Ivan laughed heartily, his face full of confidence as he said, "To dare to talk back in this situation, you truly are my son. In that case, I'll teach you a lesson first."
Laxus's expression was indifferent as he pointed at the five of them: "The guild's enemies are my enemies. I'll take care of all of you at once."
"Arrogant!"
Ivan snorted coldly and suddenly waved his cloak. Countless small white paper dolls formed a torrent, rushing toward Laxus as evil and eerie energy continuously struck.
He ordered the blue-masked man in black clothes beside him: "Nullify his magic!"
"Don't even think about it!"
Laxus stepped back slightly, his gaze sharp. He instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning and flew out, sending the man tumbling away with a thunderous punch.
The members of Raven Tail were startled and immediately attacked. Flare swung her flaming long hair, which whistled through the air to firmly lock Laxus's limbs. Nalpudding laughed as he charged out, his thick fists covered in spikes.
"Get lost!"
Laxus let out a Roar, gathering magic in his mouth to unleash a Roar. The violent lightning beam instantly blasted the two of them away, leaving them charred and unconscious.
Ivan was in disbelief, shouting that it was impossible. He never expected that Laxus had already grown to such an extent.
"Sand Rebellion!"
Kurohebi silently appeared behind Laxus, a cold smile appearing on his face. However, before he could activate his magic, his neck was gripped by a hand.
Laxus turned his head slightly, his gaze cold: "What do you think you are!"
With that, a thunderous punch sent the terrified Kurohebi flying, his fate unknown.
Ivan's eyes widened: "My elite force?"
"Today, we settle this once and for all, regardless of what schemes you have..."
"No! Wait! Wait!"
Ivan looked at Laxus as if a Thunder God had descended. He waved his hands in a panic, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead: "I am your biological father!"
He pointed at himself, his voice trembling with fear: "I am your family. Are you really going to hit me?"
Laxus's gaze was ice-cold: "My only family is Fairy Tail!"
His figure instantly appeared before Ivan, his entire body's magic power exploding as he slammed a fist into Ivan's abdomen. Golden lightning illuminated the sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The illusions all shattered, revealing the true state of the battle. Laxus stood in his original spot, while all five members of Raven Tail were charred and unconscious.
The host Jellal Fernandez said in shock, "What's going on?"
Natsu asked in confusion, "Does Laxus have a twin?"
Gajeel folded his arms and said, "That was an illusion. Stop embarrassing yourself."
Makarov was furious: "That despicable Ivan, he really was up to no good!"
Hearing the confused voices of the audience, the host Jellal Fernandez explained: "Raven Tail used illusions to deceive us. The five of them were besieging Laxus in the arena, but their conspiracy was crushed by Laxus's absolute strength!"
"In any case, the winner is Fairy Tail First Team. Laxus gains two points, while Raven Tail is disqualified for foul play!"
Fairy Tail First Team immediately cheered, shouting Laxus's name. Since the Second Team had already won once, it was finally their turn.
"He won a one-against-five. Laxus is too amazing!"
"As expected of a manly man, he looks so dependable!"
Many spectators marveled. Although they hadn't seen the specific details, his strength was now beyond doubt.
Natsu had a look of envy: "Dammit, he got to hog all the glory by himself. I haven't even been on stage yet!"
Juvia smiled and said, "The competition is reaching its final stages. Everyone will have a chance."
The host Jellal Fernandez announced the end of today's matches. Everyone would have a day of rest before starting the fifth stage.
Afterward, everyone exited the arena in an orderly fashion.
Acnologia and the others went to the infirmary together. Currently, Lucy was still resting in the dormitory under Porlyusica's care.
However, when they arrived, they found Lucy lying unconscious on the bed, while Granny Porlyusica was collapsed on the floor, seemingly knocked out.
"What happened?"
Natsu hurriedly helped Granny Porlyusica up and shook her vigorously.
Future Lucy suddenly said, "Perhaps it was for the celestial spirit keys."
She had encountered this situation before, though the circumstances were different. Back then, she had been thrown into prison because the celestial spirit keys were needed to open the Eclipse Gate.
Juvia's expression was grave: "Indeed, Lucy's celestial spirit keys are gone."
Acnologia covered Porlyusica with healing magic and said calmly, "Just wait. They will return them intact very soon."
Everyone was startled: "How do you know?"
Acnologia did not offer any further explanation. They would find out soon enough.
Time reached midnight, and Porlyusica woke up, saying that three masked men had broken in and knocked her out.
She suggested, "Report this to the Kingdom. The Kingdom is also responsible for an incident occurring in the infirmary."
Just then, the infirmary door was pushed open. Kingdom General Arcadios walked in and handed the celestial spirit keys to everyone.
"My apologies. We just discovered a group of thieves outside. After capturing them, we found these celestial spirit keys. I knew they belonged to Miss Lucy, so I have returned them."
Natsu took the celestial spirit keys, full of confusion: "They really were sent back?"
Could Acnologia predict the future? He had guessed so accurately.
Elfman asked, "What exactly is going on? Why did those thieves want to steal the celestial spirit keys?"
"We don't know that for the time being..."
Arcadios looked at Acnologia and said in a low voice, "Could we speak in private?"
Acnologia nodded slightly. After leaving everyone with the words "wait for me," he walked out with him.
After reaching a deserted place, Arcadios knelt on one knee and said respectfully, "My apologies, Lord Acnologia!"
He knew the other person must have already figured it out, so it was better for him to confess early.
Acnologia said indifferently, "Tell me, what's going on? How is that little old man doing?"
Arcadios knew exactly what kind of existence the person before him was and didn't dare to hesitate at all: "This involves the Eclipse Gate. The Princess met someone from the future and received news that an eclipse will occur on July 7th. On that day, tens of thousands of dragons will emerge from the Eclipse Gate and destroy the entire world."
"From this, the Eclipse Plan was formulated to collect the magic power of the Grand Magic Games. When the Evil Dragons cross the Eclipse Gate, the Eclipse Gate will be transformed into a magic cannon to kill all the Evil Dragons in one stroke."
Acnologia sneered and said, "This plan is full of holes. Since the Evil Dragons are coming to this world through the Eclipse Gate, why not just destroy the gate?"
Arcadios explained, "Not just the Evil Dragons; the Princess also hopes to travel through time via the Eclipse Gate to kill Zeref before he grows up. Most of the demons in this world were created by him. If Zeref disappears, the demons will also cease to exist."
Acnologia scoffed, "Thinking so beautifully. I fear you won't be able to pay the price for traveling through time."
Eliminating Zeref was just rhetoric to deal with these generals and ministers; the real goal was only to release the Evil Dragons.
"Yes!"
Arcadios did not argue but said gravely, "I think so too, but the Princess and the King believe the Future Person's plan implicitly and will not tolerate any questioning from others."
"I suspect..."
He hesitated for a moment and said, "I suspect the Princess and the King are being controlled. If it were the previous King, he certainly wouldn't be so aggressive."
Acnologia asked, "So what do you mean?"
Arcadios said seriously, "As a Kingdom General, in a situation that cannot be certain, I will unwaveringly execute the orders of the King and Her Highness the Princess."
"And I hope Lord Acnologia can participate. If you discover any problems within, I hope you can provide corrections."
Such words should not have come from the mouth of a Kingdom General, but he truly had a bad premonition in his heart. That Future Person was not to be trusted.
Acnologia nodded slightly, "Understood!"
"I'm counting on you!"
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