Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 352: Crossing Four Hundred Years, Just to Deliver the Children to Evan

After a brutal beating...

Gajeel lay on the arena floor, clothes disheveled, staring at the ceiling of Fairy Tailʼs guild hall with a face that had completely given up on life.

He, Gajeel, of the Phantom Lord Guild, who considered himself the strongest mage after Jose Porla left, had just been gang-beaten by a pervert from Fairy Tail using a bunch of magical animals...

If word got out, how could he ever show his face in the magical world of the Ishgar continent again?!

”Itʼs over.”

Lyon dispelled his magic, looked at the downed Gajeel, and casually straightened his clothes, preparing to leave the stage.

”Hey, you bastard…”

Just as Lyon turned to leave, Gajeel sat up on the platform with great effort.

”Huh? You talking to me?”

Lyon blinked, turned back with the ”Kurokoʼs Basketball” between his legs, and asked Gajeel.

”Youʼre pretty strong, huh? Where do you rank in this guild?”

Gajeel asked, staring at Lyon.

”Heh…”

Lyon gave a knowing smile. He had seen this expression far too many times.

Because Fairy Tailʼs reputation had grown so much, strong mages from other countries often came to challenge them. Usually, guys like Natsu, Lyon, and Gray handled them.

It was rare for S-Class mages to step in, after all, given that Fairy Tail now had an average strength rivaling the Ten Wizard Saints, most challengers simply werenʼt worth the effort.

And those challengers, like Gajeel, always asked the same thing after getting defeated,

”Where do you rank in Fairy Tail?”

But Lyon knew, they didnʼt care about his rank. What they really wanted to know was,

”If I joined Fairy Tail, where would I rank?”

Gajeel was no different. He wanted to know where his strength would place him inside Fairy Tail.

”Hehe~”

In response, Lyon held up two fingers toward Gajeel.

”Second?!”

”No, wait... Twelfth?”

Gajeel was stunned. If Lyon was the second strongest, then his loss wasnʼt so shameful. But on second thought… no way. Lyon definitely wasnʼt second!

There were still at least two other Wizard Saints in Fairy Tail, not to mention Evanʼs entire freakishly powerful family. So maybe... Lyon ranked twelfth?

That was hard to accept, but not unbearable.

”Nope.”

”Iʼm saying Iʼm still fighting for a spot in the top twenty of Fairy Tail!”

”Just watch! One day Iʼll be one of the top twenty!”

Lyon stood proudly on the platform, shouting his declaration to all Fairy Tail mages present.

”Thatʼs the spirit, Lyon!”

”Good attitude!”

”Top twenty? Thatʼs tough! But keep working hard, youʼll get there!”

The guild mages surrounding the platform paused, then started showering Lyon with praise, as if he had just declared something tremendously noble and difficult.

”So… youʼre not even top twenty in this guild?!”

Gajeel was dumbfounded. He stared at Lyon with wide eyes. He couldnʼt believe this perverted-looking white-haired brat couldnʼt even make it into Fairy Tailʼs top twenty.

To Gajeel, Lyonʼs power wouldʼve made him an S-Class mage instantly in Phantom Lord!

”Now do you understand the difference in strength, Gajeel?”

”This is Fairy Tailʼs true power.”

”To be honest, we never considered the Phantom Lord a threat.”

”If we really wanted to take you down, weʼd just send a single active S-Class mage. That alone would wipe out your entire guild.”

”And donʼt get me wrong, Iʼm not talking about your guild after Jose got captured. I mean at its peak, with Jose still leading.”

Evan looked at the stunned Gajeel on the arena and spoke softly.

”Are you saying even Jose couldnʼt break into Fairy Tailʼs top ten?”

Gajeel turned to Evan in disbelief.

”Haha, of course.”

Evan chuckled. It might sound arrogant, but it was the truth. Even someone like Jose, with strength bordering on Wizard Saint level, wouldnʼt crack Fairy Tailʼs top ten, because the top ten of Fairy Tail were monsters.

Gulp…

Gajeel swallowed hard. The more Evan spoke, the more shaken he became by Fairy Tailʼs sheer power.

”So this is the number one mage guild in Fiore…”

”Thereʼs always someone stronger… Always another sky…”

Gajeel gave a bitter smile. He had truly felt the gap in strength.

”So... do you want to be that powerful too?”

Just then, Evanʼs voice sounded by Gajeelʼs ear like a devilʼs whisper. Gajeelʼs eyes widened.

Yes, deep down he knew, he couldnʼt trust Evan. Trusting Evan always came with a price.

But his hunger for power... his desire to grow strong... pushed him to believe.

”I... I could really become that powerful?”

Gajeel looked at Evan, eyes full of longing.