Secrets and a Book... God!

Magnolia, Yuri's long-term... temporary residence.

Because he could be evicted by his landlord at any time, Yuri never had a permanent residence.

This makes it difficult for the average person to find him.

However, not many people usually come here; at most, it's just Cana, Erza, Mirajane, and a few others who occasionally visit.

But today, an extraordinary guest has suddenly arrived here.

"What's wrong, Gildarts? Is there something you need?" Yuri asked, somewhat surprised, looking at the middle-aged man who had appeared in his house.

"I'm leaving, Yuri," Gildarts said directly.

"I see. Will you be gone for a long time this time? It's even necessary for you to come in person to say goodbye," Yuri asked, puzzled.

It's normal for Gildarts to be away on missions for extended periods; it would be strange if he stayed in the guild all the time.

Despite being middle-aged, she still has a free spirit and thinks about traveling all the time.

Staying in the guild for two months this time is already quite an achievement.

However, this was the first time someone had made a point of saying goodbye to him before leaving.

"Actually, I should have left a long time ago, but there's something that's been making me hesitate, so I've been putting it off until now." Gildarts' expression was somewhat serious and earnest, quite unlike his usual carefree and easygoing self.

Yuri raised an eyebrow; he knew the other man had something important to say.

"Does this have anything to do with me?"

Gildarts nodded. "Actually, the main reason I came back this time was to test your strength."

"To be honest, I was really surprised when the president told me in his letter that you had grown to the point where you were qualified to participate in the S-Class Exam."

"I originally planned to give this to you after you became S-Class Mage, but I didn't expect you to grow so quickly."

"But now that it's come to this, it's made me a little hesitant."

Yuri frowned slightly. "What is it that makes you so cautious?"

"It's a book."

As he spoke, Gildarts pulled a brown-covered book with gold embroidery from his pocket, the cover bearing a large "V".

Yuri picked it up and looked at it.

He recognized the book; it was the poetry collection that the human side of the Devil May Cry character always carried, but it was just a poetry collection, nothing special.

If I had to name it, would you call it a childhood memory?

"Do you remember? When I found you?" Gildarts asked.

"I remember, so what?"

Yuri recalled that, if he remembered correctly, he had just signed a contract with Griffon when Gildarts appeared.

At the time, he was still wary of the world, secretly relieved that he hadn't been seen.

"Before this, I told everyone except the guild master that I hadn't encountered anything in the Sky-Splitting Grand Canyon except you... but that's not the case." Suddenly, Gildarts began to recount a secret.

"You mean, there's someone else in that canyon besides me?" Yuri frowned.

If what Gildarts said is true, then there's only one person he can think of.

"Yes, it was a guy in a black robe. He was standing next to you while you were unconscious, and it looked like he was about to do something."

"However, my arrival seems to have disrupted his plans; he abandoned you and ran away."

"Although I chased after him, we only exchanged a couple of simple moves. That's when I accidentally lost the book."

No wonder he thought Gildarts's arrival was too coincidental; it turns out he deliberately came back to look for him afterwards?

"If I'm not mistaken, what you've been searching for all these years is probably related to that guy in the black robe from back then," Gildarts speculated.

Yuri remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

As mentioned before, the chairman had some guesses about what Yuri was doing, but he was never sure what exactly he was looking for.

Gildarts, as the person who brought Yuri back to the guild, was naturally aware of this.

Don't worry, I won't interfere in your affairs, nor will I stop you from doing whatever you want.

"I just want to remind you that guy is very strong!" Gildarts said gravely.

"Although I haven't officially fought him, I can sense that the magic he possesses is terrifying; even I might not be his match."

"If he hadn't had some reservations at the time, it's uncertain whether I could have even gotten you out of here."

Although Yuri had anticipated the [Devil's ] strength, Yuri still felt a chill run down his spine when he heard Gildarts admit that he might not be able to defeat him.

But... what could possibly make that madman care?

Yuri couldn't imagine it.

"That's why I've been hesitant about whether or not to give it to you."

Gildarts had always had reservations.

After all, this book was something that fell from that man in black robes, and he was worried that Yuri would be targeted by him again because of it.

However, after much deliberation, he finally decided to hand it over to Yuri.

All of this is related to Yuri, so he naturally has the right to know the truth and details.

"Have you read this book?" Yuri suddenly asked.

"Both the chairman and I have seen it," Gildarts said sincerely.

What's written inside?

"Have no idea."

"Don't know?" Yuri's expression was strange. If he had seen it, why wouldn't he know?

To be precise, I didn't understand it.

"Even you and the chairman can't understand it?" Yuri's voice was tinged with disbelief.

Don't let their seemingly unreliable behavior fool you.

But Gildarts has truly traveled far and wide, undertaking all sorts of challenging missions, and has seen and experienced countless things.

The president is a true scholar, knowing quite a bit about the secrets of the magical world.

But the fact that even they couldn't understand the content is terrifying!

"The guild leader and I searched through all the records in the guild, but we couldn't find anything related to it."

"Is that so...?"

Yuri remained silent for a moment, then slowly opened the book.

Sure enough, the contents recorded therein were not the poems about William Blake that Yuri remembered, but rather some completely incomprehensible text.

But Yuri had a strange feeling the moment he touched it.

He said uncertainly, "This... must be some kind of magic, and this book is the vessel for that magic."

Yuri said, looking up at Gildarts, "Have you tried infusing it with magic?"

"I tried, but there was no response," Gildarts replied.

Yuri could tell that the book was some kind of magic, how could he and Makarov not see it?

The key question is, what kind of magic does this book possess?

Even the Fairy Tail library couldn't find any information about it.

You should know that it even contains records of Super Magic.

Yuri thought for a moment and tried to infuse it with magic.

Soon, a strange feeling welled up in his heart, and he unconsciously closed his eyes.

Seeing this, Gildarts did not disturb them.

Quite a while

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Yuri's forehead as he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Before Gildarts could even ask, he uttered a single word with a solemn expression.

"God..."