Chapter 412: Fairy Hunter
"That is exactly right," Edolas Lucy nodded, confirming Erza's horrifying realization.
Erza felt as though she had been struck by a massive physical blow. She staggered backward, only managing to stay on her feet because Ultear caught her from behind. She loved Fairy Tail more than anything in the world. To hear that her alternate self was actively hunting down and slaughtering her beloved guild was a reality she simply could not accept.
"Don't overthink it," Sorano comforted her softly. "She just happens to share your face. The person committing those atrocities isn't you."
"I know that," Erza breathed, steadying herself. "It is just... incredibly difficult to process right now."
Seeing Erza's genuine devastation, the Edolas guild members finally let go of their lingering suspicions. There was absolutely no way this woman was the ruthless Fairy Hunter who had been terrorizing them.
"The multiverse truly is fascinating," Ultear murmured. "To think there are two completely different worlds filled with people who share the exact same faces, yet their personalities and actions are completely inverted. It is almost unbelievable."
"Yeah. Before we got here, I never would have imagined something this insane actually existed," Laxus agreed with a nod.
"Wait... are you... Laxus?" an Edolas member asked, staring at the towering Lightning Dragon Slayer.
"Yeah, that is me," Laxus confirmed.
"I can't even imagine Laxus having such a massive, heavily built body," Edolas Macao muttered, staring at Laxus's hulking muscles, which easily dwarfed almost everyone else in the room.
"Does that mean the Edolas version of me is scrawny?" Laxus asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. His health has always been incredibly frail, so he rarely ever shows his face at the guild," Edolas Warren explained. "He usually rests in a highly classified, hidden safehouse. Because he is basically a ghost, the Royal Army doesn't actually know what he looks like, which means he is one of the few members not on the kingdom's wanted list. He uses that anonymity to secretly purchase all the supplies and rations the guild needs, leaving them at dead drops for us to collect."
Hearing that his alternate self was still actively risking his life to support the guild from the shadows, a proud grin spread across Laxus's face.
"I see. So the other me is doing a damn good job," Laxus chuckled. He knew full well that if it weren't for the Dragon Lacrima implanted in him as a child, he likely would have grown up just as frail. He turned to look at Noah. "Noah, can you do me a favor?"
Noah already knew exactly what Laxus was going to ask. "Sure. When we have a moment, I will go tune up the Edolas Laxus and fix his health issues."
"Thanks, man. I appreciate it," Laxus smiled. Noah simply waved it off; their bond was tighter than blood, so there was no need for thanks.
"Are you a doctor?" Edolas Juvia asked, looking at Noah with curious eyes.
"You could say that. I dabble in medicinal alchemy and biological research. I can cure the vast majority of standard illnesses and injuries," Noah answered casually.
"Don't listen to him, he is being way too modest," Laxus clapped Noah on the shoulder. "He can heal practically anything short of actual death. That is exactly why I asked him to treat my alternate self."
"I can't make absolute guarantees," Noah corrected calmly. "There are countless unknown diseases in this dimension. Promising a miracle before diagnosing the patient is just irresponsible. But I will do everything in my power."
Seeing Noah's calm, unshakable confidence, the Edolas members immediately realized he possessed genuine, elite-level medical expertise.
"That is wonderful... if only..." Edolas Juvia whispered, a look of profound sorrow washing over her face. She was thinking of all their fallen comrades. If they had possessed a miraculous doctor like Noah during the kingdom's initial purges, would so many of their friends have died?
"If I am going to treat the Edolas Laxus, I will need his coordinates. It would be best if one of you guided me there, otherwise, showing up unannounced might cause a massive misunderstanding," Noah said, gently breaking Edolas Juvia out of her depressing thoughts.
"Right. We will assign someone to guide you when the time comes," Edolas Juvia nodded, snapping back to reality.
"Excellent," Noah smiled.
"Take those clothes off right now!"
"Put some clothes on, you pervert!"
Two identical voices echoed from across the room. Edolas Juvia groaned, her face shifting into an expression of sheer exhaustion. Thank goodness Edolas Lyon wasn't here, or the resulting headache would have been unbearable.
Noah, Laxus, and the others turned toward the commotion. Standing face-to-face were the two Grays.
One was bundled up in so many thick winter coats he looked like a waddling sphere of fabric. The other was wearing practically nothing, having already stripped off his shirt out of pure habit. They were fiercely pointing at each other, both aggressively demanding that the other adopt their personal dress code.
"Now that is a masterpiece," Noah chuckled. He quickly pulled out his magical lacrima camera and snapped a rapid-fire series of photos of the two Grays screaming at each other.
With the initial panic settled, the Earth Land Fairy Tail members dispersed throughout the hall, naturally gravitating toward the people they found most interesting.
"So you really are the Earth Land version of me?" Edolas Lucy asked, circling her counterpart and analyzing her from every possible angle.
"Yeah, and you are the Edolas me. We really do look exactly alike," Earth Land Lucy replied, equally fascinated. Physically, there wasn't a single difference between them, but their auras couldn't have been more mismatched.
"This is seriously blowing my mind," Edolas Lucy muttered, continuing to pace around her.
"Please stop circling me, you are making me dizzy," Earth Land Lucy groaned, rubbing her temples.
Edolas Lucy stopped, stepped forward, and casually threw an arm around her counterpart's shoulders. "My bad. Come on, tell me all about what you do over in your world!"
"Oh, sure!" Earth Land Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, happy to finally have a normal conversation. She quickly gave her alternate self a rundown of her life.
A few minutes later, Edolas Lucy was clutching her stomach, howling with laughter. "Wait, wait, wait! You actually write NOVELS?! And you are a runaway, super-rich heiress?! AND your magic is just jingling a bunch of keys around?! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
"What the hell is so funny about that?!" Earth Land Lucy shrieked, her face turning bright red with embarrassment.
"You two are both massive loudmouths," Natsu commented, squatting nearby. Since he hadn't found his alternate self yet, he had just decided to tag along with Lucy.
"DON'T CALL ME A LOUDMOUTH!" both Lucys roared at him simultaneously in perfect unison.
"Having two Lucys around sure makes things noisy!" Happy cheered from the sidelines.
"You said it, buddy!" Natsu nodded enthusiastically.
Across the room, Earth Land Cana was sitting across from Edolas Cana. Earth Land Cana was shifting uncomfortably in her seat, profoundly disturbed by the hyper-refined, tea-sipping lady sitting in front of her. While she wasn't a total slob, she had never acted this ridiculously posh in her entire life.
Unable to take it anymore, she asked her alternate self why she acted so stiff. Edolas Cana politely smiled and immediately began lecturing her counterpart on the virtues of acting like a proper, elegant lady. The two Canas spent the next ten minutes aggressively trying to convert each other to their respective lifestyles.
"Hey, Wendy. That girl over there looks an awful lot like you," an Edolas member pointed out to a tall, beautiful woman with long blue hair.
"Does she?" the woman asked, turning to look at Earth Land Wendy.
"Yeah, their magical auras feel bizarrely similar too," another member noted.
"Is... is that me?!" Earth Land Wendy gasped. The woman had the exact same sky-blue hair and strikingly similar facial features. Given the context of the room, it was undeniably her Edolas counterpart.
But the physical difference was staggering.
The Edolas Wendy was a fully grown, stunning adult woman, while Earth Land Wendy was only twelve years old.
"Wow. Edolas Wendy is totally grown up," Meredy noted in awe.
"She is incredibly pretty," Yukino added with a soft smile.
"Y-You really think so? Hehe!" Earth Land Wendy blushed furiously at the compliment. She stared at Edolas Wendy, realizing that this was exactly what she was going to look like when she grew up. It was an amazing feeling.
Wendy's eyes slowly drifted downward, locking onto Edolas Wendy's incredibly generous, well-developed chest. She quickly raised her hands and patted her own completely flat chest, her eyes suddenly sparkling with boundless, overwhelming hope.
If Edolas Wendy could grow that big, then she absolutely had the potential to do it too!
"Hello there, me-kun," Edolas Wendy smiled, walking over and crouching down to meet Earth Land Wendy at eye level.
"Hello, big me," Earth Land Wendy greeted her back with a bright smile.
"I never imagined I would get the chance to see myself this small again," Edolas Wendy giggled, her eyes softening with nostalgia.
"And I never thought I would get to see what I look like as an adult!" Earth Land Wendy beamed.
"I am so jealous! I wish I could see what I am going to look like when I grow up," Meredy pouted from the side.
"Mhm. I want to know what my future holds too," Yukino nodded wistfully.
"Don't you worry, Yukino! You are going to grow up into an absolutely gorgeous woman!" Sorano cheered, pulling her younger sister into a tight hug and affectionately rubbing their cheeks together.
"Big sis..." Yukino blushed, a happy smile spreading across her face.
"Now that you mention it... I haven't seen anyone who looks like Meredy, Yukino, Sorano, or Ultear," Carla noted, scanning the crowded room.
Edolas Wendy looked at the heavily disguised Exceed and answered honestly. "You are right. We don't have anyone in our guild by those names, and I have never seen anyone who looks like them in this country."
"But shouldn't they be here? This is Fairy Tail! We've already found almost everyone else. Why are so many people missing?" Carla asked, confused by the inconsistency.
"Actually, I think I know exactly why," Sorano spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. She paused for a moment before looking at Edolas Wendy. "Tell me... does your guild have a member named Noah? Have you ever seen someone who looks like him?"
Edolas Wendy and the surrounding Edolas members exchanged confused glances before collectively shaking their heads. "No. We have never seen the man who saved Lisanna before today."
"Just as I suspected," Sorano smirked, crossing her arms. "Noah told us a long time ago that his existence is an absolute anomaly. He is unique. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that an Edolas version of him simply doesn't exist."
Sorano gestured to herself and the other girls. "My sister, Ultear, Meredy, and I... every single one of us only joined Fairy Tail because Noah personally recruited us or saved us. Since Noah doesn't exist in this universe to guide our alternate selves to the guild, those versions of us never joined Edolas Fairy Tail."
The Earth Land team nodded in sudden realization. It made perfect, logical sense. If Noah was the catalyst that brought them all together, a world without Noah wouldn't have them in the guild.
"Wait, but Gray is here. Didn't Noah bring Gray to the guild too?" Carla pointed out, shattering the logic instantly.
"Uhh... well... who knows?!" Sorano waved her hands dismissively, abandoning the theory entirely. "We're dealing with alternate dimensions and magical doppelgängers! Some things are just naturally going to be weird and inconsistent! Don't overthink it!"
The rest of the girls eagerly nodded in agreement. Trying to decipher the convoluted mechanics of multiverse butterfly effects was a massive headache. It was much easier to just accept the reality in front of them and move on.
Abandoning the heavy existential questions, the girls quickly returned to happily chatting with the Edolas members. The entire guildhall was enveloped in a warm, joyous atmosphere as the two Fairy Tails bonded.
Suddenly, the guild doors burst open. Edolas Nab sprinted into the hall, his face pale with absolute terror as he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"THE FAIRY HUNTER! THE FAIRY HUNTER IS HERE!!!"
The Edolas members completely froze. A split second later, utter, blinding panic erupted across the hall.
"WAAAAAHHH!"
"Damn it! How did they find us?!"
"The Royal Army tracked our coordinates!"
"We have to run! NOW!"
The entire Edolas guild dissolved into absolute chaos, members frantically scrambling to grab their gear.
"What is going on?" Earth Land Mirajane asked, looking up from her conversation with Lisanna and Edolas Elfman.
"I told you earlier," Edolas Mirajane answered, her face hardening into a mask of grim determination. "The kingdom branded us a Dark Guild. The Royal Army is constantly hunting us. They must have finally tracked down our location. They are coming to wipe us out."
"Is that so," Earth Land Mirajane's expression instantly shifted into her terrifying, cold-blooded S-Class persona. She looked dead into her alternate self's eyes. "Do you need us to step in? We can use our magic to annihilate them for you."
"Yes. Allow us to assist you," Earth Land Erza stepped forward, her eyes burning with an intense, terrifyingly sharp light. "If the Royal Army is here, that means the Edolas version of me is likely leading the charge. I would very much like to have a... word... with this alternate Erza."
Watching Earth Land Erza summon a sword to her hand, Mirajane sweatdropped. It was blatantly obvious that the "word" Erza wanted to have involved extreme physical violence. But it made sense; hearing that a woman wearing her exact face was actively slaughtering her family was infuriating. It was only natural she wanted to personally beat her counterpart into the ground.
"No. We are not fighting. We are running," Edolas Mirajane shook her head firmly.
"Running?" Earth Land Mirajane and Erza asked, genuinely confused by the concept of retreating from a fight.
Before they could ask anything else, they felt it.
The wooden floorboards beneath their feet began to tremble. Within seconds, the trembling violently escalated, until the entire massive, root-woven guildhall was violently shaking from the foundation up.
~~~
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