Chapter 97: The Civil War Ends
"BOOM!"
Laxus's body flew backward and slammed into the rubble of the shattered church.
"GAAHHH!!" Laxus screamed in pain.
Dino planted his foot firmly on Laxus's chest and glared down at him. "Look at you, walking around like the whole world's out to get you. Let me tell you something—nobody in this guild owes you a damn thing! And even if they did, they'd owe the old man, not you. Not a single person here has taken anything from you—not food, not money, nothing!"
"The old man raised you from when you were a kid, so answer me this: what have you ever done to repay him?"
"Don't you dare tell me that just because your grandfather's the Guild Master, he was obligated to raise you and protect you. If you actually believe that, I'll make sure everyone on this continent hears what a ungrateful brat you are by tomorrow morning!"
"Well?! Speak up! Weren't you running your mouth just fine a minute ago?!"
"You spoiled little punk, do you even know how old your grandfather is? Have you ever once thought about it? Let me spell it out for you—he's 88 years old!"
"Do you know that the old man needs medicine just to keep his body functioning now?"
Laxus's eyes widened in shock at Dino's words.
"You don't know. You don't know anything!"
"The old man's spoiled you rotten, but I won't put up with it!"
Suddenly, a voice piped up from nearby: "Whoa~! Dino looks super scary when he's angry!"
"I always thought Erza was the most terrifying when she got mad, but compared to Dino, Erza's practically gentle. Look—Laxus can't even talk back!"
"If someone yelled at me like that, I'd lose the will to live…"
"Shh~! Keep it down, he'll hear you!"
Dino looked up and saw that nearly everyone from Fairy Tail had gathered around. When they noticed him raising his head, they all flinched and instinctively took a step back.
Dino also spotted Master Makarov among the crowd. Not only that, but the girls who'd been petrified were now free and had come here as well.
"Master, what are you doing here? Did the spell get lifted?"
Makarov nodded. "Freed released his barrier spell, and Evergreen undid the petrification magic. They came over when they saw the commotion."
Dino glanced at Evergreen. She visibly startled and quickly put on her best apologetic expression. Freed had informed her to remove the petrification spell immediately, then told her to go apologize to Master Makarov.
When she'd asked Freed why, he'd said it was to save Laxus's life. She hadn't really believed him at first, but seeing Dino's intimidating expression now, she didn't dare meet his eyes.
"Since the Master's here, I'll leave Laxus to you." Dino turned and walked away.
Makarov was silent for a moment before speaking. "Everyone, bring the injured back to the guild for treatment. I'll explain things to the townspeople."
Hearing this, Freed and Evergreen immediately went to Laxus and helped him to his feet.
Soon, everyone returned to the guild. Many people had been injured—after all, Laxus's words had gotten under everyone's skin this time, and nobody wanted to be seen as weak.
Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. The worst cases would be fine with a few days of rest.
The long-standing debate in the guild about who was the strongest had finally been settled. Compared to regular mages, Laxus was a terrifyingly powerful monster.
But compared to Dino, the gap in strength was still painfully obvious. The title of Fairy Tail's strongest mage still belonged to Dino.
Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen sat together, and the three of them apologized to all the members of Fairy Tail.
Fights happened in the Fairy Tail Guild all the time, so most members didn't hold grudges.
Besides, Freed—who'd trapped them with magic and forced guildmates to fight each other—already looked miserable enough.
The main instigator, Laxus, had been scolded and beaten so thoroughly by Dino that they felt embarrassed to blame the Thunder God Tribe anymore.
More importantly, although Freed's spell was the catalyst, their willingness to fight came from their own competitive spirits.
They were more afraid of being lectured by Dino again, so in forgiving the others, they also forgave themselves.
Even Natsu, who'd been loudly complaining about missing the "Battle of Fairy Tail," had gone quiet. Dino was somehow more terrifying when he was chewing someone out than when he was actually fighting.
Erza stepped forward. "Everyone! This incident is over. Now we need to prepare for the Fantasia parade rehearsal."
"We're still doing the parade after everything that just happened?"
Mirajane smiled gently. "The Master wants to continue with the event because of what happened. He wants to apologize to the townspeople for the trouble, and he doesn't want to disappoint everyone who came from far away to watch."
"If that's the case, let's do it!"
"Yeah! There was an accident, but today's still a festival!"
"Mira's performing for the first time in forever!"
"But Elfman…"
Elfman, their close-combat fighter, had been completely outmaneuvered by Evergreen's long-range attacks. He'd taken moderate injuries, and continuing on stage would definitely be a problem.
"I'm sorry, sis!" Elfman said sheepishly.
But someone immediately chimed in: "It's fine! Dino's still here, right? He wrote the script anyway, so nobody's more qualified than him."
Mirajane's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Dino playing the male lead. Naturally, Dino had no reason to refuse. Time was short, so everyone started rehearsing immediately.
In the infirmary on the second floor of the Fairy Tail guildhall, Master Makarov and Laxus were alone in the room.
Laxus was seriously injured and leaned back against the bed, while Makarov sat in the chair across from him. The two remained silent for a long time, neither speaking.
After hearing the clanging and commotion downstairs as everyone began rehearsing for the Fantasia parade, Makarov finally spoke. "Laxus… do you understand what you've done?"
"…" Laxus remained silent. After a while, he spoke quietly. "I'm sorry. I just… wanted to make the guild stronger. And I didn't want to lose to Dino."
A relieved smile appeared on Makarov's tense face. "It seems Dino's few words had more impact than all my years of trying to teach you. They actually got you to say 'I'm sorry.'"
Laxus continued, "I never meant to take away what's most important to people. And I didn't actually think everyone owed me anything."
"I know. But that's exactly what you were doing."