Chapter 288: The Secret Only the Guild Master Knows (Third Update)

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"Laxus! Laxus!"

The Thunder God Tribe rushed forward in a panic upon seeing Laxus lying motionless on the ground, his body severely burned and unconscious.

Makarov and the other Fairy Tail wizards also ran over, their faces filled with worry.

After all, Laxus was Makarov's grandson. Even though Makarov was furious at his recklessness and disobedience, he still loved him deeply.

The other Fairy Tail wizards also saw Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe as their companions. A harsh lesson was one thing—after all, they fought among themselves in the guild all the time—but they had never wanted him to actually die.

"Don't worry, I'll heal him."

George descended from the air, instantly easing everyone's tension.

They knew George possessed long-lost healing magic, so Laxus wouldn't die from his injuries.

George extended a cat paw and pressed it against Laxus's forehead, preparing to cast a healing spell. However, he suddenly noticed something. His eyes flickered, and he deliberately put on a shocked expression.

"This is bad! I think I went a little overboard just now. His internal organs have been completely burned... I'm afraid..."

"What?!"

Upon hearing George's words, everyone's expressions changed drastically.

Makarov's eyes reddened instantly. Tears welled up as he cradled Laxus's head.

"Laxus, hang in there! Grandpa won't let you die! I'll take you to see Grandma Polyushka—she can definitely save you!

It's all my fault. I shouldn't have kept the truth about your father from you... I should have told you sooner. It's because of me that this happened to you..."

The eyes of the other Fairy Tail wizards also turned red with emotion.

Just then, George's wand suddenly emitted a blue light, and Laxus's burns began to heal rapidly before their very eyes.

"I was just kidding. His injuries aren't that serious."

It turned out that when George pressed his cat paw against Laxus's forehead, he noticed that Laxus was actually conscious. He wasn't opening his eyes—not because he was physically unable to, but because he had been defeated by George. The collapse of his long-held beliefs had left him unable to face reality.

So George put on this act to make Laxus truly see how much Makarov and everyone else cared about him.

"Grandpa… I was wrong!"

At that moment, Laxus finally opened his eyes. They were red and glistening with tears.

"You brat…"

Seeing Laxus awake, Makarov's tears fell even harder.

Meanwhile, Mirajane flew into the air again, holding a magic microphone as she announced:

"The champion of this competition, and Fairy Tail's next Guild Master, is none other than... Cat George!"

The residents of the coastal town erupted into cheers, their enthusiasm overwhelming.

The battle had been truly spectacular, especially that final all-consuming blaze of magic. It had made them realize just how powerful Fairy Tail's wizards truly were.

Many local children, as well as those brought here by their parents from far away to watch the tournament, had a seed planted in their hearts at this very moment—a dream of becoming a wizard in the future, of joining a powerful magic guild like Fairy Tail.

With a wave of his hand, George restored the island, which had been shattered by the battle, to its original state.

With the champion decided, it was now time to determine the runner-up and third-place winner.

However, to George's surprise, according to the competition rules, the runner-up turned out to be Lucy.

Since Erza had exhausted her magic power and was severely injured during her battle with Laxus, she was unable to continue competing for second or third place. This allowed Lucy to advance directly into the top three.

And after his match with George, Laxus no longer had the strength to fight Lucy—nor did he want to continue fighting his guildmates.

As a result, Lucy won second place by default.

Thus, the final standings were: George as the champion, Lucy as the runner-up, and Laxus in third place.

"This girl… could she actually be the real protagonist of this world?"

Back at the guild, George couldn't help but stroke his beard as he watched Lucy bouncing around happily after receiving the top prize—200,000 jewels.

He knew that every world had a protagonist, and protagonists always had absurdly good luck.

Previously, George had thought that the true protagonist of this world might be Natsu, Gray, Erza, or Laxus. But now, he was beginning to feel that Lucy was the more likely candidate.

 "There Are Two Announcements"

After finishing his talk with Laxus, Makarov descended from the upper floor and addressed everyone in the guild hall:

"First, George is preparing to take on a 100-Year Quest. Once he returns from completing it, he will officially assume the position of Guild Master, allowing me to finally retire."

"The 100-Year Quest? The same one Gildarts accepted three years ago—the one no one has ever completed?"

Hearing this, the wizards of Fairy Tail immediately broke into discussion.

However, they weren't particularly worried about George. After all, he had just defeated Laxus with overwhelming power during the tournament, and he hadn't even needed to use his Giant Magic, which he had previously used to defeat Freed.

Although the 100-Year Quest remained unconquered, they had confidence in George.

"Second," Makarov continued, his expression turning somber, "due to Laxus's attempt to use the Thunder Palace to attack both the town and his own guildmates, I am expelling him from Fairy Tail as Guild Master."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Laxus lowered his head, clearly having accepted his fate.

"What? Master, isn't that too much?"

"Laxus was just messing around! He didn't really mean it."

"Banishment is too severe!"

The guild members pleaded on Laxus's behalf, but Makarov's mind was made up.

At that moment, George spoke up.

"Well, since Master has already made his decision, we should respect it.

But don't worry—when I return from the 100-Year Quest and become Guild Master, my first act will be to reinstate Laxus as a member of Fairy Tail."

Laxus had already reached the strength of the Ten Wizard Saints. A mage of his caliber would not be truly cast out of the guild under George's watch.

"At that time, you'll be the Guild Master, so the decision will be yours," Makarov said, looking at George with a mix of helplessness and gratitude.

Deep down, he didn't want to expel Laxus either, but as Guild Master, it was a decision he had to make. Yet George had found a way to balance both duty and sentiment.

Laxus suddenly looked up at George, his voice low as he muttered,

"…Thank you."

With that, the mood in the guild lightened once more, and the festivities resumed.

"Start preparing for tonight's Grand Magic Parade. George, come with me to the basement," Makarov instructed with a wave of his hand before leading George downstairs.

"If you're going to be the next Guild Master, then it's time for you to learn the secrets that only the Master is allowed to know."

"This must be where the Three Great Fairy Magics are kept," George thought to himself as they approached a massive, sealed door in the basement.

He had suspected for years that whatever lay behind this powerful seal had to be the strongest magic in Fairy Tail's history.

(End of Chapter)