After Knightwalker reported that Raizel's group had escaped the underground passage via teleportation, King Faust, Byro, and the captains of the several major magic warfare units held an emergency meeting.
Byro was the first to speak up. "Just as the rumors said, the Mages from Earth Land possess magic power. This has been officially confirmed."
Hughes pinched his chin and pondered. "Hmm... So they are just like the Exceeds?"
Byro continued immediately, "However, their magical power is nowhere near comparable to that of the Exceeds."
"So... does that girl named Lucy also possess magical power?" Coco asked timidly, peeking out with only half her face showing.
"Probably," Byro nodded.
Although he hadn't personally seen Lucy use any magic, since she was running around with that group, it was highly unlikely she couldn't use any magic at all.
"In that case, wouldn't it be a pity to kill them? They are essentially walking batteries of magical power," Hughes said.
"No, because Shagotte, the Queen of the Exceeds, has already explicitly ordered that they must be killed," interjected King Faust, who had been dead silent until now.
"So the Queen has already given the official order."
"Hmm... We really can't defy the orders of the Exceeds..." Hughes closed his eyes as he spoke.
He definitely didn't want to lose his life one day unexpectedly; the terrifying impression of the Exceeds as absolute divine messengers was deeply ingrained in his mind.
"This is such a massive waste! How fucking annoying!" Hughes clutched his head in pure frustration.
"Besides, with our current technology, we simply cannot extract magical power directly from a human body," Byro added.
"What about the Dragon Slayer Mages? Why is the order regarding them to capture them alive?" Panther Lily asked with narrowed eyes.
"They are considered human, yet not entirely human. If we can secure them for our experiments, we should be able to achieve semi-permanent magical power."
"Very well, Byro. However, we must still extract the magical power from the Magic Crystals of Earth Land as soon as absolutely possible," the King commanded.
"I understand, Your Majesty."
After the meeting adjourned, Hughes and the other captains left the conference room, eagerly fantasizing about a world overflowing with magical power.
"What's on your mind, Panther Lily?" Faust asked, noticing Lily still sitting in his seat, completely deep in thought.
"Your Majesty, about the recent continuous military buildup..."
The King's face gradually darkened.
"No, it's nothing. I beg your leave," Lily quickly corrected himself, rising to leave.
He had seriously intended to say more but wisely decided against it.
....
"So, Happy and Carla are actually considered angelic beings here." Lucy had found the main library within the royal capital and was rapidly flipping through several thick books.
"The Queen of the Exceeds is God. The words of God are absolute. Her duty is to strictly govern humans."
"If she declares that someone must die, that person absolutely must die."
"This is utter bullshit!" Lucy angrily slammed the book shut and shook her head.
"It's completely unreliable when you really think about it," Erza agreed with Lucy's frustrated sentiment.
"To think there's such an unreasonable rule."
On the other side of the capital, after King Faust reported to Extalia that two Exceeds had fallen from grace, the Exceed guard force swarmed out in droves and came to the royal capital to violently search for them.
"We finally found them! The two fallen ones!"
"Hey, why the hell are there so many damn cats chasing us?!" Lucy's group, who were carefully walking through the outer corridor, were suddenly discovered by the flying Exceeds.
"And they're literally carrying weapons? What the hell is going on?" Erza was equally confused.
"Everyone, attack!"
"If that's the case, we have no choice but to prepare for a fight." Kagura actually didn't want to fight a bunch of cats, but seeing how insanely aggressive they were, she couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
'[They're coming... all of them...]' Faust thought to himself.
He leaned heavily on the balcony railing, watching the densely packed flock of Exceeds swarming in the sky.
"Code ETD! Activate immediately!"
"Wooo—wooo—" Several loud horn blasts sounded consecutively across the city.
"What the hell is happening?"
"Have we been discovered already?" Natsu kept looking frantically around while speaking.
"Stop right there for a second." Raizel raised his hand to quickly signal Gray, Gajeel, and the others.
"Activating Code ETD?!"
"At a crazy time like this?!"
Both Knightwalker and Hughes looked completely shocked.
Dozens of huge magical launchers, resembling massive fishing devices, stood ready and aimed at the sky.
"Numbers ten to twelve are all prepared."
"Numbers fourteen and fifteen are ready too!"
"Six through nine are also firmly set!"
"The national territory security final defense operation has finally been fully activated."
Cold sweat poured down Hughes' forehead—this might actually be the moment that decides their ultimate fate.
"Code ETD! Activate!"
With the herald's loud command, all the massive launchers simultaneously fired intense blue beams, targeting not Raizel's group, but the flying Exceed guard force completely filling the sky.
All the blue beams tightly surrounded every single Exceed, forming a massive, inescapable blue ring.
"Ahhhh!!"
"It hurts so much!"
"I can't breathe!"
"What are you lowly humans trying to do?!"
The Exceeds screamed in absolute agony inside the tightening ring.
"Why would they attack the Exceeds?" Carla looked up at the sky with total confusion.
Lucy also frowned deeply and said, "What exactly is going on here? Didn't they just say that to the humans, the Exceeds are treated like gods and angels?"
Erza narrowed her eyes sharply. "A full-scale rebellion?"
"I'm not entirely clear on it either, but I think taking advantage of this massive chaos to find the Magic Crystal would be our absolute best move," Kagura said.
"Aye! Let's go!"
The group quickly lowered their bodies to stay hidden and made their swift escape.
"Those were definitely the Mages from Earth Land just now! Strengthen the damn defenses here! Another team, follow me to search and capture them!" Knightwalker lifted her Ten Absolute Guns and quickly left the royal capital's square.
...
The blue ring up above kept violently shrinking...
Boom!
All the Exceeds instantly transformed into a massive blue Magic Crystal in the shape of a giant cat that fell vertically, crashing down and stirring up huge clouds of dust.
"The Exceeds... they turned into a Magic Crystal..."
"The King actually went through with it..."
"Isn't he afraid of death?!"
"Will there really be no dire consequences for this?"
Some guards spoke in hushed disbelief.
"There are no gods in this world at all!" King Faust's booming voice echoed throughout the entire square.
'That's really hard to say...' Raizel thought.
From what he knew, there was Ankhseram who absolutely controlled life and death, and the time god Chronos might also exist out there, though whether those actual gods would intervene in this specific world, Raizel wasn't entirely sure...
Faust continued aggressively brainwashing the soldiers.
"While we humans struggle painfully within limited magical power, the Exceeds sing praises of infinite magical power! Why can't we obtain the endless magical resources that lie right before our very eyes?"
"The era of our continued subjugation has finally come to an end! Everything we do is for the future of our humanity!"
Faust raised his arm high and shouted.
"To build a prosperous magical society! My dear soldiers! Let us rise up and fight together!"