Gildarts paused for a moment.
"A wound? I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"
Lu Chongwei pointed to Gildarts's chest and left arm, his tone carrying an all-knowing calmness.
"Your internal organs are ruptured, the magic circuits in your left hand are about to break, and even your soul fluctuations are unstable. The fact that you can stand here and speak is a testament to your terrifying willpower."
Gildarts gave a wry smile and finally stopped hiding it.
He swayed, his face turned deathly pale, and blood trickled down his lips.
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Zhongwei."
Lu Chongwei looked at the strongest Mage and spoke calmly.
"We'll talk about the Century Quest after you've recovered your life. Right now, you can barely stand."
Early morning in the alleys of Magnolia.
Gajeel squatted on the ground, his brows furrowed in a frown.
A chubby tabby cat was perched on the wooden wine barrel in front of him.
A human and a cat stared at each other, wide-eyed.
"Meow." The tabby cat meowed lazily, rolled over, and exposed its belly.
Gajeel's face twitched twice, and he poked the cat's belly with his rough fingers.
The cat didn't hesitate to swat him with its paw, then jumped off the barrel and ran away.
"Tch, his temper is even worse than that fire-breathing idiot's." Gajeel stood up angrily.
He's looked at no fewer than ten cats this morning—black, white, orange—but he's not satisfied with any of them.
Gajeel lay listlessly on the bluestone slab, listening to the distant meows of cats, feeling increasingly aggrieved.
"On what grounds?"
Gajeel gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into the ground.
"Why does that idiot Natsu have a blue cat with wings! And why does that new brat Wendy have a white cat too!"
He suddenly raised his head, his face full of resentment.
"I'm not one of them! I'm Dragon Slayer too!"
If the people in the guild saw this tough guy looking so wronged, they'd probably be shocked.
"You like cats that much?"
A calm voice, tinged with amusement, suddenly rang out at the alley entrance.
Gajeel froze, as if struck by lightning.
He mechanically turned his head.
Lu Chongwei, holding an exquisite cake box in one hand, leaned against the wall with a smug smile on his lips.
Gajeel's face instantly turned bright red, and even the iron nails on his neck seemed to be steaming.
He sprang to his feet, put his hands in his pockets, and put on an extremely disdainful look.
"Who... who likes cats! I'm just here to enjoy the scenery!"
Lu Chongwei stepped forward and shook the cake box in his hand.
"Really? I thought you were looking for a partner."
Gajeel stammered, his eyes darting around.
"What are you doing here! This is my territory!"
Lu Chongwei handed over the cake box.
"The cake shop was having a promotion, so I bought an extra one. I thought I'd stop by and take a look."
Lu Chongwei looked Gajeel up and down, his smile deepening.
"I didn't realize you were so cold on the outside but warm on the inside."
Gajeel was completely dead, and slapped Lu Chongwei's hand.
"Stop arguing! I hate cats the most! And I hate sweets the most!"
After saying that, he suddenly turned around and ran away.
"Hey, that's a dead end, there's no way out," Lu Chongwei shouted from behind.
"Bang!"
A loud bang.
Without even stopping, Gajeel smashed the brick wall at the end of the wall with the Iron Dragon's head and disappeared completely in a cloud of dust.
Lu Chongwei shook his head helplessly.
The scene switches back to the guild lobby.
Happy is holding a plump fish, with a pink bow carefully tied to its tail.
He flew to Carla with a look of anticipation on his face.
" Carla! Look, this is a fish I caught especially for you! It's super fresh!"
Carla sat on the table, not even glancing at the fish, and turned her head away.
"Take it."
Happy froze, his hand holding the fish hanging in mid-air.
"But... don't cats all like to eat fish?"
Carla's face was cold, and her tone was impatient.
"Who says cats have to eat fish! I hate fish the most!"
Happy's ears drooped instantly, his eyes filled with disappointment.
He placed the fish on the table and carefully approached it.
"Then... Carla, what do you like? I can go find it for you!"
Carla suddenly stood up, her blue eyes filled with irritation.
"Aren't you annoying?! I don't like anything about you! Stay away from me!"
After saying that, Carla spread her pure white wings, turned around, and flew out of the guild gate.
Happy stood there, stunned, tears welling up in his eyes.
Wendy rushed over, her face full of apology.
"I'm Happy, Happy, Carla hasn't been in a good mood lately. She didn't mean to target you."
Lucy sighed.
"Honestly, even if you don't like it, there's no need to get so angry. Happy well."
Happy put down the fish he was holding and wiped his eyes.
" Carla is definitely angry with me, I need to go and find out!"
Happy spread his wings and gave chase.
outdoor.
The sky had turned gloomy at some point, with dark clouds hanging low.
Happy found Carla by a fountain in a park.
Carla was looking up at the sky, her expression extremely complicated.
Happy flew over and landed beside her.
" Carla, did I do something wrong to make you angry?"
Carla turned her head and looked at Happy's innocent appearance, her eyes turning cold.
"You really don't know anything?"
Happy looked completely bewildered.
"Know what?"
Carla gave a cold laugh.
"You don't even know what you are, all you do is follow Natsu around grinning like an idiot."
Happy, being struck by lightning.
"I... I'm a cat, and Mage from Fairy Tail."
Carla cruelly shattered his illusions.
"You are nothing! In your current state, you can't protect Natsu at all! One day, you'll kill him!"
These words were like a knife, piercing deeply into Happy's heart.
Happy stood there stunned, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.
He murmured softly.
"What... am I...?"
"Splash!"
Suddenly, a torrential downpour began, the rain relentlessly pelting Happy.
On the other side.
Lu Chongwei walked on the streets of Magnolia.
It was raining heavily, and the streets were deserted.
Lu Chongwei stopped and looked up at the sky.
In the center of that thick, dark cloud, a black hole had appeared.
An eerie purple light emanated from the black hole, and a sense of oppression descended from the sky.
What is this?
Lu Chongwei frowned slightly.
Just then, a violent coughing sound came from the alley next door.
Lu Chongwei turned his head to look.
A figure wearing a cloak and soaking wet was leaning against the wall, panting heavily.
Lu Chongwei walked over.
The man raised his head and weakly removed the covering from his face.
A face familiar to Lu Chongwei was revealed.