A.N. (9/1/21) - I'm back from my hiatus, here's the continuation of Vale's battle against Zancrow.


Chapter 5 - Imaginary Guild

Part 1

The glowing tattoos covering Vale's body were still visible even underneath the thick layers of his clothes. Since his spell didn't fully unlock his second origin like it was supposed to, this was a strange side effect of his enchantment that Vale had to put up with.

Luckily for him, there wasn't any excruciating pain like the first time he underwent this process. Maybe his body adapted to the spell, or maybe it was because this was only a temporary release instead of a complete one. Either way, Vale wasn't complaining.

Still, the way the tattoos shone on his body was like some kind of tribal marking. Truthfully, it would have looked even better if he had bared his upper body to the world. But since Vale didn't exactly have the same chuunibyou aesthetics most mages did, that would have just been more embarrassing to him than cool.

Then again, it wasn't as if he didn't have a flair for the dramatics. After all, didn't he just give off a perfectly timed wham line before unleashing his supposed full power before the others? That was something normally seen in shounen manga or anime, not serious battles where lives were on the line.

"Die!"

Ah, right. He was still in the middle of a fight.

Zancrow's attack flew towards Vale with no room for him to dodge. The black flames grew in size so that it was guaranteed to hit no matter which direction Vale retreated towards.

When an enemy is not only bigger, stronger, faster, and more experienced than you, then the main decisive factor to defeating the enemy is based on either how intelligent you were… or how lucky you were.

"High Enchant Type - Magnify Attack Attribute Four."

Of course, that gap between abilities could be bridged somewhat using his enchantments. But Vale knew that even with high enchants supporting him, it might not be enough against Zancrow.

At its core, enchantment magic was the realization of the common wish to push something past its perceived limitations. Not just adding more to what is already complete but making it strive for perfection by transforming it into something even better.

More magic power didn't simply just make his spells more powerful. Rather, it also made them into something greater — high enchantments.

Controlling the wires attached to his back, Vale manipulated them so that they shot straight through the flames and toward's Zancrow's face. Filled with his magic power, the wire dispersed the flames around it and endured under the high temperatures of the flames of god. Not expecting the attack, Zancrow barely twisted his head in time right as the wire shot right through where his eye was a second ago.

His eyes widened as he realized how close he was to losing an eye, only for them to narrow in rage after the realization passed.

"You'll pay for that, brat!"

This time, he concentrated his flames so that they shot forward in clumps instead of a widespread attack. Since they were more condensed compared to before, it wouldn't be as easy to disperse since there was more power in each attack. So when the attacks began raining down upon him, Vale had no choice but to dodge.

"High Enchant Type - Magnify Speed Attribute Six."

Even though his new incantations were a bit mouthy, Vale managed to say them quickly while moving his body around the battlefield. To be honest, it wasn't strictly necessary to say the full incantation to use their abilities. But since this world ran on shounen manga rules, it was almost an indisputable fact that saying actions aloud made them more effective.

Still, since Vale was going at speeds he wasn't used to, it was inevitable that some attacks would land on him. Catching attacks with his arms, his skin quickly burned to a crisp as the black flames of the God Slayer struck him.

Luckily for him, he wasn't alone.

"Sky God's Zephyros."

Sherria's healing magic instantly recovered his wounds, causing the black skin to quickly revert to its former pristine condition. Vale was somewhat envious of that since even his famed mother had trouble sometimes healing others using her magic.

Sure, if he pushed his limits, he could potentially reach the fabled Attribute One that was part of his magic's thaumatic system. Biological manipulation and magical healing wouldn't be out of his reach if he did. But for now, all he could do was boost the lesser four attributes.

"Damn girl's getting meddlesome," Zancrow growled. "Stop interfering in my shit!"

But the moment he made his way to attack Sherria, Vale quickly blocked his path. Swinging his leg, Zancrow quickly raised his arms to block the attack. But the moment he did so, snake-like wires quickly wrapped around his arms binding them together.

"What?!"

Vale yelled as he whipped the wires into the air, causing Zancrow to cry out as his body shot upward. Jumping up after him, Vale threw a fist straight into Zancrow's chest, causing the other mage to wheeze as a fist buried itself into him.

"Gah!"

"Keep your eyes off her," Vale growled. "And maybe start focusing on what's in front of you instead."

A fist slammed into his cheek after he said that, and Vale realized that it was Zancrow's hand that struck him.

"Shut up and die!"

"I'll shut up only when I die!"

The two began a fistfight in the middle of the air even as both of them began to fall to the ground. Despite Vale's smaller body, the two were somewhat evenly matched throughout the bout.

This close to the enemy, there was no room to dodge.

"Enchant Type - Reduce All Attributes."

"Hah?!"

Zancrow's body immediately grew weaker as Vale's spell hit him, and Vale took advantage of that.

"Enchant Type - Infuse Velocity Element."

Pressing a palm against Zancrow's chest, the fire mage's body was instantly blown away as his body shot backward at an incredible speed. Crashing towards the ground, a gigantic crater formed underneath him upon impact.

If this combo was used against a lesser opponent, the reduced attributes coupled with being shot straight to the ground would have broken their body's entire bones. But instead, Zancrow only snarled as his body rose from the ground, looking none the worse.

Vale furrowed his eyes. Something was wrong with that, there's no way he could have shrugged off something like that so easily.

No, there was something he wasn't seeing.

"I'm going to fucking murder you if you don't stay still and die," Zancrow screamed.

Despite his words, Vale landed softly and stared warily at him.

"Who are you?" he asked again. "Because there's no way you're the real Zancrow. And you're not just a regular imposter."

"I am Zancrow," he yelled. "Stop saying I'm a fake."

But that was it, this person before him couldn't be anything but a fake. Magic that could revive the dead wasn't something Vale was knowledgeable in, but there were plenty of other types of magic that could do something similar.

Wait a second…

The revival of Grimoire Heart.

A Zancrow that was alive.

Magic that could mimic the revival of the dead.

The clues were right in front of his face, but there was one last thing he needed before he could figure out if his theory was correct or not.

"Zera," he whispered. "If you can hear me, connect to my mind so that we can speak."

It took a few seconds for him to hear a reply, but finally, her voice echoed in his head. "Yes? What is it, Vale? I'm still keeping an eye on Romeo, what do you want?"

"If I asked, can you use your telepathy magic to connect with Zancrow?"

"What?" Her surprised voice rang out. "Why would you want me to do that?"

"Just answer the question, please."

"The answer is no," Zera replied. "My magic doesn't work like normal people, it only works on members of Fairy Tail because of my connection to the guild."

Damn it, that didn't bode well for his plan.

"Why is that? Is it a problem with not having a physical body?"

"Sort of," Zera said. "It's mainly because I'm an illusionary being, but only one that can interact with those that are a part of Fairy Tail. If others were able to perceive me, then my magic would also be able to work on them."

So it was a limitation based on cognition, only the acknowledgment of her existence would allow her magic to work.

"How does that work exactly? Do people need to acknowledge your existence?"

"Not at all, I just need a physical body."

Vale's mind almost blanked at that.

"Wait, are you talking about possession? I knew it, you are a ghost?!"

"What's with that response?!" she yelled back. "Wait, why are you even asking these questions in the first place, why are you so interested in my telepathy magic?"

But Vale ignored her words as he dodged another attack from Zancrow. "Don't space around in the middle of the battlefield, brat!"

"Shit," Vale cursed as he dodged another attack. Zancrow began to cackle as he continued to send attack after attack towards where Vale was.

"Sky God's Boreas!"

Only to stop as he was forced to block Sherria's surprise attack. The pink-haired girl cried out as she moved closer to Zancrow and began a close combat fight with the other mage. Even though she didn't have a single injury, Vale could tell that her stamina still hasn't fully recovered yet. The fatigue could easily be seen from her haggard breaths and sloppy movements.

"You again," Zancrow cried out. "I've already dealt with you, you're not worthy of being another God Slayer."

"The only one who can determine whether I'm worthy or not is me," Sherria cried out. "Sky God's Notos!"

A black whirlwind kicked up as Sherria's leg swept Zancrow. While the other two fought, Vale continued his communication with Zera.

"If you possess a physical body, do you think your telepathy magic will work on Zancrow?"

"Huh?" Zera seemed curious at his question. "It's… possible. But I'm not a ghost, I can't possess other people!"

"That's good enough for me."

Magic power began rolling off of Vale's body in waves as he began to access the deepest part of his second origin. Gazing around the area, Vale's eyes landed upon where Zera was located. Pointing his arms towards her, he cried out in a loud voice.

"High Enchant Type - Personality Enchantment."

Zera's body began to glow. "Eh?"

Without warning, her body suddenly shot into the air until it began to suddenly fly right toward's Vale. Screaming the entire time, her voice disappeared as her body was suddenly absorbed into Vale's own.

Immediately after that, Vale felt a presence in his mind besides his own.

"Wait, wait, wait, what the heck did you just do?!" Zera's voice echoed in his mind. "How the heck did you just do that?"

"Phew," Vale blinked. "I'm lucky our compatibility turned out to be pretty high. Otherwise, I'm not sure that would have worked."

"Vale!"

"I enchanted your essence into my body," Vale explained. "This way, I'll be able to use your magic."

"W-Wait, you're telling me I'm inside of you right now?!" Zera's scandalized voice screamed out. "I'm n-not ready for that kind of intimacy yet!"

Ignoring Zera's words, Vale allowed the knowledge of Zera's telepathy magic to pass through his mind. Tapping into it, he began to utilize his magic to connect to Zancrow.

In the distance, Zancrow and Sherria continued to fight unaware of what Vale was doing. But when Vale realized that his newly acquired telepathy magic couldn't connect, he realized the truth.

The Zancrow they were fighting wasn't real.

He was an imaginary being.

"Rustyrose…"


Part 2

Everything made sense now.

Connecting to Zancrow with telepathy didn't work, because the target wasn't real. In fact, Vale could even vaguely sense a small connection forming from Zancrow and into another direction, although he couldn't quite follow it with his current skill.

"Rustyrose?" Zera questioned. "What's that?"

"Not what, but who," Vale spoke to Zera in his mind. "Rustyrose is a former member of Grimoire Heart, and one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory. His magic allowed him to recreate things from his mind, the materialization of his imagination. As far as I know, the only limitation he has is that he cannot create living things."

"Yikes, sounds troublesome. But what does that have to do with our current situation?"

"Because the Zancrow that we're fighting right now is a product of his magic."

"Really? That guy's a fake? But doesn't that contradict what you just said earlier? I thought you said that living things couldn't be created?"

"I guess Rustyrose found a way to exceed his limits. Or maybe the definition for what constitutes a living thing isn't so defined."

The battle continued to rage in the distance, and Vale's body tensed as he realized that Zancrow had a savage smile on his face.

"Fire God's Bellow!"

"High Enchant Type - Magnify Defense Attribute Five."

The attack struck Sherrria, but Vale's timely spell managed to stop the worst of it. Healing herself even as she charged forward, Sherria yelled as she unleashed a fury of blows.

"All lost magic have some kind of detrimental side effects," Vale said, thinking aloud. "Either it is too difficult to master or the costs for using them are too difficult to bear. There's always a reason why a certain branch of magic would be lost to time."

Dragon Slayer magic caused the user to slowly transform into dragons. Devil Slayer magic caused their users some form of insanity. Arc of Time dealt with trading the time of the user for more powerful effects. Maguilty Sense linked the target with the user and risked death on both ends.

"In the case of the lost magic, Arc of Embodiment, the fact that all creations are basically incarnated imaginations means that they aren't truly real. One can argue that even creations like Zancrow aren't truly considered living."

"Aren't truly real…"

With a start, Vale realized that his words might have offended Zera, whose situation wasn't that different since she was a living illusion.

Wait a second…

"I have an idea!"

"W-What?!"

Ignoring Zera's startled voice, Vale activated another spell.

"High Enchant Type - Separation Enchantment."

A bright light surrounded his body for a second before his eyes opened to reveal the illusionary form of Zera floating in front of him.

"Geez," she complained. "Will you stop to give me some warning once in a while?"

"Zera," Vale's voice was uncharacteristically serious. "I need you to trust me for what I'm about to do next."

"H-Huh?" She gave him a confused look. "What are you saying?"

"I have a plan on how to stop Zancrow," Vale began. "With our current strength, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to defeat him. But with my magic, there may be another solution."

It was hard to admit, but it was the truth. Zancrow was on the level of some of the weaker Wizard Saints of Fiore, and even with Vale's new power, it wasn't enough for them to overcome.

He gestured to himself. "You experienced how I was able to fuse your essence into myself using my magic. The only reason that was possible was that we had strong compatibility between us. If that wasn't the case, the spell wouldn't have worked in the first place."

"Compatibility?"

"Personality Enchantment is a dangerous spell," Vale explained. "But not because of the risk of failure, but what it means for whenever it succeeds. It augments a personality onto an object or person, but in the case of enchanting onto another living thing, it is up to the caster to decide who is the primary host between the two personalities."

Slowly, it began to dawn on Zera's face what Vale's plan was. "You're thinking of enchanting me into Zancrow. You want me to take over his body!"

It made sense. Since she was an illusionary being, Vale could infuse her into other objects or people with his magic. And although Zancrow seemed to have some form of sentience, his existence was something closer to Zera than other living beings.

He grimaced. "Yes, I am."

"B-But," her voice began to quiver. "Is that morally right…?"

"I'm not sure myself," Vale replied. "Even though Zancrow is an imaginary creation, I have no clue whether or not his actions are his own or by the whims of his maker. If we go through with this plan, there's a chance that we will be depriving the control of a sentient being by having you take over his body."

Her face paled at that thought.

"But this won't have to be permanent if you don't want to," he hurried to reassure her. "Once we subdue him, we can separate you and turn him to the authorities afterward. If he still manages to keep his existence after that, then we won't be killing him by destroying what makes him a person."

That seemed to reassure her, but not by a lot. "I-If we go through with your idea… what exactly is going to happen?"

"I'll enchant you into his body, but I have no idea what's going to happen once I do." Vale sighed. "Since Rustyrose's magic is based on the imagination, there might even be some strange interactions between our two spells. There might be a chance that you'll end up in some sort of danger once you try to take over his body."

There were just too many risks with this idea, but Vale truly thought it was something that could work. The compatibility requirement for his personality enchantment spell wasn't an issue, since Zera also had an affinity for fire magic. But the possibility that something might go wrong made it difficult for him to know for sure whether or not this was something they should do.

Despite that, it wasn't his decision alone.

"I'll do it," Zera said. "If I can fight with my friends, then I'll do whatever it takes. I can't just sit back and watch as those around me fall without being able to do anything."

As she said those words, it was at that moment that Vale realized that he was talking to one of the very first members of Fairy Tail, even if she was never formally accepted into the guild. Despite the situation, a smile blossomed on his face.

"Alright then, I'll wait for Sherria to give us an opening."

}-{

Meanwhile, on the other side of the barricade...

"Iron Rock Wall!"

Pillars of earth grew from the ground and formed a blockade as Jura directed his magic. The newly created rock formation blocked an explosion caused by Azuma's attack. Sadly for Jura, the other mage merely raised a brow.

"Again with that tactic?" He swept his arm, and the entire blockade exploded into fragments. "My magic draws power from the earth itself. As someone who uses the earth to fight, you're no match for me."

Jura grimaced. He was right, although knowing that didn't help his current situation. Azuma seemed content battling it out with Jura, but the earth mage was constantly worried at how the other children were faring on the other side of the vegetation barricade set up by Azuma.

"What is your goal?" he questioned. "What reason does Grimoire Heart have for acting out these past few weeks?"

"We are on a cleanse," Azuma replied. "The Balam Alliance has been broken, and our former subordinates have defected from our rule. It is naturally our right to weed out the traitors, and it is merely our job that led us here."

"You won't get away with this," Jura said. "The time of Grimoire Heart is over, and none of us want you to rise back to power. I will fight to my last breath before I allow that to happen."

For the first time since they've fought, a flicker of emotion passed Azuma's face.

"Well then," he held up an arm. "It's a good thing we don't need your permission."

Both of them yelled as they charged towards each other.

}-{

"Sky God's Blizzard!"

Zera watched with trepidation as the pink-haired girl enacted a combination of kicks and punches cloaked with Sky God Slayer Magic against Zancrow. Next to her, Vale focused on the flow of the battle as he waited for their chance.

They didn't have time to brief Sherria on what they were about to do, but the other girl seemed to sense that they were preparing for something. Fighting harder and faster, Sherria continued to trade blows with Zancrow and keeping him distracted from Vale.

Finally, something happened.

As Zancrow threw a flame-covered fist towards Sherria, the younger girl cried out as she sent a gust of wind upward, causing Zancrow's body to fly into the air. Seizing that moment, Vale threw out his hands and cried out in a loud voice.

"High Enchant Type - Personality Enchantment."

Once again, her body glowed as she felt a strange force send herself flying without her control. Only this time, she was headed straight towards Zancrow's body.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Unable to dodge, Zera made contact with Zancrow and a brilliant light shone in the sky.

Her surroundings faded.

As she came to her senses, Zera realized that she was in a strange area with nobody else around. Vale, Sherria, and Romeo had disappeared along with the rest of her surroundings. The only other person with her was a man she didn't recognize.

"What th—!" The man stared at her in shock. "Who the hell are you? How did you appear in my mind?!"

She connected the dots in an instant. "You're Rustyrose, aren't you?"

"Get out!" he screamed. "Get out of my head!"

The air shifted as several objects began to form into existence. As several weapons appeared in front of her, Rustyrose whipped his arm forward and willed the objects to fly towards her.

...only for them to harmlessly bounce off her body.

An incredulous look appeared on Rustyrose's face. "How?!"

A frown appeared on her face. "Was that it?"

"Damn it," he screamed. "The connection is too unstable, I can't use my full power. My magic is too weak with how far away they are!"

From his words, Zera realized something. "You're controlling them! You're telling the bodies of Zancrow and that other mage what to do!"

It was easy for her to realize thanks to her telepathy magic. Rustyrose wasn't actually here, most likely operating from some far-off location instead. Using his magic, he willed Zancrow and Azuma to do his bidding by using them as puppets to fulfill his desires.

That meant that Rustyrose was the one behind the fake Zancrow the entire time, there was no other sentience beside him. For some reason, that realization made her somewhat sad.

"You've hurt my friends and threatened my guild," she said with a glare. "And if there's anything you should know about Fairy Tail, it's that you don't threaten our family and get away with it."

"No, no, no, NO!" He roared out in frustration. "Fairy Tail… why is it that you always get in our way!"

"Save your words for yourself," she interrupted. "You're not welcome here any longer!"

Letting out a yell, her magic poured into the world around her as she took control of her surroundings. The world shattered, and Zera watched as the image of Rustyrose faded as the connection between the fake Zancrow and him was severed.

A second later, her thoughts stopped as unconsciousness overtook her.


Part 3

"AAAARRRGGGHHHH!"

Jura watched in surprise as Azuma suddenly screamed out in pain before his body flickered out of existence. Unsure what just happened, he waited a few seconds to see if the other mage would reappear again.

Once he was sure that there wouldn't be a reappearance, he quickly remembered the children fighting on the other side of the blockade.

"Damn it." He rushed towards the wall of vegetation and quickly began attacking it with his magic until it broke apart. Once he created an opening, he found himself greeted with the sight of the aftermath of their battle.

To his left, Jura found the first unconscious victim. It was the young boy from Fairy Tail, a boy named Romeo if he recalled correctly. Rushing to his side, Jura gave out a relieved sigh once he realized that the boy was merely knocked out.

Grabbing his body and hoisting the boy over his arm, Jura turned to face another direction to look for the others.

Surprisingly, the next person he saw was his fellow guildmate Sherria. The young girl seemed to have collapsed from what appeared to be a lack of magic power. It was obvious from the number of small wounds covering her body since Sherria would have healed them had she been in a better state.

The girl moaned as he reached her side and picked her up, and Jura found himself looking for the last member of their group.

Only to blink in surprise as he found an unfamiliar girl lying on the ground a distance away. Although he didn't know who she was, she appeared to be around the same age as the other children, if not slightly older. Moving to where she was, Jura also raised her body and into his arms.

"Now, where's the last one?"

"Ugghhhh..."

Hearing Vale's moan of pain, Jura's head quickly turned towards the direction it came from. His eyes caught sight of the young boy curled on the ground with his arm wrapped around his stomach.

He quickly rushed over. "Are you alright?"

"Pain… so much pain," Vale replied. "Had to put the seal back on… but I still have to deal with... the side effects. I know I'm going to have a... killer headache after this…"

The boy moaned again. "I regret everything…"

Jura pressed a hand against Vale's forehead and felt a dangerously warm temperature in response. Taking into account his words and symptoms, he realized that Vale was most likely undergoing some kind of fever caused by an overload of magical energy.

"Don't worry, I'm going to call the rest of our group to pick us up."

"Where were they... a dozen minutes ago?" Vale asked. "Didn't Hibiki say that... he was going to keep watch over us?"

That was actually a good question, and now Jura was worried that Blue Pegasus may have encountered trouble of their own.

"I apologize if this causes discomfort, but I'll be carrying the four of you on my back until we reach the ship."

"Don't worry, just do what you need to do," Vale mumbled. A second later, Jura saw the young boy blink in surprise. "Wait… four of us?"

"Yes, I found a young girl unconscious next to all of you. I'm taking her back to the ship as well."

A confused look appeared on Vale's face before it morphed into understanding. "You must be talking about Zera. Take care of her, she's a cherished member of our guild."

Jura took that piece of news with a bit of surprise. But before he could ask for Vale to clarify, the other boy had already fallen unconscious.

Sighing to himself, he began walking the rest of the way back while carrying several unconscious children in his arms.

}-{

Romeo woke up with a start.

Which was already good news in his opinion. Considering the last thing he remembered was facing off against a very dangerous member of a top dark guild, he was lucky to be alive. But that might change once he finds out what happened to the rest of his friends.

His eyes widened as that thought passed his mind, and he quickly took a glance at his surroundings to figure out where he was.

The room was a familiar one, a guest room on the airship belonging to Blue Pegasus. It was only a few hours ago that Romeo was here last, so it wasn't long before he realized that somebody must have taken him here.

Turning to his right, he blinked as he noticed a very disgruntled Vale staring back at him.

"So the sleeping beauty awakes."

"Vale!" Romeo quickly jumped off the bed and threw his arms around his guildmate. "You're alright!"

"Owowowowow," Vale struggled and complained loudly. "Hey, watch where you're grabbing! I'm still sore from before."

"You're hurt?" Romeo released his hold and started to look for any injures. "What happened? Was it Zancrow?"

"Not exactly."

So Romeo sat down as Vale began to explain everything that happened after he was knocked out. How his guildmate figured out that Zancrow and Azuma were actually fake, how Vale used some super special spell to temporarily become stronger, how Zera managed to possess Zancrow's body and—

Romeo blinked at that last part. "Wait, run that by me again?"

A knock on the door interrupted the two of them before somebody opened it and entered the room.

"Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that we're only half an hour away from home."

Boggled eyes met Zera's unimpressed look as she stared at Romeo. The boy himself had an incredulous look as he took in Zera's new appearance.

It wasn't as if she changed much. Rather, it was the small things that stood out. Like how her feet were planted firmly on the floor, or how she seemed to have a sort of presence about her. And Romeo realized why a second later as he finally noticed that she wasn't some kind of spirit anymore. She was actually here, with her own physical body.

"Done napping yet?"

"Bwah?"

"Thanks for the memo," Vale said in his place. "Are you staying until then?"

She sighed. "I better go. Sherria still wants to check me over to see if there are any side effects from what happened before."

"Alright then, don't let us keep you from it."

Zera nodded and turned around before closing the door behind her. Romeo whirled around and stared at Vale.

"She's… a person."

"She was always a person, Romeo."

"Wh- I mean, she's not just a spirit anymore! She's real!"

"Yes." And the way Vale stared at him strangely made Romeo want to punch his face. "That she is, I was just telling you about that?"

"How?!"

"Magic."

Romeo facepalmed. "Well, obviously. I meant, what happened?"

"I told you, I used my awesome magic to allow Zera to possess Zancrow's body. Then the both of them fought in some kind of epic mental plane before Zera took control of Zancrow's not-real body and made it her own. And now, it looks like my enchantment is keeping her connected to her new body."

Romeo just stared at him.

"...since when could you do something like that?"

Vale shrugged. "Since a few years ago. I never really tried to practice that much with those kinds of enchantments, since I needed to train my magic power to a certain level first. I tried to work around it before in the past, but I screwed up and got myself in a coma when I overdosed on magic power."

He blinked.

"What?"

"Never mind that," Vale said. "What matters now is that we're done. We figured out that Grimoire Heart is actually just one guy running around pretending that the rest of the members are working together. So we're going to pass on this data to the relevant authorities and call it a day."

"So we're just… going home now?"

"Yep."

And Romeo realized something. Staring at his best friend, the memory of what happened to him finally came to mind, and he sat down on the bed with a downcast look on his face.

"I failed."

Vale tilted his head. "Failed?"

"I couldn't do anything," Romeo said. "All I did was get in the way of everyone else. You, Zera, Sherria, all of you were able to contribute somehow. But I messed up and got taken out at the beginning of the fight."

Vale was silent at that.

Romeo clenched his teeth. "What good was I? Earlier, I couldn't defeat Kawazu and he escaped. And then, I lost again when we fought against Zancrow."

He sighed. "It's just… I'm sick of being the weak one."

"Alright."

Confused, Romeo looked up. "Huh? I just said all that, and the only thing you can say is 'alright'?"

"Yeah," Vale nodded. "Because what else can I say? I can tell you that you're still young, so you still have a lot of potential. But I hate that kind of talk. Everyone has potential, but it never matters when you're facing an enemy right at that moment. Because at that moment, no matter how much potential you have, the only thing that matters is how strong you are now. In the end, if you lose that's all that you're going to remember."

Romeo winced, the words hitting a little close to home.

"So here's what I tell myself," Vale continued. "You take hold of that feeling… that burning indignation and emotion… and you hold it tight. Take it to your chest and let it burn… because you can't forget this moment. And then you make a promise… no more. No more will I ever let myself feel this way… no more will I ever let my weakness hold me back. That I promise that when the next time comes… I'll make it count."

Romeo was speechless.

"Did you know that you're not the only one who thinks they've failed?" Vale said. "Blue Pegasus learned that we were all in trouble, and they never found out until it was too late. Apparently, Rustyrose somehow managed to block Hibiki's magic till it was too late. And Jura thinks he failed too because he couldn't protect us when Azuma blocked our group from them. You're not the only one who has made a mistake."

Vale stood up.

"But remember this. Despite everything, we did something. No, not just that. We succeeded. We fulfilled our request and managed to discover the truth behind Grimoire Heart's revival. And that's all that matters in the end, that we won."

Standing near the door, Vale's hand turned the knob.

"When we get back home, let's train together. Because even I wasn't strong enough to defeat Zancrow… and I don't want to get into another situation like today ever again."

The door closed as Vale stepped out of the room.

Romeo said nothing for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and sighed.

"Neither do I."


Part 4

"""Thank you for all your help."""

The three members of Fairy Tail stood in front as everyone else gathered to see them off. The airship was parked a small distance away from the city outskirts, a wide-open area large enough to host the Christina.

Jura took a step forward. "Without your help, we would never have discovered the motive and existence of the former member of Grimoire Heart, Rustyrose. Now that we learned of him, we can work together with the Council in making plans for his capture."

"Not that the Council can help much," Ren followed up. "But let's keep this by the book as best as we can. The Rune Knights can at least figure out where on the continent he's hiding."

"We'll be happy to help as well," Sherria said. "I'm sure that the rest of Lamia Scale will want to aid in getting rid of the remnants of Grimoire Heart."

"Meeen~" Ichiya nodded. "We of Blue Pegasus will greatly appreciate that."

Sherria smiled, before turning to face Zera. "And if you ever have any problems with your new body, just drop on by and I'll see if I can help. With how unusual your situation is, I'm not too sure how much I'll be able to do. But the offer's there."

Zera nodded. "Thank you."

When Zera first introduced herself to everyone that wasn't a member of Fairy Tail, they found themselves instantly liking the young girl. Sherria was happy to meet someone else her age who was also a girl. Jura thought that she seemed like a nice, young girl. And the members of Blue Pegasus were happy to flirt with her before Romeo marched on over to them and told them off.

Since Zera seemed to have a bit of trouble adjusting to having a physical body, Romeo seemed to have taken on a sort of protective mindset in regards to her. Vale wondered if there was something more to it, but figured that was something to ponder about later.

A hand pressed on Vale's shoulder, and he looked up to find Jura smiling down at him.

"So you decided not to hold back?"

Shaking his head, Vale responded. "I still can't use too much magic power at once, otherwise my body will be wracked in pain again. But once a few years pass and my body adjusts, I'll be able to allow some lenience in the seal."

That was a lie.

There was a good reason why Vale had to keep his true strength hidden, and it had absolutely nothing to do with his given excuse of waiting for his body to adapt to his magic power. But since he slipped earlier when fighting against Zancrow, he needed to make a good enough excuse as to why that was the case.

Inwardly, he was freaking out. Truthfully, it would have been best if he never needed to reveal his true strength. At his best, his maximum power level wasn't strong enough to take out a Wizard Saint. But it was still unnaturally large for his current age. Making up an excuse of paying a cost in exchange for such power was all Vale could think of to explain why he was so different compared to others.

He could see it in the other man's eyes. Jura was still somewhat suspicious of Vale, especially given his parentage and former citizenship. But currently, Vale was still safe enough in his eyes for him to be allowed to leave without trouble.

"Ah, yes. I hear that even now, your body is still sore from before." Jura's smile didn't reach his eyes. "I would have assumed that with young Sherria's accomplished healing talents, that would have been a simple matter to solve."

"Actually I asked about that." Vale gave out the excuse he prepared beforehand. "Apparently, Sky God Slayer healing magic doesn't really do well with removing fatigue and stress."

"Hmm…" Jura rubbed his chin. "Well then, I believe this is where we part ways. I'll continue to keep an eye on you in the future, young enchanter."

And with those ominous words, Jura turned around and began to walk away.

"Ah, wait for me!" Sherria started running after him before suddenly pausing and turning around. "Bye everyone, I hope that we can meet again in the future!"

After saying those words, she turned around again and caught up to her guildmate before the two of them disappeared.

Vale gave out a sigh of relief. Somehow, he couldn't find it in himself to feel the same way...

Feeling something tap his shoulder, Vale turned around and found himself facing Hibiki, who was only a few inches away from his face. Due to the unexpectedness of the situation, Vale found his eyes widening in response.

"I heard that you're a fan of our guild," Hibiki said. "So the four of us have decided to each write you a personal autograph for you to take home as a souvenir."

His face flushed. "Bwah?"

Passing over the said object to Vale, he gave a brilliant smile. "Ah, and in my own message, I wrote down a few tips on learning the basics of archive magic. I hope this is enough of an apology for not being able to help earlier."

Awahwahwahwahwahwahwah...

At this point, Vale's entire head was bright red and steaming. Nodding shyly, he clung the autograph to his chest.

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye."

Hibiki left and began to drift towards the direction of the airship while Vale was in the middle of calming himself. Behind him, he could hear his fellow guildmates snickering.

"Weak to pretty people to the very end."

"So embarrassing."

"Hey!" Vale turned around. "Stop laughing, you two suck!"

In response to his outburst, both of them only laughed louder. Vale just groaned and turned around. "You know what, I'm just gonna leave the two of you out here by yourselves."

"W-Wait up! Fine, we'll stop teasing you about your crush."

"It's not a crush!"

As they made their way back to town, Zera blinked as a thought passed her mind. "Hey, if you're weak to pretty people, how come you don't act any differently around me?"

"Huh?" Vale gave her a confused look. "Why should I?"

Vale learned firsthand that day that a Zera who could actually touch things meant that she could also now beat him up if she ever got mad. If only she gave him the chance to explain what he meant, then she would have known that he only meant that he considered her someone close enough to act as himself around.

At least it made a nice story to tell the rest of the guild.


Almost two months since an update, sorry for the wait. School's starting up for me again, so don't expect too many updates. Still, I'll try to attempt at writing some parts out so that it won't take too long to release the next chapter.

Since Vale unlocked his second origin (temp), he now has access to high enchantments. This is something that he's not usually allowed to use, due to the low magical ability caused by his 'seal'.

This chapter was fun to write since I was always planning for Zera to have a bigger role in this story. The aftermath of this incident will forever change her place in Fairy Tail, and I'm excited about how that will play out in the future.