In the Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia Town, inside the Fairy Tail Guild.
"So boring!"
Mirajane stretched lazily, her perfect figure shining brilliantly under the lights.
"Mirajane's figure is becoming more and more perfect~"
"That little girl has already become a woman~"
"I wonder which brat will get lucky in the future."
Mirajane's fiery figure caused countless hungry wolves around her to swallow their saliva.
However, Mirajane had long since become used to this feeling of being stared at. Anyway, the perverts inside the guild only dared to talk big. As for the scum who truly dared to come and provoke her, they had all already been beaten flat by her!
After stretching her body for a while, Mirajane then placed her perfect fullness onto the table in front of her and lay down on it, looking lifelessly at the many mages inside the guild.
"That bastard Erza went traveling with Brother Ewan and didn't even bring me along…"
Mirajane's beautiful brows wrinkled slightly. Without Erza around, it felt as though something was missing.
Although she was always arguing with Erza, wasn't that also a way of cultivating the deep bond between them?!
"Big Sister Mirajane is troubled by that kind of thing again~"
Behind Mirajane was Lisanna, whose eyes carried a helpless look.
Although she had always hoped her older sister could end up with Ewan, she never expected her sister to want to take both Ewan and Erza, this pair of siblings, together! Truly one husband one wife huh?!
The young Lisanna looked at Mirajane with great confusion in her eyes. Unfortunately, the still very young Lisanna simply could not understand her sister's happiness~
"Speaking of which, the guild is really quiet today~"
Gray looked at the 'Demon' Mirajane, who was lying on the table and rarely arguing with Erza, and raised his brows.
Because all the dragon brats were not inside the guild, and because his master Ur and senior sister Ultear had gone out to do missions, most of the people remaining in the guild were quiet people, such as himself…
However, it was precisely this quietness that made Gray, who was sitting in the guild leaning against a table while staring at the guild entrance, feel that something was missing in his heart. His brows were tightly furrowed as he silently thought.
"Gray…" Just as Gray was thinking, Cana walked near him. She first frowned when she looked at Gray's naked upper body, then revealed a smile and praised Gray: "Amazing, Gray! You're actually wearing underwear~ You've improved~ I'll tell Ur and the others about your progress later~"
That's right, Gray was actually not completely naked today. He was not exposing his basketball of Kuroko, and had unprecedentedly worn underwear.
"Hey hey hey! What kind of attitude is that? It's just wearing clothes, you make it sound like I, Gray, have never worn clothes before! Also, the truth is that every time I come to the guild, I wear underwear, alright? The reason I'm forced into full nudity is because of some bastard who likes stealing other people's underwear…"
After hearing Cana's words, Gray raised his brows and angrily argued with her.
In truth, he, Gray, really did wear underwear every time he came to the guild. Anyone who didn't believe it could go look through the guild's recording lacrimas and see whether he came to the guild wearing underwear in the previous days…
It was just unfortunate that inside Fairy Tail Guild, there was a Demon King who loved stealing other people's underwear!
Every time Gray came to the guild, his underwear would always be snatched away by a brat with short cherry-pink hair…
"Right, where's that bastard Natsu?"
"No wonder the guild is so quiet. So the noisiest guy in this guild isn't here!"
"Speaking of which, Natsu actually isn't in the guild?! That's really strange?"
After thinking of the demon who stole underwear, Gray finally realized what the guild was lacking. He frowned and muttered to himself.
"Stop looking! Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Laxus, Kurnugi, Erza, Irene, Selene, and Ewan, those nine Dragon Slayers went to a neighboring country to have fun!"
After hearing Gray's words, Mirajane spoke with lifeless eyes.
"Eh?! They went to a neighboring country to play? Why didn't I know about this?"
Gray froze for a moment, his expression filled with confusion, looking like he had never heard this news before.
"Look for yourself~"
Mirajane expressionlessly took out her ultra-long-range communication lacrima.
On the lacrima was a voice message sent by Erza: "Mirajane~ Brother Ewan, Mom, and I went traveling~"
"Speaking of which, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy are here too~"
"Selene and Kurnugi are also here, even Laxus came, but we didn't invite you~"
"Ah…"
After listening to Erza's voice message, Gray inexplicably felt a burst of anger in his heart.
"Tch, no matter how many times I listen to it, it makes me feel inexplicably angry! So irritating…"
After playing Erza's voice message for Gray and the others, Mirajane raised her brows and spoke angrily.
She looked extremely displeased.
"If you're upset, then don't play it out loud!"
After hearing that, Gray could not help but complain.
"I really want to go play with them too~"
Mirajane lay on the table lifelessly staring ahead while muttering softly.
On the other side, in front of the guild bar counter, Makarov suddenly revealed a smile as he looked at the quiet guild.
"The guild is really quiet today~"
"Hahaha, if the guild could be this quiet every day, that would be great~"
"Speaking of which, isn't this exactly what Fairy Tail Guild looked like in my dreams? Hahaha…"
Makarov picked up the beer beside him and gulped down several mouthfuls before speaking cheerfully.
"Yeah! If Irene, Selene, and Ewan went out to do missions every day, that would be great too!"
After hearing his master's sigh, Gildarts sitting beside Makarov nodded forcefully.
It seemed Gildarts completely agreed with Makarov's words.
"Wait, Gildarts, I can't pretend I didn't hear what you just said!"
"What did you say Ewan, Irene, and Selene went to do?"
Makarov, who had originally been drinking heavily, trembled slightly after hearing Gildarts' words. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he questioned Gildarts beside him.
"Hm? Master, don't you know?"
"Ewan, Irene, and Selene went to the Kingdom of Stella to carry out a mission…"
Gildarts did not expect Makarov to be unaware of this news. He lightly took a sip of beer and told Makarov about Ewan and the others heading to the Kingdom of Stella.
"Wait, absolutely nobody told me those brats went to do a mission!"
"What kind of mission requires Ewan, Irene, and Selene to all go together?"
"Could it be they accepted a Dark Guild mission to conquer the world?"
In Makarov's eyes, the only mission in this world requiring Ewan, Irene, and Selene to go together was one on the level of conquering the world.
"Hahaha, Master, you really know how to joke around. Now that Grimoire Heart and Tartaros have been destroyed, mage guilds on the entire Ishgar Continent that can be called Dark Guilds already… no longer exist! The remaining Dark Guilds are all just minor characters who usually do shady business. The damage they cause to the Ishgar Continent usually isn't even as much as what our Fairy Tail does~"
After hearing Makarov's words, Gildarts spoke proudly.
"No no no, that's not something worth being proud of, bastard!"
However, after hearing Gildarts' words, Makarov's eye twitched slightly as he could not help but complain.
"Master, you should be happy! A team made up of Ewan, Selene, and Irene is absolutely the strongest team in Fairy Tail Guild, without question! They could probably even complete the Hundred Year Quest, right?!"
Gildarts spoke emotionally. He had heard from Ewan that the so-called Hundred Year Quest was to defeat the Five Dragon Gods including the Moon Dragon God Selene. And judging from what Selene implied, although the Five Dragon Gods all bore the title of gods, they each acted independently!
In other words, Irene, Selene, and Ewan going to the northern continent to subjugate the other four Dragon Gods was not three versus four, but three versus one, and then another one…
In that case, no matter how one looked at it, Ewan and the others had the greater odds of victory, right? Which meant that if Ewan, Irene, and Selene joined forces, they might truly be able to complete the Hundred Year Quest~
"The strongest team?!"
"Doesn't that make it even more troublesome?!"
Makarov held his head with both hands and shouted painfully.
"Ah? What's troublesome about that?"
Gildarts looked at Makarov with confusion, not understanding what he was talking about.
"Gildarts, think about it! That's Ewan, Selene, and Irene! If those three go to another country, will they properly carry out the mission? They'll destroy that country! Do you remember what happened in the world of Elentear? The same thing is about to happen in Earth-land, in the world of Ishgar! Gildarts, tell me, what should we do?"
Makarov held his head and spoke painfully.
"Ahahaha…"
"Now that you put it that way, it really does sound troublesome! But if you ask me for a solution, I actually don't have one either! After all, sometimes I accidentally cause damage to towns myself…"
In response, Gildarts laughed carefree. For a man who often destroyed the cities where he completed missions as a side effect, none of this seemed like a big deal.
"Damn it, I asked the wrong person!!"
"I just remembered, the man who completes the most missions yet pays the most compensation money is him!!"
Makarov looked at Gildarts and held his head painfully.
Makarov was truly seeking help in desperation. He had actually foolishly asked Gildarts this question…
One had to know that the man best at destruction in this guild was Gildarts! No matter how destructive everyone else's magic was to towns, it could still be controlled! No matter what, it could never compare to Gildarts' Crush magic that remained active twenty-four hours a day.
"Damn it! My heart, my heart is starting to hurt…"
Makarov clutched his heart painfully.
"Relax, Master, everything will be fine."
After hearing that, Gildarts reached out and gently patted Makarov's shoulder.
"This is a huge problem, alright?"
Makarov's eyes twitched slightly after hearing that.
"Let us trust in Ewan and the others!"
"They are our guild companions!"
Just as Makarov's eyes became lifeless, Gildarts frowned and looked at Makarov seriously.
"Gildarts?!"
After hearing Gildarts' words, Makarov's eyes lit up. That's right, Ewan, Irene, and Selene were their companions! They were members of Fairy Tail Guild! As the master of Fairy Tail Guild, all he could do was trust that they would definitely handle things beautifully!
"Then Master, I'll be leaving first…"
Seeing that Makarov's heart had recovered, Gildarts smiled slightly, stood up from his seat, and walked straight toward the main doors of Fairy Tail Guild.
"Gildarts, where exactly are you going?"
Makarov looked at the departing Gildarts, raised his brows, and asked aloud.
"Where am I going?! Of course I'm running away in advance. By the time Ewan and the others return from completing the mission in whatever Kingdom of Stella that is, those three will probably immediately become the highest-level wanted criminals, right? After all, that so-called Kingdom of Stella is definitely going to be destroyed, right?"
After hearing Makarov's words, Gildarts raised the corners of his mouth slightly and looked at Makarov seriously.
"Ah…"
Makarov froze directly in place after hearing Gildarts' words. So hadn't Gildarts just said to trust their companions? How long had it been before Gildarts already changed his stance?
"Gildarts, didn't you tell me to trust our companions?"
Makarov roared while looking at Gildarts.
"Exactly! It's precisely because I told you to trust our companions that I'm planning a tactical retreat…"
"Master! Just trust in the destructive talents of our Fairy Tail Guild companions! With the talents of our guild, with the talents of those three giant dragons Ewan, Irene, and Selene! It would already be fortunate if they don't tear the entire Kingdom of Stella into pieces!"
"Farewell, Master. By then, a huge number of people will surely come to the guild demanding compensation! At that time, I'll leave it all to you to handle…"
Gildarts waved his hand at Makarov before immediately fleeing.
If it were dealing with trash who bullied Fairy Tail or Dark Guilds, then he, Gildarts, would naturally have no problem with it…
But if he had to deal with creditors bullied by Fairy Tail, then unfortunately, that was one thing he could not do…
It was true that he was scum, but he was not a bastard!
"Come back! Gildarts, come back here! If you leave now, then don't ever come back…"
Makarov shouted at Gildarts with bloodshot eyes.
Unfortunately, Gildarts shamelessly pretended not to hear him.
"Bastard! Wuwuwu…"
"Pity me, this poor old man! Why must this poor old man suffer torment from these demons?!"
As Gildarts ran away, Makarov shed tears like a fountain.
"Isn't it because you taught them so well?!"
"Relax, Master! We'll stay with you until the very end~"
In response, the many mages inside the guild showed not even a bit of sympathy toward Makarov.
Especially after Precht revealed all the evil deeds Makarov committed in his youth, absolutely no one sympathized with him anymore…
However, these members who usually caused the most trouble did not abandon Makarov in the face of crisis. They had already decided to share both blessings and hardships together! After all, they were all mages of Fairy Tail!
"You all…"
After hearing the words of the many mages inside the guild, emotion appeared in Makarov's eyes.
"Do you all have money?"
In response, Makarov asked the key question.
"Uh, well…"
As Makarov's words fell, the many mages inside the guild all turned their heads away.
"..."
Everything was understood without words.
"My heart, my heart is starting to hurt. I'm getting heart disease and dying here…"
The moment Makarov thought about the astronomical compensation they would later have to pay, he felt like the heart in his chest was about to shatter.
So what use was it for a group of poor people to stay in the guild with him?! These guys might as well learn from Gildarts and go work hard to earn money!
Meanwhile, after running out of the guild, Gildarts opened his backpack…
Inside the backpack that had originally been filled with dirty books was now packed with guild bounty requests!
"Next, before those bastards destroy the Kingdom of Stella, I need to earn more money!"
That's right, Gildarts' reason for fleeing the guild was not to desert before battle, but to earn more money for the guild before trouble arrived, so that the guild could pay more compensation and avoid excessive punishment…
Although the Magic Council was already basically Fairy Tail's branch organization now, and no force in this world would punish Fairy Tail anymore, the mages of Fairy Tail all possessed consciences after all~
"Then let's move out! The first mission requires me to head to a city in the south…"
As Gildarts spoke, he carried his luggage and headed toward the southern part of the Kingdom of Fiore.
For a time, it felt as though countless cities were crying out toward Gildarts: "Don't come over here!"
Compared to raging bandits and terrifying magical beasts, the people of towns and villages feared Gildarts even more…
That's right, although Gildarts' intentions were good, he forgot one thing.
That was, he did not possess any talent for earning money!
With the terrifying power of integrating Crush magic into his magic power, merely not turning things into a complete mess was already helping Fairy Tail and easing Makarov's burden~
Unfortunately, the reality was that Gildarts' work only made the already poor Fairy Tail even worse off…
"Boom…"
At the same time, a battleship was rapidly advancing through the sky. Along with breaking through the clouds, it finally arrived above the Kingdom of Stella…
Inside the royal palace of the Kingdom of Stella.
Animus, the king of the Kingdom of Stella with short golden hair, slightly changed expression after sensing the terrifying magic power crackling in the air.
"This feeling, and this scent, don't tell me?!"
It seemed Stella had sensed something, and his eyes revealed a trace of disbelief.
"Your Majesty, did you sense something?"
Seeing Stella's drastically changed expression, Zash frowned. While inwardly feeling that something was wrong, he had a premonition that something bad might happen.
"This feeling is absolutely unmistakable. It's the scent of Dragon Slayers! What exactly is going on? Why are there so many Dragon Slayers?"
Stella's expression changed drastically.
The moment he thought of Dragon Slayers, he would recall everything he experienced four hundred years ago.
He would recall that man clad entirely in black, clearly a human yet capable of wielding endless dragon power, and who ultimately transformed into the black demonic dragon, the great Black Dragon King Acnologia!