The year was X782.
For four long years, Blake Corvus had been a ghost. He had left Magnolia in X778 as a 15-year-old S-Class prodigy. Now, at 19, he has reached a height of 6'6'', he was returning as something else entirely. The year of travel had seasoned him, but the three years spent in the Sun Village had forged him.
Living with giants was a different kind of training. It was a life of primal simplicity, brutal strength, and endless joy. His Haki, which had stagnated, had evolved to survive. He'd learned to dodge clubs the size of oak trees and topple opponents who weighed 100 tons.
His Advanced Armament Haki could now shatter bedrock, and his Conqueror's Haki, tested daily against the proud, strong wills of the giants, had become a tool of precise, overwhelming dominion.
He was finally leaving, his dark green Urus kicking up a plume of desert sand. Beside him sat Flare Corona, the young woman with the fiery red hair, whom the giants had asked him to guide into the human world.
"Are you sure the 'little-folk' are ready for this, Blake?" Thrym, the giant leader, had rumbled. "You're taking our Flare, and you fight like a falling mountain. You're not a 'little-folk' anymore."
Blake had just smiled, waving goodbye to the massive, tearful giants. He was on his way back to Magnolia, back to Fairy Tail.
He was driving through the forests south of Magnolia, the Urus handling the rough terrain with ease, Flare looking out the window with wide, curious eyes. Blake was relaxed, his hand on the wheel, when his Observation Haki—always active, a passive, miles-wide net—snapped taut.
He felt it. A spike of terrifying, uncontrolled magical power. It felt primal, beast-like. And beneath it, two smaller, terrified life-forces.
He slammed his foot on the accelerator. The Urus roared through the forest, smashing through underbrush. He immediately drove his vehicle there.
When he reached there, the scene was one of utter devastation. The forest was flattened, the ground cratered. In the center of the clearing stood "The Beast"—a monstrous, hulking, purple-scaled creature of pure, negative magic. Blake recognized it as Elfman's most dangerous Full-Body Take Over.
On the ground to the side, a white-haired girl was lying exhausted—Mirajane, S-Class, but clearly out of magic and beaten. In front of the beast, her arms outstretched, was Lisanna, tears streaming down her face.
"Flare, sit in the car. Do not get out," he ordered, his voice shifting from relaxed to S-Class cold in a heartbeat.
"Blake, what is it?"
"Trouble."
"Elfman! Stop! Please, it's me! It's Lisanna! You have to control it!" she begged.
The Beast roared, its mind gone, and raised a massive, clawed hand to strike her down.
Blake knew this moment. He knew exactly what was supposed to happen. He knew this was the day Lisanna would be "killed," her body transported by Anima to Edolas. He knew the trauma of this single event would break Mirajane, scar Elfman for life, and haunt the guild for years.
Not on my watch.
He was out of the car before it even stopped.
"LISANNA!" Mirajane shrieked from the ground, her voice raw with disbelief and hope.
The Beast roared and was about to attack Lisanna.
Blake didn't draw his sword. He didn't even move from his spot. He simply rested his hand on the hilt of Tensa Zangetsu and lifted it lightly from the sheathe, just an inch.
Then, he released his will.
It was not the unfocused, knockout-blast of a novice. It was the absolute, crushing pressure of his Advanced Conqueror's Haki, honed by three years of dueling giants. It was a wave of pure, undisputed dominion. He wasn't trying to knock Elfman out; he was trying to tame the Beast.
The creature of pure, primal instinct, which had been moments from killing its own sister, froze solid. Its massive, reptilian eyes swiveled to Blake, and it saw something its broken mind could understand: an Apex Predator. A king. It was like a wolf facing a dragon.
The Haki forced it to calm down, the dark, possessing magic receding in terror from a will far stronger than its own.
The massive, scaled form began to shrink. The monster convulsed, its muscles spasming, until it reverted to its true form: an unconscious Elfman, who fainted onto the grass, his body steaming from the magical exhaustion.
Mirajane and Lisanna stared, their minds unable to process what had just happened. They were crying, their bodies shaking with adrenaline, tears in their eyes because they almost got themselves killed.
"Elfman... he's... he's okay..." Lisanna whispered.
"Elfman..." Mirajane was speechless.
But Blake wasn't looking at them. He was looking at the sky.
A swirling, purple-black vortex had torn open above the clearing—an Anima portal, drawn by the massive, chaotic spike of the Beast Soul. It was here to claim its prize.
"What... what is that?" Lisanna asked, pointing a shaky finger.
"A door to the wrong place," Blake said grimly.
He finally drew Tensa Zangetsu. The black blade seemed to absorb the light, a perfect void. He took a single, low stance.
He didn't need Haki for this. He needed the opposite. He poured his Anti-Magic into the blade, the steel thrumming with a power that unmade existence.
With a single, effortless grunt, he swung the sword upwards.
"Black Meteorite."
He threw a flying anti-magic slash at the portal. A massive, black crescent of pure nothing shot into the sky. It hit the Anima portal, and there was no explosion. The portal simply... unraveled.
The interdimensional magic that held it together was nullified, collapsing in on itself and vanishing as if it had never been. He had destroyed the portal.
The two girls looked at the portal above with confusion, having no idea of the interdimensional fate they had just avoided. They turned back to Blake, who was sheathing his sword, the crisis averted so quickly it felt like a dream.
Lisanna ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You saved him! You saved us!"
Mirajane staggered over, her "Demon" persona completely gone, replaced by a raw, vulnerable gratitude. "I... I was reckless. I took an S-Class quest. I... I thought we could handle it. I almost..."
"There is no need for that," Blake said, his voice firm but kind, patting Lisanna's head. "I'm also from Fairy Tail. You're family." He gave them a small smile. "I'm Blake Corvus. It's been a while since I visited the guild, so you might not know me."
Mirajane nodded, wiping her eyes. "We... we know who you are. The guild still talks about you."
"Speaking of which," Blake said, "it's a long walk back, and your brother looks exhausted. Let's go back to the guild in my car."
He strode over to Elfman, carried the unconscious man over his shoulder with ease, and placed him gently in the back seat of the Urus.
Flare, who had been watching the entire exchange with wide, slightly terrified eyes, was still in the passenger seat.
"It's okay, Flare. They're friends." Blake opened the door. At the car, Blake introduced Flare to the Strauss siblings.
"Flare, this is Mirajane and Lisanna. Mira, Lisanna, this is Flare. She's a friend from the Sun Village."
Flare gave a shy, hesitant wave.
Mirajane, her mind still numb, also sat in the back seat, lifting Elfman's head onto her lap, stroking his white hair, her gaze fixed on his peaceful, sleeping face.
Lisanna and Flare shared the front seat. As the Urus's powerful, quiet engine rumbled to life, Lisanna's natural, irrepressible cheerfulness began to return. The terror was fading, replaced by a burning curiosity.
"Wow, so this is your car, Blake! It's amazing!" she said.
Lisanna started chatting with him and Flare, asking, "Where have you been all this time, Blake? You've been gone for years!"
Blake answered her questions patiently. "I traveled, Lisanna. Saw the world. And then I spent the last few years in the Sun Village, training."
When Lisanna heard of the giants' village, she started asking about them with stars in her eyes. 'Are they really 100 feet tall? What do they eat? Are they scary?'
To which Flare started answering. The shy, red-haired woman found her voice when talking about her home. She told Lisanna about Thrym, about the 'little-folk' (Blake) who beat him in a duel, about the parties, and about the endless, kind strength of her giant family. Lisanna was completely enraptured.
After an hour, they reached the Fairy Tail guild.
The Urus pulled up to the guild hall. The doors burst open.
"BLAKE'S BACK!" someone yelled.
When the guild members saw Blake's car, they were excited. Natsu, Gray, and Erza rushed out, ready to greet their friend.
But the excitement died instantly.
Once they saw the condition of the Strauss siblings, they kept quiet. The sight of an unconscious Elfman being carried by Blake, followed by a pale, tear-streaked Mirajane and a subdued Lisanna, sent a chill through the entire guild.
"What happened?" Erza asked, her voice tight with concern.
"Magic exhaustion," Blake said, walking past them. "He'll be fine."
He carried Elfman straight to the infirmary, bypassing the silent, staring guild members. He laid his guildmate on a cot.
" he just had magic exhaustion, and he will be fine after a day's rest."
"Thank you, Blake," Mira whispered, taking her brother's hand. "For... for everything."
Blake nodded and left the family alone. He walked straight to Makarov's office, the weight of what he'd seen settling on him.
He opened the door. Makarov looked up from his paperwork, a smile on his face. "Blake! My boy, you've finally—"
His smile vanished when he saw Blake's expression.
Blake made his way to Makarov and told him what happened.
He recounted the S-Class quest. Elfman's berserk Take Over. The Beast Soul. Lisanna's near-death. He told him everything.
Makarov's face went pale. Hearing the situation, Makarov nodded, making a grave face. He understood, with chilling clarity, that he had come close to losing one of his children forever. This was not a simple, failed quest. This was a catastrophic failure of judgment.
He stood up and walked past Blake, his face set like stone. He went to the infirmary. Mirajane looked up, her eyes red.
"Master... I..."
"Mirajane Strauss," Makarov said, his voice quiet, which was far more terrifying than his usual roar. "Your power is S-Class. But your judgment is not. You took an S-Class quest, a 'Beast' subjugation, with your untrained siblings. You were arrogant, and your arrogance nearly cost this family everything."
"I... I'm sorry... I just wanted to..."
"I am revoking your S-Class position," Makarov stated, his voice absolute. "Until you learn the responsibility, the humility, and the wisdom that rank requires, you are forbidden from taking any quest S-Class. Am I understood?"
Mirajane's world was shattered. She was The Demon, the S-Class prodigy. It was all she had. But she looked at her sleeping brother, and she knew the Master was right.
Mirajane accepted her punishment, nodding, her body shaking with silent sobs.
"Yes, Master."
Blake watched from the doorway. He had saved Lisanna's life. He knew this was the moment, changing her from "The Demon" into the kind, gentle woman she was destined to become. But watching it happen was painful.
Seeing the mood in the guild was not looking good, Blake quietly slipped away. There would be no welcome-home party tonight.
He went to Fairy Hills, a place that felt both familiar and strange after so long. He spent the night taking rest, the sound of the giants' laughter still echoing in his ears, a stark contrast to the somber silence of the guild he had just returned to.