Staring at the Ice Demon King's motionless form, Erza stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong with it?"
Kira shook his head, clueless. "No idea. We were fighting, and it just… stopped moving. You don't think I actually beat it into submission, do you?"
His face lit up with a grin as the thought sank in. "Hey, what if it really—"
But before he could finish, the sound of footsteps approached from the distance. It was Wendy, finally catching up.
"Is the battle… already over?" she asked, catching her breath.
"Oh, you're back! Sorry, I kinda soloed the enemy. Didn't leave you any room for an assist," Kira said with a teasing smirk.
Wendy rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Whatever, that's not important. Did you kill it?"
"Nope!" Kira recounted what had just happened.
To his surprise, Wendy nodded as if she'd expected it. "I think I know what's going on."
"Huh? How do you know?" Kira asked, curious.
Wendy then shared her recent encounter and the information she'd learned from the Black and White Celestial Maidens.
"It's probably because it devoured too much. Its mind must be in chaos," she explained.
"So, what, it ate too much and got a tummy ache? Poor guy…" Kira tapped the demon's body with a mock-pitying look. "I told it earlier—its heart was missing some guts! It didn't listen!"
"…"
The group stared at him, utterly baffled by his bizarre logic, unable to respond.
"But why isn't it going berserk?" someone asked. "Didn't they say losing its mind would turn it into a bloodthirsty beast?"
"Probably hasn't processed everything yet," Wendy reasoned. "It absorbed the Sea Demon King, which was already a chaotic mess, and then went on to devour three more demons without fully digesting the first. Its mind must be overloaded."
Kira rubbed his chin, piecing it together. "Now that you mention it, its behavior did feel a bit… off. Like, there was this weird disconnect compared to how it acted back on the snowy mountain."
"Not to mention, its tone of voice was super similar to that cloud-magic demon," he added. "I thought they'd just rubbed off on each other from living together, but I guess this explains it."
Since no one here was familiar with the concept of "hindsight is 20/20," they were all impressed that Kira had noticed such subtle differences.
At that moment, Happy raised a crucial question. "So, what do we do with this guy? We can't just leave it here, right?"
Erza suggested, "How about we let the Magic Council handle it?"
"Sounds reasonable—"
"No!" Kira cut in, drawing everyone's attention. He was staring at the demon with an unreadable expression. "The Council's not exactly a secure place. Even if we hand it over, there's no guarantee it won't get loose again."
"So, what's your plan?" Erza asked.
Kira's gaze shifted to Wendy. "How about you take it?"
Truthfully, Kira had been thinking of bringing it back for Mirajane to study, but there was no telling if the demon would even survive the trip. Only a living demon could be absorbed, after all. And even if it was alive, its chaotic mental state made it too risky for Mirajane, who was still recovering emotionally.
Wendy shook her head firmly. "No way. I've already absorbed the souls of the Celestial Maidens. Taking in this demon's energy would cause a conflict."
"Huh? That's a thing?" Kira blinked, surprised.
"That's what the Maidens told me," Wendy confirmed.
"Alright then," Kira said with a nod.
Guess he'd have to take it himself and use it for his artificial demon project. If Jellal can do it, why can't I? For some reason, Kira felt an odd surge of confidence about this.
"Speaking of which, you're pretty lucky, huh?" he said to Wendy. "Getting the souls of the legendary Celestial Maidens… Wait a sec. Tragic backstory, orphaned, avenging a great wrong, crazy talent, surviving a fall, inheriting power from legendary figures…"
He gave Wendy a strange look. "Are you the real protagonist of this world?!"
Wendy frowned, confused. "What are you talking about? I don't get it!"
"If you did get it, I'd be the one freaking out," Kira laughed. "Anyway, looks like this mission's finally wrapped up. Success, right?"
That's when Natsu snapped to attention. "Oh, right! This was my mission!"
"No, Natsu," Kira and Erza said in unison. They exchanged a glance before Erza continued, "This wasn't a mission you were supposed to take, and you didn't complete it. Plus, you're getting punished when we get back."
Even though the mission was done, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy had broken the rules by taking an S-class mission without permission. As the ringleaders, they'd face consequences. If Kira and the others hadn't shown up in time, they might not have even survived.
"Sorry, can't help you out this time," Kira said, grinning mischievously. "Best I can do is ask the Master to swap your punishment for my demon training…"
Happy wailed, "I'd rather take the Master's punishment!"
He knew the Master wouldn't kick them out—after all, Happy was the guild's only adorable cat!
---
At the makeshift Forgotten Tavern, Paul pulled out his entire stash of prized liquor, and they threw a barbecue feast with the snow wolf meat.
Paul was thrilled. From now on, he could take his niece and live a normal life in the city.
Wendy was overjoyed. She'd proven herself as a remarkable wizard, honoring her late father and fulfilling her duty to end the Ashisnu clan.
Kira and the others were happy too—the mission was finally over, and they could kick back and relax.
Natsu was ecstatic. Sure, he'd face punishment back at the guild, but he'd still completed an S-class mission!
Lucy was thrilled as well. Though Erza insisted they couldn't claim the mission reward, Kira, in a drunkenly generous mood, offered to let her borrow a Celestial Spirit Key with interest-free installments.
"Why don't you join Fairy Tail?" Kira asked Wendy during the feast, seizing the chance to recruit her.
She declined with a smile. "Nah, I've decided I want to explore the world a bit first. See what's out there. But I'll definitely visit you guys someday."
"Fair enough," Kira said. "You're still young. It's good to see the world, and you've got the strength to hold your own."
He was impressed by this protagonist-material girl but didn't push. His only regret was…
"So, there really wasn't some guy who made the Celestial Maidens jealous?" he asked.
"Nope!" Wendy said confidently. "They said it was just a rumor spread to lure the demons into a trap. The guy at the center of it? Just an ordinary young man from a human tribe back then. Apparently, he was really good at cooking, so he was super popular in his time!"
"WHAT?!" the group shouted in unison.
A great cook? That sounded like… They all turned stiffly to Erza, who was standing with her arms crossed.
"Heh heh heh… Looks like I won the bet!" she declared.
"No way! I'm not accepting this!" Natsu protested.
"I can't believe it ended like this!" Lucy groaned.
"Erza won? Ugh, that stings!" Happy whined.
"Hahaha…"
Rustle, rustle…
Just then, Kira sensed someone approaching. He turned and saw a weathered man staring at them in shock. "Kira?!"
Kira's eyes widened. "Gildarts?! What are you doing here?!"
At the sound of his name, everyone whipped around. Sure enough, it was Gildarts—the guild member who'd been gone for three years.
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