Chapter 63: Return of the Phantom Wizard, The Unbroken Bond (4)
"Cough… cough… Ciel…?!"
"Natsu, forgive me if it feels like I'm stealing your fun, but I'll take care of Laxus. You should rest."
"What the hell are you saying out of nowhere?! I'm the one who's going to take Laxus down!"
Natsu, shocked by Ciel's sudden appearance, bristled at the claim. He had already told Erza he would defeat Laxus. It was now a matter of trust—he had to be the one to do it.
But as if he had anticipated Natsu's reaction, Ciel slipped a silver key engraved with a phoenix crest from inside his coat pocket.
"So… I suppose words alone won't work with you?"
"Ciel… that key—!"
"Open… Gate of the Phoenix: Hepsiel."
From somewhere in Magnolia, the Celestial Spirit Ciel had contracted with—Hepsiel, who had been tending to wounded allies—answered the call.
A swirl of violet light and scattered black rose petals filled the cathedral as Hepsiel emerged once more, making the air grow unbearably heavy.
Laxus stiffened, retreating a step in alarm at the Spirit's reappearance.
"Y-you… you called forth that damned Spirit?!"
"Yes. By fate, I contracted with him… but don't worry. Hepsiel won't be your opponent—I will."
With that, Ciel turned to Hepsiel and pointed toward Natsu.
"Hepsiel. Heal Natsu, if you would."
"Ohohoho~♥ My dear Order, you're doting on me so much today~ If you keep this up… if you keep this up… ahh~♥ this body of mine… I'll keep climaxing forever~♥"
"D-don't come near me! Ciel! Stop this guy right now! I can still fight!"
"If you can defeat Hepsiel, then I'll yield the fight to you."
"You… you bastard…!!"
"Now then—let me share with you happiness~♥"
"%$#@^&@#!!!"
Pinned by Hepsiel's embrace, Natsu saw only Ciel's wicked smile before his consciousness faded.
The Spirit's "kiss of love" ended with Natsu's body brimming once again with restored magic and stamina—yet he could not move.
What remained in him was nothing but emptiness.
Across his face was a stark, humiliating mark: the print of Hepsiel's black lipstick.
"Hepsiel, well done today. If another task arises, I'll call on you again."
"Aww~♥ But I wanted to share more love~♥"
"Kufufufu… perhaps another time, when I'm in the mood for amusement."
"You tease~♥ Fine, but you'd better call me again next time~♥"
Dismissing the Spirit back to the Celestial World, Ciel let the smile fall from his face, fixing Laxus with a deadly stare.
Laxus, already unsettled by Hepsiel, braced himself again under Ciel's gaze. But there was no joy in seeing him alive—no relief, no happiness. Only resentment.
"Why… why are you still alive, Ciel?"
"You speak as though my survival displeases you."
"Of course it does!!"
Snarling, Laxus lunged forward, lightning-wrapped fist driving straight for Ciel's heart.
But Ciel calmly twisted his staff and met the blow head-on. Mist and lightning clashed, erupting into a violent wave that shook the ruined cathedral.
Through the shattered doorway stumbled Gajeel, eyes widening in disbelief.
"What the hell… this magical pressure… it's insane…?!"
"Tch, another little fish showed up?" Laxus sneered.
"No," Ciel replied coldly. "I'm the one you'll face, Laxus."
With a swing, he knocked Laxus back, then dismissed his staff, returning it to the earring on his ear. In his right hand, he called forth a spear of mist.
Gajeel froze. The pressure between the two was crushing.
Laxus alone had already shown monstrous power—but Ciel matched him effortlessly, even with a casual air.
It was clear: this battle was on a level he had no place in.
"Gajeel. It's been a while since Phantom Lord fell… and I see you truly chose light over darkness, as I hoped."
"Ciel… I thought maybe… and yeah, I was right. You really are alive."
"I have much to say, but now isn't the time. Take Natsu back to the guild."
"…Got it."
Gajeel, too, had many things he wanted to say to Ciel, but he knew that now was not the time.
As Ciel instructed, he hoisted the limp Natsu onto his back and left the cathedral.
If he stayed here any longer, nothing good would come of it.
"Hah… so the small fry have cleared out? Fine then. I'll erase the ghost that is you, and forge the strongest Fairy Tail!!"
"As ever, you're the kind of child who only understands when taught through force…"
Laxus rose to his feet, lightning gathering in his mouth. But Ciel struck the ground lightly with the butt of his spear.
At once, lotus vines erupted from beneath Laxus's feet, winding tightly around his body.
"Urgh…!"
"A familiar sight, isn't it? Just like during the S-Class Promotion Exam."
"No! I'm stronger now!"
It was the exact same scene as on Tenrou Island—when Ciel had suppressed him with the celestial lotus that absorbed power and bloomed.
But Laxus now was not the same as back then.
Wrapping his arms in dragon scales, he sliced through every vine that bound him with razor-sharp spines.
Ciel, watching, smiled faintly and praised him.
"In the three years I've been gone… you too have grown stronger."
"Don't underestimate me! I'm not the same as I was back then! Ever since the day you died, for three years, I've gritted my teeth and pushed myself to grow stronger! Stronger and stronger still! 'Roar of the Lightning Dragon!'"
Having severed the vines, Laxus gathered a high-output surge of lightning in his mouth and blasted it toward Ciel.
This was his true Dragon Slayer magic—one he hadn't been able to fully unleash back on Tenrou Island.
Now, far stronger than before, he fired the devastating roar straight at Ciel.
But Laxus was not the only one who had grown.
"W-what…?!"
"Laxus, you're not the only one who's become stronger. For three years, I could do nothing but lie dormant… but not long ago, I reclaimed what was rightfully mine."
As he spoke, the wheel of Ciel's Eye of Reincarnation shifted from Heaven (天) to Hunger (餓).
At the same moment, his spear of mist unleashed a searing green bolt of lightning.
"Lightning Dragon's Horn!"
"Gaaaaaahhh!!!"
Laxus was hurled backward by the force of Ciel's Dragon Slayer spell.
It was his own magic.
But why—how—was Ciel, the Phantom Dragon Slayer, wielding the magic of thunder itself?
Even as the thought struck him, he noticed something more horrifying:
The green lightning pouring from Ciel's body gathered into the spear, only to twist and shift into crimson.
There was no time to think. He had to block it—somehow.
"Dammit…!!"
"How does it feel? To have your own technique stolen and turned against you?"
"You bastard…!"
"This is the power of the Realm of the Hungry Ghosts. Whatever these eyes capture… I take as my own."
"Such a dirty trick…"
"A dirty trick? No… this is inevitability."
"Graaahhh!!!"
This crimson thunder was on a level entirely different from his own.
It seared Laxus's lightning-forged body, leaving him burned and writhing in shock.
Laxus could hardly believe it.
He was a Dragon Slayer who bore the very power of the Lightning Dragon—yet somehow, impossibly, lightning itself was wounding him.
"Your lightning is impressive. Perhaps… strong enough to rank among the top five in the entire continent."
"…And what of it?!"
"But… I remember lightning even greater than yours."
"What are you getting at?!"
"Allow me to show you. The mightiest thunder I've ever known."
The crimson lightning gathered at Ciel's spear coalesced into form, becoming a blade of thunder stretching several meters long.
Planting his feet, he compressed his strength into his legs, and with explosive momentum, he leapt high—driving the spear straight toward Laxus.
"Elettrico Cornata!"
"I… I won't lose here!! Dragon Slayer Secret Art—!"
To resist the oncoming crimson bolt, Laxus unleashed his ultimate technique.
An immense surge of thunder condensed into a massive orb, compressed until it shook the very cathedral.
Then, as the crimson spear of lightning clashed against his sphere, the explosion tore through the air with a thunderclap loud enough to rattle the entire town.
"Haa… haa… hhh…"
"…Your attack was powerful, Laxus."
Half the cathedral lay in ruins.
Through the falling debris, Ciel stood with his clothes in tatters and a scratch on his cheek, while Laxus knelt on one knee, his body covered in burns from his own lightning. He glared up at Ciel, gasping for breath.
The battle had been decided.
No matter how much longer it continued, Laxus could not win.
Ciel knew that drawing it out would serve no purpose.
From the beginning, he had chosen not to end it with his own Phantom Dragon Slayer magic, but to meet Laxus head-on with lightning.
Because no matter how twisted Laxus had become… he was still a guildmate.
The old Ciel might have cut him down without hesitation, but the Ciel who had lived in this world's everyday life… found only pain in fighting his comrades.
He had hoped that by overwhelming him with lightning—Laxus's own domain—he would finally realize his limits and yield.
But Laxus would not surrender.
"When you died… I thought it was because we were too weak. That's why it happened!"
"…."
"So I swore—I would build a Fairy Tail so strong that no one would ever die again! A guild with no weaklings! Only the strongest wizards, who will never fall, never suffer disgrace, never die! That's why… that's why I had to become stronger!!"
Laxus roared, his words laced with grief and fury.
Ciel gazed down at him in silence, listening.
"I don't need them! The weak have no place here! Not you… not Natsu, not Erza, not Mystogan! Not even the old man, not the guild, not the people of Magnolia—NONE of them!! They can all vanish!!"
With whites of his eyes showing, Laxus forced himself to his feet, squeezing out every last drop of magic from his body.
He was so close—so close to creating his world of power alone, a Fairy Tail where none would ever bow, ever break, ever die.
And then, just as his dream seemed within reach—
Ciel had returned.
The man thought dead now stood before him.
Then what had all his struggles, his suffering, his resolve, been for?
No. It couldn't be real.
The one before him wasn't Ciel. It was a phantom—a ghost.
And so, he would erase it.
Erase Ciel, and carve his utopia from the ashes.
Laxus crossed his arms, forcing out every last drop of magic in his body.
"Laxus!"
Sensing the change in his magical aura, Ciel frowned and called out his name.
The magic gathering around him was calm, steady, almost serene—yet at the same time, it compressed into a destructive radiance of holy light.
It was the ultimate judgment spell of Makarov, one that targeted all whom the caster deemed as enemies.
"Fairy Law!"
"..."
"Fwahahahahaha!! Disappear, Ciel! Disappear, Fairy Tail!"
"..."
As the incantation of Fairy Law activated, Ciel lowered his Mist Spear, gazing at Laxus with eyes filled not with fear, but pity.
But Laxus ignored him, laughing madly as he declared:
"I'll rebuild it all from the ground up! A guild that bows to no one! A guild so strong the world will tremble before it—FAIRY TAIL, THE STRONGEST!"
"..."
"Fairy Law! Activate!!"
With his palms joined, a golden brilliance erupted, swallowing Magnolia whole.
The cathedral shook, the town drowned in blinding radiance. Smoke and light subsided, and Laxus staggered forward, gasping, convinced it was over.
He had destroyed Fairy Tail with Fairy Tail's own ultimate magic.
It was finished.
Or so he thought.
"...Laxus."
"No… no way. This… this is impossible!"
Through the fading smoke, Ciel still stood. Unharmed. Calm. His eyes fixed upon Laxus.
Laxus froze, disbelief twisting his face.
Ciel should have been obliterated—erased without a trace.
And yet he remained.
"Why?! Why are you still standing?! How can you be fine?! How could you take that much power head on and still be unscathed?!"
"Laxus… you…"
Before Ciel could finish, footsteps echoed from the cathedral doors.
Supported by Mirajane, Freed stumbled inside, his breathing ragged as he spoke:
"The guild members… the townsfolk… everyone's safe."
"Freed?!"
"No one was harmed."
Laxus's eyes widened further, confusion tightening his chest as he stared at the unharmed Mirajane and the steadfast Freed.
"That's impossible!! Fairy Law is absolute!"
"That was your heart, Laxus," Freed answered.
The words struck Laxus like lightning. His whole body stiffened, as though the truth itself had paralyzed him.
Freed pressed on, his voice unwavering:
"What Master entrusted to you wasn't just strength or magic. He entrusted you with his heart—the heart that treasures his comrades. Fairy Law only works against those whom the caster sees as enemies. Do you understand now, Laxus?"
"…The spell read your heart."
"Magic cannot lie, Laxus. This is your true heart."
At those words, Laxus's body trembled. He clenched his fists tightly, refusing to believe the truth.
That he still thought of his comrades…
That he treasured such weakness…
He could not accept it.
"No! Anyone who gets in my way is my enemy! My enemy!!"
"Laxus, that's enough."
"Ciel…"
"The Master was at death's door just moments ago. Thanks to Hepsiel's treatment, he survived the worst. And right now, the one he wishes to see most… is you. The battle is over, Laxus. Go to him."
Ciel had known from the start that Fairy Law would fail.
For all his flaws, Laxus was still Laxus.
The boy who, even while posturing, always watched over his guild from the shadows.
The one who could never tolerate Fairy Tail being mocked by others—because deep down, he loved the guild and cherished his comrades.
If that were not true, he would have ignored the jeers, concerned only with himself, unconcerned with the Master's seat.
Even just now—his resolve to create the "strongest Fairy Tail" had been born from grief, from his belief that his comrades had died because they were too weak. If he truly hadn't cared for them, he never would have sought such a guild in the first place.
Ciel understood the truth that even Laxus himself could not admit.
"I don't care what happens to the old man! I'm not the Master's grandson—I'm me! I'm Laxus! LA-XUS!!!"
At his furious cry, Freed, Mirajane, Elfman, and Cana—all of whom had gathered—looked upon him with pity.
Ciel raised his Mist Spear, mist swirling from its tip, his eyes filled with sorrow as he gazed at Laxus.
None of them saw him as merely "Makarov's grandson." They saw him as Laxus Dreyar, a man, a wizard of Fairy Tail, a member of their family.
But Laxus, blind to that truth, continued to stray further down his foolish path.
"Everyone already knows that. Stop this, Laxus. It's disgraceful. Is being the Master's grandson really such a great thing?"
"…!"
"To cling so desperately to a few drops of blood—how pathetic. You are Laxus Dreyar. To me, to all of us, you have always been a wizard of Fairy Tail, one of our family. How can you not see that?"
"What do you know… Shut up… SHUT UP!!! Lightning Dragon's Fang Heavenly Halberd!!"
Laxus roared, conjuring a lightning-forged halberd and driving it into Ciel's chest with all his might.
The sound of thunder roared as the weapon pierced through. It had landed.
But Laxus felt only anguish.
Why… why did he have to do this?
The man he admired, the one he had sought to surpass, took the blow without resistance. This was not what Laxus had wanted.
Ever since Ciel's death, he had blamed himself. The weight of being the Master's grandson, coupled with Ciel's loss, had driven him to seek ultimate strength—strength to ensure no comrade would ever die again.
But somewhere along the way, everything had gone wrong.
Now, here he was, trying to kill a comrade who had miraculously returned.
Overwhelmed by his own contradictions, Laxus broke down, screaming in torment.
"Uaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
"…I understand your feelings. Long ago… I too was the same."
"Ugh… Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
"It's time to bring this to an end."
The navy-blue mist gathered in Ciel's hand, which was covered in scales.
It coiled up his arm, wrapping around it completely. The spiraling mist rotated at incredible speed, creating a violent gale.
Then, splitting into countless tendrils, the mist struck Laxus's entire body with blinding speed, faster than the eye could follow.
"Phantom Asura Fist!"
"Guhaaahhh!!!"
Laxus let out a short, strangled scream as his body was hurled across the cathedral, crashing into the wall before collapsing to the ground with his eyes rolling back.
Ciel looked at him with pity, then turned his gaze toward the doorway.
Standing there was a silver-haired girl.
Mirajane, her eyes brimming with tears, gently set Freed into Elfman's arms before walking slowly forward. Her hands and legs trembled, yet she couldn't stop herself—she needed to confirm it for herself.
Finally reaching him, she spoke in a trembling voice:
"Is it… really you, Ciel…?"
Ciel said nothing. Instead, he reached out and tenderly stroked Mirajane's face, brushing away the tears welling in her eyes.
For the first time, he could touch her with living hands—hands warm and full of life. His expression held both sorrow and joy as he smiled at her.
With that gentle smile, he leaned close and whispered in her ear:
"I told you… when we met again, I wanted to see your smile. And yet, you're still a crybaby, Mira."
"…I'm sorry. I couldn't keep that promise."
"Mira…"
Mirajane had wanted to greet him with a smile, but the warmth of his touch, his familiar scent, and the soothing cadence of his voice overwhelmed her. She couldn't stop the tears of joy from flowing down her cheeks.
Understanding her heart, Ciel pulled her into a tight embrace.
Held in his strong arms, Mirajane burst into sobs once more.
"…It took a long time… but I'm home."
"Ciel… welcome back… welcome… huuhh… huuuaaaahhh!!!"
"Yes… I'm home."
Holding the weeping Mirajane close, Ciel soothed her gently. Elfman, Cana, and Freed all watched silently, their expressions softening as they witnessed the reunion.
The Battle of Fairy Tail ended not with thunder, but with the tearful reunion of two souls long separated.
And within the collapsing cathedral, only the sound of the girl's sobs of joy, and the boy's quiet whispers of comfort, echoed in the air.
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