It had been three days since their return from Edolas, and much had happened during that time.
The first, of course, was the arrival of the Exceed in this world.
Charles didn't know exactly what happened to Natsu and Wendy in Extania, but it was clear the Exceed had abandoned their former superiority.
Except for Lily, the Exceed decided to seek out their kin who had been sent to this world long ago, reuniting families.
As for Lily—he had decided to join Fairy Tail. And immediately found himself hounded by Gajeel, who insistently asked him to be his cat.
Annoyed by the pestering, Lily eventually agreed to a fight at Charles's suggestion. The result? They ended up acknowledging each other and officially became partners. Gajeel finally got the cat he had long dreamed of.
And in terms of strength, Lily far outclassed Happy and Carla, giving Gajeel even more reason to boast in front of them.
The second matter, naturally, was Lisanna's return.
In the end, Lisanna didn't make a decision herself—Anima's reversal meant she no longer needed to.
Taking with her the blessings of Edolas Mirajane, Edolas Elfman, and all the other guild members of that world, Lisanna returned to the world she truly belonged to.
And so, to celebrate the success of the expedition, the arrival of new members, and Lisanna's return, Fairy Tail threw a massive party.
Of course, the party inevitably devolved into an all-out brawl—typical.
But afterward, everything returned to normal. Everyone went back to their usual business.
Charles sat in the library, flipping through a book.
Although Fairy Tail's vast archive held a lot of material, most of it was basic magic texts.
Such materials were no longer of much use to Charles. Only certain rare or specialized types of magic could still help him.
After months of diligent study, Charles had already gone through most of it. Now, he was combing through what remained, and he could sense his development ability [Mystic] was close to leveling up.
He had a hunch that just two more level-ups and he'd be able to craft a magical tool capable of perfectly preserving Igneel's soul. Once [Mystic] reached S-rank, even resurrection might no longer be a fantasy.
But right now, [Mystic] was only at G-rank—still a long way to go.
The biggest obstacle was this: to level up [Mystic], he needed more knowledge.
That meant either searching for more magical literature in this world—or traveling to other worlds.
Charles set down the book and rubbed his temples.
The mage who wrote this volume was clearly a chatterbox. While the book did contain useful content, it was buried beneath endless tangents. The guy had clearly mastered the art of filler writing.
After composing himself, Charles was about to search for another book when Carla walked in.
"What is it?" Charles asked, noticing the lingering fear on her face. "Another vision?"
Carla nodded. "I saw enormous black wings enveloping us… and then a sunken island."
Charles froze—and then his expression turned grim.
If the story continued to follow canon, then the arc of the S-Class Mage Exam was about to begin.
No one would have expected that a routine event like the annual S-Class exam would turn into such a disaster.
Zeref, the Black Mage, would reveal himself. Grimoire Heart would assault Fairy Tail's sacred land—Tenrou Island.
After a series of brutal battles, they would then face the Dragon King Acnologia.
In the end, only with help from Mavis's spirit and the use of Fairy Tail's ultimate magic, Fairy Sphere, were they able to survive.
What Carla had seen… must have been Acnologia.
Which meant, during the upcoming S-Class Mage Exam, the black dragon Charles had always viewed as his ultimate goal and mortal enemy… would almost certainly appear.
Panic stirred in Charles's heart. He'd been so focused lately on study and research that he had forgotten this part of the story.
This was the first time he truly felt something like this—because for once, he didn't feel confident that he could protect everyone if something went wrong.
This time, there were two uncontrollable variables—neither of which Charles had the power to restrain.
One was Acnologia. Charles had trained his entire life to one day face that dragon—his drive to become stronger had largely been fueled by it.
But even he had to admit—he wasn't strong enough yet. Not only could he not defeat Acnologia—he might not even be able to escape.
As a Dragon Slayer, he was Acnologia's primary prey.
The other was Zeref. Because of his curse of immortality, Zeref's condition was unstable.
The curse would occasionally erupt as a wave that eroded all life around him—nearly impossible to defend against for ordinary mages.
If Zeref regained his cold, emotionless personality, he would become even more terrifying. And Charles had no confidence in defeating this ancient, ageless Black Mage.
And Zeref was on Tenrou Island right now.
Charles glanced at the uneasy Carla, forcing a smile. "Don't worry. Leave it to me. I won't let anything happen to everyone."
Saying this, Charles stood and walked out. He had initially planned to convince Makarov to move the exam to another location.
But when he reached the guild hall… he hesitated.
Yes, Zeref was on Tenrou Island. Grimoire Heart attacked the island because of him, and defeating Fairy Tail was only a side objective.
According to Zeref's explanation, Acnologia appeared in places where the "scent" of mass slaughter had accumulated—the so-called key to awakening Zeref.
Then the black dragon would follow that trail and completely annihilate the place where it lingered longest, before disappearing again.
But Charles didn't buy that explanation. The fighting on Tenrou Island hardly qualified as a massacre. What "scent" could have possibly drawn Acnologia?
Charles believed something else: Acnologia, a wandering predator, likely sensed the presence of three Dragon Slayers on Tenrou Island—and that's what drew him there.
Even in the original story, no one ever truly communicated with Acnologia, so Charles couldn't be certain which theory was correct.
If it was the first theory, then changing the exam's location might avoid disaster.
But if it was the second… then fate might simply bring Acnologia to wherever they moved the exam.
At least on Tenrou Island, they had the power of the sacred land—and with Mavis's ghostly aid, they could use Fairy Sphere to protect everyone.
If it happened somewhere else, facing Acnologia would mean certain despair.
Charles stopped in his tracks, teeth clenched. It had been a long time since he felt like this…
Such helplessness.
Until now, he had defeated countless powerful foes. Rarely had he tasted failure. But in this moment, Charles realized—he had to become even stronger.
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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