It was time to leave.
Blanc breathed a silent sigh of relief. Keeping up an air of mystery these past few days had been tiring, like reliving his days in Grimoire Heart.
Now everything was done. Layla had survived, and Natsu and the others had successfully traveled four hundred years into the present. He had made up for the regrets he could; every extra second he stayed was a waste.
His adult appearance was only a disguise created with Nature Magic. Maintaining it for several days had taken a mental toll.
Besides, that burst of power just now had stunned everyone. Once they recovered, their minds would surely fill with questions.
He had no desire to be interrogated, so he immediately turned toward the stairs leading out.
"Mr. Night."
Seeing Blanc turn to leave, Layla grew anxious and immediately called after him.
Blanc stopped and turned to look at her.
Layla hurried over to him. Her hair was a little disheveled, her clothes covered in dust, and the tear tracks on her face had yet to dry. She looked rather bedraggled.
Yet once she stopped before him, the noble mistress of the Heartfilia family bowed deeply-a humble gesture the head of a centuries-old family should never have made to a stranger.
"Thank you."
"..."
"You saved more than just me," Layla said. "You also saved those five children, and the hope that people four hundred years ago fought so desperately to preserve."
Blanc waved a casual hand. "Don't worry about it."
"Please tell me how I can repay you," Layla pleaded with a smile.
"Tell me your real name, or where you come from. Either will do. The Heartfilia family does not leave its debts of gratitude unpaid."
Here it comes.
"There's no need." Blanc shook his head firmly. "As I said, I only came to fulfill my duty. Now that it's done, there is nothing more between us."
Blanc had no desire to reveal himself too soon. Quite apart from his undercover identity, how was he supposed to stir things up later if he drew too much attention now?
"But..."
"Lady Layla," he interrupted. "Once someone in the shadows is remembered, he can no longer remain in the shadows."
Layla fell silent for several seconds.
Those eyes, identical to Lucy's, studied him for so long that Blanc's scalp prickled. He had a very bad feeling that this woman had vaguely guessed something, but had chosen not to ask from the start.
"Then I will remember this kindness," she finally said. "If you ever need the Heartfilia family's help, no matter when or what it concerns, we will not hesitate."
"I'll remember that."
Don't worry. Your daughter will repay you someday, several times over. Just don't blame Fairy Tail for dragging the daughter you wanted to live a peaceful life into all sorts of bizarre incidents. Blanc silently added that to himself, then turned to leave.
"Please wait."
He had barely taken a few steps when Jude blocked his path. Blanc felt rather helpless. Couldn't this couple say everything they needed to in one go?
The wealthy merchant still wore a stern expression, as though he remained suspicious of Blanc. He stood straight, his chest rising and falling twice.
Then this man, who never bowed to anyone, lowered his proud head and said solemnly:
"...Thank you."
"You're welcome," Blanc replied indifferently.
Then Blanc remembered that he had yet to get back at Zoldeo, and hurried to plant a seed of suspicion in Jude's mind. "By the way-"
"Be careful of that servant of yours with the afro. Something's wrong with him. With that twisted loyalty of his, keeping him around could lead to trouble."
Telling Layla this would be useless. Zoldeo really was loyal to her, after all, and with her personality, she probably would not suspect a servant devoted to her.
Jude was different. He was a calculating man. Even a false warning would make him cautious, let alone one about Zoldeo, who genuinely had something wrong with him.
Jude's brow twitched. "Zoldeo's loyalty is beyond question."
Blanc did not care. He said bluntly, "I'm only warning you. He hasn't done anything yet. Believe me or don't."
After all, Blanc had no idea what Zoldeo would do now that Layla had survived. But the man's character hardly inspired trust. Planting a little suspicion in Jude's mind to keep him alert was enough.
Jude was silent for a while.
"I won't blindly believe a stranger's words... but I will watch him."
"Good." Blanc turned and continued up the stairs. "One more thing. Don't tell Lady Layla about this."
"...I understand."
Jude looked up at the black-clad figure climbing farther and farther away until he vanished, as though trying to engrave the image of this suspicious benefactor in his mind.
Then he slowly turned to look down into the hall.
The servant with the afro was still kneeling there, his head lowered and his shoulders trembling violently in an unnatural way.
Jude watched him for a long time.
"Mr. Night! It is my duty, so please allow me to escort you to the palace gates-"
Arcadios caught up, panting. He clearly had yet to recover from what had happened and stumbled as he ran, but still insisted on observing the proper courtesies.
Blanc glanced at him and gave a noncommittal nod.
Outside the palace gates, the sun with a bite missing from it was slowly returning to its original shape.
A cold wind swept across the empty stone-paved road.
The young knight led Blanc out through the palace gates, then stopped and watched the black-clad figure gradually disappear at the end of the street, as though that man had never existed.
Arcadios stood on the long street for quite some time. At last, he took out the little notebook filled with "suspicious details," turned to the final page, and wrote down that day's record:
[July 7. The Eclipse Gate opened.] ["Night"-impossible to document.]
Afterward, Darton secretly searched the national guild registry, the Magic Council's classified files, and the entry and exit records from recent years, among other sources. He was certain that a wizard so terrifying could not possibly be unknown.
Yet not a single record mentioned anyone like him. It was as though he had appeared out of thin air.
The report was finally sealed away in the Royal Highest Classified Archives. At its end was just one conclusion, tinged with helplessness and relief:
[-Fortunately, this man is on our side.]
As for King Toma, he sat on the steps of the underground hall for a long time, staring blankly at the closed black doors.
A mission that had continued for four long centuries. From his ancestors to his great-grandfather, his grandfather, his father, and finally himself... generation after generation had kept watch.
At last, it had ended in his generation. Not only had he personally witnessed this miracle that spanned time and space, but he had also met a wizard unlike any he had ever seen. The Pumpkin king's feelings were beyond words.
"Pass on my orders!" The short king suddenly sprang to his feet, his mustache quivering. "Replace every dish at tonight's royal dinner with pumpkin! Everyone in the Order of Knights gets a share!"
He paused, excitement glittering in his eyes, then muttered softly.
"...How wonderful. Wizards. One day, I must hold a grand event that brings together every wizard in the kingdom."
In the carriage on the way home, Layla turned Anna's journal to its final page and added several lines in graceful handwriting for future generations:
[Five-or perhaps six-travelers from four hundred years ago have safely arrived in this era.] [Though one of the Zodiac keys was missing, a mysterious, immensely powerful individual who wished to remain unnamed fortunately filled the gap with overwhelming magic power.] [With this, the destiny passed down for four hundred years has finally come to an end.]
"Let's go home, Jude." Layla closed the journal, her face filled with tenderness and anticipation. "Lucy is home alone. She must be getting impatient."
Outside the carriage, among the accompanying servants, Zoldeo clutched Capricorn's Celestial Spirit Key tightly against his chest.
His head was lowered, and his eyes, hidden in shadow, were filled with... boundless craving and fervor for the terrifying power Blanc had just displayed.
On the outskirts of the Royal Capital, amid an overgrown patch of grass that resembled a ruin, a blonde woman in elaborate, ancient clothing slowly opened her eyes, her long lashes trembling.
"Where... am I?"
She braced her hands against the ground and struggled to sit up, her long hair spilling loose. Her voice was hoarse and confused, as though she had just woken up. The last image in her mind was still that violent sensation of being torn apart as she crossed time and space.
"Where are the children?"
The blonde woman had no time to straighten her disheveled dress. She looked around in panic. There was nothing but weeds and strange rocks, not a hint of anyone else's presence, much less the five figures she treasured.
"No... this isn't where the Eclipse Gate opened..." Anna's fingers dug deep into the soil as unease spread through her like a rising tide.
"What happened?"
At that same moment, aboard the Magic Train bound for Magnolia.
A twelve-year-old boy huddled by the window, holding a bulging travel bag filled with local specialties he had bought in the Royal Capital. Since he rarely visited, he had picked up a few things to take back.
As soon as he relaxed after several tense days, all the exhaustion came flooding in.
Still, it was worth it.
Those five little ones had already landed in different parts of Fiore. One of them, a pink-haired boy wearing a scarf, would soon be picked up by the guild master and brought back to the guild.
The guild would certainly get lively then.
"-Hopefully I won't get caught up in it," Blanc muttered, pulling his hood down over his face and closing his eyes to doze.
As for what that sixth ball of light was, he could not be bothered to think about it.
His attention was now entirely on the panel before him. Close contact with the spacetime passage and its abundant spacetime energy had stirred the system, which had been dormant for years and which Blanc had almost forgotten. He had missed it amid the earlier chaos, and only noticed while reviewing things afterward. My cheat is finally back online.
He summoned the system panel and checked its log.
The first entry was still the message from his arrival over a decade ago.
"Detected arrival in a new world. Randomly selecting a special ability from this world. Congratulations, ability selected. Congratulations on obtaining [Infinite Magic]."
But just now, a new message had appeared on the system panel.
"Detected arrival in a new world. Randomly selecting a special ability from this world. Congratulations, ability selected. Congratulations on obtaining [Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga]."
Blanc could not help looking around. His surroundings still had Fairy Tail's distinctive fantasy style, with no skyscrapers or streams of busy traffic.
But I haven't crossed into another world.
Before you continue