When Hope and Erza rushed over, they saw two Dragon Slayer Mages rolling on the ground clutching their stomachs.
Lucy, Happy, and Levy were squatting in panic beside the pale-faced Natsu and Gajeel. Gray and Juvia had already run off to call a doctor, while Cana stood nearby nervously, still clutching a magic card in her hand.
"What happened?!" Erza lunged forward. When she saw the two pieces of magic crystal on the ground, each with a bite taken out of them, her pupils suddenly constricted.
Hope crouched down, his fingertips lightly brushing over the crystal's cross-section. His expression was grave; there was no doubt—these were the magic crystals with pure magic power that he had broken off from the Tower of Paradise.
These two idiots actually tried to eat raw magic crystals. Is this something a normal person would do?!
"I'm... I'm sorry, Hope."
Happy flew onto Hope, crying. "Natsu and I secretly took the magic crystals from your card... We didn't know this stuff was so dangerous..."
Cana showed the card, speaking with difficulty and guilt, "Hope, I..."
Hope raised his hand to interrupt her, his gaze remaining locked on the groaning Natsu and Gajeel. "Now is not the time to assign blame. Besides, who could have guessed these two idiots would eat magic crystals?"
Natsu's face was pale, his expression pained, and his body twitched unnaturally. Cold sweat soaked his clothes as if he had just been fished out of the water.
On the other side, Gajeel's condition was even worse. Spiderweb-like bluish-white cracks appeared on his skin—a sign that his body could not withstand the external magic power.
Erza tightly held Natsu's trembling hand. To her, Natsu was like a younger brother. Forcing herself to remain calm, she asked Hope, who had finished checking their bodies, "Is there a way?"
Hope's brow furrowed.
Dragon Slayer Mages can devour magic power of the same attribute as their own Dragon Slaying Magic, but the magic crystals he brought from the Tower of Paradise were different. That was 'Anima' converted into pure magic power; just like magic crystals, the magic power contained within was simply not something a human body could absorb.
Although Natsu and Gajeel only took a small bite, the quality of the Anima was too high—otherwise, Jellal wouldn't have targeted it... Even the energy from a single bite was enough to make a person explode.
It was like pouring an ocean into a river.
At this rate, their bodies would collapse, and Gajeel was already showing premonitory signs of physical breakdown.
Hope pressed one hand against Natsu's chest and the other against Gajeel's shoulder. A pale gold Magic Circle expanded from his palms, enveloping the three of them.
Erza, who was pushed back, looked at the Magic Circle that excluded her, Lucy, and Levy. "Hope, what are you going to do?"
"Guiding."
Hope closed his eyes and concentrated. "Since their bodies can't handle it, I'll help them channel out part of the magic power. But as for the rest, they'll have to endure it on their own."
Erza and Lucy thought this was a good idea.
But Levy, who had read many books, said anxiously, "This is too dangerous! Hope, you'll suffer a backlash from the Anima energy converted into pure magic power!"
Upon hearing Levy's words, Cana's expression changed immediately. "Hope, let me help too! If it's just you alone, you'll give out before Natsu and Gajeel do!"
Lucy also Chimed in, "Cana is right. With more people sharing the burden, the pressure on you will be lightened..."
Just as Lucy and Levy were offering to help, Cana noticed that Erza, who had been worried just a moment ago, now looked indifferent and unmoved.
"Erza, aren't you worried about Hope and the others?"
"Not at all. You guys shouldn't go up there and get in his way either."
Erza pulled the three back. Seeing their confused and worried expressions, she explained with a smile, "Where do you think all that massive magic power went after the Tower of Paradise absorbed the 'Anima'?"
Cana and the other two shook their heads. They had been on the boat far from the Tower of Paradise at the time. They only saw the tower transform into a glittering giant magic crystal tower after being hit by the 'Anima' attack, and then the crystal tower dimmed again a few minutes later.
"The Tower of Paradise converted and absorbed all the energy of the 'Anima', and then... it was all sucked dry by that guy." Erza pointed at Hope, who had begun helping Natsu and Gajeel guide the excess magic power.
When she said this, the three of them looked shocked.
Setting aside why Hope could absorb pure magic power that the human body couldn't handle, he had actually absorbed the vast amount of magic power brought by the 'Anima' all by himself.
Is he even human?
Even the Dragons from over 400 years ago probably couldn't do that... Inside the Magic Circle, the bluish-white pure magic power was slowly stripped from Natsu and Gajeel's bodies by the 'Attachment Spell' and then merged into Hope's... system.
[Successfully accelerated by 9 hours]
[Magic 'Heavenly Body' current remaining decryption time: 35 days, 11 hours, 43 minutes...]
[Successfully accelerated by 12 hours]
[Magic 'Gravity' current remaining decryption time: 37 days...]
[Successfully accelerated by 15 hours]
[Successfully accelerated by 6 hours]
[Successfully accelerated...]
[...]
Watching the decryption progress bars for the two magics, 'Heavenly Body' and 'Gravity', rise bit by bit on the system panel, a smile appeared at the corner of Hope's mouth.
However, the thought that the pure magic power inside these two came from his out-of-print Tower of Paradise magic crystals kept for his collection made the smile vanish.
My money!
Bah... My out-of-print magic crystals.
But on second thought, two magic crystals bitten by Dragon Slayer Mages should have even more collection value. In the future, he could take them to the guild for a spin to show off the bizarre actions of Natsu and Gajeel, that pair of 'Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix' idiots.
As time passed, under the effect of 'Attachment: Separation', the scorching aura on Natsu gradually calmed down, and the cracks on Gajeel's skin began to disappear.
Hope successfully stripped away part of the Anima energy they had eaten, but he was powerless regarding the other part.
The powerful physical constitution of Dragon Slayer Mages had already helped Natsu and Gajeel gradually adapt to that portion of magic power and was currently converting it into their own strength.
This terrifying digestive and adaptive capacity—no wonder it was magic that could help humans defeat Dragons.
Withdrawing his hands, Hope's gaze toward Natsu and Gajeel became strange. He could feel that the Dragon Slaying Magic of these two fellows was actually undergoing a qualitative change under the wash of the massive magic power.
They... had activated "Dragon Force".
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