Under the lush massive tree in the northern park, the stifling heat and noise of the city seemed completely shut out.
The petite figure of Levy McGarden was sheltered beneath the green shade.
She was sleeping with sunlight filtering through the leaf shadows, looking like a tired little fairy returning to nature's embrace.
Gajeel watched from afar, his vision slightly blurring as he focused.
'She looks kinda... peaceful' Gajeel thought, his heart skipping a beat, although he wouldn't admit it.
'Ahem, no,' he corrected himself, shaking his head.
'She looks kinda strange.'
'She doesn't appear to be petrified.'
Gajeel's eyes narrowed slightly.
He stepped forward.
Just as he was about to investigate closer, his instinct screamed at him.
He suddenly moved, rolling sharply to the side.
BOOM—
Several green laser-like rays shot forth with overwhelming force, instantly obliterating the spot where Gajeel had been standing a millisecond ago.
"Kehehehe!"
Bickslow floated in the air, standing on his hovering totem dolls. He positioned himself between Gajeel and Levy, letting out an eerie laugh.
"Hey—you from Phantom Lord mob! Since when do you rescue people? I thought you only beat them up!"
Gajeel nonchalantly brushed the dust off his clothes.
He stood up to face Bickslow, a cruel grin spreading across his face.
"You're from the Thunder God Tribe, right..." Gajeel cracked his knuckles. "I really hit the jackpot. I was hoping to smash one of you."
His iron fist slowly clenched in the air, transforming into a metallic club. The black markings on his shoulders swirled like fairies in storm clouds.
Gajeel laughed provocatively, pointing his iron club at the floating mage.
"Hey, mask guy, hand over the little one nicely... and I might consider not smashing your helmet into your skull."
Bickslow adjusted his helmet, eerie green light gleaming from beneath the shadows of his visor.
"You can try, bastard! Babies, attack!"
"Yeah! Attack!" the dolls echoed.
...
Hidden behind the crystal ball in the church, Ankh let out a satisfied sigh as he finally saw Gajeel confronting Bickslow on the screen.
Finally.
This kid Gajeel still chose to rescue people first after all, he ignored the exit and went for the girl.
'Little rascal,' Ankh chuckled internally. 'Your brother here has years of experience dealing with "stubborn people"! I knew you had it in you.'
Beside Ankh, "Stubborn Person No.1"—Laxus Dreyar—narrowed his eyes.
He watched Gajeel, who had begun fighting Bickslow with vigilance.
"That guy from Phantom Lord," Laxus grumbled. "Would he really care about people in the guild? Or is he just looking for a fight?"
Ankh clicked his tongue. "Since Gajeel is willing to do this detour, it means he sees everyone as companions. He wants to protect Levy. Don't be so suspicious, Laxus."
However, Laxus's expression didn't relax at all.
Watching Gajeel's growing fierce momentum in the crystal ball as he smashed a doll, Laxus speculated:
"Would this kid want to deliver another blow himself after rescuing Levy? Maybe he wants to finish the job he started?"
Ankh: ...
'You really are impossible to reason with!'
'I really want to take an ear pick and poke it into your ear to see if I can scoop out your tiny brain along the way...'
Ankh irritably pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Come on... if he wanted someone dead, he could just ignore them and let Evergreen turn her to stone. Don't always judge people with fixed thinking."
"This is love, understand? Or at least, the start of it."
Laxus's expression suddenly changed to a confused face.
"Love? With that trash?"
'Forget it, you're fucking hopeless,' Ankh thought, giving up.
Ankh patted his legs and stood up, stretching his stiff back.
"I should go make an appearance too," Ankh announced.
"Where are you going?" Laxus asked.
"To the North sector," Ankh replied. "Otherwise, Erza and Mirajane would probably tear through the entire Thunder God Tribe. My little tricks couldn't hold back those two devils anyway—the rest of the guild members wouldn't even need to rescue them if they wake up."
...
Walking on the bustling street of Magnolia, Ankh occasionally received enthusiastic greetings from people enjoying the festival atmosphere.
"Ah—Mr. Ankh! Your guild is really lively today! There are so many people fighting along the way!" A tourist by the roadside shouted, pointing at an explosion in the distance.
Ankh responded with an unsurprised smile. "Let them fight! It's just the pre-festival entertainment! Enjoy the show!"
"Is that so... but this seems a bit excessive. They destroyed a café you know..."
Ankh smiled slightly without responding and kept walking.
'This civil war was different from the original story,' Ankh mused.
Laxus had no intention of seizing the Guild Master position by force here—he just wanted to prove his ability to old man Makarov.
So he wouldn't activate Thunder Palace or Fairy Law to harm the town.
And those socially anxious kids from the Thunder God Tribe should be able to integrate into the guild through this opportunity.
According to the plan, most of the girls should have been rescued by now.
Alzack had fought his way through to rescue Bisca—this obvious couple from the original story surprised no one.
Their love power was strong!
Gray had been led to Juvia by Freed's Magic Formula twists and turns, while Macao and others went to rescue the booze... err, Cana.
Natsu naturally found Lucy, and with their dual protagonist halos automatically activated, they were fighting against Freed from the Thunder God Tribe right now.
Levy's rescue was handled by Gajeel, who was currently engaging Bickslow.
"Brother!"
Ankh's mind stirred as he heard a familiar voice.
He turned to look at the scarlet-haired girl running toward him.
Erza frowned anxiously, her sword drawn. "Brother! What is Laxus up to? Is everyone alright?! I woke up and Mira was gone!"
Ankh coughed dryly, about to explain. "Actually, Erza, this is my—"
BOOM—
Before he could finish, the wall across the street corner suddenly shattered violently.
A gust of wind swept through broken stones as a huge figure flew out horizontally, plowing through the neat street like farmland.
CRASH!
Ankh and Erza froze in shock.
'If I'm not mistaken,' Ankh thought, looking at the groaning pile of muscle, 'that seems to be Elfman?'
'But why is he beaten up so badly? Isn't he supposed to be fighting Evergreen?'
The two hurried over to Elfman's side.
"Elfman!" Erza cried.
They immediately heard the murmurs coming from Elfman in his Beast King form.
"Ne-neesan... scary..."
Erza was momentarily stunned, while Ankh instantly understood.
Even though Elfman had become much stronger compared to the original storyline... compared to Evergreen's Petrification Eye, brute strength was usually inferior.
But this... this wasn't petrification damage.
This was clearly a blunt force trauma!
Ankh asked curiously, "Did Evergreen knock you flying?"
Elfman struggled to lift his head, a trace of terror in his eyes. "No... it was my sister! Mira!"
Ankh: ...
Huh?
Before Ankh could press further, another even more astonishing explosion erupted from the hole in the wall.
BOOM!
Immediately after, a slender figure shot toward the three like a missile!
"AAAAHHH!"
Ankh and Erza exchanged a glance, then tacitly took a step back in unison.
Thud.
The figure crashed squarely into Elfman's chest, making the "Manly Man" let out another howl of pain.
"Gah!"
Erza looked seriously at the woman collapsed in Elfman's arms.
It was Evergreen.
"Evergreen," Erza said gravely, pointing her sword. "What exactly are you and Laxus up to? Why are you flying?"
"I... we..."
Evergreen's lips trembled, unable to form words.
Her originally delicate features were smudged with dirt and soot, leaving her in a disheveled state.
One lens of her glasses was shattered, and her eyes held the same absolute fear as Elfman's.
"M-Monster..." Evergreen squeaked.
Erza tilted her head.
'What's going on here? why is she scared out of their wits?'
Ankh, however, seemed to sense something as he looked up, his mouth corner twitching slightly.
"I think I know the truth now," Ankh muttered.
Erza looked up in confusion, only to be met by that all-too-familiar terrifying Magic Power.
Mirajane Strauss in her Satan Soul form hovered in the air like a man-eating demon.
Her dark demonic wings spread from her back, blotting out the sun.
The ferocity in her eyes was almost tangible.
She had awakened early, found Evergreen threatening Elfman, and... well, the rest was history.
However, upon clearly seeing who stood below her that crushing aura immediately halted.
POOF.
Then, in a blur, the demonic energy vanished.
Mirajane landed softly.
In normal clothes, she stood before them, clasping her hands behind her back. She was wearing a smile warm enough to melt the coldest winter.
"Ara, ara~" Mirajane tilted her head innocently.
"Hey, Ankh! Erza! What are you two doing here? Lovely day for a festival, isn't it?"
Seeing Mirajane instantly transform from a literal demon into her gentle barmaid persona, Ankh and Erza were momentarily at a loss for words.
Without realizing it, they seemed to have witnessed the older sister abusing her younger brother and his girlfriend... and obliterating a city block in the process.
'And it looks like she wants us to pretend we didn't see it?' 2x