Four airships flying the Fairy Tail flag sped across the floating islands toward the Royal Capital.
At the control console, Natsu No. 2 excitedly manipulated the dashboard, making the airship perform various high-difficulty flight maneuvers under his piloting, causing everyone inside to be tossed about.
"Natsu! Slow down!" Levy No. 2 shouted, clutching the handrail.
Natsu No. 2 didn't seem to hear, completely immersed in the thrill of speeding the airship. "This ship's performance is amazing! As expected of the genuine article! Woohoo!"
Beside him, Natsu was slumped in his seat, his face turning green, while Happy fanned him with a small fan.
Hope stood by the porthole, looking at the approaching silhouette of the Royal Capital; under the purple Sky, there were few pedestrians on the streets, and the entire city was terrifyingly quiet.
In the center of the city, the thirty-meter-high black tower was particularly conspicuous among the numerous buildings, its structure emitting ominous dark purple magic fluctuations.
"That is the Tower of Despair."
Shugboy walked to Hope's side and explained in a low voice, "Hopeless spends most of his time there, and the Black Prison at the base holds all the rebels."
"Your companions who were brought to this world by 'Anima' are placed in the Central Plaza in the form of magic crystals."
Wendy held Carla, her small face full of worry. "I wonder how everyone is..."
Hope felt the thin yet unusually restless magic currents in the air, his brow furrowing slightly as he thought about the intelligence he had previously gathered from Shugboy.
It was Hopeless who had given the order to use 'Anima' to target the Fairy Tail of Edolas and transport them to Edolas.
Hopeless's source of power is despair, so stolen magic isn't very useful to him; why would he go out of his way to do this?
Stopping his speculation, Hope knew the answer was right before him.
As the four airships entered the airspace above the Royal Capital, Levy No. 2's loud voice came through the magic communication device, accompanied by crackling static. "High energy reactions detected from the surroundings... there are many of them!"
In truth, everyone could see them without her saying a word.
Metal constructs slowly rose from various parts of the Royal Capital; they had ferocious draconic silhouettes, their bodies covered in heavy magic armor, magic crystals embedded in their joints, and their eyes glowing with a crimson light.
At a rough glance, there were as many as ten of them.
"Oh no! It's the clone armor of the dragon slayer armor!"
Shugboy's face changed drastically. "These armors were created by Hopeless using the kingdom's magic resources, modeled after the forbidden weapon 'Dragon Slayer'; each one can exert one-tenth of the power of the original dragon slayer armor!"
"Wow, one-tenth, huh?"
Hope complained coldly with a expressionless face, "What a bunch of weaklings."
"Roar!!"
The leading small dragon armor let out a deafening roar, the magic crystal on its chest shone brilliantly, and a thick magic beam tore through the air, heading straight for the fleet.
Hope casually picked up the seasick Natsu and threw him directly out. "I choose you! Go, Natsu!"
"Oh! I'm all fired up!"
Natsu recovered his spirit the moment he left the airship; while still in mid-air, raging flames were already burning on both his hands.
Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!
Blazing wings of fire suddenly spread behind him, turning into two giant intersecting fire blades that slashed fiercely at the beam.
The flames and the magic beam collided violently in the air, exploding into a rain of light. The head of the small dragon armor was knocked backward, cracks appeared on its visor, and the terrified expression of the pilot inside was revealed.
Without time to react, the Dragon Slayer flames slammed into him.
Watching their colleague fall like a shooting star, the other nine small dragon armors attacked Natsu simultaneously, and his flight support, Happy, had already caught him.
The battle intensified instantly.
The nine dragon slayer armors coordinated seamlessly, alternating between long-range and close-quarters attacks; the glow of magic, the flames of explosions, and the sound of clashing metal echoed over the Royal Capital.
Hope felt confident leaving the aerial battlefield to Natsu. After commanding the four airships to land, he looked at Wendy, the guild companions of this world, and Shugboy.
"Wendy is a Dragon Slayer Mage; she can restore those turned into magic crystals by 'Anima' back to their original forms."
"Please escort her there."
Although the principle was unknown, Mystogan had indeed said that 'Anima' has no effect on a Dragon Slayer Mage, and furthermore, a Dragon Slayer Mage can undo the crystallization.
"What about you, Brother Hope?"
Seeing Wendy's worried expression, Hope smiled and patted her head. "Someone is waiting for me; of course, I have an appointment to keep."
Hope looked up at the black tower not far away.
At the top of the tower, a figure seemed to be standing silently.
Levy No. 2 understood that Hope was going to deal with the Despair Emperor; she immediately called out to her companions, supported Wendy, and rushed toward the Central Plaza. Shugboy hesitated for a moment before leading the soldiers who had also defected with him to follow her.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Royal Capital, three figures descended from the Sky with the help of two Exceeds.
"Thank you both very much."
Makarov smiled at the white and blue cat couple before him. After he, Gildarts, and Mystogan were transported to Edolas, they had landed on a small floating island.
Only one Exceed couple lived on that island; they not only treated Makarov's group warmly but also told them about the great changes in this world.
Upon learning that the three outsiders intended to deal with the "Despair Emperor," the cat couple enthusiastically brought them to the outskirts of the Royal Capital.
"Lucky, Marl, are you coming in with us?"
Gildarts put an arm around Mystogan's shoulder and looked at the cat couple. "The three of us are super strong; helping you rescue the Exceeds captured by the Despair Emperor won't be a problem."
The white cat named Lucky, who had a set of whiskers, spoke crossly, "Kha—who wants to save those unreasonable fools? The destruction of the Exceed kingdom is exactly what they deserve."
"Don't say that, dear."
The blue cat, Marl, grabbed her husband's hand. "Even though we were exiled from Extalia, we are still Exceeds regardless."
"One race? Did they think of us as one race when they took our child? When they sent our unhatched child to Aslant, did they think of us as one race..."
Before Lucky could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a damaged dragon armor falling from the Sky.
Looking at the figure standing on the dragon armor, Gildarts, who had protected the cat couple behind him, immediately showed a surprised expression. "Natsu! Happy!"
"It's Gildarts!"
Natsu and Happy were working together to pull an unconscious soldier out of the dragon armor to keep him from suffocating while trapped inside; he looked back and saw the familiar drunkard uncle.
"It's Gildarts!"
Seeing his companion, Natsu tossed the enemy he had just rescued aside. "The Master and Mystogan are here too!"
Looking at the cute little blue cat circling the four humans, the cat couple was suddenly stunned.
Happy noticed the two strange cats here and immediately approached, raising a paw. "Hello, Uncle and Auntie! I'm Happy!"
Seeing Happy's cheerful and lively manner, tears unknowingly began to shimmer in the cat couple's eyes. Marl instinctively took Happy's small hand and hugged him along with Lucky.
Watching Lucky and Marl cry, Happy also hugged them for some reason, feeling a sense of familiarity... Gildarts stopped the confused Natsu and watched the scene silently with Makarov and Mystogan.
No parent fails to recognize their child.
Except for Gildarts...
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