"What a big guy."
Laxus stared at the giant roasted fish in front of him. It smelled surprisingly good.
"Laxus-nii?"
The white-haired girl's voice trembled as she spoke.
Using lightning magic directly like that—it was impossible for someone from this world!
And that unique aura...
It was something she only saw in her dreams countless times.
"Huh?"
Laxus flinched, slowly turning around with an expression of disbelief.
"Lisanna?"
Though she had changed—grown taller and more mature—the resemblance was unmistakable.
"Laxus-nii!"
Lisanna shouted, rushing into Laxus's arms and hugging him tightly.
Even someone as prideful as Laxus couldn't help but take a deep breath and awkwardly place his hand on Lisanna's shoulder as the petite girl clung to him.
Lisanna's body trembled slightly as she sobbed, "Am I dreaming? I thought... I'd never see you again!"
"Not just me—everyone came," Laxus said.
"Everyone?" Lisanna looked up.
Seeing her tear-streaked face, Laxus instinctively reached into his pocket for a tissue, only to pause halfway.
Lisanna blinked at Laxus's unexpectedly gentle gesture, then wiped her eyes with her sleeve, smiling teasingly. "Oh my, did Laxus-nii start dating someone?"
"No," Laxus denied flatly.
"You even carry tissues now and are so practiced at offering them to crying girls," Lisanna teased as she took the tissue from Laxus and dabbed her tears.
"It's not like that," Laxus muttered uncomfortably. "There's this troublesome brat, Jehfrit's disciple. She's been bothering me nonstop these past few days."
At first, Laxus didn't know how to handle her. He was used to being surrounded by women throwing themselves at him—women who both feared and adored him. Why would he need to consider anyone else's feelings?
But Emily... she made him think maybe having a son wouldn't be so bad—at least he could punch him when he got annoyed.
Then again… daughters aren't so bad either.
Still, Laxus refused to admit that he'd softened even slightly.
Seeing Laxus's complicated expression, Lisanna hesitated before asking in surprise, "Jehfrit-nii actually took on a disciple?"
"How is that even possible?"
"What does he teach? Surely not Deception Magic!"
She fired off questions one after another.
After all, the threshold for mastering Jehfrit's Deception Magic wasn't exactly low.
"He just happened to find someone suitable. Her name's Emily," Laxus explained. "Like you, she has white hair."
"She must be a cute girl. After all—" Lisanna smirked mischievously, "even I never managed to make Laxus-nii develop the habit of carrying tissues everywhere."
"... " Laxus didn't respond, stiffly changing the subject. "Why are you... here? We thought you were dead."
"Back then... I was pulled over here. But since the Lisanna of this world had already..." Lisanna trailed off, her voice growing heavy.
The Lisanna of this world was already dead.
She had taken her place.
Now that Laxus and the others were here, it was only a matter of time before Jehfrit brought her back.
But what about Mira-nee and Elfman-nii of this world?
Laxus didn't understand what Lisanna was thinking, but seeing her conflicted expression, he patted her head gently.
"Ow!" Lisanna swatted his hand away indignantly. "Didn't I tell you not to copy Jehfrit-nii's bad habits? Always patting my head will stunt my growth!"
"Heh." Laxus chuckled, withdrawing his hand.
"By the way, Laxus-nii, you said everyone came. So why are you alone?" Lisanna asked.
Laxus explained what had happened earlier.
"So much has happened..." Lisanna fell silent for a moment but quickly brightened. "But I believe with Jehfrit-nii's intelligence and Laxus-nii's strength, we can definitely solve this!"
"What do you mean, 'strength'?!" Laxus immediately protested.
"Eh? Can Laxus-nii beat Gildarts-san now?" Lisanna teased innocently.
"... " Laxus went silent.
"Well, in my heart, Laxus-nii is the second most reliable person!" Lisanna patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Still second..." Laxus grumbled. "Is the first really that guy, Jehfrit?"
"Hehe." Lisanna giggled.
"Hmph!" Laxus snorted.
"Geehee." Lisanna playfully wrapped her arms around his arm. "By the way, how's Jehfrit-nii doing? Is he dating anyone? How about Mira-nee?"
"That guy..." Laxus paused, thinking. "There's a woman named Ikuto following him around."
"Eh?! Did Mira-nee lose?!" Lisanna exclaimed in shock.
"I don't know—I don't care about that guy's affairs," Laxus replied dismissively.
"Here we go again, such a tsundere," Lisanna laughed, poking his cheek. "What about everyone in the guild? Are they doing well?"
"Yeah, pretty much the same as before."
"That's good. No one left, right?"
"Nope."
Lisanna sighed in relief. "Gray still hasn't kicked his habit of stripping, huh? When he was little, it didn't matter, but surely he doesn't do that anymore, right?"
"Still the same. He gets scolded by the mayor and the council all the time."
"Hahaha, that'll ruin his chances at romance, won't it?" Lisanna laughed.
"Not really. There's this woman from Phantom Lord who joined our guild—she uses water magic and clings to him every day."
"Eh? Don't tell me it's Juvia?" Lisanna gasped.
"Yeah, you know her?" Laxus raised an eyebrow.
"Well, in the guild I'm in, Gray likes Juvia," Lisanna explained.
"The guild you're in has Gray too?" Laxus asked, surprised.
"To be precise, there's Fairy Tail here, but it's different from ours in Earth-land. In fact, many things are reversed," Lisanna clarified.
"Take me to see it," Laxus demanded immediately.
"This way." Lisanna grabbed Laxus's hand and started walking. "I'll explain as we go."
"In Earth-land, isn't Gray being chased by Juvia?"
"Yeah." Confirming this, Lisanna suddenly understood. "Well, if Gray didn't strip, he'd actually look pretty cool. Even when he strips, he's kind of handsome—but it's a bit creepy."
"So that guy doesn't have to worry about romance anymore. What about Natsu?" Lisanna asked next.
"Him? Still the same idiot as always," Laxus said.
"Still looking for dragons everywhere?"
"Yeah."
"Did new members join the guild? Someone close to Natsu?" Lisanna inquired.
"Yes, her name's Lucy."
"Figures." Lisanna nodded, confirming her suspicions—the two worlds were opposites.
"If that's the case, Lucy-san must be a gentle and refined girl, right? Being around Natsu must be tough for her."
In this world, Lucy was hot-tempered. The opposite would mean...
"Gentle?" Laxus recalled something.
Lucy punching Natsu and Gray, knocking them flat with single blows.
Dragging an enraged Natsu while suppressing his outbursts.
In some ways, Lucy's presence commanded respect akin to Erza's.
"Not really," Laxus confirmed. "She's almost on par with Erza."
"Eh?" Lisanna blinked. So Lucy wasn't the opposite?
Still, it wasn't necessary for everything to be completely inverted. Differences were normal. Even Erza in this world opposed them.
Thinking about it, Natsu wasn't someone a fragile girl could handle easily.
After a brief hesitation, Lisanna finally asked the question she'd been dreading.
"How are Mira-nee and... Elfman-nii?"
"After you disappeared, Mira changed completely," Laxus said. "She became very gentle. At first, everyone worried, but Jehfrit helped her through it, so we eventually calmed down."
Lisanna thought about Mira in this world and sighed. Both versions of Mira-nee had changed because of her.
"As for Elfman..." Laxus continued, "He seems to get along well with Evergreen."
"Eh? Evergreen? I never expected that."
The two continued chatting as they approached Fairy Tail in Edolas.
They were getting closer.
Inside, it was noisy.
"I'm back, everyone!" Lisanna pushed open the door but froze.
"Natsu, where the hell have you been?! You had me worried sick!" A Lucy resembling a yakuza boss was using a headlock to express both concern and anger toward Natsu.
"Wha—?!" Wendy was stunned. Was this really Lucy?!
"What kind of place is this?!"
Disguised Happy and Carla gawked at the guild members inside.
It was Fairy Tail.
It was everyone—but completely different!
Juvia ignoring Gray's advances, while Gray, bundled up like a snowball, fawned over her obnoxiously!
Natsu, witnessing Gray use a "gross" tone to flirt with Juvia, only to be rejected, heard Gray say, "But I'm really cold!"
Natsu's pupils dilated in shock as he collapsed dramatically.
"Natsu, stop pretending to sleep!" Lucy violently shook Natsu's head.
Happy and Carla were still reeling.
Cana refusing alcohol despite dressing provocatively.
Bisca and Alzack shamelessly cuddling without a care.
Even Mirajane... oh, still Mirajane.
"Hey, hey, Lucy, stop shaking him! You'll kill Natsu!" Lisanna rushed over and snatched Natsu away.
"Huh?" Lucy glared at her, then snatched Natsu back, declaring possessively, "Natsu belongs to me!"
"Uh, yes, but... there's been a misunderstanding!" Lisanna pleaded.
"What misunderstanding?" Lucy eyed her skeptically.
"Lil-Lisanna?!" Happy shouted, abandoning his disguise and flying straight toward Lisanna.
"Happy!" Lisanna caught him in a tight hug.
"Huh?! An Exceed?!" Everyone gasped in shock.
"You idiot!" Carla scolded. "What happened to staying undercover?!"
"Lisanna!" Natsu suddenly woke up and stared at Lisanna.
Pushing Lucy aside, he charged toward Lisanna but stopped short, afraid to believe—or perhaps scared it was all fake!
"Natsu..." Lisanna smiled warmly. "You've gotten quite handsome."
"And you..." Natsu murmured, still stunned.
"Aww!" Levy teased from the side. "Looks like someone's losing their spot!"
"Shut up!" Lucy snapped.
"Wait, wait! The main issue here is the Exceed!" Macao interjected.
"Why is an Exceed here?!"
"Are we doomed?!"
Panic spread through the guild.
Chaos erupted.
"Yo, kid, you look a lot like me," a buxom blue-haired woman said to Wendy.
Wendy glanced at her, realizing that this world had counterparts of everyone from Earth-land.
"Is that me?!" Wendy focused on Big Wendy's chest—impressive!
Relieved, she let out a sigh. That weight lifted off her shoulders.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Big Wendy approached.
Wendy didn't know how to explain.
"Haa—" Laxus stood at the entrance, frowning at the chaotic scene.
'BOOM'
A thunderclap exploded.
Everyone jumped in fright, fearfully turning to the doorway.
A stranger stood there, crackling with lightning.
"Calm down for a moment," Laxus said.
"Who are you?!"
A man crackling with lightning was beyond comprehension! Laxus exuded immense intimidation, leaving everyone uneasy.
"First off, you're Natsu from Earth-land, right?" Laxus asked Natsu.
"Of course it's me," Natsu replied.
"Good, then let's exchange information," Laxus began.
Suddenly, someone burst in, shouting frantically, "The Fairy Hunters are here!"
"What?!" Everyone panicked.
"Run!" Voices shouted in unison.
"Laxus-nii, we'll explain later! Let's escape first!" Lisanna dragged Laxus into the guild.
"Hey, don't bring that dangerous-looking guy with us!" Some protested.
"Laxus-nii isn't dangerous! I vouch for him!" Lisanna declared.
"Fine." Trusting her, they reluctantly agreed.
"Levy, how much longer?!" Lucy pulled Natsu into a headlock, restraining him, and turned to Levy.
"Almost there!" Levy replied.
"Hurry! The Fairy Hunters are coming!" Everyone urged.
"Quiet!" Levy shouted.
"60%!"
"65%!"
Levy read aloud the progress.
"It's too late!" Despair filled the room as a colossal figure loomed outside the door.
"Laxus-nii!" Lisanna instinctively turned to Laxus, urgency etched on her face.
"For now, I just need to stall them, right?"
With that, Laxus unleashed a bolt of lightning.