Arriving in Gildarts

With a long blast of its whistle, the ship slowly left Rainbow Port and sailed toward the northern continent.

Laxus, drawing on his past experience, grabbed the railing before the ship even started moving. Once it did, his body went limp, and he looked like he was about to pass out. Allen cast a spell at him.

"Attachment: Balance!"

After Balance was applied to him, Laxus no longer suffered from the motion sickness that Dragon Slayer Mages usually experienced. Gildarts watched the scene in surprise.

"Little brother Laxus, you get seasick too?"

Motion sickness was something Laxus found difficult to talk about, so he did not answer Gildarts. Allen chuckled and explained from the side, "Because Laxus is a Dragon Slayer Mage, and Dragon Slayer Mages get sick on all forms of transportation. They only feel better after Attachment Magic is used to give them balance. That's why Laxus and I tried not to use transportation whenever possible. Things only improved after I learned Attachment Magic some time ago."

After hearing Allen's explanation, Gildarts burst into hearty laughter. "Hahaha, I see. Then you two must have had quite a lot of trouble traveling this time." Laxus snorted. "As long as Big Brother's magic is here, it won't affect our journey."

The half-month voyage finally came to an end. The ship carrying Allen and the others slowly entered Port Elmina on the northern continent. Allen stood at the bow, and when the ship entered Elmina's waters, he raised an eyebrow. He sensed the presence of a dragon. When Allen had crossed over, he had not followed Fairy Tail's later developments for a long time. The last thing he had seen was the part where the Black Dragon was completely defeated, so he had assumed that was the ending. Now, it seemed that the story had continued.

After discovering news of a dragon, Allen did not mention it to Laxus and the others. He still did not know whether the dragon was friend or foe, nor how powerful it was. Acting rashly without knowing any of that would only bring disaster.

After setting foot on solid ground again, Laxus let out a heavy breath. The past half-month on the ship had been difficult. Although Allen had cast Balance on him, it only allowed him to carry out his daily activities normally; it did not support his training. Thus, he had spent the entire voyage meditating. Now that he was back on land, Laxus instantly felt his strength return.

After Allen helped Ultear off the ship, he looked around. Soon, he saw a person in a white coat approaching them.

The newcomer asked Allen and the others, "Are you mages from Fairy Tail? I'm Michael Whitman, a mage from the Ice Crystal Federation. The Federal Council sent me to welcome you. Welcome to Gildarts."

After hearing his introduction, Allen stepped forward and shook Michael's hand before introducing himself. "I'm Allen. These are Laxus, Ultear, and Gildarts. You should know why we're here, right?"

Michael nodded. "Actually, we were shocked when we received the message from your Council. We never expected members of the Dark Magic Group to be preparing to summon a demon within the Federation. So we immediately sent people to gather intelligence. The information we have now indicates that the Dark Magic Group is concentrated in Isban. Since we were worried about alerting them, we didn't take any overly aggressive action. Now that you've arrived, both sides can discuss how to eliminate the Dark Magic Group without affecting the residents of Isban."

After Allen learned from Caitlin that the Dark Magic Group intended to sacrifice the people of an entire city to revive a demon, he had asked Makarov to report it to the Council. The Council had promptly shared the information with the major nations of the Gildarts Continent. None of the countries that received the news dared to be careless. If the demon were revived in their own country, the resulting disaster would be unimaginable. Thus, the leaders of several countries had arranged for members of mage guilds to search for the Dark Magic Group's location. It seemed that they had now confirmed the group's main base.

When Allen heard the name Isban, he slightly furrowed his brow. Isban was Gray's hometown in the original story. It was because his hometown had been destroyed by Deliora that he met Ur, after which he began learning about magic. It seemed that the Dark Magic Group had planted something in Isban long ago.

After figuring out a few things, Allen said to Michael, "In that case, let's not waste time. We'll go to Isban first. After meeting with your people, we can decide what to do."

Michael nodded, then led Allen and the others to a large vehicle they had prepared in advance.

After they got into the vehicle, Michael turned to Allen, who was sitting beside him, and smiled. "By the way, Brother Allen, I have some good news. We've found a lead on the person you previously asked us to search for. According to reliable intelligence, she's currently near Isban. Since we'll be passing by, we can look for her along the way. After we find the person you mentioned, we can still join the allied forces afterward."

When he heard this, a flash of surprise immediately appeared in Allen's previously calm eyes. He had not expected to find Ur so smoothly. Allen thanked Michael. "Thanks for the trouble."

However, before Allen could fully recover from his joy, Michael's expression suddenly grew somewhat solemn. He seemed to have something else to say but found it difficult to bring up. After hesitating for a moment, he finally took a deep breath and slowly spoke. "Brother Allen, there's something I should tell you in advance. Although we've now found the Dark Magic Group's general location, things aren't that simple. In fact, not everyone welcomes your arrival. Some people from the other countries believe that our mages are already enough to handle the current situation, and that there was no need to bring you here. In the end, our Federation's leader overruled them all, saying that because you had valuable experience confronting demons directly, we should invite you here first to assess the situation. However, because of that, I'm afraid you may receive some unfriendly treatment after reaching the camp. Some people may not have a very good attitude." After saying this, Michael looked at Allen apologetically.

Laxus, who had been quietly listening nearby, raised an eyebrow indifferently and said, "That's easy to resolve. As long as our strength exceeds theirs, those people will naturally shut up. Besides, if they're just a bunch of third-rate mages, sending them to fight the Dark Magic Group would be like throwing an egg at a rock. And that's without even mentioning the people from the Dark Guild mixed in among them."

Michael gave a bitter smile and helplessly shook his head. "I understand what you mean, but my only intention was to help everyone prepare themselves mentally. To be honest, we really don't want this matter to make things too unpleasant between us. After all, whether it's us or your side, everything we're doing is aimed at completely eliminating these detestable dark forces. So I hope you can be understanding and bear with us."

At that moment, Allen replied in a gentle yet firm tone, "You can rest assured about that. Every mage in Fairy Tail knows what to do." However, whether it was merely Michael's imagination or not, when he looked at Allen's smiling face, he somehow sensed a deeper meaning hidden within it.

Allen and the others departed from Port Elmina. After ten days of travel, they finally arrived within Isban's territory.

During those ten days, Michael obtained Ur's exact location once again—it was in a town ahead of them.

Looking at the gates of the town ahead, Michael introduced it to the group. "Once we pass through Shardo City, we'll officially enter Isban. According to my intelligence, the Ur you're looking for is in this city."

Allen gazed into the distance. At first glance, Shardo City seemed no different from the ordinary towns on the Ishgar continent. It had the typical appearance of a small Western-style city. But after they truly entered the city, Allen quickly noticed the differences.

The first thing that caught Allen's attention was the clothing of the local residents. Compared to the light clothing commonly worn on the Ishgar continent, the people here clearly favored heavy coats and luxurious furs. Moreover, their facial features appeared deeper and more defined, while their mannerisms carried a distinctive ruggedness.

Allen and the others looked curiously at the people on the street. Gildarts was the most eager of them all. He had already spotted many targets, but unfortunately, they had no time right now...

Under Michael's guidance, the group entered a bar in the city. However, in Allen's eyes, this sort of bar was already the embryonic form of a guild. Intelligence could be bought and sold here, and missions could be commissioned. All that remained was for someone with leadership ability to step forward and unite everyone.

The moment Allen and the others stepped through the bar's door, their eyes were drawn to the woman standing at the counter. Wearing a sleeveless vest, she held up a large mug of foaming beer and chatted merrily with the people beside her, occasionally letting out a hearty laugh.

The instant Ultear, standing beside Allen, saw the woman, her entire body began trembling involuntarily. Allen, however, did not pay much attention to Ultear's unusual reaction. He bent down, swept her into his arms, and walked straight toward Ur.

With her back completely turned toward them, Ur had no idea what was about to happen to her. She remained immersed in the lively, cheerful atmosphere. When Allen finally reached her from behind, he raised his right hand and gently patted her shoulder before asking softly, "Excuse me, are you Ur?"

Ur had been chatting enthusiastically, her conversation flowing animatedly, when the sudden pat interrupted her. A trace of displeasure rose in her heart. She slightly furrowed her brows, quickly turned around, and answered irritably, "That's right, I'm Ur! What do you want?" However, the moment she saw the newcomer's face, she froze as if under a Petrification spell. Then her beautiful eyes widened, and she covered her mouth tightly with both hands in disbelief. Tears welled in her eyes like a breached dam, on the verge of spilling over.

"Mo... Mother."