"That magic... Metalicana?" the dragon whispered, waking up to Gajeel's magic signature. "That's impossible. He should be dead."
"Who is Metalicana?" Yuto asked.
"He is the iron dragon... but I didn't know he sided with the humans," the dragon said incredulously.
Yuto recalled what the dragon had told him about his past. He was still sceptical that the pinnacle of all species could coexist with humans, let alone offer their power to fight alongside humans in what could be a civil war.
"So, he's like Natsu." A sinister smile spread across Yuto's lips as an idea entered his mind. "It'll be fun."
"You're a demon," the dragon commented sharply.
Yuto casually enclosed his shoulders.
"Ready or not, I'm coming." Yuto jerked forward so quickly that he almost appeared to teleport in front of Gajeel. "Heavenly Dragon's Iron Fist."
The iron dragon Slayer did not have time to react when Yuto's fist, strengthened by magic energy and reinforcement, hit him in the face. The fist was unexpected and violent, so much so that Gajeel flew across the guild, crushing against a wall.
"I told you not to kill him!" the dragon shouted angrily.
Yuto grunted annoyed. "As if one punch was enough to send him to the other world."
Just like Yuto said, Gajeel came out of the debris. An excited smile spread from ear to ear.
"Okay, rookie, I admit you know how to hit." Gajeel turned his arm into an iron cub that he quickly extended towards Yuto.
Magical power enveloped Yuto's right hand as he prepared to throw an uppercut to the trellis. Gajeel lost balance and fell humiliatingly on his ass.
"At this rate, if you don't think about something, this show will lose interest." Yuto looked around. "There isn't a single magician in this guild who is worth my time. Even Fairy Tail's weakest mage can defeat a dozen of these scums."
Gilgamesh would not even use the third-rate Noble Phantasms to "teach them what their place was." Unfortunately for them, Yuto was sadistic.
[Do I ruin the fun? Well, everything had gone as you thought.]
[Okay, then I'll tell Mordred to finish this...]
Yuto's sense of danger switched on. Angry and humiliated, Gajeel charged like a bull seeing the red banner. A tornado of iron scraps was released against Yuto; Gajeel didn't care to hurt his teammates.
Yuto crossed his arms to his chest and waited. A conceited smile on his face.
The iron breath fell on Yuto, who stayed in place until the end.
"Kekeke!" Gajeel laughed maniacally.
"Don't laugh so loudly. That's rude."
The cloud of dust was cut by a sword. Yuto had escaped unharmed.
"How did you get out unscathed?" Gajeel growled, a vein pounding fiercely on his forehead.
"I was struck by swords that divided heaven and earth, as well as spears that unleashed lightning and divine fire. Your power pales in comparison." Yuto covered his hand with magic energy. "Let me show you what a true Dragon Slayer is. Heavenly Dragon's Meteor Fist."
Suddenly, thousands of fists were launched at Gajeel at lightning speed. Like beams of light, they strike the Iron Dragon Slayer with power and precision, giving him no way to protect himself or dodge, and the other members of Phantom Lord who tried to help him were wiped out.
"That's all." Yuto turned and walked away.
"Where do you think you're going?" Gajeel asked. The pain he felt was excruciating, but he endured it and got up again. The blood was dripping from his mouth and forehead, he certainly had some broken bones. "This fight is not over."
"Kid, I advise you to accept my mercy since it will not be granted a second time," Yuto said.
Gajeel gritted his teeth.
"Yuto, watch your back!" Erza yelled alarmed.
"You stupid fool," Yuto muttered.
The warning came late. A steel spear was fired by Gajeel, piercing Yuto's chest.
"Now you're not being snooty, are you?" Gajeel laughed with a crazy smile.
"You are the one who doesn't have to be bold." Yuto took his hands to the spear and removed it. "You really thought I was unprepared."
Yuto turned around. The wound was as if it had never been there.
"Are you immortal?!" Gajeel stammered in shock.
"Even if I were, where is the problem? I am your enemy and you are mine. The result is the death of one of us," Yuto said, mortally serious. "Erza, order everyone to leave this place."
"What? Should we abandon the master? Why?" Erza asked, feeling mixed emotions.
"From the beginning, the attack on the guild and the aggression of Jet, Droy and Levy was their plan to divert attention from their real target," Yuto said. "They want to kidnap Lucy and blackmail railroad tycoon Jude Heartfilia!"
Silence fell upon hearing the news.
"The council has banned guild wars. This is the main reason why Phantom Lord has not declared open war before. However, the fact that Lucy joined the guild and her father's request to bring her home prompted Master José to take this path."
Gajeel chuckled arrogantly. "If you understood everything, then you know it's late."
"If I understood everything, it means I took countermeasures," Yuto replied immediately. "From the beginning, you acted according to my expectations. I arranged for you to kidnap a fake Lucy, and I distracted everyone so that no one would notice that Saber had left the battlefield. And do you know where she is?" Yuto smiled sharply. "In the same place as Makarov with the order to kill any mage of Phantom Lord that harms my master."
Erza opened and closed her mouth, incredulous before such revelations. While she was relieved that Yuto had thought of every possibility, she was frustrated that she had not understood the full picture before.
"I've already sent Phantom Lord's misdeeds to authority. I am almost certain that Master José will be captured and imprisoned," Yuto said, turning to Erza and nodding. "Ah, just because I wouldn't feel satisfied..."
Zac.
Gajeel looked down, a sword stuck in his belly. Looking up, Yuto stood in front of him with an ironic smile that adorned his face.
"I decide who lives and who dies."
"When did you understand everything?" Erza asked.
"I wasn't sure until Caster warned me after he had rescued Lucy and made Phantom Lord believe they had won," Yuto replied. "Honestly, she is the only one a criminal can benefit from."
Yuto put some newspaper clippings on the table. They were articles about Lucy and her family. Erza's attention, however, focused on one who talked about Lucy's disappearance.
"To be honest, I wasn't sure that Lucy was the target, so I asked Caster to keep an eye on every Phantom Lord's mage hidden in Magnolia," Yuto replied. "After the attack, I also ordered him to prevent other similar events."
"It looks like we owe you a big one this time," Makarov said angrily. "Good job."
"I'll be in touch when I need to," Yuto said, finding Makarov's consent. "However, even though I sent everything to the authorities, we should prepare for an escalation."
"Isn't this all over?" Gray asked, crossing his arms and chest and frowning.
"I've dealt with arrogant people before. They don't stop until they reach their goal or they're dead," Yuto said.
Simply defeating them would not have helped. It could take weeks or even years, but certain people would return seeking vengeance. Their arrogant personalities prevented them from recognising defeat and refused to accept anything less than victory.
"Anyway, Lucy is safe. If you want, I'll lead you to her," Yuto kindly offered.
Yuto took Erza, Natsu, Happy and Gray to a place just outside Magnolia. A small stone house was hidden deep in a clearing and protected by a Bounded Field.
"What is this? It looks very old," Erza observed.
"This is my workshop," Yuto said. "There is no safer place in Magnolia than this."
It was a pleasant surprise to see that his workshop had survived for 400 years. When Merlin found it and brought it to Magnolia, most of his magical theories were preserved almost as if someone had magically preserved it.
"You didn't bring us here just to see Lucy, am I right?" Erza asked, suspiciously observing Yuto.
"That's true," Yuto admitted. "I need to get some information from her. I would like you to be present to ensure that there are no misunderstandings."
"Do you want to question her?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I want to ask him some questions that have nothing to do with his family. Rather, I would like to hear the details of the attack," Yuto said.
They entered the workshop. The interior looked more like a rustic house than the workshop of a magus. It was equipped with everything: a kitchen, a couple of bedrooms, a very rustic bathroom and a basement that was closed but magically.
"Lucy is fine like I said. I had to lock her in here but she is unharmed," Yuto said, leaning slightly over Lucy. "I'm sorry for kidnapping you."
"It's okay. Caster explained the situation when he took me away," Lucy said in a reassuring tone. "But I still don't understand how you understood everything."
"I've found evidence that Master José is embroiled in illegal activities such as slave trading, drug dealing, and illegal arms distribution. You are one of the few or the only Fairy Tail she could make money from," Yuto said. He took a chair and sat in front of Lucy. "Would you like to answer some questions like, for example, who attacked you?"
"You don't ask why I ran away from home?" Lucy blinked perplexed.
"If you've kept your connection with Jude Heartfilia a secret, it's because you want to be recognized for your merits. The reason is personal so I won't mind your business," Yuto said.
Lucy was surprised by Yuto's statement. She had known him for a short time but the few interactions they had had had given her the impression of a serious person, not inclined to antics and with a strong sense of justice.
"I want to know if you were attacked by the Element Four or someone else," Yuto said.
"No, Element Four didn't make it thanks to Merlin. The problem began when the other one arrived," Lucy said, giving a detailed description of the man who had put Merlin in a difficult position. "He was a big, skilled man, with long, wild silver hair and blood-red eyes. He wore a silver armour stained with blood. He looked like a madman with a maniacal madness for spears and impalement."
"Wait! You said "Impalement?" Yuto snapped his tongue before quickly turning to Merlin. "Caster, do you think who I think he is?"
"No doubt, it's him," Merlin said.
"Who is he?" Mordred asked.
Yuto took a deep breath. "A vampire... a progenitor." Yuto approached the shelf and took a book. "Bram Stoker wrote the story of Dracula based on the Romanian prince Vlad Tepes Dracul." He opened the book, to a page where there was a portrait of the king, and Lucy confirmed that he was the man she had seen. "He was the king of Wallachia who fought against the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Muhammad II said, "I am not afraid of men; I cannot say the same about the djinn". To defend Wallachia, he impaled the Ottoman soldiers." Yuto closed the book. "But it is a historically established fact that he is dead."
"Assuming you're right, how can this help us?" Mordred asked.
"First, it gives us an idea of the personality of the master. Considering that there is no suitable catalyst to summon Lancer, it means that the servant is highly compatible with the master. Also, knowing that he is Vlad III Tepes, we can deduce that he has the traits of a vampire. So, we can know his weaknesses," Yuto stated.
"Where do we find an ash stake to stick in his chest?" Mordred snorted.
"That's not necessary. The sun is also a weakness and you should know a sword that is said to be the manifestation of the sun," Yuto said, smiling.
Meanwhile, everyone watched and listened to the development of the conversation between Mordred and Yuto. They had lost the thread after the story was told, but they had sensed that there was something big behind it. At least Erza suspected something.
"You're odd. What's behind it?" Erza asked.
"It's better for you not to know anything. Believe me if..." Yuto shut up when he found Erza's sword pointed at his throat. "Erza, I say it for your sake. It's safer to know nothing."
"I will judge this," Erza said, slightly wavering her sword.
"Master Josè is one of the seven masters of the Holy Grail War, a competition where seven mages fight each other alongside their servants for the right to own the Holy Grail. The winner is allowed to fulfil any wish, no matter whether it is pious or not," Yuto said.
Erza withdrew the sword, but she did not deposit it in her separate dimension. "Do you think this story is credible?"
"You asked for the truth and I told it. So here's the proof." Merlin removed the illusion that concealed Yuto's command seals, the unequivocal proof that he was a master. "Actually, the masters are six since I have a contract with two servants: Caster and Saber. Thanks to these, I can give absolute orders to my servants." Yuto wrapped his hand with a red cloth. "I can't give you a demonstration because I only have three and I don't want to waste them."
Besides, he didn't like giving orders to Mordred.
"Wait, could this holy grail realise any wish? Can it even bring the dead back?" Gray asked.
"It can in theory but I doubt they would escape the wrath of Ankhseram," Yuto said.
"Why do you participate?" Erza asked him.
"I have to find someone," Yuto replied. "She stole something from me and I want to get it back. I'm sure I'll meet this person as I go on in the competition."
According to what Merlin had told him, it was this fairy who created the Holy Grail and replicated the Heroic Spirit Summon System. It was therefore likely that one of the other masters was her.
"What did she steal from you and why did she?" Gray asked.
"Ugh... let's say I pissed her off," Yuto said, nervously pinching his cheek.
"He refused a bitch who would give it to him on a silver platter," Mordred said brutally honestly. "A woman's revenge is worse than any curse."
Erza, Gray and Lucy stared at him inexpressively at the reason why a fairy was pissed at him.
"I know most of my past, but I have been robbed of the details that make it perfect," Yuto said, staring at Erza's neck. "What did I feel when I met Irene? What did I feel when she told me she was expecting our daughter?" he smiled slightly. "I can find out what my feelings were only by knowing the details."
Actually, Mordred believed Yuto loved the woman named Irene tenderly if he was so determined to reclaim his memories at any cost.
"It's getting darker. You can stay here for the night," Yuto said, gazing out the window. "I will make dinner. Don't destroy anything."
Erza appreciated everything Yuto had done for them, both in Galuna and Oak Town. Without him, both situations would have deteriorated, and some of her loved ones would undoubtedly have suffered. She did not want to watch "that" scene again.
"I like the sky when it is so calm," Yuto said, noticing Erza's presence behind him. "You should sleep and recharge your batteries for what's coming."
"You are assuming that José will do something," Erza replied, sneering.
"This is my nature. I don't trust people. They will end up betraying me," Yuto said, stabbing the sword on the floor. "That doesn't apply to everyone." He moved closer to get a better look at her. "You look a lot like her, not only physically but also in the presence you emanate."
"Who are you talking about?" Erza asked.
"I am talking about my wife or perhaps it is more correct to say my ex-wife," Yuto replied. "I left her with the child we were expecting."
The memories he had lost were related to Irene. He discovered from those he had obtained through transfer that he had married her and that it had not been a bad marriage after all. However, those memories did not reveal the reason for his decision.
"Did I love her?" If the answer is "Yes", what made me fall in love with her? Why did I leave, and what did I find?" Yuto said, looking at Erza with melancholy eyes. "I want to recover those memories so I can put my mind and heart in order."
"She may not even be alive anymore, but you want to look for her. I'm not sure if it's arrogance or stupidity," Erza said, crossing her arms over her chest and smiling slightly.
-My dream is unattainable, as you point out, but it gives me a reason to live. Can you really claim to be alive if you have no desires?
-It is not true that you have no dreams. You didn't realise what it was, or perhaps you're afraid to find out.
-Look deep inside your heart. That is where your desire lies.
Yuto put a hand on his chest as those words emerged from the recesses of his mind. He felt that his heartbeat was speeding up because of the curse. It was the first time he had activated thinking about Irene.
"Are you all right?" Erza asked, a little worried.
"Don't worry, I am fine. I'm just a little tired," Yuto said. "I can't say whether I loved her or not, but she did change my life. And that's enough to get those memories back."
Yuto's eyes blazed with fire. It burned with the same intensity as Natsu. In some ways, they were similar in their purposes.
"If you need help, don't be afraid to ask us," Erza said as Natsu, Lucy, Grey, and Happy appeared. "We are members of the same guild. If one of us has a problem, the others help solve it."
"Hmm..." Yuto brooded.
"You should accept their help," Mordred said, abandoning the spiritual form. "They are willing to help, even if it is insignificant and useless. Refusing it would be disrespectful to them."
Yuto let out a sigh. "I have one condition: you can not endanger yourselves."