Wendy was an empathetic and kind child at heart.
She felt the suffering of others and understood the plight of Roubaul and his guildmates.
Though her heart ached at the thought of parting, Wendy knew the situation was irreversible.
No matter how much she pleaded or cried, she couldn't change anything—it would only make everyone feel worse.
So, the little girl sniffled and forced herself to regain her composure.
"Grandpa Roubaul... everyone... goodbye!"
Wendy accepted reality and waved farewell to the members of Cait Shelter.
Since their departure was a release for them, she had to let them go.
She couldn't selfishly force them to stay and prolong their suffering just for her own sake.
That would be too cruel.
"Wendy, take care of yourself! Grow up happy!"
"Wendy! You'll become an outstanding Mage!"
"Wendy, you have to be happy!"
The members of Cait Shelter called out their goodbyes, waving their hands and shouting farewells and blessings.
Though they were Thought Projections, they possessed independent minds, and the bonds they formed with Wendy were real.
"Goodbye, Wendy. Marco, take good care of this child."
Roubaul smiled and waved farewell to Wendy, adding a final instruction for Marco.
"Don't worry. No one bullies a member of Fairy Tail."
Marco nodded.
Wendy was a member of Fairy Tail, a little sister he had personally brought into the guild.
Of course he would protect her.
Besides, as a Dragon Slayer, Wendy had a significant role to play in this "story."
He would never let anything happen to her.
Hearing Marco's promise, Roubaul nodded. He trusted Marco's character, having known him for years.
From what Wendy and Carla told him, he knew Marco always took excellent care of Wendy in the guild.
"Goodbye."
Finally, Roubaul glanced around the land he had inhabited for centuries, feeling no lingering attachment.
How could he? For all that time, he had lived in constant pain and regret.
As Roubaul's final lingering will dissipated, his figure grew ethereal and faded away.
The Thought Projections he created followed suit. Under the sunlight, the members of Cait Shelter dissolved into motes of magical light and vanished.
"They're... really gone..."
Carla's mouth hung open in shock.
After all these years, they never noticed anything was wrong with Roubaul and the others at Cait Shelter.
"This is a good thing. Old Man Roubaul and everyone from Cait Shelter are finally free."
Marco walked over to Wendy, bent down, and stroked her hair.
The little girl had tried to act strong, but now that everyone had disappeared, she broke down into sobs.
After all, Wendy often returned to Cait Shelter.
She formed close bonds with many of the "people" there.
From the age of five or six until now at twelve, she grew up showered with their affection.
It was understandable.
Who could dislike such an adorable and well-behaved little girl? She offered all the cuteness of a child without the trouble, sometimes even displaying more emotional stability than an adult.
Wendy returned that love in kind.
Now that everyone from Cait Shelter had vanished at once, never to be seen again, her emotions were overwhelming.
Trying to be strong wasn't enough.
"Waaaah~"
Wendy wiped away her tears and snot with both hands, but they wouldn't stop. She cried with shuddering sobs.
The little girl was just starting her growth spurt, so she was small. Crouching on the ground, she looked even tinier.
"Wendy, please don't cry..."
Carla stood beside her, trying to comfort her. In truth, Wendy cried so freely because Marco and Carla were there, making her feel safe enough to release her pent-up emotions.
If the situation was dangerous, she wouldn't have allowed herself to be consumed by grief.
"Let her vent. She'll feel better after a good cry."
Marco shook his head, signaling Carla not to rush things. "This is normal. Anyone in her shoes—losing all the elders and companions who doted on them so suddenly—would break down. It's best to let her get it all out."
"..."
Carla nodded, still watching Wendy with concern.
The one silver lining was that Wendy was a Mage—and a Dragon Slayer Mage at that.
Her body was strong, so she wouldn't cry herself sick from grief.
After a while, Wendy's crying subsided.
But before she could recover, "reinforcements" arrived.
Though Marco hadn't called for them, the commotion was too big for their Fairy Tail comrades to miss.
They rushed over, afraid that Marco, Wendy, and Carla were in trouble.
They assumed Cait Shelter had been overrun by a Dark Guild, which would explain the battle.
"Marco! Wendy! Carla! Are you all okay?!"
Mirajane flew over in her Demon Form, wings beating. Erza followed close behind in her Black Wing Armor.
"We're fine. You guys got here fast," Marco said with a smile, shaking his head.
Wendy wiped her face again and looked up at the approaching Mirajane and Erza.
"Mira-nee... Erza-san..."
Wendy greeted them.
"Wendy... what's wrong?"
Seeing Wendy's tear-streaked face—delicate but smudged like a little kitten's—Mirajane's heart ached.
She hurried over and wiped Wendy's cheeks.
"I'm okay, Mira-nee... It's just... everyone's gone..."
Wendy shook her head, assuring them she wasn't hurt—just heartbroken that everyone had vanished.
Mirajane frowned, confused.
"What do you mean, 'everyone's gone'?" She looked up at Marco.
"What happened? And what was all that commotion? Where are the people from Cait Shelter?" Erza asked, furrowing her brow as she stepped beside Marco.
"Well... it goes like this..."
Marco sighed and explained the situation with Nirvana and Roubaul.
However, he left out the part about the Thought Projections.
The fact that the entire Cait Shelter guild was made of Roubaul's creations was a detail best left unsaid.
There was no need to tarnish the genuine emotions they all shared.
Those Thought Projections were indistinguishable from real people, with independent minds and real emotions.
That was enough.
There was no need to dwell on their true nature.
Marco believed that even if he told Wendy the truth, her feelings for them wouldn't change.
"This... this is..."
Mirajane and Erza stared wide-eyed, speechless.
The history of this place stunned them—the people of Cait Shelter had guarded this spot for four hundred years!
And Nirvana... its effects were terrifying. Twisting minds, amplifying dark desires, and turning people into "demons"—it was a horrifying ability.
Compared to that, turning bad people good seemed almost trivial.
In the hands of someone with malicious intent, the weapon was far more dangerous than it could ever be useful for a good person.
Plus, Roubaul's story proved that even in the hands of someone with good intentions, Nirvana could still lead to catastrophic consequences.
"Destroying it was the right thing to do," Erza said. "If its creator, Old Man Roubaul, couldn't use it properly, no one else could use it for good."
She felt a profound sense of relief that Marco arrived first and destroyed Nirvana.
If the Oración Seis got their hands on it and used it against the Allied Forces, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The world might have been doomed.
"The Oración Seis will go berserk," Mirajane said, her voice laced with worry. "When they arrive and find Nirvana destroyed, they'll lose their minds. They mobilized so many forces for this, only to come up empty-handed. They won't be able to stomach the humiliation."
"That's the point—we want them to go berserk," Marco replied.
He gestured for their other guildmates, who were still catching up, to join them.
They couldn't run as fast as Mirajane and Erza could fly, and the two women clearly hadn't waited for them.
"If we let them slip away, the Allied Forces would lose dignity. A fight is inevitable anyway. We might as well seize this opportunity to take them down."
The rescue was too urgent to wait for anyone.
Naturally, the two women flew ahead first.
They were more than enough; if they couldn't handle the problem, the others would be useless anyway.
"We need to prepare for a tough fight," Erza said, her expression grim as she addressed their arriving guildmates.
The others looked bewildered, struggling to understand the situation.
"Let's save it for later, when everyone has gathered," Marco said, waving a hand to stop Erza. "It's not just Fairy Tail on this mission. Elites from other Mage Guilds are here too, and we have to share our intel with everyone eventually."
Before the group could erupt into a barrage of questions, Marco ordered them to fall back.
He led the newly arrived members back to the assembly point.
Marco didn't bother explaining further, leaving that task to Mirajane and Erza.
After hearing about Nirvana, Roubaul, and the Nirvit people, everyone was overwhelmed with emotion and lingering fear.
They were all relieved that Marco dealt with Nirvana beforehand; otherwise, it would have been a catastrophe.
If they hadn't known about Nirvana and let the Oración Seis seize control of it during the great battle, the consequences would be unthinkable.
They certainly wouldn't be this composed.
...
After Marco and Fairy Tail accomplished something major, the other Mage Guilds of the Allied Forces began to arrive one after another. Within two or three days, the entire Allied Forces assembled.
Clearly, everyone was taking this matter seriously.
The Magic Council, in particular, spared no expense, pouring a massive amount of Jewel into the operation.
If they asked everyone to work for free on such a dangerous mission, people would drag their feet.
But with enough Jewel on the table, everyone's motivation soared.
The Magic Council also sent a considerable number of its own personnel, including members of the Custody Enforcement Unit.
Their overall strength was decent, with some skilled individuals, but they lacked top-tier combatants—no one capable of handling a major crisis.
It's no wonder Siegrain was able to infiltrate the Council so easily back then.
He was the brightest star ever produced by the Magic Council's training system.
Unfortunately, that star ultimately shattered the Magic Council, forcing it to rebuild.
Now, the Council was back in a situation where its overall strength was decent, but it lacked any top-tier members.
Of course, in terms of the sheer number of Mages and average skill level, the Magic Council still held a clear advantage over ordinary Mage Guilds.
Otherwise, it couldn't have become the governing body of Ishgar, with the authority to judge Mages for their crimes.
It was somewhat like the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter.
The Aurors' overall skill level was quite good, but when it came to individual power, the top-tier individuals were not among them.
For any major operation, they still had to coordinate and get approval from others.
"Marco-san, we'd like you to preside over this meeting. After all, you were unanimously elected as the leader of the Allied Forces."
At this moment, Laharl, the Magic Council's representative and Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit, tactfully clarified their stance: here, the Magic Council was merely a member of the Allied Forces, no different from any other Mage Guild.
Before assembling, everyone voted for Marco to lead the Allied Forces.
This decision was set in stone.
If the Magic Council didn't want to cause trouble, they had to follow Marco's command.
"Alright, Captain Laharl. Thank you for maintaining order."
Marco smiled and thanked the bespectacled, scholarly-looking Laharl.
The Magic Council members, driven by professional habit, took responsibility for keeping the Allied Forces in line, quieting the chaotic assembly hall.
This led many to believe the Magic Council intended to seize leadership back from Marco.
But now, it seemed the Council members weren't foolish enough to start internal conflicts at such a critical time.
Having been so thoroughly humiliated before, their top priority was to bring the Oración Seis to justice.
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