Recaps

Yuri defeated Echidna during the S-Class Exam and found an exceptionally durable piece of metal inside her remains. He continued toward the central lake while Laxus headed for their duel, as Makarov prepared the exam’s real trial.

• Yuri overpowered Echidna with the Red Queen and Devil Bringer, then crushed her with an enormous magical fist.
• Yuri found a silvery-white metal chunk in the pit that had survived his attack without a scratch, and he packed it to take along.
• Yuri set off toward the lake at the center of the forest, believing he was close after encountering an S-Class magic beast.
• Laxus also defeated an S-Class magic beast and headed toward the battlefield where he and Yuri would duel.
• Makarov lamented that the two candidates had barely cleared any of the marked beasts, then revealed that the true S-Class Exam was about to begin.

Yuri and Laxus met at a lake in the Lansala Rainforest and fought to test their strength. Their duel stopped when Gildarts appeared atop a colossal creature rising from the lake.

• Yuri arrived at the lake first and waited for Laxus.
• Yuri and Laxus clashed, trading attacks with magic, lightning, and Yuri’s Devil Bringer.
• Laxus revealed he could transform into lightning and evade Yuri’s grip.
• Yuri and Laxus agreed to fight more seriously, then stopped when a giant creature erupted from the lake.
• Gildarts appeared on the creature and greeted Yuri and Laxus.

Laxus and Yuri teamed up to challenge Gildarts after he revealed himself as the exam’s strongest magic beast. Gildarts overwhelmed them at first, but Yuri broke through his Crush Magic, and Laxus revealed his Dragon Slayer Magic as the battle continued.

• Gildarts revealed that defeating him would earn an immediate S-Class promotion, and Yuri and Laxus agreed to attack him together.
• Laxus struck Gildarts with Lightning Strike Fist, but Gildarts caught the blow and slammed him into the magic beast’s shell.
• Gildarts shattered Yuri’s magical arm and engulfed him in a blast of magic, but Yuri tore through the light and punched Gildarts back.
• Yuri warned Laxus to stop holding back, and Laxus revealed his Dragon Slayer Magic.
• Gildarts welcomed the challenge from Laxus and Yuri and urged them to show him Fairy Tail’s new era.

Yuri and Laxus teamed up against Gildarts, combining their attacks but failing to seriously hurt him. After Gildarts destroyed the Red Queen and left both young mages exhausted, Laxus urged Yuri to use another move, and Yuri called out Griffon.

• Yuri used afterimages to approach Gildarts, but Gildarts saw through the trick and stopped the Red Queen with his fingers.
• Yuri used the Devil Bringer as a pivot to kick Gildarts, creating an opening for Laxus to fire Thunder Dragon's Roar.
• Yuri compressed his magic arm into the Devil Bringer and struck Gildarts, who blocked the attack with Crush Magic.
• Gildarts knocked Laxus into the lakebed, destroyed the Red Queen, and sent Yuri crashing downward before Laxus caught him.
• Laxus asked Yuri to use his other moves, and Yuri called out Griffon.

Yuri combined with Griffon to gain Godspeed and joined forces with Laxus to land a series of powerful attacks on Gildarts. Though they injured him, Gildarts stood firm and announced that he would stop holding back.

• Yuri merged with Griffon's power and unveiled his lightning-enhanced Godspeed.
• Yuri used his speed to strike Gildarts, while Laxus helped him avoid Gildarts's counterattack.
• Yuri and Laxus combined their attacks and sent Gildarts crashing into the ground.
• Yuri and Laxus blasted Gildarts with Thunder Dragon's Breath and the Devil Bringer, injuring him but failing to defeat him.
• Gildarts praised their strength, then released his full magic power and warned that he would no longer hold back.

Gildarts tested Yuri and Laxus by overwhelming them with his magic, and the two young mages struggled onward despite the crushing pressure. Laxus declared that he would someday defeat Gildarts, while Yuri revealed his own reason for fighting; Gildarts then invited them to attack with everything they had left.

• Gildarts unleashed a pillar of magic that immobilized the lake water and crushed Yuri and Laxus with his immense pressure.
• Laxus fought through the pressure until he stumbled, and Yuri caught him before he fell.
• Yuri encouraged Laxus to keep going and summoned purple lightning, insisting that they still had magic left to use.
• Laxus told Gildarts he would accept failure but never give up, and vowed to defeat him someday.
• Yuri told Gildarts he wanted to punch him as hard as he could, and Gildarts acknowledged both boys' determination and urged them to strike with everything they had left.

Yuri and Laxus joined forces to unleash their strongest attacks against Gildarts, devastating the Lansala Rainforest before all three were injured. After recovering under Porlyusica’s care, Yuri and Laxus learned that they had both passed the S-Class Exam and become S-Class Mages.

• Gildarts withdrew his magic power, and Yuri and Laxus charged their strongest attacks before striking him together.
• Gildarts met their blows with his own attack, and the collision destroyed the lake and left a massive crater in the Lansala Rainforest.
• Gildarts carried unconscious Yuri and Laxus from the forest, both injured, while his own arm was dislocated.
• Porlyusica treated Yuri and Laxus at her cabin, and Makarov endured her scolding over their injuries.
• Makarov announced that Yuri and Laxus had both passed the S-Class Exam because they had earned the same number of points.

After Yuri and Laxus became S-Class Mages, Fairy Tail celebrated their achievement and Yuri recovered from his injuries. A nervous bunny girl named Lucy entered the guild, where Yuri recognized her as a supposed fan and wrote her an autograph.

• Yuri told the younger guild members that his fight with Laxus had ended in a draw and that they never found the king of the magical beasts.
• Erza and Mirajane argued over who would care for Yuri, then pulled on his injured arms while the other children watched helplessly.
• Fairy Tail celebrated Laxus and Yuri becoming S-Class Mages, though Yuri had to watch from the sidelines because the girls would not let him drink.
• Yuri recovered in less than five days and distracted Erza with strawberry cake so he could drink, while Mirajane admitted she had eaten the cake.
• A blonde bunny girl entered the guild and claimed to be Yuri's fan, but Yuri wrote “Lucy” on her autograph despite her giving her name as Louise.

Lucy struggled through drinks with Yuri while hiding that she had come from the future to find her missing companions. Later, Yuri spotted two suspicious youths and a flying lion-like cat near Natsu and Gray, and recognized that the cat resembled Happy.

• Lucy admitted she could not drink more, while Yuri repeatedly got her name wrong before finally calling her Lucy.
• Yuri realized Lucy was searching for someone and suspected she might be a spy, but let her keep her reason secret.
• Yuri left Lucy with the drink bill, and she had to dance at the guild to pay her debt.
• Yuri saw Natsu and Gray fighting by the river while two unfamiliar youths cheered them on and then began fighting each other.
• Yuri approached the flying lion-costumed cat, whose companions introduced themselves awkwardly as Naray and Gazu before hurrying away with it.
• Yuri noticed that the little lion looked like Happy and even shared the same catchphrase.

Erza, disguised in a cat costume, met her younger self and urged her to apologize to Natsu and Gray, then revealed herself to Yuri. She and Yuri parted after exchanging news about her future, leaving Erza still waiting for him to return her feelings.

• Erza, disguised as a cat girl, told her younger self to apologize to Natsu and Gray, but the younger Erza stubbornly refused.
• Yuri exposed Erza's disguise after she accidentally revealed the names of Lucy, Natsu, and Gray.
• Erza asked Yuri whether the future was going well, and told him she lived an easy life and still sparred with others.
• Erza thanked Yuri for cutting away her nightmare, but Yuri said she had overcome it herself and walked away.
• Erza watched Yuri leave and wondered how long he would keep making her wait, while Yuri scolded Griffon for narrating his thoughts.

Yuri visited Nico in Fortuna to have her repair the damaged Red Queen and ask her to craft a stronger melee weapon. When Nico could not forge the rare Impact Steel, she pointed him toward the far north in search of the supposedly extinct Hearth Family, and Yuri left her the Blue Rose to modify as well.

• Yuri traveled to Fortuna and brought his damaged Red Queen to Nico for repairs.
• Yuri asked Nico to forge him a stronger melee weapon and showed her the rare metal he had found in the Lansala Rainforest.
• Nico identified the material as Kivira Metal, also called Impact Steel, but said she could not forge it herself.
• Nico advised Yuri to seek the Hearth Family in the far north, though she said they had died out two hundred years earlier.
• Yuri left Nico a deposit and his requirements, asked her to modify the Blue Rose, and departed thinking about the Hearth Family.

Gildarts revealed that a powerful man in a black robe had been standing beside Yuri when he found him unconscious in the Sky-Splitting Grand Canyon, and gave Yuri a mysterious book the man had dropped. When Yuri poured magic power into the book, he discovered something alarming and said, "God..."

• Gildarts told Yuri he was leaving and explained that he had delayed his departure because he was unsure whether to give him a book.
• Gildarts revealed that a man in a black robe had been beside Yuri in the Sky-Splitting Grand Canyon and fled after Gildarts interrupted him.
• Gildarts warned Yuri that the black-robed man had terrifying magic power and might be stronger than Gildarts.
• Yuri opened the book and sensed it contained magic, though Gildarts and Makarov had been unable to understand or activate it.
• Yuri poured magic power into the book, experienced a strange sensation, and gravely said, "God..."

After learning that the mysterious book’s magic was connected to gods, Yuri revealed to Gildarts that Cana was his daughter, leading father and daughter to reunite at the guild. Inspired by their bond and by a secret Gildarts had shared, Yuri set out with Griffon for the far north to seek greater power.

• Yuri and Gildarts discussed the mysterious book and its possible connection to gods, then Yuri told Gildarts that Cana had longed for him for years.
• Cana waited at the guild for Gildarts, who rushed in and embraced her after Yuri’s revelation.
• Gildarts told Cana that Cornelia had been his wife and that he had only just learned Cana was his daughter; Cana tearfully accepted him as her father.
• Yuri reflected on the bond between Cana and Gildarts and resolved to gain enough power to protect what mattered to him.
• Yuri and Griffon left together for the far north.

Yuri got lost in the northern continent, where hunter Macken told him about Ur’s sacrifice to seal Deliora and gave him a map. After setting out with Griffon, Yuri became lost again in the snow.

• Yuri and Griffon realized they had been lost in a snowfield for nearly three days, then spotted a town and hurried toward it.
• Yuri reached Brago, met the hunter Macken, and accepted his invitation to dinner.
• Macken explained that Deliora had devastated the northern continent until Ur sacrificed herself to seal the demon.
• Yuri recalled hearing about Ur from Gildarts, then received a map of the northern continent from Macken.
• Yuri and Griffon set out again, but seven days later they were lost in the snow once more.

Yuri searched the northern continent’s uninhabited depths for the long-lost Hearth Family and met a snowman who claimed to know their location. After dragging the snowman through the storm, Yuri reached a camp filled with magical weapons and opened a tent.

• Yuri continued searching the forbidden depths of the northern continent as his food supplies ran low.
• A snowman emerged from the snow and said the Hearth Family were wandering smiths hidden in the wastes.
• The snowman pointed Yuri toward firelight, and Yuri dragged him along in case the directions were false.
• Yuri and the snowman walked for nearly half a day until they reached a camp in the storm.
• Yuri saw tents and rows of finely crafted magical weapons, opened a tent flap, and looked inside.

Yuri fought off a horde of bearmen while Brax sneaked into their camp and recovered a horn. Yuri caught Brax and took the horn, but Brax revealed surprising strength with a gauntlet, making Yuri suspect he might truly know where the Hearthians were.

• Yuri stumbled upon two bearmen mating, then fled as the camp's warriors chased him.
• Yuri fought the charging bearmen, using a hammer to spin up a snow tornado and launch them into the air.
• While the bearmen were distracted, Brax disguised himself as a snowman, searched the largest tent, and retrieved a horn from the wall.
• Yuri caught Brax as he tried to escape, discovered he was a young child, and confiscated the horn after accusing him of lying about the Hearthians.
• Brax broke free and punched Yuri with strength amplified by a gauntlet, leading Yuri to think Brax might really know about the Hearthians.

Yuri learned that Brax was the last surviving member of the Hearth Family, whose people had been hunted by the Stormbringer for refusing to forge weapons for war. Brax admitted he feared the Hearth Family and its god, Ornn, had been forgotten, leaving him in tears.

• Yuri demanded that Brax lead him to the Hearth Family, but Brax insisted he was its last member and showed Yuri the gauntlet he had forged.
• Brax said the Stormbringer's followers had killed his tribe after they refused to forge weapons for him.
• Brax explained that Ornn had fought the Stormbringer two hundred years earlier, and the battle nearly wiped out the Hearth Family.
• Brax said Ornn had disappeared afterward and the Hearth Family had spent two centuries trying to earn his notice again.
• Yuri suggested Ornn might have died, and Brax broke down, saying he only wanted the world to remember the Hearth Family.

Yuri and Brax sheltered in the ruins of the Hearth Family’s ancestral home, where Brax explained the family’s devotion to forging and the meaning of his horn. The chapter ended with Brax revealing that each Hearth Family child forged a horn as proof of their identity and faith, despite Ornn never acknowledging them.

• Brax brought Yuri to his cave in the ruins of Hearth Town and said he would guide him out of the snowfield after daybreak.
• Yuri quickly fell asleep, while Brax stayed awake by the cave entrance until Yuri joined him to talk.
• Yuri asked why Brax treasured his horn enough to risk his life and trade his half-finished gauntlet for it.
• Brax explained that the hammer and horn were more important than life to Hearth Family members because the horn represented their devotion to the God of the Forge.
• Brax told Yuri that Hearth Family children received a hammer at five and forged their own horns at seven, even though Ornn had never acknowledged them.

Brax told Yuri how the Hearth Family had scattered across the snowfield and revealed that his horn had never sounded, even when he tried to summon help as his tribe was slaughtered. After learning Hearthhome was an active volcano that had not erupted in two hundred years, Yuri suspected no one had checked its summit and dragged Brax toward it.

• Brax explained that the surviving Hearth Family tribes had never found one another, and Yuri urged him to search for them himself.
• Brax gave Yuri his treasured horn to blow, but it made no sound, bringing back Brax’s memories of finding his slaughtered tribe.
• Brax explained that molten fire stones kept him warm and that Hearthhome above the cave was an active volcano.
• Yuri realized that no one might have climbed Hearthhome in two hundred years and pulled Brax toward the mountain’s summit despite Brax’s protests.
• After Yuri and Brax left, a pair of seemingly crimson eyes appeared in the snow.

Yuri and Brax searched Hearthhome for the god of the Hearth Family, and Yuri forced open the guarded gate beneath the mountain. Inside, Yuri encountered Ornn, who attacked him with an enormous hammer.

• Yuri kicked Brax into the crater basin, then caught him as they slid down the rock wall.
• Yuri punched through the basin floor, and he and Brax fell into a cavern beneath Hearthhome.
• Yuri led Brax to a massive gate carved with a ram's head and repeatedly struck it when it would not open.
• Yuri shattered the gate's magical barrier and knocked the gate out of the mountain with a powerful punch.
• An enormous hammer struck Yuri as he entered, and he saw the goat-like Ornn standing on a stone platform.

Yuri confronted Ornn in the lava-filled forge and pushed him to appraise Brax’s gauntlet and face his guilt over the Hearth Family. The chapter ended with Ornn and Yuri preparing to fight as their magic surged against each other.

• Yuri met Ornn, who identified him as a devil and ordered him to leave.
• Brax introduced himself as Ornn’s devoted follower and asked him to appraise his gauntlet.
• Ornn judged the gauntlet not good enough, and Brax left the platform in a daze without taking it.
• Yuri returned the gauntlet to Brax, then asked Ornn to forge a weapon and challenged him about his past with The Stormbringer.
• Yuri accused Ornn of rejecting Brax and isolating himself out of guilt, provoking Ornn to erupt in anger and gather power for a fight.

Yuri challenged Ornn and tried to help Brax regain confidence in his forging, while Ornn reconsidered why he had shut out the Hearth Family. The chapter ended as war horns sounded and towering figures appeared on Hearthhome beneath dark clouds.

• Yuri and Ornn clashed, then Ornn agreed to forge a weapon from Yuri’s Impact Steel and asked him to return in ten days.
• Yuri bet that Ornn still cared for the Hearth Family, promising to leave with Brax and end the family’s following if he lost.
• As he forged, Ornn wondered whether he had been wrong to keep his followers away to protect them.
• After five days of waiting, Brax asked Yuri whether he should continue learning to forge, and Yuri urged him to follow his love for it.
• Yuri blew Brax’s horn as a signal of longing, but a war horn answered as dark clouds covered the sky and towering figures appeared on Hearthhome.

Yuri faced Volibear in the crater while Brax and the bearmen fled toward Ornn’s cave. After taunting Volibear and trading blows with him, Yuri was struck by a lightning-powered claw and hurled into a stone wall.

• Volibear arrived and demanded that Yuri submit, but Yuri refused and threatened him.
• Ornn warned Volibear from underground, but fell silent when Volibear challenged him to resume their old battle.
• Yuri sent Brax toward the cave, and the bearmen followed before Volibear attacked.
• Yuri dodged Volibear’s charges and knocked him down with the Devil Bringer.
• Lightning struck both fighters, leaving Yuri paralyzed, and Volibear’s claw sent him crashing into a stone wall.

Brax begged Ornn to save Yuri, but Ornn initially refused, so Brax chose to return to the fight despite knowing he was outmatched. Ornn finally acted, unleashing a molten goat that met Volibear in a battle above Hearthhome.

• Brax escaped the pursuing bearfolk by jumping into Ornn’s lava cavern and pleaded with Ornn to save Yuri.
• Ornn refused, but Brax left his treasured horn behind and headed back toward the fight, determined not to watch another friend die.
• Yuri, badly wounded, prepared to draw Yamato after admitting Godspeed Mode could not defeat Volibear.
• Ornn picked up Brax’s horn, sounded it, and sent a molten goat bursting through the cage around Hearthhome.
• Volibear abandoned Yuri and charged the growing molten goat, and the two giants collided in the sky.

Yuri defeated Volibear with the newly acquired Devil Arm Balrog, and the Hearth Family rallied to defeat the surviving bearmen. After Ornn finished forging his equipment, Yuri absorbed Volibear’s magic core and prepared to leave, while Ornn reconsidered his isolation.

• Yuri took Balrog from the fallen molten goat, infused it with magic, and struck Volibear with a molten, impact-enhanced blow that destroyed him.
• Brax moved to protect the exhausted Yuri from surviving bearmen, but the Hearth Family arrived and drove the attackers back.
• Five days later, Yuri brought Brax to Ornn, who returned Brax’s horn and acknowledged him as a member of the Hearth Family.
• Yuri absorbed Volibear’s magic core, taking in its magic and giving its lightning power to Griffon.
• After Ornn finished forging his gear, Yuri said goodbye, and Ornn wondered whether he should go out and look around more often.