"I... don't have a home."
The Tower of Heaven was destroyed, and the village she once knew had been gone for a long time.
Now, she was truly homeless.
As Lu Chongwei looked at her lonely, helpless figure, a scene from when he had first met Gildarts suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Back then, he had been just as lost, with no idea what the future held.
That man had reached out to him and given him a home called Fairy Tail.
Lu Chongwei took a deep breath.
He looked at Erza, his gaze firm and warm.
"If you don't have a home, then come with me."
Lu Chongwei held out his hand, offering the invitation that would change her fate.
"Join the Fairy Tail Guild."
"Fairy Tail?"
At those words, Erza jerked her head up.
Her emotions surged, and her one remaining eye shone with disbelief.
It was the guild Grandpa Rob had once told her about!
The place she had always longed for, full of freedom and hope!
"Is it really... Fairy Tail?"
Erza reached out with a trembling hand and clutched Lu Chongwei's arm, as if it were the last lifeline she could grasp.
"Do you... do you have a guild mark?"
Lu Chongwei smiled.
He rolled up his left sleeve, revealing the bright red Fairy Tail mark on his shoulder.
In the sunlight, it gleamed like a blazing flame.
Erza stared at the mark.
There was no mistake.
It was the very design she had seen countless times in her dreams!
At last, tears spilled from her eyes.
She nodded hard, her voice choked with emotion but utterly determined.
"I'll join!"
Magnolia's streets were wide and clean, lined with shops and bustling with life.
Lu Chongwei led Erza to stand before the guild's iconic building.
A huge guild emblem hung above the main entrance, glittering in the sunlight.
"This is Fairy Tail."
Lu Chongwei pointed to the emblem and smiled.
Erza looked up at it with her one remaining right eye, a hint of confusion passing through her gaze.
"Fairy... Tail?"
She repeated the name softly, her voice a little hoarse.
"Strange name, isn't it?"
As if he'd read her mind, Lu Chongwei laced his hands behind his head and explained casually:
"Whether fairies have tails—or even exist in this world—is still a mystery."
"And because it's a mystery, it represents the eternal unknown."
Lu Chongwei turned to Erza, his eyes bright.
"And the unknown means endless adventure. That's what the name means—an adventure into the unknown, one that never ends."
Erza's body trembled slightly.
His words were like a key, unlocking memories she had long buried.
Back in the dark, sunless prison of the Tower of Heaven, Grandpa Rob had once told her about this guild in the same gentle voice.
It was the home Grandpa Rob had given his life to protect.
"An eternal adventure..."
Erza murmured to herself, and the tense look on her small face softened a little.
"All right, stop spacing out. Let's go in."
Lu Chongwei grinned and strode toward the guild's heavy wooden door.
Then.
To Erza's shock, he lifted his foot and kicked it without a second thought.
"BANG!!!"
The door let out a pained groan as it slammed against the wall, sending up a cloud of dust.
"I'm back!!!"
Lu Chongwei drew a deep breath and bellowed.
The next moment.
"You little brat! How many times have I told you? Don't kick the door!!!"
An even louder roar came from deep inside the guild, shaking dust from the ceiling.
Erza instinctively hunched her shoulders and nervously hid behind Lu Chongwei.
But when she peeked into the guild hall, she froze in shock.
A legendary brawl was underway in the spacious hall.
Fire and ice flew everywhere, while bottles and chairs filled the air.
One person was laughing wildly atop a table, another was gripping someone by the collar and spitting in his face, and someone else had been thrown straight up to the ceiling, where he swung back and forth from a chandelier.
"Drop dead, droopy eyes!"
"What did you say?! You bug-eyed bastard!"
Magic flashed in every direction, and explosions rang out one after another.
Was this really a guild?
It was a battlefield!
"This..."
Erza's eyes widened, her pupils trembling.
"Are they... enemies?"
She couldn't understand why guildmates were attacking one another.
Lu Chongwei casually caught a flying mug and set it on a nearby table.
"Don't worry, this is Fairy Tail's unique way of saying hello."
Lu Chongwei shrugged, as if this were perfectly ordinary.
"The closer everyone is, the harder they fight. You'll get used to it."
With that, he led Erza through the chaos and straight to the bar.
When the guild members saw Lu Chongwei, they stopped fighting and greeted him with smiles, though many still had bruises on their faces.
At the bar.
Makarov was clutching a huge keg, his face red and his eyes unfocused.
"Hic... Where's Gildarts? Where'd that guy run off to this time?"
Makarov burped and looked at Lu Chongwei blearily.
"Guild Master, I brought someone back."
Lu Chongwei gestured toward Erza behind him.
Makarov struggled to lift his eyelids and gave her a casual glance.
But.
The instant his gaze landed on Erza, something flashed in his formerly cloudy eyes!
His drunkenness vanished in an instant.
As one of the Ten Wizard Saints, his senses were incredibly sharp.
Even though the little girl looked battered and exhausted, he could still clearly feel the immense magic power contained in her small body.
She was a rough gem, waiting to be polished!
No, she was a Supernova on the verge of erupting!
"This girl..."
Makarov set down the keg and leaned forward slightly, his expression turning serious.
Just then, Gildarts appeared from who knew where, holding a chicken leg.
He leaned toward Makarov's ear and whispered:
"Old man, Lu Chongwei really did something impressive this time. This girl's a monster. Her potential might be on par with Laxus's."
At those words, Makarov's grin grew so wide his mustache nearly curled up to the sky.
What a find!
He'd definitely found a treasure!
"Quick, quick, quick!"
Makarov's expression changed in an instant, his face lighting up.
He hurriedly dug out the guild stamp and gazed at Erza with such eagerness that he looked like he was welcoming his own granddaughter.
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