"Using Face to gain immortality?"
Edo Bickslow, who was treating Chase, looked up. "That is selfish! Do you know how many places are suffering because of the magic drought?"
"I know you are upset. But calm down..."
Chase winced. The man had pressed too hard on a wound.
"Ah. Sorry," Edo Bickslow said.
"He is right. Let us hear his reasons," Edo Gildarts said.
The title "World Guardian" and the fact he lived on this lonely island suggested his immortality was not simple.
Acnologia stood up. He looked at the stars. He was calm.
He was not used to talking to people. It took him a while to find the words.
"I do not know what the world is like now. But when I was born, about four hundred years ago, magic was a tool for humans."
"There were wars. But overall, it was good. People had hope. Magic helped them prosper."
He remembered the good times. A faint smile appeared on his cold face. Then it was gone. Replaced by anger.
"Then, one day, people fell from the sky. They called themselves Apostles of God. They could use magic freely."
He clenched his fists.
With their powerful God Slayer magic, they invaded. They killed. They burned. They tried to conquer Edolas.
The people of Edolas fought back. They were weak. They had only basic magical weapons.
The two sides fought in this forest.
Edolas won. They killed the Apostles of God. But it cost them tens of thousands of lives.
It was a short victory. The beginning of despair.
Edolas's location was now known. More Apostles of God came. They saw how weak the people were.
Edolas was caught in a war of attrition.
To fight back, to protect their homes, the people of Edolas gathered all the magic in the world. They created the white giant foot. Face.
It worked. The promise of a great source of magic lured the enemy here. To the floating island on top of Face.
There were many islands then. Many warriors came to fight. Including Acnologia.
The islands were destroyed, one by one.
When Acnologia looked around, he was alone. Everyone else was dead. Friends. Family. All of them.
Out of despair came a new power. Maybe from bathing in the blood of so many God Slayers. He gained the ability to seal magic.
The war continued. New warriors came. They died.
Acnologia realized no one could keep up with him.
To stop young people from throwing away their lives, he connected his body and soul to Face. He created the altars to block the path. He chose the loneliest path.
He would fight alone.
Under his protection, Edolas became peaceful. Hundreds of years passed. The world became what it was today.
The Apostles of God became legend. The crisis was forgotten.
"So, when we were worrying about the magic shortage, this was happening on the other side of the world."
"You mean, you have been protecting the world for over four hundred years? Alone?"
Edo Gildarts and the others were stunned.
Acnologia had tried to make it sound easy. But they could feel the pain.
Edo Bickslow felt ashamed of his words.
Chase and Edo Chase were calmer. They were not from this world.
Chase was moved. The Acnologia of Earthland was a destroyer. Here, he was a protector.
His fists did not lie. He had no reason to lie.
He stood alone in the sky. He took the hits. For centuries.
This was a real man.
Edo Chase was thinking.
The God Slayers who invaded Edolas were from the God Realm. They were not real Apostles of God.
Real gods would not care about a world with so little magic.
He made a decision.
"Mr. Acnologia. Protecting the world is the duty of all Edolas. Please, let me stay and fight with you."
Silence.
"You are scared. But you are acting brave. You caught it from the other Chase."
Edo Evergreen gave him a thumbs up. "But it is cool."
She was staying too.
Edo Gildarts and the others stepped forward. Their eyes said everything.
Acnologia's eyes widened. Then they grew cold again.
He pointed to the pile of bones.
Igneel. Precht. Mard Geer.
"Others came here too. Broke the seals. Just like you. They are gone now."
***
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