We Don't Start Trouble, But We... Never Fear It Either!

Move!

Jiang Bai roared frantically in his heart, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at his hands.

Isn't magic supposed to be a manifestation of the heart's power? Then answer me!!!

I fucking want to kill someone right now! Do you hear me?!

He gathered all his will, all his fury, and all his regret into a torrent of mental force, trying to blast open that damned floodgate deep in his mind.

But it was no use.

Aside from sending waves of needle-like pain through his head again, nothing happened.

That power remained as still as dead water.

Why...

Why was this happening?

Jiang Bai's anger gradually cooled, turning into icy despair.

He couldn't understand it.

Against the blood wolf, it had been his survival instinct at the brink of death.

But now, wasn't his will to protect others, his determination to protect Erza and save Uncle Rob, even stronger than a simple desire to survive?

Why won't it work now of all times?

Could it be that deep down, I don't actually care whether these people live or die?

No! That's not true!

Jiang Bai shook his head sharply, rejecting the terrifying thought.

Uncle Rob's cheerfulness, Erza's smile, Simon's stubbornness, Kagura's shyness... Every moment of the past three months had long since ceased to be a cold story; they were warm memories etched into his life.

He truly regarded them as family!

Then where did the problem lie?

Amid the chaos and despair, Jiang Bai's mind instead became clearer than ever before.

He thought of his previous life.

He thought of the person he had been, who had grown up in an orphanage, struggled to get by in society, and finally found a stable life thanks to a lottery ticket.

What principles were etched into his soul?

Keep a low profile, endure in silence, obey the rules, and never go looking for trouble.

Don't start trouble.

Those words were like invisible shackles, binding his thoughts from the very first day he had transmigrated.

That was why he had instinctively rejected the Internship System.

That was why, after awakening his magic, he had subconsciously felt fear and resistance, wanting only to keep that power hidden.

That was why, even though he had sensed that power for the past three months, he had never been able to call upon it. His subconscious had been telling him: This thing is too dangerous. It'll bring me enormous trouble!

Jiang Bai had only remembered the first half.

He had forgotten that the red flag had taught him a more important second half.

We don't start trouble, but we... never fear it either!

Boom!

It was as if a thunderbolt from the heavens had exploded in his mind, clearing away all the fog in an instant.

Jiang Bai finally understood.

The reason he couldn't use magic wasn't that his will wasn't firm enough, nor that his feelings weren't strong enough.

It was because his soul was resisting!

He had been trying to apply the peaceful rules of his previous life to this bloody world where the strong preyed on the weak!

He talked about becoming the strongest, but deep in his soul, he was still a law-abiding citizen who only wanted a peaceful life.

He feared the unknown that came with this power, feared the consequences he would have to bear after breaking the rules, feared becoming a monster who killed without blinking.

How laughable!

In this world where human lives were worth no more than grass, where the Black Magic Cult slaughtered civilians at will, he wanted to talk to them about rules? About lines they shouldn't cross?

Weakness was the original sin!

Giving way would only make them demand more!

His so-called "not starting trouble" was nothing but another word for cowardice in the eyes of the strong!

"So that's how it is..."

Jiang Bai slowly straightened up. The sorrow and anger faded from his face, replaced by an almost cold calm.

"Fairy Tail... This world... was never a place where reason prevailed."

"Then it's time I found a different way to live, too."

"I'll be true to myself and keep a clear conscience."

"But..."

He slowly raised his gaze, looking through the drifting smoke and past the mocking eyes of the black-robed figures, until it finally fell on Erza, bound and with her eyes full of tears and fear.

"If anyone dares hurt the people I care about..."

"Then they'd better be ready... to be crushed by me!"

People said growth happened in an instant.

The moment Jiang Bai completely severed the shackles of his previous life, the moment his will to protect was no longer bound by cowardice or retreat, the moment his soul came to terms with the cruel rules of this world.

Complete enlightenment!

The floodgate that had been welded shut inside him burst open!

An indescribably vast torrent of magic power erupted from deep within his mind like a volcano that had been suppressed for hundreds of millions of years!

Hum—!

An invisible pressure, heavy as a mountain, burst outward with Jiang Bai at its center!

The air congealed.

The drifting sparks froze in midair.

Even the dust kicked up beneath the Black Magic Cult members' feet seemed to be held down by an invisible hand, hanging eerily motionless in the air.

The sudden, suffocating surge of magic power instantly drew everyone's attention.

"Hm?"

The vicious grin froze on the face of the black-robed leader who had slaughtered all the villagers with a wave of his hand.

He whipped his head around and stared in disbelief at the child who had been utterly unremarkable just moments ago.

"This feeling... What is it?"

Another black-robed figure cried out in shock, "Such... such enormous magic power! That's impossible! There's no way a child could possess that much!"

"Is it an illusion? No! This pressure... My body is trembling!"

They were like a group of fishermen blasting fish in a pond, only to discover a sleeping prehistoric whale rising from the depths.

Fear born of their very survival instincts instantly replaced the mockery and contempt on their faces with shock and gravity.

Erza and Simon, bound among the crowd, stopped crying too.

They stared blankly at the small figure standing a short distance away.

In their eyes, Jiang Bai's entire body seemed to be glowing, and the air around him visibly warped from that immense power.

"Jiang... Jiang Bai?"

Erza murmured softly, the familiar yet unfamiliar figure reflected in her scarlet eyes.