Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 502: And You Still Say That Your Fairy Tail Isn't Planning to Destroy the World?

"Guild Master Hades?!"

"What an interesting title!"

"What? Ultear, have you suddenly become interested, and come here to tease this old man?!"

The old man wore a tight-fitting outfit, while the cloak draped over his shoulders moved on its own without any wind.

Although the old man's right eye was covered by a pitch-black eyepatch for some unknown reason, leaving only his left eye exposed, there was no sense of any blind spot in his vision. His remaining left eye was still sharp, and his gaze still gave people a cold and bone-chilling feeling.

"..."

After hearing this, Ultear and Meredy did not speak. They merely exchanged glances silently. The two women faintly began mobilizing the magic power within their bodies and guarded against the suddenly resurrected Guild Master of the Mage Guild Grimoire Heart, Lord Hades.

"..."

Precht saw that Ultear and Meredy did not speak, so he also said nothing more. For a moment, Precht, Ultear, and Meredy simply confronted one another like this, and the atmosphere between the three gradually became strange.

"Cough, cough..."

In the end, Precht, who intended to enter the Fairy Tail guild, lightly coughed twice and spoke to Ultear and Meredy: "If you have nothing to do, could you move aside? This old man wants to go to the Fairy Tail guild behind you."

"Hmm?!"

After hearing this, the expressions of Ultear and Meredy both changed.

"Is that so? Even now, you still haven't given up on Fairy Tail, and still intend to seek revenge against Fairy Tail?"

Ultear's expression changed as she hesitated, then she questioned Precht.

"Hmm?"

After hearing Ultear's words, Precht's brows furrowed tightly, and a trace of confusion flashed across his expression.

"Guild Master Hades, allow me to ask you something presumptuous. Are you a human or a ghost right now?!"

While Precht was thinking, Meredy seemed to have thought of something. She tentatively asked Precht.

"Huh?" After hearing this, Precht's face flashed with displeasure, so he directly spoke coldly to Ultear and Meredy: "You two little brats, don't spout nonsense here. If you have nothing to do, move aside! Don't delay my business."

"Meredy!"

After hearing Precht's words, Ultear's expression suddenly changed. She looked at Meredy beside her and gave Meredy a serious look.

"Understood!"

After sensing Ultear's gaze, Meredy also became serious.

Meredy knew that her adoptive mother Ultear intended to stop Precht here, thereby washing away the endless sins she had carried on herself all these years.

"Hmph~"

However, regarding the little movements of Ultear and Meredy, Precht merely snorted coldly. Obviously, in Precht's eyes, Meredy and Ultear were still too inexperienced. The means by which Ultear and Meredy mobilized their magic power were far too obvious in Precht's eyes. Thus, at the instant Ultear and Meredy intended to make their move, Precht struck first.

"Are you planning to have a little exercise with this old man here? Then give it a try!"

The instant Precht finished speaking, an endless terrifying magic power instantly erupted from Precht's body. The terrifying magic power was like a thick wave descending from the heavens, crashing down toward Ultear and Meredy.

"Uh..."

In an instant, the expressions of Ultear and Meredy, who had originally intended to attack Precht, both changed. Meredy in particular had a trace of panic flash across her face, her legs faintly trembling, and she was actually frightened to the point that she did not dare move for a moment!

Clearly, back when Precht and Meredy were still in Grimoire Heart, Precht, the Guild Master of Grimoire Heart, had left a very deep psychological shadow on Meredy.

Although seven years had already passed since Meredy left Grimoire Heart, at this moment, after sensing Precht's tsunami-like magic power, she still could not help thinking: "Can we really defeat Lord Hades? Even Fairy Tail back then, strictly speaking, did not defeat Lord Hades. They merely happened to discover Lord Hades's weakness, that's all."

"If Fairy Tail back then had not discovered Lord Hades's weakness, would Lord Hades alone have been able to completely flatten the entire Mage Guild Fairy Tail, together with Fairy Tail's sacred land Tenrou Island, without even needing to wait for Acnologia?!"

Thinking of this, Meredy could not help retreating several steps, her legs becoming weak.

"Are you afraid?"

"Can your legs no longer move?"

"If this is the extent of it, then you are still far from being at the level where you can practice with me!"

Meredy's panic and fear were all seen by Precht, who stood in place. He looked at the girl before him, who had long pink hair and a cute face, and whose body was trembling slightly after seeing him. He immediately found it rather interesting, so Precht taught Meredy like he was teaching a junior.

"Meredy, don't panic. Don't be afraid. I will always be by your side..."

As Precht finished speaking, Ultear, who was struggling to withstand Precht's magic power, also noticed Meredy trembling incessantly beside her. She was startled at first, then reached out and tightly grasped Meredy's delicate little hand.

"Mm!"

Meredy felt the warmth coming from her little hand. She turned her body and looked at Ultear's gentle gaze beside her. The panic in her heart instantly disappeared without a trace. She vigorously nodded at Ultear, indicating that she was not afraid.

When memories of everything she and Ultear had experienced over the years surfaced in Meredy's mind, her eyes suddenly became no longer as confused as they had been at the beginning, but gradually became firm. The courage to resist Precht once again burned within the girl's heart.

"Oh?!"

"Interesting..."

Precht looked at Meredy, who was no longer panicking, and immediately became amused.

Precht knew very clearly that within just a few seconds, Meredy had undergone some kind of transformation.

Of course, Precht was happy to see this. Ever since Precht no longer needed to work hard because of the matter of Fairy Tail's First Guild Master Mavis, he had devoted his heart to educating the younger generation and researching magic. Whenever Precht watched the juniors gradually grow under his guidance, Precht would feel a strong sense of pride. Looking at those children, he seemed to have been redeemed.

In fact, Precht had been trying to make amends for something all these years. Of course, what Precht was trying to make amends for was not the fact that he had once entered darkness alone for Mavis, but the fact that, in a moment of insanity back then, he had entrusted Fairy Tail to Makarov.

Precht genuinely wanted to say one word to this world: "Sorry!"

Only because the reason Fairy Tail had fallen so far now was all because Precht had failed to recognize people properly back then...

The greatest mistake Precht had made in his entire life was leaving behind a terrifying Fairy Tail guild that was like a black hole. In Precht's eyes, the Fairy Tail guild of the world he belonged to was simply the evil that swept across the multiverse!

"Buzz!"

Just as Precht was thinking about the things Fairy Tail had done over the years and feeling a headache over them, a burst of pink light suddenly lit up on his wrist.

"Oh?! A Link Magic?"

Precht raised his wrist and looked at it. Seeing the magical writing on his wrist, the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"Just a little trick..."

Precht looked at the magical writing on his wrist, merely smiled lightly, and then with a wave of his hand, magic circles descended toward Meredy one after another.

"Ah!!"

Immediately, Meredy let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Meanwhile, the Link Magic on Precht's wrist had somehow already disappeared without a trace.

"Meredy?! Damn it!"

Seeing this, Ultear's expression suddenly changed. She raised her hand, and temporal fluctuations immediately erupted from her body.

The next second, the crystal balls in Ultear's hands suddenly filled the sky. It seemed that as long as Ultear gave the order, these crystal balls would attack Precht.

"Ultear, you've become weaker!"

"I remember you weren't this weak."

Seeing this, displeasure flashed across Precht's face. He looked at the magic power released from Ultear's body, frowned tightly, and asked coldly.

"Shut up!"

However, after hearing Precht's words, Ultear merely roared at Precht with a ferocious expression, and then the crystal balls filling the sky attacked Precht.

"Hmph!"

In response, Precht snorted coldly, his face filled with disdain. Facing Ultear's attacks, he was even too lazy to defend himself.

"Boom!"

In the blink of an eye, the crystal balls filling the sky immediately engulfed Precht. The crystal balls exploded, and the terrifying roar and shockwaves they produced directly kicked up dust and sand from the ground.

Ultear took advantage of the dust filling the sky to support Meredy beside her and hurried away into the distance...

Yes, from the very beginning, Ultear had never intended to use that move to defeat Precht. She merely hoped that the dust raised by this move could block Precht's vision and allow her to take this opportunity to escape with Meredy.

"Meredy, hold on! I'll take you to see a doctor right now!"

Ultear supported Meredy, a trace of anxiety flashing across her expression.

"I'm fine, Ultear!"

"Guild Master Hades merely transmitted the pain I transmitted to him back to me in an amplified form..."

Meredy spoke to Ultear with a somewhat miserable expression.

"Is that so?!"

After hearing this, Ultear's expression relaxed slightly. If it was only pain, then it would not cause much damage to Meredy. They could simply return and let her rest peacefully. After all, this was a mental attack.

"You two, are you planning to abandon this old man like this and go somewhere?"

However, before Ultear and Meredy had gone very far, a cold voice suddenly sounded beside their ears. The voice of the person speaking caused the bodies of Ultear and Meredy to tremble.

"Guild Master Hades?!"

Ultear sensed the enormous shadow coming from behind her, and her expression suddenly changed. At this moment, her heart immediately leaped into her throat. She knew that if nothing unexpected happened, she would probably be finished here today.

"What are you planning to do to my precious daughter?!"

However, before Ultear could think any further, as a voice engraved deep within Ultear's soul rang out, a bone-chilling ice instantly froze the figure behind Ultear that seemed like a demon god.

"Hmm?!"

For a moment, Precht, who had already approached directly behind Ultear, transformed into an eternal ice sculpture with confusion in his eyes.

"This, this voice, could it be?!"

As for Ultear, when she heard that extremely familiar voice, her body faintly trembled, and she could not help looking behind her.

She saw a beautiful woman with an impressive figure and delicate features, looking no more than twenty years old, with an age similar to her own. She stood there with one hand on her waist, quietly looking at Ultear.

"Is...is it you? Ur..."

Ultear looked up. When she saw the appearance of the woman before her, her voice immediately began trembling, and her eyes gradually became moist.

That woman's peerless figure slowly merged with the figure of the woman in Ultear's memories, the woman who had perished together with the great demon Deliora! Although Ultear did not know exactly what had happened, she knew that the beautiful woman before her was none other than her mother, Ur!

"Ur? If it's Ur, then isn't she Ultear's mother?"

Meredy was stunned when she heard Ultear beside her muttering to herself.

To be honest, when Meredy originally noticed this woman who had suddenly appeared, who used the same Ice-Make Magic as Ultear and whose appearance was nine-tenths similar to Ultear's, she had already made a certain guess in her heart. Now that she heard Ultear's murmur, it further confirmed the guess in her heart.

The woman before them, with refreshing short hair, an impressive figure, and a face that looked only a few years older than her, radiated the aura of a mature woman. This big sister was Ultear's mother...

"Boom!"

Before Ultear and Meredy could think any further, a roar suddenly came from behind them. The Precht who had originally been frozen by Ur's ice instantly broke through the ice. His expression was cold as he looked at the suddenly arriving Ur.

"Hmph! This is nowhere near enough yet. There's no need for you to make a move, Ur!"

Precht was very dissatisfied with Ur's actions today. He believed that Ur's intervention would hinder the growth of the younger generation.

"Guild Master Precht, haven't you noticed yet?"

"The two little fellows before you aren't people from our world~"

Just as Precht was expressing his dissatisfaction with Ur, a cold voice sounded beside Precht's ear. Another Ultear appeared beside Precht.

"Oh..."

"So that's how it is! I was wondering how your magic power had fallen to such a degree. If the person who fought me just now wasn't you, then everything makes sense."

Precht glanced at the Ultear beside him. After sensing the magic power within Ultear's body that completely met the S-Class Mage standards of Fairy Tail, he immediately understood something.

At the same time, after looking at Ultear from his own world, Precht silently shook his head: "As expected, is it because they are counterparts from different timelines? Aside from the difference in magic power, their aura, appearance, and even the nature of their magic power are exactly the same! Rather than saying they are two people, it is better to say they are one person from different timelines."

Yes, the Ultear from Evan's world and this world's Ultear were extremely similar. There was practically no difference between the two, and even the nature of their magic power was exactly the same. It was precisely because of this that Precht had mistaken them for each other...

Only because Old Precht, compared with observing a person's appearance, preferred to observe the nature of a person's magic power. Old Precht believed that although a person's appearance could be disguised, the nature of a person's magic power could absolutely not be disguised. Magic power would tell Old Precht all the answers he wanted to know.

"What exactly is going on?!"

"Why are the souls of the dead repeatedly resurrecting in the living world, and why did I even see someone exactly like me? This is too strange..."

At the same time, Ultear was completely dumbfounded, first Precht, who should have been dead for a long time, appeared, then even her mother, who had died because of sealing Deliora, was resurrected, and finally, the even more terrifying thing was that she had actually seen another version of herself. No matter how one looked at the scene before her, it was too bizarre, to the point that Ultear began wondering whether she had fallen under an illusion or hypnosis.

"Ultear, don't panic!"

"In fact, we aren't from this universe!"

Just when Ultear was panicked and at a loss, Ur's voice slowly sounded beside Ultear's ear.

"You aren't from this universe?!"

After hearing this, Ultear became even more confused.

"Let me explain the specific situation..."

On the other side, Ultear looked at her increasingly bewildered counterpart from this world and could not help lightly laughing. With a flash of her body, she arrived before her counterpart from this world, first gently rubbing this world's Meredy's little head, then looking at this world's Ultear and speaking.

"In fact, because the capital was conquered by those ten thousand dragons, Fairy Tail was almost plunged into despair..."

"At this desperate moment, Lucy opened the Eclipse Gate and summoned the strongest Fairy Tail guild in the vast multiverse, which is our guild."

"Then I think you should already know what happened after that since you went to the capital. We defeated the dragons, saved the world, protected the safety of the civilians, and so on..."

Ultear from Evan's world stood before this world's Ultear and Meredy, began explaining Fairy Tail's situation, and told Ultear and Meredy how they had come to this world.

"Uh..."

After this world's Ultear and Meredy heard what Ultear from Evan's world had said, they were completely stunned in place, unable to help widening their eyes.

Obviously, what Ultear from Evan's world had said was still difficult to accept for a moment, although they had no choice but to accept that this was indeed the case.

"Anyway, let's go inside and chat slowly!"

"I always feel that the Fairy Tail of this world is still very different from the Fairy Tail of our world..."

After Ultear from Evan's world briefly explained the situation to this world's Ultear, she simply pulled this world's Ultear and Meredy toward the inside of the Fairy Tail guild.

"Eh?!"

Although this world's Ultear and Meredy carried a trace of resistance, under the pulling of Ultear from Evan's world, the two still helplessly entered the guild.

"Troublesome~"

Precht stood behind everyone, looking at Meredy and Ultear entering the guild before him, and helplessly sighed.

After sighing, Precht and Ur together entered the guild hall.

"Strange? Did I forget something?"

Just as Meredy entered the Fairy Tail guild, she could not help trembling slightly, a trace of confusion flashing through her eyes. Meredy always felt that she had forgotten something, but she could not remember exactly what she had forgotten.

Outside the Fairy Tail guild, Jellal, who had taken Erza's Thunder Bagua without any defense, was lying in the ruins with his eyes rolled white, fresh tomato juice flowing from his forehead, his eyes rolled upward.

Inside the Fairy Tail guild...

After Ultear from Evan's world and this world's Ultear had drunk several rounds of alcohol, the two had completely let loose, and their speech also became casual.

"Eh? What did you say? You said that the mother of that world didn't die because of Deliora? I also joined the Fairy Tail guild and became a member of Fairy Tail!"

"Even Grimoire Heart was disbanded? And after Guild Master Hades disbanded Grimoire Heart, he even established a Light Mage Guild specifically for persuading people to turn toward the light?!"

"What exactly happened to your world? This is way too crazy..."

This world's Ultear held a glass of beer in her hand and looked at Ultear from Evan's world with a puzzled expression, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Exactly!"

"Now Guild Master Hades, also known as Guild Master Precht, is either busy with his affairs in the Magic Council ERA or taking the companions from his own guild around to do good deeds! Now Guild Master Precht is the number one philanthropist of Fairy Tail..."

Ultear from Evan's world picked up her beer and gulped it down, then forcefully put down the glass in her hand as she spoke about Precht's glorious deeds in Evan's world.

"Hehe..."

In response, Precht, who was sitting beside the two girls, merely laughed coldly. Precht considered himself to have never been a good person. The idiom "utterly evil" seemed to describe him quite appropriately! And the reason Precht could become the number one philanthropist of Fairy Tail was not because of anything else, but entirely because of the contrast provided by his peers!

Look at those Mages of Fairy Tail, then look at Precht. Wasn't Precht more like a normal person? At least Precht was still a human. As for those Mages of Fairy Tail, there were Demon Kings, demons, dragons, and fairies, but not a single one looked like a human.

Therefore, Fairy Tail was always short of people, always short of people. Even though Fairy Tail had recruited more than one thousand new members just three days ago, it was still short of people, simply because among those more than one thousand new members, there was still not a single human...

Precht could already see the future of Fairy Tail. He believed that in the not-too-distant future, one might even be able to find gods within the Fairy Tail guild, but one would still be unable to find a single person with a conscience...

"Precht can even be selected as Fairy Tail's number one philanthropist?!"

"Then what exactly is your Fairy Tail like?"

On the other side, after hearing Ultear's words, Meredy could not help letting out a cry of surprise. To be honest, before Ultear spoke, Meredy had always believed that Precht was the darkest person in this world, as dark as an abyss.

"What exactly is our Fairy Tail like?!"

"Our Fairy Tail is actually pretty much the same as the Fairy Tail of this world. On ordinary days, the guild members are either fighting or on their way to fight. When there's nothing to do, everyone gathers together and drinks! When there is something to do, everyone works hard together. That's pretty much what it's like..."

After thinking for a while, Ultear from Evan's world answered Meredy.

"That sounds pretty normal!"

After hearing this, Meredy did not feel that there was anything wrong with the Fairy Tail guild.

"Hehe..."

In response, Precht beside them could not help laughing again.

Yes, there was nothing wrong with what Ultear said, but precisely because there was nothing wrong with what Ultear said, that was the biggest problem...

Only because Ultear had concealed many things. Ultear had not told Meredy that the fights between the members of Fairy Tail were often like the heavens collapsing and the earth splitting apart. They would either destroy half a town or tear apart several mountain peaks...

However, this was still just child's play. Once Irene and Selene, or Ignia and Acnologia, became serious with one another, it would be a crisis sweeping across the entire continent, and even the entire world!

From time to time, meteors capable of causing enormous damage to the continental plates would fall from the sky. Or the moon would be casually moved because of certain dragons, causing tidal reactions and the planet's magnetic field to become completely chaotic, resulting in a whole host of natural disasters...

Of course, these words were merely Precht's complaints in his heart. He would not actually say them aloud.

"Cheers~"

On the other side, the wine glasses of the two Ultears gently clinked together, and then the two boldly drank all the alcohol in their glasses.

"Eh?!"

Just as this world's Ultear finished drinking the alcohol in her glass, she suddenly noticed something was wrong. She raised her head and looked into the distance, only to see a black-haired boy sitting beside a table not far from her. The boy wore black-and-white ethnic clothing and silently drank the alcohol in his glass alone.

At the same time, he would occasionally chat with the air beside him about something.

"That guy..."

"That guy isn't Zeref, is he?!"

Suddenly, Ultear's expression became greatly shocked. She stared at the black-haired boy, and the alcohol that had already begun making her drowsy became more than half sober the instant Ultear saw the black-haired boy.

Ultear absolutely could not have mistaken him, simply because she had seen Zeref on Tenrou Island before, and the black-haired boy sitting inside the Fairy Tail guild and talking to the air looked exactly the same as him.

Most importantly, Zeref's cold, deep, and even darker-than-Precht magic power was something Ultear could never forget in her lifetime...

Moreover, with such special magic power, Ultear absolutely could not mistake the person either.

"Yeah! What's wrong?"

In response, Ultear from Evan's world was slightly stunned after hearing her counterpart in this world shouting loudly. She then followed this world's Ultear's gaze and looked over.

When Ultear from Evan's world saw the black-haired boy, namely Zeref, she merely glanced at him casually, then turned her head away without the slightest interest and vigorously nodded at this world's Ultear.

"Isn't it just Zeref? What's so strange about that? You should know that he is also a member of our Fairy Tail guild!"

Immediately afterward, Ultear from Evan's world asked her counterpart from this world.

Apparently, Ultear from Evan's world found it strange that this world's Ultear was making such a fuss after seeing Zeref.

"Uh..."

After Ultear from Evan's world spoke, this world's Ultear was immediately stunned, then became panicked.

"What are you talking about? That's the Black Wizard Zeref!"

"He is the source of all black magic in the world, a man powerful enough to destroy the world..."

"You actually recruited such a dangerous guy into the Fairy Tail guild? Do you not want to live anymore?!"

After hearing what Ultear from Evan's world said, this world's Ultear was completely shocked. She no longer knew where to begin complaining. She could only repeatedly emphasize to Ultear from Evan's world just how high Zeref's level of danger was!

"Ah? It's fine, right?"

"With Zeref's level of danger, he still can't destroy Fairy Tail, can he?"

"After all, there are existences in this guild who are even more dangerous than Zeref..."

In response, Ultear from Evan's world spoke with incomparable calmness.

"Huh?!"

This world's Ultear and Meredy were directly stunned in place after hearing this.

At the same time, they were somewhat unable to believe what Ultear from Evan's world had just said...

"You said there are existences in your guild even more dangerous than Zeref?! Really? You can't joke about something like this!"

In response, this world's Ultear asked Ultear from Evan's world.

"What reason would I have to deceive you..."

"Look at that one. That guy with hair that looks like flames and black tattoos on his body, looking like some kind of street thug. His name is Ignia. He is the Flame God Dragon who wreaked havoc across the Northern Continent, Guiltina. Locally, he is said to possess strength comparable to Acnologia and is known as a monster like a god..."

Ultear from Evan's world introduced Ignia to her counterpart in this world.

"Huh?!"

In response, this world's Ultear was directly stunned.

"There is also that stunning beauty. She is the Moon Dragon God Selene, whose strength is not weaker than Ignia."

"That one-armed man, Acnologia. You should know him, right? He's the Acnologia who once wiped out the main forces of this world's Fairy Tail guild."

"That woman with crimson-red hair is Irene Belserion, the Dragon Queen from four hundred years ago and the founder of Dragon Slayer Magic."

"That old man with gray-white long hair is August. He is known as Calamity on the Western Continent. He is the Fourth and Sixth Guild Master of Fairy Tail, and is known as the strongest Guild Master in the history of Fairy Tail! Even all the other Guild Masters combined, including Guild Master Precht, would not be his match for a single move."

"And then there's Evan. Evan is a monster, a complete monster! I really don't know who in this world could fight Evan. I'm afraid that even if all of Fairy Tail right now were added together, they might not necessarily be Evan's opponent..."

Just as this world's Ultear was stunned, Ultear from Evan's world extended her slender jade-like hand, pointing toward one powerhouse after another within the guild, and introduced each one to her counterpart from this world.

"What is all this? This is..."

At this moment, after this world's Ultear heard what Ultear from Evan's world had said, she was completely stunned in place. She discovered that the Fairy Tail guild from the other world was truly terrifying!

It was practically a group of monsters...

"What kind of missions does your guild usually do?"

"Are you really not some kind of organization meant to destroy the world?"

In response, Ultear rubbed her aching temples and asked her counterpart from Evan's world.

"Destroy the world?"

"Hahaha, Ultear, you really know how to joke. How could I possibly do something like that!"

After hearing what this world's Ultear said, Ultear from Evan's world could not help lightly laughing. Their Fairy Tail was a group of law-abiding citizens!

And precisely as Ultear from Evan's world finished speaking, accompanied by a roar, the entire town of Magnolia began trembling.

"What happened?"

For a moment, all the Mages inside the Fairy Tail guild became flustered.

"Oh no, the moon is falling down!"

At this very moment, shouting could be heard outside the entrance of the Fairy Tail guild.

"Hmm?"

In response, this world's Ultear silently looked toward her counterpart beside her.

"Basic operation, completely normal!"

In response, Ultear from Evan's world remained calmly drinking her alcohol.

"And you still say that your Fairy Tail isn't an organization planning to destroy the world?"

Ultear roared after hearing this.