As the dazzling fireworks faded, the lingering warmth of the revelry finally dissipated in the morning mist of Magnolia.
Everything on the streets of Magnolia Town returned to its usual routine.
Fairy Tail was no exception. Of course, this routine was Fairy Tail's 'peaceful' routine.
Bang!
A table was kicked from the center of the hall, arcing gracefully through the air. With a loud crash of splintering wood, it accurately struck the heads of another group of Mages who were brawling, successfully drawing the battle towards itself.
"Damn Natsu! How dare you sneak attack!"
"What do you mean sneak attack? This is strategy! If you're so capable, come at me, you bastard!"
"What did you say?!"
Accompanied by familiar roars, ice and fire once again collided wantonly in the hall, blowing apart the recently repaired tables once more.
The surrounding guild members were already accustomed to this, with some even placing bets with great interest.
The gloom of Laxus's expulsion seemed to have been temporarily cast aside with this grand festival and night of revelry.
Ryoma leaned against the bar, casually sipping a drink and chatting with Mirajane, his gaze sweeping across the hall.
The Thunder God Tribe, who always centered around Laxus and seemed out of place with other guild members, had also undergone a change.
Laxus's departure was like a key, opening their long-closed hearts and allowing them to begin to integrate into this collective called family.
Ryoma's perception swept past the Guild Master's office on the second floor. He could sense Makarov alone inside, his aura somewhat somber.
The old man sat alone behind his desk, gazing at the old photo frame on the table. Inside the frame was a group photo of the guild members, with a young Laxus on his shoulders, smiling brilliantly.
He reached out a wrinkled hand, gently stroking his grandson's tender face in the photo. A trace of indescribable fatigue and pain flashed in his cloudy eyes.
Makarov claimed to have moved on, but he was probably still worried about his troublesome grandson.
He once entertained the thought of resigning as Guild Master and handing this heavy burden to someone younger.
But when his gaze swept over the vibrant smiling faces in the photo—Natsu, Gray, Erza... these children he regarded as his own—that thought was forcefully suppressed.
No, not yet.
He sighed.
These brats still needed him, an old man, to look after them for a while longer.
He put away the photo frame, once again burying his heavy heart, and turned his attention to the group of over-energetic troublemakers downstairs.
In a corner of the guild, Lucy was slumped over the table, exuding an aura of utter despair.
Minutes earlier, the final results of the Miss Fairy Tail Contest had been announced.
Erza was the champion, and she came in second.
This should have been a good result, but the problem was that only the champion received a 500,000 Jewels prize, meaning her rent for next month was once again unaccounted for.
"Why... why is there only prize money for the champion?" Lucy weakly drew circles on the table with her finger, muttering incessantly,
"Does the second place have no human rights? Just a little bit more... my rent..."
Just as she was sinking into despair over her livelihood, a burp sounded beside her, and a strong smell of alcohol wafted over.
"Hic... life is an endless gamble..."
Lucy turned her head and saw Cana clutching a liquor barrel larger than her head, her face flushed, looking equally troubled by love—no, by circumstances.
"Cana, how much have you drunk again?"
"Don't even ask, Lucy..." Cana took another big gulp.
"I just divined my future love luck... and the result showed, pure chaos... hic..."
Looking at the equally troubled Cana, Lucy felt her mood wasn't so bad after all. Indeed, suffering can be alleviated through comparison.
At the bar not far away, Ryoma almost laughed out loud watching this scene—a drunk trying to comfort a girl worried about money.
His gaze swept around the noisy guild, finally settling on two figures who seemed out of place with their surroundings.
Erza, dressed in a magnificent evening gown, was seriously adjusting her skirt, seemingly preparing for some important occasion.
On the other side, Gajeel had actually changed into a white suit.
Ryoma raised an eyebrow slightly, a forgotten piece of information flashing through his mind: someone had mentioned earlier that a reporter from Sorcerer Weekly would be coming to the guild for an exclusive interview today.
Trouble!
Ryoma always avoided such public activities. Being chased by reporters asking endless questions was more tiring than fighting a Wizard Saint. He didn't want to be a background figure on tomorrow's magazine cover.
His lips twitched.
The thought of the stupid questions the reporter might ask made his scalp tingle.
Moreover, in the past few days, that long-dormant strange power within him had started to become restless again. This time, unlike previous instances with no warning, it seemed to have given some kind of premonition.
Occasionally, during late-night meditation, his perception would touch upon fragmented and chaotic spatial visions, like a shattered mirror reflecting countless bizarre world fragments.
Sometimes, subtle ripples in space-time would flash through his body, causing the air around him to momentarily distort.
He had a strong premonition that he might soon be unceremoniously packed up and thrown into another world by this unreasonable power.
Although this time it seemed to give him a little preparation time, it didn't mean he wanted to waste that precious time dealing with reporters.
Thinking this, Ryoma drained the ice water in his glass, the ice cubes making a crisp cracking sound in his mouth.
He put down the glass and quietly slipped away from the bar, skillfully avoiding anyone who might notice him, heading towards the guild door.
It's better to go out and find some peace.
Taking a stroll through this familiar town before leaving could be considered a farewell.
Ryoma's figure quickly disappeared from the guild entrance, blending into the bustling streets of Magnolia Town.
The streets were still crowded, but filled with the lazy tranquility of post-Harvest Festival.
A little girl in a blue and yellow dress with long dark blue hair was constantly looking at the surrounding shops. Suddenly, her gaze was firmly drawn to a familiar back.
That person wore simple casual clothes, his figure tall and straight, walking alone through the crowd. His unique aura felt incredibly familiar to her.
"That person... is..."
The little girl's eyes instantly lit up, and she instinctively wanted to chase after him.
However, just as she opened her mouth to call out, the person's figure swayed slightly in place, then vanished into thin air amidst the flowing crowd.
She couldn't help but glance in that direction a few more times, the inexplicable sense of familiarity lingering in her heart.
Meanwhile, Ryoma, strolling on the street, suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
The premonition within him reached its peak at this moment. No longer a faint ripple, it transformed into a surging tide that exploded within him.
It's here!
Ryoma had no time to think. The ice flower instantly bloomed beneath his feet, and his figure vanished from the spot.
The next second, he appeared in a desolate forest on the outskirts of Magnolia. Almost simultaneously with his appearance, the suppressed power completely lost control.
Silver-white light surged from all around him, no longer the gentle stream of light from before, but transforming into violent space-time turbulence.
The ground beneath his feet began to twist and fold, the surrounding air distorted, and trees and rocks became blurry under the shroud of this power.
A giant space-time vortex suddenly opened with him at its center, its interior a deep, boundless darkness dotted with countless star-like streams of light, emitting a terrifying, heart-stopping suction.
Ryoma didn't even have time to offer any resistance before he was brutally swept into it by this power originating from himself.
His figure rapidly blurred and twisted amidst the dazzling streams of light, finally disappearing into the continuously expanding silver-white radiance.
(End of Chapter)
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