Fairy Tail: All Magic Converges in One Body

Erza looked back at her mountain of luggage cart. "It's not much at all. I only had half a day to prepare, and I still have a lot of things I didn't have time to pack."

Hope sighed, realizing that Erza, aside from being a little strict, was one of the few normal people in Fairy Tail.

But now it seems that her "abnormal" traits simply don't have many opportunities to be expressed in daily life.

Makarov, the lecherous old man; Natsu, the hothead; Gray, the stripper; Lucy, the sarcastic commentator; Cana, the female alcoholic; Mira, the seemingly innocent but actually cunning... and a whole host of other eccentric members whose identities are hard to define.

As expected, I'm the only normal human in this guild.

Hope looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, exuding a sense of aloofness, as if he were the only one pure amidst a world of filth.

A hand clad in armor grabbed Hope's face, and Erza pulled him back to reality with just a slight effort, making the dim-witted guy grimac.

Hope covered her face, and her resentful look made Erza feel a little embarrassed. She quickly explained, "I saw you suddenly become so serious, and I thought you were possessed, so I pinched you..."

Unable to refute the reason, Hope could only tilt her head and look at Old Booker, who had finally caught up.

"You two, at least wait for this old man!"

Old Booker, panting heavily, plopped down on his suitcase. The two-day, two-night train journey had almost shaken his old bones apart.

Hope shrugged. "I mean, since your History Scholars Guild is so rich, why don't you get one or two magic airships or other flying vehicles instead of suffering by taking the train?"

Old Booker wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a helpless expression, "Of course we want to, but the crash rate of air vehicles has skyrocketed in recent decades, especially in remote areas."

"The council's investigation concluded that most of the crashes were caused by magical attacks, and they suspected that the Dark Guild was behind it, but since there were no clues, the matter was eventually dropped."

Hope understood. The History Guild was, in the end, just a group of scholars who studied history, unlike the Blue Pegasus, whose members were all mages.

They didn't want to gamble on that slim chance, so they abandoned the idea of ​​using air transportation.

Upon hearing Old Booker's statement, Erza chimed in, "I heard about this from the congressman when I accompanied the chairman to meet his congressman friend."

"In fact, the council suspects that those crashes were caused by the impact of some huge object, and the analysis suggests that they may have collided with an object the size of an island."

"But no trace of the huge object was found at the scene of the accident, so the council blamed the Dark Guild."

A flying object the size of an island?

Hope remained silent, since these events had nothing to do with him anyway, and simply began to observe the surroundings of Dusk Town as he walked.

Just as its name suggests, this town is shrouded in a hazy, reddish twilight even at the height of the midday sun.

The town had a small population, and the residents all looked pale, listless, and unwell.

According to Old Booker, every night the ghosts from the Ruins Forest would come to the town and wander around, making eerie noises, but they never hurt anyone.

However, due to the long-term harassment, many locals simply couldn't stand it and moved away. Those who remained were mostly elderly people who were unwilling to leave their hometowns, or people who hadn't saved enough money to move.

As they walked and talked, the three of them arrived at the only hotel in Dusk Town, where the archaeological team from the History Guild had already stayed a few days before them.

Old Booker was exhausted, so after checking into his room, he said goodbye to Hope and went to rest.

Hope and Erza quickly completed their registration and inquired about the Ruins Forest from the hotel owner.

"You're the bodyguards hired by the archaeological team?"

An old man sitting behind the hotel counter looked up, his cloudy eyes scrutinizing the two young men in front of him. “Take my advice,” he said, “that forest is dangerous. It’s not a place for you. Young men, don’t be so impulsive.”

"Can you call yourself a young person if you don't have drive?"

Hope chuckled, understanding that her boss meant well, and explained, "We are Fairy Tail mages, and that forest might not be more dangerous than the two of us."

Erza nudged Hope with her elbow and glared at him, saying, "You didn't have to say that last part."

Hope just chuckled. He was simply stating the facts. After all, how many people in the magical world didn't know that the mages of Fairy Tail were best at fighting and causing destruction?

Upon hearing that it was that powerful mage guild, the boss suddenly perked up. "Can I commission you to eliminate or drive away those ghosts that wail and howl in town at night?"

"Don't worry, I have the money, 50 J, how about it?"

Hope and Erza exchanged a glance.

If it's just a casual request, they'd be more than happy to do it.

However, ghosts are special souls formed because they were deeply attached to their obsessions in life and could not let go even after death. Unless their obsessions are resolved, they cannot be dealt with by ordinary means.

Seeing that Hope and the other man didn't answer, the boss assumed he hadn't paid them enough, so he gritted his teeth and said, "80 J, that's all my savings. If it's not enough, I can sell the hotel..."

"There's no need for that."

Erza interrupted her boss, "We can take the job, but we don't need to offer any payment. However, dealing with ghosts is troublesome, and we can't make any guarantees."

Upon hearing that Erza was willing to give it a try, the shopkeeper nodded gratefully and thanked her repeatedly. He had grown up in Duskwood and really didn't want to see his hometown remain like this.

Now that someone is finally willing to help the town, he is very grateful to the two people, regardless of whether they succeed or not.

Seeing the boss's excited expression, Hope shook his head almost imperceptibly. Although Erza had agreed, neither of them had any confidence in expelling the ghosts.

Fortunately, the ghosts that come at night never seem to harm anyone.

If there's no danger, you could give it a try.

Chapter 47 Strange Ghosts

After chatting with the boss for a while, and seeing that they couldn't get any more useful information out of him, Hope and Erza went to rest.

In the afternoon, after a good rest, Old Booker led them to meet with the archaeological team.

Inside the hotel's small restaurant, members of the History Guild's archaeological team were eating and discussing something in hushed tones. Most of them wore glasses and were well-dressed, a stark contrast to the somber atmosphere of the small town.

Upon seeing the two mages brought by Old Booker, the archaeological team leader, a middle-aged scholar named Derek, immediately came forward to greet them.

"Great! I thought that rigid old man Booker would invite the Blue Pegasus people instead."

Derek seemed very excited after learning Erza's identity, although the other one looked more like someone on a picnic, carrying a potted plant...

But as long as you can fight, then nothing else matters.

Old Booker sat down at another table, looking at Derek with obvious displeasure. "You just had to be sarcastic. If the Blue Pegasus people weren't away, I wouldn't have gone after Fairy Tail."

Oh dear, this old man is still being stubborn.

Hope clearly preferred the respectful expression that old Booker had given her before.

Derek disagreed with old Booker's idea, "The situation in the forest is much more troublesome than we expected. Unless Blue Pegasus sends out 'One Night,' everyone else who comes will be beaten up by that monster."

"Fairy Tail is different. Their guild has four S-class mages, and there are quite a few other capable mages below them."

Upon hearing this, Old Booker's expression immediately changed. He had not been with the archaeological team before, so he did not know what kind of monsters they had encountered in the ruins.

Hope turned to Erza and asked in a low voice, "Blue Pegasus's 'One Night'? Is he very powerful?"

Erza nodded, her expression turning serious. "One Night is the strongest mage of Blue Pegasus. He's very powerful, and I'll have a hard time dealing with him."

So this is a powerful opponent that even Erza struggled to deal with?

Hope frowned slightly. Derek said that the Azure Pegasus could only help them if sent out for one night, which meant that the monster in the ruins was at least S-rank...

But how did the archaeological team escape from the hands of the S-class monster without a single one getting injured?

In response to Hope's question, Derek explained with a wry smile, "That monster didn't mean to harm us; it just wanted to drive us away."

Hope understood; it was perfectly normal for places like ruins to have guardian beasts.

Erza calmly asked the archaeological team members, "Besides the monster that stopped you, have you encountered any other dangerous beings in the forest?"

"Does a ghost count?"

"They lie dormant in the forest during the day, but become unusually active at night, making disturbing noises throughout the forest and town," a young scholar said.

The young scholar's words were consistent with the information provided by the hotel owner.

Erza thought for a moment and then told Old Booker about the innkeeper's request.

Upon hearing that Hope and Erza planned to try to deal with the ghosts, Old Booker, Derek, and the other archaeologists became interested.

Archaeology can be put aside, since the ruins are there and won't move.

But fighting ghosts is a rare sight, it would be a shame not to join in the fun.

Erza crossed her arms and listened to the scholars' lively discussion. She then made a decision: "In that case, let's not go to the forest tonight. Let's experience these 'visiting' ghosts firsthand in town and see what they're up to."

"Hope, what do you think?"

I'll just sit here and watch... Hope really wanted to say that, but if she tried to be clever at this moment, Erza would probably kick her away.

Hope gently poked at the sunflower petals with her finger, revealing a slightly eager smile. "I've heard that some ghosts retain their will from their previous life and can communicate normally."

“At night, you and I can look for such ghosts, try to communicate with them, and find out why they are so fixated on their beliefs.”

......

Night fell quickly, and Dusk Town was truly immersed in a hazy and eerie crimson twilight, as if the eternal dusk had been frozen in this moment.

The streets were deserted, every household had its doors and windows tightly shut, and even the lights seemed to have dimmed.

Hope and Erza stood on the balcony on the second floor of the hotel, waiting quietly.

Time passed second by second, and when the clock struck midnight, the temperature suddenly dropped, and a damp, stale smell instantly filled the air.

The ghost has arrived.

First came faint sobbing, as if coming from a great distance, then it grew closer and clearer.

Then, blurry, semi-transparent humanoid silhouettes began to appear on the streets of the town. The ghosts drifted aimlessly, uttering incomprehensible murmurs and occasionally letting out sharp screechs.

As the hotel owner and the archaeological team said, the ghosts did not appear to be aggressive, but the omnipresent mental harassment and eerie atmosphere were enough to drive any normal person to a mental breakdown over time.

"I can't sense any strong malice, but they seem to be pleading for something." Erza frowned as she sensed the surrounding atmosphere.

Hope glanced at her curiously and teased, "Even learned scholars like Old Booker and Derek couldn't understand the babbling of these unconscious ghosts, but I didn't expect you, Erza, to understand it."

After Hope's interference, Erza realized she had been overthinking things. She hadn't even read many history books, so she should hurry up and find a ghost with its own consciousness.

The two jumped off the balcony and split up to join the ghosts' ranks.

Before long, Hope was lucky enough to bump into a conscious ghost. The ghost was wearing armor and holding a spear, and must have been a warrior in life.

Unfortunately, neither of them could understand the other's language, and gesturing with their fingers for a long time was useless.

Just as Hope was in a dilemma, Erza, who had received his message, rushed over. "Hope, you're really lucky. Did that ghost tell you anything?"

Hope pointed to the warrior ghost behind him, then spread his hands, his expression full of helplessness. "It's trying to tell me something, but I can't understand it at all."

"Is that so?" Erza crossed her arms, wondering if she should go back to the inn and find a scholar to try translating the ghost's words.