"Phew~ We finally made it."
Zorn and the master stepped into Magnolia City. Zorn had used magic to bring them all the way there, giving Master Makarov another way to appreciate the terrifying amount of Magic Power Zorn possessed.
"The town's layout... Gildarts mode. Looks like Gildarts is back." The houses stood in rows on either side, leaving a straight road down the middle that led to the Fairy Tail guildhall.
A little later, just as Zorn and Makarov were approaching the guildhall's entrance, two figures darted out.
"Hey, Natsu, Gray, are you here to welcome us?" Zorn looked at the two who had suddenly jumped out in front of him and assumed fighting stances, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"Zorn, we want to challenge you." Natsu and Gray looked at Zorn with such serious expressions that he put aside his urge to joke around.
"All right, then let me see how much you've improved."
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"Ice-Make: Ice Make: Ice Sword!"
Both attacks were coated in their users' Armament Haki.
Natsu threw a punch at Zorn while Gray leaped up and swung his sword down at him. Both attacked at tremendous speed.
Zorn coated both hands in Armament Haki, raising his right hand and holding out his left to block both spells at once. But the force of their attacks pushed him back, sending him sliding some distance.
"Wow~"
"Natsu and Gray have gotten stronger too. Their normal attacks are already that powerful."
"Yeah, they actually managed to push Zorn back that far."
"Oh, awesome!"
The guild members immediately poured out from all around, staring at Natsu and Gray in amazement. Then they burst into cheers, applauding the two of them.
"Not bad. You've made a lot of progress. Keep it up." Zorn gave them each a pat on the shoulder to encourage them, genuinely happy for them both.
"All right, come on, come on! Those of you who lost, hand over your money!"
"Cana, I didn't expect you to think Zorn would be pushed back by their attacks."
"Hahaha, of course I did."
Cana laughed heartily off to the side. She knew exactly how strong Natsu had become; after all, she had fought him on Tenrou Island.
Everyone returned noisily to the guildhall. When they entered, they saw Gildarts sitting alone at the bar, gulping down beer, while Laxus was still leaning over the second-floor railing, lost in thought.
Mirajane and Erza were still competing in front of the second-floor request board, their hands clasped together as they pushed back and forth, arguing over who should take a mission.
"Hey, welcome back, Gildarts. How did the mission go?"
The master was the first to hop up onto the bar. He had the bartender pour him a drink, clinked glasses with Gildarts, and spoke.
"Of course I completed it. Haha, I'd like to try something harder."
Gildarts scratched his head with his right hand and laughed, then tentatively broached the subject with the master.
"Well, that's possible, but first, let's throw a party and have some fun."
Zorn, who was standing nearby, frowned slightly and thought, So it really is this time. What reason can I use to stop him? This is a bit of a headache.
"What's wrong, Zorn? Is something bothering you?" Cana keenly sensed that something might be troubling him and asked.
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just a little confused about some magic." Zorn brushed the question off again.
"Everyone, let's have a party to celebrate Zorn becoming one of the Ten Wizard Saints and Gildarts successfully completing a Ten-Year Quest!"
"Ohhh, yeah!"
"Party! Party! Party!"
Everyone cheered. The party continued until nightfall, showing no sign of slowing down.
Gildarts, however, called several of the guild's S-Class Mages upstairs. They sat around a table, waiting for him to speak.
"Well, as you know, above S-Class Missions, there are Ten-Year Quests and 100-Year Quests. The difficulty increases many times over."
"I've decided to take on a 100-Year Quest this time. I don't know when I'll be back, so I'll leave the guild to you."
Gildarts was a little embarrassed as he said this. After all, he did spend very little time at the guild throughout the year. Ever since Zorn and Laxus had been promoted to S-Class, this was the only time he had come back.
Now he was leaving again to take on a 100-Year Quest. Although he couldn't guarantee that he would complete it, keeping himself alive wouldn't be a problem. He just didn't know when he would be back.
"I don't agree. The 100-Year Quest can wait; there's no need to rush to complete it. Are you really in such a hurry, old man?" Zorn looked firmly at Gildarts.
"Do you have any concerns, Zorn?" Gildarts asked softly, looking at Zorn, who was clearly acting a little strangely.
"No. In any case, you can't go right now. If you have to go, wait a few days for me."
With that, Zorn stood up, left the meeting, and went downstairs and out of the guildhall.
Laxus, Erza, and Mirajane were left looking at one another, unable to understand why Zorn had reacted so strongly. It was the first time they had seen him like this.
Gildarts, however, lowered his head in thought.
No one else in the guild noticed what had happened. Only the master, sitting at the bar, had been watching what was going on upstairs.
He then saw Zorn leave the guildhall with a grave expression. Connecting that with Zorn's earlier behavior and the 100-Year Quest Gildarts had mentioned, he already had some suspicions.
After a few days of thought, Gildarts still decided to take on the 100-Year Quest.
He had spent those days trying to find Zorn for a talk, as had Laxus and the others, but Zorn never showed up. With no other choice, Gildarts could only keep waiting at the guildhall. But there was still no word, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and Zorn had yet to appear.
That day, after Gildarts finished training Natsu and the others in the East Forest, he decided to take a shortcut to the tavern for a drink. A familiar figure appeared before him.
"Zorn? You came after all."
"Yeah, old man."
"You seem to know a lot of things, Zorn." Gildarts regarded Zorn with a somewhat searching look, hoping to hear the details from him.
"Old man, if you knew that you'd almost fail to make it back this time, and that even if you did return, your body would be left maimed, would you still go?"
Zorn's low voice sounded slowly, but Gildarts reacted just as Zorn had expected, remaining completely unperturbed.
"Hahaha, the future is never set in stone, Zorn. Besides, with your warning, my chances of coming back are much better."
Gildarts paid no attention to that supposed future. He only believed that he would return safely.
"Is that so?"
"This is something I prepared for you, old man. Take care on your journey."
Zorn slowly rose into the air, golden and blue light emerging from his body. As he brought his hands slightly together in front of his chest, two magic circles appeared overhead, covering the sky.
Zorn murmured in an incomprehensible ancient language. His expression grew strained as he continued, but he kept channeling his Magic Power with all his might.
The members of Fairy Tail also sensed the Magic Power and came out of the guildhall, where they saw the enormous magic circles in the sky.
"This is that Super Magic from before."
"Yeah, it is."
Laxus and Cana were the first to recognize this spell as the Super Magic they had obtained during the ruins mission. They had also received Zorn's blessing back then.
"Master, look, the guild's mark is glowing."
Erza suddenly noticed the Fairy Tail mark on her left arm glowing and hurriedly called out.
Their companions looked at the marks on their own bodies, and every one of them was glowing.
"Zorn, you..."
Gildarts could see that casting the spell was taking a great deal out of Zorn. He spoke, but stopped halfway, afraid that interrupting the spell would cause it to backlash on Zorn.
"Ultimate Magic: Starlight Blessing and Twelvefold Holy Shield Defensive Magic!"
As the spell was completed, a golden Holy Shield Magic appeared around the Fairy Tail mark on Gildarts's chest. It contained all the Magic Power Zorn possessed.
It was no ordinary spell. Zorn hoped it could help Gildarts withstand one attack.
His Magic Power exhausted, Zorn fell from the sky. Fortunately, Gildarts lunged forward and caught him.
"You really are reckless, kid."
"Well, thanks for the thought, kid." Gildarts smiled at Zorn, who had fallen asleep from Magic Power exhaustion.
He then hoisted Zorn onto his back and carried him back to the guildhall.
After spending a few days at the guild and making sure Zorn was all right, he set off on the 100-Year Quest.
To be continued~