Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 480: Hope

A massive beast marched forward with thunderous steps. It had two curved horns on its head, a pair of wide wings on its back, and a body so large it could rival a dragon.

Standing proudly atop the beast’s head was a red-haired woman in gleaming armor, a long spear in hand. Her stance was sharp and commanding, exuding fierce energy with every movement.

Not far behind her came the captain of the Fourth Magic War Division, Sugarboy, donning flamboyant pink armor and leading an immense force.

Every soldier marched with discipline, exuding the presence of seasoned warriors. Fully armored, gripping long spears, their synchronized steps made the ground tremble beneath them.

Under Sugarboy’s direction, the troops began to fan out, slowly tightening a formation around the guild.

It was clear: they intended to surround and overwhelm Fairy Tail.

Under normal circumstances, with Natsu and Wendy at his side, even against a thousand soldiers, Rhodes would’ve felt confident they could fight their way out.

But now—

"Before we begin," Rhodes asked grimly, "just one thing, can either of you still use magic?"

Natsu and Wendy looked at him... and then, as if struck by the same realization, both grabbed their heads and shouted in panic:

"WE FORGOT! We can’t use magic here!!!"

Rhodes froze, dumbfounded.

Then why did you both walk out so confidently just now?!

He turned and snapped at Natsu, "Didn’t you say Dragon Slayer Magic was special?"

Natsu yelled back, "I meant it protects us from Anima, not that we can still use it! Ugh! Edolas Rhodes really is an idiot!"

’I swear, he still hasn’t figured it out?! Was that punch not hard enough earlier?!’

Wendy leaned over and tugged at Natsu’s sleeve, whispering quietly, "That’s our Rhodes-nii."

Rhodes exhaled and muttered, "I can still use a little of my magic... We’ll have to gamble on that."

He didn’t have many options left. His only hope was that his giant spider summon would respond properly.

If not, he’d have to do whatever he could to stall, just long enough for the teleportation magic circle to be completed so they could all escape.

He gripped the pendant around his neck, feeling uncharacteristically anxious for a fight.

From the doorway, Lisanna called out with concern, "Are you... going to be okay?"

"If Rhodes says it’s okay, then it’s okay," Natsu replied with an easy grin, flashing his usual carefree smile. "And if it isn’t, well, we’ll just run for it."

Lisanna’s heart wavered. How long had it been since she saw a smile like that?

And that guy over there, her sister’s fiancé, was he really that trustworthy?

The colossal beast finally came to a halt, trees toppling in its wake like flimsy twigs. Roots were torn from the earth, soil churned and scattered.

Even without magic, just the sheer power of that beast would be enough to make anyone panic.

Atop the beast, "Erza" smirked coldly. "You’re not running away this time?"

Rhodes narrowed his eyes and called up to her. "At this point, isn’t chasing us down a bit much? Haven’t you already gotten what you wanted?"

"Oh?" She tilted her head mockingly. "What makes you think something so absurd, criminal?"

Apparently suspecting he was stalling for time, the Edolas Erza gestured to Sugarboy with a flick of her spear, signaling for the troops to tighten the circle.

So she wasn’t easily fooled.

Rhodes realized that playing for time wasn’t going to be simple. Still, he pressed on, fishing for any information he could.

"Didn’t the Kingdom already collect enough magic power?" he asked. "The little that we have left, surely it’s not worth sending an entire army to snuff out?"

"Oh?" Edolas Erza raised an eyebrow. She had been away from the capital for several days. While she knew about the massive Anima operation, she hadn’t yet confirmed whether it had succeeded.

Behind her, Sugarboy, captain of the Fourth Magic War Division, stepped up beside the massive beast and looked up at her.

"We’ve just received word," he reported, "the large-scale Anima activation was a success. His Majesty has ordered all Magic War Divisions to return to the capital immediately, but—"

His gaze shifted toward Rhodes as he added, "We only got that message moments ago. How did you already know?"

"Damn it—!" Natsu suddenly erupted, fists clenching. "It was you! What did you do to our friends?!"

Rhodes winced. He really should’ve told Natsu to stay quiet back inside the guild.

"Friends?" Sugarboy looked at Natsu with mock confusion, then suddenly burst into laughter. "You’re including that Fairy Tail in your circle of friends too?"

"What a shame, then. Those guys have already been turned into giant magic crystals. In a few days, they’ll become—"

"Sugarboy!" Erza cut him off sharply, casting a glance toward Happy and Carla. Her eyes glinted with recognition and a smile that wasn’t quite kind.

"They’re not from Edolas," she said. "They’re the Fairy Tail from Earth Land."

Happy jumped. "We’ve been found out!"

Carla let out a sigh. "Of course we have. Someone just screamed it aloud a moment ago."

Rhodes, however, was focused on something else: ’They knew about Fairy Tail in Earth Land.’

"Have they been observing us all along?" he muttered.

Could they gather intel through Anima? Or... was someone feeding them information from earth’s side?

Still, there was one crucial silver lining hidden in Sugarboy’s cruel words, their friends weren’t gone. They had been transformed into magic crystals.

That meant...

They might be saved.

A thought surged through Rhodes’s mind, Moon Drip.

He remembered the story Lucy once told him, about Galuna Island and the spell Lyon tried to use. Back then, Moon Drip was used to melt the eternal ice cast by Ul.

’Moon Drip... the magic that dispels all magic. If it could dispel Absolute Zero, could it also reverse the effects of Anima?’

There was hope!

It wouldn’t be easy. The conditions would be harsh. But if it worked, then Mira, and everyone else, could be brought back.

"Listen up, Natsu. Wendy." Rhodes straightened up, voice firm. "I’ve figured out a way to save everyone."

"Really?!" All four, Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Carla, turned toward him, their eyes lighting up.

"Yes. We just need to find their crystals and cast that spell. But for that to happen, we can’t lose here."

"Mm!"

"Of course not!" Natsu grinned fiercely, fire returning to his eyes. "Even if there’s a thousand or ten thousand of them, we’re saving our friends no matter what! I’m fired up!"

Magic is the power of the heart. Even without it, if their will burned bright enough, they could endure anything.

Rhodes could feel it, the fire inside them.

And that meant he could go all out, too.

Erza Knightwalker stared at them with narrowed eyes. "What... is that?"

They stood there, smiling in the face of death. Even now, there was hope in their eyes.

She hated that look.

In Edolas, people didn’t smile like that. Even the ones who did always hid fear behind their eyes, the fear that one day, the last of Edolas’s magic would vanish.

Why should Edolas lose its magic?

Why does Earth Land have an endless supply?

Why do they get to smile like that?

She hated those eyes.

Erza thrust her spear forward. "Legion!"

ROOOOAAARRR!!!

The mountain-like beast beneath her let out an earth-shaking roar and charged.

The thunderous roar split the air, and the ground trembled beneath its feet like an earthquake.

Inside the guild, panic exploded.

"Lucy’s" voice rang out: "It’s not ready yet?! What are you doing, you idiot Levy?!"

"I told you I need time, you bastard Lucy!!"

"It’s over! We’re totally doomed!!"

"We can’t escape this time...aaah!!"

"If we’re gonna die, let’s go down fighting!!"

"Yeah! Let’s fight!"

The whole guild was in chaos, voices overlapping in a flood of panic and desperation.

Lisanna stood at the door, covering her mouth with trembling hands.

Her mind flashed back to that night, facing the Beast King with her brother and sister.

Sugarboy called out urgently, "Erza! The survivors are to be captured alive!"

Rhodes reached for his pendant, grip tightening.

There could be no mistakes this time.

Mira... everyone... they’re still waiting.

So there would be no mistakes.

"Summon: VileMaw"

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnov𝒆l.com Only