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"Who dares trespass in the royal palace?! What kind of creature are you?!"
A white knight clad in silver armor, leading a group of armed soldiers, quickly surrounded George. But as soon as the knight got a clear look at him, his expression changed dramatically.
"It's you!"
George—the Fairy Tail lead mage who singlehandedly defeated the mages of five guilds during the day—had already been classified by the kingdom's intelligence department as possessing power equivalent to the Ten Wizard Saints. How could the knight not recognize him?
"Good evening. And you are?"
George didn't attack. Instead, he raised a paw and waved with a smile.
The white knight paused for three seconds, then smiled as well.
"I am Arcadios, commander of the Sakura Holy Knights, tasked with guarding the safety of the royal palace. Mr. George, might I ask what business you have sneaking into the palace?
If there is none, I must ask you to leave immediately. This area is not open to outsiders."
If it had been any other mage who barged into the palace basement and saw the Eclipse Gate, Arcadios would have immediately arrested and thrown them into prison. The Eclipse Gate Project was the kingdom's top-secret plan—absolutely forbidden to leak.
However, the creature before him was a cat with the power of a Wizard Saint. Unless absolutely necessary, Arcadios had no desire to initiate a conflict.
Besides, there was no guarantee the cat truly understood what the Eclipse Gate was or what it could do.
"That won't do. I already noticed something suspicious during the tournament earlier. Something here in the palace was absorbing the magic released during our battles. I didn't expect it to be a gate."
George raised his paw and pointed at the massive door.
"I think I have the right to know what the real purpose of this Grand Magic Games is, don't you?"
He added with a smile, "Of course, if you refuse to explain, I'll make everything that's happening here public. I'm sure by tomorrow, the palace will be surrounded by curious mages demanding answers."
At this point, it was clear: the royal family had been using the Grand Magic Games as a cover for some conspiracy, and George had caught them red-handed. He had nothing to fear. It was the royal family who should be afraid now.
"Well, since you've already found out… there's no other way."
Arcadios waved his hand.
"Capture him!"
The kingdom soldiers immediately dropped their weapons and rushed toward George.
George raised an eyebrow.
"You think ordinary soldiers can capture me?"
"I had hoped to avoid trouble," Arcadios said calmly. "After all, if you're missing from tomorrow's tournament, it'll cause quite the stir. If you had just walked away and acted like you saw nothing, this could've ended quietly.
But since you discovered the Eclipse Gate is absorbing magic, I'm afraid I'll have to detain you.
As for whether we can capture you—well, I advise you not to use magic."
Arcadios smiled with confidence.
The Eclipse System, centered on the Eclipse Gate, was designed to absorb the magic released by every mage in the city. Near the gate, its absorption effect was even stronger.
Any mage who used magic near the Eclipse Gate would have their magical energy forcibly drained, leaving them completely powerless.
George might have the strength of a Wizard Saint, but if he couldn't use magic, he was just an ordinary cat.
"Oh, so this gate is your trump card?" George scoffed. "You really think I could sense its energy absorption all the way from the arena but not notice it up close?"
Hearing Arcadios's explanation, George simply shook his head.
As a master alchemist, he had already discovered the gate's properties while studying it just moments earlier.
Arcadios's trump card might have worked against other mages—but not against George.
First of all, his body housed the bloodline of a true sorcerer, capable of generating magic endlessly. Even if he let the Eclipse Gate drain his magic freely, it would never run out.
Secondly, he had trained in the Art of Meditation, giving him exceptional control over his magical energy—enough to completely suppress any leakage and prevent it from being absorbed by the Eclipse Gate.
Finally, even if all his magic were drained, he still possessed superpowers: the electricity of a Level 5.5 Misaka Mikoto, the magnetism of a top-tier Level 3 Magneto, and powerful psychic abilities at Level 3.
Even if none of that were taken into account, his current physical abilities alone were more than enough to decimate the entire squad of royal guards.
Just imagine—the combined strength of countless clones condensed into a body no bigger than a kitten's paw. The physical might of that small feline would be nothing short of terrifying.
It was like how a human can crush an ant with a single step, while an ant can carry objects 400 times its body weight. Now imagine that ant possessed the strength of a human—killing someone would be even easier for it than a person squashing an ant.
"One, two, three…"
George didn't use any magic or abilities. Relying solely on his physical speed, he leapt from shoulder to shoulder among the royal guards—so fast that only faint blurs could be seen.
Each time he jumped, he gave the back of a soldier's head a casual flick with his tail.
By the time he had bounced across all of them, every royal guard had collapsed, unconscious on the ground.
"Even without magic, I can crush you all just the same."
"…Looks like I'll have to handle this personally."
Arcadios drew his longsword and pointed it at George.
He hadn't expected that even without using magic, George could display such overwhelming power.
Still, as the captain of the Sakura Holy Knights, Arcadios wasn't someone to be taken lightly. His swordsmanship ranked among the very best in the kingdom. Even without magical enhancements, he believed he had a fighting chance.
"Oh, I forgot to mention—if I don't want that gate to absorb my magic, it won't. Which means I can still use magic."
George unfolded a pair of wings from his back and flew directly in front of Arcadios.
Arcadios's expression changed immediately. With a swift motion, he sheathed his sword and spoke seriously:
"Actually, I don't think there's any need to fight. Why don't we sit down and talk this over?"
What a joke. Trying to take on a Wizard Saint with just swordsmanship? He'd have to be insane to believe he could win.
Come to think of it, he should've realized earlier—if George was able to use invisibility magic right in front of the Eclipse Gate, then he must have a way to resist its power of absorption.
"No need for talk. I'll see for myself."
In a flash, George appeared above Arcadios, pressing a paw to the top of his head.
Moments later, George raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"So that's your goal… You're trying to kill Zeref and change the past."
From Arcadios's memories, George now understood: the reason the kingdom held the Grand Magic Games and collected magic power was to activate the Eclipse Gate on the day of the lunar eclipse, seven years in the future, and travel back in time.
Time flows differently in the Celestial Spirit World compared to the Human World. The Eclipse Gate could tap into the laws of time in the Celestial Realm, and by harnessing the power of the Twelve Golden Keys, it allowed for time travel.
As long as enough magic was collected, then on the day of the lunar eclipse, a Celestial Spirit Mage wielding the Twelve Golden Keys would be able to open the Eclipse Gate.
(End of Chapter)