Makarov saw Natsu lying there like a corpse and thought to himself that with Natsu's potential, he might be the one to stop Laxus.
"Wake up! Wake up!"
So he walked over, grabbed Natsu's shoulders, and shook him vigorously. After ten minutes of shaking, he finally woke Natsu up.
Natsu was dizzy. "If you shake me any more, my neck is going to break."
"Alright, stop talking nonsense and go stop that bastard Laxus!"
"Laxus, huh? I'm all fired up now!"
However, the two were soon dumbfounded; Natsu couldn't get out either.
Natsu was shocked. "Am I actually eighty years old?"
Elsewhere, Alzack encountered Jet and Droy. Before they could even greet each other, Dark Ecriture rose from the ground, forming an invisible wall that stated only the strongest could leave.
Jet was confused. "What does this mean? It wants us to kill each other?"
Alzack's face was grim. He didn't care about any of that; he had to save his wife.
Suddenly, the script appeared in the air again: Jet vs. Droy vs. Alzack. The winner is Alzack!
It wasn't just the three of them; almost everyone from Fairy Tail who was trapped began fighting one another. They weren't just doing it to save Erza and the others or to defeat Laxus; they also had the desire to see who among their comrades was the strongest.
The townspeople outside saw the Fairy Tail members fighting intensely and causing massive damage to buildings, leaving them feeling quite helpless.
Although they were used to their rowdiness, today was the Fantasia Parade festival. They really were a bunch of reckless guys.
Max vs. Warren, winner: Warren!
Vijeeter vs. Nab, winner: Nab!
...Acnologia and Irene had just arrived in Magnolia Town. They looked at the Dark Ecriture in front of them and stopped.
"Oh, Dark Ecriture covering the entire Magnolia Town. Quite a grand gesture." Irene pressed her hand against the barrier, sensing its exact range.
Acnologia said, "It should be the Dark Ecriture magic of Fried from the Thunder God Tribe—basically, Laxus's lackey."
"That rebellious blond kid?"
Irene was puzzled. "What is he doing?"
Acnologia chuckled. "Who knows? Maybe he's trying to prove he's the strongest in the guild."
"Interesting."
Irene smiled slightly and tapped the air with her magic staff. Crimson script rose, rewriting the Jutsu Shiki so that all rules became invalid for the two of them.
Acnologia was a bit surprised. "You know how to do this too?"
"Hey, don't look down on me. I haven't been wasting my time over the last four hundred years."
She could rewrite a brat's Jutsu Shiki however she pleased. Just because she didn't usually use it didn't mean she didn't know how.
The two continued forward, passing Fairy Tail members fighting along the way. There was even a neurotic guy who tried to attack Irene, only to be knocked unconscious by her magic staff.
They soon arrived at the Fairy Tail Guild. When Natsu and Makarov saw them, they were overjoyed. "You're back!"
Acnologia teased, "We've only been gone for a few days. Is the guild about to disband?"
Natsu shouted indignantly, "It's all because of that guy Laxus! He's making us fight each other, and Fried's Jutsu Shiki has me trapped."
As one of the guild's top fighters, he was incredibly frustrated to be stuck here.
Acnologia walked onto the stage and looked at Erza, who had been turned into a statue. He felt a surge of anger. To turn his precious daughter into this... how despicable.
Irene touched the petrified Erza and said with a chuckle, "Now that she's turned to stone, she can't be so fierce anymore."
"And Lucy... her chest is so hard... not cute at all..."
Makarov was speechless. He couldn't believe she was focusing on that at a time like this.
He said, "I've already had someone notify Lady Porlyusica to prepare an antidote. The petrification should be released soon."
Irene smiled. "Why go through all that trouble? Petrification is just magic, after all. The reason they were petrified is simply because their Magic Power is too weak."
Makarov was startled. "What do you mean?"
*Thump!*
Irene's magic staff lightly tapped the ground, and red Magic Power washed over the petrified group. "Enchantment: Magic Power!"
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The sound of cracking echoed. Under everyone's astonished gazes, Erza and the others broke free from the stone.
Natsu and Happy were ecstatic. "Lucy and Erza are back!"
"Great job, Irene!"
Erza moved her stiff body, a look of joy appearing on her face. "I'm restored?"
"I did it myself; there's no way it could fail."
Irene suddenly chuckled. "Little Erza, getting petrified like that... you're really too weak."
Erza didn't bother arguing with her at the moment and immediately said, "I'm going to stop Laxus!"
Makarov raised his hand to stop her. "Have Warren use Telepathy to notify everyone to stop fighting. Since you've been restored, there's no need for us to keep playing this pointless game."
Acnologia suddenly spoke up, "Actually, we could play along. I'm sure you want to see Laxus's true feelings as well. This is a good opportunity."
"I believe Laxus will make the right choice."
Natsu agreed, "I haven't even made a move yet. Let me go beat some sense into Laxus!"
Irene giggled behind her hand. "Don't talk big, Little Natsu. That blond brat is much stronger than you."
From the first time she saw Laxus, she knew he was one of the strongest in the guild, perhaps already as strong as Makarov.
Others also expressed their agreement. Whether Laxus was a comrade or an enemy depended entirely on his own choice.
Makarov looked at everyone's eager expressions, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed. "Alright then!"
Deep down, he also believed that Laxus was not beyond redemption.
Irene walked to the door and tapped her magic staff. The Jutsu Shiki was rewritten; the Dark Ecriture turned crimson, and the restrictions were lifted.
Natsu said in surprise, "Irene, you really can do everything!"
The others were also shocked. Irene really knew how to do everything—her support was invincible, she knew script magic, and they'd heard she could even crush the Iron Dragon Gajeel in close combat. She was truly incredible.
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm not as strong as you think!"
Hearing everyone's praise, Irene waved her hand modestly. If her expression hadn't been so smug, it might have been more convincing.
"Master, I'm going to help!"
Erza said seriously. Even she wasn't certain she could defeat Laxus, but she was the only one who could go now.
Natsu shouted, "I'm the one who's going to defeat Laxus! Don't you guys try to steal him from me!"
With that, he dashed off in a flash.
Irene laughed. "So impulsive. He's probably going to get a good beating."
Acnologia looked toward a corner. "Gajeel, go help Natsu. Together, the two of you might be able to defeat Laxus."
Gajeel?
Everyone was startled; they hadn't even noticed someone was hiding there.
Gajeel walked out with a haughty look and said coldly, "I'm not helping that smelly fire dragon."
Irene narrowed her eyes slightly. "Oh? Are you refusing?"
Gajeel reflexively touched his head. Back when he had kidnapped Lucy, Irene had given him quite a beating, and he still had a psychological shadow from it.
Seeing Irene's expression become increasingly dangerous, he quickly said, "Fine, fine, fine! I'll go!"
With that, he dashed out in a flash.
Seeing Gajeel go to help, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Two Mages with S-class strength should be able to suppress Laxus.
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