"No wonder you don't remember. Back then, I was just a bald kid who always admired the Phantom Lord Guild guild you belonged to."
Gajeel frowned upon hearing Rogue's words. Phantom Lord was also a part of his memories, whether good or bad, some of which were unforgettable.
"I hoped to join the Phantom Lord Guild when I grew up, but... it disbanded after being defeated in the war against Fairy Tail. Not only that, you even joined that wretched Fairy Tail. I couldn't believe it at the time, that you would join the guild that defeated Phantom Lord Guild..."
"But... there must be a reason. I understand now why you went to Fairy Tail! 26."
"Comrades... right! Sabertooth doesn't have that concept. We are the guild leader's army, and we must absolutely obey orders. Victory is everything." Rogue recalled scenes from his many years living with Sabertooth, and recently, Yukino was driven away by Jieman without anyone pleading for her, and Lector was killed by Jieman;
"Guild! What is that? What are comrades... Now I finally understand why you are so powerful. We can't beat you."
Suddenly, Gajeel's voice rang out. "Stand up!!" Rogue was startled and looked up at Gajeel;
"You don't understand anything at all! Heh heh! That frog is one of your companions, isn't it!"
A frog? The image of Frosch, the Koneko who always wore a frog costume, popped into Rogue's mind. He stood up and shouted at Gajeel, "Frosch is a cat!"
"To be precise, it's Transcender, right?" Gajeel said with a smile;
Hearing Gajeel's words, Rogue sighed and smiled, saying, "Yes! Frosch is my companion! But he can't compare to you!"
Suddenly, a voice rang in Rogue's mind, "Rogue!! Look ahead!! The enemy is still standing in front of you!"
Rogue turned around and shouted, "Who is it? Where are you?"
Gajeel was also taken aback, not understanding what was wrong with Rogue, and asked, "Hey! What's wrong with you?"
But the voice in Rogue's mind didn't disappear; it continued to shout, "Kill! Rogue, kill Gajeel! That's your destiny!" Rogue was still shouting frantically.
"You idiot, I am your shadow! I lend you my power! Kill Gajeel!!" Suddenly, an eye opened eerily on Rogue's shadow;
Rogue clutched his head in agony, his body trembling uncontrollably;
"Hey! What's wrong with you all of a sudden? Cheer up!"
"Aaaaaaah..." Rogue suddenly shouted, and a black shadow covered Rogue's body;
"Whoosh..." Several shadows appeared in Rogue's hands, which he swung towards Gajeel, sending Gajeel flying;
"Coo coo coo... I'll just lend you a little bit of my power, Rogue!" Rogue said with an evil smile.
Gajeel, who had just stood up, was startled by Rogue's words and blurted out, "Who are you?"
"Shadow! The shadow that controls destiny!" Rogue transformed once again into the Shadow Dragon Power he had used when fighting alongside Natsu;
It swiftly stomped towards Gajeel rolled away to dodge the attack;
Then, looking at Rogue, he said, "I don't know what's going on, but it seems you want to get rid of me, right? Interesting!!"
"Iron Dragon Sword!" Gajeel shouted, his arm transforming into an iron sword that rapidly extended towards Rogue. Rogue's body suddenly turned into a shadow, wrapping around the iron sword formed from Gajeel's arm, and charged towards Gajeel.
Gajeel was also taken aback, but it was too late to react. "Shadow Dragon's Sparrow Flash!"
"Gurgle..." Gajeel let out a miserable cry! He was sent flying to a distance. The attack hadn't rendered Gajeel incapable of fighting, and when he stood up again, he found that Rogue had vanished.
"Where did that bastard run off to..."
"Here...!" A voice rang out behind Gajeel. Gajeel turned around and saw Rogue emerge from his shadow.