Ywen Battles Gildarts

In a corner of Fairy Tail...

"Of course not..."

Erza crossed her arms in front of her chest and kept shaking her head.

Ywen was her brother! How could he possibly be some stranger's illegitimate son?

Still, she had heard Aileen say that Ywen did not seem to be her biological brother...

But come to think of it...

There were so many magic guilds in this world, so why had Ywen chosen to join Fairy Tail of all places?

And Ywen's hair was almost the same color as that uncle named Gildarts...

At that thought, beads of sweat began rolling down Erza's forehead.

It was simply too terrifying to think about. She could not help but overthink it...

By the very end, even Erza herself was no longer certain.

"So, probably, maybe not... right?!"

Erza looked at Cana and answered hesitantly.

"So is he, or isn't he?"

Cana felt as though her heart were breaking. She had been in Fairy Tail for two years, yet throughout those two years, she had never found the courage to acknowledge Gildarts as her father.

But that was not the most painful part. The most painful part was that after two years, instead of getting to reunite with Gildarts as father and daughter, she had gotten what seemed to be a half-brother with the same father...

Cana no longer knew what to say.

"Laxus got taken out in seconds?!"

"Is that new kid some kind of monster?"

"I heard that new kid wants to challenge Gildarts?!"

"Seriously?"

Just as Cana and Erza were talking, the entire guild suddenly erupted. One guild member after another set down their drinks and gathered around Ywen and Gildarts.

Ywen and Gildarts stood facing each other. Between them lay a blond-haired boy foaming at the mouth. Yes, that blond-haired boy was Laxus.

"Gildarts is going to duel someone?!"

Cana froze. Ever since she had joined the guild, no one had challenged Gildarts. Gildarts had always been the strongest, the invincible one.

"Big Brother said himself that it was best not to cause too much of a commotion! He really never lets anyone relax!"

Hearing that Ywen was going to fight Gildarts, Erza immediately put her hands on her hips, furrowed her delicate brows, and complained.

"Anyway, let's go take a look!"

Erza sighed and invited Cana, the friend she had just made.

"Okay!"

Cana nodded lightly.

Meanwhile...

"Are you sure you want to fight me?"

Gildarts looked at Ywen with a smile.

"Yeah! I want to see how far I am from the strongest person in the guild."

Ywen nodded. He could sense that Gildarts possessed greater magic power than he did. Put simply, the Gildarts before him possessed magic power beyond human limits. He was a genuine monster.

But that was only natural. Gildarts was a monster who had survived an encounter with Black Dragon Acnologia. Even after losing his left arm, left leg, and part of his internal organs, with bandages wrapped around his body, his wounds not fully healed, and a lingering pain still coming from them...

He had still been able to suppress the vice leader of Grimoire Heart, the Dark Mage Guild founded by Fairy Tail's Second Guild Master Precht—Bluenote Stinger, the great mage known as the Barren Earth—and even defeat Bluenote in an instant once he got serious!

As for Bluenote, the vice leader of Grimoire Heart, his strength was said to rival the top five of the Saint Ten.

In other words, Bluenote possessed strength enough to contend with Jura seven years later! He was at the so-called limit of humanity...

In Ywen's eyes, the uninjured Gildarts of today was even stronger than the Gildarts who would be severely wounded by the Black Dragon years later!

He was probably only weaker than the Gildarts who, one year after Fairy Tail disbanded, had recovered from his injuries and returned after training—the Gildarts who could exchange a few moves with Magic King August...

"Interesting..."

"Then shall we go outside and spar a little? If we fight in this guild hall with our strength, the Guild Master will probably cry."

Gildarts looked around at the crowd gathering around them and shook his head slightly. The guild hall was too small. Neither he nor Ywen could properly let loose here.

"Okay..."

Ywen nodded gently.

"How about the mountain behind the guild? Usually no one will disturb us there!"

Gildarts suggested.

"Sure!"

Ywen nodded. It did not matter to him where they fought.

"Follow me!"

With that, Gildarts draped his cloak over himself and headed out of the guild.

"Mm."

As Ywen agreed, his body floated lightly up from the ground.

The two headed toward the mountain behind the guild.

As for Laxus, who lay between them, they had completely forgotten about him.

"Come on, let's go watch!"

The mages inside the guild watched Gildarts and Ywen head out to arrange a fight, then excitedly rushed outside one after another.

By the time Gildarts and Ywen had found a spot on the back mountain, people already surrounded them. Even Makarov had abandoned his guild and come to the mountain.

Makarov held a small box in his hands and kept calling out, "Beer and popcorn for sale in the front row!"

Behind Makarov were crates of beer and snacks that he had carried up using Giant Magic...

Besides that, Makarov had other work to do.

"Place your bets, place your bets! Bet on Gildarts to win and buy red! Bet on super rookie Ywen to win and buy blue! Take a gamble now and drive a limited-edition Magic Four-Wheeler next year!"

Makarov busily shouted as Fairy Tail's Guild Master, taking the lead in opening a betting pool.

As for whether Makarov felt guilty about making money through gambling, what a joke. Who knew how many times each year he had to clean up after these little brats? Whenever they caused trouble, how much money did he have to spend?!

If he did not squeeze a little money out of these brats now, his conscience would hurt instead.

"I'll bet ten thousand J on Gildarts!"

Wakaba held a pipe in his mouth and symbolically pulled out ten thousand J.

In truth, no one took the betting pool too seriously. Everyone was just playing along for fun.

"I'm betting on Gildarts too..."

"Ten thousand J on Gildarts!"

"Of course Gildarts can't lose..."

As the betting pool opened, it became almost completely one-sided. Everyone bet on Gildarts to win.

"If all of you bet on Gildarts, then this betting pool can't even work!"

Makarov looked like he was about to cry. Although, to be fair, he had also bet on Gildarts.

"I'll bet one hundred thousand J on Big Brother Ywen!"

Just as everyone had bet on Gildarts, a distinctly different voice slowly rang out.

"Huh?!"

Hearing that unusual voice, everyone froze. No one had expected anybody to bet on someone other than Gildarts.

"Who? Who bet on Ywen?"

Hearing that different voice, tears glimmered in Makarov's eyes. He excitedly asked who had bet on Ywen.

"Me!"

Erza raised her little hand from within the crowd. In her hand was a one-hundred-thousand-J bill.

"Excellent! Erza!" Makarov excitedly grabbed Erza's hand. As he took the bill from her and put it away, he looked at everyone else in the guild and said unhappily, "You should all learn from Erza. Who says Ywen is definitely going to lose?"

"So Guild Master, don't just lecture us! You can bet on Ywen to win too!"

Macao walked up to Makarov with a smile in his eyes and teased him.

"Uh, as for me! Ahem, I bet on Gildarts because... because there's a reason..."

Makarov turned his head away, not daring to meet Macao's eyes.

"Isn't it just because you want to win money too?!"

The others in the guild immediately mocked Makarov when they saw his expression.

"Silence! I'm the Guild Master!"

Having been exposed, Makarov immediately tried to use his status as Guild Master to suppress everyone.

"Tch..."

However, Fairy Tail's members did not fall for Makarov's shameless act.

Meanwhile, one of the two people facing each other, Gildarts and Ywen, made the first move!

The one who moved first... was Ywen!

Magic power surged within him...

"Flame Addition!"

In an instant, Ywen added flames to the air!

"Boom!"

The air before Gildarts was instantly ignited!

At the same time, everyone watching from behind felt a blast of heat before their eyes. Without warning, an enormous fireball over ten meters in radius rose in front of them! It resembled a miniature sun! Its terrifying temperature seemed ready to set the surrounding trees ablaze...

"You've got to be kidding! Such a huge fireball?!"

"Could this kid... really be a genuine monster?!"

Fairy Tail's members watching from afar all widened their eyes at the enormous fireball and the scorching heat rushing toward them.

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