Watching the battlefield being easily crushed by Natsu, the large wrench in Levy's hand clattered to the ground. She stared with her mouth agape, managing to choke out only one sentence after a long while.
"Is this kid really the alternate world counterpart of our 'Fireball' Natsu? He's too amazing..."
"I've already told you, I'm a Fire Dragon!"
Natsu pulled back his fist and said proudly, "I was raised by a dragon."
Wendy trotted over, casting a worried look at the fallen Shugboy. "Natsu-nii, he doesn't seem like a bad guy. You didn't hit him too hard, did you?"
Natsu awkwardly stroked Happy as he flew over. "He was just too weak. I didn't control my strength well, but he shouldn't be dead..."
"..."
Wendy was speechless. She knelt down to heal Shugboy.
Looking at the collapsed Shugboy and the terrified Kingdom soldiers, Natsu flexed his wrists, and flames ignited on his fists once again.
"Hey, you guys."
Natsu scanned the soldiers who dared not meet his eyes. "You guys should know the way to the Royal Capital, right? Take me to that so-called Despair Emperor."
The soldiers looked at each other, none of them daring to make a sound.
The miserable state of Captain Shugboy was still fresh in their minds, and the power displayed by the Cherry-Haired Youth before them completely exceeded their understanding.
That was definitely not power that should exist in this magic-depleted world.
"Give it up."
Under Wendy's healing, Shugboy woke up immediately. He stood up shakily and looked at Natsu. "Lord Despair Emperor is twenty times stronger than me. You are indeed very strong, but going to face Lord Despair Emperor alone is just suicide..."
"Huh? Isn't that perfect!"
Natsu's eyes lit up. "Besides, I have to go to the Royal Capital. My companions were taken away by that whatever-it-is Ultra-Subspace Magic of yours."
"Wait, Natsu."
Carla flew in front of Natsu and said seriously, "Don't be impulsive. We should first find a way to rendezvous with the others, or wait for Hope to find us."
"But..."
Natsu was about to retort, but was interrupted by Faust.
The old King stroked his beard, looking at him with deep eyes. "Young man, your power is indeed astonishing, but the Despair Emperor's power is also far beyond your imagination."
Lilly also advised from the side, "Ten days ago, he destroyed the entire Extalia with his own strength alone. Even now, I still feel despair when I think about it."
Natsu curled his lip. "Just a floating island. I could do that too if I went all out."
Happy suddenly asked from the side, "Extalia was destroyed, so where did the Exceeds go?"
"They were all captured."
Lilly's deep voice rang out. "The Despair Emperor obtained Faust's secret plan to deal with the Exceeds. According to that plan, the Exceeds would be turned into magic crystals and become consumables for magic power."
"How could this be..." Happy lowered his head.
Although it had long learned from Mystogan that the Exceeds were just a bunch of magical cats who thought they were superior but had no real strength, hearing that its kind might be turned into magic crystals still made it feel uneasy.
Natsu hugged Happy tightly, feeling his pain. "Don't worry, Happy. We will definitely stop that Despair Emperor!"
Just then, a strange magical fluctuation suddenly came from the distant Sky.
Everyone looked up and saw another airship arriving in the Sky, with an eye pattern wrapped in chains on the hull.
The airship quickly landed on this floating island.
Watching the figure walking off the ship, surrounded by Kingdom soldiers, Shugboy and his guard squad knelt down one after another, while the members of the resistance army all changed expressions drastically.
"Oh no! It's the Despair Emperor!"
"It's over."
"Is today our end..."
"Damn it, I'm so unwilling!"
"..."
The emotion of despair spread rapidly like a plague, and even Wendy and the two cats were affected.
Only Natsu felt nothing. He sniffed his nose, then waved his hand excitedly towards that side. "Hope! You came so fast! Where are the others?"
Under the surprised gazes of many soldiers, that Despair Emperor who made them feel fear actually revealed a kind smile when facing the greeting of the Cherry-Haired Youth.
The person who came was naturally Hope, who was mistaken for Despair Emperor Hopless.
Only Natsu, with a nose more sensitive than a dog's, could instantly recognize him.
Hope had originally planned to go pick up Lucy, but after the airship had traveled a distance, he realized that Natsu's location was closer, so he stopped by on the way.
As for Lucy, hopefully she is okay.
Watching Hope chatting and laughing with Natsu, the officer who had been on edge the whole way finally realized. He had been wondering why Lord Despair Emperor was so amiable today; it turned out it wasn't the same person...
Looking at the group of resistance members at the scene, the officer found Shugboy, hoping this captain of the guard squad would make a decision.
Make a decision? This was asking for his life.
Shugboy looked at Hope, who looked exactly like the Despair Emperor, and felt numb. If a Natsu from another world was already this powerful, how terrifying must this guy be?
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Natsu, Hope clearly learned from Carla about everything they had experienced since arriving in Edolas.
"I didn't expect the Lucy of this world to be the Guild Master."
Hope let out the same exclamation as Natsu earlier. The timid and playful Lucy of his own guild was actually a big sister figure in another world—anyone would be shocked.
And the Fairy Tail here was basically still the same people.
It's just that the contrast is quite big...
Hope showed his guild emblem on his arm to these strange companions. "Hello everyone, my name is Hope, and I am a Fairy Tail Mage."
After he said this, combined with the assurances from Natsu and Wendy, everyone finally relaxed.
"So that Despair Emperor Hopless over there is a companion..."
Levy couldn't help but ask curiously, "Then what is the other me like?"
"She is a quiet literary girl, and she is currently in a relationship."
Hope's answer left Levy in a daze.
Looking around, Hope noticed that among the Fairy Tail members of Edolas, there was a stranger he had never seen in his original guild.
It was a girl with short white hair.
The familiar white hair instantly made Hope think of Mirajane, and Elfman, and then linked it to the fact that this was the parallel world of Edolas.
"You... could you be Lisanna?"
Hope's sudden question surprised Lisanna.
Natsu said to Hope from the side, "That's right, she is Lisanna, the younger sister of Mirajane and Elfman, but..."
She is not our Lisanna...
The final words were not spoken out loud, and Natsu felt heavy-hearted.
Their Lisanna had unfortunately passed away two years ago during an S-class mission to slay the Beast King with her sister and brother...
That good friend who they had grown up playing with would never come back.
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