The Turning Wheel of Fate

Three years had passed since Ye experienced the incident in the Great Forest of Monsters. Many major events had taken place during that time. That year, Mira finally became an S-Class Mage and immediately dragged Ye along on her first S-Class mission. Ye recalled that Lisanna had left this continent after Mira became an S-Class Mage and took the Beast King mission, so he constantly reminded Mira to report to him before taking any missions.

Yet the gears of fate had not vanished. The following year, Mirajane still secretly accepted the Beast King mission while Ye was away on a job and set off with her younger brother and sister. By the time Ye learned the news and hurried back, Lisanna had already left. The guild was steeped in grief, and everyone attended Lisanna's funeral.

Only Ye knew that Lisanna had not died. When Ye told Mira that Lisanna might still be alive, Mira merely thought he was trying to comfort her. She sternly told Ye that if he encountered an enemy he could not defeat, he had to retreat immediately. She did not want to experience the pain of losing family again.

Ye looked at Mira as she was now, unable to describe the bitterness in his heart. All he could do was hold the girl who made his heart ache. Mira had also lost the ability to use magic because of her inner demons, while Elfman had become a musclebound man with "manly man" constantly on his lips.

After seeing the changes in Mira and Elfman, everyone silently understood and quickly accepted the reborn pair.

That same year, Mystogan became an S-Class Mage. Until 784, no one else became an S-Class Mage. The guild's companions had all made names for themselves throughout the Kingdom of Fiore: Erza the Fairy Queen, Natsu the Salamander, and others. Fairy Tail was beginning to show signs of becoming the strongest guild.

...Timeline...

Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!

"Miss, are you all right?"

Ugh! "I'm fine. It's just an old problem acting up."

At a magic item shop, a lively young girl was currently sacrificing her looks while haggling with the owner.

"That rotten old man only knocked off 1,000J! Is my beauty only worth 1,000J? (ꐦÒ‸Ó)"

She stormed off in a huff, walking and walking, when she heard voices nearby.

"Did you hear? Lord Salamander has come here."

"Really? Then let's go take a look!"

Lucy heard there was news about Salamander.

"Could it be Fairy Tail's Salamander? I heard he uses magic you don't often see outside."

She immediately followed a group of passersby to where Salamander was. The instant Lucy saw him, her heart began racing and a blush spread across her face.

"Why is my heart beating so fast? Is this the charm of a famous mage?" Just then—

"Igneel! Ahh! Who are you?!"

The man called Salamander struck a dashing pose. "I am Salamander!"

Natsu walked away without even turning his head. "Who are you? Not interested."

The girls stared at Natsu's outrageous rudeness, then rushed over and beat him up.

The fake Salamander stepped forward to stop them and gave him an autograph.

"Take it home and show it off to your friends!"

Natsu casually threw the autograph away, earning himself another beating from the girls.

"There'll be a party at the docks tonight. Be sure to come!" With that, he used magic and left.

"Ahh! Lord Salamander is so handsome!"

As the crowd dispersed, Lucy came back to her senses and walked over to Natsu.

"Thanks for earlier. Let me treat you to a meal."

Natsu and Happy stared at Lucy in confusion, but the moment they heard the word "meal," they eagerly followed her.

When they reached the restaurant, they found everyone staring wide-eyed at a man and a wolf who were stuffing themselves shamelessly.

Natsu and Happy saw the newcomers. "Ye! Hati!"

Hearing someone call their names, Ye and Hati stopped eating and looked up.

"Oh, isn't that Natsu and Happy? Long time no see."

Lucy looked at Natsu. "You ran into acquaintances?"

Natsu and Happy said excitedly, "Yep!"

Thus, two gluttons became four gluttons, with Lucy awkwardly standing there, completely unsure what to do.

All she could do was mutter to herself, "My name is Lucy. That guy earlier used charm magic. It's magic that was banned years ago. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have broken free so quickly. Don't let my appearance fool you—I'm a mage too..."

Natsu and Happy felt helpless as they watched Lucy chatter nonstop.

"You really can talk."

Lucy saw Natsu's reaction.

"Sorry, sorry. I've been talking to you about the magic world this whole time. Oh, right, you seem to be looking for someone. Is his name Igneel?"

Natsu thought for a moment. "Yeah. We heard there was news of Salamander here, so we came."

Lucy considered it. "Someone who looks like Salamander?"

Natsu replied, "No. Igneel is a real Salamander."

Lucy complained, "How could Salamander possibly swagger around a town?"

Natsu and Happy suddenly understood, as if they had been struck by lightning, freezing in place.

"Hey, don't act like you only just figured that out!"

Lucy looked at the two still eating and drinking, one cat and one wolf, then prepared to leave. She asked the waiter how much it cost.

"30,000J."

Lucy said angrily, "Is this some kind of scam restaurant? How can it be this expensive?"

The waiter sweated awkwardly. "Our prices are clearly marked. It's mainly because these two ate thirty people's worth of food."

Lucy looked at the piles of leftover food on the table and felt utterly helpless.

"It's fine, you can go first. Ye will pay."

"Yay! I love eating with Ye. We never have to pay whenever we eat with him."

Ye: "Was that supposed to be insulting?"

Lucy gritted her teeth. "I said I'd treat you, so I'll treat you!" She threw down 30,000J and left the restaurant.

Natsu looked at Ye. "Ye, did you finish your mission?"

"Of course I did. It was easy."

Natsu's eyes sparkled. "I'm so jealous! This year, I'm definitely becoming an S-Class Mage!"

Ye stared at Natsu and said slowly, "There will be plenty of candidates for S-Class this year. The competition will be fierce, so work hard."

By the time the man, cat, wolf, and Natsu finished eating and left, it was already dusk. As they walked back, Happy looked at the ship by the sea.

"That looks like the ship Salamander mentioned this morning."

Natsu stared seriously at the ship, then suddenly felt nauseous.

Ye complained, "Come on, don't get seasick just from looking at a ship."

Suddenly, they heard passersby talking by the roadside.

"That's Lord Salamander's ship! I heard he belongs to that famous Fairy Tail guild. I really want to join!"

When Ye and the others heard "Fairy Tail," Ye asked in confusion, "Did someone like that join the guild during the few weeks I was away?"

Natsu said solemnly, "No way. There's no way I wouldn't know about someone using such an arrogant name."

Looking at the scene before him, Ye finally remembered. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"So the story has already begun."

Then he said, "All right, Natsu. Time to walk off that meal."

"Yeah! Aye! Awoo!"

Inside the ship, Lucy knocked over the fake Salamander's wine.

"I only said I would attend this party. I never said I wanted to become your woman. You put sleep magic in this wine, didn't you?"

The fake Salamander looked at Lucy in surprise. "I didn't expect you to notice." Then he dropped the act.

The curtains were drawn back. Lucy saw that all the girls who had arrived were unconscious. Several vicious-looking men stared at her. Just as Lucy tried to take out her key and use magic, the fake Salamander snatched it away and threw it into the sea.

"You're about to become merchandise. Stop resisting. It'll be better for you that way."

Lucy said in shock, "Aren't you a member of Fairy Tail? How can you do something like this?!"

The fake Salamander burst out laughing.

"So this is Fairy Tail? What a joke!"

At that moment, a figure descended from the sky and smashed into the ship. Natsu made a dashing entrance, shocking everyone.

Lucy cried out, "Natsu!"

But his coolness lasted less than three seconds. The ship swayed slightly.

"I still feel so sick. I really can't handle this."

Natsu immediately collapsed onto the deck and began retching.

"What a loser! (O∆O)"

Seeing this, Happy picked Lucy up and flew away.

"Stop that cat! If the Magic Council finds out, we're all finished!" Some of the people on the ship beat Natsu while the fake Salamander used magic.

Red Sky Whip!

"What's with this cat? He's so nimble!"

"Happy, I didn't know you could fly!"

"Aye, but Lucy, there's a problem now."

"What problem?"

"I'm out of magic power."

Happy's wing magic vanished, and both he and Lucy fell.

Lucy cried out, "Stupid cat!"

"Aye!"

Lucy fell into the sea, found her key, and summoned Aquarius. "Aquarius!"

"Fish!!!"

"I'm not a fish! (ᇂ_ᇂ|||)"

Aquarius said viciously, "You little brat, if you lose your key again, I'll beat you to death!"

Lucy replied weakly, "Got it."

"Forget that for now—quickly send the ship back to the docks!"

"Don't order me around, brat!" She swung the water from her urn, creating a tidal wave that swept the ship back toward shore.

"Ahh! Ahh!"

On the beach, Lucy said furiously, "Why did you wash me ashore too?"

"Oops, I was aiming for you, but I accidentally brought the ship along. Don't summon me again for a while. I have a date with my boyfriend. My boyfriend, okay!"

Lucy roared, "You don't need to say it twice! Seriously!"

Suddenly, a man riding a wolf arrived beside Lucy.

"Happy, are you all right?"

"Aye, no big deal."

"Quick, that woman is over there!"

Lucy hurriedly said, "Run! Go tell the local army!"

Happy said confidently, "It's fine, Lucy. Even if there were a hundred times more of them, they wouldn't hurt Ye in the slightest."

Hearing Happy's words, Lucy stared at Ye in disbelief.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot!"

A dense barrage of bullets flew toward Ye. He did not move. In an instant, his hands left afterimages in the air as he caught every single bullet.

Lucy stared at Ye in shock, unable to believe a person could really do something like that.

One of the traffickers' underlings looked at the man before him and cried out to Bora, "Lord Bora, it's him! Crimson hair, ruby-like eyes, riding a silver wolf—he's Fairy Tail's strongest creature on land, the War God Ye!"

"(ꐦÒ‸Ó) I told you not to call me by that title!"

Happy nibbled on a fish and said leisurely, "Bora of the Red Flame, a mage expelled by Giant's Nose years ago."

Lucy said in surprise, "You're all from Fairy Tail?"

"Aye!"

"What strongest creature on land, what War God? It's all just exaggerated nonsense!"

Red Tornado!

Natsu suddenly made another dashing entrance. "Disgusting. Are you really a fire mage?"

Everyone stared blankly at Natsu as he devoured the flames, all of them utterly shocked.

Lucy exclaimed, "Natsu is eating fire!"

"A dragon's lungs breathe fire, a dragon's scales melt fire, and a dragon's claws wrap around fire. This is Primordial Magic that transforms one's body into that of a dragon. Natsu's magic was taught to him by Salamander Igneel, so Natsu is—"

"Salamander!"

Ye said leisurely, "Natsu! Hurry up and finish this. I still need to go home."

Natsu said excitedly, "Yeah! Got it! After eating it, I can feel the power surging up!"

Dragon's Roar!

In a single instant, all of Bora's underlings were defeated. Bora was flying in the air, so he was not caught in the attack.

"I'm not playing with you anymore. I'm leaving first!"

Ye said slowly, "Oh my, oh my. You insulted Fairy Tail and think you can just leave? It won't be that easy."

Ye raised his palm, gathering an air bullet in his hand. One air bullet struck Bora, and Bora exploded in midair, losing his life.

Ye said sternly, "Those who offend Fairy Tail shall be hunted down, no matter how far away they are!"

Lucy watched the scenes unfold and thought, So strong. Both Natsu and Ye... Are all Fairy Tail mages like this?

Then came the rustling sound of approaching footsteps.

"Hurry, over there! The explosion came from over there! Move!"

"The Magic Council is here! Everyone, retreat!"

"Happy, Hati, Natsu!"

"Aye, awoo, yeah!"

Hati carried Ye on his back and held Lucy in his mouth, while Happy flew and Natsu ran.

Lucy said in shock, "Why are you taking me too? And can't you hold me in a different position?!"

Natsu said happily, "Don't you want to join Fairy Tail?"

Lucy froze slightly at Natsu's words.

"Yeah!"

"(ꐦÒ‸Ó) But can't you really hold me in a different position? This is so embarrassing!"

The meeting between the girl and the boy set the wheel of fate in motion. Who knew how many adventures awaited them in the future.