Lisanna Was Still Alive!

Looking at the huge human-shaped hole in the wall, Lucy couldn't help but sigh again, "100-Year Quest... just how difficult is it? It took even the incredibly powerful Mr. Gildarts three years, and he still failed in the end."

"Hmph, isn't there a finished person standing over there?" Carla crossed her arms and glanced at Jiang Bai not far away.

Jiang Bai had just finished a plate of barbecue. Hearing this, he wiped his mouth and said easily, "Actually, it's not so bad! It's just that the task itself was rather tedious and troublesome, so it took a little longer."

"Uh..." A bead of cold sweat slid down Lucy's forehead.

It took a little time...

They spent three years on the mission and failed. You only spent a little more time?

But after thinking about Jiang Bai's strength carefully, it seems... not so hard to understand.

Suddenly, Erza walked up to Lucy with a serious expression and said solemnly, "Lucy, the 100-Year Quest is too far away for you. Give up!"

Lucy immediately waved her hands frantically like a rattle-drum, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Hahaha, don't worry! I have absolutely no interest in this!"

The guild's commotion continued for a while, and Jiang Bai, seeing that Natsu was still excited about seeing Gildarts return, decided it was time to call it a day.

He waved to Natsu, then led him and Happy away from the guild, heading towards Gildarts's temporary hut.

"Gildarts, we're here!" Natsu casually, pushing the door open.

"Excuse me!" Happy followed behind.

Gildarts was sitting in the house when he saw the three enter. A gentle smile appeared on his face, "Oh! You've come!"

He looked at Natsu and asked in a tone of an elder teasing a younger person, "Natsu, how have things been between you and Lisanna while I was away?"

Natsu's excited smile froze instantly.

"What?"

Gildarts grinned mischievously. "Still shy? You're all grown up now, haha!"

"Lisanna is dead, two years ago!" Natsu's voice was calm, yet it was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

Gildarts' laughter stopped abruptly, and he froze.

"No... no way! I see, no wonder Mirajane has changed so much!"

His face became filled with immense self-reproach and regret.

"I'm sorry, Natsu, Jiang Bai! I shouldn't have brought this up."

"If this is all we've got to talk about, then we'll be going now." Natsu's mood clearly dipped, and he turned to leave.

"Bang!"

Jiang Bai delivered a precise chop to Natsu's head.

"Who told you Lisanna is dead? Don't talk nonsense!"

Natsu covered his head, turned around angrily, and yelled at Jiang Bai, "Jiang Bai, you bastard! Are you going to joke about Lisanna's matter?"

"Lisanna is Mira's sister, how could I joke about something like this?"

Jiang Bai's tone remained calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty.

"Lisanna, she really isn't dead."

This time, not only Natsu, but even Gildarts standing to the side was stunned.

"Then... then why didn't you say so before?!" Natsu's anger was mixed with an uncontrollable tremor and a hint of hope.

Jiang Bai shrugged and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I definitely need to bring Lisanna back first before I can tell everyone. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, wouldn't everyone be disappointed?"

"Hey!" Happy flapped his wings and flew over, grasping the key point in the words.

"Then why are you doing this now, Jiang Bai...?"

Jiang Bai's lips curled up slightly. "I'm saying this now because we'll be able to bring Lisanna back in two days."

"Although I still don't quite understand," Gildarts scratched his head, a relieved smile finally appearing on his face.

"But Lisanna is alright, that's great."

"Hey!" Happy happily twirled around in the air.

"Alright," Gildarts looked at Natsu again, his expression turning serious.

"Natsu, I called you here to tell you that my mission this time... I encountered a dragon."

"Nani?!" Natsu's body jolted, all his emotions instantly ignited by those two words.

"However, it's not the Fire Dragon Igneel you're looking for," Gildarts' voice deepened.

"It's a black dragon!"

"Where?!" Natsu asked anxiously.

"Mount Zonia," Gildarts replied.

"It's because of this that I failed my mission."

Upon hearing the location, Natsu's dragon blood Boil instantly, and he wanted to run out without thinking.

"Natsu, look here!" Gildarts' voice suddenly became extremely serious.

Natsu instinctively turned around to look.

Then, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Gildarts then unfastened his large cloak.

Beneath the cloak, his left arm and left leg had been replaced with cold wooden and metal prosthetics, and his bare upper body was covered with hideous, crisscrossing scars.

"It was almost an instant, and I became like this." Gildarts' voice carried a hint of lingering fear.

"I don't know who Igneel, but that guy is undoubtedly an enemy of humanity."

Natsu's body trembled, but his eyes burned with an even more intense flame.

"Since that's the case, then I'm even more determined to defeat it! I'm Dragon Slayer, what's a mere black dragon..."

Natsu roared, trying to charge out again.

But this time, Jiang Bai made a move.

He simply raised a finger, and an invisible force instantly immobilized Natsu in place.

Natsu found that no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move forward an inch.

"Jiang Bai, what are you doing? Let me go!" Natsu Roar angrily.

Jiang Bai slowly walked up to him, looking down at him, and asked calmly, "With your current strength, do you think you can defeat that black dragon that even Gildarts could only flee in panic?"

"Hey, give me some face! Running away in such a panic? At least I fought back with one move!"

Unfortunately, neither Jiang Bai nor Natsu paid him any attention.

"How will you know if you don't try!" Natsu retorted defiantly.

"Want to 'give it a try'?" Jiang Bai chuckled.

"Sure, we'll talk about that when you can break my 'Infinity'. For now, you should calm down here."

After saying that, Jiang Bai ignored Natsu's futile struggles and turned to look at Gildarts, his gaze falling on his shocking prosthetic limb.

"Aren't you going to tell Cana about your situation?"

Gildarts's eyes darted away for a moment. "Why talk to her? It'll only make her worry unnecessarily."

Jiang Bai shook his head.

"Cana will find out sooner or later, so it's better for you to tell her in person at a suitable time."

Gildarts remained silent for a moment, then finally let out a long sigh.

"... All right."