"Father, you won!"
After Medivh and Gildarts finally determined a victor, Erza and Ere, Medivh's daughters, came to his sides, one on each, holding his large hands, excitedly congratulating him.
"Yes, I won."
Medivh's expression was calm; he didn't feel like he had truly defeated Gildarts.
"I declare!"
At the same time, Makarov, with his hands behind his back, came to the front of the crowd.
"The X778 S-Class Mage Examination of the Magician Guild Fairy Tail, and the battle for Fairy Tail's strongest seat, are officially over!"
"You little brats, hurry up and come back to Magnolia Town with this old man!"
"Don't bring disaster to Tenrou Island, which is a sacred place, anymore, honestly..."
Makarov swore that next year's S-Class Mage Examination would absolutely not be held on Tenrou Island, to prevent these troublesome brats from truly destroying this sacred place of Fairy Tail, etched with time and history, and of great significance.
Honestly, just moments ago, during Medivh and Gildarts's duel, he was on tenterhooks several times, fearing that these two monsters, if not careful, would annihilate the island! Turning Tenrou Island completely into dust and history.
"Oh!!"
As Makarov's words fell...
The S-Class candidates present weakly raised their hands in agreement.
Everyone was very tired and didn't have much energy left to cooperate with Old Ma.
"Laxus, it's such a shame!"
"You were already at the last step..."
"You were just one step away from the Guild's S-Class Mage seat..."
"You were about to be promoted to an S-Class Mage of the Guild."
Freed looked at Laxus beside him, his eyes filled with regret.
If Laxus hadn't challenged Ere in the second round of the examination, but had chosen to participate in the final free-for-all in a conventional manner, who knows what the final outcome would have been? In Freed's heart, Laxus still had a very high chance of winning in a team battle...
"No!"
"This is fine."
"I don't have much attachment to the Guild's S-Class position in the first place."
Laxus lay on the ground, looking at the clear sky above. After witnessing the terrifying strength of Medivh and Gildarts, who would still be interested in a mere Fairy Tail Guild S-Class position?!
Now, Laxus had only one goal in his heart, and that was to reach the pinnacle...
To become a Magician like Medivh and Gildarts, standing at the apex of the Ishgar continent.
"Within half a year, enter the realm of the Ten Wizard Saints."
At the same time, Laxus set a goal for himself: he wanted to officially step into the magical realm of the Saint Ten Wizard within half a year.
He would do his best to shorten the distance between himself and Medivh, and Gildarts.
"Sister, it's such a pity! Waaah..."
"Sister, you worked so hard!"
Elfman and Lisanna hugged their sister Mirajane tightly, and as they spoke, they burst into tears, their tears falling non-stop.
"Elfman, be strong, you're a man."
"Lisanna, it's okay, it's just one setback, I'll win it back next time."
Seeing this, Mirajane could only be strong and gently comfort her younger brother and sister.
Hmm, for a moment, their roles seemed to have reversed!
It was as if Elfman and Lisanna were the candidates who almost passed this year's S-Class Mage Examination and desperately needed comfort, while she, Mirajane, was the accompanying person.
"Ultear sister, I'll team up with you again for next year's S-Class Mage Examination. This time, I absolutely won't be a burden to you, and I'll definitely help you advance to the second round smoothly."
Laki, with bandages and plasters on her forehead, swore that she would definitely help her trusted sister Ultear successfully pass the Guild's S-Class Mage Examination.
"Hahaha..."
"It's okay, don't put any psychological pressure on yourself."
Ultear was probably the most laid-back among all the S-Class Mage candidates in the entire Fairy Tail Guild. Passing was fine, not passing was also fine, it didn't matter either way.
"Gildarts, you lost."
Cana leaned against Gildarts's side, her eyes flickering with complex emotions, behind which was pure tenderness.
"Yes, I lost, didn't I?"
"So Cana, have you noticed?!"
"In this world we live in, no one can always be the strongest! And no one can always stand undefeated, even I am no exception..."
"Look at me, who was known as the strongest, haven't I been defeated by Medivh now?!"
"But I won't give up. If I lost, I lost. I'll just fight back next time, won't I?"
Gildarts lay on the ground, completely relaxed and at ease. There was no hint of regret about his defeat on his face; instead, he wore an expression of finally having shed a heavy burden.
He, Gildarts, had carried the banner of Fairy Tail's strongest for far too long...
It was about time that brat Medivh took over for a little while!
Just for a little while...
He would fight back in the near future.
"So Cana, you also need to cheer up."
"Don't give up on yourself because of a few setbacks."
"You are Gildarts's daughter..."
"You will pass the Guild's S-Class Mage Examination one day! Even Medivh, didn't he take it three times before he passed?"
When Gildarts said this, he didn't forget to reveal Medivh's well-known dark history.
"Hey, hey, hey..."
"The first S-Class Mage Examination, I didn't pass, I admit I wasn't prepared enough, I was still too young then. I won't say anything about that..."
"But the second S-Class Mage Examination, I didn't pass, was entirely because you, Gildarts, targeted me, have you forgotten?!"
"I clearly defeated the monster you designated according to the Guild Master's request at the time, but you insisted that I lacked experience and was not yet capable of completing the Guild's S-Class missions, so you sent me back to continue cultivating for another year..."
Medivh said, sitting up from the ground and complaining to Gildarts.
"Ah?!"
"Was there such a thing?"
"Sorry, I don't remember at all!"
"Anyway, it's nothing important! Ah hahaha..."
Gildarts stroked his chin, pretending to have forgotten, and laughed triumphantly.
"You guy..."
Medivh was speechless. This old scoundrel Gildarts could really forget what he had just said in a blink of an eye.
So open-minded.
"Next time, I won't lose again!"
Natsu roared to the sky, shouting loudly.
"Aye!"
Happy flew beside Natsu, echoing him.
"Lyon and Natsu, mark my words, I will have my revenge."
Gray, wearing Makarov's spare shorts, glared fiercely at Natsu and Lyon. One day, he would avenge today's clothes-stealing incident.
"Bring it on!"
Lyon stretched his limbs and said with a chuckle.
"Oh ho ho..."
"So young!"
Warrod looked at Natsu and the others with a smile. He seemed to see Natsu and the others grown up in the near future. At that time, the Fairy Tail Guild would definitely be even more lively than it was now.
"Sigh..."
"Let's go back!"
Makarov sighed, speaking with extreme weariness.
"Hmm! Let's go back!"
"Back to the Fairy Tail Guild."
Mavis, with her bare feet, sat beside Makarov and said with a smile.
"Eh?!"
"Wait, First Guild Master..."
"Are you also coming back to the Guild with us?!"
Makarov said with a shocked expression after hearing Mavis's words.
"Is that not allowed?"
Mavis asked, sounding wronged.
"Uh..."
"Of course, you can!"
"But aren't you a ghost?"
"Is it really okay to leave your grave?"
Makarov looked at Mavis, asking nervously. "It's fine."
"As long as there's a Fairy Tail Guild, I can go!"
Mavis's ear ornaments on her head trembled slightly, and she put her hands on her hips, speaking proudly.
Hmm, the cute First Guild Master was so impressed with herself!
"That's really good then."
Makarov wiped the sweat from his forehead. He swore that once he returned to the Fairy Tail Guild, he would do his utmost to rectify the Guild's discipline and create a Guild that would satisfy First Guild Master Mavis.
"In that case, I'll return to the Guild too!"
"It's been a long time since I've lived a lively life with everyone…"
After some thought, Warrod decided to move from the quiet deep mountains to Magnolia Town to live in seclusion. As the saying goes, 'great hermits live in the city,' and he needed to elevate his realm to another level.
"Eh? Warrod, are you coming back too?"
Makarov was shocked. He couldn't imagine what the Fairy Tail Guild would be like with First Guild Master Mavis and Warrod Sequen, two of Fairy Tail's founders, returning!
"Hahaha, just kidding!"
"I still have a lot of work unfinished!"
Warrod suddenly burst out laughing, patted Makarov's shoulder, and earnestly said, "I won't go back to the Guild. I'm entrusting Mavis to you, little Makarov."
"Please rest assured, Warrod…"
Makarov straightened his body and earnestly promised Warrod.
"Puhahaha…"
"What I said about not returning to the Guild just now was also a joke."
Just as Makarov was making his serious and earnest vow, Warrod continued.
"…"
Old Makarov was speechless. Seriously, please spare him!
Why are these senior members of the Fairy Tail Guild so unreliable, one after another?!
"Precht, I miss you…"
Makarov pinched the philtrum of his nose. He began to miss the days when Precht, the Second Guild Master of Fairy Tail, was in charge of the Guild.
Back then, no matter how much trouble he caused, Old Pu would always sort it out for him.
No matter whether Old Pu was immersed in the abyss of magic, constantly falling and unable to extricate himself!
But when it came to protecting their own, the three generations of Guild Masters of their Magic Guild Fairy Tail were truly in the same vein!
If you provoked their Fairy Tail, just wait for a hundredfold retaliation!
"Ah…"
"Makarov, I suddenly remembered something."
After finishing his joke, a flicker of distraction crossed Warrod's face, and a long-forgotten memory slowly emerged in his mind.
"What is it?"
Makarov looked at Warrod and asked curiously.
"Isn't it the beginning of the year?"
"According to custom, we are to hold a 'Saint Assembly'."
"Which is a meeting among the Saint Ten Wizard!"
"The venue is set at the Magic Council…"
"This time is different from before…"
"Hibern, ranked first among the Saint Ten Wizard, Ulfheim, ranked second, and… I, ranked third, will all attend! You and Ur should come too."
"Oh, and remember to bring Medivh and Gildarts."
Warrod said, rubbing his chin.
"Eh? Will the first and second ranked adults also come?"
"By the way, why call Medivh and Gildarts? Although they possess combat power not inferior to, or even above, the Ten Wizard Saints, they are not members of the Ten Wizard Saints after all, are they?"
Makarov was first surprised, then asked in confusion.
"Because I skipped the last meeting, the one before that, and the one before that."
"So, given Old Ulfheim's temper, he's probably going to get rough with me. You know I'm not good at fighting. Calling Medivh and Gildarts over is, of course, to help me beat him up severely and get some revenge."
As Warrod spoke, he threw away the cane in his hand and continuously swung his fists at the air, making 'bang, bang, bang' sounds…
Don't let Warrod's age fool you; his fighting spirit hasn't changed at all!
"Eh?!"
"Are we going to gang up on a Ten Wizard Saints?"
"Is that really okay?"
Makarov's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that such seemingly villainous words came from Warrod, a senior member of Fairy Tail.
"Don't worry, it's fine."
"A long time ago, when I led the Fairy Tail Guild…"
"Things like ganging up on others, we did that often!"
"Nah, that's called tactics."
"If the opponent falls for it, it just means all's fair in war!"
Mavis still had her hands on her hips, speaking proudly.
Well, you should know that the title 'Fairy Tactician' was given to Mavis by Fairy Tail and its allies. Those enemies who were played for fools by Mavis's schemes would only roar at Mavis, "You ageless, immortal witch! You're so wicked!"
It's still that saying: those who play tactics have dark hearts!
And then.
As the Fairy Tail Guild's sailboat set sail!
All the Fairy Tail S-Class Mages and candidates.
Finally returned to their familiar Magnolia Town the next morning.
"Bang!" As soon as Natsu returned to the Guild, without a word, he kicked open the Guild's front door and roared, "Yo! We're back!"
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
"Oh!!"
"Welcome back!"
Accompanied by one party popper after another, the Mages who chose to remain at the Fairy Tail Guild all offered their blessings to Natsu and the others.
"Warren!!"
"Come at me!"
Then, they picked up their respective weapons and charged towards Warren.
"Everyone, I apologize, I just remembered I have something to do, so I'll be leaving first."
Warren, who had been silent since boarding the ship, now had a pale face. He tightly clutched the small fortune he had earned from these Fairy Tail Mages, and his speed was incredibly fast, at one point comparable to Jet, who specialized in speed magic.
On the other side.
Gildarts went out on a mission early in the morning. He claimed he still had a lot of debts to pay off, and if he stopped, he would be crushed by them…
In fact.
Every time Gildarts completed a mission and paid off his debts, he would incur more debt from new missions he took on. As Medivh would say, it was a vicious cycle.
Medivh always reminded Gildarts to remember not to use too much force and to control his magic power a little, as the magic Gildarts wielded was not some gentle Creation Magic or the like, but the highest-level Destruction Magic.
As for Medivh, he was honorably hospitalized.
Firstly, due to muscle weakness caused by magic exhaustion.
Secondly, in his bare-knuckle fight with Gildarts, he had three ribs broken by that monster Gildarts.
"Haha…"
Inside the hospital room, Medivh lay on the bed, looking at the beautiful scenery outside, and couldn't help but smile.
The winner was hospitalized, while the loser was perfectly fine and out on a mission.
How ironic.
Medivh always felt that Gildarts was simply using this defeat to teach his own daughter, Cana, a life lesson titled "Failure Is Not Scary, You Must Face It Bravely!"
"Oh dear, Medivh, you're injured?!"
"It seems you need my good care…"
Just as Medivh was sitting on the bed, lost in thought.
A voice incredibly familiar to Medivh suddenly sounded from the hospital room door.
"That voice is…"
Medivh turned his head to look, and what met his eyes was a familiar crimson hue.
Yes, the person who arrived was naturally Eileen Belserion, but unlike usual, Eileen was now wearing a classic nurse's uniform. She licked the corner of her lips, her eyes burning with a desire that had been missed for four hundred years, and with an expression as if she was about to devour Medivh the next second, she said, "Selene's magic circle is indeed good. After I improved it, it completely isolated my aura! Hehe, she would never have thought that the magic circle she invented would ultimately benefit me!"
"So, let me take good care of you~"
"Medivh, you'd better be prepared! I won't let you off easily~"
Eileen, dressed in her nurse's uniform, spoke with immense allure.
"Gulp~"
In response, Medivh swallowed hard.
He had a feeling that what Eileen was plotting was definitely not just taking care of him; he feared something much more serious awaited him…
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