"It's Uncle Demian from the nearby village."
Sure enough, a girl with blue curly hair spoke up.
Marco looked over and immediately recognized the girl as Juvia.
She wore a cool, indifferent expression, appearing very capable - nothing like the girl who used to depend on him so much.
"Juvia-san helped him before!"
Beside Juvia, a boy with blue-black hair wrapped in thick layers of clothing spoke up.
This soft-spoken, gentle person was actually Gray!
Of course, compared to his speech and personality, what shocked Marco even more was that Gray was actually wearing such thick clothes without any intention of taking them off!
'What's going on with these people? Have their personalities completely reversed?!'
If seeing just one or two people wouldn't have made him realize, after witnessing so many people's personalities being reversed, Marco couldn't help but recognize the problem.
This truth seemed utterly bizarre to Marco.
Different living environments and personal experiences leading to different personalities was reasonable, but no matter how reasonable, it shouldn't result in everyone's personality being completely reversed!
One could only say that this was one of those strange coincidences that make for good stories.
Marco sighed inwardly while growing more wary of the approaching year X784.
He suspected many such "coincidences" would occur then too - many seemingly impossible "coincidences," just like this Edolas version of Fairy Tail with completely reversed personalities.
"Survivors from another Magic Guild?"
Marco's self-introduction made the leader Lucy relax slightly.
Clearly, this identity naturally garnered some goodwill.
"Take off your masks. Since we're on the same side, stop hiding your faces."
However, not everyone lowered their guard like Lucy.
Another blue-haired girl spoke up warily.
Marco and Mystogan looked toward the girl and both nearly lost their composure.
The girl was Wendy - at least she looked like Wendy from her eyes and brows - but she was a plus version of Wendy, clearly much older than she should be.
While Mystogan might not be very familiar with other guild members or sensitive to their changes, he could clearly perceive Wendy's difference, which naturally made him nearly lose his composure too.
"What's with your reactions?"
Mature Wendy frowned as she asked.
She had clearly noticed the strange looks Marco and Mystogan were giving her.
From the beginning, Wendy had found these two suspicious, and now this feeling intensified.
These two definitely had problems!
"Take off the mask! Remove the face covering!"
At Wendy's mature request, the other members of Fairy Tail also came to their senses and began demanding that Marco and Mystogan remove their disguises, otherwise they would find it difficult to trust the two.
"..."
This put Marco in an awkward position, as in this world, he was clearly in an antagonistic relationship with Fairy Tail.
If he took off the mask now, wouldn't they immediately start fighting?
Would there even be a chance for reconciliation? He couldn't just wipe out the entire Fairy Tail of Edolas right from the start, could he?
Seeing the changes in the Edolas version of Fairy Tail, Marco found it easier to accept that his counterpart in this world was a major villain.
In Earth Land, he was revered by all, a hero whose fame spread across the entire Ishgar continent.
In this world, it made sense that he would become a notorious villain.
But what puzzled Marco was how his counterpart in this world even existed.
After all, he was a transmigrator!
Although before this, Marco himself wasn't sure whether he had transmigrated through soul or body, as he had opened his eyes as an infant, picked up by Makarov and brought back to the guild.
There was no predecessor, nor had he fought anyone for control of a body—unlike a typical soul transmigration.
But now it seemed he could be considered a reincarnator, the one who had been reborn as an infant.
If it had been a physical transmigration, he shouldn't have started as a baby.
Moreover, if it were a physical transmigration, there shouldn't be another version of him in this Edolas world.
But even if it were reincarnation, there were still issues: how could his counterpart in this world be so powerful? Could it be that he was also affected by Marco's reincarnation?
If not influenced by his reincarnation, this world's Marco probably wouldn't have been able to cause any significant turmoil, nor should he have been able to, since they didn't exist in the original story.
[Ding! Mission triggered!]
[Mission Name: "Gemini Twins"]
Mission Content:
Influenced by your existence, the Marco of the Edolas world has undergone a certain mutation.
He has become an extremely evil existence, representing the most wicked aspect of your humanity—your dark side. Defeat him, for evil cannot prevail over good, and justice will triumph!
Mission Progress: Defeat the "Dark Side" Marco (Incomplete)
[Mission Reward: Gemini Gold Cloth.]
Just as Marco was filled with doubts, the Saint System popped up, triggering the mission and resolving the confusion in his heart.
The Marco of this world was indeed influenced by his existence, which was why he had such a strong presence in this world's story.
'So, I'm partly responsible for this world's deterioration? Now I really have no choice but to give it my all.' Marco complained inwardly.
The appearance of this mission actually eased his mind—this "Dark Side" Marco was merely a product influenced by his existence, not some major boss.
Though described as powerful, in the end, he was just an ordinary mortal without a system.
If they met, he would inevitably be swiftly defeated by him.
"Click."
Looking at the people before him, Marco removed the [Pope's Mask].
He decided to be open and honest with the Fairy Tail of Edolas.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The "Fairy Tail" of Edolas had been relentlessly hunted by the royal army, while Marco and his companions were also opposing the king.
In terms of stance, they were natural allies.
Establishing a cooperative relationship with these true locals would undoubtedly be highly advantageous for gathering intelligence.
Moreover, Marco had come to respect the way this "Fairy Tail" of Edolas conducted themselves.
Even while being hunted, they still traveled everywhere completing missions to help others.
This alone made Marco willing to acknowledge them as "Fairy Tail."
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