115. Anima

Anima, a device made and used by Edolas to steal magic power from Earthland because Edolas doesn't have as much magic power as Earthland. So they steal it and they are getting greedier by the day.

Mystogan, a.k.a Edolas Jellal has been traveling Earthland to close the Anima even though he is the prince of Edolas and the one who uses the Anima is his own father. He opposes the usage of Anima and has been closing it each time it appears on Earthland.

But it's too much for 1 person to do it alone and eventually he'll reach his limit. Fortunately for him, Alex offers a hand to solve this problem once and for all. He doesn't know how Alex knows about Anima, but this is the best chance he can get.

Well, Alex's plan is basically the same as what is shown in the series. That is to reverse the Anima and send all the magic power from Edolas to Earthland instead, completely emptying the magic power of Edolas.

Mystogan didn't agree at first because even he doesn't know what will happen if Edolas loses its magic power. He was forced to do it in the series because it was the only choice he had at the time to stop the escalating conflict.

But now, he hasn't thought of doing that yet, so he is not sure about it. He finally agrees after Alex explains that losing magic power won't destroy Edolas. They still can develop their world even without magic power.

Alex gives an easy example by using the lives on Earthland. Not everyone can use magic here and not everything needs magic power. That means magic power isn't the most essential thing in people's lives.

"Magic power is just energy, a source of power. I'm sure humans can develop technologies even without magic power. We have other sources of energy, after all. The example is oil. Normal people use oil for many things and maybe we can use it for more complicated things. We just never tried because we have magic power that is more available than oil and is easier to process."

Using oil or other energy sources is a strange concept for people in this world, but not for Alex who has knowledge from Earth. There's no magic power on Earth, yet they still can use other energy sources to thrive.

So before the giant Anima that will suck Magnolia appears, Alex often talks with Mystogan about their strategy and the plan for Edolas after the plan succeeds. He doesn't want to help half-heartedly, so Alex even helps with the aftermath plan.

Then finally after some weeks of waiting, the giant Anima will finally appear. Laxus's naughty event didn't happen, so Laxus isn't expelled from the Guild. Alex tried to make Laxus stay in Magnolia for when this Anima appears and he succeeds.

The reason he wants Laxus to be there for this is because the Anima doesn't affect Dragon Slayers. Only Dragon Slayers aren't turned into lacrima crystals by the Anima. Maybe it only happens to 1st generation Dragon Slayers like Natsu, but there is still a high chance that Laxus won't be turned either.

With Laxus there, it will be easier to defeat the enemies. Furthermore, Alex isn't sure that the enemies will still have the same power as shown in the series. They might be stronger, so having Laxus there will be more helpful for a worse scenario.

Too bad though, Alex can't participate in the plan he makes. It's because he isn't a Dragon Slayer and will be turned into a lacrima crystal along with other people. That's why the plan he makes with Mystogan doesn't involve himself.

Anyway, in the series, Gildarts returns a while before Edolas Arc happens. But even until Mystogan detects that the Anima will appear soon, Gildarts still hasn't returned. Alex hopes that it's just a little change in timing and not because that old guy is dead.

But for now, he needs to focus on the Anima and Edolas. There's nothing he can do about Gildarts other than wait. So he better focus on what he can do. Besides, this involves more people's lives, so this is more important in Alex's opinion.

A while before the Anima appears, Alex can feel the magic power in the atmosphere become turbulent. He quickly gets out of the town and looks at the sky. There, he sees a hole that is sucking all the magic power in the atmosphere and soon the whole Magnolia is sucked.

Alex quickly transforms into the humanoid Chomei form and flies into the hole. He knows he'll be turned into a lacrima crystal too, but if he enters at a different time than the town, the lacrima crystal that he transforms into will be separated from the town.

But he also can't wait for too long before entering the Anima or he'll be separated too far from the town, just like how Natsu and Wendy arrived at a very far location from the crystalized Magnolia. Alex needs to arrive closer to Magnolia so he'll be found easier.

The plan is to use the Dragon Slayer's Magic to free Alex as soon as possible so he can help them. So Mystogan needs to find the Dragon Slayers as soon as possible to do that, but of course, they have other plans to anticipate if it doesn't go well and they can't free Alex.

When the Anima sucks the whole Magnolia, the Dragon Slayers are also pulled into the Anima. They are gathering in the same location when that happens because Alex gathered them. They don't know why he calls them, so they are waiting for him when the town is suddenly sucked into the sky.

"W-WHAT?! WHAT HAPPEN?"

They are panicking because everything around them suddenly gets warped and turned into light. Everyone other than them, Happy, and Carla is also turning into lights. They try to call the others, but no one is responding and Carla is crying because she thinks that it's her fault.

Mystogan suddenly appears there and wraps them together with a long rope while telling them to calm down. They quickly hold onto the rope as they get sucked into the Anima and get transferred to Edolas.

The Dragon Slayer group appears on a floating island while the whole town that gets turned into lacrima crystal is nowhere to be found. Alex too, of course. There are only them there, not knowing where they are.

"W-what happened? Where's this? Where's everyone?" Wendy asks in panic.

"Calm down, Wendy! You need to calm down first. Panicking won't help." Mystogan quickly grabs Wendy's shoulders to calm her and it works because she is close to him now.

Everyone looks around and still can't understand the situation, until Laxus asks Mystogan something.

"Your reactions from earlier, it's like you know what happened and where we are, aren't you, Mystogan?"

"That's right. I will explain everything to you, but before that, let's change location. This doesn't seem like a safe place to talk." Mystogan uses his Magic Wands to create a magic platform for everyone to ride.

They get on it and he takes them away from the floating island. He takes them into a forest and hides among big trees. After making sure that the place is safe, e starts explaining everything that he needs to reveal.

"Alright, I'll explain everything. But first, Carla, I need to tell you that this is not your fault. Whatever you are thinking about right now, don't believe it. You can find out the truth later, but for now, you need to know that you don't cause this, so calm yourself."

"E-eh? W-what...." Carla is flustered and doesn't know what to say.

"First of all, this is not Earthland. This is another dimension, or as Alex called it, a parallel universe of Earthland, Edolas." Mystogan starts his explanation.

"Wait! Alex knows this?" Laxus asks while frowning.

"He predicted this would happen, so he made a plan with me. Well, just listen for now. Everything will be cleared once I tell you everything."

They finally stop talking and Mystogan starts to explain everything they need to know. He explains about Edolas, Anima, his mission to close all the Anima portals that appear on Earthland, and also the plan he made with Alex.

Everything he says is surely shocking to them who obviously can't just believe that this is a different universe where another version of themselves exists.

Well, Wendy can believe it because she already knows Mystogan's real identity and Laxus also believes it a little because he knows Mystogan's real appearance already.

But both Gajeel and Natsu still don't understand anything even when Mystogan opens his mask. It's because they don't know Earthland Jellal, the Guild Master of Heaven's Runner, so they can't see why Mystogan's face can be proof.

However, they start to believe they are in a different universe when Mystogan tells them they can't use their magic normally here and they try it. They are really shocked when they find out they can't use their magic even though they don't feel anything wrong with their bodies.

"The problem isn't your bodies, it's the low concentration of magic power in this world."

Suddenly, one of Mystogan's wands' lacrima crystal glows. He looks at it and seems to receive something he has been waiting for.

"If that's not enough proof. Let me show you something that can't be denied."

Mystogan takes them somewhere to make them believe everything he says. He needs their cooperation for the plan, after all, so they need to know everything and the thing he'll show them will surely be undeniable proof.

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Ch. 165. Revival (+ An AI generated picture of Isobu humanoid form design)