After Erza's reminder, Shane finally remembered they were here for an actual job.
He glanced at Gray and Natsu, who were still going at each other in the snow, and couldn't help thinking how impressive Erza's focus was once she switched into "work mode."
Shane jogged over and grabbed them both by the backs of their collars. "Alright, knock it off! If you two keep fighting, are we doing the job or not?!"
They grudgingly let go, snorted at each other in mutual defiance, and fell in behind him.
The four of them headed toward the snow mountains, following the distant silhouettes of the peaks.
People said a horse can run itself to death chasing a mountain—and it wasn't an exaggeration. The range looked close, but was still far, far away.
They trudged through ankle-deep snow for most of the day, sinking and slipping with every step, and the towering mountain mass still felt impossibly distant.
Shane kept looking up, hoping to spot a wyvern.
But aside from the pale sky and the occasional drifting snowflake, there wasn't even a bird—let alone a flying dragon.
"Tch… this is way too inefficient." Shane frowned, considering whether to spread his wings and scout ahead.
Just then, a soft crunch-crunch of footsteps came from behind them.
Before Shane even turned, a thick, slightly choking stench of alcohol rode the cold wind straight into his nose.
"Who's there?!" Erza snapped.
Her reaction was instant—eyes sharp, she spun and stepped forward, putting herself between the group and the sound.
"Only noticed when I got this close? Fairy Tail, you've still got room to work on your awareness."
A voice followed—slightly drunk, but loud and wild.
Through the snowfall, a lean figure emerged.
A young man, maybe in his early twenties. He wore a purple training outfit, his long hair tied in a topknot and wrapped with a white cloth, and his whole vibe screamed carefree delinquent.
"Didn't notice until I was right here?" Erza's expression hardened. Light flashed in her hand, and a delicate longsword with rippling water patterns appeared—Flowing Water.
"Hic—don't be so tense." The man turned around lazily and showed the guild emblem on his back.
"I'm Bacchus, from The Quatro Cerberus." He grinned, all teeth.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're here for the wyvern subjugation job too, right?"
He unhooked the gourd at his waist and took a huge swig, wiping his mouth as he muttered, bleary-eyed, "Clever, those clients… posting the same request to multiple guilds. First one to finish gets paid. Real good business."
"The Quatro Cerberus?" Erza repeated.
Her expression eased a little. She'd heard of them—supposedly their guild master, Goldmine, had once been a Fairy Tail member.
He'd teamed up with old Rob and Master Makarov back in the day; the connection ran deep. They were allies, not enemies.
"So why did you come over?" Erza asked, still cautious.
"If you're here to tell us to drop the request, save your breath. Even with old ties between our guilds, Fairy Tail doesn't quit halfway once we take a job."
Reliable, Shane thought, watching her handle it so cleanly. He honestly preferred letting Erza deal with social stuff—so he stepped back a few paces and blended in with Gray and Natsu, turning into a spectator.
"Haha, nah, don't get the wrong idea." Bacchus chuckled, rubbing his chin stubble.
"I heard Fairy Tail's got a famous new monster rookie. Since I ran into you, I figured I'd say hi and see what kind of 'monster' they're talking about."
His drunk eyes slid past the others and landed on Erza's sword.
"That magic… that stance…" Some of the haze cleared from his gaze, replaced by a fighter's sharpness. "Looks like the rumors weren't exaggerated."
"My name is Erza," she corrected seriously. "Not 'monster.'"
"Yeah yeah, Erza-san." Bacchus waved it off like it didn't matter.
Then he gave his gourd a shake and finally got to the point.
"Since we're after the same target—and we've met like this—how about a match?"
"Let's see whether Fairy Tail is stronger, or the Quatro Cerberus are."
The air tightened.
Natsu and Gray immediately lit up, both looking ready to jump in and accept for her.
"My strength is weak. I can't represent the guild," Erza said, shaking her head.
Then her eyes flared with battle spirit, and a confident smile tugged at her lips.
"But if it's just a spar—under my own name…"
She tightened her grip. The sword gave a clear, eager hum, like it was answering her.
"…then I'll gladly accept!"
Shane, watching from the back, nodded enthusiastically.
Of course she accepted without hesitation. That was so Erza—competitive to the bone, even if she tried to rein it in around him sometimes.
"Good! That's the spirit!" Bacchus grinned, face red from the drink, equally fired up.
"Don't say I bullied you because you're young. You can bring your guildmates if you want—I'll head on first!"
Magic surged through his body, perfectly fused with raw physical power. He became a purple blur and shot toward the mountains at an absurd speed.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the endless white.
"So fast!" Gray and Natsu stared, stunned.
"Other guild mages really do have some energy," Shane murmured, impressed.
Then, quick as a flash, he stuck out both hands and pinned the two idiots before they could sprint after him.
"Relax." He looked at Erza. "Want me to take you over there?"
He meant flying—Lancer's wings.
But he asked instead of just doing it, because this was her duel. If he interfered too much, it'd ruin the fun for her.
Sure enough, Erza shook her head. "No. We go at normal speed."
She wasn't worried, but Natsu and Gray were.
"Erza! We're representing the guild here!" Natsu shouted, hopping in place. "Why wouldn't we use the best tricks? What if that drunk guy kills the wyvern first?!"
"Yeah!" Gray, unusually aligned with Natsu for once. "Losing to some drunk would be humiliating!"
The two of them yapped nonstop, like they'd sprout wings through sheer panic.
"It's just a personal spar," Erza said evenly, slipping Flowing Water back into her requip space.
"And a wyvern isn't some rabbit you can catch anytime you want.
A beast at that level isn't easy to find—and it won't go down easily, either."
Even so, after that little scare, they definitely picked up the pace.
Hours later, they finally crossed the long stretch of snowfield and started climbing a steep ridge.
The wind howled, whipping up snow dust that stung their faces.
When they finally crested the ridge, the view opened up—
And…
"There's no wyvern here!" Natsu shaded his eyes and scanned the horizon. All he saw was jagged rock, endless snow, and bleak emptiness.
Not a single dragon feather.
He sighed and hopped down, turning toward Shane, who was sheltering from the wind along the slope.
"Shane, don't you have those super convenient eyes? Hurry up and find it!"