Chapter 276: The Beginning of the Fairy Tail Civil War
At night, on the high slope outside the city of Magnolia.
The Dragon Slayer Mage of Lightning, Laxus, dressed in a black coat, looked at the new Fairy Tail guild building in the distance — now considered a landmark — with a wild smile on his face.
"The Thunder God Tribe has finally returned, and this moment has finally come. The fairies are about to slaughter each other, and old man, your era has ended. From now on, I will lead the guild to become the strongest!"
"Thunder God Tribe, assemble!"
Two men and one woman stepped out of the darkness and stood behind Laxus.
Laxus gave an order to one of them, a male mage with green hair:
"Fried, when you set up the rune barrier tomorrow, add another condition: forbid any cats from leaving the guild."
"Forbid cats? Happy, you mean?"
Fried was stunned upon hearing this. In his impression, the only cat in the guild was Happy, raised by Natsu. But Happy had no combat power; forbidding Happy from leaving the guild seemed meaningless.
One must know that when setting up a rune barrier, the fewer the conditions, the stronger the effect; the more the conditions, the weaker it becomes.
The original plan included only two conditions: prohibiting those over eighty years old and statues from leaving — the purpose was to prevent the strongest, the Master, from participating in battle, and to take those statues as hostages.
Adding the prohibition of cats would make it three conditions.
"It's not Happy. During the months you were executing missions against the dark guilds, a new cat arrived at the guild. That cat is called George. If we don't restrict him, he might be even more troublesome than Erza and Mystogan."
Laxus replied.
He had been preparing for this plan for a long time and had been keeping a close watch on the guild's movements.
While he cursed the guild mages for being too weak, deep down he was very aware of the guild's strength, so he remained extremely cautious.
As for George, the new cat who had recently joined, and the feats he accomplished, Laxus had not fully grasped everything, but he knew enough.
In his judgment, George was an S-Class mage with quite a decent strength and many techniques, and must be restricted in advance.
"That mage who can repair magic... it's actually a cat, and such a powerful one!"
Fried and the other two showed expressions of surprise simultaneously.
While they were away on missions, they had heard about a "Repair Mage" in the guild who often handled the aftermath of battles for the guild's mages.
But they didn't know it was a cat — let alone a cat important enough to catch Laxus' attention.
One must know, throughout the entire guild, aside from the Master, and Gildarts who was executing a 100-year quest, only Mystogan could catch Laxus' eye.
Even Erza, in Laxus' view, was just a minor nuisance.
The next morning, George, flapping his wings, carried the items needed for the night's Fantasia Parade and walked on the road back to the guild.
Now, the whole town was decorated with colorful balloons and streamers, with every household embellishing their homes and nearby streets for the Harvest Festival.
The citizens' faces were filled with happiness, and the children were playing in the streets, pretending to be Fairy Tail mages.
For the people of this town, the Harvest Festival was probably equivalent to Christmas or the Lunar New Year.
Meanwhile, George also saw a continuous flow of people coming from the train station, merging into the town's crowd.
Some of them were town residents returning for the Harvest Festival, just like migrant workers returning home for the New Year.
Another part was tourists from other towns coming to join the festivities.
Fairy Tail's annual Fantasia Parade was a very famous event across the entire continent.
"Master, Mirajane, have you finished shopping?"
Turning a street corner, he spotted Mirajane and Makarov, who were also responsible for shopping, waiting at the intersection.
The three checked the items to ensure nothing was missing, chatting as they walked back to the guild together.
"Everywhere is filled with the Harvest Festival atmosphere!"
Makarov looked at the joyful citizens around and showed a gratified smile on his aged face.
Mirajane also smiled and said:
"Yes, everyone in the guild is preparing their magic performances for tonight's Fantasia Parade."
"Of course! This is the parade we, Fairy Tail, proudly showcase across the entire continent.
George, you'll lead the parade with that Thunder Giant magic Erza mentioned. Let everyone be amazed!"
Makarov proudly raised his head.
The magic performed during the Fantasia Parade didn't need overwhelming power but had to be dazzling — and George's Thunder Giant certainly looked spectacular.
"If only Laxus could participate. His lightning magic combined with George's would surely create an even better effect."
Mirajane said with a hint of regret.
Although Laxus had refused to return and help during the Phantom Lord invasion last time, from the information she later gathered from Gajeel and Juvia, no Phantom Lord division members participated in the final attack.
This was partly because Mystogan destroyed many of their divisions, and partly because Laxus, along with the Thunder God Tribe, annihilated some too.
Thus, that guy was clearly contradictory: outwardly indifferent but inwardly very concerned.
In George's words, Laxus was just a bit rebellious and tsundere.
When Makarov heard Laxus' name, his expression immediately changed:
"Hmph, don't mention that rebellious grandson to me."
"Master, honestly, I think you should just be open with him. Otherwise, misunderstandings will only grow, and problems will inevitably arise."
George advised after seeing this.
He often consulted Makarov about magic and listened to Makarov's stories of the past.
He knew Laxus once admired his grandfather Makarov greatly — until Makarov expelled Laxus' father, Ivan, from the guild, leading to a rift between them.
Makarov feared that telling young Laxus the truth about Ivan betraying the guild would leave a psychological shadow, so he kept it hidden.
Thus, Laxus never knew his father had connections with dark mages and betrayed the guild, nor was he aware of his father's ambitions.
He only thought that his father sought to change the guild, clashed ideologically with his grandfather, and was expelled for it.
From Laxus' perspective, it was understandable.
His mother died early, his father treated him very well and went to great lengths to obtain a lacrima for him, only to be driven out by his grandfather for what seemed like political reasons — how could he understand?
Hence his constant talk about making Makarov step down and taking over as Master himself.
After spending time with him, and occasionally using his telepathic abilities to gauge him, George felt that deep down, Laxus had a lot of affection for both his grandfather Makarov and the guild.
He was just too prideful and awkward.
If Makarov could open his heart and have a frank talk with Laxus, explaining everything clearly, the problem might not be so hard to resolve.
"Ah, forget it. Even if I tell him now, he might not believe me."
Makarov sighed.
(End of chapter)