"This world… is perfect."
Rowan's initial discomfort at discovering his new incarnation was a cat vanished completely once he absorbed Aureo's memories. Magic here was not hidden, regulated, or rationed. It was everywhere. Structured, mature, and woven into daily life. A world like this was ideal for growth.
The name Fairy Tail tugged faintly at his memory.
"I've heard that somewhere," he muttered, searching the corners of his past life. Nothing concrete surfaced. Not a book he'd read, not a show he'd watched. Just a vague echo.
He let it go.
Both the Marvel world and the wizarding world had been settings he knew well from stories and films. This third world clearly belonged to some work of fiction too, just one he had never experienced directly. That meant no foreknowledge, no shortcuts.
Unfortunate, but acceptable.
A favorable situation should be pressed. An unfavorable one endured. He had already been given far more advantages than most.
Rowan raised a paw.
"Diffindo."
A nearby leaf twisted, compressed, and sharpened into something as thin and keen as a razor. The cat's body clearly carried a compatible magical lineage. The spell responded cleanly, efficiently.
With a thought, magnetic force seized the transformed leaf. It spun violently and shot upward, slicing clean through a tree branch as thick as an arm.
Telekinesis and magnetism were intact.
At the same moment, Rowan felt it. Both his main body in the Marvel world and his Hogwarts self experienced a subtle swell of magical energy. The cat's mana reserves were modest, but the connection was real.
What mattered wasn't the quantity.
It was the innate spell.
Rowan closed his eyes.
Across all incarnations, he activated the same magic.
White wings burst into existence behind him, feathers luminous and solid. The sensation was nothing like his previous method of flight. Before, he had dragged himself through the air using controlled metal and force.
Now, flight was natural.
Effortless.
He beat his wings once and rose smoothly into the sky. Speed, maneuverability, and true aerial dominance were suddenly his.
Air superiority changed everything.
"Since I've taken your body," Rowan said quietly, flexing Aureo's claws, "I'll settle your debt first."
He rose higher, scanning the forest.
The three dark mages who had killed Aureo belonged to an unregistered guild. In this world, that meant criminals. Assassins. Raiders. Their jobs involved murder and theft, nothing more.
They were not elite.
Aureo had died because his mana ran dry mid-flight. Rowan had no such weakness. With his reserves, he could stay airborne for a full day if necessary.
And if things went poorly, escape was guaranteed.
Revenge was only part of the goal.
Money mattered in every world.
Aureo's savings from selling rare herbs had been taken. The dark mages' own wealth would more than compensate.
Half an hour later, Rowan spotted them.
The three men sat in a clearing, laughing and eating grilled fish. Relaxed. Unalert.
Rowan landed silently some distance away and began preparing.
From memory, he identified them quickly. One specialized in close combat using conjured weapons. One used fire magic at range. The third wielded wind magic, capable of binding opponents in place.
The wind mage had to die first.
"Diffindo."
"Serpensortia."
Leaves twisted into needles, blades, and fine wire. Dozens of venomous snakes materialized in the undergrowth, waiting.
When the three dark mages stood to leave, Rowan struck.
A steel needle, guided by magnetism, pierced the wind mage's ear and bored straight into his brain. The man collapsed without a sound.
The reaction was immediate.
The other two spun around, weapons and magic flaring.
As Rowan launched another volley, the close-combat mage reacted instantly, twin swords flashing as he deflected the needles midair.
"Who dares attack Death Fang?" the man snarled.
Rowan rose from the trees, wings spreading deliberately, drawing their eyes to him.
"So they really aren't normal humans anymore," he noted calmly.
Against an ordinary person, his attack would have been unavoidable. Enhanced reflexes, mana-reinforced bodies, and combat instincts made these mages something else entirely.
The swordsman's gaze locked onto him, confusion flashing across his face.
"That cat… you're supposed to be dead."
Rowan answered with silence.
Five spinning blades screamed toward them. The swordsman stepped forward, blades moving in perfect arcs, knocking each one aside with precision.
"Pathetic," he scoffed. "You think this can hurt me?"
Behind him, the fire mage raised both hands. A crimson magic circle bloomed into existence.
"Fire Cyclone!"
Flames roared outward, twisting into a violent spiral that surged toward Rowan.
The air burned.
The fight had truly begun.