Bang! Crash...
"Dammit! Give me back my stuff!"
"You really don't know what's good for you..."
Inside the Fairy Tail Guild, chaos still reigned.
Amid the rough language, various dazzling spells flew through the air.
"Tsk..."
At the guild's entrance, Ian, who had just been about to exchange a few more words with the adorable, crimson-haired Erza standing before him, finally couldn't hold back after hearing the relentless noise in the background.
He glanced at Erza with a kind smile and said, "Wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."
Then, with a loud bang, Ian kicked the guild door wide open and stormed in.
As Erza watched the door being sent flying by Ian's kick, she finally understood why the guild's door always looked brand new.
"Hey! You little punks..."
"Are you planning to tear down the guild?!"
"Stop it, right now!"
Ian shouted angrily at the chaotic scene before him.
"Ice-Make...!"
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!!"
"Smoke Magic!!"
"Painting Magic!"
Unfortunately, the mages of Fairy Tail were too deep in their brawl. Each one seemed utterly absorbed in their fighting, as if they hadn't heard Ian's angry shout. They kept casting their spells recklessly, oblivious to everything around them.
"Everyone, stop right now!"
Seeing this, Ian's eye twitched slightly. He then raised his left hand.
A massive purple magic circle formed in the air above the guild...
The next second.
All the mages who had been caught up in the battle suddenly felt a heavy weight on their shoulders. Before anyone could react, an overwhelming gravitational force poured down from the magic circle, pinning each one of them firmly to the floor.
"Ugh..."
"So heavy! I can't move."
"Is this gravity magic?!"
"That means... Ian's back."
As the rowdy Fairy Tail mages were pressed down by Ian's signature gravity magic, they finally calmed down and began to dispel their magic circles.
Sigh...
Ian let out a long sigh as he withdrew his magic.
"Ian, how's work been going?"
As soon as Ian withdrew his magic, a cheerful voice called out to him. It was the guild's barmaid, who also helped out with various odd jobs around the place. She smiled and asked about his latest job.
"It went alright."
"A few people managed to slip away, but nothing too serious."
Ian paused for a moment before asking, "Is the guild master not around? Why is no one stopping these guys from wrecking the guild?"
"The guild master went to the annual meeting for guild leaders under the Magic Council."
The barmaid answered immediately.
"I see."
Ian rubbed his temples, finally understanding why the guild was in such chaos with no one around to keep things in order. With the guild master at the meeting and Gildarts constantly off on missions, it was like giving the younger members of the guild free rein to do whatever they wanted.
"Ian, fight me!"
Suddenly, Natsu, with his scarf of dragon scales wrapped around his neck and his spiky pink hair, rushed toward Ian. At some point, he had let go of Gray and was now standing in front of Ian, challenging him.
"Not today. I'm exhausted. Let's do it another time."
Ian looked at Natsu, clearly uninterested.
To be honest, there were times when Ian truly envied Natsu's endless energy.
"Oh! Natsu's challenging Ian again?"
"Wonder how long Natsu will last against Ian this time?"
The guild members, who had quickly resumed drinking after Ian had stopped their brawling, began to laugh as they saw Natsu standing determinedly in front of Ian.
"Ian, here I come!"
But Natsu, as if he hadn't heard a word Ian said, yelled loudly. Flames erupted from his body as he charged at Ian with his fist aflame, shouting, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"When your punch is half as strong as your yelling, then you can challenge me."
With a single hand, Ian blocked Natsu's fiery punch.
Then, with a swift upward motion, Ian lifted Natsu into the air.
"Wha..."
Natsu, now caught in Ian's grip, was flung into the sky by the force.
Buzz...
As Natsu's body hung suspended in mid-air, a purple magic circle appeared beside him.
Boom...
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the guild.
Natsu was blasted sideways by the gravity force from the magic circle, flying out of the guild, shattering a second-floor window, and landing in the distant canal.
"Hahaha..."
"Natsu got one-shot again!"
"That cracks me up every time..."
"No surprise there, the difference in power is too great. Ian is one of our guild's only two S-class mages after all."
"Exactly, Natsu is way too overconfident."
The Fairy Tail guild was once again filled with laughter as the mages poked fun at Natsu's misfortune.
Phew...
After sending the troublemaker Natsu flying, Ian finally let out a breath of relief.
"One glass of water."
Ian walked up to the bar and asked for a glass of water.
"Right away..."
Moments later, a glass of water was placed in front of Ian.
Gulp, gulp, gulp...
"Finally, I can take a break."
Ian downed the glass of water in one go. As he sat there, he suddenly had a flash of realization.
"Oh, right, Erza!"
Ian quickly made his way to the guild's entrance and invited Erza, who had been waiting patiently outside just as he'd asked, to come into the guild.
"Ian, who's this?"
"She's pretty cute!"
"Why is a little girl wearing armor?"
The drunk members of the guild looked at the adorable crimson-haired girl Ian had brought in, asking questions with curiosity.
"This is Erza, our guild's newest member."
Ian answered truthfully and led Erza over to the bar. He rummaged through one of the boxes the guild master always left lying around and pulled out the Fairy Tail guild's magic stamp.
Right next to the stamp was a half-empty bottle of whiskey the guild master had left behind...
"We really need someone to properly manage this thing."
Ian muttered to himself as he took the stamp and walked over to Erza, saying gently, "Erza, once I place this stamp on you, you'll officially be a member of Fairy Tail."
"Okay."
Erza smiled and nodded. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
"Alright."
Ian nodded slightly in response.
He then gently pressed the guild's stamp onto Erza's pale arm, imprinting the image of a fairy soaring freely in the sky—the mark of Fairy Tail.
And so, Erza Belserion officially joined the Fairy Tail Guild.
Meanwhile, on the Western Continent, in the Alvarez Empire.
A woman who bore an almost identical resemblance to Erza, albeit an older, queen-like version, was reclining on a sofa, holding a crystal ball in her arms, quietly watching the scene of Ian and the others.
"I've finally found you~"
"Hehe, I knew you weren't dead~"
"Once I've eliminated all the obstacles between us, we can reunite as a family..."
This woman's name was Irene Belserion.
She was the creator of Dragon Slayer Magic 400 years ago, and also Erza's mother.
Known as the Mother of Dragon Slayer Magic, the Queen of Dragons, the Wise Dragon, and the Crimson Despair...
She was the highest-ranking official of the Alvarez Empire, which had been built by the legendary dark mage Zeref to achieve his dream. Irene was also one of the Twelve Shields of the empire, and one of its two strongest members.
In fact, it was said that even the remaining ten of the Twelve Shields combined couldn't match her power.
Irene, standing at the pinnacle of strength in both the Western Continent and the entire world, was a figure whose peers in power could be counted on one hand. At this moment, the queen-like woman let out a light chuckle as she gazed into her crystal ball.
"Lady Irene, is something the matter?"
"Shh, don't ask..."
"Those who talk too much end up dead."
In Irene's palace, two girls responsible for attending to her—Heine Lunasea and Juliet Sun—whispered nervously to each other. Facing the terrifying Irene, they didn't dare ask any questions or speak another word.
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