After Acnologia attacked Tenrou Island, he once again concealed his tracks.
Following that, both Fairy Tail and the Magic Council conducted a six-month investigation of the surrounding waters, but they found nothing.
Time passed in the blink of an eye—seven years.
Hargeon Port.
A young boy stood at the port, gazing out at the sea. The surface was calm, seagulls flew freely in the sky, and the cool sea breeze brushed against his face, yet it brought not even a single message of longing.
"How much longer are you going to keep staring at the sea?"
"The job is over, let's head back to the guild."
Alzack and Bisca looked at the unmoving boy with a hint of helplessness.
"If you don't move faster, your father is going to worry."
"Macao entrusted us to take good care of you, Romeo."
"Mm..."
The boy was none other than Macao's son, Romeo. Seven years had passed, and Romeo had grown into a teenager.
Magnolia Town.
Inside a run-down, small building—this was the current Fairy Tail guild.
"Is Romeo not back yet?! Are Alzack and Bisca taking good care of Romeo?"
Macao was making a racket. Because of the disappearance of many of Fairy Tail's elites, Macao, as the mage with the longest seniority, was elected as the Fourth Master.
"Stop shouting. You're not a kid, calm down, Macao."
Wakaba said irritably. Romeo had only been out for a few days, and Macao had already grumbled and shouted about it several times. If Macao wasn't tired of it, he certainly was.
"I believe I told you to call me Master!!"
"I've never seen a Master quite like you."
Max scratched his head. "Whatever. What's this? Are there even fewer people in the guild now?"
Max scanned the guild and found that it had become significantly emptier. Seven years ago, the Fairy Tail guild originally had hundreds of members, but now, only about a dozen remained.
Warren said, "It can't be helped. No one is going to come to a small guild like ours with a request."
Nab pointed at the only few sheets on the request board and said, "Look at how many requests we have in total!!"
Guild mages earn their rewards through requests and rely on those rewards to live. The stronger a guild is, the more request forms they receive. Like the Fairy Tail of seven years ago, which was known as the number one mage guild in Fiore and even the number one on the continent of Ishgar, the requests they received daily were countless, and they could choose the jobs that suited them best.
Now that there was no work, everyone naturally went their separate ways.
"Look, I'm about to finish my new dance. I call it the 'Weakness Dance'." Vijeeter danced with trembling movements.
Max complained, "That's gross... kick him out."
"Droy, has the Earth's gravity increased again lately?"
Laki teased Droy.
"Are you trying to say I've gotten fat? Bastard!"
Droy held a grilled sausage in one hand and a chicken leg in the other. Seven years later, Droy had turned into a large man with a fat head and big ears.
"If you know it, then lose some weight properly! Now when we go out on missions together, we're just waiting for you the whole way. Look at Reedus, he's become so slim now."
Jet complained. When the two of them went on missions, Droy would start panting after only two steps, which was a huge hassle. If it weren't for the fact they had been teammates for so many years, he really would have wanted to dump this fat guy.
"Actually, this was my original physique. Back then, I only maintained that shape to make using my magic more convenient."
Reedus's Pict Magic required drawing on his own body; the larger the body, the larger the area for drawing.
"I also exercise every day!! Haven't you noticed? Look at these muscles!!"
Droy said stubbornly.
"I wonder what Levy would say if she saw you the way you are now?"
"Levy isn't coming back... ah!"
As soon as Droy finished speaking, he realized he had misspoken. All the guild members fell silent. Although they had always firmly believed that everyone was still alive, seven years was truly far too long.
Suddenly!
A group of people burst straight through the front door.
"Hey, hey! Are there only these few people left in this guild? Are the numbers down again?"
"Gihahahahaha!"
"That's why this guild is weak! Weak!!"
Fairy Tail's members all looked quite grim upon seeing these few people.
"Thibault! I told you not to come here anymore!!"
Macao shouted at Thibault.
"Hey, hey! Is it okay to talk to us like that? Have you forgotten who lent you the money to rent this place and allowed your guild to linger on?"
"But this guild won't be able to hold on much longer anyway. Hahaha, you were indeed the strongest guild in Fiore once, but your era has ended."
"Nowadays, between a broken guild and a new generation's Twilight Ogre, anyone with eyes can see which one is better for this city, right?"
Max said unhappily, "You're just relying on having a larger guild size..."
Warren also said, "Exactly!! What we have is will!!"
Thibault said disdainfully, "What can you do with just will?"
Macao interrupted him and said, "What are you here for, Thibault?"
"To collect this month's money."
Macao's face stiffened. "We haven't received any requests this month. We'll pay next month together. Please wait a bit longer!..."
BANG!
Thibault kicked Macao in the body.
"Macao!!"
"You bastards dare..."
The guild members immediately prepared to take action. No matter how unqualified Macao might be, he was still the Master of Fairy Tail; they couldn't let these bastards bully him.
"Don't anyone move!!"
Macao shouted.
The few members of Twilight Ogre began to destroy things.
"Hahahaha!"
"How pathetic! Is this Fairy Tail?!"
"What an embarrassment!! Hahahaha!!"
After the destruction, Thibault and the others said, "We'll give you a one-month extension this time. If you haven't paid back the money by next time, then don't blame us for being ruthless. Let's go!"
"Hahahaha!!"
The group left, leaving behind a floor of broken table and chair fragments.
Watching this scene, everyone in the guild couldn't help but feel a surge of grief. Once upon a time, their Fairy Tail was the strongest guild on the Ishgar continent, and no one dared to provoke them. Even an opponent as strong as Phantom Lord was severely dealt with after provoking them and was eventually disbanded.
Now, they were being stepped on by a small guild and didn't dare to resist. How could things have turned out like this?
Wakaba lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled, as if only then could he dissolve the frustration in his heart. "It's already been seven years since then."
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