"Evergreen, are you trying to kill yourself?!" Finn's anger intensified the flames, raising the temperature around them.
Evergreen felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down her forehead, sensing the danger.
Suddenly, a golden lightning bolt struck the center of the stage.
"Yo, Fairy Tail," Laxus's boisterous voice echoed.
"The festival's just getting started," Laxus arrived with the Raijū.
Makarov's face darkened.
"Fried and Bickslow," Gray muttered, noticing the figures on stage besides Evergreen, a sense of foreboding washing over him.
"Let's play a game, old man," Laxus announced to everyone.
"Three hours. Me and the Raijū are your opponents. If you can't defeat us in that time, these hostages turn to dust."
"No way…"
"You're kidding, right?"
"Laxus is serious?" murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Laxus ignored them. "The battleground is Magnolia. Find us, and fight. This is the Fairy Tail free-for-all!"
Finn's face darkened. Terrifying magic surged around him, thrumming with power.
Laxus raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on the epicenter of the burgeoning magical energy. "Otherwise, you wouldn't fight seriously, would you?"
"Laxus…how long will you continue this?!" Makarov stepped in front of Finn, his small frame beginning to expand and grow.
The giant Makarov was consumed by rage.
"I said, it's an encore. Don't rush," Laxus said dismissively, his golden aura shimmering even brighter.
"So bright," someone muttered, shielding their eyes from the intense light.
...
"Enjoy yourselves! The Fairy Tail battle begins! Hahaha!" The golden light dissipated, and Laxus and the Raijū vanished, leaving only Laxus's taunting laughter and the petrified girls on stage.
"They…disappeared?"
"Is he playing hide-and-seek?"
"Damn it, I have to save Nee-san!" Driven by a desperate need to rescue their petrified comrades, the guild members erupted in a cacophony of shouts and cries, rushing towards the guild's exit.
In the blink of an eye, the guild hall, which had moments before been teeming with nearly a hundred people, was suddenly eerily empty.
"That damn bastard…" Makarov reverted to his normal size, his small frame trembling with barely controlled fury.
"I'll…I'll stop him!" Makarov, unable to contain his rage any longer, roared, charging towards the main doors of the guild hall.
Bang—
The open doors seemed to be blocked by an invisible wall, preventing Makarov from leaving.
"Master?!" Gray exclaimed, his voice filled with surprise and concern.
Makarov strained against the unseen barrier, but his efforts were futile.
"There's an invisible wall…" Gray muttered, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"There's writing in the air," Finn announced, approaching the entrance and gazing upwards. "'Prohibited: anyone over eighty years old, or those who are petrified.'" Finn read the inscription aloud.
"It's Fried's magic."
"Magic?" Gray asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Finn explained, "Simply put, it's a type of barrier magic. The user writes rules to restrict those within the barrier. It's a magically-created trap."
"Writing the incantation takes a considerable amount of time, so it's not suitable for fast-paced combat. However, as a trap, it's incredibly effective," Makarov added, his voice laced with grim understanding.
"So he's trying to keep the old man here?" Gray stroked his chin thoughtfully, piecing together the implications of Fried's magical barrier.
Seeing that his attempts to leave were thwarted, Makarov turned to Finn, his gaze filled with a mixture of urgency and hope. "Since I can't get out, I'm relying on you."
"Don't worry, Master," Finn replied, his eyes hardening into a steely gaze. "I'll teach that childish brat a lesson and bring him back."
"I'm fired up!!" Before Finn could depart, Natsu, having finally deciphered the rules of the magical barrier, charged towards the exit, his voice filled with unrestrained excitement.
"Just you wait, Laxus!!" Natsu bellowed, his resolve unwavering.
Bang————
Just like Makarov before him, Natsu was abruptly stopped by the magical barrier, his progress thwarted by the invisible force field.
"What?!" A collective gasp of disbelief rippled through the remaining guild members.
"What the hell is going on here?" Finn paced back and forth in front of the entrance, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. "I'm fine, though?"
"Natsu, are you eighty years old? Are you petrified?" Makarov asked incredulously, pointing at Natsu, his voice laced with a mixture of frustration and disbelief.
Natsu, his forehead pressed firmly against the barrier, continued to struggle, his efforts to break free proving futile. "How would I know?!" he exclaimed, his voice muffled by his exertion.
Suddenly, the writing on the barrier changed.
"Mid-battle report?" Finn read the updated inscription aloud. "Jet vs. Droy vs. Alzack."
"Those damn fools!" Makarov, his anger reaching a boiling point, unleashed a powerful punch against the nearby stone wall, the impact echoing through the guild hall.
Finn stroked his chin, piecing together the puzzle. "It seems Fried has set up similar barriers throughout the streets of Magnolia. The condition for release is likely that one of them must emerge victorious."
Turning his gaze towards the petrified forms of the female guild members, Finn continued, "Those guys are desperate to save them, so they'll have to follow the rules. So this is what Laxus meant by a Fairy Tail free-for-all…"
Makarov's temples throbbed with rage, his face contorted in agony as he witnessed his children engaged in a brutal conflict. The sight of his guild members turning against each other caused him more pain than anyone could imagine.
Suddenly, Makarov turned to Finn, his voice heavy with a mixture of resignation and urgent plea. "Finn…it seems you'll have to act alone. That's the only way to minimize the risk of you accidentally harming your comrades."
Finn nodded, his expression grim. "Understood, Master. There's no time to waste. I'll go now."
Before departing, Finn turned to Gray. "Once we're outside, we'll split up. Be careful."
Gray, his fist clenched tightly against his chest, responded with unwavering determination. "Don't you worry, Finn. There's a good chance I'll find Laxus before you do."
"Let's go," Finn said, his voice resolute.
As Finn and Gray disappeared out of the guild hall, Natsu, his frustration mounting, continued to relentlessly bang his head against the barrier. "Damn it all! I can't believe I'm missing out on all the action!"
"Natsu, I think you've completely misunderstood the situation," Happy said, scratching his head in confusion.
"Oh, the writing's changed," Makarov announced, his gaze fixed on the magical inscription above the entrance.
"Jet and Droy are unable to continue fighting. Winner: Alzack…" A flurry of updated battle reports appeared on the barrier, detailing the ongoing conflicts throughout Magnolia.
Happy gasped, his paws covering his face in shock. "Looks like most of the members are trapped in Fried's magic and forced to fight each other."
"Make them stop, you damn brats…" Makarov muttered, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
On a street in Magnolia.
Alzack silently holstered his magic gun, his gaze falling upon Jet and Droy, who lay defeated on the ground, their bodies battered and bruised.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…I have to save Bisca…" Alzack whispered, his voice barely audible, his guilt evident in his tone.
Raising his head, Alzack's eyes hardened with a newfound resolve.
At a street-side café, several concerned citizens sat huddled together, their faces etched with worry as they discussed the unfolding events.
"I heard something's wrong with Fairy Tail," a stout, middle-aged man commented, his voice laced with a mixture of concern and apprehension.
"Yeah, you see their members fighting each other everywhere," another man, bald and with a weary expression, added, shaking his head in disbelief.
"It's more than just arguing! There was a serious brawl just down the street a few minutes ago!" the café owner chimed in, pointing towards a particular direction, her voice filled with a mixture of shock and concern. She had just finished serving a customer a cup of coffee when she witnessed the intense fight.
"Will the Magic Parade still happen?" the bald man asked, his voice laced with worry.
"Oh, isn't that young Finn?" a man exclaimed, pointing towards Finn, who was running swiftly down the street.
"Hey! Young Finn! What's going on with Fairy Tail? Why are you all fighting each other?" the bald man shouted, attempting to halt Finn's progress.
"Sorry, we're preparing for the parade," Finn replied politely, offering a brief explanation while continuing his determined run.
"That's a strange way to prepare…" the bald man commented, his voice tinged with confusion.
Finn offered a reassuring smile. "Please, everyone, look forward to the parade. It's going to be amazing."
"We certainly will," the bald man replied, giving a thumbs-up. Fairy Tail's annual parade was always a spectacular event, and his anticipation remained high despite the unsettling news.
"But try not to fight too much, okay?" the bald man added with a chuckle.
Finn gave a quick 'OK' sign with his hand before turning and continuing his run.
Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed from down the street, instantly capturing Finn's attention.
"Who's over there?" Finn altered his course, heading towards the source of the explosion.
Back inside the Fairy Tail guild hall.
"Evergreen vs. Elfman. Winner: Evergreen. Elfman is unable to continue fighting," Makarov announced, his head bowed in despair.
"Elfman lost?!" Happy exclaimed in disbelief, his voice laced with astonishment. "Elfman now has Beast Soul—there's no way he should have lost!"
"Gray's fighting Bickslow. I wish I could go too!" Natsu clenched his fists, his competitive spirit ignited by the news of the ongoing battles.
"Laki vs. Fried. Winner: Fried," Happy announced, reading another update from the magical barrier.
"Didn't Laki go to the East Forest to find Porlyusica? Why did she run into Fried?" Makarov's face darkened further. Laki's mission, assigned by Makarov himself, was to seek Porlyusica's help in finding a way to reverse the petrification magic. With Laki's defeat, that avenue of hope was now closed.
"Fried's strong," Natsu commented, his voice filled with grudging admiration.
"Natsu, how can you say that? Because Laki lost, we can't ask Porlyusica for help!" Happy exclaimed, his voice laced with anxiety and concern.
Natsu waved his hand dismissively. "Turning people into sand is just a bluff. Laxus is still one of us; he wouldn't actually do that."
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