Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 410: Serena: I Worked Hard for Decades, Only to Be Awesome for Three Days?

When Serena was sent flying by Evanʼs punch and fell from the sky, his life flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern...

Serena was born on the continent of Ishgar, in a certain kingdom located east of the Kingdom of Fiore. At the moment Serena was born, there was only one sound throughout the forests of the entire kingdom: God Serena! Countless magic elements whispered before him, saying that he was a man favored by the Dragon God...

And the truth was indeed so. Serena really did seem to be favored by the Dragon God. His life was like he had activated cheats. Dragon Slayer Lacrima, something others could only encounter by chance and never seek, seemed to be everywhere when it came to Serena. He spent several decades strictly selecting and controlling the Dragon Slayer Lacrima he obtained, and finally found eight extremely high-quality Dragon Slayer Lacrima!

These eight Dragon Slayer Lacrima corresponded to the eight attributes of water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, rock, light, and darkness. After Serena obtained these eight Dragon Slayer Lacrima, he already believed he was invincible under heaven. After all, although there were countless Dragon Slayer Magic in the world, they were all only between these eight attributes!

In other words, he, Serena, could still devour all the magic elements in this world...

Possessing the eight Dragon Slayer Lacrima of water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, rock, light, and darkness, and having obtained these eight attributes, Serena believed he could already restrain all dragons in this world, including Dragon Slayer Mages...

From then on, Serena no longer pursued Dragon Slayer Lacrima. Instead, he set out on a journey. He wanted to make the name God Serena resound throughout the entire continent of Ishgar!

In this world, there were many ways to make oneʼs name famous, and most of them required spending a great deal of time on publicity! Serena could not wait that long. Therefore, after thinking for a long time, Serena chose the easiest way to make his name famous, and that was to directly challenge already famous powerhouses!

Serena flipped through countless magic newspapers and investigated a large amount of information, finally locking his gaze on the Ten Great Mages of Ishgar selected by the Magic Council. These ten Mages were idols in the hearts of countless Mages across Ishgar. They were existences like lighthouses in the hearts of Mages on Ishgar. They shared a common title, and its name was the Ten Wizard Saints...

Serena was extremely cautious, because there were far too many legends about the Ten Wizard Saints on this continent. Some said the Ten Wizard Saints could overturn rivers and seas! Some said the Ten Wizard Saints could move mountains and fill seas with a wave of their hands...

There were also people who said the Ten Wizard Saints were still as mountains when unmoving, and when they moved, heaven collapsed and earth split! Their power could make a city vanish in an instant. Their wisdom was enough to decide the rise and fall of nations. Whether guiding the destruction of a kingdom or creating an undefeated empire, it was all between their single thought. They were existences comparable to gods...

Therefore, Serena planned to begin his challenge from the last seat of the Ten Wizard Saints. However, when Serena truly met the Ten Wizard Saints, who were called monsters and gods by countless people, he was greatly disappointed...

Whether it was Jura, or the fallen Saint Jose who was imprisoned, they were all far too unable to withstand a single blow. Before him, Serena, they could not last a single round. They were not his match in one exchange!

In three days, Serena defeated three Ten Wizard Saints, namely Jura, the last seat of the Ten Wizard Saints, the ninth seat Jose Porla, and the eighth seat Jellal...

Among them, only when he, Serena, fought the Mage named Jellal, who ranked eighth among the Ten Wizard Saints, did he encounter some trouble! However, it was only a little trouble...

That Jellal did have some strength. His Heavenly Body Magic was played to perfection, and relying on the magic called Meteor, which could turn the body into something like light, as well as unexpected movement techniques, he fought with him, Serena, for a long time...

Unfortunately, that Jellal did not know that he, Serena, could devour light-attribute magic power for his own use. Therefore, he, Serena, deliberately sold a flaw to that Jellal. Jellal indeed took the bait and used Grand Chariot on him...

In the end, he, Serena, seized the opportunity and devoured all the magic power of the seven light swords released by Jellal. Then, using the magic power he had devoured from the Grand Chariot Jellal released, he released a Roar at Jellal, who had just finished releasing a great magic and was powerless to cast other Heavenly Body Magic, easily defeating him...

After three battles and three victories, Serena admitted that he had become arrogant. He felt that the so-called Ten Wizard Saints had all been blown up by others. Thus, Serena directly went to Fairy Tail. He decided to challenge all three Ten Wizard Saints in the Fairy Tail guild at once! Then Serena himself was blown up by one punch...

He, Serena, had done his best. He was instantly defeated by one punch. What else was there to say?

He, Serena, had worked hard for twenty or thirty years, gathering eight extremely high-quality Dragon Slayer Lacrima, only to be awesome for three days...

The campaign had gone poorly, and he had died before achieving success!!

”Uh...”

Thinking up to this point, Serena suddenly opened his eyes. What entered his vision was an unfamiliar ceiling.

”Youʼre awake?!”

Just as Serenaʼs expression was dazed, and he could not tell whether the azure dragon he had seen earlier was a dream or reality, could not tell, could not tell, simply could not tell, a slightly hoarse voice suddenly entered Serenaʼs ears.

”Hm?!”

Hearing the voice, Serena raised his head and looked over. What entered his vision was a handsome young man with short brownish-red hair. At this moment, this handsome young man was sitting across from him, peeling an apple.

”You are...”

Serena looked at the young man, and his pupils trembled. He would not forget. It was this young man before him who had swung that kingly punch carrying the sight of ten thousand dragons coming to pay homage at him. As for the young manʼs name, he, Serena, knew it. The young man was the number one of the Ten Wizard Saints of Ishgar, and his name was...

”Evan Belserion!!”

Serena directly stated the young manʼs name.

Yes, the young man peeling the apple before him was precisely Evan, who had instantly defeated Serena with one punch...

”Oh my~”

”You know my name! Looks like you came prepared after all~”

After Evan finished peeling the apple, he handed it toward Serena.

”Tha...”

Just as Serena said the word thanks and prepared to take the peeled apple from Evanʼs hand, what was placed in his hand was not the peeled apple, but a red fruit knife and a string of bright red apple peel.

”If you want to eat, peel it yourself. Also, please help me throw away these apple peels. Thanks~”

As Evan spoke, he began taking large bites of the apple in his hand that had already been peeled.

”Uh...”

Hearing this, the corner of Serenaʼs eye twitched. He had thought Evan was peeling the apple for him. Now it seemed he had overthought it.

”Youʼre called Serena, right?”

”I heard you call yourself God?”

Just as Serena was speechless, Evan had already finished eating the apple. He casually tossed the core into a trash can at the side, then faced Serena and asked.

”God...”

”You heard wrong. I said my surname is God, and my name is Serena...”

Serenaʼs lips were a little dry. It was not that his chuunibyou had been cured by Evan, but after being beaten up, he did not dare to act up in front of Evan.

”Is that so? I heard you were hunting the Ten Wizard Saints?”

Evan crossed his legs and asked Serena before him.

”It wasnʼt hunting. It was challenging...”

Serena corrected Evanʼs wording, but his tone was very weak, more like a self-defense.

”Whether it was hunting or challenging, these things are all the same to me... because the nature is the same!”

”Do you know how much trouble your actions have caused the people of this continent?”

Evan asked Serena.

”This, sorry...”

Hearing this, Serena scratched his cheek and finally lowered his head, apologizing to Evan.

Although Serena still had not figured out why, when he was clearly the one who had been beaten, he now had to apologize to Evan.

”If apologies were useful, what would we need the Magic Council for?”

Evan seemed unsatisfied with Serenaʼs apology. He looked at Serena and asked coldly.

”Mm, this, that...”

Serena fell silent. He did not know what to say.

”I understand!”

After thinking for a while, Serena suddenly understood something.

”Hm? What do you understand?”

Serenaʼs sudden understanding made Evan pause.

”I understand many things...”

As Serena spoke, his gaze began to become firm.

Yes, Serena had already understood the meaning behind Evan saying these words to him! But that was not important. It was not important to him, Serena, at all! What was truly important was that he, Serena, had already thought of his path from now on...

He was Serena, the man favored by the Dragon God, God Serena! He was a man who had to constantly move forward! But now the path before him had been severed. It had been blasted apart by someoneʼs punch! And in this world, there was only one person who could help him reconnect this severed path, and that was...

”Master above, please accept this discipleʼs bow!”

As Serena spoke, he directly placed both knees on the ground, knelt before Evan, and lowered his head, choosing to become Evanʼs disciple.

Just like in the original work, Serena, who ranked first among the Ten Wizard Saints of Ishgar, after discovering that the magic of the Western Continent was stronger and could better help him grow, decisively abandoned the continent of Ishgar that had raised him and went alone to the Western Continent, swearing loyalty to Zeref, transforming from first among the Ten Wizard Saints directly into one of the Spriggan 12 of the Alvarez Empire on the Western Continent...

Now, after Serena discovered that Evan, like him, was a Dragon Slayer Mage and that his strength was far above his own, he very decisively chose to become his disciple, because Serena knew that only this way could his strength continue to improve!

”Huh?!”

Evan was directly shocked. So what exactly had this chuunibyou understood?!

”Master, I want to become a Mage of the Fairy Tail guild! I want to cultivate Dragon Slayer Magic!”

Before Evan could think further, Serena, kneeling before him, suddenly shouted loudly.

”...”

Evan fell silent. He kept feeling that this déjà vu before him was very wrong.

However, Serenaʼs strength was indeed not bad. If he joined Fairy Tail, it could indeed strengthen the guildʼs power...

But Serenaʼs personality alone was a huge problem. This person had a huge flaw in his personality! As for his personality flaw, it was probably greatly related to Serenaʼs childhood...

However, there were plenty of people with flawed personalities in the Fairy Tail guild, so one Serena did not make much difference. Besides, if Makarov was there, Evan believed Serena could always be corrected.

But before that...

”Serena, I wonʼt talk about your challenges against Jura and Jose. In this magic world, challenges between Mages are common. But your biggest problem is that you attacked the Mage prison BLACKVOX under the Magic Council. Without a doubt, this is already no different from a crime...”

”However, considering that you did not do anything too outrageous and only beat Jose and Zero up, the two can be considered to offset merits and faults. Then now, there is only one thing placed before you. When you challenged Jellal, Jellal did not agree, but you still acted anyway, right?!”

Evan sat on the chair and looked at Serena as he asked.

”Ah, this...”

The twin tails on Serenaʼs head shook for a while, and his expression became awkward.

Indeed, when he challenged Jellal, Jellal had rejected his challenge, but he still acted anyway...

In other words, Serenaʼs attack on Jellal was fundamentally different in nature from his challenge to Jura, where Jura accepted, and from beating up Jose.

”If you want to join Fairy Tail, then go try to obtain Jellalʼs forgiveness~”

In response, even though Serena did not say anything, Evan already understood everything. Thus, he issued the first trial to Serena.

”I understand! Master!”

”GOD super understands...”

”Iʼll go find Jellal right now and obtain his forgiveness!”

Serena stood up and shouted passionately.

”Boom...”

Just as Serenaʼs voice fell, accompanied by a roar, a wave of air came from the window behind Evan. Immediately afterward, a figure wearing a white trench coat arrived at Evanʼs side.

”Oh?”

Looking at the newcomer, Evanʼs expression carried some curiosity and interest.

”No need. If I lost, it was because my skill was inferior. There is nothing to say...”

”But one matter is one matter...”

”The last time I lost to you, my condition was not good. If we fight again, I definitely will not lose.”

The newcomer was none other than Jellal. He untied the bandages wrapped around his body while issuing a battle invitation to Serena.

”As for your forgiveness, this one is GOD super grateful...”

”But as for fighting again, in this oneʼs view, there is no need!”

”Because you absolutely cannot win against me~”

Serena first thanked Jellal with incomparable humility, then finally could not help revealing his chicken feet, exposing his true nature. He looked at Jellal arrogantly as he spoke.

”Heh, you really dare to say that!”

Jellal moved his shoulders. Endless fighting spirit shone in his eyes.

”However, in order to repay you for forgiving me!”

”I donʼt mind having another fight with you and granting you a GOD defeat!”

After hearing Jellalʼs words, Serena suddenly revealed a smile.

”The back mountain!”

Jellal directly chose the location.

”Good!”

Serena nodded lightly, expressing his agreement.

”Brother Evan, please be a witness.”

”Regardless of whether I win or lose this battle, the grudge between Serena and me will be settled...”

Jellal looked at Serena, who had agreed, and the corner of his mouth rose. Then he turned his head and asked Evan.

”Alright~”

Evanʼs gaze moved back and forth between Jellal and Serena before he finally nodded lightly, agreeing to their request.

Thus...

On the back mountain of the Fairy Tail guild, the place where Evan had once fought Gildarts...

Jellal and Serena faced each other, and around the two of them were a crowd of Fairy Tail guild fun-seekers who had heard there was going to be a fight and had come to watch.

”Front row! Front row!”

”Does anyone need popcorn and beer?”

”The betting pool is open, the betting pool is open...”

”Todayʼs duel is between Jellal, the eighth-ranked member of the Ten Wizard Saints, and the legendary Ten Wizard Saints hunter, GOD Serena, who was instantly killed by Evan with one punch!”

”First of all, I have to say that Jellal once lost to Serena before. Who knows whether Jellal can take revenge today!”

Fairy Tail guildʼs small casino opened again after a long absence, and the host shouted loudly.

Of course, it was still small gambling for fun, big gambling harms the body, forced gambling turns one to ashes...

”Jellal, Iʼve liked you for a long time! So I bet ten thousand J on GOD Serena!”

”Jellal, good luck, you can do it! So I also bet ten thousand J on Serena!”

Because of Evan, Jellal was quite popular in the Fairy Tail guild as well, so Jellal received cheers from many Mages in the Fairy Tail guild, but everyone bet on Serena. Yes, fun-seekers were this realistic. Cheering was cheering, but the casino was a battlefield. One absolutely could not act on emotion.

”...”

For a moment, Jellal and Serena, who were facing each other, both fell silent. Encountering this situation, neither of them knew who should be happy.

”Battle start~”

Just as Jellal and Serena were silent, Evan announced the start of the match.

”Meteor...”

Jellal had long been ready. The instant Evanʼs voice fell, he turned into a streak of light. At this moment, Jellal was like a blue comet soaring through the sky...

”The same move can only be used on me once!”

Serena seemed to have long expected Jellal to open with Meteor, so he was already prepared.

Serenaʼs whole body emitted light. Suddenly, countless waves of light spread outward from Serena as the center, releasing in all directions with no blind spots...

”Uh!!”

Putting aside how Jellal would respond, the Fairy Tail fun-seekers felt their scalps go numb when they saw this scene.

”Buzz!”

Fortunately, August had already cast a protective shield around them, so he easily blocked Serenaʼs light for the guildʼs companions.

Unfortunately, Jellal was not so lucky. Serenaʼs light directly struck him, who had transformed into a meteor...

”Uh...”

Jellal instantly fell from the air and collapsed on the ground.

”Haha, it hit!”

Serena looked at Jellal, whom he had knocked down from the sky, and the corner of his mouth rose.

”But I just barely made it!”

”Accept the judgment of the seven stars! Grand Chariot!”

Jellal stood on the ground and smiled faintly at Serena. Immediately, seven magic circles lit up in the sky.

”Oh, in such a short amount of time, he could actually dodge the light rays while engraving such complicated magic circles in the sky. This child...”

Makarov looked at the dazzling magic circles in the sky and narrowed his eyes, giving Jellal extremely high praise.

”Jellal, you didnʼt learn your lesson?”

”Donʼt you know Grand Chariot is useless against me?”

Serena raised an eyebrow. Facing Jellalʼs Grand Chariot, he was too lazy to dodge.

”Hehe...”

In response, the corner of Jellalʼs mouth rose.

”Hm?”

Serena looked at the smiling Jellal and raised an eyebrow. A bad premonition rose in his heart.

”Boom!”

Suddenly, light fell from the seven magic circles in the sky. It was a rain of arrows made of light.

”Haha, useless. I can devour light...”

Serena laughed loudly. He opened his arms, assuming a posture of accepting the light in the sky. However, when the light swords fell, Serenaʼs expression changed. He actually could not devour this light. At the same time, this light gave him an incomparably familiar feeling, as if...

”Serena, naturally I know you are a Dragon Slayer Mage. Thatʼs why I used the magic power you attacked me with just now to write these magic circles! In other words, this light is equivalent to your own light! Serena, you canʼt devour your own magic power, right?”

Jellal looked at Serena and smiled.

”So thatʼs how it is...”

Serenaʼs expression turned ashen. He knew Jellal was repaying him for using Jellalʼs magic power to defeat Jellal back then.

”This child actually collected the enemyʼs magic power while flying. Incredible...”

”Evan, this little brother of yours has rather astonishing strength!”

At this moment, Makarov finally revealed a shocked expression. Jellalʼs talent was somewhat exaggerated.

”...”

In response, Evan remained expressionless and did not feel shocked.

One had to know what kind of person Jellal was. He was an existence who, when pushed into a corner, could contend with little Black for a bit...

As for Jellalʼs talent, of course it was astonishing. In the original work, he could cultivate Heavenly Body Magic to that level through self-study, let alone now, when Jellal also had several teachers~

In response, Evan expressed that this was only basic operation...

”Buzz!”

At the very moment Serena, because of his arrogance, was struck by his own rain of light, that rain of light suddenly became viscous, like chains, binding Serena in place.

”What is this?”

In response, Serena froze for a moment.

”Hah...”

Jellal did not respond to Serena. He suddenly lowered his center of gravity and adjusted the magic power throughout his body to the extreme.

For a time, the sky suddenly became dim, and dark clouds gathered above everyoneʼs heads...

”This move is?!”

For a moment, the Mages of Fairy Tail all changed color because of Jellalʼs move.

”True Heavenly Body Magic...”

Makarov raised his head and looked at the dark clouds, speaking word by word.

”Boom!!”

Just as Makarovʼs voice fell.

Accompanied by a sound of tearing through the air, the dark clouds covering everyoneʼs heads rolled for a while, as if boiling. Immediately after, accompanied by a whistling sound, a meteorite burning with scarlet flames descended from the sky.

”Haha, hahaha...”

Serena raised his head and looked at the meteorite, suddenly bursting into wild laughter.

”Itʼs over! True Heavenly Body Magic: Star Collapse!”

Jellal looked at Serena and revealed a smile. That was a victorious smile.

”Brother Evan, did you see that? I can also summon meteorites like you!”

Although Jellal was looking in Serenaʼs direction, what he was actually looking at was Evan among the members of Fairy Tail behind Serena.

”Jellal, youʼve grown...”

In response, Evanʼs gaze was gentle, and his heart sighed emotionally.

”I didnʼt expect that Jellal to cultivate Heavenly Body Magic to this level. He even learned Evanʼs signature skill!”

Someone sighed.

”Hey, hey, hey! This isnʼt the time to sigh, right? That thing in the sky is not a joke! If it hits, weʼll definitely die...”

Someone panicked.

”Speaking of which, didnʼt we see this scene seven years ago, in X774, when Evan had just joined the guild?”

Macao looked at the sky. It was as if he had seen himself when he was still young.

”Haha, we did indeed see it, when Evan fought Gildarts...”

Wakaba had a pipe in his mouth and nodded lightly, agreeing with Macao.

”Indeed! Hahahaha!”

Immediately after, the two looked at each other and laughed.

However, just as the two of them were laughing foolishly, everyone around them had already run away.

”Run!”

Only then did the two people suddenly realize it and react, immediately running forward, chasing after the fleeing crowd.

”Whoosh!”

Just as the two elders reacted, the meteorite fell.

”Boom!!”

Accompanied by a roar, a huge mushroom cloud suddenly rose. From X774 to X781, after seven years, Fairy Tailʼs back mountain once again returned to that ruined appearance...

”Itʼs over.”

Jellal looked at the endless flames before him and slowly breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around, preparing to walk toward Evan.

”You did your best, kid!”

However, just as Jellal turned around, a voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.

”Hm?”

Jellalʼs expression changed sharply. His forehead was instantly covered in beads of sweat. He turned around and looked, only to see Serena, whose whole body was covered in transparent scales and who looked like a demon, staring at him with tattered clothes.

”Mete...”

Looking at Serena, Jellal immediately tried to use Meteor and pull away from the opponent.

”Gale Dragonʼs Crushing Fist!”

Unfortunately, Serena had already found the right opportunity and punched Jellal in the abdomen.

”Boom!”

Accompanied by a gust of violent wind, Jellal was instantly blasted into the sky.

”Uh.”

Flying through the air, Jellal helplessly rolled his eyes. There was no way around it. The difference in strength between him and Serena was far too great. To be able to reach this point, he had already done his best.

”Buzz~”

Just as the battle between Serena and Jellal ended, accompanied by a burst of spatial magic, Serena and Jellal were both teleported near Evan.

”Master, I have not failed the mission~”

Serena was first surprised that Evan could actually use spatial magic, but he quickly reacted and asked Evan for credit.

”You fought well~”

Evan placed his hands behind his back and looked at Serena, praising him. This was both praise for Serena and praise for Jellal.

””

Hearing this, Serena exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. He secretly thought that the most difficult hurdle had finally passed. He was now somewhat battered and somewhat tired.

In truth, it was not that he could not dodge the meteorite, but in order to repay Jellalʼs favor, he had taken it head-on...

”Serena, prepare for the second match~”

Just as Serena was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Evanʼs voice suddenly rang beside his ear.

”Huh? Thereʼs more?”

Hearing this, Serena froze.

”Of course thereʼs more. Your next opponent is August. Prepare yourself~”

Evan looked at the dumbfounded Serena and smiled lightly. Serenaʼs personality had to be tempered, so next, because he had arranged battles for Serena, the sequence was August, Selene, Irene, Igneel, and a tag battle against Kurnugi and Animus.

”August?”

Serena froze. He kept feeling that the name August sounded somewhat familiar.

”It is me...”

Just as Serena was stunned, August walked toward Serena...

Every time August took one step toward Serena, he released some magic power! By the time August walked before Serena, his terrifying magic power was already enough to stir heaven and earth, allowing Serena to deeply understand what the master of great magic power meant.

”No way, right?!”

For a moment, Serena looked at August and revealed a bitter smile.

”Serena, donʼt smile bitterly. Among the people youʼre going to fight next, counting me, there are four more as strong as August.”

Evan looked at the bitterly smiling Serena and comforted him.

”I worked hard for decades, and sure enough, I was only awesome for three days!”

Serena smiled bitterly. He had peaked right at his debut.