"So you couldn't sit still any longer, Mira. Not petrifying you was Abar's mistake, but can you, as you are now, defeat the Thunder God Tribe and stand before me?"
Laxus did not consider Mira's joining the battle a significant event, just as he looked down on Erza, believing her presence or absence wouldn't affect the situation.
The number of remaining members had dwindled to 40, and most had already lost their fighting strength. What concerned Laxus more was to what extent the old man could endure.
Just wait a little longer, until there are even fewer left. Once he thoroughly defeats the so-called 'Fairy Tail Strategist,' he would confront the old man and make him announce his abdication in front of the entire city's residents.
...
"Found you!" Having set out from the guild and crossed nearly half the city, Elfman finally encountered one of his targets, Ibarglin.
Not far away, Wang Qiangji lay wounded on the ground, having just been defeated by Ibarglin.
Ibarglin, acting nonchalant, mingled into the crowd, leisurely enjoying the hide-and-seek game.
"Ibarglin!" Elfman shouted, "Don't think you can escape!"
The surrounding crowd had already started avoiding when they saw the Two-headed Wolf. Now, hearing Elfman's shout and seeing his fierce expression, they withdrew even further.
It was clear he was here to fight; it was safer to keep their distance.
Ibarglin, without haste, glanced at him, slightly raising her glasses:
"Did you find me by the scent of the wolf? That sort of thing is not cute at all."
Her pupils glowed with light, and in an instant, the Three Wolves turned to stone and vanished from sight.
Elfman, wearing sunglasses, was spared, but his body lunged forward due to inertia.
He took the opportunity to clench his fist and struck at Ibarglin's face.
The four purple wing-like ornaments behind Ibarglin moved, allowing her to fly in place and evade Elfman's attack.
Elfman's punch shattered a nearby roadside stall, and the vendor, noting the appearance of both of them, scrambled away in a panic.
With the festival disrupted, he didn't want to get hurt now. As for his stall, he could request compensation from the guild after the fight was over.
Hovering in midair, Ibarglin looked down at Elfman: "Can your crude appearance truly be considered 'Fairy'?"
Elfman dismissed her taunt: "That doesn't matter. If you're a real man, restore the girls back to normal at once!"
"Them? Aren't they quite adorable as statues? For a fairy, having just me is enough!"
Ibarglin, clad in a green dress, black stockings, and long brownish-yellow hair with four purple wings, indeed resembled a 'fairy' as she flew in the air.
She had loved fairy tales since childhood and joined Fairy Tail merely out of interest in the guild's name.
Later invited by Fried, she came to idolize Laxus and had been contemplating seizing the title of Fairy Queen from Erza.
Successfully petrifying Erza also bolstered her confidence and vanity.
"Talking to you is probably futile." The wings behind Ibarglin vibrated, retreating several meters before she suddenly swung her hand, "Fairy Shrapnel!"
Golden orbs, the size of eggs, shot toward Elfman, as if machine-gunning at him.
Elfman zigzagged forward: "Full-Body Take Over: Beast King's Soul!"
Horns sprouted on his head, scales covered his face and body, his shirt burst open, revealing exaggerated muscles, and his arms became fiercely robust, almost capable of hosting someone on his fists.
Realizing the opponent wouldn't relent without a fight, Elfman said no more and charged with a roar.
Like a savage, his massive foot crushed the ground as he leapt, showcasing astonishing agility, slamming his cauldron-sized fist down onto Ibarglin's head.
Unfortunately, Ibarglin's wings were too deft. She easily dodged his fist with a tremor, nimbly flying around Elfman.
First, her left fist struck Elfman's cheek, then her right foot kicked the back of his head.
"Quite frankly... besides your name, there's nothing cute about you..."
(Elfman's name should imply being elfin, yet this burly man has such a cute name)
Without flight capability, Elfman swung his large hands left and right, yet couldn't even graze Ibarglin's hem.
Luckily, her hits weren't powerful, so to Elfman, a few strikes didn't even count as injuries.
The scene was like a mosquito angering a lion; the mosquito could harass at will, while the lion was helpless.
Finally managing to land on solid ground from mid-air, Elfman discovered that he was surrounded by tiny golden dust particles.
Though they shimmered with specks of gold in the sunlight, his sunglasses made it hard for him to see clearly.
"Unfortunately, you are already enveloped in the Fairy's scale powder..."
Ibarglin smirked triumphantly, flipped in the air, and distanced herself a bit: "Fairy Bomb - Little Fairy!"
All the scale powder around Elfman emitted a brilliant light and exploded with a thunderous roar.
Flames and smoke filled the air, and the ground seemed to shake.
The intense shockwave spread out from the center of the powder, causing nearby stalls to sway slightly.
Ibarglin landed outside the explosion range, gently adjusting her glasses, planning to turn Elfman into a statue once the smoke cleared and eliminate him from the game.
However, when the smoke finally dispersed, what appeared before Ibarglin was not the Beast King, but a thick stone wall.
"What is this…"
Before Ibarglin could figure it out, the ground beneath her suddenly rose, and a huge stone fist punched towards her chin.
Dodge? Defend?
Her body barely made a move before her chin took a heavy hit.
Ibarglin grunted and flew backward, crashing onto the ground behind her.
Summoning all her strength, she barely lifted her head to see the face of the person who had ambushed her.
— Behind him were a pair of heavy dragon wings, his hands had become dragon claws, his eyes were fierce vertical pupils, and his face was adorned with earthy-yellow dragon scales.
Ibarglin was momentarily unsure if this was the Fairy Tail Strategist. What was with this ferocious expression and the oppressive magic power?
Rhode wasted no words, immediately lunged over, crouched, and clutched Ibarglin's throat with his right hand.
He patted the ground with his left hand, conjuring stone shackles to lock her wrists and ankles, while a Stone Beetle used its pincer-like mouthpiece to grip her slender waist.
The stone wall behind rumbled and shattered, and as Elfman stepped out, he found his opponent already defeated, without knowing how he had won.
Since he hadn't fully endured Ibarglin's attack, Elfman only had minor injuries and some tears in his pants.
This reckless kid, always ruining his clothes every time he transforms into the Beast King.
"Giving you a chance, undo the Petrification Magic, or I'll just send you off."
Rhode's right hand tightened, almost choking her, then slightly loosened when he saw she was about to speak.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Ibarglin coughed violently several times, "It's useless, even if you kill me, the magic won't be undone."
She replaced her expression with one of arrogance: "Besides, I can control it remotely, and I can crush them any time! So, I'm the one giving you a chance... Kneel down and give up now, or I'll... Ah!"
Rhode let go of her throat and punched Ibarglin in the abdomen, forcing her eyes to bulge and blood to spurt from her mouth.
"Hey, Rhode..." Elfman was worried that he was being impulsive out of anger, but didn't know what to say.
Ibarglin incredulously said: "How dare you... Do you completely not care about their lives?"
"This is a calm decision based on the current situation. Their lives are in your hands; I can't control you to undo the magic, so I can only decide your fate."
"Within the rules you idiots set, it only said defeating you could save the hostages, but now you want to use them to force me to surrender—meaning you never intended to follow that ridiculous game rule, and they won't survive anyway."
Rhode's gaze turned cold: "In that case, I can only make you the sacrifice for them. Fortunately, they're just statues, maintaining a beautiful posture in death without suffering."
Ibarglin didn't expect this reaction from the other party: "Ah?"
"But you won't have that kind of luck. You must have noticed, I'm not like that straightforward dumb brother of mine; to avenge them, I'll do whatever it takes... I'll entertain you well before your death.
Summon, Magic Swamp Frog!"
"Ah?"