Running into Gildarts in a remote place like this? Talk about fate!
It had been a while, and everyone was thrilled. Natsu, predictably, charged at Gildarts, itching for a fight, only to get flattened into the snow with one move. No surprise there.
Of course, Cana was the most emotional—Gildarts was her dad, after all.
Under the bright night sky, the group lit a bonfire, roasting meat, drinking, and catching up on the past few years. They talked about Fairy Tail's rising fame, Kira's new magic shop, Laxus's growing rebellion, and how Makarov had aged noticeably. They touched on Lisanna's death two years ago and Lucy's recent addition to the guild.
Gildarts listened, letting out a wistful sigh.
Meanwhile, Happy, munching on grilled fish, introduced Lucy to Gildarts, the guild's powerhouse.
"Powerhouse?" Lucy asked.
Happy nodded. "Yup! Gildarts might even be stronger than the Guild Master. He's basically the strongest guy in Fairy Tail!"
"Stronger than Erza, Kira, and Laxus?" Lucy pressed.
"Totally!" Gray set down his drink. "There are six S-Class wizards in the guild, and honestly, the other five combined might just barely match Gildarts."
"What?!" Lucy stole a glance at Kira, expecting a retort, but he stayed quiet—a rare moment of humility.
"Wait, Kira, Erza, Laxus, Mystogan… who's the sixth?" Lucy asked.
"That's Mirajane!" Happy chirped. "She used to be called the 'Demon'!"
"Mirajane?!" Lucy was floored, but after hearing about Lisanna's story, she understood why.
After a few drinks, Kira asked the question on his mind. "So, weren't you off on a century quest? What brings you here?"
Maybe because their mental ages were close, Kira and Gildarts got along well. Back when Kira first joined the guild, Gildarts had taken him on tons of missions.
Those were tough times for Fairy Tail. The Phantom Lord guild was breathing down their necks, and Makarov's shady son, Ivan, was a constant threat, even after being kicked out. The guild had a clear power gap—Gildarts was practically holding it together single-handedly. Guys like Macao and Wakaba were, well, not much help, and Erza, Laxus, and others either hadn't joined yet or were still growing.
When a genius young wizard like Kira came along, Makarov spared no effort in training him, hoping he'd become a pillar of the guild. On Makarov's orders, Gildarts took Kira on nearly every mission, making Cana jealous as hell.
Gildarts answered Kira's question. "Based on some intel I've gathered, this place seems tied to my quest target. But I've been here for days and found nothing…"
Tied to his target? Kira's mind flashed to what the Ice Demon Ace had said about an enemy he planned to face after devouring the Sea Demon King.
Could Ace's target be the same as Gildarts' quest? A Demon King born from Demon Cannibalism aiming for the Five Divine Dragons? It sounded far-fetched, but not impossible.
"How's your quest going?" Kira asked.
Gildarts scratched his head with a laugh. "It's brutal. Barely any progress!"
"What?!" Erza and the others were stunned. "What kind of quest is it? Three years and no progress, even for you?"
Gildarts took a swig of his drink. "Well, I signed a confidentiality agreement when I took the job, so I can't spill the details. Sorry about that!"
"That's rough," Kira chuckled. "Three years with no income? Wanna bring me along? I'm kinda curious!"
"Haha, no can do! You've gotten strong, but the quest doesn't allow extra help."
"Fair enough…" Kira nodded, biting into some wolf meat, thinking, It's just the Five Divine Dragons, right? I already know what's up.
Should he just blurt out, "Stop acting so mysterious, I know your quest already," or play it cool with, "So, how many dragons have you run into? Get your ass kicked yet?"
Tough choice…
He recalled Gildarts failing his quest after running into the Black Dragon, getting badly injured—left arm, left leg, and internal organs wrecked in an instant. That showed how terrifying the Black Dragon was.
As for its eventual defeat? Pure protagonist plot armor.
Kira glanced at Gildarts subtly. He looked fine, no injuries. So he hadn't met the Black Dragon yet?
Wait… hadn't met it?
Kira's slightly buzzed brain snapped to clarity, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.
The Five Divine Dragons were supposed to be on another continent, right?
Where had Gildarts encountered the Black Dragon in the original story? Was it mentioned? It'd been too long, and Kira couldn't remember. He cursed himself for not paying closer attention to the manga.
No, no, calm down, Kira. Think!
In the original plot, Gildarts returned after the Oración Seis arc but before Edolas, so it should still be a while off. No way it'd happen now, right?
"G-Gildarts, quick question…" Kira stammered.
"Hm? What's up?" Gildarts squinted, noticing Kira's odd expression.
To avoid freaking him out, Kira chose his words carefully. "You said the Zonia Mountains are tied to your quest target. Are you talking about demons that might be enemies of dragons, or… are there dragons around here?"
Pfft!
Gildarts spat out his drink. "How… how do you know?!"
The group erupted, staring at Kira and Gildarts in shock. The conversation had taken a wild turn.
"Are dragons real?!"
"Is Gildarts' quest to slay a dragon?!"
Natsu reacted the loudest, leaping to his feet. "Gildarts, is your quest about dragons?!"
Gildarts' face turned serious. Leaking quest details wasn't a small matter. As far as he knew, everyone who'd taken the quest signed a confidentiality agreement, and all previous takers were dead. There's no way the details could've leaked.
Kira hadn't taken the quest. So how did he know?
"So, Gildarts, have you really seen a dragon?" Natsu pressed.
"Well…" Gildarts hesitated, dodging the question as Natsu charged at him. In his head, he thought, Kira knowing shouldn't be a problem, right? I didn't tell him…
As for Kira, he was freaking out, itching to bolt back to Magnolia and get as far from Gildarts as possible.
"Natsu, hold off," Kira said, yanking him off Gildarts. "We'll talk about this back at the guild. For now, let's—"
He stopped mid-sentence, sensing a shift in the air. He looked up.
The once-clear night sky was now shrouded in dark clouds. Snow began to fall again over the Zonia Mountains.
The atmosphere grew heavy, oppressive. The surrounding magic felt thick, viscous. A distant roar echoed from the horizon—dark, massive, menacing.
Gildarts, with his sharp instincts, sensed the change and stood, eyes narrowing. "What's happening?"
Kira: "@#￥%…&!"
This isn't about to be the grand finale already, is it?
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