At the site of the battle there was only rubble, smoke billowing from all corners and fires in some places. The scenery was devastating, several buildings destroyed in the surroundings, it was a frightening image.

However, in the midst of the wreckage Ryker, with great difficulty, managed to emerge from their midst. He was badly injured, bleeding, broken bones all over his body. He followed Jose Porla's body with him, despite his condition he was still alive. The fairy tail magician took the communicator from one of his pockets, what was left of his clothes, and called the prison.

"You can come and get him," he said weakly and with difficulty, throwing the communicator to the floor when he said it. Ryker could barely stand and knelt tiredly through the wreckage, panting and barely seeing due to the blurred vision he was in at the moment.

"Don't go fainting yet," a high-pitched voice said. Ryker raised his head to see what was going on, and what he noticed worried him. At least a hundred men were surrounding him, armed with all kinds of weapons.

"You didn't think we were going to make it cheap, did you? You will pay for what you did with our club and its threats" the man said. The chiefs of criminals from all cities gathered there just to kill the magician.

"Really!?", the magician said sarcastically. Getting up with difficulty and stumbling over the process, which caused laughter from the new enemies.

"You don't stand a chance. Kill him! "He ordered and all the henchmen ran over Fairy Tail.

"Shit! I have almost nothing of energy, but if I don't do anything it will be the end, and if I use what I have I can die of exhaustion ", thought Ryker. "But better to die fighting than to be beaten".

The magician put his webbed hands in front of each other and began to produce a sphere of energy with what was left of magic and strength. When the henchmen were close enough, he compressed the sphere and a wave of energy washed over the place. Whoever was closest was killed instantly, injuring the rest.

Upon seeing that, the survivors were terrified. How did a man who was almost dead manage to end so many so easily? That thought, and the magician's murderous eyes, did the rest. They ran away in fear of the place. Bandits are fearful by nature and lack courage.

"You are the devil!", One of the gang leaders said in terror.

"Yes, I am," Ryker returned with cold, devilish eyes to him. The gang leader screamed and ran away. Everyone left in fear.

"Damn pieces of manure," the Fairy Tail magician said seeing them run away and fell back and passed out.

A sinister figure watched the whole fight, from the top of a building, he had a devilish and toothy smile, satisfied with what he saw. As soon as it arrived, this figure disappeared, leaving no trace, just a laugh in the background.

It was dark, there were only whispers, faint voices in the distance, heat, cold, all at the same time. A weak light appeared, it was small in the beginning, weak and insignificant, it increased in intensity with time, it took time. Every second it grew bigger and more intense, illuminating the darkness, until all the darkness was sent away.

Ryker opened his eyes slowly, getting used to the light in the room. He was lying in what appeared to be a hospital bed, but he cannot recognize the place. It was a large room, with several beds next to each other, some were occupied, others were not. It was all a little white, including the light from the lamps on the ceiling. In a chair next to his bed a girl in white was sitting, he could see when he moved his head to see what was going on.

"Where am I?" He asked, tired and weak.

The nurse got up and went to his bed, I prune his hands on him to comfort him and prevent him from getting hurt. "You are in the infirmary of Lepoglava".

"Lepoglava?" He said without understanding what was going on. That was when everything suddenly came to him. "Wait! Porla and the others, where are they !? ", he asked getting agitated.

"Calm down, sir. I'll call the person in charge. Please do not move, you are still very hurt ", she said and left the room to call someone, then returned to be next to the patient.

A few minutes passed before Asper appeared.

"You finally woke up, Mr. Ryker," he said.

"What happened?", The magician asked in a weak and tired voice.

Asper sighed. "As soon as you called us, we went to your location. You were lucky, if we were a little late you would be dead. You know, you hardly had any more magic. We had to do a magical energy transplant just so you wouldn't die. It was close, my dear, "he said in a serious tone.

"What about the others, Porla and her ... men?", The magician asked worriedly.

"We got him," he said and Ryker seemed to be relieved. "Look, I don't know what happened there, but when we arrived there were a lot of dead men, as well as one of Porla's subordinates. The rest were in a critical situation ".

"I just defended myself", he justified.

"I'm not accusing you of anything. And we didn't see anything either, if you know what I mean ... ", Asper said.

"I see ..." said Ryker. "What about the infiltrator? Were you able to identify him? ".

"Everything is resolved, don't worry. Now rest, "Asper said leaving the room.

"Wait!" The magician shouted, causing Apser to stop. "I want to get out of here soon. Return to Magnólia ".

"Are you crazy !?" he shouted. "You are not in a position to do that. Stay and rest. His injuries were very serious ".

"I do not care! I don't want to stay here another minute, " Ryker insisted.

"Idiot! Even if it had conditions it is already night and there are no trains to Magnólia at this time ", he scolded him. "But if you want to leave so badly, go tomorrow. Rest tonight and leave at dawn. I will provide transportation to the station, and deposit your reward, as arranged ".

"Thanks".

"Okay, it's the minimum."

"Hey!? How long I was unconscious ".

Asper sighed deeply. "Six days with today," he said and left the infirmary.

Ryker was astonished. "It can only be a joke ...", he told himself. He lay in his bed and stayed there for the rest of the night.

The next day he was ready to board the carriage to the train station. The journey would take three hours.

"Here are your things," Asper said, handing over his backpack with his clothes and everything.

"What!? I thought I lost, " he said, he was dressed in clothes borrowed from prison staff.

"We know where you stayed, thanks to the communicator who showed you your location. We went there and got it, "the guard said, smiling.

"So, you guys were spying on me?"

"It's part of the job," said Asper, laughing. "But I still find it daring to go. You should be at least four more days at rest ".

"Do not worry. I recover better at home, " he said, getting into the carriage with help. "See you around" he said and the car drove to the station.

The trip was smooth, without a hitch. He had won a good reward, he had had a good fight, even though he almost died with her and accomplished the mission with relative success. It had been a good period, now he just needed to recover and move on to the next endeavor.

Arriving at the station, and with the help of the guide, he got out of the car and with crutches he went to the ticket window, where he bought a ticket for Magnolia. Everyone in the place was looking at him, not least, he looked like a mummy because he was so bandaged, even half of his head was covered with bandages, not counting his arms, legs, torso, plaster on his right arm. He was really hurt, really. And he boarded the train, for a five- hour trip.

During the trip Ryker reflected a lot on what had happened and what he did with those men. He reflected on who he was, on the guild, what he should do, what he should be. It corroded your being and your heart.

Upon reaching Magnolia, and with his crutches, Ryker realized something terrible.

"Seriously Fairy Tail! Why didn't they build the guild closer to the station, and not on the other side of this damn city?" It was already dark and he had to go to the guild, on a crutch, all hurt. No, it was neither fun nor quick, he had to make stops in the middle of the way to rest, and he still had to deal with the eyes, nothing indiscreet, of the people of the city.

He had finally arrived at the guild door, the noise inside, all the commotion, the party and the fights could be heard. Everything seemed normal. But Ryker did not enter, doubts started to arise in his mind.

"'Monster , demon '. Am I a monster, a demon? Do I deserve to be in this guild? They are so much better, so good! And I, I'm so ... ", he thought. "Damn it! They have a different philosophy than mine, it is true. I was trained for this, but they see it as absurd to kill their enemy. I cannot deny that, perhaps, their way are the best. This demon has been chasing me for a long time, "he was in doubt. Did he go in or leave and never come back? "If I leave, everything will be the same, or worse. They have a light, I don't know. A light that helps me in a way. Here I could be better, as Lucy said. But can I be better? ", He sighed deeply, thinking of the blood on his hands. "What do I do?" He said to himself.

"Whether I can be better or not I don't know, but I have to try. And here, at least, I can try to be ", he thought and decided to join the guild.

"I just hope these idiots don't bother me about my situation," he thought. He forced the door with his left shoulder to open, or try to open the guild's double door. "Since when is this door so heavy!?" he complained to himself. He was pushing too hard. "Shit! Fuck! Shit! Porla didn't kill me, but this pussy door will go!" I continue to complain and curse half the world. After a lot of effort, he finally managed to open it.

When the guild door opened, everyone turned to her to see who was entering. And what they saw left everyone astonished. Ryker was fully bandaged, with crutches helping him to walk, and those looks left the magician unhappy. But it was Mira who was most shocked.

When she saw him, she paled and put her hand on her chest, in full shock at the situation of the magician who entered.

"Mira, are you okay?" Asked Lisanna, worried when she saw her sister, but she didn't answer, just stood looking at the wizard.

Ryker got in and walked around the room with difficulty, being helped by crutches, he looked around at the other members. Sighing and continued on his way without speaking, as if everything was normal. But a certain magician with pink hair intruded.

"Ryker! What happened? Who did this? ", The fire wizard looked irritated and his expression gave away.

The soldier wizard looked at his companion, studying his face for a few seconds. "Don't worry, Natsu. The other guy got worse, "he said with a singing smile.

"But who was the bastard?"

"A nobody. But he was not a fan of Fairy Tail, I can say, "he said, looking sideways at Gajeel and Juvia.

"If he was a nobody, how did you get beaten up like that? Gihehehe, "Gajeel said from a table across the room, with his characteristic laugh.

The magician turned in his direction. "Well, he and five more. They were very strong, even more than one of them stole a good part of my energy ", said smiling from the corner and shut the mouth of the others.

"Did you face six at once?", Natsu said with wide eyes.

"Uhn, yes ...".

"How awesome!", The fire wizard said with a wide smile.

"Very well, now enough!", Erza came to calm things down with his commanding voice. "We are going to let him rest. In these conditions, a good rest is essential for the best recovery ", she informed excitedly.

So Ryker left the middle of the room and went to sit at the bar. Where were Lisanna, Elfman and Mirajane.

"That was very manly," Elfman told Ryker with his arm flexed.

The magician looked at his confused companion. "Thank you, I think".

"So, was the mission difficult?", Lisanna asked smiling.

"More complicated than I thought," he replied. The magician placed his hand on his left side as if he were in pain, in fact he was. His injuries had not healed completely and the trip was exhausting.

He looked around for a certain whitehaired mage. He saw her wiping a glass, it seemed that she was not noticing it for some reason. "Hey Mira! It's been a while" he called out to her.

"It does," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant. The younger Strauss brothers looked at each other in confusion. And the paid wizard also looked confused, she was usually so excited.

"Hey sis !? Is everything okay? ", Elfman asked worried about her.

"Yes, it is," she said and went back to his tasks.

"Did something happen here?" Ryker asked the brothers, who just shrugged. "Hey Kinana, can you bring me a beer?", Ryker asked.

"I don't think beer is good in its state."

"Hey Erza!" Said the magician, looking at the red-haired woman sitting beside him. "I took a long and tiring trip, a little alcohol is not going to kill me."

"In any case, you should go home and rest. Tomorrow Wendy can help you heal faster."

"Yes ma'am! But first I'm going to have my beer ", he challenged Titania. His attitude surprised the Strauss brothers next door. Maybe he still didn't know Erza, to talk to her like that.

The redhaired woman turned to him and faced him with an unhappy guy, he saw.

"It's just a beer, Erza. Don't take a pile with it. It is not the first time that I was injured, I know how my body works "he said while holding the left side of his body.

Erza stood up, looked at him with demonic eyes. "I told you to go home and rest," she said slowly, holding her sword. For some reason Ryker liked that way of the magician.

Everyone in the guild watched the situation unfolding in the bar with apprehension and apprehension.

"E ... Erza, I think ...", Elfman tried to argue, but the red-haired magician's gaze shut him up.

"Calm down, Redhead. If you hit me it will only aggravate my condition, and it will be worse than a beer. Then sit down and be quiet. Ask for something and we can drink together, " Ryker said as calmly as possible and as sweetly as he could.

Everyone in the guild went white and their jaws dropped. It was the end of it! They could feel it, they could see Erza, Titania, trembling, her eyes almost murdering the poor wizard in front of him, who seemed unmoved. Until ... she sat down. Everyone's chins were literally on the floor. How was it possible !?

"Kinana, a beer for Erza too" he said and looked at the magician beside him.

"As soon as you recover, I'll make you pay," she said irritably to him.

"I'm sure it is," he replied, smiling out of the corner of his mouth, and wincing in pain.

"What happened here?", Lisanna and Elfman asked themselves confused, looking at all that. Mira watched the wizards sitting side by side in frustration, for some reason.

Erza and Ryker stayed there sipping their beers in silence for a while, until the redhead broke the silence.

"It was ... really impressive that you fought six," she said.

"I had no choice. It was difficult, they were very good, "he replied, drinking his beer.

"What really happened?", Titania turned to him with a serious face.

The magician took a sip of his drink and sighed. "My target was smarter than I thought. He cornered me and, I had no choice, I fought them. That guy ... had everything ready ".

"I understand. I'm not sure how strong you are, but fighting six is problematic for anyone. I am very impressed ", the redhaired magician said while looking at him.

"For sure, Erza," he replied. "Well, I think it's better to go, otherwise you will be upset," she said jokingly. "When I'm better, I'll be all yours," the magician said looking at the magician beside him, with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

"A ... all mine !?", Titânia said, stuttering and blushing with a silly smile on her face, it seems that she went to the same land as Juvia, for a few seconds.

Mira, hearing that, looked at them in a satanic way, and was exerting more force in cleaning the glasses than necessary. A sinister aura can be seen coming out of it.

"Well, I'll be going now. Hey Elfman! Could you give me a hand? ".

"Sure, that's a man thing," he replied, but before they could take a step, Ryker spoke again.

"Elfman! What do you think you're doing !? "shouted the magician.

"Yeah, taking you home?", He replied doubtfully.

"Yea. But why did you pick me up !? ", Ryker shouted and gestured like crazy.

"I'm sorry!"

"Shut up and put it on the floor!"

"But you are all hurt, it is safer to take you like this!"

"Shut up! This is humiliating, and I can walk. I came here from the train station!"

The discussion continued as the whole guild laughed at the vexing situation.

Finally Elfman helped him to get home and went up with him to his room and helped the magician to put himself in his bed. Thanking him for his help, he sat there, watching the landscape through the window. The beast man returned to the Guild.

"Ryker!", Mira called as she passed her guest's room, after a few hours he left the guild. The magician was sitting on his bed enjoying the view, little did she know that he never slept.

He turned to the voice, with the night light illuminating the room and him. "Mira ...!".

"Still awake?" She said entering and standing in front of him. For his sake he nodded so that she would sit beside him on the bed, which she did immediately, with all the delicacy of the world. Sitting like a princess.

"I am sleepless".

"But you need to rest."

"Don't worry, I'll be sleeping in a little while," he said, trying to show a smile, which was difficult, all bandaged.

"Yeah ... well, okay, then," Mira said, looking down at her hands on her lap, her face showing a little sadness.

Ryker watched her for a moment, analyzing her behavior. Something was not right. Mira was always cheerful and outgoing, now she seemed closed, sad, noticed since she arrived at the guild earlier.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, breaking the silence that had been installed.

The beautiful lady turned to him with her big blue eyes. "Yes".

"It's not what it looks like. In the guild you seemed distant to me, "he said looking suspiciously with his one eye.

Returning the look she became serious and looked at him. "I told you to be careful. And you come back like that! ".

"It ... it's not like I want to be like this," he said, annoyed.

"But you still stayed. Do you know how worried I was? 20 days, Ryker. 20 days, without knowing anything, whether you were well or not ".

"I didn't know I had to keep you informed," he said, turning his face irritably.

"I ... we all care about you, and ... and others, too," Mira said trying to hide a concern directed at her guest.

Ryker snorted and sighed, closing his eyes. "I didn't want to worry about you or anyone else. It was supposed to be a simple mission, but it complicated. The guy was smarter than I thought and I made a mistake, which I don't intend to make anymore. I'm sorry, Mira ".

She looked at him in understanding, placing a hand on his shoulder in consolation. "You're back, that's what matters in the end, isn't it?", He said and showed his characteristic smile.

The magician looked at her with satisfaction. "I think so. And there she is ".

"What?".

"That your face. That other one doesn't suit you, this yes", he said and smiled as the corner of the mouth, or at least tried.

Mira smiled and blushed more than Erza's hair, and luckily for her it can't be seen because of the darkness. Ryker nudged her lightly with his elbow in a cast, teasing her lightly. The magician looked at him and smiled at his provocation. What he didn't expect was for her to lay her head on his shoulder smiling. Despite the surprise he relinquished and let it stay that way, maybe he ... liked it.

They talked for a while about what he did during work, and what had happened during his absence from the guild. They spent a lot of time together.