suspicious?" Caesar smirked. "That's impossible."
"What?" Jellal froze, feeling a bad premonition rise inside him.
Boom!
Outside the hall, Bairo and the guards jumped as the massive doors shattered in a burst of light.
Jellal flew out, crashing to the ground covered in wounds. He spat blood, struggling to breathe.
"Prince!"
"There's an assassin! Protect His Majesty!"
"Where's His Majesty?!"
Through the chaos, a golden figure stepped forward, carrying the unconscious Faust.
"Who are you?! Put down His Majesty!" shouted the guards.
The man only grinned and stomped on Jellal's chest, forcing more blood from his mouth.
"Sonic Gun!"
A beam of light shot toward Caesar's head, but he caught the spear tip effortlessly in his hand.
The attacker tried to pull it free but couldn't.
"It's been a long time, Erza," Caesar said with a cold smile. "You Edolas mages keep stealing our Aslant's magic like parasites. Did you really think we'd ignore it?"
"Blasting!"
Boom!
The magic power in Caesar's hand exploded, sending Erza flying. She crashed through the palace walls and vanished into the distance.
"I am Caesar, the tyrant!"
Magic power roared around him like a storm, blowing away everyone in the hall.
"You'll pay for this! Just wait! When my army arrives, we'll crush you all and reclaim the magic that belongs to us!"
Then Caesar vanished without a trace.
The Edolas soldiers stared in shock, faces pale with fear and anger.
Jellal groaned and pushed himself up, coughing blood.
"Prince, what should we do? Aslant's people are attacking!" one shouted.
"Don't panic," Jellal rasped. He steadied his breath. "Gather the entire kingdom's forces. I will personally lead the battle against Aslant. Victory will be ours!"
With Faust missing, Jellal — now the last royal bloodline — became the kingdom's rallying point.
He quickly began uniting the Edolas army, preparing for war.
Meanwhile, Caesar returned to Fairy Tail with the unconscious Faust.
The Edolas members trembled when they saw Caesar dragging Faust in like a sack of potatoes.
The Aslant members, however, were calm. They tied Faust up tightly, wrapping him like a dumpling.
"I feel like this guy looks kinda like the Master," Natsu said, crouching beside Faust and poking him with a stick.
Caesar nodded. "Yeah. He feels like the Edolas version of our Master."
"Cough… cough…" Makarov almost choked on his Edolas wine. After a long fit of coughing, he glared at Faust, then at himself. "Do we really look that similar?"
Everyone nodded.
Makarov sighed heavily. "Great… even in another world, my reputation's doomed."