Fairy Tail: Starting with Marrying the Dragon Queen Irene

"Evacuate immediately!"

"This place is no longer safe..."

"Everyone, get out of here!"

"If you delay, you might die..."

Old Toma did not hesitate for a moment. As soon as he saw the dragon appear, he, as the king, immediately contacted the army waiting outside the Grand Arena and the mage unit of the Magic Knights, ordering them to enter the venue and evacuate the crowd. Protecting the safety of the nation and its people is a king's duty.

"The king has contacted us."

"After all this waiting, it's finally time for us to make our move?!"

"Fairy Tail is just a mere mage guild with only a few hundred members. How could they be a match for our army?!"

The knights of the Magic Knights grew excited upon hearing King Toma's summons. To them, Fairy Tail was nothing more than a small mage guild, certainly no match for their battle-hardened forces. In terms of both power and numbers, an army of a kingdom was on a completely different level compared to a mere mage guild. The fact that the king was now summoning them surely meant that they would be taking down Fairy Tail—those troublemakers!

However, as soon as the knights rushed into the arena, ready to confront Fairy Tail's mages, they were met with a scene that left them stunned—a massive dragon exuding overwhelming power, and mages fighting the beast fiercely.

The knights were dumbfounded.

"Are these the mages from Fairy Tail?"

"And that enormous creature—is that a dragon?"

The knights stood there, frozen, staring at the awe-inspiring dragon form of Irene and the mages battling it with everything they had, unsure of what to do.

"Stop standing there, start evacuating the people!"

King Toma, with a tense expression, kept giving orders to the knights.

"Yes, yes..."

"Quickly evacuate the crowd! It's our duty..."

"By the way, those people fighting the dragon in the arena—are they the mages from Fairy Tail?"

"Seems like we misunderstood them. They're the real heroes."

Many knights couldn't help but exclaim as they witnessed the Fairy Tail mages risking their lives against the dragon.

"Yeah, it would be perfect if that dragon that suddenly appeared wasn't with Fairy Tail."

Hearing this, Old Toma's eye twitched. He nearly collapsed from the words of those knights.

Did these guys just say Fairy Tail are the true heroes? Nonsense! They're just a bunch of scoundrels! There's no mistake—Fairy Tail is the darkest force in the Kingdom of Fiore!

No, to be precise, they are the biggest dark force on the entire continent of Ishgar—those mages from Fairy Tail!

"Roar of the Thunder Dragon!!"

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Royal Thunder!!"

Laxus, battered and bruised, continued to unleash magic with all his strength. Amid this intense training and battle, his magic power kept rising, approaching the realm defined as the "human limit" that Jura had reached during the Grand Magic Games.

For Fairy Tail's mages, it seemed that battle was indeed the best remedy.

"Enchantment: Thunder of the Dragon Slayer!"

"Enchantment: Ice of the Dragon Slayer!"

"Enchantment: Flame of the Dragon Slayer!"

"Enchantment: Wind of the Dragon Slayer!"

"Enchantment: Underworld of the Dragon Slayer!"

"Enchantment: Crush of the Dragon Slayer!"

Erza changed into a brand new armor—golden armor that gave her six arms, allowing her to wield six swords simultaneously, each imbued with the power of different Dragon Slayer attributes.

"Laxus's lightning, Ur's ice, Natsu's flames, Wendy's wind, my underworld and Gildarts' crush, huh?!"

Seeing this, Eresh named the six attributes Erza was using.

"That's right." Erza nodded slightly. As she spoke, magic power surged as she swung all six Dragon Slayer magics at Eresh while shouting: "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Dance of Six Dragons!"

"Boom!!"

The six Dragon Slayer magics turned into six beams of light, striking Eresh's body, but were easily deflected by her dragon scales.

"Do you think this is enough to defeat a dragon? Not even close."

"Underworld Descent!!"

Eresh spoke as she unleashed her magic.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the ground rumbled, and terrifying forces of the underworld erupted from cracks in the earth, assaulting everyone present.

"Boom!"

In just a single exchange…

Mirajane was forced to cancel her takeover of Deliora's soul, retreating from the battlefield.

"Cough, cough..."

Ultear, due to elemental incompatibility, was also defeated by Eresh.

Now, only Laxus, the Dragon Slayer mage, and Erza wielding six enchanted swords were left struggling in the Grand Arena.

"This ends now!"

Just as Laxus and Erza were preparing to continue fighting Eresh, Makarov leaped down from the stands, turning into a giant over a hundred meters tall, and shouted loudly.

"Stop fighting..."

"Look around you!"

"If you continue, you'll destroy the entire place."

Makarov spoke with tears in his eyes.

"Uh..."

At this point, Laxus, Erza, and Eresh finally stopped. They looked around at the devastation and couldn't help but gasp.

The entire arena was nearly reduced to rubble…

The four sculptures around the Flau Grand Arena had all been destroyed.

And in this enormous arena, apart from the Fairy Tail mages, there wasn't anyone else left!

"Humm..."

Seeing this, Eresh slowly retracted her magic, changing from her dragon form back into her human appearance.

"Phew..."

Erza sighed deeply as she too changed her armor.

"Is it over for me as well?"

Laxus seemed reluctant.

Honestly, as a Dragon Slayer mage, it hurt Laxus' pride that his magic couldn't defeat a dragon.

"This year's S-Class Mage Trial ends here!"

"Those who have passed include Selene, Irene, Laxus, and Eresh! Congratulations to all of you—you have all qualified!"

Makarov stood with his hands behind his back, looking at his grandson Laxus, full of pride.

Makarov could see the progress and potential in Laxus! Given time, Laxus would eventually surpass him, becoming one of the top mages on the continent of Ishgar.

"Four candidates passed the S-Class Mage Trial in one year?!"

"Guild Master, didn't you say last year that no matter what, Fairy Tail's rule was that only one person could pass the S-Class Mage Trial each year…?"

As Makarov loudly announced the conclusion of the Fairy Tail S-Class Mage Trial of year X779, many members of the guild jokingly reminded him.

"Shut up!"

"Rules exist to be broken."

"Even the first guild master, Mavis, supports me wholeheartedly."

Makarov declared righteously. Once he threw away his pride, nothing could stop him.

"Makarov is right!"

Mavis sat on the ruins, barefoot and waving a small flag with the Fairy Tail emblem, showing her strong support for Makarov.

As long as Fairy Tail could grow stronger, any reform was justified!

Yes, Mavis herself was a formidable presence.

"Anyway, with the venue destroyed like this, are we really not going to compensate for the damage?"

Now sober, Cana scratched her head and looked at Makarov.

"Probably… not?"

Makarov sounded uncertain.

To be honest, he wasn't sure either.

"I will go and apologize to His Majesty. If necessary, I'll humble myself."

Makarov rubbed his chin as he spoke.

"That's all we can do."

The other guild members agreed.

And so…

Makarov, escorted by several Fairy Tail mages, mustered up the courage to head to the Fiore Kingdom and face the king at the palace.

---

At Flower Light Palace.

"So they finally come, huh?"

Old Toma sighed deeply, sitting on the throne.

Dragons, demons… all of it…

The guild master of Fairy Tail, Makarov, clearly had intentions of usurping the throne!

Since he had just confirmed, through Wolfheim, who ranked second among the Ten Wizard Saints of Ishgar, that even if they wagered the entire kingdom's military power or sought help from the Magic Council ERA, they still wouldn't be able to stop Makarov, Toma had decided to hand over the kingdom. He had never really wanted to be king, so this was as good a chance as any to abdicate.

At this point, Old Toma had made his preparations. He had dismissed all the guards, and despite his ministers' hesitation to speak, Old Toma very gracefully chose to meet the pleading Makarov alone.

"…"

For a moment, the two faced each other in silence. One sat on the throne while the other stood before it, both in the empty palace, caught in an awkward stalemate.

"Sigh…"

"Makarov, since we're here now, just tell me whatever you have to say!"

Ultimately, it was the king, Toma, who decided to drop his pride. After all, he was no longer a king—what pride was left? He gently took off his crown, preparing to hand it over to Makarov, and looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

Toma was ready to say some final words, hoping Makarov would treat the citizens and the military well.

Thud!

"Please, spare me, Your Majesty!"

Before Toma could pass the crown over...

Makarov knelt on one knee in front of Toma!

Technically, Makarov, as one of the Ten Wizard Saints, held a status equal to the kings of the land and did not need to kneel before a monarch. However, he still knelt.

After all, when asking for a favor, one should adopt the proper posture and attitude.

"Huh?!"

Hearing this, Old Toma froze in place. He thought he had misheard - the previously domineering Makarov was now begging him for mercy? Had something gone wrong somewhere?! Shouldn't he be the one kneeling, begging Makarov and Fairy Tail to spare his life?!

"Are you mistaken?"

"Isn't Fairy Tail attempting to overthrow the throne?"

Toma frowned and asked, looking at Makarov.

"Overthrow the throne? Who would dare try to overthrow the throne with Fairy Tail here?!"

Hearing this, Makarov sprang up from the ground, taking the pose of someone who lived and would die as a citizen of Fiore Kingdom.

"Then what did Fairy Tail come to the capital Crocus for?"

Toma started to think he might have misunderstood the situation.

"Didn't you send posters to Magnolia Town saying that whoever won the tournament would receive a hefty prize?!"

Makarov responded with a puzzled look.

"I…"

Toma almost coughed up blood.

"Then why did you come to see me?"

"Well… we accidentally destroyed your arena. We don't need to compensate for it, right?" Makarov rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

'You practically took over my entire kingdom, and you think I dare ask you for compensation?!'

Toma silently cursed.

"No need for compensation. Since I let you compete in Flau Grand Arena, I knew the risk. If you broke it, it's on me—it's just a few billion J, nothing major!"

Toma dismissed the damages as insignificant, showing his wealth.

"So, would you say this counts as our victory, then?"

Makarov rubbed his hands together, pushing his luck.

"…"

Toma stared silently at Makarov for a moment.

"Pretend I didn't just say that."

Makarov hung his head in shame.

"Fairy Tail Guild Master Makarov Dreyar, listen well..."

"Your guild performed admirably during this year's tournament!"

"Henceforth, the following mages: Erza Belserion, Laxus Dreyar, Eresh Belserion, Mirajane Strauss, and Ultear Milkovich, are all crowned the new Champions of Flau Grand Arena! Each will receive fifty million J! And once the arena is rebuilt, statues of all five of them will replace the old ones."

Toma spoke loudly to Makarov.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Hearing this, Makarov directly burst into tears - Old Toma was practically his brother from different parents!

"You've got your money and your fame now."

"From now on, unless necessary, please don't come to the capital. My heart can't take it."

Toma placed the crown back on his head, waved at Makarov to dismiss him, feeling utterly exhausted.

Inside, Toma felt completely helpless.

Seriously, did they take down his entire Kingdom of Fiore for just a couple of hundred million J?!