Chapter 60: The Five Dragon Gods: That Old Scroundel Ian, Taking Advantage of Our Youth! Fairy Tail Fears No Challenge!

North Continent, Guiltina.

"Hey! Dogramag, wake up..."

"I've located Ian."

Ignia, the Fire Dragon God, hovered above a vast, seemingly endless labyrinthine palace. He looked down at the colossal structure, which was still expanding, and spoke with a smile.

"Huh?!"

Dogramag, the Earth Dragon God, who should have been long dead and erased from the ranks of the Dragon Gods, slowly materialized into his human form upon hearing Ignia's words. He looked up at Ignia in the sky and said coldly, "Are you sure?! Is he really on the Ishgar Continent?"

"There's no mistake..."

"If Ian wasn't there, Irene, Selene, and Acnologia wouldn't have any reason to guard that continent so fiercely, keeping us out."

"Besides, just today, those two women engaged in a fierce battle after a hundred years of quiet! Aside from fighting over a man, I can't think of any other reason for their clash."

Ignia sat cross-legged in the air, looking down at Dogramag with a sneer.

"Hahaha..."

"Excellent! Finally, I can have my revenge."

Upon hearing this, Dogramag covered his face with his rough hands…

But even so, he couldn't completely conceal the savage expression beneath his palms.

"What do the other Dragon Gods say?" Dogramag asked coldly, crossing his arms and looking at Ignia.

"That softy Mercphobia, the Water Dragon God, has already abandoned his identity as a Dragon God! As for Viernes, the Metal Dragon God, and Aldoron, the Wood Dragon God, they chose to join our anti-Ian alliance after hearing the news about him!"

"Four hundred years... It's time for that old geezer, who took advantage of our youth and bullied us, to pay the price..."

As Ignia spoke, endless flames erupted from his body, incinerating the clouds on the horizon.

Meanwhile…

In a town formed by the colossal Wood Dragon King Aldoron…

"Ian..."

Was it an illusion?

The people living in the town felt a tremor in their hearts. The colossal dragon beneath them, slumbering for who knew how long, seemed to have stirred just now. At the same time, they seemed to hear the name 'Ian' echoing in their ears.

"Was it just my imagination?"

The townspeople looked at each other, their expressions filled with confusion.

Within the Gold Owl, the Alchemist Guild…

"Have you found Ian?"

An invisible, intangible being, existing only as a concept, having ascended to a state of immortality in a certain sense, murmured to itself. Even though it had become a noble Dragon God, it still couldn't forget the humiliation of being spanked by Ian in its youth. To erase this shame and resentment, it had to destroy Ian completely.

As four of the six Dragon Gods of Guiltina formed a secret alliance, at the Fairy Tail Guild…

Ian was unaware of the alliance formed against him. He wasn't worried though. Besides planning to bring Irene and Selene into Fairy Tail, he also intended to find a time to confront Igneel, residing within Natsu, and bring him into his own camp.

"Ignia is nothing to fear!"

"It's just a father beating his son..."

Ian sat at the bar, yawning as he watched Natsu running around with Gray's underwear.

"Natsu, stop! Give me back my underwear!" Gray chased after Natsu, shouting.

"If you want your underwear, catch me!" Natsu yelled back with a mischievous grin, sprinting around the guild hall.

Speaking of which, Gray, stripped of his underwear by Natsu, was now completely naked!

"Not suitable for children," Ian muttered, casting an enchantment to conjure a black basketball in front of Gray's crotch to shield the girls in the guild from any unsavory sights.

"Gray, you're hopeless."

"Losing your underwear again..."

"Here, take mine. Put them on." Lyon, as Gray's older brother in magic, couldn't stand to see his junior brother naked. He frowned, an expression of helplessness on his face as he ceremoniously removed his own underwear and offered them to Gray. These were his last pair…

"Who wants your underwear, you idiot?!" Gray shouted, throwing Lyon's underwear into the air.

"Gray, you…!"

"Don't you understand your senior brother's kindness?!" Lyon, seeing his good intentions tossed aside, couldn't remain calm. Veins bulged on his forehead as he pointed at Gray and roared.

"Huh? You call that kindness?"

"You're just disgusting me..." Gray leaned towards Lyon, tilting his head and snarling.

"Hah…?"

"You think I'm disgusting?"

"You wanna fight?" Lyon asked, assuming an Ice-Make stance.

"Bring it on! You think I'm afraid of you?" Gray retorted, mirroring Lyon's stance.

The temperature in the Fairy Tail guild hall plummeted.

"Calm down! Gray, Lyon, both of you calm down!" Ultear, who had been trying to prevent a drunken Ur from causing trouble, sighed as she saw the now-naked Gray and Lyon. She walked over and tried to reason with them.

"Calm down?!"

"How can we calm down?!" Gray and Lyon shouted in unison, turning towards Ultear.

"You brats." Ultear's eye twitched. She couldn't control Ur, but surely she could handle these two?

"Mirajane, who gave you permission to steal my strawberry cake?" Elsewhere, Erza, armed with her sword, confronted Mirajane, who had snatched her cake while she wasn't looking.

"Who said it was your strawberry cake?"

"Does it have your name on it?" Mirajane taunted, finishing the cake in front of Erza.

"Mirajane..." Erza sighed, whipping out her sword and launching herself at Mirajane with Requip magic.

"Good!"

"Our fight isn't over yet." Mirajane took on the soul of Deliora, her left hand transforming into a demonic claw to block Erza's attack.

"Not again!"

"Are Mirajane and Erza going at it again?" Lisanna and Elfman exchanged glances, expressions of exasperation on their faces. Elfman, at this point, had yet to start his muscle-building regime and was still a slender youth.

"Boom!!" Meanwhile, a drunken Ur released a wave of freezing air. Beautiful ice roses bloomed around her, attacking Gildarts.

"Hmm." Gildarts, cloaked, stood his ground, unmoving… The ice roses shattered before they could even touch him, crumbling into icy shards under the force of his unseen Crush magic.

"That level of attack isn't nearly enough..." Gildarts said confidently, effortlessly dispelling Ur's magic with a casual wave of his hand. He looked at her with a masterly air.

This wasn't the Gildarts who had been briefly incapacitated earlier. He was now reclaiming the dignity he'd lost against Irene and Selene, using Ur as his punching bag.

With Gray and Lyon, Ultear struggling to keep the peace, Erza and Mirajane clashing, and Ur and Gildarts' frosty exchange, it didn't take long for the entire guild to descend into chaos.

"Hey! Who threw that fork? That was dangerous!"

"Get off my foot!"

"Wanna fight? Let's go!"

One, two, three… Multicolored magic circles lit up around the guild hall, the dazzling light assaulting Makarov's eyes.

"Damn it, all of you stop!"

"Fight amongst yourselves if you must, but don't hurt my guests!"

"I'll have to pay for their medical bills…" Makarov had given up on hoping for his guild members to behave. He just prayed they wouldn't injure the guests he'd painstakingly invited. After all, he would have to pay for any damages.

"Don't worry, they're already being beaten." The Sorcerer Magazine reporter, pointing to his bruised and swollen face, laughed before collapsing unconscious. The punches had been too much for him.

"Hey! Wake up…!"

"Don't sleep! Don't you dare sleep!"

"There's still so much news to report! This isn't the time to rest!" Makarov patted the reporter's shoulder, trying to encourage him. No matter the outcome, Makarov's invitation to Sorcerer Magazine had achieved its publicity goal…just not in the way he'd envisioned. He decided the details weren't important.

Evening.

The Fairy Tail mages lay sprawled across the guild hall floor… Irene and Selene's arrival had thrown the Harvest Festival into disarray. The beauty contest and celebrations had been replaced by a drinking and brawling free-for-all. After hours of drinking and fighting, even the strongest mages were exhausted, falling asleep where they lay.

"The parade's ruined!" Makarov sat on the floor amidst the wreckage, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Did I walk into the wrong guild?"

"What kind of hellish scene is this?"

"I should just leave…" At the guild entrance, a spiky-haired blond youth froze, staring at the carnage within. He shuddered and muttered to himself.

"Laxus…"

"The evening parade… I'm counting on you!" Makarov looked up, spotting the blond youth yawning as he entered the guild… It was Laxus, the only guild member who had escaped the chaos. He had slipped away when things started getting rowdy.

"Huh?"

"I'm not interested in that kind of thing." Laxus feigned disinterest, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

In truth, he'd come specifically for the parade. He'd always enjoyed the event since he was a child. Seeing the state of the guild, he knew it was likely cancelled, and he felt a pang of disappointment.

"Laxus, you're the only one I can rely on now!"

"Please, help me!" Makarov grabbed Laxus's hand, tears streaming down his face.

"Absolutely not…" Laxus said coldly, turning away as if to leave.

This was just his usual tsundere, socially awkward behavior.

"Yo! Laxus, where do you think you're going?"

"Now that you're here, you're not leaving…" Before Laxus could escape, two large hands clamped down on his shoulders, holding him firmly in place.

"Hey, what are you two doing? Let me go…" Laxus looked back to see Gildarts and Ian grinning like demons, clearly not intending to release him.

"We're all Fairy Tail mages. Family sticks together," Ian declared with a grin.

"Ian's right…"

"Laxus, running away isn't very manly."

"Don't let people think of you as just Makarov's grandson." Gildarts' words struck a nerve.

"Huh?!"

"Don't call me Makarov's grandson!"

"I have my own name…"

"It's Laxus Dreyar!" Gildarts' words had the desired effect. Laxus bristled, jumping up and down like a live wire, asserting his identity. He wasn't anyone's grandson; he was Laxus.

"Too bad nobody knows that!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Everyone just thinks of you as Makarov's grandson."

"The only way to make them remember your name is to participate in the parade." Ian and Gildarts chimed in, playing their parts perfectly.

"Fine, fine! I give up."

"It's just a parade, right?"

"Let's do it…" Laxus sighed, giving in.

"That's the spirit!"

"Alright everyone, parade time!" As Makarov announced, the Fairy Tail mages, previously strewn across the floor, sprang to their feet, cheering, "Hooray! Parade time!"

"Huh?!" Laxus realized he'd been tricked.

"Damn it, I was careless…" He muttered, surprised that his grandfather, despite his age, had managed to outsmart him, a seventeen-year-old.

And so, under the dark sky, the Fairy Tail parade began. Amidst a shower of fireworks, floats bearing the Fairy Tail emblem moved slowly through the streets, lined with Magnolia residents and visitors who had come from afar to witness the festivities of Fiore's number one guild.

"Is that Ur, one of the Ten Wizard Saints?"

"She's as beautiful as the rumors say…"

"Haha, I heard that Master Makarov, Fairy Tail's guild master, is also one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

"Really?"

"Two Wizard Saints in one guild?"

"They must be invincible!" The spectators discussed the mages performing magic on the floats. The most talked about were Makarov and Ur, both members of the prestigious Ten Wizard Saints. In Ishgar, being granted the title of Wizard Saint by the Magic Council was the highest recognition of magical prowess.

"But I heard…"

"Fairy Tail's strongest mage is someone called Gildarts…"

"Gildarts? Never heard of him. Though the name sounds familiar…"

"Ah! I remember now…"

"It might be a coincidence, but that's the same name as the pervert who peeks into the women's bathhouse in the next town…"

"Hahaha, it's probably just a coincidence." Even among out-of-towners, the topic of conversation revolved around who was the strongest in Fairy Tail. While Gildarts' strength was unknown to most, his reputation as a top-tier pervert was firmly established.

"That blond guy is Makarov's grandson, right?"

"What was his name again? I can't remember…" Someone spotted Laxus on a float. They only knew him as Makarov's grandson, not by his actual name.

"Tch…" Laxus frowned slightly.

"His name is Laxus…"

"In the near future, he will become the strongest mage in Fairy Tail." A purple-haired boy in the crowd, seemingly a mage himself, spoke up.

"Oh? Laxus? What a nice name." The people who had been discussing Laxus's name nodded in agreement.

"Look at you, Laxus, you've got a fanboy."

"Impressive!" Ian, observing this from the float, slung an arm around Laxus's shoulder, chuckling.

"Of course. Don't underestimate my popularity." Laxus scoffed, feigning indifference… Inwardly, he took note of his fanboy in the crowd, memorizing his face. He was secretly pleased.

Just as the festive atmosphere reached its peak, Makarov, wearing cat ears and looking like a circus performer, stood at the highest point of the float, taking center stage. He raised his right hand, pointing his index finger towards the sky, and declared with unwavering conviction: "Whether our enemies are humans, dragons, or any other monstrous beings! Anyone who dares to oppose Fairy Tail, bring it on! Fairy Tail will never lose, because we are Fairy Tail mages!"

"We are Fairy Tail mages!" Every member of Fairy Tail, and those connected to them in spirit, raised their right hands, mirroring Makarov's gesture, their index fingers pointing towards the sky. No matter where they were, their hearts were united as one.

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