As the date of Fairy Tail's continent-topping citywide parade drew nearer, the entire guild buzzed with nervous excitement.
Most members were busy preparing to ride floats during the parade, eager to showcase Fairy Tail's unique charm to friends and tourists gathering from all corners of the world.
By now, a ring of "officially licensed" shops had sprung up around the guild, each bustling with noisy crowds buying merchandise.
However, away from the festivities, the atmosphere was much heavier.
Inside the guild's spacious backyard training ground, the air was thick with tension.
Ankh stood in the center of the field, unusually holding a long iron sword.
He held the blade casually, its tip pointing toward the ground, his posture relaxed and full of openings.
Yet, his expression was calm, bordering on bored, as he watched his opponent.
Across the field, Kagura leaned heavily on her new sword.
She was gasping for breath, sweat dripping from her chin.
Her clothes were stained with dust, and her arms trembled with exhaustion.
Nearby stood Erza and the three Strauss siblings, watching Kagura with sympathetic expressions.
Ankh appeared half-asleep, his eyes narrowed lazily as he remarked indifferently.
"What's wrong? You asked for this training. Is your swordsmanship truly inferior to mine? I thought you were a specialist."
Kagura glared defiantly at Ankh. She gripped her katana tightly, gritting her teeth until they ached.
"Nonsense!" she shouted, forcing herself upright. "This isn't even real swordsmanship! You're just using brute force!"
"Heh—"
Ankh sneered.
He gradually lowered his blade, his aura shifting from lazy to sharp.
"What do you consider true swordsmanship?" Ankh intoned solemnly. "Flashy acrobatics? Elaborate ceremonial dances? Adhering to a specific style?"
"Let me tell you—it's neither!"
WHOOSH.
In a flicker of movement, Ankh vanished.
"Too slow."
He reappeared instantly in front of her. His blade was already sweeping toward the utterly unprepared Kagura.
Kagura's pupils constricted. She barely managed to raise her sword to block, acting on pure instinct.
CLANG!
She blocked the heavy strike, but the force staggered her.
Ankh, quick-eyed and swift-handed, didn't stop. He retracted his blade and immediately followed with a simple, brutal upward flick.
CLACK!
The tip of his blade caught Kagura's guard. With a twist of his wrist, he sent her sword flying through the air!
"Ah!"
Stumbling off balance, Kagura fell backward onto the dirt.
Swish.
A cold wind passed her throat and a warm, wet sensation spread across her neck.
When she reached up to touch it with trembling fingers, they came away stained with vivid red blood.
It was a shallow cut, barely a scratch, but it was a clear message: If I wanted to, you would be dead.
Ankh maintained precise control over his movements. He held his sword aloft, glaring coldly down at Kagura, lecturing her with the voice of a Reaper.
"A sword is a weapon, and swordsmanship is the art of killing. No matter what righteous cause you wield your blade for, this remains an indisputable fact!"
He pointed the blade at her nose.
"Let me tell you, kid! Any sword technique that can kill is a good technique! If you cling to forms and styles, you will die in a real battle!"
Ankh's entire demeanor seemed to revert to his Grim Reaper days, radiating murderous intent as he scornfully rebuked the wide-eyed Kagura.
The once-defiant Kagura now appeared utterly dumbfounded by Ankh's intimidation.
She sat frozen on the ground, clearly terrified beyond words.
The spectators averted their gaze, unable to bear watching the harsh scene.
Lisanna shrank back, whispering uncomfortably, "Isn't Ankh-nii being a bit too harsh...? She's bleeding."
Elfman swallowed hard. He looked pale, as if recalling his own childhood under Ankh's dominion.
He dared not voice opposition to the alpha male.
Forcing a laugh, Elfman shouted, "To... To become a Real Man! This is a necessary path! Pain builds character!"
Lisanna shook her head helplessly, sighing at her brother's one-track mind.
"But Kagura is a girl, Elf-nii."
"A REAL MAN!" Elfman insisted, sweating.
Pouting, Lisanna couldn't be bothered with her foolish brother and turned to Mirajane instead.
"Mira-nee, aren't you going to help Kagura? Ankh-nii is bullying her."
Mirajane smiled gently and shook her head.
"You've never been trained by Ankh, Lisanna, so you don't understand his intentions," Mirajane explained softly. "Actually... he always has our best interests at heart. He breaks you down so you can build yourself up stronger."
As the leader of the new generation, Ankh had trained many young members while supervising Erza's training during their childhood.
Mirajane and Elfman were the first victims of his "Hell Camp."
Natsu and Gray had been quick to escape, avoiding Ankh's training only to find themselves subjected to Erza's devilish drills instead.
Among Fairy Tail's "Golden Generation" members, only the little angel Lisanna had been spared from Ankh's training torment because Ankh had a soft spot for her.
Everyone else—even girls like Levy and Cana—had been dragged into Ankh's military-style training at least once.
Erza endured the most brutal training of all.
To this day, the mere memory of Ankh's devilish methods would make her face pale.
It wasn't just physical torment, but also Ankh's unique psychological pressure.
Given such obvious favoritism, guild members often joked that Ankh's real sister might not be Erza, but Lisanna.
Erza watched Kagura with pity, sighing. "Kagura sought out Brother herself, asking him to train her. She wanted this."
Though her age prevented her from matching the Golden Generation's peak strength right now, Kagura remained one of the continent's rare young geniuses.
Given time, she would undoubtedly become an S-Class Mage bearing the guild's weight.
Yet this girl, who had suffered hardships since childhood and never known defeat since awakening her Magic Power, had been utterly stunned by Ankh's Gravity Magic during their first meeting in the alley.
Without even crossing blades, Kagura understood that Ankh's mastery of Gravity Magic surpassed hers by countless levels.
Thus today, driven by her wounded pride, Kagura had challenged Ankh to a swordsmanship duel, thinking she could beat him in pure technique.
As a result... just like before... complete defeat.
Though Ankh seldom wielded blades or spears in daily life (primarily because Seram held profound disdain for "primitive tools"), this didn't mean Ankh was unskilled.
How could someone who mentored Erza—Fairy Tail's master of arms—possibly be unversed in weaponry?
It was simply that his blade techniques had returned to simplicity.
No flash. Just efficiency.
Clearly haunted by her effortless loss, Kagura remained crouched on the ground in a daze, clutching her sword hilt. She was unable to snap out of it.
Erza approached helplessly. She helped Kagura to her feet while smiling encouragingly.
"Don't take it to heart, Kagura. My brother is one of the strongest Mages in our guild—and the continent. Losing to him is perfectly normal. Even I lose to him."
A glimmer of light finally returned to Kagura's eyes.
"Really?" Kagura asked.
"Yes," Erza nodded.
But then, Erza's honesty backfired.
"Besides, you still have plenty of room to grow, don't you?" Erza continued earnestly. "Even here, excluding the S-Class Mages... you'd probably rank within the top five..."
Erza paused, counting on her fingers.
She looked at Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Juvia, Elfman, Freed...
"...top ten..."
She hesitated again.
"...top fifteen... in our guild?"
Hearing Erza's painfully hesitant yet honest assessment, Kagura's face once again assumed an expression of utter despair.
Top fifteen?!
Could this be true? Was her talent actually fake?
That couldn't be... Among the experts from other Magic Guilds she'd encountered, few could match her.
But here, she was barely cracking the top twenty?
The thoroughly defeated Kagura wore a slightly vacant expression as she plunged into self-doubt.
Witnessing this, Ankh didn't intervene. He leaned on his sword, watching her.
It was better for Kagura to encounter the world's geniuses early, Ankh thought.
This would help forge her resolve to become stronger.
Just look at Fairy Tail's golden generation of prodigies—every one of them had overcome similar setbacks.
Had any of them truly broken? Weren't they all still striving and competing with each other?
Well... except for Cana...
Ankh glanced toward the guild hall.
Year after year, Cana qualified for the S-Class trials, only to face insurmountable opponents each time.
Combined with the pressure of being Gildarts' daughter, even the most optimistic person would feel disheartened.
But there was no helping it—no matter how hard you worked, someone else would be working harder, and they'd have talent to boot.
Seeing Kagura's dejection reminded me of Cana from years past, Ankh realized and he couldn't help but sigh.
Just then, Mirajane stepped forward to break the gloomy atmosphere.
She approached the sulking Kagura with a cheerful smile.
"Come on now, don't look so sad!" Mirajane said gently. "Kagura, the Miss Fairy Tail beauty competition is about to begin inside. Aren't you going to join the fun? It's a great way to clear your mind!"
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