CHAPTER 496: THIS IS A REBELLION

The airship had already lifted off, slowly rising into the sky, but the Guard Division, despite being outmatched, had no intention of letting them go so easily.

From the skies above, Nichiya continued leading his soldiers in fierce pursuit. As the Queen’s elite, they couldn’t possibly lose to humans.

Rhodes stood on the deck, holding a magic shield aloft, barely blocking Nichiya’s rapid sword strikes. 

As the commander of the Guard Division, Nichiya wasn’t just flashy, he was dangerously skilled with a blade. In fact, he was clearly more practiced than Rhodes, whose control over his summoning magic was still a bit clunky in close combat.

But then, from across the deck, a blur of red armor rushed forward, Erza, charging with a long spear in hand.

"Erza! Grab him!" Rhodes shouted without hesitation.

Nichiya turned his head toward the commotion, only to freeze.

There stood a woman with crimson hair and burning eyes, holding her spear at the ready.

She didn’t move.

"Uh... yeah," Erza answered awkwardly, not making a move yet.

Nichiya’s eyes widened. "That scent... such overwhelming magical power... You’re the Captain of the Magic War Troop from Edolas?!"

His voice grew louder. "Treason! This is rebellion!"

Rhodes blinked, then smirked. free\NovelFire.c o(m)

He hadn’t considered that before, but Nichiya clearly believed this Erza was the Edolas version of herself. And if that were the case...

Then from the Exceed’s perspective, this whole incident looked like Edolas rising up against them.

Now that was an amusing twist.

Erza, however, wasn’t thinking about strategy at all. She was still unnerved by Nichiya’s face, it looked so much like Ichiya that she felt physically uncomfortable.

But she shook it off.

With a battle cry, she sprinted forward, leapt high into the air, and brought the butt of her spear down on Nichiya’s head.

BAM!

The poor Exceed commander was slammed straight into the wooden deck, leaving a crater where he landed.

The deck trembled slightly under the impact.

Erza landed softly and blinked down at her work.

Her expression was troubled.

’Why... why would a cat look exactly like Ichiya?’

Meanwhile, the Guard Division soldiers stared in stunned horror.

"Mr. Nichiya!"

"Commander!"

"Lord Nichiya!"

Cries of alarm and panic spread through the soldiers like wildfire. Their mighty leader, defeated?! And by a woman who, according to Nichiya himself, was from the Edolas military?!

That could only mean one thing...

This entire operation was a plot by Edolas!

"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Lisanna’s voice rang out. "The airship is about to accelerate!"

From the corner of the deck, Natsu, who had fought so valiantly earlier, was now flat on the floor, hugging the wooden boards for dear life. The moment the ship had started flying, his motion sickness kicked in full force.

Gray stood protectively in front of him, scowling, trying to hold off any attackers while keeping Natsu from falling overboard.

The next second—

WHOOSH!

The airship surged forward at high speed.

Everyone on board stumbled. The deck tilted slightly under the burst of momentum.

The Guard Division Exceeds hovering around the ship shouted in panic.

Not only had they been soundly defeated;

But Lord Nichiya had been taken down by a single strike!

They were going to have a hard time showing their faces back at base.

But no matter how humiliating their defeat had been, there was one thing they had to do now.

They must report this crucial information back to the Queen.

Edolas is rebelling!

Rhodes, Erza, Gray, Lucy, and the remaining summons, stood in a loose circle, surrounding the last few Exceed soldiers who were still conscious.

From behind them, Wendy quietly covered her eyes with both hands, flinching at every scream and clang of metal that echoed through the airship’s rear deck. Her heart was too kind to bear witness to the pitiful fate of the fallen.

Then, just as the final blow was about to be struck, Rhodes accidentally stepped in front of Erza, causing her spear to hesitate for a moment.

The result: one Exceed soldier, his fur matted, his breathing ragged, found a narrow gap and bolted into the air like a streak of lightning, fleeing desperately into the night.

Erza blinked. "...Huh?"

Rhodes turned to her and winked.

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, but for now, she said nothing.

The battle was over.

They had won, but it hadn’t come without losses. Two wolves had fallen in the fight, dissipating into black mist. Two wraiths had also taken heavy damage and vanished back into the void.

However, the four golems, despite being covered in cracks and deep gashes, still stood strong. Their bodies were slow and sturdy, like boulders carved from mountain stone. Unless they were completely shattered, they rarely needed to be "refreshed."

The rest of the group had suffered only minor wounds, bruises, cuts, nothing critical.

Several Exceed-forged spears and gauntlets lay broken across the deck. Since they relied entirely on internal magic crystals, once depleted, they were no more useful than sticks and scraps of metal.

With the last of their pursuers dealt with and the airship gliding further and further away from Exceed territory, Gray let out a long breath.

He casually tossed aside the spear he’d been holding and turned to Rhodes with a sharp look.

"Alright. Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on now?"

His gaze landed squarely on Rhodes. Between him and Natsu, Gray always felt that Rhodes was the one who understood the full picture.

Erza also turned toward him, arms folded, waiting silently.

Rhodes nodded. "In short... this is Edolas. A parallel world where magic is finite. To solve this problem, the king of Edolas activated a massive subspace spell called Anima. It absorbed everything in Magnolia, people, buildings, the entire city, and turned it all into magic crystals."

He paused to let that sink in.

Gray and Erza’s faces stiffened with shock.

Rhodes continued. "After that... we ended up here. We met the Fairy Tail of this world, who are... quite different. Lisanna, Happy’s parents, and the resistance against the kingdom’s rule. It’s a lot."

He summarized the key points quickly, but then gave a more detailed breakdown, explaining about the nature of Edolas, the military grip of the kingdom, the ban on using magic, and the desperate struggle of those left behind.

By the time the airship began to decelerate and descend, his explanation was just coming to an end.

"So, yeah. That’s where we are."

Gray slowly exhaled, hands on hips. "That’s... a lot."

"A ridiculous lot," Erza muttered, brows furrowed. "But... it does explain everything."

There was no despair on their faces, only shock, and a growing determination. They had been turned into crystals and rescued by their friends. If that was possible... then so was rescuing everyone else.

Lisanna suddenly emerged from the cabin with a bright grin.

"We’re out of fuel," she called. "So the airship will have to land here for now."

She spotted Erza and Gray standing at the bow, and her smile deepened. "It’s been a long time!"

"Lisanna!" Erza beamed and ran to her, scooping her into a hug that landed with a solid thump.

"Ahh—ow, ow, ow!" Lisanna winced, her head colliding with Erza’s armor, but she didn’t stop smiling.

Yes. This was the real Erza. Not the fearsome commander who hunted mages every day in this world.

Gray approached, rubbing the back of his neck. He gave Lisanna a small wave. "Yo."

He took in her appearance and blinked. "Two years... you’ve changed a lot."

"Huh?" Lisanna paused, then touched her hair and laughed. "Oh! You mean the style. I let it grow out."

She smiled again. "You, on the other hand... haven’t changed much. But suddenly wearing even less than before? That’s a bit strange."

"Ah?" Gray blinked in confusion. "Wearing less? I didn’t even take off my pants today!"

Erza ignored his complaint and crossed her arms. "Alright. I understand the situation now. Our top priority is to rescue everyone who’s been turned into magic crystals."

"Exactly," Rhodes said with a nod.

"But before that," Erza looked at the group in front of her, her gaze scanning their eccentric appearances. "What’s with these looks?"

Rhodes touched his perfectly styled pompadour with a grin. "Fairy Tail in this world is a Dark Guild. To avoid unnecessary trouble, we’ve all disguised ourselves."

Gray had already begun teasing Natsu over his ridiculous mohawk, snickering under his breath, but Erza took the situation seriously. "I see. Then Gray and I should do the same?"

Rhodes nodded. "Yes. Though for Gray, a quick wardrobe change is enough. But you, Erza... we’ll need to style your hair to match a very specific look."

Erza paused, recalling what Rhodes had said earlier about the Erza of this world. "You mean... the one from the Edolas Royal Army?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Then that soldier you let escape earlier... that was on purpose?"

Rhodes gave her a big thumbs-up, eyes glinting. "Exactly. If both sides of this war are complicit in the Anima Plan, then it’s time we throw a wrench into their gears."

Erza’s lips curled into a smile. "And if need be, I can help escalate the confusion. I’ll give them the impression that... she has switched sides."

As long as it meant saving her comrades, Erza didn’t mind playing a role, even one as dangerous as impersonating her own counterpart.

"Um..." Marl, Happy’s mother, raised her paw with some concern. "Are you all about to do something very dangerous?"

"Yes," Rhodes answered without hesitation. "And I’m truly sorry for dragging you into this."

But before anyone could reply, Lucky clapped a paw on Happy’s back. "Hmph! What’s this about dragging us in? We were already part of this the moment we crossed that Anima six years ago!"

"Aye!" Happy chimed in with a cheerful grin, then turned to look at his parents. "Dad, Mom, we’re going to save our guildmates now. Why don’t you find a safe place to hide for a while?"