A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"What?! How can this be?! Laxus! Come and have a match with me!!"

"No! If she can't even beat Erza, she definitely can't beat me!"

"Huh?? What do you mean?" Erza was also competitive, and her face immediately darkened upon hearing this, startling the people around her who quickly got up and moved away.

"Um... Erza, calm down."

Natsu stood on the first floor and shouted, "You bastard, get down here!"

Laxus leaned against the second-floor railing, tauntingly saying, "Come on up here!"

At this moment, Natsu and Laxus's behavior suggests they are at least ten years younger than their actual age.

"Very well, you just wait!!"

Natsu was about to rush upstairs when Makarov grabbed him with a large hand: "Natsu! You can't go upstairs yet, you're not ready!"

Laxus, watching this scene, couldn't help but sneer: "Haha! Got scolded, huh!"

"Ugh..." Natsu, who was pressed tightly to the ground, could only let out unintelligible groans to vent his emotions.

Maklov tilted his head and said to the second floor, "Laxus, you should tone it down a bit too."

"I won't relinquish the title of the strongest in Fairy Tail to anyone! Erza, Mystogan, Kira, and Gildarts are no exception!"

Laxus seemed not to hear him, and his arrogant words grew louder and louder: "I am the strongest!!"

Just then, a huge 3D holographic projection suddenly appeared in the guild, attracting everyone's attention.

Kira held a palm-sized image magic crystal in his hand, and as it was activated, a clear image was projected onto the guild wall.

Laxus, who still looked like a child, arrogantly challenged the young Kira: "Grandpa said you're a genius? How about it, come and have a showdown with me! I'll show you who the most talented mage in Fairy Tail is!"

The scene shifts, and Laxus is knocked to the ground by Kira's attack, lying there bruised and battered, crying, "How could this be?! I... I actually lost!"

Years ago, young Laxus tasted defeat for the first time. After his defeat, Kira pinned him down with his elbow and made him unable to move. Under the circumstances of the bet, he said some extremely shameful things.

"Damn it, I actually lost?!"

The scene projected by the Image Crystal was clearly edited by someone; it was evident that this unknown person had deliberately compiled multiple instances of Laxus being defeated into a single video.

Bang!

"Damn it, I actually lost?!"

Boom!

"Damn it, I actually lost?!"

Snapped!

"Damn it, I actually lost?!"

Time and again, Laxus, dressed in different clothes, in different situations, and in different postures, is repeatedly knocked to the ground. The changes in his body are clearly visible in the video, as if he has been beaten since childhood. Each time he is knocked to the ground, a video of him apologizing when he was young is played, and the sound gets louder and louder, creating a very bizarre effect.

The guild fell silent for several seconds, everyone staring in disbelief. Only Laxus's face turned bright red, he gritted his teeth in anger, veins bulged on his forehead, and his clenched fists trembled slightly...

Who could have imagined that such a thing would happen the very next second after I said those words?

"Pfft!"

It's unclear who started it, but the guild, which had been in a serious atmosphere just moments before, was filled with cheerful laughter a couple of seconds later.

"Hahaha, Laxus is so embarrassed!"

"So lame!!"

"What do you mean by 'strongest'?!"

"I never thought Laxus would have a moment like this!!"

The one laughing the loudest was, of course, Natsu, who was just about to have a showdown with Laxus. He was pounding the ground with his fists, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face.

Kira contentedly put away the magic crystal in his hand, shaking his head: "Oh my, as people get older, they like to watch old videos, so the image-preserving magic crystal is truly an invention of great epoch-making significance! Laxus was full of vitality back then, right, Guild Master?"

Maklov was amused by the scene before him: "Haha, you're right! I haven't seen Laxus like this in a long time!"

"You bastard!! Why would such a thing exist?!"

Laxus remembered it clearly; it was the first time he had fought Kira. Because of a bet made before the battle, he was forced to say these words after his defeat.

That day was the first time he experienced a crushing defeat after learning magic!

He had completely forgotten about all of this, but Kira, that bastard, not only preserved the footage but also released it in front of everyone in the guild today, at his most triumphant moment!

He was only 10 years old then!

He had just joined the guild back then!

That was clearly my first time challenging him!

That bastard! He was actually preparing to record the battle at a time like that!

How can this guy's personality be so awful?!

"hateful!!!"

Utterly humiliating!!! Even losing to Kira again right now would be far better than this!!

How long has it been since this happened? Laxus had almost forgotten Kira's pranks after not spending so much time with him, but now, everything came flooding back!

Deceived, tricked, pranked, defeated... all the terrible memories flooded back, turning into endless rage and the golden lightning in his hand!

With a crackling sound, the thick golden lightning bolt was so fast that no one could react in time, and it arrived in front of Kira in an instant!

No one expected Laxus to make a sudden move, just as no one expected Kira to release the crystal image while Laxus was boasting.

The only one who reacted was Maklov, but he didn't have time to stop it!

Fortunately, Kira was prepared!

With a loud bang, the lightning dissipated, and Kira was unharmed, holding a shield that looked very flexible in his hand.

"Hmph... I knew you'd make a move! Luckily, I was quick enough! This rubber shield is specially designed to defend against lightning mages!"

Chapter 49 The Harvest Festival Challenge

Rubber is an insulator and immune to lightning, something Killer learned in One Piece. As for whether this is scientifically accurate, he can only say that this is a world of magic!

This wasn't the first time the group had seen Kira's bizarre magical gadgets, but they never expected him to have something like this: "A rubber shield... He even has this kind of weird stuff?"

To be honest, this thing is only effective against lightning mages; otherwise, it's really useless. Kira clearly made this to defend against Laxus, and it seems that this shield is more useful than Erza's Thunder Emperor Armor!

Of course, how could equipment sold to others possibly be as good as equipment you use yourself?

Besides, Erza's armor is for fighting, while his shield is for defense. The starting point for forging the equipment is different, and the shield is obviously better at resisting lightning.

"It's been a while since we sparred. How about it, Laxus? Want to have a match? I'm in a good mood!"

Laxus's veins bulged: "That's exactly what I wanted! Come on, Kira! Today, let's decide who is the strongest in Fairy Tail!"

"The strongest? Just the two of you?" Erza stood up, annoyed. "You're underestimating everyone else!"

The three men's gazes met in the air. Lightning crackled around them, armor clad them, and incantations appeared. Their auras grew stronger and stronger, causing everyone else present to tremble and dare not speak. They were both excited by the spectacle and astonished by the three men's strength.

Seeing that the three guys were about to start a fight at the slightest provocation, Makarov panicked instantly and shouted, "Stop! What do you want to do? Tear the house apart?"

"Hey, old man, Kira was the one who provoked us first! Since you did something like that, you should be prepared to be taught a lesson by me!"

Laxus completely ignored Maklov's advice; his only target was Kira, and he didn't even care about Erza.

Kira patted Makolov on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't be nervous, guild leader. It's not like the guild members haven't been fighting for a long time. It's no big deal."

His eyes were full of amusement and fighting spirit, which was rare. Although he loved watching people fight, he rarely stepped into the ring himself.

Natsu, standing to the side, was immediately displeased. He wasn't quick-witted and didn't think too much about it. All he knew was that Kira had rejected him but challenged Laxus to a fight: "Kira, you just said you were tired and didn't want to fight?"

Happy retorted, "Natsu, that's just an excuse Kira made up because he didn't want to fight you..."

“But the guild leader is right, it wouldn’t be good if we damaged the guild!” Kira was the first to withdraw his magic, then turned around and shouted to the guild members, “Everyone! The Harvest Festival is coming soon, it’s no fun being a beauty pageant every year, let’s have something fun this year!”

Maklov felt a chill run down his spine, and a sense of foreboding washed over him!

Want to get this over with? What's this kid up to?! Is he planning to tear Magnolia apart?!

As expected, Kira's words sparked a discussion among the guild members.

"Beauty pageants are great, aren't they!"

"That's it!"

"These girls are fragrant, soft, fair-skinned, and cute. What could be more pleasurable than this?"

"What? What is Kira planning? Is he going to have a final battle with Laxus?"

"What is Kira up to now?"

"This is going to be good!"

A heated discussion filled the tavern, and everyone's face was filled with excitement and exhilaration, except for Makarov, whose face turned pale and then green in turns.

"Quiet!"

Kira jumped onto the bar and shouted again. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Kira quietly, waiting for him to speak.

Seeing the expectant looks on everyone's faces, Kira grinned and announced loudly, "This year's Harvest Festival will feature a 'Fairy Tail's Strongest' tournament! Everyone in the guild except the guild master must participate to determine the strongest among us!!!"

Glug...

Everyone was stunned speechless by Kira's words, unsure whether they wanted to or not.

Damn it! Looking at the expressions on these guys' faces, Makarov facepalmed. Without even thinking, these belligerent fellows must be going crazy with excitement right now!

Teaming up for quests is one thing, that's work. But doing this at a festival? And with all the guild members involved? This is really going to tear Magnolia apart!

Sure enough, after a three-second silence, the entire Fairy Tail burst into excited shouts!

"Ohhhhhh!!!"

"Great!!!"

"I want to participate!! I want to participate!!!"

"A Fairy Tail competition? That sounds exciting!"