As is widely known, long-running manga often encounter a recurring issue: contradictions in the setting. The longer the story, the worse the problem becomes.
Fairy Tail is no exception, especially when it comes to inconsistencies between different arcs. New chapters often introduce information that contradicts previously established lore.
While it might not matter much for the author to disregard the setting, for someone like Charles, who actually lives in this world, it's a serious headache.
Take for example the place Charles is about to visit: the continent of Guiltina.
In this world, the continents are divided into three major regions: East, West, and North. Fairy Tail is located on the eastern continent, known as Ishgar. The Kingdom of Fiore is just a small nation within this landmass.
The western continent, on the other hand, has been unified into a massive empire called Alvarez. Its emperor is none other than Zeref, considered the root of all evil in Ishgar.
However, in the empire, he goes by the name Spriggan.
To the north of these two continents lies another land: the continent of Guiltina. It's also the setting for the Hundred-Year Quest arc in Fairy Tail.
Ahem... and also the part of the story where the author disregards the established setting the most.
Ever since Acnologia's debut, he has consistently been described as the Wings of Despair that annihilated all dragons—no exceptions.
Yet in Guiltina, there are still at least five dragons alive. These five dragons are even revered as gods and are collectively known as the Five Dragon Gods of Guiltina.
Sure, the in-story explanation is that they fled to Guiltina out of fear of Acnologia, but take Moon Dragon, for example—who can travel between different worlds—and then there's the Wood Dragon, so massive it has multiple towns built on its body. Are we really supposed to believe Acnologia would just let that one slide?
Keep in mind, after becoming the Dragon King, Acnologia roamed the entire world. It doesn't make sense for him to ignore an entire continent as massive as Guiltina.
On top of that, Guiltina also has a guild made up of a special group of people: the Fifth Generation Dragon Slayers, known as Dragon Eaters—a group of mages who gain Dragon Slayer Magic by consuming dragon flesh.
Charles didn't say he was going to Guiltina just to brush off Jellal and the others and slack off. He genuinely has this trip planned.
He had intended to go before, but things like the Grand Magic Games and the whole Tartaros incident made him put it on hold. But now, with Crime Sorcière lending a hand, Charles can finally move forward with this plan.
Charles isn't interested in the Hundred-Year Quest or the Five Dragon Gods. His target is the Dragon Eaters. His goal is to strengthen his own Dragon Slayer Magic.
After meeting Sting and Rogue, Charles had been thinking and researching what truly separates each generation of Dragon Slayers.
Of course, the differences can't be just about how they acquired their magic.
Among the five generations from the original story, excluding the fourth—who weren't even proper mages and more like man-made weapons—Charles has already encountered and studied three of them.
The only group left he hasn't learned about is the Dragon Eaters. So Charles decided to go and investigate them.
He already has a hunch, but he still needs more data to support his theory. And even if his theory is confirmed, the power-up can only be achieved in Guiltina.
So after the Grand Magic Games ended, Charles set out for Guiltina.
"This is Guiltina? It really is completely different from Ishgar!"
Hearing that comment, Charles couldn't help but nod.
Guiltina is indeed vastly different from both Ishgar and the Western Continent.
The key difference is that Guiltina has a much more desolate feel to it. Riding on the back of Charles' shikigami, Zhongming, the group crossed the sea and saw mostly wilderness, with few human settlements.
Even something like railways is rare to see. Though this is a magical world, magic has developed to such a degree that some technologies similar to those of modern science have already been widely implemented.
This shows just how far behind Guiltina is in terms of magical technological development.
However... Charles turned to look at the crowded group riding on Zhongming's back and sighed, "So why did all of you decide to come along?"
Zhongming was quite large, but even so, it was feeling a little cramped due to the number of people riding on him.
Originally, Charles had only planned to bring Stella, just the two of them, to search for the Dragon Eaters together.
But after learning the purpose of the trip, Sting and Rogue insisted on coming.
The two of them take great pride in being Third Generation Dragon Slayers—the perfect type. So when they heard about a supposed Fifth Generation, of course they couldn't stay put.
Then Sherria dragged Wendy into it, insisting on coming as well. Charles had no choice but to bring Kagura too, to help keep the kids in check.
Sting, fired up and raring to go, said, "Don't be like that, Charles. I'm really looking forward to seeing what makes those guys think they have the right to call themselves Fifth Generation Dragon Slayers."
Charles gave him a sidelong glance and said, "Don't say I didn't warn you. With your current strength, you're no match for the Dragon Eaters. Don't go rushing in without thinking."
Never mind the fact that Sting still hasn't reached his peak—even seven years later, he'd still struggle against a Dragon Eater.
Still, judging by Sting's demeanor, Charles knew he wasn't going to listen.
He really is a die-hard Natsu fan—the same stubborn, reckless attitude.
Zhongming flapped his wings once and then hovered in place.
Charles saw a town below and said, "It's about to get dark. Let's head down to that town and rest for the night. We might even find some useful intel there!"
Following Charles' command, Zhongming descended, and the group arrived in the small town.
Despite not looking like a place that gets many outsiders, the inn they chose was surprisingly lively.
The tavern on the first floor was almost packed that evening. Charles and the group decided to have dinner there, mainly to see if they could gather any information.
He had hoped everyone would help gather intel, but they all got completely absorbed in their meals.
That said, Guiltina may be behind in magic tech compared to Ishgar, but its food had a unique charm.
Maybe the ingredients were of higher quality, or maybe the cooking methods were just better—whatever the reason, even someone from a food-loving country like Charles found the food here flavorful and distinct.
After confirming that the surrounding patrons had no useful information to offer, Charles decided to just enjoy his dinner.
The next day, the group set off again to look for another town. After five days of this aimless searching across Guiltina, Charles finally gave up on this needle-in-a-haystack approach.
Despite Guiltina being the birthplace of magic guilds—home to the world's very first guild, Magia Dragon—mage guilds were surprisingly rare on this continent, and they barely communicated with each other.
As for Diabolos, the guild made up of Dragon Eaters, it was so unique that none of the guilds Charles had visited had any information about it.
So Charles decided to switch strategies. If he couldn't find them, then he'd just make them come to him.
For those who gain power by devouring dragons, there's no better bait than a rumor about a dragon appearing.
(End of Chapter)
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