Fairy Tail: Becoming stronger by spending money.

So hungry.

After exiting the take over state, Caesar felt a wave of intense hunger.

Most of his magic power had been drained.

In the past, Caesar would've had to recover it slowly or tap into the reserve magic stored in his magic patterns.

But now, he felt pure, primal hunger.

It was like tossing a starving man into a room filled with food—it was unthinkable not to eat.

And so, Caesar did exactly that.

He suddenly opened his mouth and took a bite—into thin air.

To the shock of everyone watching, the very space in front of Caesar tore open like paper, and as he chewed, the hole widened.

"This is... the power of space!"

"He ate space!"

"Is this space-type Dragon Slayer magic?"

"He's restoring magic power just by swallowing space? That's way too strong!"

In just moments, Caesar's drained magic power began surging back into him. The gaping tear in space slowly stitched itself back together.

At this rate, it would fully recover in two to three minutes.

"Yup, it works."

Feeling the influx of energy, Caesar grinned.

With this power, he could fully absorb the Dragon Slayer Magic Crystal without any lasting side effects.

And that wasn't all.

He raised his fist. Invisible energy shimmered in the air around it—the power of space condensed tightly.

If he threw this punch, he could shatter the space around him.

"High destructive potential," he muttered.

He released the gathered energy and considered how this new magic might be integrated into his take over system.

"Am I late?"

Just then, like fate placing the pillow under a sleepy man, a figure barged in.

Orange hair, wing-shaped buns at both sides of his head, and a scar across the bridge of his nose—Serena.

Looking around at the calm aftermath of the operation, Serena clicked his tongue.

"I've had my eye on that Dragon Slayer Magic Crystal for a while, and now it's already been taken?"

He glared at Caesar.

"You're the one who inlaid it, huh? Let's talk. How about you let me dig it out of you, and I'll pay you handsomely?"

Caesar raised an eyebrow and looked at Crawford.

"Who's this idiot?"

Crawford's face darkened. He snapped at the man.

"Serena! This isn't the place for your arrogance. Don't think I won't act just because you're one of the Ten Wizard Saints. I will strip you of that title if you cross the line!"

Caesar pieced it together.

This guy was that Serena—one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgar.

The one who later defected to Emperor Spriggan of the Alvarez Empire. The one who was obliterated by Acnologia, despite carrying eight Dragon Slayer Crystals.

Apparently, he only had four crystals in his body at this point. Still, even four was impressive.

He wasn't loyal to Crawford, so naturally, he wasn't entrusted with the Thunder Marsh commission.

That explained why Serena was watching from the sidelines every year. He didn't have the means to collect the Thunder Swamp Flowers himself.

And now that Caesar had succeeded where he failed, Serena came to provoke him.

He planned to pick a fight, make Caesar lose his temper, and use that as justification to challenge him—staking the Dragon Slayer Crystal as a wager.

If Caesar lost, Serena could legally claim the crystal.

And if Caesar won?

Serena didn't consider that possibility.

He was older, more experienced, and had the combined magic of four dragons and multi-attribute fusion techniques.

He was confident that he couldn't lose.

So he kept running his mouth like a clown, hoping Caesar would take the bait.

Caesar, however, simply smirked.

"It's not impossible to bet the Dragon Slayer Crystal."

"You agree?!"

Serena shouted immediately, waving his arms.

"You all heard it! This guy agreed to bet the Dragon Slayer Crystal!"

Around them, Council members groaned and covered their faces.

So embarrassing.

Even someone half-deaf could hear how desperate he was.

"I'll bet it," said Caesar, his expression turning cold. "But what are you putting up that's equal in value?"

"And don't say money. Unless you've got more than 10 billion J right here and now, forget it."

Serena laughed and pulled out a weathered spellbook and a shining golden key.

"Then I'll wager these—Light God Slayer Magic and a Zodiac Celestial Spirit Key. How about that?"