Chapter 242
Inside a tavern in the royal capital, a man stood before the crowd delivering an impassioned speech.
"The nationwide revolution has begun! The old king’s government has already been overthrown by demons from another world, and our people now face the greatest humiliation in our history—but we must never surrender to those monsters!"
He raised his mug.
"You’ve all seen the decrees issued by the demons, haven’t you? Look at the beer in your hands! If we don’t unite now, someday even a mug of beer will become a luxury!"
"The capital has been occupied, and no one is allowed to leave the city. Those demons destroyed our stable livelihoods and took away our bread, but there are two things they can never take from us—our freedom and our dignity!"
His passionate voice echoed through the tavern, stirring the emotions of everyone gathered below.
"Damn. This guy’s got guts. He’s openly saying stuff like this in a tavern. Isn’t he worried the royal army will arrest him?"
"He’s already given several speeches. Nobody’s stopped him. The royal army seems to be doing nothing except sealing the city—they’re letting people enter but refusing to let anyone leave. They don’t seem to care what happens inside the capital anymore."
Onstage, the speaker’s voice grew even louder.
"Those demons look down on us! They spend every night feasting and celebrating because they believe we are powerless. They will pay for that arrogance!"
He thrust one fist into the air.
"My brothers! Stand up! Take up your weapons! Follow His Highness the Prince and reclaim our country!"
"I’m joining!"
"Count me in!"
"I’ve had enough! We might as well risk everything and kill those demons!"
"I’m joining the prince’s resistance!"
Similar scenes were unfolding throughout the capital.
Even the speeches were suspiciously alike.
By now, practically everyone in the city knew that the long-lost prince was preparing to do something enormous.
...
At the prince’s temporary command center, everyone who had volunteered to join the resistance had gathered together.
Mystogan stood before them and explained the plan.
"With our current strength, we have no chance of defeating the invaders in a direct confrontation."
"The only opportunity we have lies with the Anima array outside the city. If we reverse Anima, the Magic Power of this world will be expelled, and the invaders—whose bodies naturally contain Magic Power—will also be sent back to their own world."
One of the volunteers immediately raised a concern.
"Your Highness! The demons stationed troops around the array outside the city. We can’t get close!"
"That is why we need to divide our forces."
Mystogan remained calm.
"One group will launch an attack on the royal palace and draw the demons’ attention. The second group will use that opportunity to reach the array and activate Reverse Anima."
A collective hiss went through the crowd.
Attack the palace?
The same palace occupied by those monsters?
Wasn’t that basically suicide?
Mystogan surveyed his assembled "officers."
"I am the only person here who understands the complete Reverse Anima formula, so I must personally go to the array."
His expression became solemn.
"Is there any warrior willing to accept the task of attacking the palace?"
"..."
The room fell silent.
It was easy to shout about revolution when death still felt distant.
Now that someone actually had to storm the demons’ stronghold, nobody was eager to volunteer.
Then the "heroes" stepped forward.
"We’ll do it."
The newcomers were none other than the strongest "Dark Guild" in Edolas—Fairy Tail.
Lucy stood at the front with her head held high.
"Fairy Tail volunteers to attack the palace and deal with the demons."
"We’ll buy you enough time to activate Reverse Anima, but we’ll need someone else to handle the royal troops guarding the outer perimeter."
The moment Fairy Tail accepted the most dangerous assignment, the rest of the room immediately found its courage.
"Leave the royal army to us!"
"Exactly! Fighting the royal army is what we’re good at!"
"You just focus on charging forward. We’ll clear the way!"
"Leave your backs to us!"
The members of Fairy Tail exchanged a glance with Mystogan.
Nothing more needed to be said.
"Good!"
Mystogan raised his voice.
"With Fairy Tail standing with us, there is no reason this plan should fail!"
"Tomorrow at noon, we act."
"This time, we will take back everything that was stolen from us!"
"For Edolas!"
"OOOOH!"
"For Edolas!"
...
The next day, inside the royal palace—
"A common enemy can make people put aside their differences and unite."
Marshall looked over the list in his hand.
"But there will always be opportunistic rats who see chaos as nothing more than another chance to profit."
He looked disgusted by the paper and tossed it to Lucy beside him.
Since Mystogan’s war council ended the previous afternoon, nine different groups had secretly sent information to the palace about his plans.
There were far more traitors and fence-sitters in this kingdom than Marshall had expected.
Compared with Mystogan’s loosely organized resistance, these people clearly believed the immensely powerful "demons" had the better chance of winning.
What none of them would ever imagine was that the foreign demons and the prince were working together from the beginning.
"Keep the list for Mystogan."
Marshall leaned back.
"Consider it Fairy Tail’s farewell gift."
Lucy took it.
"Marshall, is there anything else we need to do?"
"Nothing."
Marshall smiled.
"Now we just wait until it’s time to go home."
...
A gunshot rang out from one of the taverns.
That was the signal.
The rebellion had began.
"Drive out the demons! Reclaim the kingdom!"
"CHARGE!"
"THE PEOPLE OF EDOLAS WILL NEVER BE SLAVES!"
"For His Highness the Prince!"
"Fight back!"
Cries of rebellion erupted throughout the royal capital as the population rose in revolt.
The resistance fighters collided with the royal soldiers who had submitted to Fairy Tail, and the city erupted into apparent warfare.
"Fairy Tail! CHARGE!"
"Clear a path for Fairy Tail!"
With the resistance tying down the royal forces, a gap opened in the defensive line, allowing the Edolas Fairy Tail members to break through and charge into the royal palace.
A moment later, the roar of an enormous dragon echoed across the capital once again.
"You insects dare to dance before me?!"
The dragon’s voice thundered over the city.
"LET THE WORLD KNOW PAIN!"
Explosions erupted from within the palace.
The ground shook repeatedly, fire rose into the sky, and the deafening sounds of battle seemed to prove that a desperate struggle was taking place inside.
At the same time, Mystogan led another force toward the Anima array outside the capital.
Waiting for them there was the terrifying Demon King Dragneel, complete with two horns rising from his head.
Natsu planted himself in front of the array and spread his arms dramatically.
"COME!"
"Try to stop me, Prince of Edolas!"
He laughed like a maniac.
"Otherwise, I’ll kill everyone here! WAHAHAHAHA!"
"..."
Mystogan stared at him.
They had agreed this was a performance.
But somehow...
Natsu didn’t seem to be acting.
Another enormous "battle" erupted.
Before long, the entire royal capital appeared to have become a war zone, with battle cries ringing through the streets from every direction.
Yet nobody outside the palace knew that the situation inside was completely different.
"LISANNA! IT’S BEEN FOREVER!"
"Whoa! So this is the version of me from another world? Why are you wearing so many clothes?"
"A gentle Levy?! Oh my God, the other world is amazing!"
"Hahaha! Wendy is so tiny over there! She’s adorable!"
Fairy Tail had finally met Fairy Tail.
Everyone excitedly crowded around their counterparts, examining the other versions of themselves and chatting nonstop.
The atmosphere couldn’t have been livelier.
There was no battle whatsoever.
All the explosions, flames, shaking ground, and violent noises were nothing more than special effects.
"Marshall isn’t even a member of Fairy Tail in this world?"
"He’s a famous singer instead?"
"That’s ridiculous!"
Although most members of Fairy Tail had recognizable counterparts in both worlds, plenty of people had never joined the guild on one side or the other.
The two worlds were similar, but far from identical.
Someone raised a mug.
"To our brothers and sisters from another world!"
"CHEERS!"
Outside the palace, the "war" continued with earthshaking intensity.
Inside, the two Fairy Tail guilds were holding a party together.
𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
If the streets and palace walls were the stage... then this was backstage.
"So we really don’t need to do anything else?"
"Nope."
Marshall relaxed with his drink.
"Once Mystogan activates Reverse Anima, the show is over."
"And then we all go home."