"Ah! Hello! I'm Gildarts."
Gildarts suddenly realized he hadn't greeted Kael yet.
"Hello, I'm Kael. I've heard stories about you since the day I joined the guild. Seeing you yesterday, you definitely live up to the legend."
"Is that so?! Haha, you're a good kid!"
Gildarts liked what he heard. He slammed a heavy hand onto Kael's shoulder; there weren't many people the Master recognized so highly.
"So, how about it? Got a girlfriend? Do I need to introduce you to some cute girls?"
Slam!
Mira slammed the mug down in front of Gildarts so hard that beer splashed all over him.
Makarov spoke up, "Don't go corrupting the boy. Mira is Kael's girlfriend."
"Eh?! Not bad!"
Gildarts gave Kael a big thumbs-up. Mira had truly blossomed into a beautiful young woman.
The three of them drank and chatted, and Gildarts caught up on everything that had happened over the last three years.
"I never thought that Laxus brat would do something like that."
Gildarts had watched Laxus grow up. He knew the kid wasn't bad at heart, but this time he had definitely crossed the line.
"Still, Kael, you've really impressed me."
Gildarts looked at Kael with admiration. He knew Jose—that guy was annoying, but his magic power was undeniably high. For Kael to defeat him, he had to be one hell of a young man.
"We should spar when we get the chance."
He wanted to see exactly what this young man was capable of.
"Sure thing!"
Kael readily agreed. He also wanted to test himself against a powerhouse like Gildarts.
Rumble!!
Heavy rain began to pour from the sky.
"Carla, I finally found you!!"
Seeing the rain start, Wendy rushed out to find Carla.
"Wendy, you'll catch a cold if you don't use an umbrella."
"You're one to talk, Carla! We just joined the guild; I think we should try to get along with everyone."
"There's no need for that. As long as I have you, it's enough."
Wendy pouted. "Honestly! There you go again."
Suddenly, a figure approached through the downpour.
"Who's there?"
"Wendy, it's me. I didn't expect you to end up in this guild."
Mystogan pulled off his face wrap, revealing his features.
"Jellal?!!"
Wendy recognized him instantly. It was the benefactor who had saved her seven years ago: Jellal.
"This... how is this possible?! You should be under arrest!"
Carla had heard Wendy mention Jellal before. She had also seen the news of Jellal's arrest in the papers. From talking to Lucy, she knew that the person who defeated and captured Jellal was Kael.
"The one you're talking about isn't me—or rather, it's not the 'me' of this world. My identity is Mystogan of Fairy Tail."
"You... you... I've always, always wanted to see you again..."
Wendy had desperately wanted to see Jellal again. He was the one who saved her life.
"I'm sorry I couldn't visit you. But there's no time to celebrate our reunion. You need to leave this city immediately."
"This city is about to disappear!!"
"What?!"
Wendy and Carla were stunned.
"What do you mean by that?! What do you mean the city is going to disappear?!"
"It's 'Anima.' A super-dimensional space magic. That spell has already locked onto this city. It's too massive for me to suppress alone. Its disappearance is unavoidable. At the very least, I have to save you."
Wendy asked anxiously, "What about Fairy Tail?! What will happen to everyone at the guild?!"
Mystogan's voice was heavy. "Everyone. They will all die."
"How could that be?! No! I have to go tell them!"
Wendy immediately sprinted toward the Fairy Tail guild.
Inside the guild hall, because of the rain, everyone was feeling too lazy to take on jobs.
Mira put on her coat, looking like she was about to head out.
"Kael, I have something to take care of. I'm heading to the church."
"I'll go with you," Kael said, putting down his glass.
"No need. I'm going with Elfman. Elfman, let's go."
"Coming!"
Elfman stood up and followed Mira out.
Lucy asked, confused, "Why would Mira-san go to a church in this weather?"
"Ah. Lisanna's death anniversary is coming up soon."
"Lisanna?"
"Mira and Elfman's younger sister. She passed away during a job two years ago. Lisanna and Natsu were very close, you know. She even said she'd be his bride when she grew up."
"Bride?!"
Lucy couldn't believe a girl would actually want to marry Natsu.
"Lisanna, huh..."
Given their relationship, Mira had told Kael about Lisanna before. Kael knew Lisanna was actually alive, but telling Mira before finding her might result in her not believing him. On the other hand, he wasn't 100% sure if she was still alive—plot points could be unreliable, after all.
Previously, he lacked the strength, but now that he was powerful enough, it was time to bring Lisanna back. When the time came, he would bring her before Mira and give her a real surprise.
At that moment, the sky over Magnolia began to shift. The dark clouds swirled rapidly, forming a massive vortex. The other end of the vortex led to some unknown place.
Wendy noticed the change in the sky and accelerated toward the guild. "Everyone!! It's bad!! The sky—"
Before Wendy could finish her sentence, the guild building began to distort right before her eyes. Immediately after, every building in the town started warping and being pulled away, surging toward the gargantuan vortex in the sky.
In the blink of an eye, the entire town of Magnolia had vanished.
"No... no way... The guild... it's gone..."
"The streets... everything... How... what exactly happened?! Is anyone there?!"
Slam!
An arm burst through the dirt. Shortly after, Kael's figure crawled out from underground.
"Kael!"
Seeing Kael was safe, Wendy burst into tears of joy.
"Wendy, what happened?"
Kael was a bit dazed himself. He had just gone to the bathroom when he felt the world spin. By the time he regained his senses, he was buried in the dirt. He thought he had just drunk too much, but hearing Wendy's voice snapped him awake. He crawled out and saw the empty wasteland surrounding them.
Just then, another mound of dirt bulged upward, and Natsu's figure emerged from the ground.
Natsu looked just as bewildered, his expression a mirror image of Kael's. "Kael, Wendy? Where are we?" He had been sleeping and woke up to find himself buried.
Wendy said, "This... this is the guild! A hole suddenly opened in the sky, and the guild and the streets were all sucked inside!"
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