Fairy Tail!

In Oscu Town, inside an elaborately decorated café.

"Uh, well, it was an accident! What happened earlier was purely an accident!" Sitting by the window and staring at Mira's icy expression across from him, Achill swallowed nervously and broke the silence with an awkward laugh. "I'm really sorry. Don't worry, don't worry! It absolutely won't happen again next time! I swear!!!" As he spoke, he thumped his chest loudly, looking utterly sincere.

If an ordinary person made such a promise, it might have carried at least a little credibility. But combined with his current appearance, it was rather—well, how should one put it? Sleazy?

His once fairly handsome face was now covered in dust, and there was even a small shoeprint on his left cheek?! His deep black hair had become a tangled mess like a chicken coop. And that was not all—his once spotless pale moon-white robe now looked like a rag! Not only was it filthy, but it was torn in several places!

As for why he had suddenly ended up looking so impressive... ahem, you know.

"What? You think that's enough to brush me off?" Mira was instantly furious. The emotions she had only just managed to calm threatened to explode again! Unable to endure any longer, she lunged forward, seized Achill by the collar, and roared at the top of her lungs, "Next time?! You still dare to imagine there'll be a next time?!!! Achill!!! Let me warn you! If you don't give me a satisfactory explanation today, I'll chop your little brother into eight pieces and throw it out to feed the dogs!!!!!!"

"Swish, swish, swish—" Countless strange gazes in the café immediately turned toward them.

"Eek—" Achill suddenly felt a chill between his legs. He clamped them tightly together by reflex and stared at the murderous face mere inches away. Even with his nerve, he could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine. He gave a weak, dry laugh. "Uh, well, lady, lady! Be a lady, Mira! If you keep talking so fiercely, you might never get married..."

The moment the words left his mouth, Achill knew he was doomed.

Sure enough, Mira's expression changed again and again, turning from black to white, then white to black, until it finally became livid!

"So you really want me to never get married, don't you..." Veins gradually bulged on Mira's forehead, and her brows twitched uncontrollably. Every sign showed that she was in an absolute rage! Yet strangely, there was not the slightest anger on her face. Instead, she let out a sweet giggle.

She gently brushed her beautiful white hair and leaned close to Achill's ear with a smile. "Then do you think I'm ladylike enough now?"

After saying that, she gazed at Achill with smiling eyes, the smile at the corners of her lips growing brighter and richer.

"Gulp—" Achill swallowed again. Her beautiful face was only a centimeter away from his own. Although Mira seemed to be smiling happily, for some reason he found her even more terrifying! Yes, terrifying!! Mira's utterly abnormal behavior made even Achill, who feared neither heaven nor earth, feel a little uneasy. A terrible premonition rose in his heart.

That line Achill had just said, which practically cursed someone to never get married, was absolutely the kind of sore spot women hated hearing most! Especially women who were already rather fierce! After giving it some thought, Achill roughly understood where the problem lay. He groaned inwardly. Why did I have to say something so stupid? Now I've really done it...

"Do you think I'm ladylike now?" Seeing that Achill was silent, Mira asked again softly with a smile, as though she merely wanted to know how he felt about her current demeanor. But Achill would never believe that!

"L-Ladylike..." Facing Mira's question, Achill could only answer cautiously, gritting his teeth.

"Hehe, is that so? Then do you know which Mage Guild this lady belongs to?" Mira asked with a smile.

"Fairy Tail..." The unease in his heart grew stronger. With his head full of question marks, Achill could not help wondering, What exactly is she trying to do??

Because Erza was in Fairy Tail, Achill had deliberately kept an eye on the guild over the past two years while searching for clues about the location of the Tower of Paradise!

Wait—

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Achill. If he remembered correctly, weren't all the people in that guild complete maniacs when it came to destruction?!!

Thinking of that, Achill looked at Mira's gentle, smiling face and suddenly felt that something was terribly wrong. She wouldn't be planning to—

Then he remembered her widely known title of "Demon," and a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on Achill's forehead.

"Let me tell you some good news! Just two days ago—" As though she had guessed what Achill was thinking, Mira smiled and dropped another bombshell. "I successfully advanced to become an S-Class Mage!"

"H-Hehe, congratulations! Congratulations..." Achill said with a dry laugh as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. His feet had already begun edging away uneasily. His intense sense of foreboding told him that something was very wrong—

"If I remember correctly, you already possessed strength comparable to an S-Class Mage two years ago." With that smiling remark, Mira finally revealed her fox tail. "Then could I ask you, a senior among S-Class Mages, to give this newbie who has just entered S-Class a little guidance?! Don't worry, it won't take much of your time!!!"

By the end, Mira's pretty face had grown colder and colder, finally transforming completely into the terrifying expression of the Demon. Her true nature was exposed without reservation!!

"Die, you damned pervert!!! Satan Soul—Take Over!!!!!!"

"Time really does flow like water..." Lying on his back atop a broad reef by the shore, Achill looked up at the stars scattered across the sky. Memories of those ambiguous moments with Mira three years ago flashed through his mind, and he could not help chuckling. "I wonder if that girl has toned down her temper at all over the past three years..."

"It seems like I haven't seen Le Qi in a long time. I kind of miss her." With an unknown blade of grass in his mouth, Achill murmured, "I wonder how she's been over these past seven years. It seems she joined Fairy Tail too. Given her way of expressing herself, that lively guild really does suit her, hehe..."

"Erza, Le Qi, Mira, and Mystogan, perhaps..." Achill lazily rose from the reef and said with a soft smile, "It's about time I went to see you all..."

The year 784 was destined to be anything but ordinary. As the protagonist, where would Achill go from here...

"Forget it, I should head back to the inn and rest first." Achill jumped down from the reef, brushed the dust from his clothes, and began walking toward the inn. However—

Boom— A thunderous explosion suddenly rang out from behind him! At the same time, violent fluctuations of magic power spread out with the blast!

"Damn—" Achill turned around in shock, only to see enormous waves sweeping a massive sailing ship toward him with terrifying force! In the blink of an eye, it had reached him! He only had time to curse before the waves nearly swallowed him whole, so he immediately used Flash Step and vanished from where he stood!

Boom— Another deafening crash rang out as the savage waves and massive ship swept across half the beach with overwhelming force!

"..." Achill stared at the devastated shoreline with black lines covering his face. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to drag out the culprit and chop him into eighty-eight pieces! The inn where he had been staying was also one of the unfortunate victims accidentally destroyed by the waves! His luggage, money, and practically everything else had been left there!!!

And now, it was all gone. Before those enormous waves, that old saying had proven true—everything had turned into bubbles...

"Fire Dragon's Roar!!!"

A vigorous roar pulled Achill out of mourning for his belongings. Looking toward the sound, he saw a blinding, scorching pillar of fire erupt fiercely from the mouth of a pink-haired boy!

In an instant, one unfortunate figure was blasted away by the pillar of flames!

"A Dragon Slayer?" Achill muttered. The kid named Gajeel whom he had encountered seven years ago had apparently been a Dragon Slayer too, hadn't he? Remembering how badly he had messed that guy up, Achill could not help smiling. I wonder how he's doing now. He's not still hiding somewhere and eating iron, is he? Hahaha...

"Hm?" Achill smiled, tossing those irrelevant thoughts out of his mind before turning his attention back to the pink-haired boy. Suddenly, his gaze narrowed slightly. He stared closely at the boy's right arm—or rather, at the red emblem tattooed on his shoulder. "Fairy Tail?"

That was right. The emblem on the boy's shoulder was the exclusive mark of the Fairy Tail Mage Guild!

"Hehe, interesting. I didn't expect Fairy Tail and I to be so fated~" Achill observed the pink-haired boy from the shadows with an amused expression. "To think I'd run into a member of that guild even here..."

"Hey! Lucy, what are you spacing out for?" After taking down the imposter who had dared to impersonate him, Natsu called out cheerfully to the stunned Lucy.

"N-Natsu, are you a Mage from the Fairy Tail Guild?" Lucy snapped out of her daze and excitedly grabbed Natsu's clothes, looking him over from head to toe.

"Hehe, of course! I'm a Mage of Fairy Tail!" Natsu declared proudly.

Lucy was about to say something else when an ill-timed voice suddenly sounded beside them.

"Hey, I..." Achill emerged from the shadows and looked at Natsu and Lucy as they turned toward him. With an amused expression, he pointed behind himself at the large number of footsteps steadily approaching. "If you don't leave now, the army will be here..."

"Huh? Ah!! Thank you!!! Let's get out of here, Lucy!!!" Natsu froze for a moment, then suddenly reacted with a scream. Without another word, he grabbed Lucy's hand and fled for his life. Fairy Tail members feared nothing more than running into government officials! It could not be helped—they were simply too good at causing destruction and too fond of stirring up trouble~

Of course, before leaving, he did not forget to thank Achill for the kind warning.

"Fairy Tail..." The corners of Achill's lips curled up in a lazy smile. With a light tap of his toe against the ground, he vanished instantly, leaving only a faint sentence drifting through the tranquil night sky for a long time—

"It really is an interesting guild..."