Fairy Tail: All Magic Converges in One Body

"Could you four please move a little closer? Yes, yes, that's it, relax your expressions a bit more."

"I'm going to take a picture now, three, two, one, cheese!"

With the crisp click of the shutter, Hope and his three companions vanished from their spot, while the old photographer, who had been so enthusiastic, revealed a sinister smile.

"I can't believe it was so easy to do, what a naive young man... Hahahaha!"

The old man happily developed the photos from his camera, but the moment he saw them, his eyes widened in shock. There was nothing in the photos except for a blank space.

"Impossible! My alchemy..."

"Oh? So this is alchemy? It's not quite what I imagined."

A hand reached out from the side and casually snatched the blank photograph from the old man's hand; it was Hope, who had just disappeared.

Oh no! He's a master!

The old man had barely entertained the thought of escaping when he put it into action. But as soon as he turned around, he was struck hard by a fist that reeked of alcohol and fell to the ground.

Kana withdrew her fist. "Old man, with your clumsy acting skills, you're two hundred years too early to try and trick us."

Without a second thought, the old man scrambled to his feet, trying to escape in another direction, but when he saw Mirajane partially receiving Satan's clutches, he chickened out.

Turning around, a long sword was already pressed against his throat. Meeting Erza's cold gaze, the old man knew he was completely doomed this time.

Hope picked up the old man's camera; he had already realized it was a medium, like a holding spell, used to activate the old man's alchemy.

The function of capturing the target in a photograph is similar to that of a card space, but it avoids consuming magic power by using alchemical tools or materials as a price.

Is this what 'alchemy' is?

Although it wasn't like mixing various materials together as I had imagined, it was certainly interesting.

Chapter 342 Hello, Athena

"Tell me, what happened?"

Hope tossed the camera to the curious Erza, then approached the old man and asked with a smile, "Why did you try to ambush us? Who sent you?"

The old man, clutching his face where Kana had punched him, stammered, "No...no one sent me. I'm just someone who uses alchemy to kidnap people and extort money. I saw you guys were well-dressed and from out of town, so I got the idea..."

"Oh, is that so?"

Hope held up a blank photo. "You know what? My card magic can also lock people inside cards. Someone as despicable as you shouldn't mind spending your whole life in there as punishment, right?"

The old man's face turned deathly pale.

He has a perverse hobby: locking mages inside photographs and using them as consumables to extract their magic for alchemy, until they are drained to death.

Now this kind of thing is about to happen to him. Although he won't have his magic drained, he knows all too well that being locked in a small space for too long will drive him crazy.

"Etc., etc!"

Just as Hope was about to make a move, the old man quickly shouted, "I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Hope, who had already overheard the old man's thoughts, looked at him with a half-smile. After the old man confessed, he would send him to repent to the victims.

The old man, who had already resigned himself to his fate, said in a low voice, "I have received a commission. If I can capture the Fairy Tail mage who has come to Philanthropic City, I can get a generous reward."

Hope glanced at the guild crest on his arm and already knew the answer, but still pressed on, "Who commissioned you?"

The old man hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, "Yes... the Golden Owl."

Hope, Erza, and the other two exchanged a glance.

He came here specifically to cause trouble for the strongest alchemy guild, but he didn't expect that "Golden Owl" would not only not try to escape, but would even dare to strike first.

It seems that the act of forcibly accessing Sai's memories earlier made Jin Shenlong uneasy.

"I've already told you, can you let me go?"

Hope looked down at the obsequious old man. "I would like to let you go, but those innocent people you've harmed to death probably won't agree, so..."

A flash of white light, and the old man's figure suddenly appeared in the blank photograph, his face filled with despair, as he was thrown into the trash can along with the photograph.

Unless someone with magic stronger than Hope comes along, the old man will never be able to escape the photograph.

Erza and the other two had no objection to Hope's handling of the situation. Although Makarov had always taught everyone to try not to kill, it wasn't out of a saintly heart, but because Makarov was worried that killing would leave a psychological scar on the younger generation.

Besides, Hope wasn't killed either.

He simply left the old man to fend for himself in the photograph.

Just as Hope was about to pause her trip and head to the "Golden Owl," a large group of alchemists and miners suddenly appeared and surrounded them from all sides.

In Philanthroam, besides the Alchemist Guild, the Coal Miner Guild is also a force to be reckoned with, since alchemists can't personally go down into the mines to dig for stones.

"It's them!"

"Fairy Tail Magician!"

"You'll be rich if you just catch one!"

"There are only four of us, brothers, let's charge together!"

"Whoever catches it first gets to keep it!"

Seeing the menacing enemy approaching, Hope remained unmoved. Since the Golden Owl had already noticed them, it would never send just one person to cause them trouble.

These misshapen fruits...

Erza donned the Heavenly Wheel Armor, the strongest area-of-effect weapon, and her sword array bloomed layer by layer like blossoming petals.

"Heavenly Wheel - Pentagram Sword!"

A rain of swords poured down, instantly knocking the dozen or so miners at the forefront to the ground, screaming and rolling in a heap. Several alchemists surged in from behind, their alchemical instruments and tools shimmering with various colors.

Flames, ice spikes, poisonous fog, combat golems...

They looked impressive, but unfortunately, they were all wiped out by the Heavenly Wheel Sword Formation.

In this world, whether they are mages, alchemists, or ordinary people, most are actually mediocre, and only a few can stand at the top.

"These guys... they're completely insane."

Seeing the growing number of enemies, Mirajane frowned. "What benefits did the Golden Owl give them? Why are they fighting so desperately?"

Hope said calmly, "That's normal. With a big reward, there will always be brave men. Besides, there are also many people who want to fish in troubled waters and take advantage of the situation."

"What? I think they're just a bunch of idiots who are being used without even realizing it." Kana pulled a card out of her ring, and the majestic figure of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared in the sky.

With a devastating Gale Burst, Cana and Erza completely wiped out the enemy.

The battle lasted less than five minutes before it ended, leaving the street littered with the groans of alchemists and miners. The ordinary onlookers kept their distance, yet refused to leave, whispering amongst themselves.

"Who are those people? They're incredibly powerful."

"That white dragon was so cool."

"So many guilds have lost, shouldn't the Golden Owl make its move next?"

"Why did they start fighting?"

"..."

Suddenly, everyone, from Mirajane and the others to the fallen alchemists and miners, and even the onlookers in the distance, felt a deep sense of sorrow.

Then, tears streamed down her face.

"What on earth happened?!" Kana couldn't stop crying, unable to understand why she was suddenly so sad.

Erza felt her eyes welling up. "What's wrong? Why are my tears suddenly..."

Mirajane was the same; she couldn't stop crying.

Hope alone did not exhibit this inexplicable change. With a flicker of his expression, he used the "Separation Enhancement" spell to temporarily strip away everyone's sorrowful emotions.

Strangely, everyone present continued to have tears in their eyes.

Suddenly, Hope sensed something and looked up at a tall building not far away.

A figure leaped from a tall building, tracing a graceful arc in mid-air before landing lightly in the middle of the street.

It was a female combat puppet with a pure white mechanical body.

She raised her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. "It's no use. I created tears through alchemy; this isn't something magic can undo..."

The next second, Hope used the Separation Enhancement spell to strip everyone of their physiological ability to shed tears.

He looked at the astonished, pure white combat puppet. "Thanks for the reminder. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have thought of that. Also..."

Hello, Athena.

Chapter 343 The Forging of Emotions

Athena stared at Hope with her amber eyes. This young man had not only easily broken through her tear-making technique, but had even accurately called out her name.

There are no more than ten people on this continent who know her identity.

How do you know... my name?

Athena's voice remained steady, but Hope's super hearing clearly detected that the alchemical mechanical body was rotating at a significantly faster frequency.

Hope shrugged. "I know far more than you think. You are the ultimate anti-dragon weapon outside Duke Barbaroa's window, the founder of the White Magic Order, a White Mage..."

Before Athena could say anything, the alchemists lying on the ground around her erupted in an uproar.

They might not know about other things, but the name of the White Mage was known to almost everyone on this continent, after all, the White Magic Order was no small force.

It's said that the White Mage has been missing for 100 years, but it turns out her true identity is a member of the Golden Owls. But what's even more unexpected is...

She wasn't even a human being.

It was, in fact, a combat puppet created through alchemy.

The residents watching from afar were murmuring amongst themselves, while the miners and alchemists lying on the ground were scrambling back, knowing the power of the "Golden Owl" and fearing they would be caught in the crossfire of the upcoming battle.

Athena neither denied it nor pressed Hope on how she knew her name. She simply tilted her head slightly and looked at Hope with an almost human-like curiosity. “I’ve seen many mages, but I’ve never seen one like you.”

“The world is vast, and there are many things you don’t know.” Hope changed the subject. “Athena, what is your current identity? That old man Elevseria misses you.”

Upon hearing the familiar name, Athena paused slightly, a complex emotion flashing across her face before returning to her unchanging smile. "I understand what you mean, but I am the alchemist of the 'Golden Owl'."

"We are now acting on the orders of the chairman to capture you."