"Are you going to stay like this for long?"

Simply sitting on a rock, right in front of the revolutionary army's medical base, Gajeel looked up to see his exceed advancing towards him.

"What do you want from me, Lily?"

"You've been sitting on that rock for two days now! Are you finally going to tell me what's happening to you?"

Suddenly running his hand over his newly healed neck wound, the mage confessed.

"I just wonder if we're really of any use here."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Spear died because we couldn't save her in time! I was useless during our fight against Run! Esdeath defeated everyone, even Natsu! And we lost Susanoo because he decided to sacrifice himself to save us all! Honestly, I wonder what good we've been up until now."

Suddenly growing in size, Lily took his warrior form and threw a punch at him in the face. Surprised by this, Gajeel fell backwards, his nose bleeding.

"AHHHHHHH! Are you crazy, stupid cat? "

"Did that clear your head?" Lily asked. "What's with you being so pessimistic? Since when does the guy I know start to feel down? Don't make me laugh! Are you saying you've been useless so far? You idiot! If you hadn't been there, who could have gotten Mine and Scheele back in time when they were attacked? Who would have saved Bulat from Liver's poison? Who would have allowed Spear to fight with us?"

"Tsss! So what? Scheele is still in a coma! Bulat lost his leg! And Spear… I don't even want to continue my sentence."

"Grrrr!" Lily said. "Yes, Spear is dead! But she died the way she wanted to! She died fighting the true evil of the empire! Besides, isn't it better to have one person in a coma and a one-legged person than two more dead? Scheele can still wake up and one leg less won't stop Bulat from fighting alongside us again."

Simply sighing, Gajeel eventually let himself fall onto his back, while affirming.

"Ignore me and let me sleep so I can."

"Gajeel! I don't know why, but I know perfectly well that you've been feeling down since Spear died! It's not just because you liked her so much! For some reason, I have the impression that you think you're responsible for her death! Why?"

"Because that idiot wanted to impress me." The mage roared. "Because she wanted to show me how strong she was! Because she wanted me to congratulate her! That's why she always ran headlong towards the enemy and ended up dying."

"In that case, why are you reacting like this? It's not your fault! You weren't the one who asked her to behave like this! It was just Spear's way of showing her gratitude towards you and Night Raid! You…"

"I told you to leave me alone," Gajeel reminded him, pretending to fall asleep. "Go away."

Yet, as Lily finally decided to give up, a shadow covered Gajeel's face. Opening his eyes, the mage saw Chelsea standing behind him, watching him.

"What do you want, shrimpy?"

"Nothing." Chelsea said, seeming to ignore the insult. "Just watching you."

"In that case, go observe someone else." He ordered. "Why did you all decide to bother me? I just want to be alone."

"Gajeel, since Spear died, you've been putting way too much pressure on yourself for no reason." Chelsea said. "Okay, two of our people are dead, but thinking pessimistically won't change that."

Listening to him, Gajeel ended up sighing, before staring at the sky.

"It's not just that! It's just that our opponents remind me a little of the man I used to be! Before I joined Fairy Tail, all I thought about was hurting people! I would snicker whenever I hurt someone! To put it simply, I looked more like a beast than anything else! Back then, to kill someone I didn't like, I would have used any method, as horrible as it was dishonest! As a result, I keep telling myself that the empire would do the same thing! Will they succeed in carrying out a form of blackmail to capture us? Or sow discord between us? Hire an entire group of hitmen? That worries me."

Smiling at that moment, Chelsea crouched down next to him, before asking him.

"Oh? Would Gajeel worry about us? I didn't know you had such a big heart inside you! I could almost fall in love with you."

Growling immediately, Gajeel retorted.

"Don't get any ideas! I just don't want to become as useless as I was the other night! I hate appearing weak in front of the enemy."

Then, suddenly, turning his head to the side, he muttered.

"By the way, …thanks for protecting me from Run."

"Huh?" Chelsea said, pretending not to hear. "Did you say something? Could you speak up?"

"Go die!" Gajeel growled.

Exploding at that moment, part of a wall of the base was left with a huge hole. Taking advantage of the opening, Tatsumi and Natsu exited the building, while trying to hit each other.

"I'm going to hit you."

"Try! I'm not afraid of you."

"What…?" Gajeel and the others wondered, seeing the two comrades fighting.

" FIRE DRAGON'S FIST ! "

"AHHHHHH!"

Sending his fist into his opponent's face, both fighters stepped back simultaneously, before creating two trails on the ground, with their feet, to stop their run.

Having no armor to protect his face, Natsu was the first to feel a wound open on his forehead.

"Tsss! I don't know why we're fighting, but I have to admit that you've made some progress! I feel like you've finally learned how to hurt with your fists."

"Don't make me laugh." Tatsumi roared. "It's obvious that I've been training to improve! However, I know that you're making fun of me! You're not fighting me with your true power at all."

"Why should I fight at my full potential?" Natsu questioned. "At my full power, you are unable to face me."

"Don't underestimate me." Tatsumi retorted, pointing his sword at Natsu. "I'm not the kid I used to be! The one who was amazed by any of your feats! I too have become a true Night Raid assassin! I refuse to let you underestimate me, please, during this fight."

Seeing him running towards him, Natsu cried out.

"You wanted it! But don't come complaining after that."

With a movement of his hips, he sent his burning foot into Tatsumi's face.

" FIRE DRAGON'S CLAW ! "

Stopped dead in his tracks, Tatsumi felt himself take a step back, while his nose was crushed by the heel of his explosion. But regaining his balance in time, he sent a powerful punch into Natsu's stomach. Because of his injuries, the magician let out a groan of pain, being hit. Immediately, his bandages around his abdomen became red, showing that his wounds were opening.

But that didn't stop him from clasping his hands above his head, before lowering them with all his strength on Tatsumi's skull. Despite the helmet he was wearing, the boy felt like he felt a rock crashing into his skull, while Natsu's attack forced him to crash to the ground. Making him fall, Natsu then puffed up his cheeks to deliver the final blow.

" FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR ! "

Yet, managing to jump back, Tatsumi dodged the column of flames. Then, finding himself next to Natsu, he closed his fist again to hit him in the face.

Yet, surprising him, Natsu ducked, letting his opponent's arm pass over his head.

" What ? " S'étonna Tatsumi.

The next second, Natsu lifted his leg and let his foot violently strike his opponent's chin. Spitting blood through his helmet, Tatsumi felt his feet leave the ground, before flying towards the sky.

" ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH ! "

A few seconds later, Tatsumi finally crashed to the ground. Falling on his back, he felt Incursio disappear, signaling the end of their fight.

"It's over." Natsu affirmed.

Yet, letting out a war cry while pointing his weapon at the ground, Tatsumi used Incursion as support to get up.

"This... This is not over. "

"Huh? Why are you so keen on fighting me?"

"To show you how weak I am against you." Tatsumi roared. "Yes, even if I'm ashamed to admit it, I could never win against you! And yet... yet... yet I continue to advance and fight! Natsu, you dare to claim to be weak? Nonsense! Every time I see you fight, I always tell myself one thing: if there is someone who can allow us to win this battle, it's you! If Susanoo sacrificed himself, it's for exactly this reason! Just like me, he knew that you were the one who could defeat Esdeath."

Then pointing his teigu at Natsu, he stated.

"Natsu, I know you're going to die soon but... please, keep bringing us that hope! The hope that allows us to keep moving forward! If you give up, it's Night Raid that is doomed to disappear! Without you, who knows how long Night Raid could survive? Who knows if we'll have any chance of defeating Esdeath? Natsu, we're all counting on you and none of us will blame you for anything you do."

Suddenly dizzy, the boy fell forward, due to his pain. Catching him immediately, Natsu let his friend's head rest on his shoulder, while affirming.

"Don't worry! I'm a man of my word! I'll keep fighting by your side, until we win. "

Hearing him, while staying in their places, Chelsea and Lily nodded, before turning to Gajeel. The latter, pretending not to have heard or seen anything, had his gaze turned to the side. Then, finally, knowing that he was being observed, he sighed.

"Yeah! Yeah! I'll keep fighting alongside you too! Either way, I have revenge to take."

Chuckling at hearing this, Chelsea moved closer to him before stating.

"You know, you're kind of cute when you pretend to be a bad boy."

Then, removing her lollipop from her mouth, she gave Gajeel a little kiss on the cheek. Jumping up immediately, while the girl left giggling, the man said a set of incomprehensible words.

"I didn't realize you had such an effect on the ladies." Lily said ironically, with a small smile. "First Spear and now Chelsea."

"You, shut up!" Gajeel growled, walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"Train."

"I hurt everywhere!" Wendy complained, as she headed towards her room.

With her clothes in tatters, the poor child felt like her entire body was hurting, even though she had been training alongside Esdeath. Having given her no favors, Esdeath had used her body as a punching bag, while Wendy had had the greatest difficulty counterattacking.

"The more I stay with her, the more I feel like she's as strong as Erza."

" Bonjour, Wendy. "

Turning around, the girl saw Emperor Makoto right behind her, walking forward while smiling at her.

" Empereur ? "

"I heard that Esdeath took you back to her team." The child stated. "So you're back among the Jaegers, right?"

"Yes!" Wendy affirmed, rubbing her arm. "Nevertheless, she decided to train me even harder than before! Besides, I have to go! I'm late for my patrol shift."

But as she made to leave, the emperor stopped her.

"Huh, can I talk to you?"

"Hmm?" Wendy asked in surprise. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

" Is he starting to get suspicious about me? Maybe I shouldn't have talked to him the other day. "

"I would like to have your opinion on the state of the empire." The boy confessed, with a slightly embarrassed face. "I… I feel like nothing is going as planned."

" What do you mean ? "

"Truth be told... since you spoke to me the other day, I've done a lot of research on the empire's situation and... I've found out that it's much worse than I thought! Our country's economy is in ruins and dozens of villages are revolting against us because they have nothing to eat! Our army is huge and costs us a lot of money but... I don't feel like we need to conquer new territories when we can't even manage the ones we already have."

Looking at Wendy, Makoto asked her.

"Tell me, what do you think I should do?"

"You don't ask your prime minister's opinion?" Wendy wondered.

"I already did and he told me I was imagining things." Makoto confessed. "But, I feel like he's just trying to comfort me and hide the truth from me! He's the only one telling me something completely different from the reports I've been getting from the other ministers! And… I don't know who to believe anymore."

Immediately, astonishment was seen in Wendy's eyes. In all honesty, she had never really thought that her little discussion with the child could have succeeded in shaking his trust in the Prime Minister. And so this was not the time to lose the trust that the Emperor was beginning to show for her.

"In that case, I guess I can give you some of my time," Wendy assured him. "Go ahead, tell me everything! How can I help you?"

Immediately showing a radiant smile, Makoto turned towards the meeting room, where he had left a whole set of papers.

"Actually, there are many things I don't really understand! I don't have a lot of knowledge about economics and army management... and I'm ashamed to tell my ministers! There are terms I would like someone to explain to me, like the consequences of inflation... the factors that must be brought together to change taxes... the active armistice..."

"I… I'll do my best to explain it to you." Wendy stated, even though she wasn't exactly any better informed than him in such matters.

" I'll have to ask Lubbock to supply me with some books on this subject. "

As they left, the two children didn't see a figure watching them, hidden behind a wall, while she ate a piece of meat.

"That kid!" Honest roared, glaring at Wendy while looking displeased. "She's back."

"What does that mean?" Honest roared, slamming both his hands on a table. "I thought we had a deal."

Seeming to be doodling in a small notebook, Esdeath barely spared Honest a glance, before asking him.

"What's your problem?"

"Don't be stupid! Why the hell did you decide to bring this kid back into your team?"

"Wendy? The answer is simple! We still haven't fought! That's all!"

"Are you kidding me? You had to get rid of her! She left of her own accord, so why didn't you report her as a deserter to be killed as soon as possible? Why did you take her back into your team? Couldn't you just fight her as soon as you found her and kill her right after? I thought you hated cowards."

"I don't like killing my men! Therefore, I have to give her a chance to fight me with all her power and not when she was injured! Besides, Wendy saved one of my team members! Having her back by my side is my way of thanking her."

"And do you seriously think I care about this? Right now, the Emperor is being corrupted by her pure mind."

"And it might be the best thing that ever happened to him." Esdeath sneered. "It's actually quite ironic that you would even dare to say that."

Suddenly standing up, she declared.

"This discussion has been very nice, but I must prepare myself! I have been asked to go fight the Western invasion."

"Esdeath…" Honest said, watching her leave. "You're not immortal."

"Huh?" The young woman said, turning to him. "What do you mean?"

"Your last fight against Night Raid was tough, wasn't it? The burns that still cover your skin are proof of that! All you want is to fight against powerful enemies, right? But at the rate things are going, this mania of yours will end up turning against you! By making enemies, you could get yourself killed! You have been warned."

Immediately, the tip of Esdeath's sword pricked his throat, as the young woman was now right in front of him.

"I'm going to warn you about something too! You may think you're my leader, but know that I won't have any mercy in killing you if you cross the line! Indeed, I only live for war, but I've never sworn loyalty to a particular empire! So, if you don't want me to suddenly join the opposing army and help them crush you, I advise you to hold your tongue! As for Wendy, I'll do whatever I want with her! If I want her to die, she'll die! And if I want her to stay by my side, you're not the one who'll stop that."

Seeing Honest no longer move a muscle, Esdeath finally put her weapon away before turning around and leaving the room.

"That bitch…" Honest roared, clenching his fists. "How dare she?"

Honest didn't understand the situation. First Makoto was starting to have doubts about his loyalty and now Esdeath was starting to rebel against him. Ever since Wendy had joined the military, Honest felt like his control over the empire was slowly diminishing. And if this continued, he felt compelled to personally intervene.