With the conclusion of the S-Class Exam and the selection of new S-Class Mages, the Fairy Tail Guild in Magnolia had entered a brand new era.
Ankh, who had become the guild's pillar at a young age, began to take on more S-Class missions, which frequently took him to other countries across the continent.
And at some unknown point, a resounding title suddenly emerged in the ears of those in the know within the continent's Magic World.
"Reaper."
"The exquisitely beautiful Mage from the Fiore Kingdom, in the infernal lands rife with slaughter and chaos, when you see those bloodthirsty crimson eyes staring at you, that is the legendary Fairy Grim Reaper, who has arrived!"
In the Magic World, legends about the Reaper somehow spread like a plague.
It was said that although this Mage was hailed as exquisitely beautiful, he always wore a demonic, fanged mask, and few had ever seen his true face.
Because this Reaper turned all enemies who saw his true face into corpses... Yet, there were also rumors that some bystanders had glimpsed the Reaper's true appearance, and that single fleeting look was enough for everyone to bestow upon him the honorific of "exquisitely beautiful."
These mysterious and eerie rumors also cast a special, hazy aura over the guild to which this "Reaper" belonged.
One of the two strongest guilds within the Fiore Kingdom, it even showed signs of reaching the pinnacle—that was Fairy Tail.
In X782, in the bustling town center of Magnolia, as lively as ever, a dust-covered man stood at the entrance of the guild hall.
He was wrapped in a black robe with gold patterns, his hood obscuring most of his face, subtly revealing half of his demonic mask... The man in black reached out from under his clothes, then skillfully pushed open the door and walked in.
The guild was still noisy, and even when they saw someone enter, they showed no sign of stopping their clamor.
The man seemed to let out a soft chuckle, then slowly took off his hood and reached up to remove his mask... The moment the man revealed his handsome face, all beautiful things in the world seemed to instantly lose their reason for existence.
Even the brightest starlight seemed to dim for a moment. It was truly hard to imagine that such an enchantingly beautiful man would appear in such a boisterous guild!
And at the same moment the man revealed his face, Natsu, who was eating fire at the bar, suddenly caught a familiar scent. He immediately sprang from his seat in surprise, shouting joyfully:
"It's Ankh!"
"Really? Ankh is back?" Happy, who was with Natsu, suddenly spoke, asking with similar delight.
With the two of them shouting, the entire guild fell into an unbelievably silent moment, followed by an even greater roar like a mountain and a tsunami!
"Ankh is back!"
"This mission has taken a whole six months, Ankh... Wuwuwu, he's finally back!"
"This is our guild's star, the 'Fairy Grim Reaper'! He's so handsome!!"
In that instant, both old and new members genuinely showed reverence for this man, like a fan meet-and-greet.
Nineteen-year-old Ankh's demeanor was even more charming and composed than four years prior.
Although Ankh's face was still incredibly beautiful, his facial features had gained a lot of masculinity; he was no longer as ambiguously gendered as he was four years ago.
Ankh looked at those crowding around him, warmly welcoming him, and couldn't help but smile contentedly.
Although missions outside were tough, whenever he returned to the guild, he found a sense of home.
"Ankh! Let's fight!"
A familiar roar sounded. Ankh looked up to see a young man, whose fist was burning with an explosion of flames, already leaping above his head!
Ankh shook his head helplessly, formed a magic circle with one hand, and slammed it onto the ground!
Natsu, still in the air, was suddenly pressed down by gravity, directly smashing through the solid floor, then his head smoking, he instantly fainted... Happy flew over, holding a small 'K.O.' sign, reporting with a cold sweat: "Aye! Natsu was instantly defeated again."
Natsu's constitution, or rather, his will, was quite peculiar: he rarely won internal battles but couldn't lose external ones; his protagonist's halo was quite terrifying... Ankh bent down to pull Natsu out of the crack in the floor, saying: "I've heard all about it, Natsu the Fire Dragon. I didn't expect you to make a name for yourself too."
However, Natsu had already passed out and showed no sign of responding to Ankh's praise... Ankh looked at Gray, who had come over with him, and sighed: "It seems you've matured a lot too; you're taking off your clothes even faster."
Gray, as usual, was shirtless, scratching his head in embarrassment and saying, "Oh, not at all..."
Ankh then saw Cana, who was hugging a barrel of alcohol. He walked over, stroked her hair, and softly asked, "Still haven't told him?"
Cana silently shook her head, then lifted the barrel and took another gulp.
After the exam four years ago, though Cana didn't understand why Ankh knew her secret, she treated Ankh as an outlet for her inner pain, telling him whatever saddened her, so their relationship became very good.
Regarding this matter, Ankh had once suggested telling Gildarts directly, but Cana disagreed.
The young girl was still the same, struggling to become an S-Class Mage to gain the qualification to stand alongside her father.
In Ankh's opinion, this kind of talk was pure nonsense.
For Cana to become an S-Class Mage, she would at least have to face Natsu and Gray, but... those who know, know; those two are people with buff bonuses.
If Ankh didn't only run into Gildarts a few times a year, he would have long since been unable to resist spilling the beans.
Between father and daughter, what couldn't be talked about? Why endure such discomfort alone?
Adding his younger sister Erza, and the Mirajane siblings, Ankh felt a bit exhausted for a moment.
He had thought his life was quite detached, but he didn't expect these girls in the guild to all be so troublesome... "By the way, where are Erza and Mira?"
Cana, with hazy, drunken eyes, said, "Mirajane took Lisanna shopping, and Erza went on a long-distance mission."
Ankh nodded.
After him, Laxus, Erza, and Mirajane successively became S-Class Mages. The difficulty of their requests increased, and the time taken lengthened, so their meeting times became much less frequent.
This was unavoidable, but fortunately, Ankh, returning from this mission, should be able to stay in the guild for a longer period.
"Ankh, you're back."
Ankh quickly lowered his head and saw it was Master Makarov, who nodded and said, "The mission was completed ahead of schedule, so I came back early."
"You've worked hard." Makarov also nodded, revealing a smile and saying, "I called you back this time; you should know why, right?"
Ankh's lips curved, seemingly in mockery or disdain, saying, "The Council rewarding me with the 'Ten Wizard Saints' title?"
Makarov nodded, pleased, "Even if they kept delaying, didn't that title still fall to you?"
Four years ago, after Ankh became an S-Class Mage, he quickly made a name for himself in the Magic World.
On several occasions, Ankh successfully crushed conspiracies that could have shaken the foundations of the kingdom. This merit earned him the qualification to become one of the Ten Wizard Saints!