Inside the grand hall, a long red carpet stretched directly from the heavy entrance doors to the throne.
Upon seeing King Toma, Arcadios lowered his head until his chin nearly touched his chest.
He placed a clenched fist over his heart and dropped to one knee, shouting, "Your Majesty!"
His movements were fluid and seamless, leaving Raizel standing awkwardly beside him.
Raizel couldn't possibly perform such a precise, formal routine.
It was no wonder Arcadios was the captain of the Cherry Blossom Knights.
"What urgent matter brings you here?" Toma asked.
"Your Majesty, Lord Raizel states that the Eclipse Gate is passively absorbing the magical power of the participants in the Grand Magic Games."
"What?!" Toma couldn't stay seated, shooting up from his throne.
Toma remembered Raizel well and held a deep admiration for the young mage. They had met a few times over the years.
Their first meeting was in X777 when Layla opened the Eclipse Gate.
Raizel had tagged along, though he left before the gate was fully opened.
The second time was when Raizel reported on the Harvest Festival battle alongside the mayor of Magnolia.
The third time was during the current tournament, when Raizel faced down the Pumpkin Head mascot... and Toma had just watched him completely obliterate Jura, a Ten Wizard Saint, earlier that day.
In Toma's eyes, Raizel was a humble, righteous young man who consistently collaborated with the Crown and the Council.
"Come. Follow me to take a look." Toma walked ahead, gesturing for Raizel and Arcadios to follow.
As they descended the stone steps deep into the palace, Toma clasped his hands behind his back.
"It doesn't seem too urgent... The Eclipse Gate requires a massive amount of magical power to open."
"It also requires the keys," Raizel added.
Toma nodded. "Right. And most of the Zodiac keys are still with that Celestial Spirit Mage from your guild."
Toma knew Lucy was Layla's daughter, having interacted with Jude and Layla in the past.
The group arrived at the dark, unguarded Eclipse Gate.
It was unguarded for a simple reason: standing directly in front of it drained a mage's magical power.
Furthermore, the metal used to forge the gate was virtually indestructible. Without the celestial keys, it couldn't be opened.
In four hundred years, only Layla had successfully opened it once, with Toma as a witness.
Thus, it sat alone in the dark.
Toma and Arcadios inspected the massive doors.
"It has indeed absorbed magical power," Toma noted. "The magic density inside this gate is much higher than before."
The Eclipse Gate autonomously absorbed Ethernano from the air, but the process was agonizingly slow.
The Grand Magic Games had drastically accelerated this process.
"The arena isn't too close to Domus Flau, so it couldn't absorb everything at once." Arcadios nodded. "The Defense Minister and I chose that specific location to avoid being too close to the gate. Otherwise, participants would suffer from severe magical depletion as soon as they cast a spell."
"In that case, please have your guild keep those keys safe." Toma had no intention of destroying the ancient relic or halting the Grand Magic Games.
Not to mention how nearly impossible it was to destroy, even opening it was an immense challenge.
Twelve Zodiac keys, a staggering amount of magical power, and a powerful Celestial Spirit Mage—all three were indispensable.
Without any one of these factors, the gate was nothing more than an oversized decoration.
The Games could only accumulate the raw power needed, which wasn't achievable in just a year or two anyway.
Raizel nodded. "Alright. But if there ever comes a day when it becomes unavoidable, I'll destroy this gate."
"You can't destroy this gate," Arcadios protested.
"I can," Raizel replied plainly.
"..."
Toma and Arcadios were left utterly speechless.
They were standing right in front of a legendary relic passed down in the Fiore Kingdom for four hundred years, and Raizel was casually talking about smashing it to pieces.
Typical Raizel.
"This gate must be properly safeguarded," Raizel warned, his tone turning serious. "If opened carelessly, it might pull dragons from four hundred years ago into our time. And those dragons have no love for humans. They'd slaughter humanity and destroy the world."
"What?!" Toma jumped back in fright.
"But, back then..." Toma remembered when the gate was opened years ago.
Only Layla's ancestor and five streaks of light had emerged—nothing else.
"That was a highly specific circumstance. Both sides opened it simultaneously and controlled the coordinates properly. As for the people from the other side, you've already met them."
"So you really knew!" Toma guessed Layla might have told Raizel about the Dragon Slayers.
"I know, kabo." Raizel grinned shamelessly.
"Kabo?" Arcadios looked at Raizel and his King in confusion, wondering why Raizel was suddenly imitating the catchphrase of the tournament mascot.
"Kabo?!" Toma gasped, understanding it perfectly. Raizel had seen right through his disguise!
"Don't tell anyone, kabo!"
"Alright, kabo."
Toma, panicking slightly, wanted to station heavy guards around the gate, but Raizel stopped him.
"No need for heavy guards. No one has guarded it all these years, and suddenly posting a garrison will just draw unwanted attention. If there's any unusual activity, just notify me."
Arcadios prepared to escort Raizel out of the palace.
Before leaving, Raizel asked one final question. "By the way, the Croix Knights are actually your people, aren't they?"
Arcadios admitted it frankly, nodding. "You figured it out. Yes, they should actually be translated as the Cross Knights. This group is quite different from the Cherry Blossom Knights I lead. Their numbers are small, but they're all elites. Many years ago, the King took a liking to Magic Guilds, but he couldn't exactly join one himself... so he established his own. He's the Guild Master."
"As for the field leader, it's the Golden Lion Knight, Ren."
"Of course, over the years, they separated from the kingdom's military and began recruiting rogue mages. They're no different from a regular guild now. The King's intention was for the Croix Knights to act as a standard guild, secretly hoping they could compete with Fairy Tail."
"But as you've seen, they're no match for you all," Arcadios sighed.
Ren, Talant, and Ilina were all highly skilled fighters equipped with specialized armor, yet they still couldn't secure a single victory against Fairy Tail's monsters.
"His Majesty certainly acts on his whims."
"Hahaha, I'm used to it by now."
...
Raizel returned to the Honey Bone Inn with takeout snacks around 11 p.m.
"Back already?" Ur, Layla, Ultear, and Mira were admiring the moon from the balcony.
They greeted Raizel when they saw him walking up with the bags of food.
"Yeah. Want some?" Raizel raised the bags.
"We just ate, and there's still plenty of food inside," Mira smiled, shaking her head. "I'll help you put the snacks away first."
Mira helped Raizel open the heavy wooden door to the main suite.
The scene inside was utter chaos.
Some were eating, some were playing cards, some were chatting, and others were brawling. It was as loud and lively as a morning fish market.
Cana waved her hand, aggressively signaling Erza to move aside.
"You lost! My turn! My turn!" She slammed her deck down, preparing to challenge the undefeated card game champion—the Great Demon King, Mavis!
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator