A New Life in Fairy Tail

”It’s so dark in here!” Natsu complained, opening his mouth to spew a burst of flame for illumination.

”This is for the performance effect! Do not light a fire!” Cana yelled from across the table, stopping him just in time.

At that moment, a single spotlight clicked on, illuminating the center of the guild’s stage.

Mirajane was already seated there. She wore a long, elegant dress with a high slit, her right leg elegantly crossed over her left, showcasing her fair, slender legs in strappy sandals.

She held an acoustic guitar, and a winged microphone hovered magically in front of her. The microphone was a magic item that naturally amplified the user’s voice so it could be heard clearly even from a distance.

”Mira-san?!”

”Ohhh! Mira!”

”Mirajane!”

”Alright! It’s Mira’s turn!”

Seeing Mirajane on stage, the guild members immediately erupted in cheers. Having softened her previously abrasive personality, the new, gentle Mirajane was incredibly popular within the guild.

”Is this what you were talking about?” Noah asked Ultear and the girls behind him.

”Yep, this is it. Mira performing on stage! Great, isn’t it?” Sorano smiled.

”It certainly is,” Noah nodded. Mirajane, dressed so elegantly and sitting center stage, was truly a captivating sight.

Moreover, her singing voice was beautiful. She frequently participated in the guild’s impromptu performances.

”Now then, to welcome our new comrades, and to celebrate everyone returning safely, I’ll sing a song for you all~” Mirajane announced, her amplified voice ringing clearly through the hall.

”OHHH!”

”Can’t wait!”

”Mirajane is the best!”

The crowd paused for a moment to let out another deafening cheer.

Mirajane strummed a gentle intro on her guitar and began to sing.

🎵 Caressing the table where your silhouette is no longer seen... 🎵

🎵 Today too, I only see my own shadow... 🎵

🎵 Looking up at the starry sky, making a wish... 🎵

🎵 You too, right now, under this same sky... 🎵

🎵 Whether you are fighting back tears and trembling... 🎵

🎵 Or on the verge of being defeated by the darkness... 🎵

🎵 Never forget... 🎵

🎵 The place you can return to... 🎵

🎵 You have a place to return to... 🎵

🎵 Someone... is waiting for you... 🎵

Mirajane’s melodious voice echoed through the quieted guild hall. The moment she struck the final chord, the cheers erupted instantly, the sheer volume threatening to blow the roof off the building.

”Mira!”

”That was amazing!”

”Great singing!”

Everyone praised her performance relentlessly, their faces bright with joy and contentment.

”Hmph.”

Gajeel, however, found the atmosphere incredibly grating. This was absolutely nothing like the vibe at Phantom Lord.

He unceremoniously stomped his heavy iron-studded boot down hard onto the foot of Natsu, who was sitting at the adjacent table.

While Gajeel wore heavy boots, Natsu was only wearing his usual open-toed sandals.

The force of the stomp was substantial. Natsu leaped out of his chair with a yelp of pain.

”Ow! That hurts!”

”Hehe.” Gajeel rested his chin on his hand, looking in the opposite direction with a smirk, clearly amused by Natsu’s reaction.

”What are you doing?! You stomped on my foot on purpose, didn’t you?!” Natsu yelled, slamming a foot onto the table as he glared at Gajeel.

”Huh?” Gajeel turned his head back, looking at Natsu with an expression of pure, mocking innocence, pretending he had absolutely no idea what Natsu was talking about.

Seeing Gajeel’s smug face infuriated Natsu even more.

Just as Natsu opened his mouth to yell again, two heavy beer mugs came flying out of nowhere. One nailed Natsu perfectly in the head, and the other smacked Gajeel right in the face.

The impact snapped both their heads backward.

”Shut up! Mira is singing! What are you two yelling about?!” an angry voice shouted from the crowd.

”Hey! Who threw that?!” Natsu roared, furiously flipping the heavy table in front of him.

Noah, who happened to be sitting on the other side of that table, reacted instantly. He clamped a hand down on the edge, stopping the table from flipping over onto him. However, the force sent all the plates, cups, and cutlery flying into the air.

”Eeeek!” Lucy, who was sitting nearby, shrieked and scrambled backward to avoid the flying debris.

Erza, with practiced ease, snatched her strawberry cake off the table in the blink of an eye, dodging the airborne cutlery to protect her precious dessert.

”Natsu, you idiot! Stop causing trouble!” Gray jumped up from Natsu’s side and yelled at him.

”Huh? Who are you calling a troublemaker?! You bastard, do you wanna fight?!” Natsu whipped around, glaring at Gray.

”Idiots,” Gajeel scoffed from the side, unable to resist mocking them.

”What did you say, you piece of scrap metal?!” Natsu instantly redirected his fury, throwing a punch straight at Gajeel’s face.

”Hmph! You think I’m scared of you?!” Gajeel stood up and threw a punch to meet Natsu’s.

BAM! Their fists collided with a loud crack.

”You guys! Since you call yourselves men, you should sit quietly and listen to my sister sing!” Elfman roared, punching out the guild member who had thrown the mugs, before turning to yell at Natsu and Gajeel.

”Looks like you haven’t improved much, Salamander!” Gajeel taunted Natsu.

”You bastard Iron Dragon! Let’s see if I haven’t improved!” Natsu yelled back, fully engaging Gajeel in a brawl.

”Natsu, knock it off!” Gray charged in to stop them, but within seconds, he was dragged into the fray, escalating the intensity of the fight dramatically.

By this point, the fight had cascaded. Brawls were breaking out all over the guild hall. Beer mugs, plates, and cutlery flew through the air like shrapnel. Chairs and tables were being smashed to splinters.

Erza did her best to dodge the collateral damage, but ultimately failed to protect her half-eaten strawberry cake, which was knocked out of her hand and splattered onto the floor.

”SHUT UP!”

Seeing her beloved cake ruined, Erza went nuclear. She kicked a brawling guild member halfway across the room and dove headfirst into the chaotic melee.

”Someone stop Natsu and the others!” a guild member yelled over the din.

But Natsu was currently fighting Gajeel, Gray, Elfman, and several other members simultaneously. He was completely in his element, fighting like a maniac with a massive grin on his face. No one could stop him.

”Well, it seems this isn’t really the time for ballads,” Mirajane chuckled from the stage, observing the absolute mayhem unfolding below.

”Transform!”

With a flash of magical light, Mirajane’s elegant dress vanished, replaced by a punk-rock outfit featuring a crop top and short shorts.

She threw a hand into the air and shouted, ”Then let’s switch to ROCK!”

A heavy, distorted guitar riff ripped from her instrument.

The intense, high-energy music fueled the crowd’s excitement even further, and the brawl intensified to a fever pitch.

Makarov sat at the bar, watching the destruction with a deadpan expression. He didn’t even know what to say anymore.

”Ooh, I want to join in! You can’t have a party without me!” Sorano said, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the massive brawl. She eagerly jumped into the fray.

”It’s been a while since I’ve had a good workout. This is a perfect opportunity to stretch my legs,” Ultear smiled brightly and joined the fight as well.

”Mhm. Such a joyful guild activity. I have to participate, otherwise I’d seem anti-social,” Noah reasoned. He cracked his knuckles, dashed into the center of the chaos, and casually swatted Natsu—who was busy fighting Gajeel—sending him flying across the room.

”Damn you, Noah! Take this!” Natsu hit the ground, bounced right back up, and charged at Noah, throwing a fiery punch that sent the laughing Noah flying backward.

Watching Noah launch Natsu across the room, Gajeel’s heart had skipped a beat.

He had genuinely feared Noah was going to attack him next. He had no idea if Noah would hold back against him. Natsu was Noah’s comrade, so Noah naturally wouldn’t try to kill him. But Gajeel had severely damaged their guild and attacked their members. Even though he had failed, they clearly hadn’t forgotten, as Erza’s words earlier had proven.

If Noah didn’t hold back, Gajeel knew he wouldn’t die, but being beaten to a bloody pulp was highly likely.

However, when he saw Noah ignore him entirely and instead let Natsu punch him away in retaliation, Gajeel let out a massive sigh of relief.

It seemed that, despite Noah’s terrifying aura, he was willing to accept Gajeel as a member, or at least play along with the guild’s rough housing.

Just as Gajeel relaxed, Natsu, having dealt with Noah, turned his fiery fists back to him.

”Damn Salamander!”

Gajeel might have feared Noah, but he certainly didn’t fear Natsu. He met Natsu’s charge head-on.

The two Dragon Slayers clashed violently once again.

”Haha! Natsu, again!” Noah, who was completely unharmed by Natsu’s punch, adjusted himself in mid-air, landed smoothly, and charged back at Natsu and Gajeel.

”Noah!” Seeing Noah coming, Natsu threw another punch at him.

Noah blocked Natsu’s punch with his right hand and simultaneously threw a left hook at Gajeel.

Gajeel’s heart leaped into his throat again. He frantically raised his arms to block, bracing for a devastating impact.

To his surprise, the punch was light. He blocked it easily.

He realized Noah was just rough housing, exactly like the rest of them.

Blocking the punch significantly eased Gajeel’s anxiety. Since Noah wasn’t using his true strength, he was just playing around.

With a fierce grin, Gajeel stepped forward, joining the three-way brawl with Natsu and Noah.

As the fight progressed, what started as a free-for-all eventually morphed into Natsu and Gajeel teaming up to fight Noah.

This was exactly what Noah had intended. Fighting just Natsu wasn’t quite satisfying enough. Adding Gajeel to the mix made it perfectly balanced for a casual spar.

But there was a deeper reason for Noah’s actions. He had noticed Gajeel’s lingering fear of him.

It was likely a lingering trauma from watching Noah brutally dismantle Jose.

Juvia had exhibited similar fear initially, but spending time with Noah at Akane Resort had allowed her to see his casual, friendly side, dispelling her anxiety. Juvia was now completely comfortable around him.

Noah wanted to use this brawl to achieve the same result with Gajeel.

~~~

Get early access to 50+ advanced chapters on Patreon!

https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn