Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331
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-Magnolia-
"It's been a while, Broly."
His voice sounded different, and his appearance had matured, marked by several rough scars that had not been there before. His overall presence carried a quieter weight than the energetic boy Broly remembered from the tower, the one who spoke of a better future and charged ahead with stubborn hope. Even so, his ki felt the same. Without a moment of doubt, Broly whispered with certainty, "Jellal."
"Surprised to see me? You've been doing well yourself. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for myself—Gurk!"
Whatever he was about to say never reached Broly. The Saiyan stepped forward and seized the young man by the shoulders, pulling him into a crushing embrace with far too much strength. Jellal wheezed in his arms, the air pushed clean out of his lungs as he struggled to breathe.
"I thought you were dead. Erza said she searched for you more than once, but she could never find anything."
There was so much he wanted to say. Apologies he had carried for years, stories he wanted to share, questions about what had happened after the tower, and how Jellal had endured all that time without anyone knowing. Before he could try to say any of it, Jellal tried to speak through a strained breath.
"Gl-Glad to see… ugh, someone this h-happy to see me. Certainly beats what I was going through before," he joked weakly. "Can you put me down now, please? My bo-bones are about to give out."
"Oh, sorry."
Broly immediately set him back on his feet and brushed off the front of his clothes, a large smile spreading across his face. "You should have told me earlier. Why are you standing out here alone then? Come on, let's go inside. Erza and the others will be thrilled to see you again!"
He tried to pull Jellal along, only for the latter to resist, much to his confusion. Jellal forced a small smile while keeping his feet planted, then shook his head.
"Sorry. I don't think I can be doing that yet."
Broly opened his mouth to ask why, but his attention drifted toward the strange markings that filled one side of Jellal's face. They did not seem to be causing him immediate pain, yet he could sense something was about them.
"You probably guessed why," Jellal said quietly.
"Let me check." Broly tried to get a closer look.
"No!"
The Saiyan had barely reached out before the blue-haired mage stepped back sharply, creating space between them with clear urgency. His guarded expression left no room for argument.
"Under no circumstances must you touch this. I didn't come all this way just to have you get cursed."
"Cursed?" Broly's confusion was clear, though he remained silent and waited for Jellal to continue.
"It's a long story, but this isn't why I came. I'm here to warn you. This place is no longer safe."
His eyes narrowed as he studied him more closely. "What do you mean?"
"I'm sure you're familiar with the dark guilds under the Balaam Alliance."
"Yes. I already met two guilds."
His tone was casual, as meeting two of the most infamous guilds in Fiore was just another day. The memory of his encounter with the last one still lingered unpleasantly in his mind — especially the words left behind by Presht.
"So I've heard. I couldn't believe it at first, but considering it's you, I suppose it's not surprising things didn't end in disaster. But this case won't be the same. The third guild in the alliance, now the only one left, Tartaros. Have you encountered them?"
Tartaros… yes, he had, but not much. "I have an idea, but nothing detailed. One of the three dark guards in the Balaam Alliance."
"Good. They are not the same kind of threat you have been dealing with, I swear. They are not your typical mages who can use dark magic or forbidden magic lost from ancient times. They are much worse and have been quietly spreading their influence across the continent for the last few years, maybe even centuries." Jellal spoke while taking a seat on a flattened rock, his fingers brushing over the shifting markings that crawled across his cheek. "This is a gift from them, too, one of the heads of the Nine Demon Gates. I have had my fair share of encounters with them in the past, and I have been trying to fight back in my own way. But I guess I was overestimating my abilities far too much. And just recently, I ended up meeting one of the twelve heads." His fists tightened, and a tremor moved through his frame. "I have never dealt with such strange magic before. The moment I got these markings, it was already too late, and only later did I find out what they really were. Curses. Another branch from the One Magic, but one whose power is rooted in negative emotions rather than ethernano. It's foul by its very nature."
The more Broly listened, the worse this ability sounded. He tried to sense Jellal's ki once more. Everything felt stable on the surface, yet the more he focused on his energy, there was a distinct presence of something unpleasant. Just like Jellal had said, the corruption worked differently from magic and hid itself behind a layer that he could not easily interpret. "Unfortunately, because of what you did to the other two dark guilds, their eyes are now set on you. Whether it's curiosity about your powers or just taking out a future danger. Sooner or later, someone will come to this town to find you and end you."
"Then I will deal with them," Broly answered with confidence. "This is not the first time something like this has happened. Grimoire Heart did the same thing."
"I know you can handle yourself, but these are demons. They are far more ruthless than the other dark guilds, and it is not you alone who will be in danger. Everyone else could be dragged into this."
"To tell you the truth, I can only give you information involving two individuals of the Nine Demon Gates. Jackal and Kyouka, both Etherious, are amongst the most dangerous beings I have faced so far. Jackal has an ability that lets him force a powerful explosive force on anything he touches, and Kyoka… I… could figure out to some extent, but it has something to do with manipulating all of her targets' senses. Hm!"
Broly listened to each name with care, setting them into his memory together with the handful of abilities Jellal managed to uncover during his investigations. But as he focused on the words, he slowly noticed the man before him swaying. His voice weakened, and his body leaned from left to right as if his own weight became too much.
"Jellal!"
"Ha-ah… I went t-too far back then. I used up too much energy in the last fight," the man muttered as his legs gave out. He nearly collapsed before Broly caught him by the shoulders, then tried to lift his head, but it drooped forward, his breath turning shallow.
"Listen. Do not talk, just listen. No matter what you do, if you meet the leader of the guild, the man who carries a book with him at all times, do not underestimate him. Do not hesitate. Attack with everything you can, the moment you engage. He is carrying something that could bring an end to everything we know. And please, do not take me to anyone from the guild. No one should touch those curses. It will drain away their energy until they cannot use their magic anymore. B-But… you… You don't use… magic, right? W-What was it… Ki?"
Broly nodded, remembering how he had given the boy and many others a brief understanding of life energy. Unable to talk any longer, the blue-haired man's voice faded until it turned dull and nearly silent. Broly called his name again and again, but Jellal did not answer. His eyes finally shut.
The Ki within him suddenly started to plummet, growing so faint that it horrified Broly.
"No!"
Throwing away all caution, he pressed his hand against Jellal's face and pushed his life energy into him. Just as Jellal warned, the markings reacted instantly. They stirred and crept across his skin like living ink. He ignored it and continued to infuse more ki into the man. Some color returned to Jellal's pale expression, though it was so faint that Broly could not tell if it was real progress or wishful thinking.
"Hmm?"
The curse that crawled up his hand began to bite into his strength, leeching more energy as if it were drinking from a river. Broly responded by forcing even more ki through his body, flooding every point where the markings tried to anchor themselves. He kept increasing the flow until the drain made no difference, the sheer volume of his life force pushing against it like a storm. Even so, the curse refused to burn away. It clung to him stubbornly, refusing to vanish.
"I cannot let others touch him."
Now he fully understood why Jellal insisted on keeping a distance and avoiding the others. Broly did not know whether Fairy Tail had someone who could cure such a condition, and even if they did, he could not take the chance. He would not risk one of them falling into the same fate because of a careless touch or an attempt to help.
Which meant he had to rely on the only person who could resist a curse that devoured life force without restraint.
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(A few minutes later)
Bam!
The door to the underground base slammed open the instant he arrived, revealing an interior that had grown far larger and far more refined than the last time he had stepped inside. The chamber that once felt like a cramped hideout now stretched into a wide workspace filled with shelves of labeled ingredients, stacks of tomes, and a long row of crystalline lamps that brightened every corner. Yet none of that was what caught his attention first. The first thing he saw was the red-haired woman standing stiffly at the main table, her hands full of metallic tools, while several glowing spells hovered above the unmoving body lying before her.
A young man with blonde hair and a black mark on his chest.
"Learn to knock!" the woman shouted, her irritation visible on her face as she flicked a spell in his direction. The burst of magic hit his face without leaving so much as a mark, and he barely reacted. He simply stepped forward at once, his voice strained and uneven.
"Something's going on with him! He's been cursed and needs your help! Please!"
He could not remember the last time he had been this tense.
Even forming basic sentences felt difficult when his mind insisted on spinning through worst-case thoughts that only fed his worry. The last time he had sounded this frantic had been during their mission against Oración Seis, but even then, he had known he was the main danger and only needed to keep himself under control. This situation felt different. Someone else was at risk, and he had no idea how to handle a threat he could not simply overpower.
"Curse?" the woman repeated, her tone shifting as he lowered Jellal's hood enough to reveal the dark markings sliding across his skin like restless serpents. Realisation flashed through her expression almost instantly. "Fascinating. You really do attract the most interesting things in the world. Alright then, put him over here."
She reached toward the unconscious blond man already occupying the table, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and flicked her wrist. His limp body flew across the room and crashed against a wall with all the care one would use when tossing away rubbish.
"I already learned what I needed from this fool anyway."
Broly glanced at the discarded man for a moment, wondering who he was and why she had been working on him. The curiosity vanished quickly once he noticed the emblem of Grimoire Heart burned into the stranger's chest. Whoever he was, he clearly was not part of Fairy Tail, and nothing about him seemed worth Broly's attention when compared to Jellal's condition. The man became nothing more than a background detail as he refocused on helping his injured friend.
The red-haired woman moved around Jalal with practiced ease. A series of pale green rings drifted from her fingertips, each one settling onto his skin while her tools clicked softly with every adjustment she made. Her magic pressed against the curse, reacting in ways that even she did not fully expect. She paused only once, pricking her own finger just enough to draw a small bead of blood before letting the droplet fall onto the markings.
Right before their eyes, the tiny red drop that had initially glowed shifted as the crawling patterns surrounded it. The blood darkened, losing its shine, then morphed rapidly into a normal shade, with its luster completely gone.
"I see. A nasty curse. I did not know they had advanced their abilities to this extent or managed to produce something this dangerous," she said, her tone carrying a hint of interest rather than alarm. With a snap of her fingers, she burned the tainted blood away, taking part of the curse with it. Broly watched every movement with a tight expression, hands clenched at his sides.
"Can you cure him? Can you make him better?" he asked.
"I'm surprised you brought him to me. I am not a healer, which confuses me on why you brought him here of all places," she replied. "Fairy Tail has that incompetent mage called Porlyusica. I even ran into the woman yesterday while she was searching for materials inside the forest. We had quite a pleasant conversation. She may lack the talent to use magic properly, but she's knowledgeable when it comes to medicine."
"He told me not to bring him anywhere near other humans. He said the curse could be dangerous to them," Broly answered.
"Hm. That makes sense. This is a nasty piece of work — I am even impressed by its design. It is far too complex for someone of his level to be targeted with, which makes the situation even stranger."
"You did not answer my question. Can you fix him?" Broly asked again.
"I can do two things to get rid of the curse," she said while raising two fingers. Her calm tone contrasted with the pressure settling over the Saiyan's shoulders. He listened closely, his focus fixed on every word that left her mouth. "The first is that I burn this man until not even ash remains. By then, the curse will also be gone, and it will pose no threat to anyone whatsoever. And before you start yelling, let me finish with the second option."
She paused only long enough to flick her eyes toward a small crystal device at her side that pulsed like a living heartbeat. "We simply wait and see how it goes. It does not seem like whoever inflicted this curse wanted to kill him. Most likely, they only wanted to torture him until his mind broke or he became incapable of using magic ever again. He must have overused his magic before coming here, and that endangered his life. In fact, I believe the moment he loses his ability to use magic, the curse will vanish on its own."
"Lose his magic?" Broly's eyes widened at the implication. He had lived long enough in this world to understand how precious magic was to mages. It would be like asking him to surrender his ability to use ki. His own powers had caused trouble more times than he could count, yet they were tools he relied on to protect others.
He did not even know the full range of Jellal's abilities, only that the man clearly possessed enough strength and experience to challenge the dark guild responsible for this. He wanted to help him, but saving someone only to strip away everything that made them whole barely felt like saving at all.
"Isn't there a second way? A third? Can't you pull the curse off him and put it on something else?" he asked. He knew he was grasping at ideas that sounded ridiculous even to him, but desperation pushed the words out.
Irene remained silent. Her eyes drifted down to his hand, where the curse continued running beneath his skin in twisting lines. Without asking permission, she stepped closer and took his hand. Her fingers were unexpectedly soft as they traced the markings spreading across his palm, but for some reason did not infect her. The touch was gentle enough to make him twitch before he could stop himself.
"Hrm!" The sudden sting broke the moment. A thin dagger shimmered in Irene's hand, its blade glowing with concentrated magic potent enough to slice a fresh cut across the back of his skin. Before Broly could react, she caught the sliver of skin with a precise motion and let a few drops of a pale liquid fall over the wound. It knitted itself back together instantly.
"Surprised?" she asked. "You have no idea how many of my valuable resources are spent just to make this little dagger. At least it still works as intended."
As predicted, the curse immediately crawled back over the newly healed skin, reclaiming the area as if nothing had changed.
"I am afraid that method would not work either," she said, lifting her gaze.
"Were you actually planning on skinning Jellal?" Broly asked. His face twisted in disbelief and something close to horror.
"What? I could have grown it back later with a different potion. Hair would have taken some time to return, but that is hardly a serious inconvenience."
Broly stared at her, unable to hide the look forming on his face. This woman was powerful and brilliant, but moments like this reminded him how unsettling her logic could be. Even imagining the result made him queasy.
"I am afraid this leaves us with only one option," Irene continued.
"I am listening."
"There is no guarantee that it will work," she warned. "I am basing all of this on a possibility rather than anything certain. The only one who truly understands the inner workings of this curse is the one who created it. So the only way to free him without causing permanent damage would be to find the caster and force them, peacefully or otherwise, to erase it. I believe you know exactly where this path leads."
"I have to start another battle against another dark guild."
The woman stepped into the room with a scoff, rolling her eyes while flipping her long hair behind her back in a smooth, almost dismissive motion. "Starting a fight? What fight? You can just blast them away from a distance and be done with it."
"That is, if I can even find their base. I have absolutely no idea where to locate them." He answered with a tired shrug, earning a surprised look from Irene.
"You're actually considering it?"
He nodded. "Jellal mentioned they are interested in me and are actively searching for me now. Rather than sit around and wait for another situation like the Grimoire Heart incident to unfold again, I would rather move first and deal with everything directly."
"That's an efficient way of looking at things. Honestly, I expected you to say something about trusting your guild mates and taking on the challenge with them by your side and all that familiar heroic talk you usually hear."
"I do trust them, but..." He tried to think of a proper excuse, a believable reason that explained why he did not need to bring them along. He no longer feared losing control of himself, and he trusted his friends to be strong enough to protect themselves. But whenever he thought about Jellal's condition, the idea of anyone else ending up like that made his skin crawl. If these enemies could twist curses so precisely, there was no guarantee they did not have other dangerous methods to seize control of whoever became infected.
"I'll go with you."
He froze mid-thought. As he debated whether to bring the others or trust the process, Irene suddenly spoke up. Her calm voice cut through his focus so abruptly that he was not even sure he had heard her correctly. She tilted her head slightly before continuing. "Curious as to why I would suggest such a thing? The answer is obvious, don't you think? You're about to fight an Etherious. I already mentioned how I have been observing you, cataloguing the details of your powers, studying every little aspect of how they manifest and how far they can be pushed. Watching how you handle curses would add another layer to that observation. And as for the demons themselves, I never really interacted with them before because I never had a reason. It would be dishonest to say I am not at least curious about how Zeref's creations are functioning in the current age."
It actually sounded like a reasonable idea. He tried to think of any real downside, but nothing came to mind. Irene was an incredibly powerful wizard and technically not even human, either, so the curse may not affect her at all. And even if it did, he was certain she had more than a few ways to handle it. When it came to raw power, she was easily the second strongest in all of Magnolia. He doubted even someone like Gildarts could inflict serious damage on her. That still left him with the problem of finding the base of the Tartaros guild. He could fly across the continent all he wanted, but the landmass was enormous. It would take weeks or even months to pinpoint their exact location. It simply was not worth the time. Jellal would likely have lost the ability to use magic long before then.
"I think I may have some ideas on how we can locate them." Irene's voice cut through his spiraling thoughts, pulling him back as he turned to her with a hopeful look.
"Well, since they are demons, their subordinates are usually demons as well. If we can find the areas with the largest concentrations of demonic signatures, then the dark guild should be somewhere close by. But that is still like throwing a dart at a map while blindfolded. It relies too much on luck. Trying to reverse engineer the curse and track its creator through its energy trail could work, but the person responsible would know we are approaching. Or maybe not... If this idiot were still conscious, we could have asked him where it was located. Give me some time. I will try to come up with something."
"Is it okay to leave Jellal like this for long?" he asked quietly.
"It's fine. He is in a mostly stable condition after I applied some enchantments. And I am fairly certain you did something before bringing him here. His entire body is brimming with energy, which is delaying the effects of the curse. We have more than enough time without needing to rush."
"Alright, I trust you."
"And that is why you are a fool."
{Break}
-Fairy Tail Guild-
After leaving that place, he made his way back to Magnolia with the intention of helping however he could. Broly was not sure where to start, yet he still felt that doing nothing would be worse than trying and failing. The afternoon streets were warm and familiar, and for a brief moment, he believed the guild would welcome him with the usual noise and energy. Instead, when he walked through the doors, he found Lucy and Cana slumped over the counter with an atmosphere so gloomy it almost seemed to sink into the wooden floorboards. Erza, Natsu, and most of the members were nowhere to be seen.
"What happened?" he asked, genuinely confused, only to hear a soft giggle at his side. Mirajane approached with a bright expression, wearing a ribbon wrapped neatly around her body that read number one, and she held a small medal that she twirled playfully between her fingers.
"They are just tired after the swimsuit event. Things got out of control once everyone started using magic. Someone decided it would be a great idea to summon Aquarius, and she flooded the whole area. I was lucky enough to avoid being washed away, so I automatically won first place. If you are wondering where the rest of the guild members are, they went to the Asia parade to join the march as usual. Natsu has been excited to show off the new firework tricks he came up with. Erza went as well because a lot of people look forward to seeing her there," she explained casually, while Lucy and Cana groaned from the counter and shot her a mixture of envy and frustration.
"Speaking of which, where did you go? You were there at the start, but near the end, you vanished. Was it boring for someone like you to watch us competing in swimsuits?" Mirajane asked as she crossed her arms, putting on a playful pout that she clearly exaggerated on purpose.
Broly shook his head. "I had a meeting with someone I have not seen in a long time. It was important, so I had to leave. Sorry that I could not stay until the end."
Mirajane waved her hand lightly. "It is fine. At least you were there at the beginning. So tell me, which one did you like the most?" She leaned in with a teasing smile, and Broly paused to choose his words. The question instantly froze Lucy and Cana, who stared at him without blinking, hoping for an answer that might restore their pride.
"You all looked good." said Broly nonchantly, missing the real meaning behind the question.
"Such a safe answer. You cannot say that and expect me to let it go. I need the truth. You can whisper it if you want. I pinkie promise to keep it between us," she said as she stepped closer, tilting her head so he could speak directly into her ear. Her innocent smile earned her a pair of sharp glares from the two defeated women at the counter, yet she only responded with a soft laugh.
Broly considered her question more seriously this time. He genuinely did not think much about judging them, but he understood they wanted something more than a vague reply.
"If I had to choose, Erza looked the cutest in the bunny outfit. I am already used to seeing Cana in swimsuits, and the same goes for Lucy, so her outfit ended up being the most memorable. There was also another girl who stood out. I forgot her name, but I think she was from Phantom Lord."
"Urgh!" Lucy and Cana collapsed into despair, their hopes completely crushed. Cana reached for the nearest barrel of beer and began drinking directly from it without hesitation, while Lucy grabbed one of her own and followed her example.
"I told you we should have gone with the V string!" Cana said, her voice muffled by the rim of the barrel.
The suggestion caused a deep red blush to spread across Lucy's entire face. She paused for several seconds, clearly imagining the idea before shaking her head vigorously. "Absolutely not. I refuse to wear that in public. It hid practically nothing! It would've been like walking in public naked!"
"It was just a small sacrifice to win the entire competition. How can you explain that someone who can transform into a huge muscular man with everything barely hidden behind a tiny Speedo won a swimsuit competition meant for women!?" Cana complained, waving her free hand while still drinking.
Mirajane laughed softly at the sight of the two drowning their misery.
Even Broly could not believe how Mirajane had actually won, given the reactions he had seen from the crowd. Most of them looked permanently scarred by the entire display, and he honestly could not blame them. Either her luck was unbelievable, or every other contestant had been terribly unlucky.
Or better yet, the judges were too biased towards Mirajane.
"You did not like my transformation? I tried my best to represent you as well as I could," Mirajane said, her voice carrying a small hint of disappointment.
"Don't know. Never wore those kinds of clothes, and it felt uncomfortable with how tight it can be. Also, would it not be a bit selfish for me to pick myself?" he replied while rubbing the back of his neck, a bit out of depth in this situation.
"Not at all. There is nothing wrong with liking yourself," she insisted with an encouraging smile, patting him on his chest.
"By the way, Mirajane, do you know where I can find the library?" he asked. The moment the words left his mouth, the woman froze in place and slowly turned her head as if she needed to confirm she heard correctly.
"You want to go to the library? You?"
Why did she look so shocked? If he wanted to find any leads on Tartaros, then the library was the only logical place to start. If records existed about their sightings or activities, then maybe Irene could use that information.
"It is for something important that I'm trying to find out about," he said, deciding not to reveal the full reason.
She hesitated for a moment but still gestured for him to follow. She led him to the library, which turned out to be smaller than he expected while still containing thousands of books arranged in long rows.
"Thanks," he said once she left him to explore.
The man wandered between shelves for a few minutes, scanning titles and flipping through several books in search of anything remotely useful.
"Balam Alliance… Balam… ah, here."
He found a cluster of books focused on dark guilds. Most were bounty lists created by the Magic Council. Familiar faces stared back at him from the pages, people he had already fought. Each one carried an impressive reward beneath their name.
"Maybe I can claim the rewards since I captured them. Lucy would like that," he muttered.
Unfortunately, the book he was reading was an old edition. Only Oracion Seis members were included. Guilds like Grimoire Heart had little to no information listed. Even the blonde man he had seen in Irene's house appeared only under the simple name Zancrow. Every other member remained a mystery, including their master, which confirmed just how outdated the book truly was.
It was worse for Tartaros. Practically nothing had been recorded about them. Not their base, not their leaders, not even clear descriptions of their purpose. Only one consistent detail existed; they commanded an army of demons.
"Damn it," he murmured under his breath while pulling another stack of books from a shelf.
His head already felt heavy from reading so many pages. Doing this kind of research was not one of his strengths, and he knew Lucy would have done far better with the help of those weird glasses that allowed her to read faster. Still, he refused to give up and continued searching.
"What you are about to do is a bad idea."
He froze mid-read. The unfamiliar yet oddly gentle voice came from above him. Turning his head above, he spotted a young girl perched on top of a high shelf. Her long, wavy platinum blond hair spilled over her shoulders as she kicked her legs back and forth. She wore a frilly dress, and her deep green eyes watched him patiently.
"A demon is not something you should chase after, especially an Etherious created from the Book of Zeref. They endanger everyone, even you," she said.
Her warning barely registered, for his attention was fixed entirely on her face. His mouth hung open slightly as the realization hit him. She was the same girl he had encountered before, the one he was never sure was real or imagined.
"You are…" He failed to finish the sentence, unsure how to react or what to say.
"You can call me Mavis. Hello!" She greeted him warmly.
Mavis. The name tickled at his memory, familiar enough to stir recognition yet distant enough to remain unclear. It did not matter. There was only one thing occupying his thoughts.
"You are real," he whispered.
"Of course I am real! Why would you think I was not? We met several times before," she answered with a bright expression, as though the idea of her being imaginary made no sense at all.
"We did?" Aside from that dream he had the day he met Irene, Broly could not remember another instance where they met.
"Oh, I meant I met you several times before. Most of those times, you were unconscious or sleeping." She gave an awkward little smile before hopping down from the shelf and drifting gently to the floor beside him. She glanced at the books he had gathered and let out a quiet, curious hum. "You know, one of the main reasons why Tartaros has never been located is similar to Grimoire Heart… they have a mobile base. Even if you find anything here, there is no point treating it as reliable information because they are no longer in that place."
The realisation had not crossed his mind before, and as he thought over it now, he felt the logic settle clearly. "Is there no other way I can search for them?"
"We are really going to risk your life so you can face all of them just to save that blue haired boy?" she asked instead of answering his question, and he responded with a confident nod.
"Yes. He is my friend. I have to protect him and save him somehow. Also, I will make sure I stay careful."
"The demons are not the ones that worry me the most, truth be told. I am more concerned about that woman you decided to bring along with you." She folded her arms, a frown gracing her features.
'Oh, so she was also worried about Irene,' he thought. 'Wait, when did she see Irene? I was alone back there, too.'
She continued, "Listen, child. I know you have a good heart, and I find that quite admirable, but you should be careful about trusting others too easily. She will betray you the moment she gets a chance. That is the kind of impression she gives me."
"You should talk to her. She has her quirks, but she is an overall nice person." He tried to sound convincing, though the dry stare she gave him showed she did not agree. "Maybe you can just talk to her and see that she is not as bad as you think. As long as you do not offend her or make her angry."
"An interesting suggestion, but since she is not a member of Fairy Tail, I doubt we will meet anytime soon. In any case, are you seriously trying to go after Tartaros?"
"Yes."
"Even if I say no?"
"Yes."
"Even if I say it sternly?"
"Yes."
"Do not go. It is dangerous!"
"Sorry."
Mavis pressed her fingertips against her forehead as if he had given her a new kind of headache. "What a stubborn child. You may be big, but that does not make you invulnerable."
"Well, I am not trying to take on the entire guild. As long as I can find the person responsible for putting Jellal in that condition, I can focus on them. Worst case scenario, I track them down, kidnap them, bring them back here, and force them to cooperate."
Mavis gave his idea some thought, her expression wavering with uncertainty until she released a long sigh. "I hate how you are doing all of this for someone else. I cannot in good conscience tell you to abandon your effort to save your friend."
He let out a short and weary chuckle. "Unfortunately for that, I need to locate their base of operations. Without knowing where they are, there is no point in trying to save him. Hopefully, I can come up with something to track them."
"Oh, that is an easy fix." Mavis brightened, her cheerful tone catching him completely off guard. He stared at her with questionably as she continued, "You did not check the quest board recently, did you? There might be something on it that will interest you. Also, did you forget Gildarts is here? He is not just a wandering meathead who travels the world to destroy threats or help people. He gathers information everywhere he goes. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew the last place where that base was spotted."
It felt like someone had dropped a hammer on his thoughts. He nearly wanted to slap himself for forgetting about Gildarts and how much he could have helped them in the first place. As for the quest board, he wasted no time and rushed toward it, weaving past the guild members as he scanned the rows of papers pinned across the wide board.
There were hundreds of quests, each one shouting for attention. He dragged his eyes across them one by one until a particular sheet made him stop. It read,
"Dark guild presence spotted near the forest, causing an increase in demon-related incidents within the area. Assistance from mages is required to handle these people."
He remembered Irene mentioning that Tartaros relied on demons as its subordinates, so if there was any region overflowing with demonic traces, he had a strong chance of finding something useful there.
Bam!
He had barely stepped toward the request board when a loud commotion echoed from the guild entrance. The noise rolled through the hall like a sudden wave, and when he turned, he saw a group forcing their way inside with Natsu, Gray, and even Erza at the front, all three moving with a sense of urgency that caught his attention more than any celebration ever could.
Instead of looking toward him as they usually did after returning from some parade or loud brawl, they looked tense and worried. The Master pushed through the crowd and raised his voice. "Make way! Make way! Someone arrange the beds for the four of them! I will go call Porlyusica!" He hurried outside without another word, leaving Broly standing in the middle of the hall with a rising sense of confusion.
He spotted Levy weaving through the guild and stepped in front of her. "What is going on? Who are those people?" He pointed toward the injured group being carried in. One of them, a tall blue-haired man with a cracked helmet barely hanging together, caught his eye. Another one is a brown haired woman and a green-haired woman.
"That is Laxus and his teammates. We found them at the entrance of Magnolia. They were barely conscious by the time we got to them. Something serious must have happened to them to put them in this state," she said, worry evident in her eyes.
Broly watched quietly, studying for the first time the face of the boy who was the master's grandson. He looked very different from what Broly expected, blonde hair and the lightning mark matching what he heard about him from others.
"So that is Laxus."
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.