"Ah! Hello. I'm Gildarts."
Gildarts suddenly remembered that he hadn't greeted Takeshi yet.
Takeshi smiled. "Hello, my name is Takeshi. I've heard legends about you ever since I joined the guild, and meeting you yesterday confirmed that your reputation is well-deserved."
"Is that so?! Haha, you're a good kid."
Gildarts felt very pleased by Takeshi's words and patted him heartily on the shoulder. Not many people could earn such approval from Makarov.
"So, do you have a girlfriend? Do you need me to introduce you to some cute girls?"
Bang!
Mirajane slammed her beer glass down in front of Gildarts, splashing beer all over him.
Makarov said, "Don't lead the child astray. Mira is Takeshi's girlfriend."
"Oh? Impressive."
Gildarts gave Takeshi a thumbs-up.
The three of them drank and chatted, and Gildarts learned about the events of the past three years.
"I can't believe Laxus would do such a thing."
Gildarts had watched Laxus grow up and knew he wasn't bad at heart, but this time he had gone too far.
"However, I am seeing Takeshi in a new light now." Gildarts looked at Takeshi with admiration.
He knew Jose. He was very annoying but had extremely high magic power. He was surprised that Takeshi had actually defeated Jose, he was truly an extraordinary young man.
"If we get the chance, let's have a spar sometime."
Gildarts wanted to see just how strong this young man was.
"Alright."
Takeshi readily agreed.
He wanted to test himself against a powerhouse like Gildarts.
Rumble!
It started raining heavily.
"Carla, I finally found you!"
Wendy rushed out to look for Carla when she saw it was about to rain.
"Wendy, you'll catch a cold if you don't use an umbrella."
"Carla, you're the same. We just joined the guild. I think we should try to get along with everyone."
"There's no need for that. As long as I have you, it's enough."
Wendy pouted, "Honestly... There you go again."
Just then, a figure walked through the heavy rain.
"Who?"
"Wendy, it's me. I didn't expect you to come to this guild." Mystogan removed his head covering, revealing his face.
"Jellal?!"
Wendy immediately recognized him. It was Jellal, the one who had saved her seven years ago.
"This... what's going on?! You should have been arrested."
Carla had heard Wendy mention Jellal before. She had also seen news of Jellal's arrest in a previous newspaper, and only learned from chatting with Lucy that the person who had defeated and arrested Jellal was Takeshi.
"The one you're talking about isn't me, or rather, it's the me of this world. I am Mystogan of Fairy Tail."
"You... you... I've always, always wanted to see you."
Wendy desperately wanted to see Jellal again, he was her savior.
Mystogan said, "I'm sorry I couldn't visit you, but now is not the time to be happy about our reunion. You must leave this city immediately."
"This city is about to disappear."
"What?!"
Wendy and Carla were extremely shocked.
"What do you mean by that?! What's this about the city disappearing?!"
"It's 'anima', a super-dimensional magic. That magic has already locked onto this city. Because it's too immense, I can't suppress it alone. Its disappearance is unavoidable. At the very least, I must save you."
Wendy anxiously asked, "What about Fairy Tail?! What will happen to everyone in the guild?!"
Mystogan said gravely, "They will all die."
"How can that be?! No! I must go warn everyone!"
Wendy immediately sped towards Fairy Tail.
Inside the Guild, because of the rain, everyone didn't want to go on missions.
Mirajane put on her clothes, looking like she was about to leave.
"Takeshi, I have something to do. I need to go to the church first."
"I'll go with you." Takeshi put down his glass.
Mirajane shook her head. "No need, Elfman and I will go together. Elfman, let's go."
"Coming."
Elfman got up and followed Mirajane out.
Lucy asked curiously, "Why would Mira-san go specifically to the church in this weather?"
"Ah! Lisanna's death anniversary is coming soon."
"Lisanna?"
"Mira and Elfman's younger sister. She died two years ago during a job. Lisanna and Natsu were very close, and she even said she wanted to be Natsu's bride when she grew up."
"Bride?!"
Lucy never expected there was a girl who wanted to be Natsu's bride.
"Lisanna, huh..."
Given their relationship, Mirajane had told Takeshi about Lisanna.
Takeshi knew Lisanna was still alive, but telling Mirajane before finding Lisanna might make Mirajane disbelieve him.
On the other hand, he wasn't sure if Lisanna was truly still alive, as plot points were the most unreliable things.
Before, his strength was insufficient, but now that he was strong enough, it was time to bring Lisanna back. When he brings Lisanna before Mirajane, it will be a huge surprise for her.
At this moment, the sky above Magnolia Town was changing dramatically.
The dark clouds in the sky rapidly rotated, forming a giant vortex. The other end of the vortex led to an unknown place.
Wendy noticed the change in the sky and immediately sped towards the guild.
"Everyone! This is bad! The sky..."
Before Wendy could finish her sentence, the guild twisted before her eyes. Immediately after, the buildings of the entire town began to twist, then were swept away, rushing towards the giant vortex in the sky.
In just the blink of an eye, the entire Magnolia Town completely vanished.
"No... no way... the guild... it's gone..."
"The streets too... all of them... how can this be... what happened?! Is anyone there?!"
Bang!
An arm broke through the earth, and then Takeshi's figure emerged from underground.
"Takeshi-nii!"
Seeing that Takeshi was fine, Wendy burst into tears of joy.
"Wendy, what's going on?"
Takeshi was a bit confused at this moment. He had just gone to the restroom, then felt a dizzying sensation.
When he came to his senses, he was buried in the dirt. He thought he had drunk too much.
Hearing Wendy's voice, he suddenly woke up, then crawled out of the ground, and saw the empty scene around him.
Just then, another bulge appeared on the ground, and then Natsu emerged from underground.
Natsu was equally confused, his expression identical to Takeshi's. "Takeshi, Wendy? Where is this?"
He had been sleeping and was buried the moment he opened his eyes.
Wendy said, "This... this is the guild. A hole suddenly opened in the sky, and the guild and the streets were all sucked in."