Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 501: Jellal: Erza, are you alright? Erza: You're too close, tattooed bastard!

"Haha, ahahaha..."

"This must be a nightmare! I must be having a nightmare!"

"That was a full ten thousand dragons, so how could they all be wiped out in an instant?!"

"You've got to be kidding me?!"

Future Rogue's face was pale. He first laughed loudly, then roared unwillingly and angrily.

"Rogue, do you know why you failed?!"

The two Natsus from the two worlds looked at Future Rogue and asked directly.

"What is it?!"

A trace of confusion appeared on Future Rogue's face as he asked Natsu.

At this moment, Rogue really wanted to know. He had paid almost everything he had in exchange for this heaven-defying plan, so how had it failed?!

"Actually, the answer is very simple!"

"Because, Rogue, you provoked Fairy Tail!"

After hearing Future Rogue's words, the corners of Natsu's mouth curled upward. Flames instantly enveloped Natsu's entire body. By the time Natsu finished speaking, his fist had already arrived at Future Rogue's face.

"What?!"

Future Rogue was shocked. Before he could make any move, the two Natsus in front of him had already raised their fists burning with flames and smashed them heavily into Future Rogue's cheeks.

"Boom!!"

Accompanied by a heaven-shaking roar, Future Rogue was sent flying by the two Natsus in front of him, like a flaming meteor falling from the sky.

"Bastards..."

Future Rogue roared angrily. He was unwilling to accept this, but he was powerless, because Natsu's fists had completely awakened him!

At this moment, Future Rogue understood clearly that this was not the nightmare he had imagined, but reality!

Unfortunately, the momentum of Future Rogue had been completely lost...

"Phew..." After the two Natsus finished doing all this, they slowly let out a breath, then shouted toward the sky: "Fairy Tail has won!!"

"You two don't need to say that, right? From the moment Evan wiped out those countless dragons in the sky with a single strike, Fairy Tail had already won."

On the ground, Gray crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at the two Natsus shouting in the sky, complaining.

"Anyway, everyone was saved~"

On the ground, the three Lucys also breathed a sigh of relief because Future Rogue had been defeated and all the dragons had been eliminated.

Among them, the Future Lucy of this world was especially moved. After all, she had personally witnessed the destruction of the world, countless buildings and countries being destroyed by ten thousand dragons, and companions sacrificing themselves one after another to protect her! When Future Lucy saw that all the companions around her were completely unharmed, the heart she had kept hanging finally relaxed...

However, precisely at the moment Future Rogue was defeated, golden points of light began to emerge from Future Lucy's body.

"Lucy, your body..."

When the remaining two Lucys saw the points of light emerging from Future Lucy's body, they were shocked and hurriedly asked Future Lucy with concern.

"You don't need to worry about me!"

"It is only because our corrections in the past caused the future I belonged to to disappear, so I should disappear as well. But there is no need to feel any sadness over my disappearance. I am originally a part of you..."

As Future Lucy spoke, her body transformed into endless light and floated toward her past self.

"Eh?!"

When Lucy touched the light that Future Lucy had transformed into, one memory after another surged into Lucy's mind. Lucy understood clearly that these were the memories of her future self, or rather, herself from a different timeline.

For a moment, tears slid down from Lucy's eyes...

"Lucy..."

The Lucy from Evan's world looked at the Lucy beside her who was silently sobbing. She walked to this world's Lucy and gently took Lucy's tender little hand.

"It's alright, Lucy! My future self hasn't disappeared. She simply returned to the world where she should have returned, to search for the companions of that world..."

Lucy looked at the Lucy from Evan's world, gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and then gave Lucy a gentle smile.

"..."

"Mm~"

The Lucy from Evan's world was stunned at first, then gently nodded and smiled at the Lucy of this world.

"Boom!!"

And just as Future Lucy disappeared, a roar came from the sky. The Iron Dragon Masergria and the Hellfire Dragon Atlas Flame, whose entire bodies were burning with raging flames, descended from the sky with the two Natsus on their backs.

They landed in front of the mages of Fairy Tail.

"I surrender!"

The moment the Iron Dragon Masergria landed from the sky, he immediately expressed to Evan and the others in the sky, who were surrounded by countless dark clouds, that he wanted to surrender.

You've got to be kidding. He had seen Evan's slap just now clearly. Just thinking about what would happen if that slap landed on him, Iron Dragon Masergria did not dare imagine it. That was simply too terrifying.

"Hehe..."

"A wise choice~"

Beside Masergria, the Hellfire Dragon Atlas Flame chuckled lightly, then praised his old rival, Iron Dragon Masergria.

"Hmph~"

After hearing Atlas Flame's words, Iron Dragon Masergria snorted coldly, then said nothing more. He seemed too lazy to waste words with this bastard Atlas Flame.

"Haha..."

Atlas Flame merely chuckled lightly at this and did not mind.

"Boom!!"

Not long after Iron Dragon Masergria chose to surrender, the forms of Evan and the others in the sky immediately changed. Evan and the others all transformed from their dragon forms into their usual human forms.

"You should transform into human form as well! After all, from now on, you have to learn to live in human society."

After Evan landed on the ground, he spoke softly to the more than one thousand Flame Dragons in the sky.

"As you command, my Emperor!"

After hearing Evan's words, the Flame Dragons all nodded in unison, not daring to disobey Evan in the slightest.

After all, Evan's slap just now had not only shocked the people of the entire capital of the Kingdom of Fiore into speechlessness; even these dragons had been so shocked by Evan's slap that they could not complete a single sentence!

It could only be said that Evan was truly too powerful, so powerful that he had far surpassed these dragons' understanding of dragonkind...

It could be said that throughout the history of Earth-land, from ancient times until now, there had never been a Dragon King as powerful as Evan. Evan had already surpassed the concept of Dragon King and was the only Emperor in the history of Earth-land, the Supreme King whom all kings had to bow before.

"Sigh..."

In the air, Ignia slowly transformed into human form, then helplessly sighed.

"Ignia, what are you sighing about here? Don't act like you gained an advantage and are still complaining!"

"You've already revived all the Flame Dragons who once died, so what is there for you to sigh about?"

Beside Ignia, Selene looked at Ignia's sighing and asked unhappily.

"This..."

"To be honest, I originally planned to inherit my old man's title of Fire Dragon King!"

"Then I would be a genuine Dragon King. Although I wouldn't be as strong as Evan, in terms of status, I would at least be half a level above Evan~"

"Then you saw what happened! Now Evan has directly become an Emperor. There has never been a title of Dragon Emperor in the history of our dragon race! Evan has already reached the pinnacle of our dragon race for thousands, even tens of thousands of years! Even if I really obtained the title of Dragon King now, I still wouldn't be able to contend with Evan in status."

Ignia told Selene about the helplessness in his heart.

"Sigh..."

After hearing Ignia's words, Selene also helplessly sighed.

To be fair, if one could become a King, who would want this so-called title of God Dragon?!

The name God Dragon was given to them by the humans of the Northern Continent, Guiltina. Dragon King... that was a title that could only be obtained with the agreement of all the dragons! Originally, they had planned to fight wildly during the Dragon King Festival and forcibly obtain the title of Dragon King, but in the end...

The result was not worth mentioning!

"Hmph~" Just as Selene and Ignia were feeling dejected, Acnologia, who stood behind them, merely snorted coldly, then said coldly: "So what if the title is gone! Isn't the reason we can't obtain the title of Dragon King because our strength is insufficient? Rather than sighing here, we might as well find a way to improve our strength!"

"Hehe..."

After Acnologia finished speaking, Selene and Ignia merely chuckled and did not take Acnologia's words to heart. Acnologia made it sound easy, but if Evan were really that easy to surpass, would they still be troubled here?!

If nothing unexpected happened, they would probably never be able to surpass Evan in this lifetime...

"..."

Acnologia said nothing about this. He did not become depressed or unwilling because of Evan's strength. On the contrary, the stronger Evan became, the more excited Acnologia was...

In the past, on the path of magic that Acnologia walked, he had always walked alone. There was simply no companion around with whom he could communicate, only because he was simply too powerful. Now that he had finally found companions on this path, Acnologia was naturally extremely excited.

"What are you two sighing about?"

Just as Ignia and Selene were sighing, Evan appeared behind the two of them at some unknown time and asked the two, or rather, the two dragons.

"Uh..."

Ignia and Selene looked at Evan, who had suddenly appeared behind them, and were slightly stunned. They then became somewhat awkward, not knowing how to bring up this matter. After all, they couldn't tell Evan that it was all because Evan was too powerful and had dealt a blow to them...

After all, they were both Dragon King-level existences, and they cared about their dignity...

"They are sighing because all ten thousand dragons were killed by you, Evan, and they are unwilling to accept it!"

"After all, the Dragon King Festival doesn't happen every year. Having missed this year's Dragon King Festival and failing to be crowned King, who knows when the next opportunity to be crowned King will come?!"

However, just when Ignia and Selene did not know how to bring this matter up with Evan, their good brother Acnologia directly told Evan about their situation.

"That's what this is about?!"

Evan was slightly stunned after hearing this, then looked at Ignia and Selene and asked.

"That is what it's about..."

Selene and Ignia looked at each other. They knew that since Acnologia had already exposed it, there was no meaning in continuing to hide it, so they lightly nodded at Evan, openly admitting it.

"Come on..."

Evan looked at Selene and Ignia somewhat speechlessly.

"I thought it was something serious."

"Isn't it just becoming King? Is that even worth mentioning?"

"Since you want to change your titles, then from today onward, Ignia, you are the Fire Dragon King. After all, compared with Igneel, your strength is also an existence of almost the same level, so obtaining this title is well deserved."

"As for you, Selene, I feel that the title Moon Dragon King isn't as nice as Moon Dragon God~"

"You should just use the title Moon Dragon God. Anyway, with your strength, other people will treat you as a Dragon King..."

After seeing the reactions of Selene and Ignia, Evan's expression contained a trace of helplessness as he directly bestowed the titles of Dragon King upon the two.

"Evan, you are the winner of the Dragon King Festival. How can we be crowned King?"

After hearing Evan's words, Selene could not help asking.

Although Selene and Ignia had indeed reached the level of Dragon King and would have had a chance of winning in any previous Dragon King Festival, unfortunately, the Dragon King Festival they had just participated in had a monster like Evan in it. As long as Evan existed for even one day, there would never be a new king born in the dragon race!

"Haha..."

"Dragon King, I don't care about that kind of thing. It's nothing more than a title."

After hearing Selene's words, Evan laughed loudly, then turned around and left.

"Hehe..."

"This really is that guy Evan's style! That's right, he is already the de facto strongest Mage in the world, so he no longer needs these titles to embellish himself."

Ignia and Selene watched Evan leave. They were stunned at first, then laughed loudly.

At the same time, Evan, who was striding away, silently thought to himself: "Dragon King? You've got to be kidding! Even that disgrace of the dragon race, Elefseria, can obtain the title of Lightning Dragon King. Why would I care about something like that!"

"Regardless of whether that guy Elefseria was sneak-attacked because his injuries were too severe, or because he was so old that he could no longer move! Regardless of the reason, a fool who was defeated by a Dragon Slayer has what qualifications to be conferred as a Dragon King? He has even less qualification to use the same title as me! From today onward, I am the Azure Dragon Emperor..."

Cough, cough...

With Future Rogue defeated and all the Flame Dragons in the sky submitting, the disaster catastrophe caused by Future Rogue, who had released ten thousand dragons, finally came to an end!

"It ended when it ended, but this is way too much of a mess, isn't it? The capital, including the royal palace, has already disappeared!"

After the war ended, the Lucy of this world returned to her original appearance and began ranting furiously.

"It's not only the capital that was destroyed! Even the arena of the Grand Magic Games next to it, as well as the surrounding forests, were all destroyed! By the way, how much money will we have to pay for this? Is money from another world usable in this world?"

The Lucy from Evan's world looked at the ruins around them that looked like the end of the world, with countless cold sweats appearing on her forehead.

"Is this the future scene I foresaw?"

On the other side, this world's Charle looked at the scene before her that looked like the end of the world and muttered to herself.

"Charle, as someone who has been through it, I advise you to give up on predicting the future~"

Just as Charle was muttering to herself, the Charle from Evan's world came to her own side and kindly advised her.

Perhaps because the Charle from Evan's world had learned Observation Haki, and at the same time had an extremely heaven-defying talent for Observation Haki, it did not take long for Charle to comprehend the ability to foresee the future...

After Charle's Observation Haki reached the level of Future Sight, Charle discovered that, just like her mother, she could control the ability to foresee the future inherited in her bloodline. From then on, Charle never used her ability to foresee the future again...

The reason was that Charle felt that watching it was annoying. Either this town was burned down today, or some country's mountain peak was shaved flat. Watching this made Charle exhausted.

Anyway, she couldn't stop it, so what was the point of predicting it?!

"That, everyone, although saying this here is somewhat inappropriate, I think that before the soldiers react, we should run first!"

Just as the members of Fairy Tail were chatting, Lucy looked at the devastation before her and kindly reminded everyone.

"Lucy is right!"

After Lucy's words fell, the mages of Fairy Tail all trembled. They immediately realized what had happened.

"Everyone, follow me and get on the dragons quickly! If we leave through the sky, no matter how many soldiers the kingdom has, they won't be able to do anything to us!"

As someone in the crowd shouted loudly, the Flame Dragons who had not yet transformed into human form all returned to their giant dragon forms. Then the members of Fairy Tail did not dare think any further and immediately rushed onto the nearest dragons.

"Boom!!"

Accompanied by a violent gale, the dragons immediately flew into the sky and departed.

On the other side, Old Thomas, who was preparing to go to Fairy Tail to apologize because Fairy Tail had dealt with the dragons, looked at the dragons in the sky and was stunned.

At this moment, Fairy Tail really had the feeling of "having done its duty and then leaving without seeking fame," or rather, of not caring about fame and honor...

"Fairy Tail? Incredible!"

Old Thomas looked at the dragons in the sky. He knew very clearly that from today onward, there would no longer be any person or force in the entire Earth-land world that could contend with Fairy Tail...

However, Old Thomas also knew that Fairy Tail seemed to have no ambition to rule as king or dominate the world.

Time flew by. Soon, it was the final night of the Grand Magic Games, three days after the Dragon King Festival...

Many things had happened during these three days.

First of all, on the very night the disaster ended, shortly after the members of Fairy Tail rode the dragons away, King Old Thomas E. Fiore of the Kingdom of Fiore publicly issued a confession letter condemning his own incompetence, and announced that all property losses suffered by the residents of the capital would be compensated by the royal family of the Kingdom of Fiore...

At the same time, Old Thomas E. Fiore decided to abdicate, in order to express his remorse for his incompetence to the gods.

Yes, although the person who should bear the most responsibility for this matter was Old Thomas's daughter, Princess Jade, for the sake of his daughter, and also for the future of the Kingdom of Fiore, Old Thomas decided to shoulder all the responsibility himself, while giving Jade a certain amount of beautification and packaging, portraying her as a hero who had repeatedly advised Old Thomas not to open the gate and had even threatened to die to stop him...

On the day Old Thomas gave up the throne, Princess Jade cried until she became a weeping mess.

Originally, Princess Jade had intended to bear this responsibility herself. It was all because she had foolishly believed Future Rogue's lies and genuinely thought that only by opening the Eclipse Gate could the Kingdom of Fiore be saved.

However, Old Thomas persuaded Jade otherwise. The reason Old Thomas gave was that if Jade did not truly care for this country and its citizens, she would not have been manipulated by Future Rogue. He only hoped that from now on, Jade would not blindly trust anyone and must investigate more and think more.

At the same time, the next day, when the ruins of the capital had been almost completely cleared, the new King Jade announced that, as Queen, she would declare before everyone here that from today onward, she would use her own life to defend the peace of the Kingdom of Fiore.

It was also that afternoon that Jade E. Fiore, in her capacity as Queen of the Kingdom of Fiore, announced that the Mage Guild Fairy Tail within the Kingdom of Fiore had rendered meritorious service in protecting the kingdom. From today onward, as long as they were members of Fairy Tail, all consumption within any royal property of the Fiore royal family in the capital would be paid for by the royal family...

At the same time, Jade also announced that Fairy Tail was the strongest Mage Guild on the entire continent of Ishgar and that, within the Kingdom of Fiore, it possessed the authority to manage affairs without being subject to the Magic Council ERA!

As soon as this news was released, it immediately caused an uproar across the entire continent!

In particular, Jade's announcement that the Magic Council had no authority to manage Fairy Tail within the Kingdom of Fiore left countless Mages dumbfounded!

This was because, since the establishment of the Mage Guilds of the Ishgar continent, this was the first time that the authority of a Mage Guild had surpassed that of the Magic Council, although this authority only existed within the Kingdom of Fiore...

But one had to know that although the Kingdom of Fiore had a population of only more than twenty million, it was a permanent neutral country where almost everyone was a Mage, and even ordinary citizens could use two kinds of magic. The Kingdom of Fiore almost represented the level of Mages on the continent of Ishgar!

Even the headquarters of the Magic Council ERA was built within the Kingdom of Fiore. The Kingdom of Fiore announcing Fairy Tail's special privileges was practically no different from the entire continent of Ishgar announcing those privileges...

At this moment, countless people across the continent had one question: what had Fairy Tail done to deserve being above the Magic Council?!

In fact, what these people did not know was that after Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games and violently intervened when ten thousand dragons were preparing to attack the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore, defeating the ten thousand dragons, Fairy Tail had already become the undisputed number one Mage Guild in the Kingdom of Fiore.

At the same time, because the performance of Evan and the others had been too shocking, the status of Fairy Tail had risen straight up, even to the point of surpassing secular authority!

Therefore, Princess Jade had not granted Fairy Tail authority. Rather, Fairy Tail had fought for that authority with its strength! Of course, none of these matters had anything to do with Fairy Tail at present!

Because Fairy Tail did not care about these matters...

They were celebrating right now!

Magnolia Town, inside this world's Fairy Tail guild.

At this moment, the small three-story building was already filled with people...

After all, besides the members of Fairy Tail from the two worlds, there were also one thousand Flame Dragons recruited by Evan!

At this moment, Fairy Tail truly fulfilled Precht's words: there were more dragons in the guild than people...

"Speaking of which!"

"We really do look exactly alike!"

At this moment, the Mages of Fairy Tail from the two worlds were like looking into mirrors, facing their counterparts from the other world.

Whether it was Laxus, Erza, or Mirajane, they all stood before their counterparts, with endless curiosity flashing in their eyes.

"I wonder how strong you are?!"

This world's Laxus, wearing a heavy coat behind him, looked at the Laxus from Evan's world, who looked almost exactly like him, and asked curiously.

"Hehe, although my strength can't be considered very strong, it should probably be enough to deal with you."

After hearing this world's Laxus, the Laxus from Evan's world slightly raised the corners of his mouth and spoke softly.

"Oh? Want to give it a try?"

This world's Laxus immediately began crackling with electricity after hearing this.

"Forget it! Wait until your injuries have recovered before fighting me!"

"Or are you saying that you think you can defeat me while covered in bandages?"

"You're also Laxus. You don't know other people's strength, but you should know your own strength well enough, right?"

However, Laxus from Evan's world had little interest in this world's Laxus, because Laxus from Evan's world had already sensed that the magic power within this world's self had only just entered the level of the strongest humans, namely Level Eight as evaluated by Evan's system. Too weak.

"Hehe, as expected of me!"

This world's Laxus was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then laughed and shook his head.

"Have a drink?"

In response, Laxus from Evan's world picked up the bourbon on the table and looked at this world's Laxus as he asked.

"Good!"

For a moment, the two muscular men drank whiskey while chatting about each other's experiences.

Of course, besides Laxus, who had wanted to fight as soon as they met, there were also people who were moved to tears by the scene before them.

"Two Laxuses, I'm so happy!"

"Exactly! So happy!"

Freed from Evan's world and this world's Freed crossed their arms and hugged each other, looking at the Laxuses sitting together drinking and shouting excitedly.

"Exactly!"

Behind Freed were two Evergreens and two Bickslows. At this moment, the two teams of Thunder God Tribe members looked at the friendly Laxuses and silently wiped away their tears. They were truly moved by the scene before them.

On the other side...

"That guy, could he be Jellal? How could Jellal be in Fairy Tail?"

This world's Erza, namely Erza Scarlet, was shocked when she saw Jellal from Evan's world standing openly among the members of Fairy Tail.

At the same time, Erza Scarlet's cheeks also became flushed with several hints of red...

Jellal had always been sensitive to gazes. After sensing Erza Scarlet's gaze, he immediately turned around and looked over. For a moment, his eyes met Erza Scarlet's.

"Erza, are you looking for trouble with me again? You redhead...cough, cough!"

In response, Jellal from Evan's world seemed to be about to say something, but when Jellal remembered where he was, he immediately stopped himself, because Jellal saw Irene in the guild, whose gaze was silently falling upon him!

After Jellal chose to submit to his instincts, he merely frowned and questioned Erza: "What do you mean by this, Erza? Can't I stay in the Fairy Tail guild?"

"Hmm?!"

Erza Scarlet was slightly stunned when she saw Jellal suddenly become angry.

She did not know where she had offended Jellal.

"Hmph!"

Before Erza Scarlet could think any further, Jellal from Evan's world snorted coldly, turned around, and left, giving Erza a dashing back.

"What is wrong with that Jellal?!"

For a moment, only Erza Scarlet remained standing there in confusion.

On the other side, outside the entrance of the Fairy Tail guild, Erza Belserion, who had just bought alcohol, was about to enter the guild when a figure blocked her path.

"Erza, are you alright? I heard that you fought the dragons. I'm really sorry that I couldn't come to your side in time..."

The person who came had short blue hair, a handsome face, and melancholy eyes. No matter how one looked at him, he was a handsome man. Yes, the person who came was none other than this world's Jellal.

Because when the Eclipse Gate opened, he and the members of Crime Sorcière were protecting the civilians, so they failed to arrive in time for the battle between Fairy Tail and the dragons!

After all, Evan and the others had moved too quickly. In less than ten minutes, they had dealt with all the dragons in the sky. By the time Jellal successfully evacuated the capital's civilians and returned, the entire capital had already become ruins.

And after Evan and the others left, Jellal and the members of Crime Sorcière spent three days traveling from the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore to Magnolia Town. After all, they were criminals and could not take any public transportation. Even ordinary private vehicles would not be rented to them...

"Thunder Bagua!"

However, before Jellal could say anything to Erza, accompanied by a dark bolt of lightning ringing beside Jellal's ear, a spiked club had already landed on Jellal's cheek.

"Boom!!"

With a muffled thunderclap, Jellal was sent flying directly, his eyes rolling white as he lost consciousness.

"You're too close! Tattooed bastard!"

"I already told you, from now on, don't appear within five meters of me and Evan!"

Erza Belserion looked coldly at Jellal, whom she had knocked unconscious with a single swing, pulled the cart loaded with box after box of alcohol behind her, and entered the Fairy Tail guild before her.

"Eh?!"

After Erza Belserion knocked Jellal unconscious with a single strike and walked away, the members of Crime Sorcière who had been hiding not far away, Ultear and Meredy, immediately ran out. The two of them looked at Jellal, who had been knocked unconscious with a single strike, their expressions filled with confusion.

"How is that possible? That Erza actually knocked Jellal unconscious with a single strike, just because Jellal got too close to her?!"

Ultear's face was filled with shock. She remembered that Erza and Jellal were supposed to be mutually in love. No matter how one looked at it, that had just seemed like a blood feud!

"Meredy, what do you think?"

In response, Ultear looked at her goddaughter.

"This is too strange! I have absolutely no idea what's going on!"

Meredy hesitated for a while, then lightly shook her head. She also did not know what was wrong with Erza today.

"Isn't that Ultear? It really has been a long time..."

Just as Ultear was wondering what exactly had happened between Erza and Jellal, a slightly cold voice sounded beside Ultear's ear.

"Hmm?!"

"This voice is? No mistake, I could never forget this voice for the rest of my life..."

After hearing this slightly hoarse voice, both Ultear and Meredy trembled. A trace of disbelief flashed through their eyes, because they remembered that the owner of this voice should already have died.

In response, Ultear's body trembled slightly as she turned around and looked toward the direction of the voice. She then saw a tall, silver-haired old man standing there, silently looking at Ultear and Meredy.

"Guild Master Hades, you're back?!"

The moment Ultear saw the old man, the last trace of hope in her heart disappeared completely.