Fairy Tail: All Magic Converges in One Body

Erza rolled her eyes at him. "If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all. My mother and Uncle Belserion created Dragon Slayer Magic to defeat evil dragons, not to eliminate innocent dragons. 'Dragon Slayer Queen' and all that is just nonsense."

Hope chuckled, "Actually, it doesn't matter. No matter what title she has, Erza will always be Erza."

Erza paused slightly upon hearing Hope's words, then a faint smile appeared on her lips.

Yes, no matter what happens in the future, she will always be herself, a Fairy Tail mage.

Chapter 56 Farewell and Moving Forward

Just as Belserion said, after Erza merged with the "Saint Dragon Slayer Crystal," she quickly mastered the "Saint Dragon Slayer" under the guidance of this wise dragon uncle.

The reason Erza was so fast was not only because of her high talent, but also because she was very familiar with how Dragon Slayer Magic worked. She had to thank Natsu, whom she had beaten up since childhood, for this.

As Hope watched the white-gold light spots gradually appear around Erza, he was genuinely happy for her.

"Alright, children."

Bercelion's voice pulled the two back to reality. Hope and Erza then realized that its body had become slightly more transparent than before, and that its body was constantly dissipating into tiny specks of light.

Erza seemed to realize something, and a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes.

Hope also let out a sigh.

They all understood that Belserion's thought entity was about to collapse; a thought entity that had existed for nearly 400 years was already a miracle.

Bercelion lowered his massive head, his eyes filled with the care of an elder as he looked at Erza. "Child, this is all the help I can give you. The road ahead is for you to forge your own path."

Bercelion spoke calmly, saying that his spiritual body had lasted for nearly 400 years and it was about time for him to leave.

For centuries, Belserion had regretted not falling into slumber. Although the thought form would soon dissipate due to the disorder of its own magic, at least it could help Irene.

But after seeing Erza, Belserion felt relieved.

As for the ghosts trapped by its "Enchanting Spell," although it still resents their actions in life, hundreds of years have passed, and it has long lost the will to torment them.

It wasn't that Belserion forgave those who had betrayed and hurt Irene; it simply let go of its own regret.

As Erza watched the enormous dragon shadow gradually fade into the distance, she felt a pang of sadness. Although they had only known each other for a short time, Belserion had shown her care that was second to none.

"Don't make that face, Erza."

Erzabel Selion's voice was still deep and powerful, and her eyes were full of tenderness as she spoke, "This is the cycle of life. My original body died long ago. I have already gained too much by being able to survive for so many years as a thought form."

"Erza, I have no regrets about being able to see you in my final moments and entrust the 'Seven Dragon Slayers' to you."

"You must live well too."

Bercelion's enormous body became increasingly transparent, and specks of light floated upwards like fireflies, illuminating the platform beneath everyone's feet as if it were daytime.

Erza clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. Although she was very reluctant, she straightened her body, her eyes shining with determination. "Uncle Belserion, I will never let you down. I will use this power to live well."

Bercelion nodded with satisfaction. Its figure had faded so much that it could almost be seen in the sky behind it. Its gaze finally fell on Hope.

"With multiple magics combined in one body, and now the power to slay dragons added... Since you've taken advantage of me, remember to take care of Erza for me too."

“I will.” Hope nodded solemnly.

Belserion closed his enormous dragon eyes with a sense of relief. Although he had not been able to see Irene again, he figured she must be somewhere in this world now.

"Erza, if you are lucky enough to see your mother again, please tell her that Belserion's most beautiful memories belong to her."

"Well then, it's time to say goodbye."

As the final words fell, the colossal dragon body of the Wise Dragon became completely transparent, transforming into countless dazzling particles of light that spiraled upwards into the sky before finally dissipating completely into the air, leaving only the ancient stone tablet as a testament to a long-forgotten history.

As Belserion disappeared, the ghosts bound to the forest by the enchantment let out their final wails, and the enchantment placed upon them was lifted with the caster's departure.

The distorted figures of the ghosts, along with the thousands of corpses on the platform, turned into wisps of smoke in the afterglow of magic, dissipating along with Belserion.

The spacious platform returned to silence.

Erza was silent for a moment, then spoke, her voice regaining its usual calm and decisiveness, "Let's go, Hope."

Hope nodded, then turned to look at Old Booker and the archaeological team members not far away. "Gentlemen, shall we continue our archaeological work?"

"No, no, no."

Old Booker shook his head repeatedly. Although the exploration of the ruins had not yielded any substantial records or documents, those were no longer important. Just hearing about Erza's bizarre background was exciting enough.

Old Booker patted his chest and said to Hope and Erza, "Don't worry, only a few of us know what happened today, and we will never spread rumors."

Hope thanked Erza on her behalf.

Even if they expose what happened today, it won't cause any trouble, since it's just too bizarre.

The return journey was much easier than the way there, and without any worries about danger, the group returned to Dusk Town in just over an hour.

Hope told the innkeeper about the ghosts' disappearance, and the news quickly spread throughout the town. The mayor led a group of residents to thank Hope and Erza, and it took them a while to get through.

In any case, this small town, which has been haunted by ghosts for decades, can finally get a good night's sleep tonight.

Old Booker settled the payment readily, and the 2000 million J was immediately split and transferred to Hope and Erza's magical financial inheritance. The old man's extravagant manner when swiping his card made Hope even want to join the History Guild.

Unfortunately, Old Booker said their guild doesn't accept illiterate people.

Faced with Old Booker's sarcastic remarks, Hope swore that if she hadn't intervened quickly, the old man would have been defeated by Erza, because... she hadn't read many books either...

The historians were not as physically fit as the mages, and after a day of exertion, they just wanted to rest, so they simply stayed at an inn in Dusk Town.

To be honest, without the ghosts, this town where the sky is always ablaze with sunset colors is still a pretty nice place.

After saying goodbye to Old Booker and the archaeological team, Hope and Erza boarded the magical train back to Magnolia.

Looking out the train window and listening to the clanging of the train on the tracks, Erza gazed at the ruins forest, still shrouded in the crimson sunset, as it receded into the distance, and silently murmured to herself:

Goodbye, Uncle Belserion.

Chapter 57 The Weary Homebound Residents

One week later.

Two weary figures walked along the road outside Magnolia.

Hope looked haggard, her eyes welling up with tears as she gazed at the familiar city in the distance. "Erza, can you see it...?"

Erza looked somewhat haggard, and her voice trembled slightly, "Yes, we're back, finally back..."

Originally, it would have taken them less than three days to travel from the east of the continent back to Magnolia in the western kingdom of Fiore by magic train.

But shortly after the magical train left Dusk Town, Hope and Erza on board began to experience symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, paleness, nausea, and vomiting.

Only then did they remember a terrible problem that had been overlooked.

Dragon Slayers are susceptible to motion sickness.

If only one person gets carsick, the other person can help out, but the problem is that both of them have already learned Dragon Slayer Magic.

This means that if someone were to harm Hope and Erza on the train, the two of them might not even have the strength to fight back.

Then things suddenly turned sour.

Fortunately, Dusk Town was quite remote, with hardly anyone around. Hope and Erza managed to get to the next station and then bravely got off the train.

Since all modes of transportation would cause them trouble, the two had no choice but to choose the most primitive mode of travel—walking.

Of course, walking back to Magnolia on foot would be too much of an exaggeration, and Hope's 'Wing' magic saved them a lot of time.

The two of them walked for a while, and then Hope took Erza flying for a while. In just about seven days, they crossed the continent of Ishgar from east to west.

Erza was alright, since she was carried along for a third of the journey.

But Hope, who had been putting in the effort the whole time, was truly exhausted.

In the small flowerpot that Erza was holding, the sunflower strained to gather a small ball of sunlight, then turned its head happily to look at Hope.

Hope touched the sunflower and put away the orb of light. If it weren't for the sunflower's light helping him restore his magic along the way, he probably would have died of exhaustion halfway there.

As for why he didn't exchange with Erza for the Dragon Slayer to restore his magic power, Hope could only say that the colorful idea that suddenly popped into his head made him too embarrassed to speak up.

After all, Hope first encountered the concept of "mana replenishment" in the original Fate game...

Looking at Hope's tired and haggard appearance, Erza realized that she had not only failed to help him at all along the way, but had also become a burden to him. This made the usually self-reliant Erza feel somewhat embarrassed.

"Hope, you must be tired from your journey. Get some rest today, and I'll treat you to a big meal tomorrow."

Hearing that he could get something for free again, Hope immediately perked up and chuckled, "It's all worth it to have Her Majesty the Queen treat me!"

"Grumpy."

Although she sounded a little disgusted, Erza smiled and said, "Hope, let's go back to the guild first. Show yourselves so everyone won't worry."

Hope nodded. He didn't really care whether he showed his face or not, since he lived in the guild.

The two had just taken a step when they heard a joyful voice coming from behind them.

"Erza~ Hope~ Wait for me—"

Without even turning their heads, Hope and Erza, who were being called, knew who it was. Natsu's voice was always so full of energy, and so was he.

Turning to look at the pink-haired boy running towards him, and the blonde girl and blue cat chasing after him, Hope greeted him with a smile, "Yo, isn't this Natsu? It's been a week, have you finished writing your conversation?"

Natsu's smile froze instantly. How could someone bring up such a sore spot the moment they met...?

Happy landed on his shoulder, raised his paw, and said cutely, "Ai-ee~ Natsu and Gray couldn't write enough 20,000-word self-criticisms, so the guild master punished them by making them clean the guild for a month each. Since Gray was on duty this week, we went out to do a mission."

A 20,000-word self-criticism would really kill Natsu and Gray; they couldn't possibly write it. Hope suspected that Makarov was just trying to make things difficult for the two guys.

Erza greeted Lucy and asked, "You didn't cause too much destruction on this mission, did you?"

Lucy's expression immediately became unnatural, she looked embarrassed, and stammered, unable to speak.

Seeing Lucy's reaction, Erza immediately understood. She turned around and grabbed Natsu, who was trying to sneak away out of guilt. "Natsu, how many times have I told you to hold back a little when you fight during missions, so you don't lose all your mission rewards again."

"Now that you've teamed up with Lucy, you're causing trouble and she'll have to suffer the consequences too."

Erza crossed her arms, her sharp gaze making Natsu tremble. "Tell me, how much did you make on this mission, and how much did you lose?"

"I...I didn't make any money," Natsu said tremulously.

The mission that Natsu's team took on this time was to infiltrate a duke's mansion and destroy a novel. The reward was 20 J, but it was later increased to 200 million J after meeting with the client.

The duke had a penchant for maids, so Natsu and Happy jokingly encouraged Lucy to disguise herself as a maid and apply for a job at the duke's house, and then secretly destroy the novel.

But who knew that the duke was not only ugly, but also had extremely bizarre tastes; the maids in his household were so ugly that they could only be described as grotesque.