Night
In an Unknown Forest.
After finishing his water, Zeref was peacefully enjoying the tranquility that nature brought him.
Under the moonlight, silver shadows flickered among the trees as a pack of wolves silently approached, drool dripping from their mouths as they eyed the man before them with longing.
"Roar~"
Each wolf hissed softly, and its form emerged from all around.
"Don't come any closer! I'm really not your enemy!"
Zeref reached out his hands, offering kind advice, though his words carried a hint of fear.
"Absolutely... absolutely..." Zeref hadn't finished speaking.
But the wolves didn't care at all; they had been starving for a long time, and the man in front of them was already their food.
All the wolves lunged forward.
An inexplicable energy emanated from Zeref's body, and in an instant, all the wolves fell from the sky, their eyes rolled back, utterly dead.
"... You can't come near me... I'm sorry!"
Zeref slowly squatted down, bowing his head in sorrow. As he grieved, everything around him was losing its life at an alarming rate, even the birds in the sky were falling to the ground.
"I had absolutely no intention of taking any lives; it was the world that rejected me!"
Natsu, I really want to see you!
Jellal looked around at all the lifeless bodies, and thought of that one last thought in the world, and slowly spoke.
Ah~
On the other side, above the Fairy Tail Fairy Tail, a figure plummeted rapidly into the Riverbank.
"I never expected Natsu to pull this trick!"
Lucy lay on the Riverbank, grumbling in frustration.
She had just thought Natsu looked adorable while he was sleeping, but when she got close, he punched her and sent her flying.
The afternoon of the second day.
"Damn it, this mission is mine!"
"Let go, Natsu, I got it first..."
Zorn, looking refreshed, led Cana into the Fairy Tail. The first thing he saw was Natsu with a bunch of bumps on his head, playfully fighting with Gray, completely ignoring the bumps.
"Well, Lucy, that's just Natsu's personality. He didn't mean to barge into the bathroom."
Wendy, on the other hand, was trying to calm Lucy down, who looked furious.
"Damn it, that guy, really, heartless." Lucy glared fiercely at Natsu, who was playfully fighting with Natsu.
She was happily washing herself at that moment, her large head hanging upside down as if falling from the sky.
He even said to her, "Yo~ Lucy."
So she took revenge for the punch she received last night as well.
Zorn smiled helplessly and shook his head. Cana, on the other hand, let go of Lucy's hand and ran to comfort Lucy, intending to teach Lucy a little something.
Zorn glanced around and spotted someone with even more serious injuries— Laxus.
He was wrapped in bandages all over his body, leaning against the railing on the second floor.
"Haha, Laxus, what kind of outfit is that!"
Zorn burst out laughing, but Laxus turned his head away and snorted coldly, clearly in a bad mood.
"That's my fault. I got carried away and couldn't stop for a moment."
Gildarts scratched his head, speaking somewhat embarrassedly.
The Guild Master, who was sitting at the bar, suddenly called out, "Zorn, come here for a moment!"
On the other side
"Bang~ Bang~"
Erza and Panther Lily clashed fiercely in the Fairy Tail, their swords locked in a fierce battle. While both were quite skilled, Erza's relaxed demeanor suggested that Erza Swordsmanship level was significantly higher.
"That's it! But you're really strong, Lily!"
"No... I should say, as expected of Erza, she's truly S-Class Mage in the Fairy Tail!"
Panther Lily reverted to its smaller form. It had just used its full strength, yet Erza easily broke through its defenses, leaving no damage whatsoever. This demonstrated Erza's mastery of power.
It was also fully aware of the significance of S-Class Mages within the entire Fairy Tail.
Especially Zorn, Gildarts.
Panther Lily glanced at Zorn and Gildarts, who were talking to the Guild Master.
It also went to the second floor to look at Laxus, having already sensed the strength of this person.
It was just two other people.
It turned its body, its eyes slightly thoughtful as it looked at Mirajane and Ur, who were chatting and laughing. After a short while, Ur and Mirajane looked at it at the same time and greeted it with smiles.
It startled it.
"Haha, well done, Panther Lily, you truly are my cat!"
"So, Erza, what do you think of my cat?"
Suddenly, Gajeel picked it up, showing it off, clearly overjoyed.
"What's wrong, Cana? Are you still worried about the assessment?"
Zorn held Cana's small hand as they walked down the road, then turned to Kana, whose expression seemed a little off, and asked Cana with concern.
"It's okay, I just... don't know how to face him, and..."
Cana murmured to herself, a hint of worry on her face. She had prepared for so many years, wanting her father to witness her efforts, but as this moment approached, she became nervous again.
"Don't worry, you're already very strong!"
"I reckon he'll be quite surprised then, and Uncle Gildarts is rather clueless; if you don't just say it directly, I doubt he'll understand!"
Aside from the uncle's immense strength, all that remained in Zorn's mind was his confusion; after all, he was someone who couldn't even tell where he was going.
"Pfft~ Haha, you're right!"
Cana, thinking of her father's personality, chuckled, her previous emotions completely gone, leaving only a determined look in her eyes.
"I must ask him properly what he's really thinking..."
Cana suddenly thought of something, clenched her fists, and her joints cracked incessantly.
Zorn swallowed hard as he listened.
He also remembered that Uncle Gildarts had mentioned so many Women's names in the original storyline, and he just hoped that he would be more careful this time, otherwise Cana might really explode this time.
Three days later, Fairy Tail Fairy Tail.
On a high platform, a curtain hangs vertically from the second floor, completely obscuring what lies behind it.
The Fairy Tail members were also extremely nervous; they all knew what was about to be announced.
"So excited, so nervous..."
"Natsu, calm down!"
Happy, seeing Natsu extremely nervous and constantly shaking his head from side to side, offered some gentle words of advice.
"Um... Zorn... isn't here..."
"Don't worry, he's there, he'll be out in a bit."
Cana bent down and hugged Ximi, gently comforting her, and pointed to the other side of the curtain.
This gave Ximi a little comfort.
"Ximi, be strong. Those who can stand in that position are among the strongest in the Fairy Tail!"
Tami, however, already knew what was going on. He flew proudly through the air, his eyes fixed intently on the stage.
"Cough cough~"
With a cough, the curtain slowly rose.
The Guild Master appeared before everyone, accompanied by several S-Class Mages from the Fairy Tail.
"According to Fairy Tail's long-standing rules, I now announce the list of candidates for the S-Class Mage promotion exam..."
"Oh! Yay!"
"I'm on fire!"
The Guild Master made the announcement with a slightly serious expression, but before he could finish, the crowd below shouted excitedly, with Natsu shouting even more excitedly, his whole body radiating fire.
"Everyone, please be quiet!"
"The Guild Master hasn't finished speaking!"
Erza and Gildarts, seeing this, quickly stopped them, their expressions as serious as the Guild Master's.
"Assessment Location: Fairy Tail Sacred Ground - Tenrou Island!"
"I have carefully observed your performance, abilities, and spirit throughout the year. There are eight participants in total!"
The Guild Master paused slightly at this point, glancing around the room.
The crowd below swallowed hard.
Natsu Dragneel
"Gray - Fullbuster"
Juvia Lockser
"Elfman"
"Cana Alberona"
"Freed Justin"
"Levy McGarden"
"Mest - Glide"
"Above"
After the list was announced, the Fairy Tail members reacted in various ways: some were sad, some were upset, some were excited, and some were happy.
"Huh! S-Class Exam?"
Lucy suddenly cried out in surprise.
"Next, the exam content will be the main focus!"
"Based on past experience, those participating in the assessment will be facing the people on the stage—that is, the assessors!"
Lisanna walked over to Lucy and spoke softly, but her words clearly had a greater impact.
"What, these people..."
Lucy stared blankly at the people on the stage.
Erza, Mirajane, Laxus, Zorn, Ur, Gildarts.