As the commotion caused by Noel in the northern part of the plaza grew more intense, the remaining guards stationed near the magic crystal failed to notice two cloaked figures quietly approaching from the south amidst the chaos.
"Can we make our move now?" The taller figure asked impatiently.
"...Yes. Noel has already started. It's time for us to begin as well," the smaller figure replied.
Then, reaching up, she pulled off her cloak, revealing a soft yet stunningly beautiful face.
"Take Over—[Satan Soul]!"
The moment Mira spoke, a black magic circle appeared above her head.
Under the astonished gazes of those nearby, her form transformed—tail, sharp claws, and wings emerging as she took on the appearance of a demonic woman.
"[Darkness Storm]!"
With a soft yet commanding voice, Mira unleashed a flurry of dark hands that surged forward, striking the remaining soldiers guarding the plaza's south.
Caught off guard, the defenders were instantly overwhelmed, and the defensive perimeter around the magic crystal was torn open.
Gajeel let out a cold sneer as he threw off his cloak.
His right hand transformed into an iron blade, and he charged through the breach in the defensive line that Mira had created.
Leaping into the air, he smirked, "Alright, now we can really go all out! That Mystogan guy might be suspicious, but I'll trust him for now. [Iron Dragon Sword]!"
Gajeel's iron-bladed right hand slammed directly into the magic crystal.
Before anyone present could react, he let out a shout and struck the crystal again with even greater force.
Whoosh! A brilliant light erupted from the magic crystal, illuminating the entire royal plaza.
The intense radiance caused all combatants to halt in their tracks, staring in shock at the sudden transformation of the crystal.
"Nice work, Gajeel."
Watching the dazzling magic crystal, Noel murmured with a smile.
White light wings emerged from his back, and while the surrounding soldiers were still dazed, he swiftly broke through their encirclement, soaring toward Gajeel and Mira's position.
As the light gradually faded, two figures appeared at the center of the plaza—a black-haired young man and a crimson-haired woman.
They were none other than Fairy Tail's Gray and Erza.
"Wake up, Erza, Gray! Snap out of it!" Mira called out to them urgently.
"Ugh..." A faint groan escaped Erza's lips as both she and Gray slowly opened their eyes, their gazes filled with confusion as they took in their surroundings.
"Oh, you guys are awake, huh?"
"…Gajeel? Mira?" Erza looked at them in bewilderment.
At that moment, Gray seemed to sense something and looked around in shock.
"What... is going on here?"
Whoosh!
With a soft sound, Noel, with his radiant light wings spread behind him, suddenly appeared behind Erza and Gray.
Before they could react, he extended both arms, grabbed them, and swiftly soared into the sky. "Save the questions for later—just focus on escaping!"
"You bastards!!"
"How dare you do such a thing! Don't even think about running away!!"
The enraged kingdom soldiers roared, brandishing their weapons as they closed in.
"Hmph, I don't have time to waste on you all! [Iron Dragon's Roar]!"
"[Demon Blast]!"
Seeing Noel take off with Erza and Gray, Mira and Gajeel exchanged glances and unleashed their attacks simultaneously, scattering the surrounding soldiers.
Seizing the chaos, they quickly made their escape.
.............
A secluded alley in Edolas' royal capital.
"What exactly is going on, Mira, Gajeel, Noel? Explain everything in detail." Erza frowned as she looked at the three in front of her, while Gray also had a confused expression.
Before Noel and the others could answer, a voice rang out. "You two were turned into Lacrima."
"Oh, you're here." Hearing the voice, Gajeel wasn't surprised and instead looked happily at the approaching Edolas Gajeel.
"As expected of the Earthland version of me, you pulled off the mission beautifully." Edolas Gajeel grinned, clearly in high spirits.
"There are two Gajeels??"
Gray and Erza stared in shock at the scene before them, their minds seemingly frozen by the unexpected revelation.
"The Gajeel of this world—that would be me," Edolas Gajeel introduced himself.
Gajeel casually threw an arm around Edolas Gajeel's shoulder and smirked.
"This guy's pretty capable, huh? I mean, just look at this face—doesn't it scream 'competent worker'?"
However, Erza wasn't in the mood for jokes.
Without giving Gajeel any face, she impatiently interrupted, "That's not important. Explain what you mean by 'turned into Lacrima'—what exactly happened?"
The two Gajeels had identical dumbfounded expressions on their faces:
"...Did you just say that's not important?"
"So basically, your faces are completely irrelevant!" Gray added with a grin, delivering the finishing blow.
———————
"...And that's the situation. All our guild members have been turned into Lacrima. We managed to find the two of you, but the whereabouts of the other crystallized companions are still unknown. The only thing we can be certain of is that the Lacrima must be hidden somewhere within the capital," Noel explained the current situation to Gray and Erza in a straightforward manner.
After listening to Noel's explanation, Gray closed his eyes.
"There are still a lot of things I want to ask, but… why is it that ever since I woke up, I haven't been able to sense my magic at all?"
It was a problem Gray had only just noticed.
When he tried to draw upon his magic, it was as if it had completely vanished—there was no response at all.
If Gray weren't relatively calm by nature, someone else in his place might have already started to panic.
"You need to take this first." Gajeel pulled out a bottle filled with small pills.
"What's this?"
"They're called X-Balls. Apparently, they allow us to use magic in this world. We can talk about the rest after you take one," Gajeel said.
Erza frowned as she examined the small red pill in her hand, dissatisfied with Gajeel's wording. "You said 'apparently'?"
"Mystogan gave them to me," Gajeel shrugged.
"Mystogan?"
"I'll explain this part," Noel took over the conversation and spoke softly.
"Mystogan is actually this world's Jellal. Seven years ago, he came to our world—Earthland—from Edolas in an attempt to stop the kingdom's schemes. Unfortunately, he ultimately failed."
"I see," Erza murmured in realization, finally understanding why Mystogan looked exactly like Jellal.
"We don't have much time," Mira said with a serious expression.
"Once you recover your magic, we need to head straight for the royal palace. If we don't act quickly, our other companions who have been turned into Lacrima could be in danger. And if the kingdom reacts and sends troops to search the capital, we'll be in serious trouble."
"Got it."
Hearing Mira's warning, Erza and Gray stopped hesitating and swallowed the pills in their hands.
--------------
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