Chapter 659 - 659: Iruzala

"Father-son?" Lucy repeated.

"Alchemy?" Natsu followed.

"FUSION!!!" Happy shouted.

The moment Iruha and Salam touched their fingers together, there was a loud poof, and a cloud of white smoke completely enveloped the two elderly men.

A figure slowly emerged from within the smoke.

This time, even Raizel, Ultear, and the others looked as though their entire understanding of the world had just collapsed.

Their jaws practically refused to close.

There was a very simple reason for that.

The person who stepped out of the smoke was a beautiful young girl wearing a hat, a puff-sleeved blouse, and a short skirt.

She introduced herself as Iruzala.

"Welcome to Iruzala's workshop♡, dabon♡."

Iruzala even finished the greeting with a wink.

Raizel stiffly turned toward Natsu and Wendy.

"Natsu, Wendy... is that really them? Did those two old men hide somewhere?"

They had certainly watched Iruha and Salam fuse right in front of them, but with that much smoke obscuring the process, it was not impossible for two people to hide while someone else took their place.

Natsu sniffed the air, while Wendy carefully did the same.

"It seems like... it really is them. The scent is a little different, though."

Wendy struggled to hide her amazement.

Iruzala's scent was like Iruha and Salam's mixed together, yet strangely enough, the combination did not smell unnatural at all.

"..."

Once Wendy confirmed it, Raizel felt slightly nauseated.

After all, the beautiful girl who had just winked at him had been two old men only moments earlier.

"Why did they turn into a woman...?" Ultear asked, blinking repeatedly.

"I feel like I'm losing track of how this world is supposed to work..." Cold sweat appeared on Kagura's forehead.

"I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE ENERGY TO COMPLAIN ANYMORE!!!"

Lucy grabbed her hair with both hands and shook her head wildly.

The worst part was that Iruzala's outfit was even somewhat similar to her own.

"Ara, ara. So alchemy can turn people into beautiful young girls too?" Mira asked with a smile, lightly covering her lips with one hand.

Natsu, meanwhile, looked genuinely horrified as he shook his head over and over.

"No, no, no! That's not the point! Why did two old men fuse and turn into a girl?!"

Happy raised one paw, equally unwilling to accept reality.

"Aye! She has to be Iruha and Salam's granddaughter."

Iruzala's mannerisms and tone had completely transformed into those of a cheerful young girl.

"Oh, stop it. This is simply the result of Iruha and Salam's father-son alchemy fusion, dabon."

Erza planted her hands on her hips and stared at Iruzala without expression.

"Whatever. As long as you can create the Philosopher's Stone, I don't care what form you take. You really can make one, correct?"

Iruzala excitedly swung her arms as she answered, "The Philosopher's Stone is alchemy's greatest treasure, dabon. I can't guarantee success."

Lucy sighed helplessly.

"If you can't make it, we're going to be in trouble..."

After asking around at so many guilds, Salam had been their only lead to someone who might actually be capable of creating a Philosopher's Stone.

Or rather, their only lead to two people who might be capable of it together.

Iruzala stared at everyone for a long moment before suddenly asking,

"...What are you planning to use it for, dabon?"

'Didn't you already ask us that?!'

Lucy immediately started screaming internally.

'Is your memory really that bad?! Are you sure you should be doing alchemy?! What if you forget an ingredient and blow up the entire workshop?!'

Raizel stepped forward.

"We already answered that. We need it to defeat Viernes, the Gold Dragon God. His thought-form—or his will, depending on how you want to describe it—is currently attached to a building. We were told that the Philosopher's Stone is necessary to give him a physical form."

The moment Iruzala heard that they intended to defeat Viernes, she froze and blinked several times.

"In that case... the Philosopher's Stone still won't work unless you first separate the thought-form from the building, dabon."

The Philosopher's Stone had to be used directly on something intangible, such as a thought-form, spirit, or will.

If they simply used it on Gold Owl's guild building while Viernes was still attached to it, the stone would effectively be wasted.

Ultear thought for a moment before deciding there was no reason to hide the truth.

"Athena told us the same thing. Don't worry, we already have a solution for that."

They were the ones asking Iruzala for help, so honesty seemed like the better approach.

Iruzala blinked her large eyes curiously.

"There's actually a way to separate something like that?"

As an alchemist, Iruzala knew relatively little about Magic and was completely unaware that something as absurdly versatile as High Enchantment existed.

"We'll use Enchant: Separation. As it happens, one of our members can already perform it."

At Raizel's words, Wendy stepped forward and raised one hand.

"That would be me."

To demonstrate, Wendy used Enchant: Separation on a Lacrima, extracting the Magic Power contained within it.

Iruzala stared open-mouthed at the now-empty Lacrima in Wendy's left hand and the condensed mass of Magic Power floating above her right.

"So there really is a technique like that, dabon."

Athena, who had been standing nearby in silence, continued staring at Iruzala.

For some reason, the girl felt strangely familiar to her, though Athena could not quite explain why.

Iruzala flashed them a victory sign and winked.

"In that case, there's no problem. I can help you make it!"

Mira thoughtfully asked, "Do you need us to prepare any materials? If there's anything required, please tell us."

Iruzala shook her head.

"No need. I prepared everything long ago."

'Prepared everything long ago...'

Something about that answer struck Raizel as strange.

Athena, meanwhile, suddenly looked shocked.

She had finally realized who the beautiful girl standing before them truly was.

Iruzala was neither Salam nor Iruha, nor was she really some bizarre product of a father-son alchemy fusion.

Her true identity was Duke, Elefseria's former disciple.

The real Duke.

Long ago, Duke had discovered that Viernes had attached his will to the Gold Owl guild building and had also realized that the Dragon God intended to kill him.

To escape, Duke had staged his own death, pretending that an alchemical experiment had failed and killed him.

Afterward, he abandoned his identity and lived in hiding under the names Iruha and Salam, waiting for this very day.

Waiting for someone to find him.

Waiting for someone to ask him to create the Philosopher's Stone needed to defeat Viernes, the Gold Dragon God.

Athena had figured out the truth, but she chose not to reveal it.

If the plan failed, exposing Duke's survival might cost him his life.

Once the materials were prepared, Iruzala slipped behind the workshop door and poked only her head back out.

"I'm going to begin the transmutation now. Please don't disturb me for a while, dabon."

Erza immediately asked, "How long will it take?"

Iruzala began closing the door.

"Not long, dabon!"

The Philosopher's Stone was completed far faster than Raizel had expected.

It did not even take two hours.

That speed almost made him wonder whether they had somehow been handed a fake.

Wasn't the Philosopher's Stone supposed to be the greatest treasure in all of alchemy?

This felt far too casual.

Raizel looked down at the object in his hand: a brilliant red gemstone attached to a small handle. He then passed it toward Athena.

Athena took the stone and carefully examined it before nodding.

"Yes."

"This is the Philosopher's Stone. It is exactly the same as the one recorded in my memories."