Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 363: Wisdom: Why Am I the Only One Without Love?

”So strange… This girl looks exactly like Erza, doesnʼt she?”

”No, more precisely, this is Erza! If weʼre just going by appearance, even I wouldnʼt be able to tell them apart!”

Mirajane stared, wide-eyed, at the confrontation between Erza Belserion and Erza Wisdom. She was completely astonished by what she saw.

”Although Sister Erza did tell us in advance that this ʼEdolasʼ world has alternate versions of us who look identical, seeing it with my own eyes is still incredible~”

Kagura nodded slightly, agreeing with Mirajane. Like her, she was stunned by the surreal sight, like watching Erza facing her reflection.

”Hmph. Lame…”

Laxus snorted coldly, acting unimpressed. But the fact that his heart was racing faster than usual betrayed his surprise at what he was witnessing.

”Itʼs exactly because of this that I had to move so cautiously while in Earth Land, always afraid of revealing myself…”

Mystogan sighed helplessly. Even the carefree members of Fairy Tail were stunned when seeing their counterparts, so how would ordinary people react?!

Surely anyone would be dumbfounded upon meeting another version of themselves who is identical in every way… except for personality.

No, rather than calling them clones, the word ”counterpart” described it more accurately.

”Hmph~”

”Hair length, face, chest size… You really do look exactly like me.”

”So what, do you like this face and figure of mine that much?”

Erza Belserion scrutinized her counterpart from head to toe, a trace of disdain flashing in her eyes.

”Hah?”

”I was born looking like this. I donʼt give a damn about your so-called looks.”

Erza Wisdom raised an eyebrow, a faint killing intent in her eyes as she retorted coldly.

”Hm?”

Erza Belserionʼs scarlet eyes sparked with crimson electricity. Her aura surged, exuding overwhelming presence.

”Ah?”

On the other side, Erza Wisdom didnʼt back down one bit in the face of that intense pressure. In fact, she seemed raring to go, ready to clash with her Earth Land self head-on.

”What a headache…”

Evanʼs brow furrowed deeply. This scene was second only to two of his worst nightmares, facing the insane Black Dragon King Acnologia alone, or getting caught in the middle of an all-out fight between Irene and Selene.

That was the level of crisis he felt right now.

”Erza, slow down! Donʼt run so fast, Onii-chan canʼt keep up…”

Just as the tension reached its breaking point, a feeble voice echoed through the palace corridor. A boy, nearly identical in appearance to Evan but a bit shorter, was slowly, visibly struggling to run toward them…

”Iʼm gonna die…”

It took nearly a full minute from the time his voice was heard for the boy to reach the end of the corridor and join the others. It was more than 200 meters long, and he barely made it.

”Mister Wisdom, are you alright?!”

At his arrival, a group of ministers who had been standing around Mystogan immediately rushed over in panic toward the boy with short reddish-brown hair.

”Iʼm fine, no, donʼt worry about me…”

The boy waved them off, panting heavily as he tried to speak.

Before anyone could respond, he whipped out a small portable magic oxygen bottle and took a deep breath.

Hssss~

Hah…

After a few breaths, his pale and colorless face slowly regained some warmth and color.

”Hehe, Iʼve always had a weak constitution since I was a kid. Sorry for making a scene.”

Now looking a bit more composed, the boy gave a polite smile to both the ministers and Evanʼs group.

”Onii-chan…”

Erza Wisdom turned to the boy and softly called out.

”Erza, you ran way too fast. Thereʼs no way your big brother could keep up~”

The reddish-brown-haired boy, whose face closely resembled Evanʼs, smiled weakly as he spoke and stood beside Erza Wisdom.

Yes, this boy, called ”Big Brother” by the Edolas version of Erza, was none other than Evan Wisdom, Evan Belserionʼs counterpart in the world of Edolas.

”Wait wait wait…”

”Youʼre telling me this guyʼs your Edolas counterpart, Evan?”

”Dudeʼs way too frail!”

Laxus crossed his arms and looked Evan Wisdom up and down with open disdain.

Unlike Evan, whose lean build was all defined muscle under his clothes, Evan Wisdom looked fragile and malnourished. Even their faces werenʼt quite identical, anyone familiar could easily tell them apart.

”Yeah, seriously… Edolas Evan looks like a bean sprout. Though now that I think about it, maybe our Evan is just too muscular…”

Mirajane blushed slightly as she spoke, her thoughts drifting.

The moment she mentioned Evanʼs strength, she couldnʼt help but recall what Selene had whispered to her during the Fairy Tail womenʼs hot springs party months ago…

”Bean sprout.”

Kagura sized up Evan Wisdom and gave an honest evaluation.

Naturally, none of these comments bothered Evan Wisdom in the slightest…

Because to him, only Erza Belserion from Earth Land mattered.

”Heh~”

Evan Wisdomʼs lips curled into a confident smile.

Just like Erza Wisdom had always adored her big brother Evan, he believed Erza Belserion must also feel the same way about hers.

So, his goal was simple.

Just as Evan Belserion had stolen away the affection of his little sister, he was going to steal Erza Belserionʼs affection from him. A fair exchange, tit for tat.

”Dear Sister Erza, itʼs a pleasure to meet you. Iʼm Evan Wisdom, your big brother Evan Belserionʼs counterpart from another world. So you can just call me Onii-chan~”

Evan Wisdom confidently walked up to Erza Belserion, smiling as he introduced himself.

”Oh…”

Erza Belserion stepped closer to Evan Wisdom, her deep purple eyes scanning him from top to bottom.

Then she frowned and took a few steps back.

”Yep… definitely not the same as Big Brother Evan.”

She spoke coldly, without hesitation.

”…What?! But I have the same face as that idiot!”

”Why…? Why donʼt you like me too?! Whatʼs so great about that muscle-brained meathead?!”

Evan Wisdomʼs body trembled slightly as he looked at her backing away.

That small gesture from Erza hit hard…

He suddenly felt short of breath, chest tight, heart quaking uncontrollably.

Why…? Why did she reject him when he looked exactly the same as Evan Belserion?

”Hah?! Who are you calling a meathead, huh?”

”Say that again, and Iʼll punch you into next week.”

Unlike the flustered Evan Wisdom, Evan Belserion remained calm. His observation Haki had long evolved to the point where he could sense emotions directly.

And while Evan Wisdom shared his face, he didnʼt share his heart.

Put simply, Evan Wisdom might be handsome on the outside, but his insides were rotten.

”Damn you… Donʼt get cocky, Evan. If I canʼt have her, you canʼt either!”

Evan Wisdomʼs eyes flashed, trying to stir up trouble with emotional manipulation. He adjusted his expression to one of jealousy and fury.

”Donʼt get full of yourself, Evan! I wonʼt let you take Erza Wisdom away from me!”

He shouted at Evan with righteous indignation.

”…Huh? What the hell are you even saying?!”

Evanʼs eye twitched. What kind of nonsense was this guy spouting?

”Big Brother Evan… am I not enough for you?”

Erza Belserion turned toward Evan with a slightly hurt expression.

”Donʼt listen to that idiot! That scumbag is trying to stir the pot, heʼs an expert at that kind of thing.”

Evan looked at Erza Belserion and exposed Wisdomʼs scheme without hesitation.

”Evan… donʼt you love me anymore? Didnʼt you say Iʼm your little sister too?”

At that moment, Erza Wisdom leaned close to Erza Belserion, her eyes shimmering as she looked at Evan and spoke softly.

”Thatʼs not what I meant…”

”Calm down! Donʼt fall for this bastardʼs tricks!”

Evan suddenly felt the pressure mounting. One wrong move and this could spiral into all-out war!

”Two Erzas! I can work with this!”

Mirajaneʼs eyes sparkled as she gazed at the two Erzas practically pressed together, a longing gleam in her eyes.

”Work with what, exactly…?”

Laxus stared at Mirajane, dumbfounded.

”Youʼve got your own brother, donʼt just go messing with someone elseʼs, you psycho…”

Erza Belserion gave her counterpart a clearly annoyed look as she spoke.

”Hah? Iʼm not the kind of girl whoʼs satisfied with just one brother. If I can have two, why settle?”

Erza Wisdom snorted coldly, her gaze full of disdain for her counterpart.

”So they really are polar opposites in personality despite having the same face…”

”Edolas Erzaʼs kind of a player.”

Laxus gave a subtle nod, sizing up Erza Wisdomʼs character.

”At this rate, Iʼd think she was Gildartsʼ daughter.”

Mirajane nodded as well, agreeing with Laxus.

”Mirajane-senpai, youʼre the last one qualified to judge others.”

Kagura muttered as she side-eyed Mirajane.

”No disrespecting your seniors.”

Suddenly, Mirajane switched into big-sis mode, grabbing Kagura by the cheeks and giving her a firm squish.

”Mrrrghhh…”

Kagura tried to resist, but she was helpless under Mirajaneʼs grip, left grumbling in frustration.

”Wisdom, didnʼt you say this was supposed to be a Fairy Tail vs. Fairy Tail competition?”

”Then letʼs get started already. Otherwise, weʼre leaving.”

To prevent any more chaos from breaking out, Evan stepped directly in front of Wisdom and spoke coldly.

”Heh, fine. Letʼs begin.”

Seeing that Evan was serious, Wisdom stopped trying to stir the pot. With a faint smirk, he adjusted the goggle-like device on his head.

Then he scanned Kagura and the others, the corners of his lips curling ever so slightly.

Evan frowned but said nothing.

”Have you prepared the location for the battle?”

Evan asked.

”Of course! Everythingʼs ready.”

”This time, the match will be held at the kingdomʼs military training grounds.”

”And since only five of you came to Edolas, I wonʼt bully you, how about we field five of our own too?”

With his goggles on, Wisdom swept his gaze across Evanʼs group, his hands clasped behind his back with an air of complete confidence.

”Whatever you say~”

Evan replied indifferently.

Whether they were fighting five or the entire Edolas Fairy Tail guild, it didnʼt matter. There was no scenario where they would lose.

”Good, straightforward. Then please follow me.”

Wisdom grinned and turned with a dramatic flourish, leading the way with clear anticipation for the battle ahead.

”Letʼs go~”

Evan called softly to the two Erzas, who were still giving each other dirty looks, then followed Wisdom toward the arena.

He, too, was curious to see what kind of amusing ”research results” his Edolas counterpart had managed to come up with.

”Letʼs move.”

As Evan and Wisdom walked away, Laxus gave a short nod to the others and followed close behind.

”Mm…”

Mirajane and Kagura nodded in turn, trailing behind the group.

”Hmph~”

As for the two Erzas still engaged in their quiet standoff, they finally dropped it as the others left. They each gave a cold snort, not from misunderstanding, but from sheer contempt.

Soon after…

”Huff… Huff…”

Accompanied by Wisdomʼs labored breathing, the group finally arrived at a small training arena behind the royal palace.

Though it was just 700–800 meters from the palace, Wisdom was utterly exhausted, he was, after all, pretty frail.

”Master Wisdom~”

At the training grounds, the Edolas Fairy Tail members who had been waiting eagerly swarmed around Wisdom.

Among them was a soft-spoken Mirajane with long white hair, styled with a little fringe brush atop her head. She promptly brought Wisdom a wheelchair and smiled sweetly.

”Master, please sit~”

”Thank you, Mirajane~”

Wisdom returned her smile warmly and sat down, pulling out a mechanical feather fan and fanning himself like a smug military strategist.

”What, he thinks heʼs Zhuge Liang now just because he has a fan?”

Evan stared at Wisdom, clearly unimpressed.

”Heh…”

As for Evanʼs disdain, Wisdom merely let out a cold laugh. They had disliked each other for quite some time, they were just waiting for a good excuse to throw down.

”So this is the ʼmeʼ from another world, huh? Definitely some differences there~”

Wearing a sleek combat outfit, Mirajane walked over to the gentle Edolas version of herself and gave her a good once-over.

Unlike her usual faux-gentle persona, she could tell that Edolas Mirajane was genuinely kind-hearted.

”Whoʼs that supposed to be?”

Laxus stuffed his hands in his pockets and raised an eyebrow at the suited-up Edolas version of himself, who stood by a phonograph playing classical music.

He clearly looked down on his Edolas counterpart, real men listened to rock, didnʼt they?

”Hmph, punk…”

Naturally, Edolas Laxus also spotted his Earth Land counterpart. After sizing him up, he scoffed.

Unlike his elegant, aristocratic demeanor, the Laxus from Earth Land looked like a street thug. What a disgrace…

”Thereʼs no me…”

Kagura looked around at all the Edolas Fairy Tail members, eyes scanning the crowd. Her expression was a mix of disappointment and relief.

She was disappointed because there was no alternate version of herself.

But relieved, after seeing Edolas Evan and Edolas Laxus, she wasnʼt so sure she wanted to see what her counterpart looked like…

Especially if that version was bustier than her. That would just be too much.

”Since everyoneʼs here, shall we begin?”

Evan snapped his fingers, and a sofa appeared behind him. He sat down casually, legs crossed, meeting Wisdomʼs gaze across the space.

”If youʼre so eager to lose, Iʼll gladly make it happen.”

Wisdom sat comfortably in his wheelchair, flanked by his Edolas Fairy Tail members.

”Sorry, Evan. Letʼs talk after the match.”

Erza Wisdom offered a brief apology before stepping to Wisdomʼs side. After all, she was now officially a member of Edolasʼ Fairy Tail, ever since Evan resolved that worldʼs crisis.

”Thereʼs no need to talk afterward, because youʼll be unconscious.”

Erza Belserion, naturally standing beside Evan, smiled sweetly at her counterpart.

”Letʼs get this over with.”

At the same time, Laxus, Mirajane, and Kagura all took their places behind Evan as well.

A tense aura filled the air between Evanʼs team and Wisdomʼs.

”Weʼll do best-of-five. And how about Prince Jellal, whoʼs both Edolas royalty and a member of Earth Landʼs Fairy Tail, acts as our referee. Sound fair?”

Wisdom looked at Evan with a sly smile.

”Fine by me.”

Evan responded calmly, after all, the outcome was already decided. He would win.