Kiria had suffered a complete emotional breakdown.
She crouched on the ground with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, her normally healthy, sun-kissed skin now flushed bright red.
She looked like… A freshly boiled shrimp.
Lucy scratched her head and turned curiously toward Laxus.
"Laxus, how did you end up all the way out here?"
Kiria had chased her so relentlessly that Lucy had been forced to flee far from the main battlefield.
Laxus, however, had been among the first mages to charge into the enemy lines.
How had they somehow met up?
Laxus answered without the slightest change in expression.
"I lost my way while searching for enemies."
"Huh?"
Lucy felt every wrinkle in her brain smooth itself out at once. Even her instinct to make a witty remark lagged for a moment.
"You just got lost…"
She stared at him speechlessly.
How did he manage to make wandering off sound so poetic?
Laxus offered no reply. He simply used lightning to dry the coat he was wearing, then casually asked,
"Is that exhibitionist woman an enemy?"
"She isn't an exhibitionist…" Lucy's mouth twitched. "But yes, she's an enemy. She belongs to Diabolos, a guild from Guiltina."
"Diabolos?"
Laxus frowned.
All seven Dragon Eaters had selected troublesome opponents across the battlefield.
Even Lucy had been subjected to some cruel cosmic matchmaking and paired against the Blade Dragon.
Yet somehow, no one had been assigned to Laxus, one of Ishgar's strongest fighters.
Lucy could not help feeling that Diabolos had far too much faith in her.
After hearing the information she had gathered, Laxus raised the corner of his mouth with interest.
"The strongest mage guild on the continent of Guiltina…"
Even Fairy Tail was officially known only as the strongest guild in Fiore.
In terms of actual strength, they had long since become the strongest guild in Ishgar.
After all, Fiore was already the continent's most powerful magical kingdom.
Recognition and reputation, however, required time to spread.
Diabolos had been acknowledged as the strongest guild across an entire continent.
Guiltina's enormous size and relatively sparse population may have helped, but the title still proved that the guild was no ordinary organization.
Laxus felt his fighting spirit stir.
He wanted to find one of Diabolos's members and test their strength.
Before that, however, he walked toward the so-called exhibitionist crouching on the ground.
Kiria trembled all over as she desperately covered every vulnerable area. Unfortunately, she did not have enough hands for the job.
Watching the man approach, she felt as though her overheated brain might explode.
Laxus stopped in front of her.
Kiria's heart nearly leapt out of her throat.
Then, before her stunned eyes, the man began taking off his clothes.
"What are you doing?! Stay back! I'm the Blade Dragon! If you come any closer, I'll—"
Her mind was about to short-circuit.
Before she could finish her string of threats, a coat dropped over her head.
"Mmph?"
Hidden beneath the fabric, Kiria fell silent.
Laxus had tossed her his coat.
"Put it on," he said flatly. "Fighting you like this would look ridiculous."
Kiria's overwhelming embarrassment instinctively gave way to indignation.
Her competitive nature immediately made her want to demand what exactly was so ridiculous about her body.
Considering he had given her something to wear, however, she wisely kept her mouth shut.
With the powerhouse now present, Lucy had naturally returned to her position as the battlefield's resident spectator.
She leaned closer with a gossipy grin.
"Ooh… Laxus is surprisingly gentle with women. You didn't even sneak a look~"
"It would just feel strange fighting a female version of Gray."
Laxus remained expressionless.
By then, Kiria had hurriedly thrown the coat around herself and tightened its belt to cover her body.
Laxus crooked one finger toward her.
"Come on. Show me what a member of the 'strongest guild' can do."
"You…"
The heat had not yet faded from Kiria's cheeks. She raised one hand and clenched her teeth.
"Don't think I'll hold back just because you helped me!"
"That's exactly what I want."
Lightning erupted from Laxus's body.
Countless arcs of electricity spread outward, forming a vast golden sea that swallowed Kiria almost instantly.
It resembled a celestial reservoir of lightning pouring down from the heavens.
Before Kiria could even swing the blades growing from her hands, Laxus's thunder struck her without mercy.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Blade Dragon Sword Dance!"
Sensing the horrifying pressure within the sea of lightning, Kiria dared not hesitate.
She immediately unleashed her strongest offensive spell.
As she spun through the air, countless cutting winds and sword-like arcs erupted from her body and collided with the overwhelming thunderstorm.
Yet no matter how powerful Kiria's technique was, it could not contend with one of the greatest eruptions of Magic Power in all of Ishgar.
The sea of divine punishment surged over her.
When the lightning finally faded, Kiria's curled blonde hair had been burned black. A layer of soot covered her body, while tiny arcs of electricity continued dancing across her skin.
Her eyes were vacant as she collapsed helplessly onto the ground.
She looked utterly pitiful.
"How can… that man be so strong…?"
Lucy swallowed as she stared at Kiria, who had practically been defeated in a single attack.
The enemy Lucy had fought with everything she possessed had been disposed of just like that.
As expected of Laxus…
Lucy released a relieved breath and cheerfully walked over to him.
Then she noticed the disappointment written across his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked curiously.
Laxus shook his head, bent down, and hoisted Kiria over one shoulder.
"She wasn't what I expected from a member of the strongest guild."
In Laxus's imagination, a woman from the world's strongest guild should have been comparable to Erza or Mirajane.
At the very least, she should have possessed strength on Cana's level.
Instead, Kiria had been rather disappointing.
"You didn't give her any chance to use her other abilities," Lucy pointed out, putting her clever mind to work.
To be fair, Kiria possessed quite a varied arsenal.
She had simply encountered Laxus when he was especially eager for a fight.
"Overrated," Laxus concluded with a shake of his head.
Carrying Kiria as a prisoner, he prepared to return and have her locked up.
"What an arrogant thing to say."
An unfamiliar man's voice suddenly reached them.
Laxus and Lucy turned.
A mysterious young man with a chained coffin strapped to his back was walking toward them.
Kirin stared at Laxus with an unsettling smile.
"Finally caught you, you slippery eel!"
Laxus stared back at him.
"?"
...
While Ishgar's northern front remained locked in a critical battle, another major crisis still threatened the continent's interior.
"How many does that make?"
"More than two hundred, probably… How should I know? Stop asking me!"
Somewhere within Ishgar, across a barren wasteland, a face-shaped stone monument rising from beneath the earth was struck by several powerful spells.
The entire structure shattered and crumbled into dust.
Standing around it was the Dragon Slayer squad that had left the northern battlefield under orders to destroy Face.