After searching around the outskirts of the Wass Forest, Moen still hadn't found anything. Well, not exactly nothing—he did stumble upon a broken-down, abandoned little village. The place was already crumbling beyond recognition, and judging from the architectural style, it had clearly been around for quite some years.
"What is this? Some kind of tribal ruins?"
Moen stepped into the ruined village. It seemed worth searching—he figured Jellal and Wendy might have chosen this place to rest.
However, just as Moen set foot deeper into the village and hadn't even begun a proper search, the place immediately revealed a side that was anything but ordinary.
"Vmmmmm!!!"
A terrifying surge of magical energy instantly enveloped the entire ruined settlement.
This immense magical fluctuation carried no hostility—it wasn't offensive magic at all. In fact, Moen couldn't even tell what kind of magic it was. What he could feel, however, was that the caster's magic power was absurdly immense. Ridiculously immense. Was someone straight-up hacking the system?!
Moen narrowed his eyes, scanning the area carefully. Since the magic wasn't an attack and clearly wasn't aimed at him, curiosity quickly took over. Just what was the caster trying to do, creating such a massive commotion?
Then, Moen's jaw dropped at the sight unfolding before him.
Right before his eyes, the once empty and decayed village was suddenly filled with people. Villagers—appearing out of thin air! Conjured instantly out of that colossal surge of magic!
"What the—?! What kind of move is this?!"
Moen gaped wide-eyed, completely stunned. Even with his vast experiences and his Saint Seiya System backing him, this sight left him shaken and confused.
"Could it be… thought projections?"
After a brief pause, Moen came up with a guess.
Thought projections—an idea commonly seen across all sorts of ACG works.
Moen didn't know about other worlds, but here, a thought projection was essentially a split-off from a living being with a soul. It didn't possess self-awareness, functioning more like a puppet or clone.
Of course, that applied to projections made by the living.
There was another kind—created by the lingering obsession or unfulfilled wish of the dead.
Those kinds of projections were essentially manifestations of the deceased's soul and memories, with personalities not too different from when they were alive.
Thought projections looked no different from ordinary people. As the materialization of pure magic power, they felt just like regular mages to others—making it nearly impossible to distinguish them.
And these "villagers" that had just popped into existence? They were clearly projections. But the problem was—within that earlier surge of magic, Moen had only sensed a single source of magic power.
That could only mean… all of these projections had come from the same person?!
Creak.
While Moen was still puzzling over the mystery, the door of one of the ruined houses slowly opened.
Out walked a little old man, dressed somewhat like a Native tribal elder.
And right behind him appeared a figure Moen had been searching for all along.
"Wendy, look. Isn't this wonderful? These are all your guild companions! So many of them—all your guildmates!"
The old man's face lit up with a smile as he spoke to Wendy.
"Wow! There are really so many companions!"
Wendy's small face flushed with excitement, her eyes sparkling. Yet, there was a hint of tears lingering in them—as if she had just been crying moments earlier.
"Eh—?!"
The excited Wendy turned her head, and her gaze suddenly landed on Moen. Her expression froze in surprise, a soft, adorable sound of confusion slipping from her lips.
"Grandpa, is the name of this guild Fairy Tail?"
Wendy blinked her big, bright eyes at the old man beside her, asking a question that left him visibly puzzled.
It was clear that the name "Fairy Tail" had been deeply etched into Wendy's heart.
"Fairy Tail? No, no, it's not."
Rob—Roubaul—shook his head. He hadn't even decided what to call the guild he had just created, but one thing was for sure: it couldn't be called "Fairy Tail." He might not have heard of that guild himself, but it was obvious that such a guild already existed.
At the same time, Roubaul's gaze shifted toward Moen, who was still standing there, looking utterly dumbfounded.
"You there, boy. Who are you?"
Roubaul finally spoke up, frowning. When he had just summoned all those thought projections, had this kid already been here? Did he witness everything?
"Ahem… hello. My name is Moen—Moen Dreyar. I'm a mage of Fairy Tail. I came here looking for Wendy and Jellal."
Feeling the attention of both Roubaul and Wendy—along with the curious stares of all the thought projections—Moen coughed dryly before quickly introducing himself and explaining his purpose.
Moen had already figured it out. This peculiar old man standing beside Wendy was without a doubt the caster he had sensed earlier.
The very one whose magic reserves were overwhelming—who could create so many distinct, lifelike thought projections.
And the most outrageous part? Moen had already noticed that each of these conjured projections carried their own unique presence. Simply put, they looked and felt just like actual people. They didn't seem at all like clones created by the old man.
This genuinely shocked Moen. What's the difference between this and literally creating people out of magic?! Don't tell me this old man has some kind of split personality disorder, and all these clones are just fragments of his psyche?!
Between the two possibilities—"magic-made people" or "personality fragments"—Moen honestly found the latter easier to accept.
"Wendy, do you know this boy?"
Hearing Moen's words, Roubaul turned toward Wendy. He suspected she did. After all, Wendy had just mentioned "Fairy Tail." That was probably because of this Moen Dreyar.
"Yes! I know him!"
Wendy nodded her head emphatically. Then, with her short little legs, she ran forward a couple of steps until she stood in front of Moen, looking up at him with wide-eyed curiosity.
"Big brother, did you come here to find me and Jellal?"
"Yes. But… where's Jellal? Why don't I see him?"
Moen smiled as he looked at the adorable Wendy. He nodded at her words, then glanced around, puzzled. Indeed, Jellal was nowhere in sight.
"Jellal said he had something very urgent to take care of," Wendy answered, her voice growing soft.
At the mention of Jellal, Wendy's expression shifted. Her face turned a little pouty, and her eyes glistened with tears once again. She looked like she was about to cry all over again.
Seeing Wendy's sad little pout and teary eyes, Moen immediately understood what had happened. That guy Jellal had probably entrusted Wendy to Robaul's care before leaving in a hurry.
Back in the Waas Forest, Jellal had already looked restless to get moving, so chances were he really did have some pressing matter to handle.
"It's okay, Wendy. He didn't abandon you. He just didn't want you to be in danger."
Moen crouched down, reaching out to gently pat Wendy's head. Meeting her eyes at the same level, his face softened into a bright, reassuring smile as he comforted her.
"Sniff!"
Hearing Moen's words, Wendy gave a little sniff. Her two tiny hands wiped messily across her face, trying to get rid of her tears.
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