The Communication Lacrimas in the Magic Council were blowing up with calls from Caelum, and even the Queen herself reached out to them in worry. And worry She should as that blast of lightning was seen even in Fiore, and they were already organizing a specialized group to investigate what had happened there.
Doma was one of the people arranging the group, and his Communication Lacrima lit up. He looked at it, his eyes narrowing as he hadn't expected a call from that person.
"Doma, so good to see you," Makarov pleasantly smiled as his face appeared on the Lacrima.
"What do you want?" Doma narrowed his eyes with a frown, his mind going into overdrive trying to figure out why this fool was contacting them. No… "Don't tell me that this was your Guild's doing? Of course, it is. Why am I even asking?"
"Hehehe." Makarov shamelessly chuckled.
"What happened?" Doma frowned. "What did you do again?"
"See, our mutual friend ended up discovering something interesting," Makarov explained with a large grin.
"We do not have mutual friends," Doma immediately denied that accusation.
"Oh, poor Leon will be hurt when he hears about this," Makaroc replied, grin growing even larger.
Doma's breath hitched. Out of all the Mages in Fairy Tail, that was the only one he respected. There was no way… he paused, thinking back about what he knew about Leon, about the Magic he specifically told him he had developed, Storm Devil Slayer.
"What happened?" Doma repeated his earlier question, far more interested to actually learn about the events that had occurred.
"Hehehe." Makarov chuckled at him, but he turned serious in a moment. "I remember reading about the Council destroying all the Magical Artifacts part of the R-System."
Doma froze as a screen manifested next to Makarov, displaying a large and lean Tower on a lone island.
"I honestly want to say I'm surprised, but I'm really not," Makarov continued, looking at the Tower for a brief moment before turning back to him with a grin. "Good thing we're here to clean up your mess, am I right?"
The screen flickered, changing to an image of a hole in the ocean, with no signs of the Tower or even the island on it. "You can thank Fairy Tail for cleaning up yet another mess made by you."
Doma grit his teeth, hating this situation with every fiber of his being. At least… at least Leon was the one responsible for taking care of the mess. He could accept that much as the young man had proved to be a different breed than the rest of his Guild.
Though… well, Doma supposed that destroying a Magical Artifact part of the Forbidden R-System required something that big.
"Everyone responsible was also captured by yours truly," Makarov continued, his grin turning savage, giving Doma a bad feeling. "Including what's very likely to be one of your very own members."
"Impossible," Doma denied the accusation without hesitation, and his eyes opened wide as a picture of Siegrain appeared on the screen next to Makarov.
He clenched his fists, but calmed himself with a deep breath, recalling a conversation he had with Siegrain in the past. "That's Jellal, Siegrain's twin brother."
"Oh, is that so?" Makarov asked as he licked his lips. "You wouldn't mind calling for him then, right? As far as I'm aware, the younger members have to be physically present at the headquarters in Era."
"Not at all," Doma replied before quickly ordering a subordinate to seek out Siegrain. Makarov began happily whistling a tune to himself, triggering him even more while he anxiously waited for the return of his subordinate.
"I'm sorry, sir. Siegrain is nowhere to be found, and no one has seen him in the past couple days," his subordinate nervously replied, and Doma himself age a few more years just by hearing those words.
"No…"
"Well, would you look at that? A traitor working directly with the Magic Council? Color me surprised! Who could've even expected something so outlandish? Definitely not me," Makarov just kept going on and on, and Doma didn't have the strength to respond to those accusations.
"First a Duke, and now someone directly working for the Council? Damn, you guys sure know how to pick them!" Makarov loudly laughed.
"Enough!" Doma slammed his fists on the table. "That's enough!"
Makarov just shrugged in response. "Oh, and before I go, I'd like to report that almost all the members of the Oracion Seis have been dealt with. Two are gone for good, and three more are with us, ready to be escorted whenever you can send someone over."
Doma looked back at him, seeing the stupid grin on the face of the diminutive old man.
"Only their leader remains, who…" Makarov smirked. "Who if I'm not wrong is another traitor. Wow, you guys certainly do know how to pick them, huh?"
Doma had enough and ended the call, shattering the Communication Lacrima with his Magic Power. His breath was heavy as he just sat there, his old face visibly aging even more. He leaned on his desk, covering his face with his hands as he deeply sighed. This was another major fuck up for them, but… at least his view on Leon hadn't been wrong. The young man was doing good work, and he knew he had to do something very soon to capitalize on Leon's achievements and earn some good favor for the Magic Council.
"What a mess," he muttered as he began working on the report for this while ordering his subordinates to travel to Magnolia to escort the prisoners.
We returned back to Magnolia without any complications on the way back, though I did have to use my Archive through my Clone while Makarov called the Magic Council. I wasn't particularly happy how the Master handled the situation with Doma since I did think of the old man as somewhat of a friend.
However, I also got to hear exactly how many fuck ups had been caused by the Magic Council, which tarnished the way I viewed them. They were supposed to be the ones responsible for keeping all the Legal Guild in line, and yet… they had so many traitors amongst their group.
Granted, that made sense in a twisted kind of way. They had such high authority all across the continent, so it made sense that people would try to infiltrate the Magic Council. They should be aware of that as well and should have plenty of precautions in place to prevent that. At least I liked to think that they did. Otherwise, that would imply that, well, that the Magic Council wasn't as great as I believed they were. And wasn't that a morbid thought? I shook my head, deciding to think about that a later time when I had even more information to work with.
We arrived soon after, and Cana handed the cards with the captured people over to Makarov while telling him with a stern expression that she wanted them back after this. Then she was whisked away by Gildarts, who shot me a glare before dragging her out of town.
Erza and Simon both went with Makarov as he prepared to release the people in the cards. Erza because she wished to speak with her friends now that they were out of the Tower, while Simon was there as he knew who was fully on board with Jellal's plan and who was forced to work there as a slave. Plus, I was sure that both wanted to convince their friends that Erza hadn't betrayed them.
I backed away from that, leaving them to handle this on their own even though I wanted to be there to support Erza. I just felt she needed to do this on her own.
Erza and Simon returned, followed by the rest of their friends, and they looked like they were getting along just fine. They were walking towards me, but the girl, Miliana, stopped in place, head darting left and right.
"My kitty senses are tingling!" She exclaimed while sniffing the air until her eyes finally landed on Happy, who was munching on a fish next to Natsu.
"Kitty!" Miliana dashed towards him, scooping Happy in her arms as she began rubbing her head against him.
"Eh?" Happy looked utterly confused, but he didn't stop eating his fish even for a second.
"Oh, you're such a cute kitty, oh, yes, you are!" She cooed, and Happy shrugged, deciding to enjoy her petting while he continued eating his meal.
The group stared at her before they shook their heads and walked over.
"So, you're the dandy man that knocked us all out?" Wally asked, looking me up and down. "I have to say, that wasn't very dandy of you. You should've at least introduced yourself before doing that."
"Figured I could do that later," I replied and offered him my hand. "I'm Leon, nice to meet you."
"Ha!" Wally grabbed my hand with a strong grip. "And I'm Wally, the dandiest man you will ever meet!"
"Hi," the blonde-haired man shyly said. "I'm Sho, and… I want to thank you for helping big sister Erza."
"You have nothing to thank me for," I replied with a smile. "You are all Erza's friends, and I'm just glad you are all alive and well."
Simon flinched at my comment as he had plenty of injuries on his body, including a missing eye. Not to mention that prosthetic metal jaw he was forced to wear.
"Don't worry about that," I told him with a nod. "I will heal you up really quickly. Unless you don't want me to, that is."
"You can do that?" Sho was the one to ask as his eyes lit up with hope. "Can you also heal big sister's missing eye?"
"Of course," I replied without hesitation. "That was one of the main reasons I even learned Healing Magic in the first place, just so I can heal her."
"Leo…" Erza muttered, cheeks turning bright red. She looked at me for a moment before turning around in embarrassment.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sho immediately rushed over, giving me a hug as his eyes teared up.
"Don't worry about it." I patted him on the back and looked at Simon. "So? Want to get healed up really quickly?"
"... Yes, please," he replied after a moment of hesitation.
"Alright then." I nodded at him and beckoned him with my hand. "Let's go somewhere a bit more private so I can remove the metal plating attached to your jaws."
Simon followed after me into one of the rooms in the Guild, the ones where people could stay if they had no other options available. He then lied on the bed as I prepared to quickly fix him up.
Before he even realized what was going on, I painlessly removed the prosthetic with my sharp nails and followed that by a quick Heal.
"What?" Simon muttered in shock before his hand quickly reached towards his eye patch, taking it off without any hesitation.
"I can see again," he muttered, looking around the room in wonder as he placed a hand on his jaw, lightly massaging it. "And I don't feel any pain while talking."
"I did promise I'd heal you, didn't I?" I chuckled at him.
"You did." He nodded as he stood up to face me. "We… have so much to thank you for."
"Don't worry about it," I said with a shake of my head.
"Right," Simon muttered, taking a deep breath. "Take care of Erza. She's strong, but…"
"I will," I promised and titled my head before realization struck me. "You aren't planning to stay for much longer, are you?"
"No," Simon sighed, looking in the distance. "I have a little sister somewhere out there, and I need to find her."
"Don't hesitate to ask if you need any help," I told him, offering him my assistance. They were Erza's friends, after all.
"Thank you for that." He bowed his head in gratitude before we walked out of the room. We returned to the rest, and I grabbed Erza, dragging her over while they marveled at how Simon looked now that he was healed up.
"It's your turn," I told her as she nervously fidgeted. I led her to the bed and sat her down before pulling her close as I gently stroked her back.
Erza took a deep breath, taking a few moments to compose herself. I wasn't in a rush and was happy to wait for as long as she needed to. She looked at me with a smile, surprising me for a moment as her head shot out, pecking me on the lips before she turned away with flushed cheeks.
"I think I'm ready now," she squeaked out while I chuckled at her. Ever so slowly, she lied down, placing her head on my lap, her lips pursed as she nervously looked up at me.
"Don't worry, it will all happen in a split second," I told her with a soothing voice. "Just take a deep breath…"
Erza did as I told her, and my hand flashed out, taking out the fake eye while I immediately used Heal. Before she even realized what had happened, I had already healed her.
"And there you go," I said, smiling brightly at her. "You're all healed up now."
Erza stared at the fake eye in my hand before her gaze turned to me with intensity I hadn't seen before. She shot up, her hands grabbing my head as she slammed me against the armor she put on after the incident at the Tower.
"What happened to," I said, using my Inventory to quickly store her equipment, causing her to let out a squeal as it disappeared from her body. "Feeling very warm when you shorten the distance between you and your close ones."
"I…" Erza froze on the spot as my arms wrapped around her toned yet soft body, pulling her closer to me.
"You?" I teasingly asked as I leaned in, stopping right before our lips met.
"I…" Her breath was hot and heavy as she stared at me with unblinking eyes.
"Mhm, I'm listening," I whispered, not moving from my spot.
"I don't have any other clothes in my Requip Space," she finally replied and tried to look away, but I reached out and stopped her as I gently cupped her cheek.
"We will have to do something about that–"
"–But…" She protested weakly.
"Because although you look great in your armor, you are absolutely gorgeous in a dress," I said before leaning in, pulling her in for a kiss. She melted against me while my hand wandered around her body, squeezing her thighs before moving to her butt.
We pulled back a moment later, and Erza watched me nervously. "I do?"
"Of course," there was no hesitation on my part. "You look amazing in a dress."
"Mm." Erza hugged me, pushing her face against my chest.
We stayed like that for a long moment before I returned her armor back to her, and she quickly put it on. I then grabbed her hand, interlocking our fingers as I led her back to the main hall.
Knowing that Simon wasn't planning on staying much longer, I decided I could make something special for the group before he left. Leaving them to catch up, I entered the kitchen, prepared to wow them with my food.
Cooking Perk
Votes Everything Goes Cooking:Can use any type of ingredients while cooking, even those considered inedible by others, and still prepare a divinely tasting dish.
Physique Perk Votes Devil's Durability: Gain +1 Armor for every 2 Physique.
I served their food and watched them with a smile as they all melted against their chairs after tasting it. However, one of them reacted differently.
"Marry me, nyah!" Miliana exclaimed as she slammed her hands on the table after the first bite.
"Denied!" Erza slammed her hands just as quickly, staring at her old friend with a glare. "He's marrying me first!"
Not a sound was heard in the Guild after her declaration, and no one dared to even breathe as they all silently stared at her. Erza turned beet red as she realized what she had just said and started fidgeting in place.
"Is that so?" I asked, breaking the silence, staring at her with a teasing smile.
"I… umm…" Erza looked away from me, turning towards Miliana, doing her best to ignore the stares. "You can't marry him."
"But what if I really really want to, nya?" Miliana asked before shrinking under Erza's intense glare.
"Pretty please, nyah?" Miliana tried, but Erza kept staring her down.
"Meh." She shrugged with a pout. "It's not like he's a kitty…"
Right, I decided not to mention that I could turn into a cat with my Take Over Beast Soul since panthers were technically cats, and I had two of those. Instead, I figured it was better to switch to a different topic.
"What are your plans for the future now that you are free?"
"I will stay with big sister Erza," Sho answered without hesitation, already having made his mind. He seemed to be the most attached to her out of everyone in the group, except for maybe Simon.
"And I will search for my sister," Simon replied immediately after the blonde. "And once I find her… we will probably return here."
"My dandiness compels me to help a friend in need." Wally looked at Simon, who gratefully nodded back at him.
"I want to explore the world and find all the kitties, nyah!" Miliana declared after them, disguising her support in her own little way.
Erza pursed her lips, sad that they wanted to leave so quickly, but she had no plans of forcing them to stay.
"Then I will return back with all the kitties!" Miliana continued, and Erza smiled brightly after hearing that. Simon mentioned that he also planned to return once he found his sister, making Erza even happier.
We finished eating our meal, and they praised me for the food, stating it was the best they had ever had. I puffed my chest in pride since I worked hard to get this good at cooking.
We continued idly chatting after that as Erza got to tell them everything she had done during the past few years. I knew that she was strong, but I was still astonished after hearing that she became an S-Class Mage when she was only fifteen years old. Her friends were also surprised at that relevation, though they praised her for her achievement.
Everything was going smoothly until the Rune Knights arrived to take the prisoners. Due to Simon's help, we knew who was fully on board with Jellal's plan, and Makarov had already released the others who had been forced into building the Tower.
The Rune Knights began escorting the people out, and the three members of the Oracion Seis were among them, and that's when things took a turn.
"Richard?" Wally asked, his jaw hanging loosely as he stared at one of them.
"Wally?" The guy from the Seis that greatly resembled Wally looked just as shocked. "Wally! You're safe!"
The two brothers were finally reunited after so many years of separation, but one of them was being escorted to jail. They were given the chance to have a short talk after I nicely asked one of the Rune Knights to give them a few minutes. The man rapidly nodded his head, all too willing to comply with my request.
Hoteye, or Richard, was escorted out with the rest shortly after. Wally joined us, but his mood was pensive as he stared in the distance.
Erza's friends had nowhere to stay at the moment, though Makarov quickly solved that by offering them the free rooms in the Guild. We bid them goodnight with Erza, who nervously fidgeted in place.
"Can I…" She said quietly as she grabbed my hand. "Can I stay over tonight? At your place?"
"Of course," I replied with a smile and squeezed her hand. Erza brightened up as I began leading her back home.
Levy contacted me through her Telepathy when we returned, informing me she'd leave the main bedroom to us for the night. I thanked her for the gesture, though I didn't think it was needed.
I would've loved to get Erza out of her clothes to enjoy every inch of her body, but I could feel she wasn't in the mood for that. Instead, I just pulled her close, and she fell asleep in my arms with a bright smile on her face.
I had no plans of leaving the bed as I wished to enjoy this moment with Erza, so I took direct control of my Clone, directing it to my garden.
I had that Ice Magic Book in my Inventory for a while now, and I figured it was time to finally read through it to see if I could incorporate it into my Storm Devil Magic. I already knew quite about about ice, so I thought this would be easy to do.
Learned the following.
–Storm Devil's Ice Tomb (0/50): Trap a target in a prison of ice. DC 100 to escape. DC 80 to not get frostbite. Frostbite will lower target's battle mod by 50. Costs 50 Mana to use.
–Storm Devil's Ice Needles (0/50): Fire multiple needles made out of ice at the target. Deals 4d50+100 damage. Costs 50 Mana to use.
–Storm Devil's Winter's Chill (0/50): Debuff a target with the chill of winter. Reduce battle modifier by 30. Costs 30 Mana per turn.
–Buff (0/50): Buff a target, increasing their battle modifier by 30. Costs 30 Mana per turn. Counts as an Enhancement Spell.
–Gate (0/50): Open a gate connecting two different locations. The locations have to be within line of sight. Costs 500 Mana to use and 200 Mana per turn to sustain the Gate.
I already had some minor control over Ice due to my Weather Manipulation and my Water Magic. The only thing I needed to do was to form water with my Magic and work on removing all the heat from it. Just like that, I figured out how to add Ice to my Storm Devil Magic, making me wonder why I hadn't done it earlier, considering how simple and easy it was.
Since that took me no time at all, I moved on to some of my Scrolls as they had been sitting for quite a while in my Inventory now, and I figured I might as well pick up a couple of them.
The first was the Buff Spell, and I quickly picked that up due to how similar it was to my Body Enhancement. The only difference was that it was a targeted Spell. I called up one of my wolves and figured it out within a few tries.
Now Gate was a different story as I didn't have that much experience with Space Magic. It was a bit harder to learn, however. Though it was a somewhat simple Spell at the end of the day as it was a more utility focused one.
Connecting two different locations in space was a bit harder than I anticipated, but I managed to figure out a way to do it. My control over my Mana was nearly, if not, perfect, which was what helped me the most here as the Spell required me to grab what was once a substantial amount of my energy, separate it in two equal amounts before connecting them with another tendril of energy.
Space crackled in my bedroom, and I quickly used Lord'oran to quickly devour the sound it produced to not wake up Erza. I observed the Gate in space for a moment, seeing how it took the shape of a door. Only one person could pass through it at the moment, but I was sure I could improve it with a bit of effort. There was also the limitation that I had to use it within line of sight–my wolves and Clone couldn't help with this unfortunately –but again, I was confident I could solve that issue with enough time.
That was enough Magic for the time being, and I ordered my Clone to go to the kitchen, so I could prepare breakfast for all of us. While I was working on that, I felt Erza's body twitch next to me as she began stirring awake.
I was about to greet her with a morning kiss when I felt her hands ever so slowly start to roam my body, and I decided to keep my eyes shut to see what she would do.
Erza touched every inch of my body with deep fascination, spending extra time on my chest and stomach, her fingers slowly tracing my muscles. Her breath hitched as she reached my pants, her hand resting on my bulge.
Her movements paused as she slowly shifted to slightly raise herself. I felt her breath on my face before she began moving her hand again, squeezing my bulge at first. Then ever so slowly as if trying to keep her actions hidden, she pulled down my pants.
"Woah…" Erza muttered quietly, poking my erection in fascination at first before she mustered up the courage to take hold of it. Her fingers gently wrapped around my length, and she paused for a second, checking if I was still asleep before she slowly and clumsily began stroking it up and down. Her movements became more confident with each moment, and I was really beginning to enjoy this.
Finally, I opened my eyes, seeing how she was intently staring at my erection while her hand never stopped moving.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" I asked, and her head snapped towards me. Her eyes widened as she froze on the spot, fingers still wrapped around my erection. "Because I am."
"Abababa." Gibberish came out of Erza's mouth.
"Go on," I urged her to continue while my arm wrapped around her soft body.
"I can?" Erza quietly asked, her eyes starting to shine in delight.
"Mhm." I nodded. "You were doing a great job."
That's all she needed to hear, and she began moving her hand again. I let out a pleased sound, encouraging her even more. "Yeah, that's it."
Erza became even more enthusiastic while I reached behind her, snapping off her bra. She paused, her breath stopping as the cloth around her chest fell off. And damn! Erza was stacked, easily the biggest out of all the girls I was involved with.
"Don't stop," I said as I grabbed one of her massive breasts, squeezing and kneading it with experience. She shuddered, but she followed my words, continuing to stroke my erection while staring me in the eyes.
"You are amazing," I continued to praise her, her smile widening from ear to ear due to my words.
"Mmmm!" Erza let out a loud moan and sucked a deep breath as I pinched and twisted her nipple, her entire body shaking in pleasure from that action alone.
"I…" She froze again, her face turning beet red.
"Don't stop," I repeated while continuing to play with her erect nipple.
"Yes!" Erza replied, determination filling her eyes as he fingers tightened around my erection. She paused and shuddered every time I twisted her nipple, but she did her best to continue despite that.
I leaned to her ear, whispering with a hot breath. "You can also use your mouth."
Without hesitation, she dove down, immediately taking my erection in her hot mouth. I wrapped her hair with my fingers, pulling it up as she stayed there, silently staring at my face with my length trapped between her lips.
"Go on," I ordered, lightly pushing her head, to take me deeper inside her mouth. Erza properly followed all of my words, my length pushing against her throat, forcing her to gag, but she didn't pull back until I pulled her hair.
"Use your tongue as well," I said as I began pushing and pulling her hair, seeing just how much she enjoyed this. Erza might've been inexperienced, but she made that up with enthusiasm, her tongue moving rapidly around my erection as she did her best to pleasure me.
"That's it," I complimented her while continuing to push and pull on her hair. "I'm almost there."
Her tongue started moving even more rapidly, and I took a deep breath, my body shuddering as I pushed her head down, releasing my seed down her throat. Erza took it all without complaint, even opening her mouth after that to show me she had gulped it all.
"Good girl," I said in the heat of the moment, watching as her eyes lit up while her body quivered in delight.
"And good girls get rewarded," I continued, seeing how much she was enjoying this.
Erza gasped as I grabbed her before pulling her up and throwing her next to me. My hands wrapped around her breasts at first, and I quickly took her nipple in my mouth, swirling my tongue around it before giving it a little bite.
"Mmmm!" Erza moaned, body quivering in ecstasy. I grinned and moved down, quickly reaching her panties before I pulled them down, seeing her absolutely dripping slit.
"Now what do we have here?" I whispered, my finger doing circles around her slit, teasing her for a moment.
"Mmm!" She pleadingly looked at me.
"Let's see," I said, thumb finding her clit and gently pushing on her little button, making her moan even louder while I leaned in, licking her wet slit. "Aren't you delicious?"
Erza panted in delight as I began pleasuring her to the best of my abilities, playing with her clit, licking her slit, and pushing a finger into her hot insides. She clenched around my digits, and her body convulsed as she finally reached her tipping point as an outflow of liquid squirted out of her, right in my face.
"MMM!" Erza loudly moaned, her limbs weakly dropping on the bed while her eyes stared at me in hunger.
"Now…" I said as I crawled up, stopping right in front of her face. "We can stop here or…"
"Mmm." Erza pleaded with her eyes, but I only rubbed my erection over her slit.
"Did you say something?" I continued teasing her.
"Please," she begged with a hungry and desperate look.
"Please what?" I asked without stopping my movements.
"Please fuck me!" Erza yelled, her eyes opening wide as she realized what she said.
"As you wish." I pulled back and penetrated her, her hot insides tightly wrapping around my erection, doing her best to hold me in place.
"Mmmm!" Erza moaned, her limbs wrapping around my body, pulling even deeper inside her with her monstrous strength.
Slowly, I began thrusting, and she lost all of her strength, limbs weakly falling beside her as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
"Mmm!" Erza could only moan and do nothing else as I increased my speed, filling the room with the sound of our flesh clapping against one another.
"Ohh! Ohhh!" Her voice became even louder, her body shuddering as she tightened even more, sending waves of pleasures through my erection.
"Fuck!" I moaned myself, reaching my tipping point as I filled her up with my seed.
"Hoo, haaa," Erza's trembling breathing filled the room as we stayed connected like that for a moment.
After a bit, I licked my lips and leaned closer. "We aren't done yet."
I captured her lips as her eyes widened, and I began thrusting again with even greater speed this time, the entire bed shaking from the force.
Erza turned into a puddle as I pounded her over and over again, too weak to do anything as I had my way with her. I felt a deep pride inside me after seeing just how much she enjoyed it all.
We continued like that for a long while, and Erza couldn't even get up from the bed when I was done with her. I swelled with even more pride while I quickly switched up the sheets before going downstairs to grab her breakfast.
Levy watched me with a smirk on the couch and gave me a thumbs up before her eyes returned to the book in her hands. I just puffed my chest as I passed through the kitchen to grab her own food as well.
I honestly felt like the luckiest man alive, and my Magic seemed to agree with me, judging by the Devil's Luck that was sitting under my Soul, which was now over a hundred! I felt great looking at that number since I vividly remember that it started in the single digits. My Physique was in the same boat as it was over a hundred as well.
I smiled as I let out a deep breath, just scrolling through my Status and looking at all that I had achieved in the past months. This all felt like a dream, to be honest.
I used to be this insignificant boy that knew nothing about the world, and I almost died fighting against one of the weakest monsters in existence. However, I didn't let that hold me back and became one of the strongest Mages on the continent.
I relished in my achievement for a moment before I left the kitchen, passing by Levy first to give her a deep kiss before handing her breakfast.
"Thank you~" Levy smiled at me before she took small bites while continuing to read her book.
I left her and returned upstairs to my bedroom to deliver Erza's breakfast. Her eyes lit up once I placed it in front of her, and she quietly muttered, "I'm in heaven."
I gave her a quick kiss, and she shook her feet and hands in happiness. I couldn't help but chuckle as I sat down next to her, watching her with a smile as she moaned just as loudly as earlier due to my food.
My life turned out amazing after I unlocked my Magic, and I hoped it continued to get even better in the future. Yeah… I wished it would continue to get even better, though I wasn't certain if that was even possible. I had my own house, four women that I deeply cared about, and I was one of the strongest Mages on the continent. There really wasn't anything else that I wanted in my life.
Erza dropped on the bed beside me with a satisfied moan, having devoured her breakfast in no time at all. I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around her, and she melted against me.
"Want to go take a shower and have some more fun?" I teasingly asked.
"Mhm." Erza rapidly nodded her head, and I picked her up, carrying her to the bathroom as she kicked her feet in the air in happiness.
Once we cleaned up and had some fun, I wondered what I should do for the day. I could always go on another Job, though Cana currently wasn't here, and I would have to do it on my own. On the other hand, I could seek out Natsu to see if he was interested in training his Magic with me. Perhaps I could even try to copy his own brand of Dragon Magic and somehow combine it with mine? Others might see this as something impossible, but not me. I only thought that it was just a bit bothersome.
Levy wanted to stay at our house for the day as she was focused on the Alchemy book I left with her. Erza decided she would keep her company and stayed with her, while I left to visit the Guild. I wasn't really in the mood for a Job since my teammate was missing at the moment, so I figured I could do some training with Natsu.
"How's it going?" I asked as I stepped next to our resident Dragon Slayer, who was staring at the Job board, intently checking out all available requests.
"Leon!" Natsu jumped up, a grin forming on his face. "Let's fight again! I'm sure I'll beat you this time!"
"Fight?" I tilted my head, and he rapidly nodded.
"I was thinking we can go train together and have some nice lunch after that," I said, and he furrowed his brow, thinking hard on my offer.
"Fish?" Happy asked with shining eyes.
"I can cook some fish." I nodded.
"Natsu, let's go train! We can eat fish after that!" Happy exclaimed while tugging on his partner's clothes.
"I can even turn into a wyvern again and fly us around," I continued and that sealed the deal with him.
"Hell yeah!" Natsu yelled, hitting his fist against his palm. "That sounds amazing! We can even look for Ingeel from the air!"
"We sure can," I replied, though I wasn't certain if we would ever find the Dragon in question.
"Let's go!" He yelled as he ran out of the Guild with Happy following behind him.
I quickly passed through the kitchen to see Mira, giving her a gentle kiss before telling her I'd be out with Natsu for most of the day. She told me to have fun, and I promised to spend the next day with her. Mira bit her lips, obviously having something in mind and shooed me away.
Once out of the Guild, I transformed into the Blizzardvern, and Natsu hopped on top of me before I took off, soaring through the skies until we landed on a mountain peak near Magnolia.
Natsu was slightly saddened we didn't see any Dragons, but he quickly recovered, his grin widening in excitement at the prospect of teaching me Dragon Slayer Magic.
Magic Theory Perk Magic is Science: Apply Magic Theory modifier to all knolwedge-based Skills.
Natsu was full of excitement, more than happy to teach me Dragon Magic, but he wasn't that great of a teacher as he seemed to rely on his instincts more than anything else. Thankfully, my senses were good enough to pick up on what he was doing with his Magic, and my knowledge was high to understand and perfectly copy it.
"Woah!" Natsu stared with a gaping mouth after seeing me use Fire Dragon's Roar.
"You did it!" He excitedly yelled before expression turned pensive. "I… I'm not sure I'm ready to be a father yet…"
"What are you going on about?" I punched him in the face, sending him tumbling in the snow.
He quickly recovered and shrugged it off as he said, "Igneel taught me Magic, and he became my father. That means…"
"Nope." I appeared beside him, hand already in motion. "I refuse!"
Natsu raised his hands to defend himself, but I powered through, sending him tumbling in the snow again.
"You wanna fight?" He roared as he got up again. "Then let's fight!"
Natsu fired a powerful Roar at me, which I quickly avoided before rushing at him. He lit his limbs on fire as a large grin spread on his face.
"Fire Dragon's Style!" He roared, his movements becoming more beast-like, turning almost unpredictable. Almost.
"Iron Fist!" Natsu's fist shot out with explosive speed, and I moved out of the way at the last second, throwing the same attack back at him.
"Gah!" Natsu tumbled on the ground, his mouth full of snow, but he was unhurt from my attack. He was immune to fire attacks, after all.
"Take this!" He yelled, fire erupting from his elbows and propelling him forward. "Flame Elbow!"
The speed of his attacks drastically increased, forcing me to take him seriously, even using my Lightning Speed to keep up with him. We continued fighting like that, going back and forward while working on our Magic, both of us growing stronger by the moment as we got better and better with our abilities.
"I can do this all day," Natsu said, panting from exhaustion as he squared up. He was barely standing on his feet after fighting with me for hours, while I… well, I could literally do this all day.
"Time to end this," I said, taking a deep breath as I charged my Roar, deciding to use my Earth one this time around. He did the same taking a deep breath of his own.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Earth Dragon's Roar!"
Our Spells clashed with a mighty boom, and my own quickly overpowered his. I watched as it flew at Natsu, thinking this was the end of the fight. However, he did something stupid at that moment as he opened his mouth and ate my Spell.
"Natsu!" I yelled in worry, knowing that he couldn't eat Earth Magic and exactly how stupid his actions were at that moment. I was about to rush over to Heal him when a massive amount of Magic Power erupted from him.
"I'm all fired up now!" He yelled as liquefied earth began flowing around him.
"Magma Dragon Mode." Natsu grinned at me, his power rapidly growing by the moment.
"Time for round two!" He yelled, taking a deep breath, his chest massively swelling. "Magma Dragon's Roar!"
What came out of his mouth was a stream of magma even larger than my own house, and I had to quickly dodge out of the way before it slammed right into me. His Spell hit the ground, destroying everything underneath it while leaving a magma pool behind.
"Magma Dragon's Flow!" Natsu flew at me, a trail of magma flowing behind him, boosting his speed greatly.
I rushed to meet him head on, using my Enhancement Spells to keep up with his empowered state while carefully studying how his Magic worked at this moment. It was just so fascinating to see and experience as he was the only person other than me that I had seen combine different types of Magic like that.
I even had to take him seriously, reminding me of my first fight with him. Well, I was still far stronger when I used all of my abilities, but he was truly dangerous at that moment.
Unfortunately, his empowered state didn't last for long, and after one last punch from me, he dropped down, too exhausted to get up again.
"Damn…" Natsu said with a panting breath. "That was fun…"
"It sure was," I sat beside him, my mind going over the fight and the way he merged the Fire and Earth Magic into Magma.
"That was really impressive," I sincerely complimented. "I haven't seen anyone else do something as amazing as that."
"Heh." Natsu chucked, bashfully rubbing his nose. "I'm pretty amazing, heh."
"You are, you are." I nodded while focusing on myself, recreating what he did earlier with my own Magic, feeling how my energy pulsed with the power of Magma.
However, I didn't stop there, pulling on the energy from my Poison Lacrima and combining it with the rest as well. My hand shot towards my chest as I felt a piercing pain.
"Gah." I groaned as I felt both Lacrimas crumbling in my body. Immediately, I used Photosynthesis to heal myself while I continued controlling the energy from the Lacrimas, doing my best to keep it all within myself while combining it into something far greater.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Natsu, despite being exhausted, jumped up, looking at me in worry.
"I'm fine…" I said, focusing on what was happening inside my body. "Just… give me a moment."
He stayed beside me, looking at me in worry the entire time. I was thankful for that, and I would prepare something special for him and Happy, but I had to focus on myself at that moment.
The process was a painful one, and the ground around me began melting apart from my energy, but I managed to do it and succeeded in combining all three of my Dragon Magic Schools into a singular one. Then I dropped on the ground, surrounded in a pool of blue lava that flowed out of me. Thankfully, I had managed to store my clothes and armor during the process, and they didn't get destroyed.
"Alright!" I hopped up, both Natsu and Happy watching me from a short distance. "Who's ready for lunch!"
"Aye!"
"You alright?" Natsu asked, and I nodded, watching him let out a sigh of relief before his eyes lit up as I pulled out my cooking equipment.
Volcanic Dragon Magic (60)
Rank 1 Passive Bonus: Immune to earth, fire, and poison damage(can be bypassed by Magic of a higher quality). Can eat earth, fire, and poison to restore Mana. Spells ignore 50% of a Dragon's Magic Resistance. Gain 800 bonus EXP to all EXP rolls for Physique and Soul.
Rank 10 Passive Bonus: Can freely tunnel through the ground and move as fast as normal.
Rank 20 Passive Bonus: Massively improves senses. Increases Observation modifier by Magic Rankx2. Can no longer ride on a vehicle without getting motion sickness.
Rank 30 Passive Bonus: Minor Earth, Fire, and Poison manipulation.
Rank 40 Passive Bonus: All attacks now deal 25% extra damage to Dragons.
Rank 50 Passive Bonus: Minor Disaster Manipulation. Can cause weak earthquakes, rock slides, or even force a small volcano to erupt.
Rank 60 Passive Bonus: Gain armor against physical and magical attacks equal to 5x the level of Volcanic Dragon's Magic. (+300)
—Volcanic Dragon's Roar rank 39 (326/2000): A breath attack that deals 1d4900+2450 magic damage. Has a low chance of poisoning or burning an enemy. DC 100. Poisoned/burned enemies take 100 damage per round. Costs 100 Mana to use.
—Volcanic Dragon's Erupting Fist rank 20 (564/1050): A close range fist attack that deals 1d3000+1500 damage. Costs 100 Mana to use.
—Volcanic Dragon's Obsidian Scales rank 22 (968/1150): An enhancement spell strictly focused on defense and attacking power. +555 armor to physical and magical attacks. +555 to melee damage rolls. Deals 380 damage per round to all enemies within melee range. Costs 80 Mana per round.
—Volcanic Dragon's Explosive Eruption rank 20 (564/1050): An enhancement spell focused on explosive power. +800 to battle modifier. +400 to melee damage rolls. Attacks have a low chance of poisoning or burning. DC 100. Poisoned/burning enemies take 100 damage per round. Costs 100 Mana per round.
—Volcanic Dragon's Pyroclastic Flow rank 20 (564/1050): A multi target ranged attack that deals 3d1750+2625 damage. Attacks have a low chance of poisoning or burning an enemy. DC 100. Poisoned/burned enemies take 100 damage per 200 Mana to use.
I whipped out my cooking equipment along with some of the last remaining meat in my Inventory and was about to place them on the ground when Natsu and Happy stopped me, both of them holding their noses as they stared at the blue lava near us.
"Can we move away?" Natsu asked with a frown.
"Aye! That stinks!" Happy agreed with him, making me realize that the lava was producing quite a bit of toxic fumes.
"Sorry about that," I told them and picked up my stuff before moving a good distance away from the lava pool.
"Fish?" Happy pulled out a well preserved one from his backpack and offered it to me.
"Yup, I did promise, after all," I replied as I took it from him while drool began trailing down his mouth.
I prepared a grand meal for the three of us, including an amazing dessert that blew their mind. We stayed for a bit longer on the peak as both went into a short food coma, unable to move at all.
Once they recovered, we flew back to Magnolia, and they went to the Guild while I returned home, finding Levy and Erza on the couch, both with a book in hand.
Levy waved at me with a smile, but Erza quickly hid the book she was reading, her face flushing red as she looked away, innocently whistling and pretending nothing had happened.
"Oh, please." Levy rolled her eyes. "Your moans filled the house earlier, and you're getting embarrassed about this?"
"I… um…" Erza froze like a rabbit in front of a predator, pure gibberish coming out of her mouth.
"I don't mind it. Erza's really cute when she gets embarrassed," I said as I sat between the two.
"Mmmm!" Erza was practically steaming, her cheeks bright red and her eyes wide open.
I chuckled and gave them both a kiss before I began telling them about what happened with Natsu. They were surprised to hear how he ate my Earth Magic and turned it into Magma, and they were even more astonished when I told them how I learned from that and developed Volcanic Dragon Magic. Though Levy rolled her eyes at the latter, muttering, "As expected…"
We cuddled together in a pile after that. Erza latched on to me, holding me tight with all of her strength while Levy read her book at first. She did complete it soon after and bugged me to translate some more things for her. I did as asked, showing her a few more translations on a screen made by Archive. Though Levy kept taking bites from it every now and then, forcing me to recreate it multiple times.
We stayed like that for the rest of the day, until they started yawning, and we moved over to the bedroom. I ended up in the middle with both of them hugging me from each side as they fell asleep. I pulled them close, fondly smiling as I watched their cute sleeping faces.
While I was enjoying the soft bodies of the two girls, I took direct control of my Clone to go and take care of my garden. However, it seemed that there were a few figures lurking around my house, and I strained my senses as I listened to them talk.
"We can do this." What sounded like a kid whispered.
"Yeah, we've already killed Dragons before, we can take down this one as well!" Another kid whispered back.
Two more voices cheered them on, telling them they believed they could do this. I was quite confused at what was happening, wondering if this was another assassination attempt. Though… their Magic Power felt a bit too weak for that.
Then again, I did also sense a familiar energy signature nearby, one that had rain falling down upon it. I quickly dismissed that, fixing the weather with my Magic before I summoned Lord'oran, ordering him to prevent any sound from reaching the room.
He nodded and left the bedroom, quickly reaching the garden where my Clone was patiently waiting for the four people lurking near my house. Two of them split apart, silently hopping over the wall. The other two followed after them, but they stayed on top of the wall, while the other two entered the garden.
I finally got to see my would-be attackers, and they turned out to be two kids. One with black hair and the other with blonde. I looked at the ones on the wall, finding two cats that greatly resembled Happy, though one of them wore a frog costume for some reason.
"There he is!" The blonde yelled, pointing at my Clone. "Prepare to face your doom, Fairy Dragon!"
"We will defeat you and prove ourselves," the other kid was quieter, but his eyes were full of resolve as they both squared up, prepared to fight me.
I chuckled through my Clone, amused by this situation.
"Don't laugh at us!" The blonde angrily yelled. "We've killed Dragons before! You stand no chance against us!"
"Yeah, you can do it, Sting! Beat him up!" The cat with dark brown fur cheered him on.
"Go, Rogue! Beat the Dragon!" The other cat cheered for the other boy.
"You think you can defeat the mighty Fairy Dragon?" I asked, deciding to have some fun. "Ha! You're a bunch of brats that don't know their place."
Lord'oran was already in place and prepared to block any sounds from reaching the house. However, I did inform him of the other presence, telling him to keep an eye out for Juvia, the blue-haired girl I met in Bosco. I wasn't sure why she was here, but she was… well, she was more dangerous than the kids, though I wasn't that worried about her.
I still kept an eye on her energy signature while I focused on controlling the Clone.
"You will regret your words!" Sting declared as white light wrapped around his body. "Here I come."
Rogue was quieter, but the shadows in the garden covered his body as he prepared to attack my Clone alongside Sting.
"Go get him!" Both cats cheered from the wall as they shot towards me.
"Take this! White Dragon's Iron Fist!" Sting yelled as he rushed at me, using an attack awfully similar to Natsu's. He was quite fast for a kid, and I couldn't avoid it with my Clone, so I took the punch.
"Not bad," I commented, pulling away from him while keeping my eyes on Rogue, who was constantly moving around, but not really doing much else.
"Ha! I know that hurt you, Fairy Dragon!" Sting proudly yelled and slammed his fist in his palm. "I'm all fired up now! Prepare for my next attack!"
I laughed as I heard his words as they were the same thing Natsu told me earlier. That cost me since he quickly appeared in front my Clone, delivering another punch.
"Ha! Take that!" Sting laughed, and the cats cheered him, praising him for his strength.
"Now take my finishing move!" He continued and took a deep breath while I kept an eye on Rogue, who had positioned himself right behind me.
My eyes moved to the side as Lord'oran alerted me that Juvia was standing on the roof of the house next to mine. She looked like she was about to jump in to assist me, but I shook my head at her, stopping her from jumping in.
"White Dragon's Roar!" A thin beam of light flew out of Sting's mouth, and I jumped out of the way at the last second.
"GAH!" Rogue yelled in pain as he had ended up getting hit by the Spell. I quickly looked at him, checking his body for any injuries, but he seemed like he wasn't that hurt.
"No! Rogue! I'm so sorry!" Sting rushed over to check up on him before he pointed at me. "You cheater!"
"Hey, I just avoided the attack." I shrugged my shoulders, and they both growled at me.
"You can do it, guys! He's afraid of your attacks!" The cats cheered them on.
"Afraid?" I asked, quickly moving and appearing in front of the kids, delivering a few quick slaps to their faces. "Can't say that I'm afraid."
"You should be!" Rogue finally showed some spirit, his eyes turning fierce before he turned into a shadow on the ground.
"Shadow Dragon's Slash!" He appeared behind me, slashing my Clone with blades made out of shadow.
"Oh, that was a good one," I praised him as both kids backed off.
"Yeah?" He asked, taking a deep breath. "Well, try this one! Shadow Dragon's Roar!"
A large burst of shadows flew out of his mouth, one that might hurt my plants, so I had to block that with my Data-Shield.
"Darn!" Sting stomped on the ground and bit his lips as he looked at Rogue. "We have to do this together."
"Agreed." Rogue nodded as both rushed at me at the same time.
Sting took my attention as he tried fighting my Clone head on while Rogue darted in the shadows before appearing behind it. His limbs flew out as he kicked and punched, but he barely managed to even hurt my Clone.
"He's too strong!" Sting said as he backed away, visibly growing nervous.
"We can't back away now," Rogue quietly muttered.
"No… we can't," Sting said, and his eyes started burning with determination. "If we back away now, they will continue to make fun of us. They will continue thinking that we are liars!"
Rogue nodded at him as he offered Sting his hand. "Together."
"Together!" Sting replied back and took his hand as they both turned to look at me. "Together we will prove that we are true Dragon Slayers!"
"We will defeat you, Fairy Dragon!" They yelled as one, their Magic mixing together to show me something unique, something I had read about, but I never thought I'd get to see. That was a perfect Unison Raid, an ability that allowed two Mages to combine their Magic into something far greater.
Their Magic Power surged greatly as both light and shadow combined into a powerful Spell. One that couldn't hurt me–they were kids, after all–but it could've definitely killed my Clone or even damaged my garden.
"Holy Shadow Dragon's Flash Fang!" They yelled as one, but I waved my hand and flexed my Magic, taking a hold of their energy before harmlessly dispelling it.
"What?" They asked, eyes wide open as they stared at me. They fell on their butts after that, panting with exhaustion as they watched me in fear.
"Sorry," I apologetically said. "That was a marvelous Unison Raid, but I couldn't let you destroy my garden."
"Nooo!" The cats yelled, rushing over to stand in front of the two boys. "We won't let you hurt them, evil Dragon!"
"There's no need for that," I said as I slowly approached them before casting Heal on both. They tilted their heads, eyes narrowing in confusion.
"You two are really strong," I said as I sat down in front of them.
"You're… not going to kill us?" Rogue nervously asked, and I shook my head.
"I would've beaten you up if you had hurt my plants, but you didn't," I replied with a smile. "Instead, how about we have a nice meal, eh?"
I took out some dishes I had in my Inventory and placed them in front of them. All four instantly began drooling as they smelled the enticing aroma and quickly started eating the food.
Sting paused, looking at me weirdly. "You're… not trying to fatten us up before eating us, are you?"
"Nope." I shook my head.
"Nice!" Sting replied with a large smile and gave me a thumbs up. "You're pretty cool for an adult!"
Once they were done eating, I asked if they had a place to stay, and they shook their heads. So I offered, "Would you like to stay the night at my place, and I can bring you over to the Guild in the morning?"
"To Fairy Tail?" Sting gasped. "We can join Fairy Tail?"
"I mean, if you want to," I replied, knowing that Makarov would accept them without hesitation. The kids… well, they did attack me, but they seemed like good kids.
"Rogue!" Sting turned to his friend with shining eyes. "We can join Fairy Tail! Can you believe that?"
"Can we really?" Rogue directed his question at me.
"It's up to you really," I replied, and he stared at me for a moment before nodding his head. They followed me back inside, and I directed them to one of the guest rooms before taking out an extra bed for them.
Right, the kids were dealt with, but I had one more person to meet this night, and I wondered why she was here as well.
Now, Juvia was a different story–unlike the kids–and I had to approach her with my own body since my Clone couldn't really do anything against her. Unlike me, the Clone wasn't immune to Water Magic, and it would easily be defeated by a Mage of her caliber.
Silently, I left the bedroom, pausing only for a split second as I sensed one of the kids leave the room. I continued on my way, noticing how a particular shadow had a little more substance than the rest, and it slowly moved, following after me.
I wasn't sure what Rogue's plan was, but I decided not to call him out yet. He was the more level-headed out of the two from what I saw, so he was probably making sure I wasn't planning on eating them or something like that. They did believe I was a real Dragon, after all.
I left the house with the kid stealthily following behind me and nodded at Lord'oran, who was keeping himself hidden. He smirked and gestured with his head towards the Phantom Lord Mage. I raised an eyebrow at him, which only made his smirk widen.
Leaving the weirdo, I hopped over on the opposite roof right in front of the blue-haired woman. She stared at me for a moment before looking up at the night sky. I felt her energy attempt to gather in the form of clouds, but she had no power here as the weather above Magnolia was firmly under my control.
"Are you also here to fight?" I asked, not too worried about a confrontation with her. Though I didn't think she was here for a fight or revenge for what happened in Bosco. Sure, I captured that other dude with my roots, but I made sure not to hurt him.
She looked back at me, eyes narrowed. "Juvia will fight if she has to."
That… didn't really answer my question. Though she didn't look like she was about to start a fight, so there was that at least.
"You made the rain go away… again" Juvia said after that, gaze turning back to the night sky again.
I frowned in response. "Was I not supposed to?"
"The rain…" Juvia paused, gazing at the sky with a complicated look in her eyes. "Has followed Juvia for a long time as her only companion…"
That made no sense. It wasn't something that happened for no reason. She was the one making it rain in the first place. I mean, I could literally feel her energy attempt to form the cloud at that very moment.
"Do you have trouble controlling your power?" I asked since it seemed that was the most probable reason for her troubles. "I do know a thing or two about Magic, so maybe I can help with that?"
"You would help Juvia?" She was suddenly right in my face, hands clasped together as she intently stared in my eyes. "You would really help Juvia?"
"I can certainly try," I said, taking a step back as her breathing turned heavy. "And I do enjoy helping others, so I don't see why I wouldn't."
"Juvia…" She paused with a gulp, eyes burning with hope. "Will forever be in your debt… if you can help her."
"There's no need for that," I quickly replied with a shake of my head. Her eyes trembled as she pursed her lips, so I quickly added. "I will help because I want to, not because I want you to owe me for it."
"Juvia… will be grateful if you can help her," she said, a small but soft smile appearing on her face.
Juvia was a bit weird with the way she spoke, but she seemed like a nice person, though a bit desperate from what I saw. I could definitely help her here and make her happier. I wasn't sure what her story was, but she seemed like she deserved at least a little bit of happiness. Right… this shouldn't be too hard to figure out.
Now, I had a little problem on my hand. Juvia was obviously the one responsible for the rain, that much I was sure of. However, that didn't seem like it was something she was consciously doing.
I could always tell her to just stop making it rain. It was her own Magic, after all. Though I felt like that wouldn't help her much as it was probably something that others have told her in the past. At the very least, the Guild Master of Phantom Lord should've informed her of this as he was one of the Ten Wizard Saints.
The issue here was clearly something else, and my first hint was in what she said earlier. So I took out a few chairs from my Inventory and had us sit down for a nice talk.
"Now, why don't we get to know each other better while I try to figure out how to help you?" I asked as we made ourselves comfortable.
"Oh?" Her eyes lit up, though I wasn't sure why exactly. It could've been due to my statement about helping her or… the one about getting to know each other.
"I'll start first. My name is Leon, and I have been a Mage for a few months now," I said, giving her a short introduction.
"Really?" She asked with surprise in her voice. "Juvia assumed you had been one for a very long time."
"Nope." I grinned. "I grew up in a village where I wasn't really wanted by anyone until I unlocked my Magic. Then I left it as soon as possible before I ended up joining Fairy Tail."
I sighed with a fond smile. "That was probably the best decision I could've ever made."
"Why is that?" Juvia asked in interest.
"Because Fairy Tail gave me the thing that I always wanted… a family," I answered, my lips involuntarily stretching into a large smile.
That really was the best decision I had ever made in my life, and to think that I wasn't so sure if I wanted to join at first. Granted, Laxus didn't make the best first impression. Still, I was more than glad I listened to his words and checked out the place.
"Oh…" Juvia stared in the distance with a longing look, her hands balling into fists.
"What about you?" I asked after giving her a moment. "What can you tell me about yourself?"
"Juvia… has also been on her own for a very long time," she said, looking down at her lap with a gloomy expression. Her energy spiked at that moment, trying but failing to form clouds in the sky.
"Because of the rain?" I guessed from her earlier words.
"The rain has been Juvia's only companion since she was a kid," she replied with a tired sigh. Her energy spiked again, but it had just as much luck at making it rain as it did earlier.
I frowned, narrowing my eyes. "What about Phantom Lord? And that guy you were with in Bosco? Aren't they your companions as well?"
"Phantom Lord was the first time Juvia was accepted by others," she replied, her mood shifting just a tiny bit, but she still looked gloomy. "And Gajeel is… the closest person to Juvia. He doesn't mind the rain too much."
"And the rest of Phantom Lord?" I questioned.
"They respect Juvia for her strength," she replied, energy spiking again. This time, I allowed it to happen, and it started raining shortly after that.
Juvia gasped and looked up, lips pursing as her expression turned even more gloomy. She stared at the rain before tiredly sighing.
"They don't sound like they are your friends, your family," I said, allowing the raindrops to fall on me.
Juvia looked at me with a sad expression and sighed again. "Juvia hoped… you can stop the rain…"
"I can do that easily," I replied and waved my hand, dispersing the clouds with a gesture.
"It's gone again," Juvia's eyes widened, a bit of happiness appearing on her face.
"I can keep the rain away for as long as you want to," I continued, offering her a smile. She looked back at me with hope in her eyes.
"However." Juvia clenched her fists as I continued and allowed the clouds to gather again. "The rain isn't that bad. A bit soothing even."
"It… is?" She asked with a trembling tone.
"Yeah." I nodded, staring at the cloudy night sky. "It isn't that bad. I quite enjoy it, to be honest. And working on my garden in the rain is one of my favorite activities."
"Really?" Juvia stood up, her eyes shining as she stared at me.
"Mhm." I nodded at her, her expression turning happier by the moment. I stood up from my seat and stored the chairs before offering her a hand. "Would you like to help out with my plants? I was just about to plant some new ones, and they need to be watered to grow big and strong."
"Juvia…" She stared at my hand for a long moment before looking at my face. "Juvia… would like that."
"Thanks a lot," I said as she took my hand. "You will be really helpful with your Water Magic."
"Really?" Juvia's eyes started to sparkle in delight.
"Of course, I wouldn't lie to a friend," I replied, and she froze on the spot. Her breathing slowed down as her eyes focused on my face.
"Juvia… is your friend?" She asked, her voice trembling as she nervously gulped.
"Only if you want to," I soothingly replied.
"Yes, Juvia would like that." A serene smile appeared on her face. "Juvia would like to be your friend."
"That's great," I said, and felt her hand tightly squeezing my own. "Now let's go take care of my plants, and I will prepare something special for you after that."
"Something special… for Juvia?" Her eyes and lips quivered as she stared at me.
"Yes, something special for Juvia." I nodded, and she offered me the brightest smile I had seen from her. Though that did result in the rain disappearing due to her happier mood.
"Oh… the rain is gone," Juvia said, looking at the sky with a complicated gaze, unsure if she should be happy or not.
"That's okay." I lightly squeezed her hand, "We can call it back whenever we want to. See?"
Using my control of the weather, I ensured that it continued raining just above us. "It's up to us to decide when we want it to rain or not."
"Up to us…" Juvia muttered quietly, still holding onto my hand and refusing to let go.
"Yes, it's up to us," I confirmed, lightly squeezing her soft hand.
We hopped down after that, and I felt Rogue leave, returning back to the guest room. Juvia and I, on the other hand, did a bit of gardening while I controlled my Clone to make a dish with the Apples of Peace, thinking they were perfect for the occasion.
Juvia asked quite a few questions about my various plants, seemingly taking a great interest in gardening, and I was happy to tell her about everything I knew. She followed me along with a smile stuck on her face the entire time.
"And now that we are done with our gardening," I said as I looked over at Juvia. "We don't need the rain anymore, and we can make it go away because it's up to us to decide when we want it to rain."
"It's up to us," Juvia repeated, watching as the clouds disappeared before showing me a bright smile. "Thank you."
"Oh, don't thank me yet," I said, taking out a table with two chairs from my Inventory before placing the steaming apple pie in front of her. "Do it after you have tasted my food."
"it smells… delicious," Juvia said as she sat down, curiously inspecting the pie.
"And it tastes like it," I proudly replied. "I can promise you that much."
"Juvia trusts you." She nodded with a smile and took a bite out of her piece before promptly turning into a puddle on the chair.
I gaped with wide eyes as that was the most dramatic reaction by someone after tasting my food. I just stood there speechless for a moment, and she reformed back shortly after.
"Juvia apologies for running your chair," she said as she bowed her head in shame.
"It's fine, it's fine," I chuckled and waved her off. "It's just a chair, who cares about that?"
I had more than enough of those in my Inventory, all graciously donated by Duke Everlue, who no longer needed them.
"I'm just happy you like it… you did like it, right?" I continued.
"Yes." She nodded, staring at the rest of her pie. "Juvia likes it very much."
"I'm happy to hear that." I smiled and took out a few more pieces for her. "Here, you can have some more and save it for later if you want to."
"Juvia… doesn't know what to say." Her eyes were quivering, but she had the largest smile I had seen from her.
"You don't have to say anything. We are friends, and friends help each other, right?" I replied back, her smile widening even further.
"Yes, we are friends." She happily nodded before eating the rest of her pie, savoring each bite as if it was the last one. I ate my own share alongside her, though she saved two pieces for later, which I wrapped up for her to take back.
"Juvia… Juvia will return back in the future, if that's okay?" She said, eyes gleaming with hope.
"Of course, you are free to visit whenever you want," I replied without hesitation. Juvia was a lonely person from what I figured out and… I wanted to change that. She was my friend, I told her as much, and I didn't want her to be sad.
"Thank you, Leon. Juvia really appreciates this," she said before bidding me goodbye and leaving for the night.
Once Juvia left, I stored everything in my Inventory and ordered the Clone to clean up the house. I then returned to bed, getting in between Erza and Levy, and they both snuggled against me the second I joined them. I wrapped an arm around each of them while I took direct control of the Clone, wondering what I should do to pass the time until the morning.