Chapter 235
"Marshall, I have a feeling they’re about to make their move."
A few days later, Mystogan approached Marshall with an unusually serious expression.
"They’ve stayed quiet for far too long. Whatever they’re planning, it has to be something big."
"Anima, huh..."
Marshall waved a hand, not particularly concerned.
"Don’t worry. Haven’t we been preparing for this for ages?"
Nearly a year had passed since the previous Anima incident, and not a single one had appeared during that entire period.
The other side had clearly been frightened by Marshall’s method of throwing enormous chunks of land back through the portal and no longer dared to act recklessly.
Still, expecting them to abandon the idea altogether would have been unrealistic.
Marshall and Mystogan both knew that the next Anima would almost certainly be far more powerful than anything they had dealt with before.
There would be no more small-scale probing.
"Almost every Anima phenomenon so far has appeared somewhere within Fiore."
Mystogan’s expression remained grave.
"The next time they act, they’ll almost certainly target the area with the strongest concentration of Magic Power."
He paused.
"And within the entire Kingdom of Fiore, the place with the greatest concentration of powerful Mages is—"
"Magnolia."
Mystogan nodded.
"I’m almost certain their next target will be this city. They might even create an Anima powerful enough to absorb all of Magnolia."
His voice became heavier.
"If that happens..."
"Then nothing happens."
Marshall shook his head casually.
"Relax. I prepared for that a long time ago."
He leaned back with complete confidence.
"Magnolia is my territory. I’ve already covered the entire city with defensive magic arrays, and several of the Jutsu-Shiki are specifically designed to counter Anima."
"So even if they target the whole city, it won’t cause any real damage."
Mystogan visibly relaxed.
Over the past two years, he had personally watched Marshall’s skill with magic arrays climb step by step until it was nearly on par with his own.
If Marshall said Magnolia was protected, Mystogan trusted him.
"In that case... our counterattack plan..."
Mystogan hesitated.
Because he rarely showed his face, he wasn’t particularly close with most of Fairy Tail’s members.
And the plan he had in mind would require asking the entire guild for help.
That made him genuinely uncomfortable.
"Relax."
Marshall immediately understood.
"Leave that part to me. I’ll talk to the Master."
Marshall and Mystogan had always gotten along well.
Both were talented researchers, and each had learned quite a bit from the other over the years, giving them no shortage of shared interests.
Mystogan smiled.
"Thank you, Marshall."
"No problem~"
Marshall suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right. How’s your generator research going?"
Mystogan’s mood immediately brightened.
"Heh! I finished it!"
His eyes gleamed.
"An energy source that doesn’t rely on Magic Power at all..."
Ever since completing his research into Reverse Anima, Mystogan had more or less abandoned the conventional magical system.
Following Marshall’s suggestion, he had instead turned toward electromagnetism and technologies that didn’t require Magic Power.
He was preparing for the future—when Edolas would eventually enter an era without Magic.
Marshall was perfectly happy to benefit from Mystogan’s research along the way.
In Earth Land, magical energy was far more convenient than electricity, but that didn’t make electrical technology worthless.
If anything, Marshall was a little disappointed.
Once Mystogan returned home, he would lose an extremely useful research partner.
...
"...And that’s the situation."
Makarov gathered the guild and explained everything.
"Mystogan’s world is preparing to use a large-scale interdimensional spell against ours."
"We need to organize a counterattack."
He looked around the hall.
"This means fighting in another world, so there will naturally be risks. Participation is completely voluntary."
"Who wants to join the operation and help Mystogan?"
Mira was the first to raise her hand.
"I’m going~"
She smiled sweetly.
"I need to bring my idiot little sister home."
"Count me in! A real man never backs down!"
"How could I miss something like this?! I’m all fired up!!!"
"There are talking cats in that world, right? I want to go too!"
The moment everyone heard there was another major fight available, hands started shooting into the air.
They had barely gotten enough action during the Oración Seis operation and were still itching for more.
"Wait!"
A voice suddenly interrupted them.
"Are you all serious?!"
Everyone turned.
"The other world barely has usable Magic Power! If you go there, how are you supposed to fight the royal army?!"
To everyone’s surprise, the first person to object was a cat.
"Carla?"
Wendy looked at her in confusion as Carla jumped onto a table, visibly agitated.
"Do you know a lot about Edolas?"
"Because... because..."
Carla struggled to answer.
Thanks to the large amount of literature and information Lisanna had sent back, Wendy and the others close to Marshall already knew that Edolas was home to a race called the Exceeds, the same kind of creatures as the cats living in Fairy Tail.
But all three cats had been born in Earth Land.
Or at least, that was what everyone believed.
Happy and Ruby had no memories of another world.
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Carla was different.
How was she supposed to explain that she had come to Earth Land carrying a special mission?
Mystogan stepped forward before she could answer.
"There’s no need to worry."
Everyone looked toward him.
"I’ve already developed a potion that will allow you to adapt to Edolas."
"Magic Power will still be difficult to replenish there, but you’ll be able to use Magic normally."
"Oh!"
"As expected of Mystogan!"
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let’s go wreck the place!"
In the end, almost everyone except a handful of particularly lazy members signed up for the newest "limited-time event."
Even Gildarts registered, claiming he wanted to experience the scenery and culture of another world.
Apparently, Fairy Tail had developed a taste for these full-guild deployments where everyone descended on the enemy like a swarm of locusts.
Seeing how enthusiastically everyone volunteered, Mystogan was genuinely moved.
He bowed repeatedly.
"Thank you."
"Thank you, everyone."
"All right, all right, Mystogan!"
Someone waved him off.
"We’re guildmates! Stop being so formal and tell us the plan already!"
Mystogan took a deep breath.
Then his expression became serious.
"Our plan is—"
"Capture the royal capital!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHH?!"
The guild fell silent.
"What do you mean?"
"This time, I want everyone in Fairy Tail to play the role of the villains."
Mystogan looked around the room.
"I need my country to experience firsthand just how terrifying the consequences of abusing Anima can be."
"Once all of you have completely captured the capital, I’ll begin operating from the shadows."
"I’ll rescue the people who recognize the truth and are willing to change things, then raise the banner of rebellion and activate Reverse Anima to send all of you back to Earth Land."
His gaze became firm.
"After that, I’ll strip my father of his authority and take the throne myself."
"As the new king, I’ll lead Edolas into a future where it no longer depends on Magic Power."
Everyone in the guild exchanged looks.
Natsu scratched his head.
"So... you want us to be the bad guys?"
He frowned.
"I’ve never done that before. What if I mess it up?"
"HELL NO."
Several voices answered simultaneously.
"You can just act naturally."
"..."
Natsu looked offended.
Someone else turned toward Mystogan.
"Will this plan actually work? How strong is your kingdom’s military?"
Mystogan looked at the absurd lineup of S-Class-level Mages standing in front of him.
His mouth twitched.
"They are absolutely no match for Fairy Tail."
His gaze briefly landed on Gildarts.
"And with Mr. Gildarts participating as well..."
Mystogan exhaled.
"This will be an overwhelming victory."
"Interesting."
Erza’s eyes sharpened with enthusiasm.
"So we should treat it like a performance?"
She smiled.
"Then I’ll make sure to play my role properly."
"Ohhh! Let Edolas face Fairy Tail’s judgment!"
"For the guild!"
"DESTROY THEM ALL HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"OOOOOOHHHH!!!"
"..."
Mystogan stared at them.
’You people don’t even need to act.’
’You already look like the villains!’
Carla watched the guild erupt into excitement and stood there completely dumbfounded.
For the first time, she began doubting the visions she had carried since birth.
Could those images have been wrong?
Had she... misunderstood everything all along?
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