Fairy Tail: This Healing Mage's hits hurt so much!

Gray gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, turned around and rushed towards the door, his steps heavy and hurried.

He needs to find Abbagrim; once he defeats her, the petrification will be broken.

Makarov stood in the center of the hall, his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth with heavy steps, his brows furrowed in a deep frown as he rapidly calculated in his mind.

"Who can defeat Laxus now? Erza, Mirajane, and Sunburst—all three of them are petrified..."

He stopped and let out a long sigh, his white beard trembling with each breath.

Behind the pillar next to it, a huge shadow tried to shrink into the shadows, trembling as it poked out half of its head.

Makarov spotted it immediately and frowned.

"Lidas, what are you doing there?"

Startled by the shout, Lidas shuddered and nearly slipped out from behind the pillar, clutching his arms tightly and speaking in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.

"I...I'm a little afraid of Laxus..."

Makarov paid no attention to Lidas's cowardice, strode over, jumped up, and patted him on the shoulder with such force that it almost knocked Lidas to the ground.

"Go find Poriusika in the forest on the eastern outskirts of town. She might have a potion that can cure petrification. Hurry!"

Lidas felt as if he had been granted a pardon, nodded repeatedly, and ran towards the back door faster than anyone else.

Just then, a muffled groan came from the corner of the hall.

Natsu crawled out from under the overturned table, stood up unsteadily, his head still spinning, and pressed one hand to the spot on his chest where he had been struck by lightning.

He looked around blankly and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Where is everyone? Where did everyone go? And where is Laxus?"

Makarov turned to look at Natsu, his cloudy old eyes flashing as he quickly pondered.

Natsu might be able to defeat Laxus, or he could defeat Abramorne to remove the petrification. Having one more person is always better than having one less.

He slapped his thigh and shouted loudly at Natsu.

"Natsu! The festival has begun, and Laxus is somewhere in Magnolia! We should defeat Evergreen first to break free from petrification! Let's go, Natsu!"

Natsu's eyes lit up instantly, his fists burst into flames, and he let out an excited roar.

"Oh! No problem!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already shot towards the door like an arrow released from a bow, the floorboards creaking under his feet.

boom!

Natsu felt as if he had crashed into an invisible wall. His face was squeezed out of shape, and his limbs were spread wide and pressed against the invisible wall, making him look like a flattened gecko.

Makarov, Habib, and Lidas, who was about to leave, all froze, their eyes wide with surprise.

Makarov's lips twitched, and he pointed at Natsu's image stuck to the wall, his voice distorted.

"What on earth is going on?! Natsu, are you eighty years old? Are you a stone statue?"

Natsu struggled forward, his face contorted in the effort, trying to squeeze through the gaps in the invisible wall with both hands and feet, but the wall remained unmoved.

Happy leisurely flew in and out, flapping his wings, easily passing through the gate each time, then flying back, then out again, then back again, deliberately lingering in front of Natsu.

Natsu was sweating profusely with anxiety.

"How should I know! Why can you go out but I can't!"

At this moment, the spell inscription above the door frame flashed again, and new lines of text appeared:

"Jade vs. Troy vs. Alzac"

"Bijida VS Nabu"

"Warren vs. Marks"

"Macao vs Wakaba"

"Mayonnaise Samurai VS Shameless Samurai"

"Nine Bags of Noodles VS Evil Marshmallows"

"Loves drinking animal milk VS Owes parking fees"

Throughout Magnolia, magical barriers were activated one after another, forcing guild members trapped inside to fight each other. Magical light and explosions echoed from every corner of the town.

Natsu lay on the invisible wall, listening to the sounds of battle coming from afar, and shouted in bewilderment.

"Why are our own people fighting?!"

Happy flew to Natsu's head, rested his chin on his little paws, and gave a serious explanation.

"Magnolia has been enchanted with spells everywhere, and those trapped inside are forced to fight each other. This is what Laxus calls the Fairy War."

Makarov was so angry that he trembled uncontrollably, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his teeth were grinding together.

Natsu gritted his teeth, the flames on his fists flickering, and his voice was squeezed out from between his teeth.

"I can't understand why."

This anger resonated slightly with Makarov and Happy, who both fell silent for a moment, thinking that Natsu had finally grasped the absurdity of this civil war.

The next second, Natsu slammed his fist on the invisible wall and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I want to go out and fight too! I can't understand why I can't go!"

Makarov nearly choked on his breath, his mustache twisted with rage, and he and Harpy complained in unison.

-_-||

"So that's what you mean, you bastard!"

Makarov jumped up and slapped Naz on the back of the head.

(▼ヘ▼#)

"What the hell was that you doing, brat?! Everyone got played by Laxus!"

He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and his voice became calm and more serious than ever before.

"If we can't stop Laxus within the limited time, the Sunbeams will turn into sand and never be able to recover."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Natsu suddenly stopped his angry expression, tilted his head, grinned, and revealed his signature row of sharp teeth.

"He may be infuriating, but he would never harm his guildmates."

Makarov was taken aback. Looking at the carefree smile on Natsu's face, he moved his lips, wanting to say something but swallowed it back.

A golden bolt of lightning flashed out of nowhere.

Laxus's mental form appeared in the center of the hall, its semi-transparent body floating in the air, lightning crackling around it, a sneer on its arrogant face.

"Do you think I'm bluffing, Natsu?"

Harpy was so frightened that his wings stiffened and he almost fell from the sky.

"Laxus!"

Laxus ignored Happy, his gaze sweeping across the entire hall, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Natsu, what are you still doing here? And where's that bastard Sunrise? This time I'm going to defeat him completely."

His tone carried a kind of obsessive stubbornness, and he clenched his fist, lightning crackling between his fingers.

Harpy flew to Laxus and pointed with his little paw at the little dragon statue on the platform, his voice timid.

"The sun has turned into a stone statue."

Laxus's gaze followed Happy's paw.

The stone statue maintained a half-smile, with its dragon horns standing proudly and its tail slightly upturned, making it look like an exquisite work of art.

Laxus's lips twitched.

It twitched again.

He was silent for three seconds, a vein throbbed on his forehead, and he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth.

"...That idiot, why did he have to cross-dress now of all times?"

He was even considering whether to just let Abagerin break free of the petrification, since they still had the Naruto Temple as a backup plan.