The Name Shura

Several days had passed since the Cult's village massacre, and the horses startled by Ye Yang during the battle had also been found in the surrounding forest by the Council.

Looking at the corpses that had died such horrific deaths, everyone wore grave expressions. They had never imagined that such an incident could occur under their watch, nailing the Council directly to the pillar of shame.

News of the incident quickly spread throughout the Kingdom of Fiore, and people began to doubt the Council's credibility.

In contrast, Fairy Tail, which had resolved the incident, rose to great fame. Yet no one in the guild could be happy about it. Ye Yang, in particular, cast aside his usual lazy demeanor and scoured the land for Dark Guilds, wiping them out one by one.

In just a few days, he had destroyed dozens of medium-sized Dark Guilds and Cults, along with countless smaller ones. For a time, the entire Dark World was shaken.

Ye Yang's name as Shura spread throughout the Dark World, along with the two Rakshasas by Shura's side.

In the end, dozens of Dark Guilds joined forces with one large Dark Guild to eliminate Shura. Thousands of Mages besieged Ye Yang alone, and every last one of them was annihilated by him.

It caused a massive upheaval in the Dark World. In the end, Makarov had to bring Gildarts and Warrod Sinken to bring Ye Yang back.

When the guild members saw Ye Yang return, drenched from head to toe in blood, murderous intent radiating from him alongside a heavy stench of blood, they were all startled.

In the end, Warrod Sinken took Ye Yang away.

One month later.

"Little one, it's time for you to go back."

"Really? Honestly, Old Man, your place is pretty comfortable. I almost don't want to leave."

"Ohoho, the plants like the current you very much too."

"Emmm... true. They're all pretty tasty."

"..."

"Old Man, are you sure you can't use magic to build villas?!"

"I'll buy you a plot of land in the suburbs. You build a few hundred villas for me, then once we sell them, we split the money seventy-thirty. I get seventy, you get thirty. They'll definitely sell like crazy!"

Warrod directly cast a spell to bind Ye Yang and sent him toward Fairy Tail.

"That troublesome little brat is finally gone. My precious plants, no one will be eating your fruit anymore."

Before long, Trees sent Ye Yang back to Fairy Tail.

"Tch, that stingy old man. He has money but won't make more."

"Still, those fruits were really good. They'd definitely sell like crazy over here."

Ye Yang looked at the unchanged guild before him and slowly pushed open the door.

The guild was still as lively as ever, yet it somehow felt as though something was missing. When Ye Yang walked in, everyone in the guild stopped what they were doing and stared at him intently.

Seeing everyone staring at him, Ye Yang casually pulled out a mirror and looked himself over.

"Still as handsome as ever."

"What are you looking at me for? Even if you stare at me, I'm not giving you any money."

With that, Ye Yang lay back in his chair and resumed his laid-back life.

Seeing their boss return to his old self, San Mao and Er Gou were both relieved. This past month had worried them sick; they had been terrified that something might happen to Ye Yang.

The guild members also relaxed when they saw that Ye Yang was unharmed and back to normal.

Before long, the guild returned to its usual liveliness.

Time flew by, and life went on as usual. Several more months passed.

At Fairy Tail, one night.

"Brat, you'll be in charge of this year's S-Class Trial too."

Ye Yang immediately refused.

"What?! Me again? Where's Uncle?"

"You mean Gildarts? He left after taking on a 100-Year Task."

"He said that with you in the guild, he could rest easy."

Ye Yang said, "Damn it, that guy! Can't you let Laxus do it instead?!"

"I don't trust that brat."

Seeing that there was no escaping it, Ye Yang could only accept. "Sigh... who made the cut this year?"

Makarov considered it deeply. "Erza and Mirajane."

The moment Ye Yang heard that, his head started aching. "Great. No matter which side wins this S-Class Trial, the other one will make a fuss."

"Fine, fine, I get it. I'll bring Er Gou and San Mao along. It's about time they fought people with real strength."

Early the next morning.

The guild members gathered together excitedly once more, discussing who would be selected for this year's S-Class Trial.

Macao said, "Based on my many years of analysis, among the younger generation, it should be down to just Erza and Mirajane."

Wakaba said, "I think so too. Everyone knows how strong they are. The question is, which one will it be?"

"So, how are you setting the odds this time?" Wakaba asked.

"Emmm... same as when Ye Yang participated. One to two, with a maximum bet of twenty thousand."

"It really is hard to say between those two."

Just as everyone chattered away, a voice rang out.

"Quiet!"

Upon hearing Ye Yang's voice, everyone gradually quieted down, and Makarov stepped onto the stage as well.

"Ahem. After observing everyone over the past year, those selected for this year's S-Class promotion list are..."

"Erza Scarlet!"

"Mirajane Strauss!"

"It's finally my turn!"

"This year's S-Class rank will definitely be mine!"

Makarov said, "Those whose names were called, gather at the guild early tomorrow morning. This S-Class Mage Trial will be held on an unknown island."

"However, there is a slight change to this year's trial. Participants may not bring their own teammates. You must go through the entire trial alone."

When the guild members heard that they could not bring teammates, Natsu, Gray, and the others who had wanted to go and see it for themselves were all dejected.

Natsu said, "How could this happen? I've been looking forward to this for an entire year."

Gray mocked, "Even if nothing had changed, you wouldn't have even made the candidate list."

"What did you say, you perverted naked guy?!"

Gray looked at his bare upper body and cried out, "Ah! When did that happen?!"

In an instant, he squared off against Natsu.

Meanwhile, on the unknown island, Ye Yang, San Mao, and Er Gou stood together.

San Mao said, "Boss, are you really taking us to participate in the S-Class Trial?"

"We can't beat Erza and Mirajane at all."

Ye Yang picked his nose and said, "I know. I never expected you to beat them in the first place. With your current mastery of the Six Styles, defeating an S-Class Mage is simply impossible."

"I brought you here this time so you could experience fighting opponents with high combat power and see just how wide the gap is between you and them."

"I've already investigated this island. There aren't any ferocious beasts or magical creatures here. I'll be at the mountaintop when the time comes, while you two stay halfway up the mountain."

"Once they defeat you, they can fight me."

Er Gou asked doubtfully, "Boss, isn't an S-Class Trial like this too sloppy?"

"Sloppy? That little old man put me in charge of the S-Class Trial without even approving any funding. It's already good enough that I managed this much."

"Alright, alright. If you don't want to lose too badly, go prepare some traps and obstacles or something. I'm heading up the mountain to rest."