Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 379: Fairy Tail’s Eternal Number One S-Class Seed

”Your Maj—Mr. Evan, t-t-t-this fellow reflected in the water, who exactly is he?!”

Animus looked at the face reflected in the water, his expression carrying a hint of horror. His body trembled slightly as he looked at Evan with extreme nervousness and asked.

”That is precisely you! Animus! From today onward, you will live in this world in the form of an Exceed~”

Evan smiled slightly at Animus. Just like Irene could turn Hisui into a mouse, Evan could also change Animusʼs race. He enchanted Animusʼs consciousness with the attribute of an Exceed, successfully turning Animusʼs form into that of an Exceed.

However, Evanʼs Enchantment Magic was ultimately not as powerful as Ireneʼs Enchantment Magic. He could not directly enchant Animusʼs true body, so Evan first separated Animusʼs consciousness, then enchanted Animusʼs soul. As for Animusʼs true body and his power, they were still sleeping inside Sonyaʼs body…

”I…”

”As expected of Mr. Evan. I truly thank you!”

After hearing Evanʼs words, Animus revealed a smile uglier than crying and spoke to Evan.

”Animus, you have misunderstood me. Actually, this is also part of my plan…”

Evan looked at Animus and gently shook his head, his expression serious.

”Oh?!”

Animus froze for a moment. His eyes looking at Evan were filled with confusion.

”You should have also seen that among the three children whose bodies have dragons sleeping inside them, two of them have a cat that can freely fly by their side! But Sonya, whom you possessed, does not. Wouldnʼt that make Sonya and you seem very out of place?! In order to let you better blend in with the guild members, with these Dragon Slayer Mages, I specially turned you into the appearance of a cat. This way, Sonya, whom you possessed, will also have her own cat just like Natsu and the others possessed by Igneel, and there will be nothing different between you and them.”

Evan tightly frowned. Honestly speaking, he did not know whether this explanation could convince Animus. He had already prepared to use violence to make Animus accept reality.

”So that is how it is. I understand…”

Animus suddenly came to a realization, as if possessed by Xiao Di, instantly reading Evanʼs thoughts.

”You understand? It is good that you understand…”

Evan froze slightly. Seeing that Animus understood, he slowly let out a breath. Fortunately, Animus belonged to the type of person good at imagining things on his own.

”I absolutely will not let down your painstaking intentions!”

Animus looked at Evan with worshipful eyes. His heart was filled with admiration for Evan. As expected of Lord Evan, his level of thought was far above theirs.

Yes, Animus had already achieved enlightenment. He knew Evan meant to have him, as a dragon, pretend to mix into the Dragon Slayer Mages, then seize the opportunity to divide them, split them apart, and have them all ostracize Dragon Slayer Mages who did not have cats…

Yes, they were already people who had cats and were unwilling to play with those who did not have cats!

”Uh, it is good that you understand…”

Evan looked at Animus, who was gazing at him with worshipful eyes, and raised his eyebrows. But since Animus had already understood, it saved him the trouble of explaining anything.

After all, in Evanʼs eyes, Animus was not important. What was important was Sonya!

After Evan separated Animusʼs soul from Sonyaʼs body, Sonya once again regained control of her own body! At the same time, from now on, Sonya would no longer be an ordinary and unremarkable girl, but a girl with a protagonist template, the Jinchuriki of the dragon Animus. Her name was Uzumaki Sonya, cough cough…

”Hehe…”

Evan looked at Sonya before him, who bore the same fate as the strongest dead last from a certain village, with some kind of existence sealed inside her body, and smiled lightly.

”Mr. Evan, and Mr. Animus…”

Sonya currently looked at Evan and Animus with timid eyes. She seemed extremely weak, like some kind of newborn herbivorous young beast. The eyes she used to look at Evan were completely filled with fear.

Although normally Animus controlled Sonyaʼs body, Sonya was not completely unaware of the outside world. Instead, from a perspective similar to watching television, she had seen everything Animus did while controlling her body!

At the same time, because Sonya shared a body with Animus, their souls were linked together extremely closely, so she could understand almost everything Animus thought in his heart.

It was precisely because Sonya could read Animusʼs heart that she naturally knew Evan was a Dragon King-level terrifying existence powerful enough to destroy the world. It was also precisely because of this that Sonya felt incomparable fear toward Evan.

”Sonya, how can you address His Majesty Evan by name? You must address Evan as Your Majesty!”

Animus spread his little wings and looked fiercely at Sonya, roaring.

”S-Sorry!”

”Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Sonya did not do it on purpose!”

Sonya looked at Animus, who had turned into a purple cat and was acting adorably fierce, and her body immediately trembled. She looked at Evan with eyes filled with fear.

”Hehe…”

”Sonya, you do not need to be so timid! I will not become angry because of how you address me…”

”You do not need to address me as Your Majesty. Just like everyone else, directly call me Evan.”

Evan smiled slightly as he looked at Sonyaʼs nervous appearance.

”But, but…”

Sonya looked at Evan as her body trembled slightly. Her eyes were nervous as she glanced at Animus.

”Hmm?”

Evan noticed Sonyaʼs peripheral gaze. He looked at Animus with a hint of displeasure in his eyes.

”Sonya! You do not need to be nervous. Whatever Lord Evan says, you just do it. Do not refute, do not think…”

After sensing Evanʼs gaze, Animus repeatedly looked at Sonya and spoke.

”As you command.”

Only after receiving Animusʼs approval did Sonya slowly let out a breath. Only then did she nod toward Evan.

”Mm, Sonya, in the future, go find Natsu and Wendy more often to communicate, and properly learn your Dragon Slayer Magic.”

”Of course, aside from Natsu and Wendy, you can also go find Laxus and Erza! However, those two may often be training or out on missions, so it may be hard for you to find them!”

”Besides the four Dragon Slayer Mages above, Irene and Selene are also possible. Actually, they are both very good people as well, as long as you are not afraid of them. In short, you must work hard to master your own power…”

Evan looked at Sonya and smiled slightly as he softly spoke.

Evan told Sonya to find Natsu and Wendy because Igneel and Grandeeney were inside Natsu and Wendyʼs bodies. Although Igneel as a dragon was rather rough, extremely irritable, and arrogant, and might not necessarily pay attention to Sonya, Grandeeney was indeed a gentle good dragon and also very warmhearted…

With Grandeeneyʼs help, Sonya would also be able to quickly cultivate Dragon Slayer Magic. As for Laxus and Erza, although their Dragon Slayer Magic was learned later in life, their talent was extraordinary, and combined with their strange ideas, perhaps they could also provide Sonya with some good inspiration. As for Irene and Selene, there was even less need to say more. If either of them casually guided Sonya a little, they could let Sonya avoid many years of detours.

When Evan was advising Sonya, he did not mention Gajeel at all, since Gajeel was not a Dragon Slayer Mage. He was merely Erzaʼs exclusive weapon…

As for Kurnugi, Kurnugi was even less acceptable. He still could not even properly use his own magic~

”O-Okay…”

Sonya repeatedly nodded. She had just heard Animusʼs order, telling her to obey Evanʼs words.

”Mm…”

In response, Evan said nothing and merely nodded. The gaze he used to look at Sonya was filled with pity. This little girl was truly extremely pitiful as well.

In Evanʼs thoughts, if Sonya could master the power inside her body and replace Animus in controlling the power of the Crystal Dragon, that would naturally be best. After all, having such a cute and kind girl was much better than Animus, this rough man, no, this rough male dragon…

”Letʼs go. Letʼs return to the guild together~”

As Evan spoke, he brought Sonya toward Fairy Tail Guild.

The matter of cultivating Sonya into a qualified Dragon Slayer Mage was still a long and difficult road!

As for Sonya fully mastering the dragon power Animus left inside her body, that was an even more distant matter…

”Mm!”

As Evanʼs voice fell, Sonya did not dare refute him. She tightly followed behind Evan and walked toward Fairy Tail Guild.

”...”

Only Animus, left behind where he stood, remained silent. He looked at Sonya with eyes filled entirely with confusion.

”Clearly, I came first…”

Animus could not understand. Clearly, he had come first, but why, why did Evan take such care of Sonya?!

Clearly, Sonya was only a low-level human, a human who had luckily been possessed by him…

But why could Sonya receive the Dragon Kingʼs favor?! There was no reason for this?

At this moment, Animusʼs small eyes were filled with great confusion…

That day, Fairy Tailʼs back mountain was filled with the scent of White Album…

From then on, the dragon Animus and the Dragon Slayer Mage Sonya whom he had possessed officially became members of Fairy Tail Guild!

Time flew by. Since Animus, Sonya, and the others came to Fairy Tail Guild, three months had already passed. Time arrived at the end of X779, and with the arrival of December, Fairy Tailʼs annual and most important grand event was about to begin!

Yes, Fairy Tail Guildʼs annual S-Class Mage Promotion Trial was about to begin…

On this day…

”...”

Kagura sat upright beneath a certain waterfall in the Kingdom of Fiore, her eyes tightly closed as she painstakingly meditated.

Kagura truly could not understand why, as Fairy Tailʼs number one seed for the S-Class Mage Trial, she could never pass the guildʼs S-Class Trial!

Why did Fairy Tail Guild have someone stronger than her join the guild every year?!

X776, X777, X778. She had already challenged Fairy Tail Guildʼs S-Class Trial for three consecutive years. Who knew how she had spent those three years?

And this year, X779, was already the fourth year. If she still could not pass this year, then she would have fought Fairy Tail Guildʼs S-Class Mage Trial four times and failed the trial four times…

At that time, how would the people in the guild look at her? The number one seed who could never pass the S-Class Mage Trial?

Thinking of this…

A tiny crack suddenly appeared in Kaguraʼs state of mind. She abruptly opened her eyes, and a sharp blade light directly shot into the sky. That trace of wavering was instantly cut off by Kaguraʼs blade light. The terrifying blade light flowed against the current and directly cut the entire waterfall in two!

”Clap clap clap…”

As Kagura cut the waterfall apart, a wave of applause entered Kaguraʼs ears. A beautiful woman with cherry-pink long hair and wearing a kimono offered applause to Kagura.

”Kagura-chan, with your current swordsmanship, you have already far surpassed me…”

That woman with a full figure and gorgeous appearance, yet carrying endless killing intent, like a cherry blossom but also carrying deadly poison, smiled slightly at Kagura.

”Senior Ikaruga! Thank you for giving me special training during this period!”

After Kagura cut apart the waterfall, she put on the clothes she had left on the shore. After all, during special training, in order to better integrate with nature, she dressed like Gray usually did while wandering around inside the guild.

”No need. After all, you are that lordʼs younger sister. Helping you is also redemption for us~”

The beautiful woman named Ikaruga revealed a bright smile after hearing Kaguraʼs words. At this moment, she looked exactly like a blooming cherry blossom.

”Senior Ikaruga, why do you not join Fairy Tail Guild together with me? With your strength, even in Fairy Tail, you could obtain a place. At the very least, entering the top thirty of the guild should not be a problem!”

Kagura seemed especially confident in the beautiful woman before her.

After all, this beautiful woman standing before Kagura was the famous Dark Mage killer, a beautiful swordswoman renowned throughout the dark world!

”Hehe, with my current posture, I am not worthy of appearing before that lordʼs eyes!”

”I still cannot forget the sight of that meteor streaking across the sky that day. It was truly too beautiful…”

”That beautiful meteorite, and that man standing high above in the sky, not treating humans as humans, like a god. It truly makes one unable to stop~”

As Ikaruga spoke, she extended her tender little tongue and lightly licked the corner of her lips.

Immediately afterward, she revealed a nearly sickly expression. Her name was Ikaruga, formerly the captain of the assassination squad of the dark guild Skull Guild. That day, after completing her mission, she was preparing to return to the guild. Just as she was about to enter the guild, accompanied by a whistling sound, a meteorite fell from the sky and instantly destroyed the enormous guild, erasing everything inside!

From then on, the dark guild Skull Guild was directly disbanded! And Ikaruga also became almost pathologically infatuated with that meteorite burning with fierce flames, the person standing high above in the sky, and the screams of the Dark Guild Mages.

From then on, the captain of Skull Guildʼs assassination squad directly picked up the sharp blade in her hand and turned against them. She swung the gleaming blade in her hand and attacked the companions around her! No, in Ikarugaʼs eyes, those people who also belonged to dark guilds were not companions. They could only be counted as prey.

”Kagura, go! Return to the guild! This time, you will not lose.”

After recalling this, Ikaruga looked at Kagura and instructed her.

”Carry my faith with you and stand beside that lord!”

”Rest assured! Ikaruga, this time, I will not lose!”

Kagura put away her katana. The corners of her mouth rose, revealing a confident smile.

This time, she, Kagura, would take back all the victories she had never obtained, all the victories she had lost!!

”Inhale…”

Several days later, Kagura returned to the guild right on time. Looking at the ancient gate before her printed with the words FAIRY TAIL, she took a deep breath, her gaze becoming serious as she clenched her fists.

”Exhale…”

After Kagura exhaled a breath of turbid air, her gaze became firm, and she used all her strength to push open the guild doors before her.

”Since everyone has gathered here, I will not waste words. First, allow me to announce the participants for this Fairy Tail S-Class Trial. They are Kagura Mikazuchi, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Sonya Animus…”

After Kagura entered Fairy Tail Guild, Makarov, who stood on Fairy Tailʼs platform, happened to begin reading the list of participants for this yearʼs Fairy Tail Guild S-Class Mage Trial.

Naturally, among them were Natsu, Gray, Lyon, Cana, Lisanna, Elfman, Seilah, and Mystogan, these regular participants of Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mage Trial, as well as Kagura, the number one seed of Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Trial for four consecutive years. This year, unsurprisingly, Kagura was still the number one seed of Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Trial! She had already been the seed for four consecutive years.

At the same time, besides these Mages who had already participated in Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mage Trial at least once, there were also some new faces, including Gajeel, who had only joined the guild this year, and Animus.

It was just that Animus had already turned into a cat now, and Sonya had officially changed her name to Sonya Animus. This was her learning from Irene and Evan, commemorating the origin of her Dragon Slayer power…

”I wonder who will win this yearʼs guild S-Class Trial in the end?”

Inside the guild, Macao and Wakaba sat inside the guild and chatted.

These two veteran Mages, whose strength had already reached the peak of Level Five, had long since lost the ambition to participate in Fairy Tail Guildʼs S-Class Mage Trial. They knew that with their strength, it would be far too difficult to pass Fairy Tail Guildʼs trial. Moreover, compared to participating in the trial, watching others take the trial was more interesting, especially guessing which person in the guild could pass the trial. That matter was especially interesting.

It was just that as they matured with age, Macao and Wakaba no longer gambled with their own money.

Yes, they would coax newcomers into participating in gambling by giving them advice. Old gambling dogs could not quit gambling, so they could only deceive young peopleʼs money to satisfy their gambling addiction.

”I think it should be Kagura-chanʼs turn, right? I heard she defeated Quatro Cerberusʼs S-Class Mage Bacchus some time ago! In other words, Kagura absolutely possesses S-Class strength…”

Macao looked at Kagura with some emotion. He could be considered someone who had watched Kagura grow up, and of course had also witnessed Kaguraʼs grand achievement of losing three times in a row.

”Hoo~”

Wakaba held a pipe in his mouth, his expression calm.

”That is not certain. Do not forget the characteristic of our Fairy Tail Guildʼs S-Class Mage Trial! That is the so-called dark horse of the exam! You must know that aside from Mirajaneʼs year, in the other years of the guildʼs S-Class Mage Trial, the ones who could laugh until the end were often monster newcomers participating in the exam for the first time!”

Wakaba did not think highly of Kagura. After all, since Evan joined Fairy Tail Guild in X774, during the five consecutive years of Fairy Tailʼs S-Class Mage Trial from X775, X776, X777, and X778, only the year Mirajane passed the S-Class Mage Trial was won by Mirajane, who was participating in the S-Class Mage Trial for the second time. Other than that, every year, without exception, it was a super monster newcomer who had newly joined Fairy Tail Guild that became an S-Class Mage…

”That is not necessarily true. Gajeel and Sonya, who joined the guild this year, do not look very strong. Kagura has a great chance.”

Macaoʼs eyes were disdainful, directly giving Kagura a mouthful of milk.

In other words, the instant Macaoʼs voice fell, Makarov, standing on the podium, continued speaking. ”The final spot for this yearʼs Fairy Tail S-Class Mage Trial belongs to… August!”

Yes, on New Yearʼs Day of X779, because of the group photo, August had been tricked by Evan into directly stamping the emblem and joining Fairy Tail Guild. He was also one of the candidates for the S-Class Trial.

”Hehe.”

In response, that aged figure inside the guild could only smile helplessly.