Irene hummed a song softly as she played with Shun's hair while he took a nap.
'…He looks likable when his eyes are closed and not speaking.' Irene thought with a smile.
Suddenly…
"…Smells good." Shun said as he woke up in a weird place.
"…"
Irene pushed his head away, as the pervert was back to his usual self. Because As soon as he woke up he started to turn his head deeper into her lap.
"…Sorry for making you worry. Sometimes I get… a bit negative." Shun said as he raised his head and sat next to her on the branch.
"…Bold of you to assume I worried about you."
Irene smiled meanly before continuing.
"But I'm now relieved that you're not just a crazy pervert."
"…"
"How is the training going?" Shun asked as they did unprotected handholding together.
"…They're not bad." Irene replied.
"Who has the most potential?" Shun asked
Though Irene hated to say it, it wasn't her daughter.
"That little girl named Wendy, followed by Juvia."
"I see."
Shun nodded, as that sounded about right. Though Wendy seemed underwhelming, she was a girl that learned her dragon slayer ultimate skill in two days.
'She is in a way the potential girl of this world. Similar to Ace in One Piece.'
On the other hand, Juvia was a girl that changed the weather itself depending on her mood from a young age.
Cana is daughter of Gildarts, so there's not much need to explain.
"I came here to tell you guys that training can be stopped after today."
"Eh?"
"Tomorrow is the day of the Grand Magic Games after all."
"…"
"Though I'd like to stay like this longer, let's go meet them." Shun said with a smile as they got up.
——
"Oh, Shun. Welcome back…" Lucy muttered weakly, clearly tired from the training.
"Wrap up the training, it's enough."
"Eh?"
"Tomorrow is the day of the Grand Magic Games. We're going to Crocus City tonight."
"…"
"G-Grand Magic Games? Why have I never heard about it?!" The training maniacs that had trained like crazy under Irene and sometimes August were going wild.
"I remember telling you guys there'll be a tournament. Why else would I start training you guys?"
"…"
"Anyways, there'll be 8 teams invited as it's the first ever tournament. Each team will have ten members. Go to your houses and wash up, be ready in the guild within two hours. I'll announce the names of the participants."
POP-!
Without waiting for their complaints, Shun sent them down to Magnolia.
"But you should give them more information… I feel bad for them." Mavis said with a smile, but…
"You and Makarov will participate in the tournament as our members." Shun suddenly dropped a bomb on the few people that stayed.
"W-What?" Mavis couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"It's guild master order." Shun had already decided.
"…"
"Hey, can you think again?" Mavis tried to persuade Shun, but he ignored her.
"Even Mavis isn't spared from his pranks…" Lucy muttered to Juvia with fear.
"God, I wish that were me…" But Juvia wasn't even paying attention to Lucy.
"August. Follow me." Ignoring Mavis, Shun said with a serious face as he took August inside the forest.
Though he only mentioned August, the guilty four plus Erza, Irene, and even Dimaria started following.
"…"
Under their eyes, Shun started transforming.
The Batman-like purple mask thing that covered his eyes and forehead, and on his hands there were long claws.
'Though it's a great fruit, why is the transformation so lame?' Shun lamented before finding a random beast that resembled a walking whale.
Shun ruthlessly caught the creature and… took its life force. Then without even asking for his opinion, he gave it to August.
"!!"
Under everyone's eyes, August started to get younger.
He went from an old man on his deathbed to a young adult.
Now he seemed to be in his thirties.
"It's a new ability I learned. I was just testing its features, don't get the wrong idea."
"…"
Shun said and left.
'With this brat's personality he wouldn't thank me, instead he might start complaining. Both annoying.' Shun escaped with the rest of the group.
——
After two hours, Shun arrived at the group with all of his people.
"Now I'll announce the participants." Shun said as he pulled out a scroll, as if he had planned this deeply before coming. But when Irene stole a glance at the scroll…
'…It's blank?! This guy seriously…'
"Ohh-!"
Clap-! Clap-!
"Our brain will be Mavis Vermillion."
"!"
"W-What?! First generation?"
"Is that even allowed?"
Ignoring the questions, Shun continued.
"Second participant, Makarov Dreyar."
"…"
"Third. Erza Scarlet."
Erza nodded, there wasn't any complaint this time.
"Fourth. Wendy Marvell."
"Fifth. Gray Fullbuster."
"Sixth. Gajeel Redfox."
"Seventh. Juvia Lockser."
"Eighth. Lucy Heartfilia."
"Ninth. Mirajane Strauss."
"And finally… Cana Alberona."
"…"
"That's all."
"Y-You brat! Do you think this is funny?!" Makarov immediately came to argue, but…
"Be quiet! Third generation." Mavis was a bit angry, surprising Shun and August.
"First generation…" Makarov turned timid at this unexpected scolding.
"Even I'm participating, stop complaining. I've already planned out the whole thing." Mavis smiled.
"!"
"Oh, as expected of first generation. If it comes to this, let's win!" Makarov changed his attitude immediately.
Meanwhile, Shun wasn't worried about winning or losing at all. All he wanted was some fun.
"Let's go to Crocus. The participants and people that want to watch, stand in a circle outside."
"Yes!!"
——
"So this is Crocus City…"
With Shun's offer, everyone from the guild came to watch.
"Well, they're not kids that I have to look after."
While normal members went to buy their own lodging.
Shun called the chairman.
"Oh-! Have you arrived?"
"Yes. Where's the hotel that you booked for us?"
"Please wait a moment, I'll send people there to guide you."
"Okay."
"…"
The people listening felt bad for the poor bald chairman, as they didn't believe the chairman booked a hotel for any other team.
After arriving at their hotel, Shun fed them with handmade food to help them reset their minds and bodies.
The group currently was surrounding an average sized dining room.
"Rest well tonight and have a fun tournament." Shun said as he lifted his glass.
"Yes!"
With the ten participants were Shun, followed by August, Brandish, Irene, and Dimaria.
The group was dined harmoniously and went to rest without any incident.
'Oracion Seis team except Sorano are on a mission. And Sorano already expressed her desire to just watch together with me.'
Shun too decided to retire to his room. As if they had been waiting, Dimaria and Irene snuck into Shun's room.
While everyone went to sleep excited for tomorrow. Things were just starting in Shun's side.
"Dimaria, change into your chronos form."
"…"
——
"Then we're going." The ten participants waved goodbye to their guild master.
"…Yeah, just go and have fun. Even if you lose only Makarov will be punished."
"…"
Makarov wanted to complain but was dragged away by the magic council staff to their team's entrance.
Today was the first day, first there'll be an introduction of the teams.
Meanwhile Shun and his group which were just alvarez four went to the fairy tail spectator section.
The spectator seats were full, this world was better than one piece world but still…this world has lacks entertainments compared to modern world.
"Now then everyone!! Let's start the long awaited event." Chapati Lola, the guy that works as an announcer in the original timeline every year, was the announcer this time as well.
"OOOHHH—!!"
"Today, we are hosting the first ever tournament that will decide the best guild in the continent."
"Isn't this very exciting, Mr. Chairman?"
"Umu, We are witnessing the beginning of the history." The bald chairman was acting cool on the announcer and guests' section which was a small room like place with three seats for the announcer and two special guests of the day.
"Today, here to comment on me are the people that started everything… first, on my right is the chairman of the magic council… Crawford Seam!"
"OOhh-!!"
Clap. Clap.
Crawford nodded and waved as he enjoyed the praise.
'Maybe all the headache from that brat wasn't for nothing.' Crawford smirked as he was having daring thoughts
"Next! On my left is… none other than our king of the country where we are hosting the tournament. One of the biggest sponsors of the tournament… Toma E. Fiore!"
"Ohh-!"
"Your highness!"
The tiny king seemed to have more fans than crawford as the crowd cheering went wilder.
The king took the mic as he decided to give some words.
"…Today in this venue, more than hundred thousand people are gathered. Surely there hasn't been many times such events like this happened. So…" Like the old guy he was, Toma started blabbering like a principal of a high school in the graduation ceremony
"Finally… let us introduce the man who came up with this idea and boldly presented it to the chairman of the magic council and the king of fiore. With his tears and blood he made today possible!"
"…"
'…Did I do that?'
"He is the man, the myth, the legend.
The guild master of the fairy tail guild.
The Rank 1 wizard of the wizard saints!
The man behind the guild that crushed two of the three biggest dark guilds in our continent.
He also slew the big black dragon of the apocalypse!"
The crowd went crazy with cheers as the announcer named his big achievements.
"…Huh? Was I one of the saint wizards? How come I didn't know that?" Shun muttered with confusion
"…"
The fairy tail guild members couldn't believe their ears.
'…Were we actually so close to a guy like that?' Everyone shared the same thought.
Due to his usual behavior, it was easy to forget his achievements.
But the announcer wasn't done.
"Most importantly… he is the inventor of the SHFC!!!!"
"OOHHHHHHHHHHH-!!!!!"
"!!"
It was the loudest cheering they ever heard in their lives.
"…What does this guy mean, most important part is creating SHFC?" Shun asked but…
"It's not wrong, even I have to agree that is your best achievement." Irene nodded
Followed by the three Alvarez mages' affirmation.
"Yeah, that spicy chicken is something else." Brandish nodded
"I like the drink that explodes inside my mouth." Dimaria added
"…"
'…So those crazy cheering was because of the fast food restaurant I created?'
Regardless Shun waved back as the camera was directed as him, projecting his image directly to the giant screens in the air.
"Now let us introduce the eight teams that is participating for the grand magic games!" The camera shifted from the fairy tail booth
"First team to enter is… Fairy Tail!" Since the fairy tail hadn't been trashed for seven years like the original timeline their fame was obvious. Even without Shun's backing, they would've been the favorites.
The ten mages of fairy tail arrived to the middle of the venue and stood there as they waved to the viewers.
Suddenly the viewers noticed something odd about the fairy tail team.
"…Huh? Is that old guy being serious?"
"What? You're right. That old bastard must've used his age as an excuse to get in."
"Think about the younger generation you bastard!"
"Retire!!"
"…"
Makarov got the first ever booing of the grand magic games. Already Creating history as he got booed not even a minute into the introduction.
"Pfft-!" Shun laughed loudly without restraint in the fairy tail booth.
"…"
"…He laughs like this?" Dimaria and Irene who spent a lot of time with Shun lately were surprised
"I thought he was trying to act cool all the time…" Irene muttered
"Ah… his humor sense is a bit… unique." Levy explained from the side with an awkward smile as she remembered him laughing about the book title she came up with… 'Shiki the flying fraud.'
"Why is the master moving his mouth without speaking?! he is embarassing our guild, not manly at all!" Elfman criticized the old man openly
"…"
The alvarez four noticed Shun's magic moving suspiciously as they looked at him still laughing.
After he was done, Shun created a comfortable looking sofa for himself and sat down.
Seeing this August made one for himself too.
"!"
"…I can copy this one?" August was the one shocked the most
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Shun asked
"I've been trying to copy your magic but couldn't succeed in any of them. Even that magic you just used on Makarov."
"…"
'I thought he had a weird face when I use magic, he was trying to copy?'
"Have you heard about curses?" Shun asked
"…Yeah, one of our allies uses it."
"Can you copy that?"
"!"
"…I use something similar to that, you can't copy because some of my abilities aren't magic."
Shun wasn't hiding anything from his son
"It's called devil fruit. Different from magic and curses. Though I am interested in learning curses, I haven't met the opportunity." Shun explained, the opportunity that he was talking about was the tartaros guild
"…Are you fine with revealing your secrets?" August asked
'…This guy is really talkative today, does becoming younger have anything to do with it?'
"It's fine. Because… I'm the strongest."
"…"
Though it was arrogant, the alvarez four couldn't refute it. As they had no confidence in beating even Shun's replica that he made of Acnologia.
Replica's are weaker than the original obviously, as the replica contains only about 50-80% power of the original one. Depending on the user of Historia, the percentage lowers and rises.
'Neinhart could replicate about 65%, as he was an idiot that lost control of even Shiki the other day. Well, I can't blame him too much as I can't give more than 80% of the original strength no matter how much magic power I gave.'
While the alvarez four were deep in thoughts, the team introduction continued.
"Next team! Lamia Scale!" The cheering was noticably lower this time but they still were popular team. As many people bet that they are the second place guaranteed team.
Lyon Vastia the dumbass disciple of Ur was leading them, with bald Jura, dog and heavy eyebrow guy. Others were nameless wizards.
"Next team is… Mermeid heel! It's an unprecedented, girls only guild!"
"Next… Blue Pegasus!!" Ichiya, the guy that caused Shun to get punched with Nirvana the last time, led his team with confidence
"Quattro Cerberus!!"
"Wizard chronicles!"
"Spirit echo!"
Shun had no clue who even were some of the teams.
"Next is a super unprecedented and unique team. Though they're young they have limitless potentials! It's sabertooth!!"
"…"
This time they weren't much cheers as everyone were confused about who they even were.
With the introduction an stiff and serious faced team came through their respective gate.
'Sting and Rogue at the same age as Wendy… I'll have wendy beat them up later…' While Shun was planning
Suddenly he felt a gaze from a certain sabertooth member
"?"
Shun looked back at her.
The woman smiled, at Shun.
'That's Minerva… how old is she? I don't know but she looks about Erza's age.'
'Except those three, there isn't anyone notable in sabertooth huh? That god slayer and memory make frauds hasn't joined yet it seems…'
"Now the last team… though it's a bit unique… the last team is… Raven tail!!
"!"
The team raven tail was just the members from the original timeline seven years younger.
"Isn't that a dark guild? How is it allowed?!"
Spectators complained including even the fairy tail members in the stand
"Master! Now is the time to show your status, pressure them to remove those bastards!"
"Yeah! That name Raven tail too… they're mocking us!"
"…"
"No." Though they protested fervently Shun shut them off.
"!"
"Because I told them to invite them in the first place."
"…"
"I told them to invite Sabertooth and Raven tail."
The stand turned silent at the plot twist.
"What's with the weird faces? I heard Makarov had a son and that son has a guild, so I invited them. Aren't I very nice?" Shun said with a smirk as he looked at Makarov glaring at the raven tail guild
"…"
"…Does he have some grudge with Makarov?" Dimaria asked Levy as they had seen each other quite often for the last month, they had become friends already
"…No one in the guild even master Makarov knows why… but Shun has been targetting him for years now."
"!"
The alvarez four were at loss for words.
"If you knew the reason you wouldn't judge me." Shun said openly to the listeners
'This bastard fakes his death every ten episodes, if he does one in this timeline. I'll help the enemy to finish him off.' Shun thought as his magic power surged up a little
"…"
The group decided to leave this subject without any hesitation.
——
"Now that all the teams have arrived, let's decide today's game where all teams must send a member to compete!"
"As everyone already knows, the grand magic games is an event that lasts for five days. Now then, to decide today's game. We'll invite someone special… Please walk into the venue!" The announcer shouted
"All right, Imma head out." To the group's shock, Shun stood up and jumped to the venue which was quite high with the height difference between them
"Crash-!!"
It made quite an impact from the jump, breaking the poor venue that was made just recently.
However…
Step. Step.
With each slow step Shun took, the broken ground started to get fixed
"!!"
"T-This is?! We are witnessing the magic of the rank one of the wizard saints right now!!" It wasn't the announcer that was going crazy but the King…
"Oohhh-!!!" The crowd had a delayed realization with the king's reminder.
Shun took the mic from the guy with a pumpkin mask who looked like to be the referee.
"Hi~" Shun waved to the crowd after faking some coughs
"Today is such a great day but the weather is a bit gloomy huh?" Shun said as he looked at the heavy clouds covered the entire sky
"…No one cares about the weather you brat!" Makarov seemed to be angry for reasons unknown to Shun
"!"
But Shun ignored Makarov's words as he still looked at the sky.
"Hmm…" Shun considered which magic to use to erase the annoying cloud
Then…
"…Law." Shun chanted a single word
"!!"
A speck of pure white light ignited in Shun's palms.
The light expanded, blinding and beautiful, casting away every shadow within miles.
There was a supreme, absolute roar of holy golden light that erupted into the sky, piercing through the dark storm clouds and bathing the entire city in warmth.
"…"
There were many questions to be asked in this peculiar situation, as the heavy clouds vanished in the entire crocus city. The sunlight shone upon them to remind them that it was a reality.
"…Did he just use super tier magic against… a cloud?"
Makarov muttered with disbelief
"But… more importantly. Law is a magic that only works against the caster's enemy. This crazy brat actually considered the cloud his actual enemy!!"
"…"
"Now it's better. Then let's decide today's game."
Shun spoke but everyone, spectators and participants alike couldn't quite focus on the game now.
Without a choice, Shun raised his arms up as if to say 'Applaud my supreme power.'
"Oohhhh-!"
Clap. Clap.
Only now the crowd got out of their stunned expression as they cheered madly.
"The creator of SHFC is an actual mage?!"
"I thought it was just an advertisement."
"Yeah, same. I thought he paid others to spread rumors about himself."
"…"
Ignoring the wild accusations, Shun spoke again.
"I think some people are feeling complicated feelings about having a dark guild join the competition."
"…"
"But everyone is forgetting that 'I' will be the one overseeing things. Dark or light guild doesn't matter, if anyone dares to try breaking the rule. I'll be dealing with them."
"!"
"Personally… I'd like to see them try."
"…"
The crowd with more than hundred thousand people turned silent at this moment.
'Was that magic against the cloud actually a warning?' Only now the people were starting to realize that Shun wasn't just the creator of SHFC.
"Well, it had been delayed for quite a bit. Let's decide today's game." Shun said and took the wheel of fortune. on it were almost hundred games.
Spin-!
The wheel spun rapidly for about ten seconds, making everyone's heart pound. Soon it started to slow down until… it landed on a game called.
"…Magic race?" Mavis read the choice of the first day
"Let me explain!" It was announcer Lola's turn
"You just have to run the path we create and reach the goal. The fun part about this challenge is… you can use magic freely to hinder others to secure the win!"
The screen showed bunch of rules and how the points will be divided according to their goal finish times.
"Warren, tell Mavis to participate in this round."
"!"
Shun had already warped with an explosion of blood, while his paw paw fruit makes him look like warping. In reality it was just a super high speed created from repel and recoil.
'…Warping is quite fun. Maybe I shouldn't have given it to Nami.'
"H-Huh?" Warren was a guy with telepathy magic, it took a total of twenty second for the guy to calm down and proceed with the order.
[First generation, Master is telling you to participate in this game.]
[Eh? But my strategy…] Mavis complained, she was planning to let Gray in. So he can freeze the path hindering others and helping himself slide. But… even Mavis was getting a bit frustrated lately.
"?" Shun looked at Levy who had stolen his seat while he was giving speech.
"Haha… here you go." Levy was about to get up but Shun just lifted her and took his seat back then put her on his laps.
"!"
"Hey! There's many people here…" Levy whispered with blush but…
"It's fine, They'll think of us as father and daughter at worst."
"…"
Slap-!
Today everyone witnessed Levy's courage.
"Now then everyone! Please choose one member from your team and let the participant enter the venue again in fifteen minutes!"
Once the teams went to their booths which were similar to the area that fairy tail members were in including Shun.
Shun returned to the arena under the confused eyes, then he took a blueprint.
"Oh? It's quite detailed." Shun pointed his palm forward to the now empty arena and created a pyramid shaped structure.
"!"
The racecourse looked like a giant mountain rising right out of the center field.
The height was about 400 meters, the bottom of the course had the size of four football fields.
Because racers have to travel in a continuous upward spiral rather than a straight line, the total track length would be about 5 km long.
——
"…Why is a monster like that siding with Makarov?!" Alexei, who was standing in the arena previously, cursed in anger. He came to harass Makarov and learn about the fairy heart but… he couldn't even muster up the courage to badmouth fairy tail.
"Kurohebi, you go!"
"Yes."
Alexei aka Makarov's son chose the first member to go after witnessing Shun create their racecourse.
——
Like that every team chose their runners. To everyone's confusion Mavis was the one from fairy tail.
"Sorry for the wait everyone, now let's get back to the tournament!"
"Let's introduce the participants from each team! First, we have Ichiya from Blue Pegasus!"
The announcer kept blabbering calling seven names before finally calling Mavis.
"Mavis Vermillion from fairy tail!! Since she is chosen among those strong mages she must be speed focused wizard."
"…"
Mavis didn't show any emotion at all, her expression was unusually cold.
"…Why were you chosen instead of Wendy-kun? With her speed buff and wind type magic she should be more suited for this." Ichiya came and asked as he made weird poses while talking
"…I want to know that myself." Mavis said and turned her head away
"…"
"Why did you tell her to go?" Irene asked curiously
"I gave her chance to show off." Shun just shrugged
While everyone questioned Shun's decision, the game already started.
"START!!"
Everyone dashed through the pyramid racecourse, everytime they finish the lap they would be able to reach the upper platform. Everytime they get to the upper platform the lap would get shorter, after they complete the ten stage and reach the top they would win.
"Rules are simple. Flight magic and jumping up to cheat aren't allowed! Using magic to hinder others is fine but participants must keep running, if they stop for ten seconds they'll be eliminated from the round! To win, you just have to pick up the victory ribbon at the top of the pyramid!" Lola the announcer explained the rules once again
"Eh? Why is first generation not running?"
"She seems to be really angry this time…"
While the fairy tail booth was getting noisy, Shun and alvarez four watched silently.
Soon enough, the standing still Mavis disappeared into magic particles as her real self showed up on the screen.
Pant-! Pant-!
Mavis jogged desperately as she breathed hard but… she was only at second place from the last.
"Will she be ok?" Levy asked as everyone in the fairy tail knows that Shun was a bit overprotective of Mavis
But Shun only muttered…
"Cute!"
"…"
For the ten stage until the platform Mavis kept creating traps and monsters with her illusion magic and she managed to eliminate three runners!
"Another one! This time it's Rogue from sabertooth!" Lola explained Mavis' brutal gameplay
"Speed Perfume!" Ichiya who was jogging the whole time had suddenly increased his speed as he already reached the seventh stage
"Fairy glitter!" Mavis shouted as she used the super magic to blind her opponents as she got in the third place.
"…"
Now Kurohebi, Ichiya and Mavis were in the lead.
While the first two ran like professional runners, Mavis jogged breathing hard but her expression was determined.
"Why does She reminds me of you?"Levy asked still on her seat that was Shun's lap
"…"
"Now Kurohebi in first place followed by Ichiya and Mavis. They all reached the final stage!"
The final stage was much shorter, all they had to do was enter through the finish line ribbon that said 'finish'.
"…Why is the finish line this close?" Though it was suspicious Kurohebi entered and raised his hand as a celebration.
"Oohhh-!!"
"Kurohebi is the first one to clear the first game!"
"Ichiya from blue pegasus is the second!"
With the confirmation from the announcer and the crowd. Kurohebi and Ichiya no longer suspected the weird finish line as they fell to the ground to rest.
Meanwhile Mavis was still quite a distance away.
Pant-! Pant-!
Mavis panted hard as she crouched down in defeat.
One by one the remaining two wizards passed by her, as they entered the finishing line.
"It has already been five seconds, according to the rule. Five more seconds and she will be eliminated and today's game will end!"
"Five!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
Unanimously the spectators started a brutal countdown.
"Two…!
"One…"
"Aahh, it's unfortunate but Mavis Vermillion from fairy tail has been eliminated!"
"According to the rule, now her team's points will be lowered accordingly…"
Mavis froze on her spot without moving.
"…Go get the first generation, she must be feeling guilty. But it's partly your fault." Levy gave instructions
"It's not done yet." Shun said as he pointed to the screen
"She is surprisingly crafty…" Irene commented
"Yeah, I sometimes forget that she is smarter than me."
With their mysterious words, when the fairy tail members looked back to the screen…
The reality shattered, as Mavis disappeared with the 'finishing line'.
"!!"
"W-What's happening?!" Lola shouted in confusion
"M-Mavis Vermillion is holding the real finishing ribbon on the top of the pyramid!!"
"…"
"…How come they forget about the rules?" Dimaria shook her head as she questioned
"A-At what point did she start using her illusions?" Ichiya questioned in his handsome voice
"At what point did you assume I wasn't using illusions?" Mavis smirked as she raised her hands lifting the victory ribbon
"T-The real winner of the first game of grand magic games day one is… Mavis Vermillion!!"
"Oohh-!!"
The crowd cheered following the announcement.
"S-She really did it…" Levy muttered in shock
"Did you expect this?" Irene asked
"Of course."
"…"
"Every step… every breath I take is calculated hundreds of steps ahead."
——
In the evening… in a certain bar. The fairy tail members celebrated their first day.
"Cheers!"
Mavis was initially angry but now that she won her mood became much brighter.
While Mavis was bragging with everyone, Shun just smiled and watched from the side.
"No wonder Serena was considered the strongest here." Irene commented brutally to Shun
"Yeah…" Shun agreed as he agreed
'…That was more boring than I expected. I guess I'll have to wait for the tournament to grow into global stage.' Shun sighed
"How come a monster like you comes from this continent?" Irene asked as she was really disappointed earlier
"…That's because I'm not from this continent." Shun had nothing to hide at this stage in his life
"August, from tomorrow. You take care of the security." Shun suddenly called for his son
"Why would I?" August talked back but…
"Do you want me to ask Mavis?"
"…"
"I have something else to do. I might come back for the last day." Shun said as the party was about to end for the day.
Since it was just the first day, they couldn't go too crazy as they had to wake up early tomorrow.
——
Next morning Shun hopped into the mushoku world. His reasoning was…
'I have a feeling that something interesting will happen. It's a bit different from the time with Nojiko's danger. Now it's confirmed there's another stage or an unique ability only for me in the observation haki, something that probably could be called 'super instinct''
Shun sneakily entered the house as it had been about a week since he returned.
"Ah-!" Poor Nina who just came out of shower got kidnapped without even being able to make a word.
Creak-!
After closing the door behind them Shun spoke.
"It's me."
"W-Why me?" Nina asked a peculiar question which stopped Shun for a moment.
"…Because you're the most fun to bully."
——
Knock-! Knock-!
After knocking twice, Lilia entered without hesitation.
"You came back?" Lilia asked completely ignoring Nina dressing up
"Yeah, just now."
Shun opened the blanket and patted the bed but Lilia didn't make a move.
Creak-!
Only after Nina left did she remove her clothes and enter the bed as the two started cuddling.
After lying down silently for a while, Lilia spoke.
"Please fix Zenith's situation."
"…I came for that but, I'm feeling a bit lazy. How about tomorrow?" Shun said with a yawn
"…"
"…It's not like she is suffering, she only became one of the cursed children of this world." Shun closed his eyes
"Who is the new kid in the house?" Shun asked as he sensed a stranger
"She is Zenith's child Norn, Aisha's half sister. She just arrived yesterday with Ruijerd who escorted her." Lilia spoke without hiding anything
"I see."
"Did you explain everything to Zenith about what happened in the six years she was gone?"
"Yes. Mostly Rudeus-sama and Aisha informed her."
"I see. What do you think?"
"…About what?"
"Should I devour her?" Shun asked with a smile
'I had no such plans but… Paul made me a bit angry last time.'
Shun asked despite having no real intention but… to his surprise Lilia answered with:
"Do as you wish."
"…"
After a moment of silence Shun asked again
"…Should I kill Paul?"
"!"
Seeing her widened eyes Shun smiled and spoke.
"…Just kidding, I know that he is still their father."
Shun got up and created a simple white shirt and white short pants for himself.
"…Changing your style?" Lilia asked as she dressed up
"Yeah, I'm a bit tired of wearing the same clothes every day."
Without thinking much of it, the two got out of the room and headed towards Zenith's room.
Creak-!
"!"
"S-Shun-san, you're back!" Rudeus immediately came over
"…She knows everything now, she is ready." Rudeus said, what he meant was clear.
"P-Please." Norn, who was Rudeus' other sister, bowed her head.
Shun nodded and touched Zenith's head.
POP-!
A small bubble came out of her body.
"She became one of the cursed children. What I'm doing right now is repelling the 'curse' from her. "
"Cursed children?" Rudeus asked in shock
"It made her able to read minds but in return she would turn into her current state."
"!"
Shun explained before breaking the bubble effortlessly with magic.
Thud-!
Zenith fell unconscious, like a puppet that got its strings cut.
Though the group were alarmed they didn't doubt Shun's words as they thanked him.
Shun nodded and got out of the room followed by Rudeus.
'…I was only teasing Lilia. I'm not interested in Zenith at all.'
To Rudeus' surprise, Shun didn't stop to talk with him. Instead he left the house and looked to the sky…
"Um, what are you looking at?"
"…Some thieves are trying to steal my art."
"Eh?" Rudeus had no clue what was happening, but Shun started floating without a word.
'Float skill from the vampire fruit is nice too. Though I could walk with the paw shoes, just flying is a great feeling. Does it create new ability after combining with my float ability from Shiki's fruit?' Shun thought but shook his head, as he had no such convenient ability to combine abilities
Though a bit awkward, Rudeus could fly too. So he followed until they really found two people… no demons standing in front of a giant ice sculpture.
"T-That is… Lord Badigadi? I mean Badigadi bastard?!" Rudeus fixed his way of calling Badigadi, though Shun didn't care either way
There were male and female demons in front of Badigadi.
The woman seemed to be the leader. She had blue skin, white hair, crimson eyes, a pair of bat wings and a large horn protruding from her forehead.
The man was an imposing, stocky middle-aged demon who sported slicked-back white hair, a full matching beard, and sharp reddish-brown eyes. He carried himself like a disciplined commander, wearing heavy metal body armor paired with a dark, high-collared cape.
'Shun-san, sent Badigadi bastard to the sky last time. He was this close to us?!'
"…What are you doing in front of my art?" Shun spoke to the two demons with a smirk
"!"
The two demons noticed the two as well, as they looked back in shock.
'Ah, this guy is really a villain. Those two are obviously his family demons.' Rudeus thought but didn't care if he was a villain or hero. He had received too much help from him.
"You're the magic god?!" The female demon asked with rage for reasons unknown to Shun
While Rudeus felt nervous Shun asked back
"…I don't know anymore. Is there still my name on the rock that records strong people?"
"…"
While Atofe was angry because she had no idea what Shun was talking about, Moore on the other hand had a few speculations.
"You killed my son and sealed my little brother!!" Atofe drew her sword in anger
"…Did I?"
"…"
"…I don't remember every ant I crushed." Shun shrugged his shoulders which broke the final piece of patience left in Atofe
"!"
Clang-!
Slash-!
Atofe slashed with her sword but Shun didn't hold back and used his tail to block her sword, breaking it easily, but his tail didn't stop, instead it brutally cut her head off.
Swoosh-!
Atofe's head fell first, after that her body started falling to the ground.
BOOOM-!
Due to the height, the impact when it fell was loud and brutal as her body exploded into pieces.
"…"
Shun and Moore floated down. While the shocked Rudeus belatedly followed.
"Wasn't that too brutal?" Rudeus asked but…
"!"
To his and the civilians of Ranoa's shock, the flesh crawling on the ground started clinging onto each other. Creating a disgusting scene, after half a minute Atofe was back to her prime but her sword was still broken.
"What's happening?!" Eris, Aisha, Ghislaine and Nina came out. Soon Roxy and Sylphie followed too.
"It's an enemy!" Rudeus notified them
"Aagh-!" With a wild scream Atofe sprinted towards Shun, Shun was about to kill her again but…
Thud-!
This time the male demon shielded Atofe with his body and was cut in halves.
Despite his efforts, Atofe was sent flying soon after.
'It's good timing. Those cockroaches that regenerate are good test subjects.' Shun thought and stabbed Moore that was still regenerating.
The immortal clan demons take longer to heal depending on the severity of the injuries.
Stab-!
"!"
To the viewers' shock, Shun's claws stabbed through Moore.
"Gah-!" With a weird scream the old demon's body started growing old. But Shun didn't get any younger as he had no plan to use those life forces for himself.
'Pure gold is enough for me. Another ability of this fruit is to store and grant it onto others but I'll just store them since I don't have anyone to use it on for now.'
"Oh? You're not regaining your life force? Are you really immortal?" Shun said as he cut his body in halves
"…"
Drip-!
Blood dripped but… Moore didn't regenerate.
"He died? An immortal clan demon died…" Rudeus and the others muttered in shock. They weren't naive enough to feel bad for the demons that came to kill them.
"You killed my son! Die!" Atofe came for revenge for her son Aleksander Rybak. For her, he was the only one that she cared to come take revenge for. She didn't care about Moore that died or her little brother Badigadi.
Suddenly… Shun asked a question.
"…Aleksander? Are you talking about this?"
Thud-!
Shun threw a human skull with holes from all sides in front of her.
"!!"
"AAAAGHHH-!" Atofe stopped her attack and fell to the ground weeping and hugging the skull.
"…"
Stab-!
Shun cruelly stabbed her in the neck with his claws.
"Gah-!" Atofe the gallant and willful demon was turning into a wrinkled old woman, still hugging the skull.
To her, Shun spoke once again.
"…Idiot."
"…"
"That is not your son's skull."
"!"
"Do you think I would be saving a piece of garbage?"
"Aa—" With all of her life force sucked out of her, Atofe couldn't even voice out her anger.
ROOAARRR—!!
Shun didn't wait, he opened his mouth wide as he directly wiped her off from existence with Acnologia's roar. Blasting a terrifying mix of chaos magic at her.
"…"
Whoosh-!
A strong wind blew, removing the dust and debris.
…Nothing remained, not even blood from the two immortal demons.
Shun smiled at this result.
'…I'm ready now.'
——
After a long silence, Shun turned to look at the others but…
'As expected, was that too much for them?' Shun sighed as he saw the group trembling in fear, with the sole exception of Rudeus.
Shun didn't know what to say but he opened his mouth regardless but… before he could form a word, someone else with a deep voice spoke from behind him.
"…You. Are you perhaps familiar with the name Hitogami?"