Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 428: X784! The Plot Begins, the Moment Natsu and Lucy Meet!

”Evan, what exactly are you all planning?”

Mavis blinked her watery eyes and looked at Evan beside her, asking softly.

She had a vague premonition...

She had a feeling that the things that had happened to Fairy Tail over the years, including Augustʼs arrival, the dragonsʼ arrival, and finally Zerefʼs arrival, and all these people gathering at Fairy Tail, were all related to Evan.

”Master Mavis, actually, Zeref, August, and I have always been planning something very, very big!”

”As for what exactly this matter is, I think when it is time for you to know, you will naturally know...”

”For now, you only need to know that Zeref personally told me that the day we have always been waiting for is already close. Before long, everything will become clear.”

Evan ignored Mavis acting cute. Although Mavis herself was already adorable, and when acting cute, she was even more like a cute fairy, Evan still resolutely ignored her.

Although Evan could tell Mavis what he and Zeref were doing, considering that the plan he and Zeref had to take revenge on the gods was far too fantastical and full of difficulties, and also because Zeref did not want to pass this pressure on to Mavis, Evan still held back. He said nothing, only hinting to Mavis that everything would be better in the future.

As for if Mavis used her clever mind to analyze what Evan and Zeref were working hard to do, that was none of Evanʼs business~

”Mm...”

After listening to Evan, the decoration on Mavisʼs head that resembled angel wings gently twitched twice, and then she nodded.

”All right! Since all of you say so, I wonʼt ask.”

After thinking for a while, Mavis gently nodded and stopped asking about Evan and the othersʼ hidden plans.

In fact, with Mavisʼs intelligence, she had already guessed part of Evan and the othersʼ plan...

Although Mavis did not know who Zeref and Evan ultimately intended to attack, she clearly understood that Evan had summoned so many terrifying dragons to Fairy Tail, and it was most likely to deal with the dragon recorded in the Book of Apocalypse, the one capable of destroying everything in the world, Black Dragon King Acnologia.

However, Mavis did not say what she had guessed. Since Zeref would not tell her anything, she would simply pretend she knew nothing...

”...”

Precht stood silently beside Mavis. He seemed to be thinking about something important.

In fact, because Precht knew slightly more than Mavis, he thought of what Evan and the others were plotting even faster than Mavis did...

”Evan...”

Therefore, Precht narrowed his eye and softly called Evanʼs name.

”Hm?”

When Evan heard old Precht call his name, his brows immediately furrowed. Based on Evanʼs experience, when old Precht looked at him so politely and softly called his name, it was most likely nothing good.

”Evan, if itʼs you, you should know, right?”

”The thing hidden in Fairy Tailʼs basement...”

Precht narrowed one eye and probed Evan.

”I know a little, probably...”

An ominous feeling rose in Evanʼs heart, so he did not speak too absolutely.

He did not tell Precht that he already had a fairly comprehensive understanding of what was hidden in Fairy Tailʼs basement: Mavisʼs body, also known as Fairy Heart.

”In fact, several decades ago, based on the characteristics of Mavisʼs curse, I used the endless curse energy generated within her body to develop something called Fairy Heart! Put simply, it is a magic power perpetual motion machine, or it can also be called an infinite source of magic power...”

Precht narrowed his eye and directly told Evan what Fairy Heart was and just how powerful its energy was.

”Master Precht!”

Hearing Precht directly tell Evan the secret of Fairy Heart, which only Fairy Tailʼs successive Masters were supposed to know, Makarov widened his eyes. So the rule Precht had specifically told him when he left Fairy Tail back then, that he must never tell anyone about Fairy Heart or else he would be expelled from the Guild, had disappeared? Former Masters could just do whatever they wanted?

”Itʼs fine!”

Precht knew exactly what Makarov meant. He merely waved lightly at Makarov, signaling that it did not matter. Evan should hear about Fairy Heart.

”Uh...”

After hearing Precht, Makarovʼs expression paused, and then he said no more.

Since the former Master had said so, what else could he say?

”Evan, what do you think of infinite magic power?”

Precht asked Evan.

”Very impressive!”

Evan thought for a moment, then spoke with feigned profundity.

”No! You do not know just how impressive infinite magic power is!”

”It allows you to use your strongest magic infinitely. That is the truly terrifying part of Fairy Heart...”

”As for the Devilʼs Heart I developed, it is merely a crude imitation of Fairy Heart!”

Precht revealed his old secrets to Evan.

”Oh...”

Unfortunately, Precht did not see any surprise on Evanʼs face, because Evan had already known this.

”But what if I told you that both Fairy Heart inside Mavis and the Devilʼs Heart in my hand are unfinished products?”

Just as Evan remained expressionless, Precht suddenly dropped a bombshell.

”Hm?!”

After hearing Precht, Evan froze for a moment. This, he really did not know, because the original work had never mentioned it at all.

”Fairy Heart and Devilʼs Heart are originally a pair! Only by obtaining both hearts at the same time can one truly possess real infinite magic power...”

”You know that Fairy Heart inside Mavis is real! But my Devilʼs Heart is fake. In other words, true infinite magic power does not exist in this world!”

”However, this infinite magic power that can only remain theoretical does not mean it will never exist in this world...”

”Theoretically speaking, as long as there is still one person in this world who has the same curse hidden within their body as Mavis, and whose magic power nature is opposite to that within Mavis, then I can create the true Devilʼs Heart!”

”So Evan, do you understand? In this world, other than Mavis, there is indeed another person who possesses the power of this terrifying curse, and the nature of the magic power inside that person is perfectly opposite to Mavisʼs. That person is Black Wizard Zeref... In other words, only if I turn Zerefʼs heart into Devilʼs Heart can the final condition for a magic power perpetual motion machine be achieved.”

Precht blinked at Evan. His hint was already extremely obvious.

”This guy is planning to use me to get rid of his teacher so he can take his teacherʼs wife for himself?!”

”His methods are truly sinister and vicious!”

After listening to Precht, Evan sucked in a cold breath. He was somewhat impressed by Prechtʼs methods. To be honest, deep down, Precht had actually moved him just a tiny bit. Of course, only a tiny bit.

”Good grief, Precht, how crafty! Unfortunately, I, Evan, wonʼt fall for it...”

Evan secretly thought that Precht truly was an old schemer, actually trying to use a borrowed knife to make him attack Zeref.

”Oh?!”

Precht looked at Evanʼs clear eyes. He was first stunned, then gradually relaxed.

Precht could sense that although Evanʼs strength was unrivaled under heaven, standing at the summit of the entire continent of Ishgar and even all of Earth-land, Evan was not without weakness. Evanʼs magic power was his greatest weakness!

The reason Precht tested Evan was because he wanted to see whether Evan, like the Zeref of the past, was also plotting to obtain Fairy Heart, this enormous source of magic power! Now, it seemed that was not the case, and that allowed Precht to completely relax.

”In that case, Mavis is completely safe.”

Prechtʼs tightly furrowed brow loosened slightly, and at the same time, he laughed at himself. Whenever something involved Mavis, Precht always developed a feeling that danger lurked everywhere, believing that none of the people around him were good people, and guarding against everyone.

Perhaps it was precisely because of Prechtʼs personality that after he left Fairy Tail, he walked alone down a wrong path?!

”In short, this yearʼs S-Class Mage Promotion Trial is over! Everyone can go do whatever they should be doing~”

Evan pretended to look deeply at Precht, then spoke to August and the S-Class Mage candidates in Fairy Tail who had been defeated by Zeref.

”Next year! Next year, I will definitely pass the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial held by Fairy Tail!”

Kaguraʼs white stockings, which wrapped around her jade-like feet and straight legs, had unknowingly become torn and ragged, full of holes. At that moment, her watery eyes were full of mist.

Kagura pressed her soft pink lips together and once again swore that she would definitely pass the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial held by Fairy Tail.

”Next year, Iʼve decided not to participate in Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mage Promotion Trial anymore.”

At the same time, among Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mage candidates, someone else made an extremely pessimistic oath that she never wanted to participate in the trial again. The person who swore this was none other than Cana, who had once again been beaten into a sorry state.

Cana really could not understand. She had clearly already acknowledged her father Gildarts, so why did she still have to endure this inhuman torture known as Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mage Promotion Trial?!

”Iʼm fired up! Next year, Iʼll definitely knock that black-haired guy flying!!”

Flames wrapped around Natsuʼs entire body as he roared at the Guild ceiling.

”Aye!!”

Happy spread his small snow-white wings and flew beside Natsu, echoing his words.

”Happy, letʼs go. Weʼre going to train...”

Natsu looked at Happy behind him and spoke softly.

”Aye!”

Hearing this, Happy gently nodded, spread his snow-white wings, and circled around Natsu. The two of them then ran toward the outside of the Guild.

”Boom!”

Only, Natsu did not choose to leave through the Guildʼs front door. Instead, he punched through the Guild wall and left with incomparable arrogance.

”Bastard Natsu! I will deduct the bill for destroying the Guild from your future job payments!”

Seeing Natsu punch a hole through one of the Guildʼs walls, Makarovʼs eye twitched. He took out the little notebook he carried with him and recorded what Natsu had done.

”Using only ordinary Molding Magic isnʼt enough to destroy demons...”

Gray sat in place, recalling how powerless his Ice-Make Magic had been when striking the demons created by Zeref. His brows furrowed tightly, and his expression carried some distress.

”Lyon, human magic has its limits! So Iʼm quitting being human!”

Gray looked at Lyon, having made a decision in his heart.

”Hah?”

In response, Lyon seemed to think of something and looked at Gray seriously.

”Gray, have you really made your decision? Uncle Silver should have told you, right? That magic, the magic specifically used to destroy demons, is essentially the power of demons. If you use it too much, you will be eroded by that power! That is not power humans can control...”

Lyon looked at his foolish junior disciple and spoke in a deep voice.

Of course Lyon knew that slaying-type magic was much stronger than magic of the same attribute. In general, slayer Mages were basically invincible among Mages of the same attribute.

However, Lyon would not specialize in slayer magic and abandon his Molding Magic just because slayer magic was powerful. In this world, when Mages trained in magic, it had never been about learning as many or as powerful magics as possible. Rather, the more compatible the magic was with the Mage, the better...

Lyon believed his compatibility with slayer magic was not high. Just like how his Molding Magic created ice summons to fight in his place, he did not like magic that required him to personally enter the field.

”Someone has to inherit that power! To restrain the demons.”

Gray seemed to have already made up his mind. He decided to learn Devil Slayer Magic from Silver.

”This is your choice...”

In response, Lyon merely looked deeply at Gray, then said no more.

After all, in this world, everyone had their own path to walk, and the roads placed before each person were actually all different.

At the same time...

At the end of X783, a certain blond young lady was standing skillfully in front of a maid café, wearing a maid outfit and continuously handing out flyers. At that moment, the arrogance on this blond young lady had already been mostly worn down by society. She finally understood just how important money really was.

”Damn it, I absolutely wonʼt go back!”

Standing in the cold weather, the blond young lady wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and continued todayʼs work.

This blond girl with a beautiful appearance, a full figure, and a string of bright golden keys hanging at her waist was none other than...

The young lady of the Heartfilia family, Lucy...

Thinking back, Lucy had secretly run away from home and entered society in the Kingdom of Fiore, struggling for half a year already. During this half year, Lucy had experienced far too much scheming and deceit, tasted the warmth and coldness of society, and also discovered that the life of a Mage was completely different from what she had imagined!

As for the money Lucy had, she had already spent it all extravagantly in the first few months, leaving her with no choice but to work part-time while learning about the magic world of the Kingdom of Fiore...

Of course, during Lucyʼs half year of struggling in the Kingdom of Fiore, it was not as if she gained nothing. At the very least, she had obtained two more Silver Celestial Spirit Keys and one of the Golden Zodiac Celestial Spirit Keys.

These three Celestial Spirit Keys were the Clock Celestial Spirit Key, the Southern Cross Celestial Spirit Key, and the Golden Zodiac Taurus Celestial Spirit Key...

”I will definitely become a world-famous Celestial Spirit Mage~”

Looking at the keys hanging at her waist, Lucyʼs morale immediately rose. She looked up at the sky and shouted loudly, making an extremely inspiring vow.

”Achoo~”

Immediately afterward, accompanied by a piercing cold wind, Lucy helplessly sneezed.

However, although the paths were different, they still led to the same destination...

Like guidance from fate, or perhaps an invisible irresistible force manipulating everything, under the control of that invisible hand, the boys and girls would ultimately gather at Fairy Tail.

Scarlet Maiden Magic Item Shop, third-floor sky garden...

Evan looked at the chessboard before him and thought for a moment. At that moment, what was placed on the chessboard were not chess pieces, but humanoid dolls. Looking carefully, the dolls looked exactly like Fairy Tailʼs Mages. Among them, Evanʼs own doll was naturally standing on the board as well.

Evan himself was both the chess player and one of the countless chess pieces. He and Zeref had joined hands, using all of Earth-land as the chessboard and all living beings of Edolas, Earth-land, and Elentear as pieces, all for the sake of contending with that high and mighty ”god” standing above the sky, determined to win a move against heaven!

”The road is long and heavy!”

Evan looked at the chessboard before him and sighed. He slightly raised his head and looked at the sky, his words filled with too much helplessness.

Evan felt helpless because his system was far too unreliable. He still needed to work hard to add points and level up, making his progress too slow! If only it were a cracked version, then he could properly see the systemʼs limits...

Time flew by, and the year passed.

Time shifted from X783 to July of X784...

Another half a year passed in the blink of an eye! During this half year, the Mages of Fairy Tail who had unlocked their Second Magic Sources experienced rapid progress in strength and had already rolled inward to an entirely new height!

First were all of Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mages. Every strong Mage who had passed the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial held by Fairy Tail and become an S-Class Mage had already reached an inhuman realm!

Through reverse-engineering the Dragon Slayer Lacrima, Laxus had already initially mastered Dragon Force.

Erza had even used the power of the Devil Fruit within her body to initially master dragonification...

After unlocking her Second Magic Source, Mirajane had already treated the soul of Underworld King Mard Geer as one of the Demon Souls she could normally Take Over...

Yes, the old standard that Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mages had to at least be at the level of the Ten Wizard Saints was no longer suitable now. At minimum, one had to step into the level of the Four Gods of Ishgar to be worthy of the identity of Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mage...

As for Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mage candidates, Natsu had officially entered the realm of the Ten Wizard Saints, which was Level 7 according to Evanʼs system evaluation.

Gajeel, Freed, Lyon, and the others were slightly behind, but they had also touched the threshold of the Ten Wizard Saints.

As for Elfman, Bickslow, Evergreen, Cana, and Lisanna, these regulars of Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mage Promotion Trial had also reached the strength of veteran S-Class Mages. If placed in other Mage Guilds, even in a Guild like Lamia Scale, which also had a Ten Wizard Saints powerhouse presiding over it, they would all be existences like the main pillars of the Guild...

It was worth mentioning Gray. After inheriting Devil Slayer Magic from Silver, he seemed to have activated cheats and overtaken them on a curve. His strength had also broken through the threshold of the Ten Wizard Saints, nearly equal to Natsu.

This made Natsu feel extremely displeased...

As for Kagura, who had already reached the level of the Ten Wizard Saints long ago, with the help of the Second Magic Source that Ultear unlocked for her, she had already touched the threshold of the human limit, the level of the fifth-ranked Ten Wizard Saint in the original work. Kagura would probably make a breakthrough within one or two years.

However, even though Kaguraʼs progress could already be said to be extremely fast, she was still extremely nervous, because her progress was still slower than Natsu and Grayʼs. If things continued dragging on like this, Kagura knew clearly in her heart...

Perhaps in future Fairy Tail S-Class Mage Promotion Trials, even without any dark horse appearing, she might still be unable to pass.

It was worth mentioning that as Natsu and the othersʼ strength improved rapidly, the destructive power during group fights also gradually increased, causing Fairy Tailʼs membership to drop again. Quite a few people withdrew from the Guild and went to other Mage Guilds to show off! These people, who were merely dead last in Fairy Tail, were all ace-level existences in other Mage Guilds...

However, with a large number of members leaving, Fairy Tailʼs interior became rather quiet.

”Today is also a peaceful day~”

Gildarts sat at Fairy Tailʼs bar counter, looking at the enormous Guild with only a scattered few Mages inside, and frowned.

”Whereʼs Natsu? Where did that kid go?”

Gildarts was somewhat unused to this quiet atmosphere. In his eyes, Fairy Tail should be lively after all.

”That guy Natsu apparently got information about the Fire Dragon, so he said he was going to check it out and confirm whether the information was true.”

After hearing Gildarts, Mirajane thought for a moment before telling him the information she knew.

”Hah?!”

”Fairy Tail already has enough dragons, doesnʼt it?”

”Donʼt let any more come!”

”If there are any more, this place canʼt be called Fairy Tail anymore. It might as well change its name to Dragon Tail...”

Gildarts raised his eyebrows. Because the existence of Ignia, Selene, and the others had already proven that dragons truly existed and had all gathered in Fairy Tail, Gildarts did not bother wondering whether the information Natsu had received was true or false. He merely casually complained that Fairy Tail already had far too many dragons.

”Isnʼt it good to have more dragons?”

Mirajane looked at Gildarts, whose brows were tightly furrowed, and casually asked.

”Itʼs not good at all! At least I hope the next dragon to join the Guild is a male dragon.”

Gildarts recalled the sight of himself being beaten up by Selene and Irene, and the corner of his eye twitched.

At the same time...

Kingdom of Fiore, port city, Hargeon.

”Who the hell are you?”

The cherry-haired young man had heard the title Fire Dragon and rushed over. When he charged into the human wall made up of countless girls and saw the man called the Fire Dragon, he was greatly disappointed, his face full of disgust.

”Hm!”

Among the crowd, the beautiful blond girl regained clarity in her eyes.