Time Flew, and Another Year Passed

Deep in the forest outside Magnolia, in Grandma Porlyusica's little cabin, the air was thick with the smell of herbs and the old woman's impatient complaints.

"I hate humans! Especially brats like you who don't value their own lives!"

As Grandma Porlyusica deftly wrapped new bandages around Jiang Bai, she continued to nag in her distinctive hoarse voice.

Jiang Bai was wrapped up like a mummy, with only his face showing. He leaned against the headboard, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking completely unfazed.

"Don't worry, Grandma, it just looks scary, it's all superficial injuries."

"A superficial injury?!" Grandma Porlyusica's voice rose instantly, tightening the bandage in her hand. "You call this kind of injury, which almost killed you, a superficial injury?! If you dare move again, I'll stew you and that fish you hate!"

Mirajane brought over a basin of freshly boiled hot water. She silently wrung out a towel and carefully wiped the fine sweat from Jiang Bai's forehead, her eyes overflowing with tenderness and concern.

Jiang Bai was about to make a joke when he saw her like this, but the door of the wooden house was suddenly kicked open from the outside with a "bang".

Erza, clad in armor, rushed in with a bang, and when she saw Jiang Bai wrapped up like a dumpling on the bed, she froze.

"Jiang Bai!"

She rushed to the bedside, her crimson eyes filled with anxiety and worry. It was from Lisanna that she learned how dangerous the mission had been.

But when she saw Jiang Bai, despite being severely injured, still having the leisure to flirt and laugh with Mirajane, her overwhelming worry instantly transformed into a familiar, sour jealousy.

Without saying a word, Erza dragged a stool over from the side, placed it heavily on the other side of Jiang Bai, and plopped down on it.

"I just bought the best strawberry cake in town, you must be hungry, right?"

As she spoke, she magically produced a delicate cake from her Requip room, picked up a piece with a fork, and put it directly to Jiang Bai's lips.

For a moment, Jiang Bai was caught in the middle, with gentle, watery eyes on his left and a fiery cake on his right, making the temperature in the whole room seem to rise several degrees.

Normally, this scene would be an absolute catastrophe, and the two S-Class Mages would have demolished Granny Porlyusica's house on the spot.

To everyone's surprise, Mirajane appeared unusually calm this time.

She glanced at Erza quietly, then put down the towel in her hand and slowly stood up.

"Erza, come out with me for a moment."

Her voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable power.

Erza was stunned, and Jiang Bai was stunned too.

In the forest outside the cabin, two equally stunningly beautiful girls stood facing each other.

"Huh? Why did you call me out?" Erza broke the silence first, her tone tinged with wariness. "Say what you have to say inside."

Mirajane ignored her wariness, simply raising his head and looking at her with an unprecedentedly serious gaze.

"Erza, let's make up."

"Ha?"

Erza wondered if there was something wrong with her ears. She looked at Mirajane as if she were looking at a stranger.

Mirajane continued speaking to herself, her purple eyes reflecting Erza's astonished face.

"You can't possibly give up on Jiang Bai, can you?"

This question, like a needle, pierced Erza's heart with pinpoint accuracy.

She instinctively puffed out her chest and replied in an almost vow-like tone, "Of course!"

"Me too."

Mirajane's answer was simple, yet carried immense weight.

The desperate scene in the desert flashed through her mind again.

When that man resolutely chose to use his own body to withstand the devastating attack in order to protect everyone, Mirajane truly understood how ridiculous and insignificant her so-called pride and principles were in the face of such heart-wrenching emotions.

Previously, although she also liked Jiang Bai, that liking was mixed with too much reserve and arrogance, far from the level of Erza's reckless devotion.

But now...

Screw principles!

Screw pride!

Now, all she wants is Jiang Bai.

As long as he can live a good life.

Erza looked at her nemesis, who seemed to have grown up overnight, and a complex expression appeared in her crimson eyes, which always burned with fighting spirit.

She seemed to... understand something.

Of course, this hard-won peace and tacit understanding only lasted for two quiet days.

Two days later, when Jiang Bai's injuries had improved slightly, another fierce argument broke out in Grandma Porlyusica's wooden house.

"It's my turn to feed him his medicine today!"

"Why should I? You fed me yesterday! Today it's my turn!"

After all, Jiang Bai's time is limited.

Time flies, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

That fierce battle in the desert weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a heavy stone.

Especially for Elfman, after witnessing his sister's helplessness, his heart, which longed to become a "man," was pierced with unprecedented pain.

He wants to become stronger.

He was strong enough to use his own body to protect the family he cherished.

At Elfman's repeated pleas, Mirajane finally agreed to accompany him on the most dangerous training— to Take Over the legendary "Beast King" title.

However, no one expected that what should have been a trial for the younger brother's growth and transformation would turn into an irreversible tragedy.

During the process of Take Over the Beast King, Elfman's power completely spiraled out of control, and the rampaging magic formed a giant beast claw that slammed towards the immobile Mirajane.

At that critical moment, Lisanna used her petite body to shield her sister.

"Brother, wake up!"

She shouted with all her might, trying to awaken Elfman, who was being consumed by bestiality.

At that very moment, a strange, enormous purple magic circle—"Anima"—unexpectedly unfolded in the sky, its immense suction force pulling the berserk Beast King and Lisanna in its arms into it.

By the time Elfman regained consciousness, it was too late.

Lisanna disappeared.

All that remained was Mirajane's heart-wrenching, silent weeping.

Jiang Bai, who was on a mission on another continent, immediately used Space Transfer to arrive upon receiving the news.

But he was still too late.

He only saw Mirajane kneeling on the ground, her eyes vacant, as if her soul had been ripped out, and Elfman clutching his head, lost in deep self-blame and pain.

Mirajane's magic was lost that day, along with Lisanna's disappearance.

Jiang Bai knew that Lisanna was not dead.

She was simply sucked into another parallel world called Edolas by Anima.

Jiang Bai immediately tried to use his Space Magic, which was powerful enough to break through the barriers between worlds, to bring Lisanna back.

For him now, crossing the world is as simple as pushing open a door.

As for Edolas's so-called magical restrictions, it's nothing more than shattering another, even more solid, layer of rules.

However, he failed.

He tore open a spatial rift, and on the other side was a vast ocean, from which giant white hands would emerge.

He tore another hole and sensed a dragon on the moon; clearly, this wasn't Aisulasu either.

(Jiang Bai only saw the victory over the Black Dragon Acnologia; he didn't see the 100-Year Quest.)

Jiang Bai teleported several times, arriving at bizarre and fantastical other worlds each time. Only then did he realize a fatal problem.

He has no coordinates.

Edolas was merely a concept existing in his memory, not a specific location that could be locked by Space Magic.

Teleportation without coordinates is like blindly sailing in an endless universe.

There's nothing we can do.

Jiang Bai could only give up for the time being and wait for the next activation of "Anima". Only by going through that fixed passage could he pinpoint Edolas's location.

He walked to Mirajane's side and gently embraced the girl, whose body was ice-cold from excessive grief.

Mira, listen to me.

Jiang Bai's voice was incredibly firm, carrying an undeniable power.

Lisanna is not dead.

Mirajane's empty eyes finally showed a slight ripple, and she slowly raised her head to look into Jiang Bai's eyes.

"She's just gone to another world. Believe me, one day I will bring her back."

Mirajane believed Jiang Bai's words.

In this world, she might not trust anyone, but she absolutely trusted Jiang Bai.

However, the trauma of watching his sister disappear while protecting him was simply too heavy.

She nodded, tears silently streaming down her face, but the magic in her beautiful purple eyes could no longer be ignited.