"Don't mind him, that's just how he is. He's just having a moment of confusion. Let's continue our celebration—keep the music playing and the dancing going."
Faced with the serious expressions of the group, Marco couldn't help but laugh.
He waved his hand, actively lightening the mood.
Seeing Marco's reaction, everyone finally relaxed.
If Marco said it was fine, then it must truly be fine.
"Alright! Marco, you're treating!"
Once they relaxed, the group began clamoring again, all demanding that Marco host a celebration feast.
Naturally, Marco wouldn't refuse.
So everyone returned to the guild hall and began the celebration banquet.
This time, the crowd was unusually large, and Raki had to set up extra tables in the courtyard.
For her, it was just a matter of expending a bit of magic power—easy enough.
This was also why the guild insisted on using wooden tables and chairs.
Even if they were made of iron, they wouldn't withstand the wear and tear from the guild's rowdy members.
If broken, they'd be hard to repair and would either have to be scrapped or given to Gajeel as a snack.
It was better to stick with wooden ones.
With Laki around, no matter how badly they were damaged, it wouldn't matter.
The celebration banquet lasted late into the night.
This time, Marco asked everyone to help clean up, sparing the girls from having to do it all later.
With Marco's call to action, no one simply left without a care.
Instead, they all stayed behind to help tidy up—a testament to the "future guild master's" influence.
"Laxus... is he really okay?"
That night, after the banquet ended and they were walking home, Mirajane asked Marco with a serious expression.
To be honest, she had been in the guild for six or seven years now, having spent almost her entire adolescence there.
Everyone had watched Laxus grow through his rebellious phase, and they all understood his temper very well.
Would that man, that "Thunder Dragon," really give up on his former ideals so easily?
Would he truly accept reality just like that?
"Of course not. That's not Laxus's nature."
In response to Mirajane's question, Marco gave an answer completely different from the one before the banquet.
He believed Laxus would definitely not let things go quietly—he was sure to stir up some trouble.
In fact, Marco needed Laxus to do something, because he also wanted to use this incident to thoroughly wake Laxus up.
It was time for the two brothers to have another showdown.
"What do you plan to do?" Mirajane asked with a worried expression.
It had to be admitted that Laxus's strength was still monstrous.
If that guy went on a rampage, it would undoubtedly be a huge problem.
Because of this, Mirajane was very concerned.
She felt that unless absolutely necessary, it was better not to escalate things to the point of actually fighting.
"That's not up to us." Marco shook his head with a smile.
His meaning was clear—this time, it seemed fighting was unavoidable.
"..."
Mirajane's expression grew even more worried.
She glanced at her younger siblings, already considering whether the two little ones should stay out of the conflict.
She alone could handle it.
"Laxus can't possibly defeat us!"
Listening to his sister and Marco's conversation, Elfman immediately voiced his stance.
He wouldn't back down, even if the opponent was Laxus.Under normal circumstances, Elfman would never challenge Laxus, but at a time like this, a true man would never cower.
Even knowing he would surely lose, he would still charge forward.
"That's right! Marco-nii will definitely win! He'll beat Laxus until he's crying and running away!"
Lisanna also waved her little fist angrily beside him.
She was very dissatisfied with Laxus—clearly Marco's older brother, yet he still had to cause trouble for him at a time like this!
"Of course." Marco smiled as he spoke.
He had originally wanted to say "I will win," but considering Laxus's considerable strength and the fact that the phrase "I will win" felt somewhat inauspicious, he quickly withdrew and changed his wording.
What Marco didn't mention was that he had already sent crows to keep an eye on Laxus, monitoring his every move to see what tricks he was up to.
However, keeping watch on someone so familiar was quite difficult, as they would immediately recognize what the crows were there for.
Especially Laxus—if he saw the crows, he would likely just strike them down with a bolt of lightning, turning them into roasted crow.
So, while they were supposedly monitoring Laxus's "every move," to avoid being discovered, the crows kept their distance and couldn't actually see what Laxus was up to.
...
The next day, everything was normal.
Laxus did not make any moves, which relieved Mirajane.
She felt that the longer things dragged on, the safer it would be, as Laxus would surely gradually calm down.
Once his emotions subsided, he might even come to accept things.
It must be said that Mirajane's thinking wasn't entirely off the mark.
After all, human emotions are fleeting—once the initial excitement passes, one is bound to gradually cool down.
Unfortunately, Mirajane also underestimated Laxus's determination.
This matter would not be over until it erupted.
Thus, a few days later, when Marco finally figured out what Laxus was up to, he was somewhat taken aback.
Over the past few days, Laxus had created hundreds of Thunder Lacrima—tools required for one of the "Forbidden Spells," the "Thunder Palace."
The "Thunder Palace" is a "Forbidden Spell" that suspends hundreds of Lacrima filled with lightning magic in a ring above a target.
If the Magic Crystals are not all destroyed at once before activation, they will unleash a massive barrage of lightning strikes, powerful enough to destroy an entire city.
Laxus was truly planning something big.
Where he intended to use this "Thunder Palace" was obvious.
Wanting to take on Fairy Tail single-handedly, Laxus had truly brought out his most powerful magic.
"This guy, once he takes action, he really goes to extremes. What does this mean? Does he want to show us that the weak are nothing but a burden in such situations?" Marco gritted his teeth.
He hadn't expected Laxus to pull something like this, though it did fit Laxus's usual style.
Since Laxus had already made his move, Marco had to play a card that could counter it.
That guy always believed that the "weak" had no reason to exist, so Marco had to demonstrate the significance of the "weak card" as much as possible.
Ideally, he would have the "weak card" neutralize this "Thunder Palace."
"It really is a bit difficult. He's starting with a Forbidden Spell—how am I supposed to play the weak card?"
After thinking for a moment, Marco couldn't help but scratch his head.
He could only blame Laxus for not fighting fairly, going all out with a big move right from the start!