Chapter 453: Come to Fairy Tail

Chapter 453: Come to Fairy Tail

After concluding the most important matters, Rod summoned over a dozen people, who turned out to be Wild Beasts.

They were Aragal and his subordinates.

"This is Aragal from Iron Forest, along with the new members he has recruited," Rod said as he handed the mission list to Lahar, "I'm not sure if the reward offered by the Council is still valid."

"It... should be valid," Lahar replied, "But I'll need to consult with my superiors. As for the finances of the new Council... the reward might take about a month to be processed."

The Council had offered more than one bounty mission for Aragal, and they couldn't simply back out of their promises.

The Council had only changed its leadership; it wasn't a complete overhaul.

"Then please take them with you," Rod said, unconcerned about the other party reneging on their promise. A month's wait was manageable.

With this trip, he could start looking for a house, and the rewards were substantial.

Rod wondered about the compensation from the Allied Forces... surely it wouldn't be for nothing?

In any case, Rod hadn't officially teamed up with them, nor did he intend to share their rewards. With enough savings, Rod was now preoccupied with thoughts of a happy family life with his future wife and children.

Lahar greeted Robin Lu, the Guild Master who had come to check on the situation, and soon left with his men.

He was going to meet up with the troops searching for Red Hood and Cobra's subordinates.

He also planned to investigate the battle traces to more accurately assess the combat power of Rod's two dragons.

Rod's power had been hidden until now... no, that wasn't right! Lahar suddenly realized that the incident where Rod and Elfman were chased by two executives of Devil's Heart had occurred just a few months ago...

He calculated that it had been about half a year.

If he had been able to summon dragons back then, they wouldn't have been in such a dire situation!

In other words, he had only recently acquired this ability.

His rapid progress indicated his potential, and the two dragons represented his current destructive power.

There were still vacancies among the Ten Great Mages, but could he already be eligible for the title?

Lahar was shocked to have the opportunity to witness the growth of a potential Ten Great Mage, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

Since the titles of Jose and Gerald had been revoked, the criteria for becoming a Ten Great Mage had become much stricter than before. While magical power was a necessary condition, it was no longer the decisive factor.

With magical power as a baseline, character, reputation, and contributions to the Ishgar continent had become the evaluation standards. It seemed increasingly difficult for someone as young as Lahar to become one of the Ten Great Mages.

"Report!"

The voice of his subordinate interrupted Lahar's thoughts. "What is it?" he asked.

"Captain, we can't find it."

"What can't you find?"

"Nirvana is gone. The earthen walls created by the Earth Dragon are also missing."

"How is that possible?" Lahar found it hard to believe.

Even for such a large city, if it had been burned by dragon flames, there should still be some remnants left, right? But even when he went to check personally, he only found a vast expanse of barren land.

If he hadn't seen it from a distance yesterday and noticed that all the trees had been burned, he might not have been able to confirm that Nirvana had once been there.

Could the Allied Forces have cleaned up the battlefield after destroying Nirvana? It was too clean!

...

As soon as the Council members left, Natsu was back to his energetic self. "Finally, they're gone!"

Gray maintained his composure and didn't join in Natsu's cheer, but Happy had no such reservations. He repeated after Natsu, "They're gone!"

But when he saw Shaluna's gaze, he quickly quieted down, putting on a mature facade.

Lucy bent down and patted the cat's head. "You've got it~"

Happy took out a fish from his small bundle and said, "Lucy, can you help me deliver this fish to Shaluna?"

"But... didn't you get this fish from Neko-Mebo-Hoshi?"

"Not from her house, though."

"No, you should do this yourself. Boys should..." Lucy refused Happy's request and went on to give him a long lecture on dating tips.

She had never been in a relationship herself; she had only read romance novels.

Midnight crossed his arms in front of him, striking a pose he thought was cool. "MEN—since the matters have been settled, the next step is obviously..."

The three cool guys echoed him, "Obviously..."

Midnight suggested loudly, "A party!"

"A party!"

Six-Path repeated, and Natsu, Gray, and Lucy joined in.

Rod watched as Lucy contorted her body in a peculiar manner, and he couldn't help but chuckle silently.

This girl constantly complained about others' oddities, making herself seem so normal. But whenever something strange happened, she was the one most enthusiastic about it.

Wendy loved this lively atmosphere, but she hesitated to join in at first.

Ichiya seemed quite pleased with his influence and enthusiastically pointed towards Robin Lu, "Everyone from Neko-Mebo-Hoshi, come join us too!"

The villagers had quietly gathered behind Robin Lu without anyone noticing. However, upon Ichiya's invitation, the crowd remained silent.

The atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Robin Lu, the guild master, took a step forward and spoke in a deep voice, "Thank you all for defeating the Six Demon Generals, destroying Nirvana, and fooling them. I am truly grateful. But now, I must apologize to you all. The truth is... we are the Nirubit Clan who created Nirvana."

Concerned that the crowd might misunderstand, just as Rod had the night before, he emphasized, "Not the descendants of the Nirubit Clan, but the actual Nirubit Clan. I... am the one who created the Nirvana magic 400 years ago."

"What?!"

"400 years ago?!"

"What are you saying?!"

The crowd struggled to process Robin Lu's words. The old man indeed looked aged, but could he really be over four hundred years old?

"Master!" Wendy reacted intensely, seemingly unwilling to let Robin Lu continue.

"I'm sorry, Wendy," Robin Lu apologized, "Let me finish. My mission is complete."

Wendy stared at Robin Lu, probably realizing she couldn't change the master's mind. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"400 years ago..." Robin Lu proceeded to tell the crowd about Nirvana's origin, the same story he had shared with Rod and the others the previous day, but this time, he revealed the conclusion.

"'Darkness' found us, and the Nirubit Clan fell into mutual slaughter, leading to the clan's annihilation. I was the only survivor... No, in this state, I can't even consider myself alive."

"How is that possible?!"

The crowd was puzzled, wondering what it meant to not be alive.

Sensing their confusion, Robin Lu explained, "My physical body perished long ago. Now, I should say I'm a soul or something akin to a thought entity..."

Wendy's tears had already started flowing. She bowed her head, clenching her fists tightly, and her small body trembled uncontrollably.

"To atone for my sins, I've been guarding this place for 400 years, waiting for someone who could destroy Nirvana. Now that Nirvana is finally gone, my... four-century-long mission is complete, and it's time for me to disappear."

The crowd was left speechless, their mouths agape in astonishment, "You've been... for so long?!"

"You've endured here for four centuries as a spirit-like entity?!"

"And these villagers..."

"All the villagers here are merely illusions I created. I'm sorry, Wendy, I deceived you." Robin Lu's gentle gaze rested on Wendy.

Not a single word or sentence was wrong in the 1691 book!

"Seven years ago, that sincere young man entrusted the sleeping you to me. And when you woke up, you said you wanted to go to a place called a 'guild.'

You were too fragile and lonely back then, so I created imaginary companions for you..."

"No, don't say anymore!" Wendy's tears fell like pearls from a broken string, dropping one by one onto the ground.

The others were stunned into silence, shocked that Robin Lu had created an entire guild for Wendy...

These dozens of people, who seemed perfectly normal, were all illusions, and they had been maintained for seven years!

The most shocked were Rod, Mira, and Gray, who had stayed at Neko-Mebo-Hoshi for more than just a day. They had interacted with many villagers, yet they hadn't noticed anything unusual!

This meant that each of these dozens of illusions had their own independent 'personalities,' living day after day like normal people, to the extent that Wendy and Shaluna had spent years with them without detecting any flaws.

Robin Lu's gaze grew even gentler, "But you're a smart and kind child. Recently, you noticed our strangeness but pretended nothing was wrong, and you've been diligently learning ancient skills that you weren't even interested in before..."

Wendy pouted, trying not to cry out loud. She wiped her tears with both hands, but they just kept flowing.

Now, she had to stop the Guild Master from speaking, but she was already overwhelmed with her own emotions.

"I've always worried about what would happen if one day you discovered we were all fake. What if I couldn't hold on anymore and couldn't take care of you? What if my mission is accomplished, and I have to disappear?

You are so fragile, and even with Shaluna's company, you would still struggle and be lonely..."

Shaluna was also feeling terrible. Although she often claimed to care only about Wendy, how could she not be concerned about her companions after spending so many years together?

However, as the conversation reached this point, some people behind Robinルー began to gradually turn transparent and disappear one by one.

Wendy could no longer hold back her tears. She tilted her head back, letting the tears stream down her cheeks, and shouted at Robinルー, "If you're so worried about me, then don't say it anymore! Don't disappear! Everyone is real! Magna, Bebo, and Naoji..."

Wendy recited the names of those she would never forget, crying out, "If you want to deceive me, keep deceiving me! As long as I believe, everyone is real! Don't disappear! Don't disappear! Please keep deceiving me!"

She was helpless, unable to grab those who were disappearing, yet her hands couldn't seem to grasp anything.

Mila, Lucy, and Jellie instinctively covered their mouths, and their tears flowed down their cheeks as they heard Wendy's desperate cries.

Even Elusa, who had always prided herself on her strength, was moved by this.

The villagers smiled encouragingly at Wendy, and one by one, they continued to disappear.

Robinルー glanced at Rod, as if reminding him not to forget their previous agreement.

Then, he continued his final words, "Wendy, after going out several times, you've grown into a strong child, a capable Mage who can stand on her own.

Most importantly, you and Shaluna no longer need fake companions because the companions truly worth cherishing are right here, aren't they?"

Wendy froze, still murmuring, "No, I don't want this..."

In the past, she had always yearned for the outside world and enjoyed the lively atmosphere of other guilds. But now, she only wanted to keep Neko-Mebo-Hoshi.

Robinルー smiled and shook his head at her, as if persuading her not to be willful anymore. His figure gradually became ethereal, "Go on, our history has ended, and your future has just begun."

Before completely disappearing, Robinルー turned to the crowd behind Wendy, "Everyone, Wendy and Shaluna, I entrust them to you."

Shaluna bit her lip and shouted, "Guild Master!"

Wendy cried out, "Guild Master—!"

The blue emblem of Neko-Mebo-Hoshi on Wendy's right shoulder transformed into stardust and eventually vanished.

Neko-Mebo-Hoshi, the legitimate guild not listed in the Local Guild Union, had disappeared.

"Ahhhh—"

The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. The cries of the little girl and the sobs of the white kitten broke everyone's hearts.

Mila walked forward, knelt on the ground, and embraced Wendy, letting her cry her heart out.

After a moment, Mila slightly loosened her hold, "Robinルー has worked for four hundred years. Let him rest... Besides, we're still here." She pointed to Wendy's heart, "Aren't we all still living here?"

Wendy's cries gradually turned into sobs.

Elusa knelt behind Wendy, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Let new companions fill the pain of losing old ones. Come, join Fairy Tail!"

Mila repeated, "Join Fairy Tail."

Natsu, Gray, and Lucy stepped forward together, extending their hands towards Wendy, "Join Fairy Tail."

Wendy wiped her tears, but they wouldn't stop flowing.

But the Guild Master said she was a strong child.

She sniffed and nodded firmly, "Yes."

Rod remembered the previous agreement with Robinルー Guild Master—'If one day, Neko-Mebo-Hoshi can no longer be maintained, Wendy and Shaluna... I entrust them to you.'

It turned out that the old man had been considering this day, with good intentions.

But why was such an agreement even necessary?

Today's events had left Rod shaken and overwhelmed.

Rod sat cross-legged beside Shaluna, reaching out to pat the little white cat's head.

Shaluna turned her head away, tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't push his hand away.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end