'Fatalis… Acnologia…'

"I see… If it managed… to escape to here… then it's still alive…" Regardless of what they call it, it doesn't change the fact that it's somewhere out there.

"We all failed… in the end…" All of our preparation. All of the people we gathered to fight it. It all came out to nothing.

Was this what happened all those centuries ago? Our people attempted to fight Fatalis, only for it to escape to this other world?

"Miss Porlyusica, is there truly a dragon still lurking out there? Every time I asked someone about Grandeeney, they said the dragons all went extinct a long time ago." Wendy's question broke me out of my thoughts.

Dragons went extinct here? Just how powerful did magic make the people of this world?

"Acnologia is known for the destructive spree it caused 400 years ago. It killed humans and dragons alike, and the latter were thought to go extinct due to its rampage. The fact you managed to find a dragon at all is a miracle, child, let alone having it decide to be your parent." Porlyusica's response only gave me more questions.

Fatalis had been known to kill and eat other dragons in addition to humans, yet we still had dragons roaming in every region. Did Fatalis return because it ran out of dragons to eat over here? Were we dealing with a weakened Fatalis all this time? One that only returned to our world when it needed to recover from exhaustion by eating?

And this child, Wendy. Raised by a dragon, you say? How does that work? And wasn't she also a Dragon Slayer? Wouldn't she also have a dragon lacrima embedded in her? Does that mean her dragon parent fused a part of another dragon into her? If so, then this child keeps getting more and more hardcore.

"There are a few dragons known to still be alive, but they're a group that threatens to throw the world into disarray. They're so strong that only the highest class of wizards are entrusted with the mission to deal with them. The mission is named "The 100 Years Quest" because no wizard has successfully completed it within the 100 years since its inception." She continued.

"These dragons still live, as they're strong enough to resist Acnologia. Considering we have proof of Acnologia's return, and your dragon mother went missing, then it's highly likely that, if she's not dead, then she disappeared to get away from Acnologia." Porlyusica concluded. "Putting that topic aside, what do you plan to do, Ast, since it looks like you're on the road to a quicker recovery than normal?"

The talk about the dragons went over my head a little, so I was glad for the change of topic. However, when it comes to what I want to do, it's obvious.

"I want… to continue… with guild work… If I can still fight… then I will…" Working with the guild is almost all I know. Though if I couldn't fight, then I could always fall back to making hunting equipment like I planned for my retirement.

"I see. Once a fool, always a fool, I guess. In that case, with the Dragon Slayer magic from your lacrima, you should have no trouble joining a wizard guild. Wendy here should be able to help you out with that while she's still helping me heal you. She's also bound to know more about the modern guilds than I do."

At the mention of her name, Wendy came back from her stupor. "Um, whatever it is you need, I'll do my best!" She clenched her fists close to her chest and put on a determined look.

"First thing's first… I need a trusty horn.. You have hunting horns… right?" I asked. It was another world after all. There was a chance they didn't make my preferred weapon type.

"I may be up in the years, but I don't remember any wizard using a weapon called that." Porlyusica answered. I remember hunting horns weren't introduced as standard hunter equipment until years after the initial set, so I guess I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way.

"Do you have some paper… and something to write with? I might be able to… make some sketches… and write some descriptions." I could make do with a lance and shield, or if they for some reason had charge blades, but the hunting horn was what brought me my success as a hunter. I'd make one myself if I wasn't going to be stuck recovering for a while.

"Oh, let me," Wendy happily offered up her assistance, grabbing some stationary from a table off to the side. "Just tell me everything, and I'll do my best to get it all down. Using a pen would be quite difficult in those bandages, after all."

"And don't worry about the commission fee." Porlyusica spoke up as well. "I'll talk to Marakov, and I'm sure he and the Magic Council will properly compensate you for all the information you have about Acnologia."

"All right… To save on materials… we can use… the metal from my armor… It's a large blunt weapon… that loads up notes… through swinging motions… which are done in… a specific order to perform… songs that give supporting effects to… whoever the wielder wants." As I started describing the hunting horn, I could see the excitement in her eyes.

"Wow. So you'll be doing support magic, Mister Ast?" Wendy was practically glowing. "I learned a bunch of support magic from Grandeeney, so maybe you can give me some pointers while I teach you about Dragon Slayer magic!"

"Very well. That should give you something to busy yourself with as you finish recovering." Porlyusica chimed in. "Once you finish jotting down those notes, you should eat some food and tuck in for the night. Tomorrow, I'll bring Makarov over to hear your story first-hand while Wendy can get an estimate for your weapon."

"Thanks, Miss Goddess." I was genuinely thankful for everything these two have done for me. Once I get situated in a guild, I'll be sure to stop by often with gifts.

Though…

"Wait— what did you just call me, you brat?" I think my nickname fit her quite well, no matter how much she started berating me for it.

POV: ?

Sigh

Another complaint marks another day where my children continue to explore the mysteries of their magic. Granted, I would prefer they do so in non-destructive ways, but this was simply how they grew best. And that's all I could ask for as their guild master.

"Perhaps I should step into the main hall later and give them a little speech. Let them know I'm not too mad at them before I start preparing for that conference." I say to myself.

"Anything really to get a break from filing all this paperwor—"

Slam

"Makarov! There's someone you have to go see!" I was greeted by my old pink-haired friend.

Well, I did ask for anythi— wait.

"Hurry up! While there's still daylight!"

"Porlyusica! Who hurt one of my children!?" Porlyusica hated people. So much that she decided that she'd rather live in that tree in the East Forest. For her to come looking for me in the city, something serious had to be going on.

"Even worse than that! There's been an Acnologia sighting!"

At the mention of that name, a chill ran down my spine, and I paused, realizing the gravity of the situation.

There hadn't been an Acnologia sighting reported in ages. The last time it appeared to the public, it was said to have caused unprecedented losses. Whole cities were razed to the ground. Entire ecosystems were made uninhabitable. Fiore's army of 500,000 was said to have been brought down to just under 7,000 before the beast was fended off. So much destruction, all due to this singular dragon.

"Lead the way. I need to hear everything this person has to say." I said grimly. If what this witness had to say was true, then I had to warn the magic council before it's too late.

.

.

.

Upon reaching a certain clearing, I could sense the sheer amount of negative energy coming from further off, leading towards Porlyusica's house. One of the signs of Acnologia's appearance was the palpable hatred that it left behind.

'This is already not looking so good.' I thought to myself as we approached the door to her home.

Gently opening the door, I entered the house and looked towards the bed on the far side to see a human-shaped bundle of old bandages. The only things peeking through were two closed eyelids.

They certainly looked like they encountered Acnologia, that's for sure.

Ahem

Clearing my throat to get their attention, I saw them open their eyes, and my thoughts broke off. Those eyes. They were artificial. Like the one made for Erza.

Regardless of whether what they saw was Acnologia or not, something was posing a danger to the citizens and had to be stopped.

"My name is Makarov, and I'm the guild master of Fairy Tail. I'm assuming you were the one who saw Acnologia?" I only asked out of formality. It was quite obvious they were the one.

"Yes, though we called it Fatalis… back where I'm from." They struggled to get out their sentence, but I took note of what they said.

"'Where you're from', you said? And where is this place?" If this was Acnologia and it stayed long enough for the people nearby to give it a local name, then we may finally know where it's been living all this time.

I noticed they shifted their head to look at Porlyusica. "Do you remember how I came from a different world, Makarov?" Said person decided to speak up. "I'm fairly certain that this young man came from that same world."

'The same world as her?' I thought to myself. 'Then if he's come here now, then that means—'

"So you're saying you believe Acnologia has a magic to travel between worlds." I let out.

It was a wild idea for sure, but it had its merits. It would certainly explain the long periods between sightings.

"Tell me, young man. About what this Fatalis is like." I trusted Porlyusica, and if she said he's from the same world, then I'm not going to doubt her.

"Sporting dark black scales… and 4 backwards horns… Fatalis destroyed a kingdom… on its own… centuries ago… The Black Dragon of Destiny… it kills anything in its path… from humans to its fellow dragons." He stopped speaking.

The same physical features, accomplishment, title, and destructive tendency. If I didn't see the similarities, then I would be going senile.

"I see. And what were you doing when you spotted Fatalis?" We had to know how Acnologia acts when it is being covert. Any details about its habits would improve our odds of fending it off by leagues.

"Actually… I was in a hunting squad… part of a platoon made… in order to slay Fatalis… fought it with 3 others… stalled for the rest to appear… took its eye with me too.

Those words shocked me. This young man and his team had fought Acnologia by themselves while waiting for their army. But most of all—

"This eye. Do you happen to have it somewhere?" If this was true and he did take out Acnologia's eye, then he would certainly be the foremost expert on how it fought.

"It's embedded on my hip." Porlyusica loosened the bandages, and I was surprised to see what appeared to be a dragon lacrima firmly embedded on the young man's hip.

"Its magic output surpasses that of Laxus' one!" I exclaimed loudly, not even trying to hide my shock. "And you're telling me it's not even from the heart!?"

"But how did it even fuse with you in the first place?" I'm unaware of any artificial dragon slayer having such a strong dragon as the basis of their magic. The circumstances had to have been bizarre considering their injuries.

"Cut off the eye during the fight… and put it in my pouch... Then it killed the others... one by one until... I was the only one left… Then it heated up its chest… and tried to melt me… within its body."

I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. This young man suffered through so much. And I'm not going to let it go to waste.

"The Kingdom of Fiore will compensate you well, I assure you. So please, we need to know everything about how Acnologia fights!"

POV: ?

As I wipe the sweat from my forehead, I take a good look at my finished product—a long sword made of high-carbon steel and imbued with wind magic. The gold in the crossguard served as a conductor for the wind lacrima on the sides, and while the small holes lining the thin blade lowered its usefulness as a melee weapon, they allowed for powerful air currents to pass through it.

It was a fine magic weapon for a wizard that could serve as their primary long-range weapon as well as a last resort in close-quarters combat. Though, even with my 26 years of experience, I still couldn't hold a candle to my grandfather's works. He had many top wizards lining up to commission him for the best weapons, and I wanna be like that someday.

Ring Ring

"I'll be right with you in a moment!" I called out on reflex. I put the sword off to the side with the other requested weapons and wiped my face with my handkerchief as I entered the front end of my smithy and faced my new customer.

It was a blue-haired young girl, in her early teens at most. What most caught my eye, however, was the mark on her right shoulder—a mark of a guild wizard. I don't usually stock child-sized weapons in my shop, but if she's with a guild, then she could probably handle a medium-sized weapon just fine.

"Welcome to Fret's Smithy! You looking for something pre-made, or do you got a commission for me?" I put on my customer service smile and said my usual greeting.

"Yes, I'm trying to get a custom weapon made based on these notes." The girl pulled out some papers from her bag and handed them to me.

My first thoughts when looking over these notes were, 'What do these wizards feed their kids!?' Even if they're generally stronger than non-wizards, this sketch shows a bludgeoning weapon that would tower over, if not equal, her in size.

I continued looking through the papers.

'Swinging this weapon in certain motions allows it to intake air and align the valves within to create different musical notes, which are then played to create different songs that give beneficial effects to those who hear them, akin to support magic.'

So the wielder would need to be using magic while swinging this thing around too!? And don't get me started on the fact that this thing doubles as a giant musical instrument!

"This is quite a… unique weapon, little miss. Are you sure this is the kind of weapon you want? There's an assortment of weapons here that are much easier to wield." For the life of me, I couldn't imagine this child using such a weapon.

"I'm sure of it! It has to be like this, or it won't feel right! Oh, and I have some materials prepared already!" The girl gave me a sweet smile, and I realized then and there that wizards were terrifying people.

—End of chapter—

(Nov 20, 2024) Authors notes:

So… it's certainly been a while since the last update.

All I can say is: I've been hanging with friends. Helped some of them catch up in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak as well as beat the ever-loving shit out of Rey Dau. I'd give my firstborn child for it to be February already.

In any case, some new misunderstandings here! My favorite ones dealing with Wendy being awesome and scary. Expect more.

Scarily strong child is my favorite trope in anime and games.