"Natsu and Gray, Lucy and I... even Happy and Loke. Our souls have all been swapped!"
Lucy spoke with a grave expression, though the voice coming out of her mouth belonged to someone else entirely.
Erza crossed her arms, her brow furrowed in anxiety.
"Is it because of that incantation on the job request? How could this happen?!"
Macao and Wakaba stood off to the side, watching the Guild descend into madness with confused expressions.
Lisanna rubbed her temples, looking dizzy. "Erza... no, I mean, Lucy is right."
She turned her gaze to the black-haired mage standing calmly amidst the chaos.
"But why is Ankh-nii standing there in his own body? Why wasn't he swapped?"
Ankh shrugged, taking a sip of his drink.
"To swap souls with me, the magic would need to be much stronger. You'd need someone on the level of Laxus or Gildarts to even attempt it..."
'I'm being modest, of course. With my current magical resistance, it would take Zeref himself to force my soul out of this body. But there's no need to scare the children.'
Happy—currently trapped in a human body—spread his arms in utter despair.
"That's not the point! The problem is, what do we do now?!"
He looked down at his new limbs.
'With this weird human body, how am I supposed to pick up catgirl in the future? My life is over!'
Meanwhile, the Celestial Spirit Loke, now inhabiting a small blue cat's body, raised a paw cheerfully.
"I feel fine! A bit short, maybe, but the view is interesting."
"Shut up!" Happy screamed.
Nearby, Gray and Natsu were already at each other's throats—quite literally.
"I don't want to swap bodies with this stripping pervert!" Natsu yelled, pointing at his own body, which was currently being occupied by the Ice Mage.
"You think I want to be you? You flame-brained idiot!" Gray retorted, though seeing Natsu's face making those expressions was deeply unsettling.
Just as the brawl was about to escalate, an elderly, authoritative voice rang out from the guild entrance.
"This is the Language Magic of ancient Umbra. The Soul-Swap Magic."
Ankh smiled faintly, turning toward the door.
"Welcome back, Master."
"Erza"—who was actually Lucy inside the Titania's armored body—rushed up to the tiny old man.
"Master! Why did this happen?"
Makarov walked in, tapping his staff against the floorboards.
He looked solemn.
"What you surmised is correct. Simply reading that specific incantation from the request form triggers a reversal of personalities for everyone in the vicinity. That is the nature of the Changeling spell."
"Lucy" (currently occupied by a very rough personality) patted "Gray" on the shoulder with a cold sneer.
"Good going, Natsu..."
"Gray" (who was actually Natsu) waved his hands frantically.
"How was I supposed to know?! I just read what was on the paper!"
Makarov raised a hand to silence them. "There is one more thing you must know."
The guild went silent.
"If this Magic isn't dispelled within thirty minutes of activation," Makarov said grimly, "you will never return to your original states. The swap becomes permanent."
"WHAT?!"
The scream echoed through the guild hall.
"Natsu" grabbed his head in panic. "How much time do we have left?!"
Mirajane glanced at the clock behind the bar.
"Sixteen minutes have passed. You have fourteen minutes remaining."
"HUH?!"
"Old man!" Gray shouted. "What's the method to dispel it? Tell us!"
Makarov suddenly looked evasive.
He scratched his nose, looking everywhere but at his desperate children. "Well... this is Ancient Magic, you see. Something that old... I simply..."
He paused, then grinned shamelessly.
"I don't know!"
The guild members' jaws dropped to the floor.
Makarov chuckled, looking like a mischievous gremlin.
"Haven't you all been looking forward to the punishment for taking an S-Class quest without permission? Well, I can't punish you if you're stuck in the wrong bodies! So, you'll just have to work hard to break the spell yourselves! Good luck!"
With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and tried to slip away toward the bar.
Ankh watched the panic reignite and quietly walked over to the old man.
As he leaned against the counter next to Makarov, he spoke in a low voice audible only to the Master.
"You're quite mischievous, aren't you, Master?" Ankh murmured with a knowing smirk on his face.
"Even if the time limit expires, the Changeling spell wears off on its own eventually. You just want to teach them a lesson."
Makarov glanced at him sideways, his eyes twinkling.
"You're no better, brat. You've read the archives. You know exactly how to dispel it, don't you?"
Ankh poured himself a drink and raised his glass.
"Guilty as charged."
"Cheers."
The old giant and the young monster clinked glasses, settling in to watch the show like two foxes observing a chicken coop fire.
'It really is a disaster. Look at "Lucy" over there. That's definitely a guy inside that body.'
"Lucy" clenched a fist, looking down at her own body with the eyes of a ruffian.
Suddenly, hands began to grope.
"Whoa..."
"Lucy" muttered, checking the curves of her hips and chest with rigorous academic interest.
"Lucy has no muscle at all... soft... figure is a bit plump... measurements are roughly... 88-59-88... Mmph!!"
"Erza" rushed over, tears streaming down her face, and clamped a hand over "Lucy's" mouth.
"Please! Stop talking!" the real Lucy cried from inside Erza's armor, dying of shame.
"Don't touch me like that!"
However, since Lucy's soul wasn't used to Erza's physical strength, she nearly crushed her own body's jaw.
Meanwhile, in the corner, "Happy" (Loke) was shrouded in a dark aura of depression.
"Does this mean I'm stuck with this pitiful cat body for the rest of my life? How will I date women?"
"That's so mean, Loke!" the real Happy shouted from Loki's body, munching on a raw fish.
The clock was ticking.
The mages were panicking.
Most of Fairy Tail's members were brawlers, not scholars.
Asking them to decipher ancient script was like asking Natsu to solve a calculus problem—impossible.
Just as despair began to set in, the professionals finally arrived.
"Don't worry, Lu-chan! I'll help you!"
Levy McGarden burst into the guild hall.
To Lucy and the others, she looked like an angel descending from heaven.
"Levy!"
Flanking Levy were her two devoted... companions.
Jet, the speed mage, struck a pose. "Leave this to Team Shadow Gear!"
Droy wiped his nose confidently. "If Levy is on the case, there's no way we'll fail!"
"We leave it to you, Levy-chan!"
The two men struck poses that resembled loyal guard dogs worshiping their owner.
'Let's be honest, it all comes down to Levy. Jet and Droy are just cheerleaders at this point. I remember Jet holds the guild record for the fastest rejection—one second flat.'
'Droy lasted a whole two seconds. Talk about a tragic duo. It's a good thing Levy eventually finds someone with a bit more... metal.'
Ankh sipped his drink, watching Levy get to work.
She sat at a desk, piling it high with reference books.
She donned her Gale-Force Reading Glasses, her eyes scanning the request form at superhuman speed.
Behind her, Jet and Droy were waving flags and beating drums.
"Go, Levy! You can do it!"
Levy ignored them, fully in the zone.
Lucy (in Erza's body) glanced at the clock, sweat beading on her forehead.
"Ten minutes left..."