Ken was about to leave the guild to find Laxus when suddenly, he was stopped again by Erza.
"Ken, come here."
"Hm?"
Ken's heart skipped a beat.
Erza was squatting beside her stone sculpture, gently stroking it with her jade-like hand, carefully examining it. But with every glance she made at a particular part of the statue, Ken's anxiety only grew.
"This stone sculpture of mine doesn't feel right..."
"Is there... is there something wrong?" Ken stammered, his throat dry.
Ken swallowed nervously, taking a few steps back instead of stepping forward. His eyes darted away quickly, unwilling to meet Erza's gaze.
But his unnatural behavior didn't go unnoticed. The other girls gathered around Erza, curiosity written across their faces.
"Eh? Why are you so nervous? Is there really something wrong with this stone sculpture?" one of the girls asked.
"It sounds like there's a part that's bigger than the others. Is Erza... that big?" another chimed in.
"What? This is too obvious! It's definitely bigger than Erza's!" a third voice exclaimed.
"The skirt looks shorter too..."
"Ken wouldn't have added some private details when he was ordering these statues, right? Remember the pictures in the magazine? He was holding Erza out of the Tower of Paradise..."
The six girls turned their eyes to Ken in unison, all of them wearing identical expressions of suspicion.
It seemed they had uncovered some secret...?
Ken's face flushed with embarrassment, but when his eyes flicked back to Erza, her gaze was still fixed on the stone sculpture. Her unreadable expression only made him feel even more invisible and the pressure weighing on him more immense.
"Now's not the time to talk about this... After the battle... after everything is over..." Ken stammered, trying to deflect.
Halfway through his words, the wings of his storm dragon magic suddenly flared out from his back. Without waiting for another moment, he rushed to the door of the hall, leaving the guild in a hurry.
Only then did Erza slowly rise to her feet.
"Master, I think the craftsmanship of this stone sculpture is excellent. May I take it back to my apartment?" she asked.
Makarov paused, a little surprised.
So she had just been admiring the sculpture...?
Ken, however, had other things on his mind and quickly found his irritation growing.
Typical Erza. But wait, did she just say she wanted to take the statue back?
Makarov, ever the opportunist, grinned and stretched out five fingers.
"No problem, that will cost 500,000 J!" he said with a wink.
"Um??"
Erza's expression froze, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Makarov, a dark cloud seemingly gathering over her face.
Makarov immediately broke into a cold sweat, realizing the mistake he had just made.
Perhaps, this time, he had gone a little too far...
Elsewhere, not long after Ken left the guild, he noticed a man in purple armor wearing a helmet and an eye patch crouching atop a roof in front of him.
It seemed like the man had been waiting for Ken's arrival.
"Gray has been defeated by me. I believe your end will be no better than his," the man sneered.
Ken frowned.
"Bickslow?" he muttered.
Just like Evergreen, this person was also part of the Thunder Gods.
But what surprised Ken was that, while the three Thunder Gods had been unable to defeat him before when they attacked together, Bigusro had now positioned himself alone to block Ken's path.
Looking up at the large clock on the church tower, it had only been 20 minutes since the civil war began.
"Forget it, I'll play with him for a bit," Ken thought, a deep breath filling his lungs as he prepared to face his opponent.
Ken's magical power surged.
Bickslow's expression grew serious as he felt the overwhelming energy emanating from Ken. He knew the disparity in their strength all too well.
Originally, Bickslow had been assigned to intercept other guild members near the south of the city according to Freed's plan. But, worried that Ken might prove to be a threat to Laxus, he had decided to intercept Ken instead.
"Even if he's severely injured, I must still drain his magic to wear him down for Laxus!" Bigusro thought with determination.
Clenching his fist, he summoned six magic dolls with a flick of his wrist.
"Linear Formation... Slash!"
"Dragon Cave Shield!" Ken responded instantly, raising his hand to conjure a massive brown stone shield.
The sharp slashes of the dolls only managed to scrape off a layer of stone chips from the shield.
"Light Kill Cannon... Penetrate!" Bigusro shouted, launching a powerful magic blast.
But Ken, no longer relying on the shield, transformed. Flames swirled around him, and a faint fire began to burn from his fingertips.
"Roar of the Fire Dragon!" Ken roared as he inhaled deeply, unleashing a torrent of flames.
The flames engulfed the light-killing cannon, incinerating not only the magic blast but also the six wooden dolls.
Bigusro's face remained stoic, his eyes betraying no panic despite the destruction of his weapons. He quickly turned and ran toward an alley.
"I have enough magic to turn more objects into dolls. I just need to stall him a little longer and find new materials..." he muttered to himself.
But Ken was faster. He turned into lightning and pursued Bigusro instantly.
In a dark alley, Bigusro spotted discarded dolls in a trash can, and a flicker of hope sparked in his heart.
However, he soon felt the energy behind him shift violently.
"Thunder magic!?" he gasped.
He turned around in horror, only to find Ken already standing before him, raising his fists.
"Jaws of the Brontosaurus!" Ken shouted, his fists crackling with electricity.
Thunder roared in his ears as Ken's fists landed on Bickslow. The blow sent him tumbling, his body completely paralyzed and uncontrollable. He rolled on the ground several times before finally coming to a stop.
The dust settled.
Bickslow was lying in the shape of a large "X" on the road, staring blankly at the sky.
It was then that Bickslow understood why Laxus, usually so arrogant, had shown such strong fear of this newcomer.
"An eight-element Dragon Slayer... There's no way. The difference in strength is too great," Bickslow thought, his mind reeling.
"Still, a failure after all... Laxus, be careful..." he silently prayed.
After a few moments, Bickslow began to regain control of his body, the effects of the paralysis slowly fading.
Looking at the part of his body where Ken had struck him, there was no visible damage, and he felt no more pain.
"So, it was just the effect of powerful magic and paralysis. I thought I was seriously injured," he muttered, now fully aware of his situation.
He turned his head to look at Ken, who was already leaving.
After a long pause, Bickslow managed to utter a few words between clenched teeth.
"Why...?"
Ken's voice echoed from the distance, the words ringing clearly:
"You have the Fairy Tail guild crest on your tongue. I won't be cruel to my own companions. But, you're out of this game now."
As the words hung in the air, Bickslow, defeated, took out a magic tool from his waist and activated it.
Brilliant magical fireworks soared into the sky.
Ken paid no mind. His focus had already shifted as he sensed a magical fluctuation coming from the southern suburbs.
"There seems to be someone fighting over there? It's still early, anyway. Let's go over and start another fight..." he mused as he headed in that direction.
Next Chapter: Awakening of the Demon