Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 360: Ahead Lies Hell!

At the same time, in the Fairy Tail guild, 

”That group of women still isnʼt back yet? So boring. Why am I stuck in an enclosed space with a bunch of sweaty men, breathing the same air? Ugh, this is unbearable!”

Inside the guild, the newly revived Gildarts looked around at the all-male crowd, his eyes filled with weariness.

Gildarts, male, straight, and someone who didnʼt mind getting punched by women, held the firm belief that living in a world filled only with men was a fate worse than death. In his opinion, the greatest thing the gods ever did was create women. Especially... well-endowed ones.

”Ugh…”

At his complaint, many of the mages around him frowned. Truth be told, no one really liked being around this perverted guy either.

In short, the guild was currently full of mutual disdain.

”Anyway, enough of that. Say something actually interesting.”

”Yeah, yeah! If youʼre just going to whine, feel free to get the hell out of here!”

”Seriously, we donʼt want you here, bastard!”

A bunch of drunken mages shouted at Gildarts, clearly fed up.

”So noisy…”

Gildarts nonchalantly dug at his ear, clearly unfazed.

”This bastard… I really want to punch him.”

”If he werenʼt so absurdly strong, he wouldʼve been dead a long time ago!”

The drunks glared at Gildarts, eyes full of hostility.

Cicada cries echoed in the air…

The temperature inside the guild kept rising. That dry, refreshed post-bath feeling was now replaced with sticky humidity again…

”So hot!!”

The guildʼs drunkards complained loudly as they wiped the sweat off their brows.

”Yeah, itʼs scorching in here!”

”Speaking of which… since itʼs just us guys here~”

”Why are we even wearing clothes right now?”

As the atmosphere inside the guild turned both tense and sweaty, Lyon suddenly voiced a thought that had been simmering in his mind.

”…Huh?!”

Everyone inside the guild blinked at him in confusion.

”Come on, we invented clothes because of modesty between genders, right?”

”But since weʼre all men, isnʼt it fine to just strip down?”

As Lyon spoke, he had already reduced himself to nothing but a single black censor circle over his crotch.

”Uh…”

The mages stared at Lyonʼs confident pose, gulping nervously.

It was the middle of a hot summer. The guild didnʼt have air conditioning, and compared to the natural breeze outside, it was like an oven inside. In this kind of heat, who could resist the idea of stripping down while sipping a cold beer?

”See? Much cooler, right?”

”Besides, there arenʼt any women here right now. Even if you go full commando, no oneʼs going to call you a pervert, so relax!”

”Of course, if you donʼt want to undress, thatʼs fine too. But unless you try it, youʼll never know just how comfortable it is~”

”Also, imagine this, no clothes, one hand holding a popsicle, the other holding an ice-cold beer… mmm, perfection~”

Lyonʼs words slithered through the room like the tempting whisper of a devil.

Gulp…

That was the last straw.

As clothes began to fly skyward one by one, the men of the guild shed their restraints, and their outfits.

”Ahhh! So refreshing!!”

Suddenly, the entire atmosphere of Fairy Tailʼs guild transformed.

Dozens of male mages were now fully naked, sprawled out seductively inside the guild hall, beer in one hand, Lyon-made popsicle in the other.

”Hahaha! Cheers!!”

The mood in the guild became wild, rowdy, and absolutely unrecognizable.

SLAM!

At that very moment, Evan returned home and noticed that neither Irene nor Erza were back yet.

Taking advantage of their absence, he decided to swing by the guild and take on a job.

He pushed open the front door of the guild and stepped inside, 

Only to be greeted by a crowd of naked, beer-chugging muscleheads.

”…Ah. My eyes. My eyes are ruined.”

Evan stood at the entrance, stunned.

If he didnʼt recognize the people inside, he mightʼve thought heʼd accidentally teleported, not into Fairy Tail, but into some ”underwater club” masquerading as a diving team…

”What… the hell is this?”

Evan raised a brow, staring at the dancing, naked masses in confusion.

”Yo! Evan, youʼre here! Want to have a drink with us?!”

From across the room, a naked Gildarts, with only a black censor circle covering his nether region, waved an ice-cold beer and beckoned Evan over with a bright smile.

”…No thanks.”

Evan gave Gildarts a once-over. Great, heʼd officially moved from being just scum to becoming a full-blown pervert.

”Sigh…”

Evan exhaled deeply as he looked over the crowd.

Fortunately, he had previously cast a spell over the guild, any time someone stripped in public, an automatic censor would appear over the indecent areas.

Yes, that swarm of black circles wasnʼt a natural law of the world. It was Evanʼs spellwork. Without it, the scene would have been… traumatic.

”Donʼt be shy, Evan! As long as the black spot covers the goods, itʼs not technically nudity!”

Gildarts seemed to have awakened to some dangerous fetish. He gave Evan a thumbs-up with a glowing grin.

”You do you, man. Iʼm not interested in your little… ʼgame.ʼ”

In a flash of light, Evan vanished from the first floor, zipped to the second, grabbed an S-Class mission off the board, and left the guild entirely.

”Evan ran off…”

”Tsk. He just doesnʼt understand our greatness.”

Gildarts sighed dramatically as he watched Evan disappear.

”No worries,” Lyon declared, standing tall and naked like a perverted king staring into the heavens. ”We still have time. One day, Evan will understand us.”

”…I should probably give Irene and the others a heads-up. Wouldnʼt want them going blind.”

Outside the guild, Evan took out a remote communication crystal and left a message for Irene and Erza.

Two things,

He was going out to do an S-Class job, so heʼd be home late.

If they wanted to preserve their eyesight, theyʼd better not return to the guild anytime soon. The guys inside were currently holding what could only be described as a summoning ritual for demons.

Back at Blacknight Mountain, in the hot springs, 

”…So thatʼs what he said. Ladies, how do you interpret those two messages?”

Irene held up the communication crystal, having just shared Evanʼs update, and looked around at the group.

”A summoning ritual… for demons?”

”Was he calling me?”

Seilah tilted her gorgeous head, tapping her cheek as she spoke innocently.

”Probably not…”

Irene and the others all shook their heads in unison.

”Those idiots clearly did something outrageous while we were gone. Hmph, I donʼt even need to see it to know. Theyʼre all just a bunch of fools~”

As a proud female (and feline), Carla naturally counted herself among the Womenʼs Association. Standing with paws on hips, her intelligent eyes sparkled, she had already pieced everything together.

Buzz!

Just then, Carlaʼs expression changed.

As someone with the ability to see glimpses of the future, especially those that posed serious, possibly fatal danger to herself, Carla had just received a powerful, horrifying vision.

Normally, her precognition came as static images of locations, missions, or events about to happen in the near future.

And now, an image appeared in her mind.

It was inside the Fairy Tail guild, sometime soon.

Dozens of male mages, stark naked, holding beer mugs and dancing wildly.

Exactly as Evan had said, it looked like they were holding some kind of devil-summoning ritual.

But that wasnʼt the worst part, 

The vision… had no censorship.

AH! Iʼm blind!!!

”My eyes! MY EYES!!”

Carla screamed in anguish, using her tiny paw pads to cover her eyes.

”Carla! Are you okay?! Carla!!”

Wendy quickly pulled her into a hug, gently comforting the trembling cat.

”…Wendy, Iʼve been defiled.”

”Donʼt go back to the guild. Whatever you do, donʼt go back…”

Carla clutched Wendyʼs hand like a dying soldier passing on final words.

”Carla, what did you see?”

Wendy cradled her, concerned.

”I saw… the road to the Underworld and Hell itself…”

With the last of her strength, Carla whispered to Wendy, then fainted in her arms.

”Carla!!!”

Wendy clutched the unconscious Carla, tears spilling from her eyes, her face filled with anguish.

”Sheʼs just mentally overwhelmed. Thatʼs all.”

”She fainted due to extreme emotional shock. Donʼt worry, sheʼll wake up soon.”

At Wendyʼs side, Irene calmly glanced at Carla and made her assessment.

”Thank you so much, Miss Irene…”

Wendy bowed in deep gratitude. Her thanks came from the heart. Irene wasnʼt just kind enough to offer her hope for a bigger future, she even saved Carlaʼs sanity.

”So, what exactly did the men do back at the guild?”

Erza rubbed her chin, curiously glancing at the others.

”Uh…”

For a moment, the entire Womenʼs Association fell into a solemn silence.

”Then… is there anyone brave enough to act as a scout, and go see whatʼs really happening inside Fairy Tail?!”

Irene had no intention of going herself. Evan had specifically warned her not to return. And Irene deeply trusted his judgment.

”If Evan says the men are performing some kind of demon-summoning ritual, then doesnʼt that mean I should be the one to go?”

Seilah didnʼt seem fazed by the talk of hell. For a demon like her, that was practically home.

”Well, it might not even be referring to Seilah as a demon. Evan mightʼve meant something else… like the Heart of a Demon, meaning it could actually be me heʼs hinting at.”

Ultearʼs eyes shimmered with sharp intellect. She seemed to have figured something out and shared her thoughts with the group.

”Ohh!”

”That makes sense too…”

Selene and the others nodded thoughtfully. It was plausible.

”Then again… maybe it was just a metaphor.”

Irene pondered silently. She didnʼt voice it, but regardless of what the idiots in the guild were up to, someone had to go find out the truth.

”Then let me go. Iʼll go with Seilah.”

Ultear made her decision.

”Alright!”

Seilah nodded lightly, agreeing to accompany Ultear and get to the bottom of the guildʼs madness.

”Ultear! Seilah! You can do it!”

Wendy hugged the still-unconscious Carla in one arm while raising a tiny fist with the other, cheering them on.

”Ohhh!”

Seilah and Ultear exchanged a glance, eyes burning with determination.

Five minutes later…

The gates of Water Wing swung open. Seilah and Ultear arrived at the front doors of the Fairy Tail guild.

Gulp…

Staring at the ancient structure bearing the name FAIRY TAIL, both women took a deep breath and summoned their courage before pushing open the doors.

CLACK!

As the doors creaked open, the scene that greeted them was, 

”Hahaha! Gray, chase me!”

”Natsu! Donʼt steal my popsicle!”

Two boys ran happily around the guild hall. At a glance, their youthful faces matched the childish behavior.

But… they were completely naked.

Inside, a crowd of drunkards guzzled down beer from mugs, just like always, except this time, not a single one of them was wearing any clothes. Naked, beer in one hand, black censor circles barely preserving decency.

Faced with this madness, Seilah and Ultear stood silently, expressionless.

”Hey there, beautiful ladies~ Care to join me for a drink?”

Gildarts, showing off his muscular body (censored only by one black circle), swaggered over to them with a confident smirk, thinking himself the height of chivalry.

If only he were wearing a suit. Or at least pants.

As it stood, he was just a pervert.

”Seilah…”

Ultear looked over at her with a blank expression, blinking once, signaling.

”Got it.”

Seilah nodded, equally emotionless.

And then, 

”Arc of Time.”

Ultear, wearing a loose and elegant modified kimono, summoned a glowing time-crystal to her side. With a wave of her hand, she began reversing time, restoring the clothing of every single man in the guild.

”…Huh?!”

The men stared at their reappeared outfits in shock, cold sweat forming on their brows.

”Donʼt panic, everyone! Ultearʼs magic wonʼt last forever!”

”All we need to do is strip down a hundred times, and sheʼll eventually run out of magic!”

As the men scrambled in confusion, Lyonʼs voice rang out from within the guild.

”Sis, even you canʼt stop all of us forever!”

He grinned triumphantly at Ultear.

”Hmph.”

Ultear scoffed, unimpressed by her rebellious little brother.

”Thanks for the assist.”

She turned to Seilah.

”Of course!”

Seilah stepped forward and calmly raised her hand.

”I hereby order all of you, starting today, it is forbidden to undress within the Fairy Tail guild!”

With those words, Seilah cast a powerful spell.

”Urgh…”

Just as the men prepared to strip again, their bodies froze.

”I..I canʼt move!!”

”What is this magic?!”

The male mages were paralyzed, dripping with sweat, unable to act.

Clap!

Having completed their task, Seilah and Ultear high-fived. Their coordination was flawless, worthy of the famed duo from Tartaros, the twin flowers of the demon guild.

However… just as they finished, a massive shadow loomed over them.

”Oh no…”

Both womenʼs faces stiffened.

They had forgotten about Gildarts. Their magic… didnʼt work on him.

”There you are! I finally found it!”

Gildarts fell to his knees in front of Ultear and Seilah.

”Iʼve finally discovered the magic Iʼve dreamed of all my life!”

”Please, Ultear, Seilah, Iʼm begging you. Help me!”

He bowed low, completely serious.

”Uhh… please stand up first. Then tell us what you need. If itʼs within our ability, weʼll help.”

Neither woman had ever seen Gildarts this sincere. Surprised, they helped him up.

”Since I was a kid, Iʼve had one dream. My greatest lifelong wish. If I could make it come true, I could die happy…”

His expression was solemn, and honestly, in that moment, Gildarts looked… kind of cool.

Gulp.

”What is your dream?” they asked, a little tense.

”Ultear. Seilah. Since your magic can put clothes on people… that means you can take them off too, right?”

”In that case, please make every beautiful woman in Fiore strip naked in public!! I have to see it!!”

Gildarts clenched his fists and shouted his perverted dream from the depths of his soul.

”GO TO HELL, YOU FILTHY BASTARD!!”