"What about you, old man?" Su Yan asked.
Makarov gave a small smile. "I'm eighty-eight years old; it's about time I retired."
Although the master usually seemed full of vigor, he was, in fact, almost ninety. Su Yan still didn't want him to step down just like that.
"No, I don't accept that," Su Yan replied.
"What?! You brat—do you refuse me?"
"I'm still young. I want to see the world; I don't want to be tied down here all the time."
"You little troublemaker…"
"If you really want me to be the next guild master, wait twenty more years. Then I'll take the job."
"Twenty years? I don't even know if I'll still be breathing by then," Makarov huffed.
"You'll be fine. Also, last I checked, you're not the master anymore—Macao is."
"Are you trying to anger me?! I'm fine, you brat."
"I never said I wouldn't do it. I just said let's wait a few more years. No need to get worked up."
"Ugh, you little…"
"Anyway, let's get out of here, old man. The First Master's body may be unconscious, but she's not really dead. Feels strange for two old men like us to stand around staring at her naked form," Su Yan joked—though he still couldn't help sneaking a look at Mavis, even if she appeared quite small.
Makarov blushed. "You fool."
He gave Su Yan a light smack on the head, resealed the area, and they left.
—
Elsewhere in the guild's temporary hall, Natsu crashed to the ground.
"No way," he muttered, staring at Max in disbelief. "How did I lose to you?"
Years ago, Max had been a rookie. Natsu had easily outclassed him. At the time, Natsu was roughly first-tier (though inconsistent), while Max was considered third-tier at best.
But now, that "third-tier" wizard was taking Natsu on without much trouble, which left Natsu stunned.
Max stood calmly, arms folded. "We haven't wasted our seven years. With no one above us to rely on, we had to keep growing."
"M-Mr. Natsu… couldn't beat Max?" Wendy whispered. She and Lucy looked equally astonished; they'd known Max to be far weaker than Natsu long ago.
Natsu growled. "Alright, let's go again! Take this—!"
He lunged at Max, arms swinging.
"Wooo—!"
Max weaved around Natsu's fists, then twisted his arm. A swirl of sand surrounded them both.
"Sand Revolt!!"
Boom!
The sand unleashed a powerful shockwave, forcing Natsu back.
"Burn!" Natsu roared, blasting flames and smoke. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"Sand Barrier!"
Max raised a sturdy shield of sand. Natsu's punch slammed into it, but the barrier didn't break.
"No way…!" Natsu strained, but he couldn't push through.
"I've improved a lot in seven years," Max said.
"I can't believe it! That's Max!"
"He's actually suppressing Natsu?"
"Then we might stand a chance, too…"
Vijeeter, Warren, and Nab watched with new confidence. If Max could hold his own, maybe they could as well.
"Damn it!" Natsu stepped back, inhaling sharply. "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
He spat out a vicious blast of flames.
"Sand Defense Wall!" Max boosted his magic, defending with all his might.
Boom—!
Natsu's flame storm and Max's wall both dissipated in an explosion of smoke.
"All right, that's enough!" Max said quickly.
But Natsu clenched his fists. "No way—I'm pulling out Dragon Slayer Secret Art!"
Max blanched. "Time out! This is just friendly sparring; let's not go overboard!"
Natsu hesitated. It wasn't a life-or-death fight, and he didn't want to unleash his biggest move on a guildmate who was clearly weaker—well, weaker than some of their top elites, anyway.
Wendy gushed, "Mr. Max, you're amazing!"
Flustered, Max scratched his cheek. "We actually lived these seven years, while for you it was like no time passed. Compared to that, it's embarrassing that we're only this strong."
Carla asked, "If you're this capable, why let Twilight Ogre push you around?"
Max shrugged. "When it comes to debts, it's more about money than brute force."
Lucy chimed in, "Though the master and the others kind of solved it with force anyway."
"True," several of them admitted wryly.
Gray folded his arms. "In any case, the real problem now is that times have changed more than we expected. Leaving aside those monsters—Laxus, Gildarts, and especially Su Yan—the rest of us haven't kept up with the new era."
Lucy glanced at Natsu, who'd gotten serious again. "Yeah, Natsu actually struggled against Max."
"And Max…" Wendy began, trailing off. They realized the implication was that he'd once been far below Natsu, so they were basically calling him small fry.
Max's eyes filled with tears. "So all that praise earlier was just polite talk?!"
"Happy" piped up, "Isn't there some way we can just boost everyone's magic power all at once?"
Before long, they made their way to a little house by some tree roots—home of the Fairy Tail medic, Porlyusica, who lived out here on her own.
"So, basically…" Lucy started to explain.
Bam!
Porlyusica slammed the door in their faces. "Go away."
And from inside, her curt voice barked, "I'm not running a magic-boost clinic!"