"God? What god? Ankh, did you scare this cat out of its wits?" Gray furrowed his brow, watching the stunned Lily as he asked.
Gajeel rested his chin on his hand and muttered to himself.
"Could it be some kind of trauma? But Lily has never been beaten up by Ankh before..."
Ankh, however, remained unaffected by their discussion.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking directly into Lily's eyes, and spoke with a gentle smile.
"Since you have met Erza, you should understand—there might be people who look very similar across our two worlds. So... who are you mistaking me for?"
Lily turned to glance at Erza, then lowered his head again in silence before slowly replying.
"No, I must have been mistaken."
Ankh frowned.
He is definitely hiding something.
Come to think of it, Ankh himself was quite curious.
Because of his own existence and that of his predecessor, the world of Fairy Tail had already undergone significant changes.
Take, for example, the matter of the Black Dragon and the Divine Successors.
So, perhaps in the world of Edolas, there really was another Ankh—one who had not appeared in the original storyline.
But Lily clearly did not want to talk about it.
He straightened up, scanned the room, and suddenly paused, exclaiming in surprise once more.
"Your guild... has Exceeds?"
"Exceeds? What are those?" Natsu asked, puzzled.
Lily pointed his chin toward Happy, who was standing by Natsu's feet and said, "Isn't that one? And that white Exceed, too."
Wendy, holding Carla in her arms, looked both surprised and curious as she said, "Carla and Happy? Oh, now that you mention it, Lily, you look a lot like Carla and Happy. Are you an Exceed, too?"
"Wait, does that mean this world is Happy and Carla's hometown?" Natsu suddenly caught on, pointing at Happy in shock.
Happy, now the center of attention, grew nervous and stammered, "This... is our hometown?"
Happy turned to look at Carla, hoping to find some reassurance from his fellow Exceed, but Carla was trembling.
"Your ages... It seems you were victims of the Queen's operation..." Lily stared at Happy and Carla, as if something had clicked in his mind.
His eyes filled with sorrow as he murmured quietly.
"Hey! What operation? Explain yourself!"
Happy grew increasingly anxious, and Carla trembled uncontrollably.
Seeing the state of the two cats, Natsu immediately grabbed Lily by the collar and demanded angrily.
"What operation were Happy and the others caught up in? Why is Carla so scared?"
"I..." Lily hesitated, on the verge of speaking, when Mystogan, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward and said:
"Let me explain on Lily's behalf."
Lily stared at Mystogan. His body jolted in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Mystogan looked at Happy and Carla and explained, "In the world of Edolas, cats like Happy, who possess Magic Power within them, are called Exceeds."
"The Exceeds live in Extalia, floating above the royal capital. The Queen who rules there is said to have the power to decide life and death, and her status surpasses even that of the King of Edolas. She is revered as a 'god.'"
"The other Exceeds there are also called angels, holding an unparalleled, supreme position in this world."
Natsu looked at Happy in amazement and said, "Whoa! Happy, you sound pretty impressive in this world!"
Happy was so nervous he felt like he might wet himself, stammering as he spoke.
"But.. but why am I in Earthland? And Carla too?"
Mystogan turned to exchange a glance with Lily, then sighed and said:
"Six years ago, the Queen of the Exceeds suddenly issued a bizarre decree in Extalia. She forcibly seized exactly one hundred freshly laid eggs from every Exceed household and transported them to Earthland through the Anima to carry out a mysterious mission."
"How cruel... To be separated from their parents before they were even born!"
Wendy hugged Carla sadly, while Natsu glared coldly at Lily, his voice tinged with anger.
"Indeed, that queen is utterly despicable. How can such a creature... be called a god?"
"But... what exactly was this mission?" Gildarts, who had been listening quietly all this time, could not help but interject.
Happy quickly followed up: "Yeah! I was born in Earthland and never heard about any mission!"
Lily remained silent, and Mystogan shook his head.
He had only heard about the incident briefly before arriving in Earthland himself.
Just as everyone thought the matter was becoming increasingly perplexing, a sharp, tearful voice suddenly rang out.
"Kill... the Dragon Slayer Mages."
Instantly, all eyes focused on one spot, while Wendy looked bewildered at Carla in her arms.
Carla broke free from the embrace and marched toward Lily with furious steps, her small figure appearing pitifully vulnerable.
"From the moment I was born and saw Wendy, this command appeared in my mind!"
"You villains! Why would you give us such a cruel mission? Why?!"
Tears welled up in Carla's eyes as she grabbed Lily's neck in grief and rage, trying to release years of suppressed anxiety and fear.
Kill the Dragon Slayer Mages... meaning kill Wendy.
For Carla, who had grown up with Wendy since childhood, this was nearly an impossible task to carry out.
Whenever Carla saw Wendy, or witnessed the close bond between Happy and Natsu, she always felt an unspoken barrier and discomfort in her heart.
She knew Wendy genuinely loved her, yet she herself had not approached Wendy with pure intentions.
This purposeful, threatening closeness tormented Carla endlessly.
Carla had tried to forget the so-called mission.
Even before entering Edolas, she had resolved never to mention it and to protect Wendy forever.
But after entering Edolas, Carla began to fear—fear that once the "mission" was exposed, Wendy would distance herself and be afraid of her.
Yet as Mystogan narrated the story, seeing the black cat from her homeland, Carla finally erupted.
She lunged madly at Lily, shouting her accusations.
Wendy had never seen Carla like this before.
She quickly rushed forward, tightly embracing Carla in her arms, softly comforting the agitated cat.
"My mission... is to kill Natsu?" Happy felt his paws turn ice-cold, unable to help looking up at Natsu with sorrow.
Natsu snapped out of his brief shock and instantly regained his usual grin.
He vigorously ruffled Happy's head and laughed heartily.
"Don't worry Happy, there is no way you could ever kill me! We are the best partners!"
"That so-called mission must be fake!"
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