"It's me, it's me!"
Makarov's voice trembled slightly with excitement as he rushed to the counter in a few strides. "Reis, you... weren't you already—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Fifty years is enough time for a child to grow into a young man, and for a young man to enter his twilight years.
Makarov himself had changed from the young man who thought only of adventuring with his comrades into the grey-haired old man he was today.
Yet Reis still looked like the young man he was over forty years ago.
"You..." Seeing the unfamiliar expression on Reis's face, Makarov took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions, and turned back to Hope. "What exactly is going on here?"
Hope didn't keep him in suspense any longer and explained everything.
A day ago, after learning that Reis was connected to Fairy Tail, he and his companions, led by Kirin's group of four, arrived at the headquarters of Diabolos.
With Kirin's guarantee, plus the fact that their Guild Master, Jorg Leissen, hadn't been reachable for over a week.
As the saying goes, if someone's whereabouts are unknown, they're as good as dead.
Thus, the few remaining members of Diabolos chose to switch sides without any psychological burden.
Of course, there were one or two stubborn ones, but under Hope's persuasive reasoning, they too tearfully acknowledged Fairy Tail.
After all, physical force is also a form of "reasoning."
With Natsu helping to liven up the atmosphere, the Dragon Eaters soon mingled with everyone, and their relationship became much more harmonious.
Upon meeting Reis, code-named "spirit dragon," Hope discovered that, just as Kirin had said, Reis had lost his past memories—or rather, his memories from when he was alive.
Reis's magic, "Dragon Soul," was very special. This Dragon Slayer Magic not only allowed him, who had already become a ghost, to touch physical objects, but also enabled him to use magic on humans.
Normally, ghosts cannot use magic; even Mavis on Tenrou Island back then needed the power of the island to do so.
Facing Reis in his ghost state, Hope's various mind-reading abilities were completely ineffective, and he had no way to start helping him recover his memories.
But fortunately, there was an elder in the family.
Makarov had dedicated his entire life to Fairy Tail, so Hope felt he must know about Reis's past, and thus summoned him over.
After hearing the whole story, Makarov's gaze became complicated, and his heart couldn't settle for a long time. He hadn't expected his comrade to have been wandering on another continent for decades.
But as for restoring memories, he had no solution either.
Although Precht had taught him magic with similar functions back then, he had found it too troublesome to learn...
Hope smiled. "Master, Senior Reis's magic allows him to possess humans. As long as the synchronization rate is high enough, he can enter the target's consciousness to view their memories."
Makarov understood; the plan was for Reis to enter his memories so that he could recall the past and remember who he really was.
"Then let's do it."
Makarov didn't hesitate for a moment. "Reis, I Hope that when I open my eyes, you won't look at me with those unfamiliar eyes anymore."
Reis had joined Diabolos precisely to pursue his past and find the person who killed him. Now that someone related to his origins had appeared, he wouldn't let this chance slip by even if Makarov hadn't agreed.
"Dragon Soul" activated.
A faint white light rose from Reis's body as the ghost possessed Makarov. The next second, a scene appeared before his eyes.
In the bustling guild, two people were carrying a comrade on a stretcher who had been seriously injured by a monster attack during a mission, rushing into the hall in a panic.
"This is bad! We have an injured person!"
"Porlyusica, please, save him!"
The pink-haired woman immediately knelt down to check the person's injuries.
The blood-covered casualty seemed to sense something. "Am I... beyond saving...?"
"Don't say such silly things, you'll definitely be saved!"
The man named Makarov encouraged him to hold on with a determined look, then turned to the pink-haired woman. "Right, Porlyusica?"
The pink-haired woman said nothing, but the sadness in her eyes was enough to say it all.
It was too late.
The casualty looked at Makarov in confusion. "Why... try so hard... are we really that close...?"
"That has nothing to do with it!"
Makarov shouted, "Aren't we all comrades of Fairy Tail! We're family!"
"I suppose so..." The casualty realized, forcing a small smile, but his vision grew blurrier, and the sound of many people crying reached his ears.
Gradually, the casualty could no longer sense anything.
Only Makarov's last words... were heard clearly.
"Don't die! Reis!"
But he died anyway, forgetting even his precious comrades...
So I used to be a Mage of Fairy Tail...
Reis deactivated "Dragon Soul" in a daze. Looking at Makarov, whose appearance was worlds apart from the one in his memories, he gave a smile identical to the one he had right before he died.
"It's so good to see you again."
Seeing Reis recover his memories, Makarov's eyes instantly reddened. He could no longer hold back and wanted to give the comrade he had failed to save a hug.
And then... he couldn't.
After all, Reis was a ghost; he could touch Makarov using "Dragon Soul," but Makarov didn't have that ability.
The touching atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.
Hope cleared his throat. "Master, there's an Alchemy Guild in Giltina that can create human bodies. I plan to ask them to reconstruct a body for Senior Reis after the Hundred Year Quest is over, and then we can put his soul back in..."
Reis looked surprised: You can do that?
Makarov nodded, approving of Hope's suggestion, since that was how Mavis had been "resurrected." The only thing to worry about was whether that Alchemy Guild could actually refine a complete human body.
Who would want to be dead if they could be alive, especially an unlucky fellow like Reis who died so young? So, after a moment of hesitation, he agreed.
With Jorg Leissen gone, Reis was the most senior person in the Dragon Devourer Guild; he had basically watched juniors like Kirin grow up.
Now that his memories were restored, turning Diabolos into a branch of Fairy Tail was perfectly logical.
Reis intended to let the spirit of Fairy Tail take root and sprout on the continent of Giltina as well.
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