"Hehe~"
Erza was currently smiling sweetly at Evan, looking utterly adorable, well, she would be, if she weren't holding a knight's sword in her hand.
"Erza, put the sword down first! Calm down, you need to calm down!"
Evan's face turned pale as he looked at the smiling yet clearly dangerous Erza.
BOOM!!
A terrifying aura of magic erupted from Erza's body. Her bright eyes flickered with black lightning as her Conqueror's Haki enveloped Evan.
Sweat poured from Evan's forehead as he felt the chilling pressure of her aura.
"Is this… a Haki suppression effect?"
"Erza, just how far have you developed your Conqueror's Haki…?"
Evan twitched as he stared at the petite girl before him. Even in this dangerous moment, his own Observation Haki hadn't warned him. That meant Erza's Conqueror's Haki had reached a level high enough to interfere with other people's Observation Haki...
He had to admit, Conqueror's Haki fit Erza almost too well. While her Armament and Observation Haki were still slowly progressing, her Conqueror's Haki, which didn't require training and grew with mental strength, had skyrocketed like a rocket.
At her young age, Erza had already reached a level where she could use "Observation Kill", one of the most advanced and difficult techniques of Conqueror's Haki.
"That girl in the crystal just now… looked exactly like me?!"
At the moment, Erza wasn't even listening to a word Evan was saying. Her mind was still consumed by the image of the cute girl with long crimson hair she had just seen in the munication crystal.
She wouldn't mistake that face. She saw it every morning in the mirror, because it was her face.
"Could it be that… Mom secretly had another daughter somewhere? But that girl looked the same age as me. That wouldn't make sense, if she were my younger sister, she should've looked younger…"
"Or wait, maybe I'm actually a twin? I had a sister all along, but she didn't grow up with me, Mom, and Evan… and instead lived with… Dad?!"
"Maybe Mom and Evan never told me about her. Maybe Evan sometimes goes to secretly visit my sister?!"
Erza's little head spun with a flood of theories. She even imagined her mother Irene and her unknown father divorcing and splitting up the kids and the assets.
"No, wait… Evan called that girl 'Erza' too…"
"Could it be that Evan and Mom thought this Erza wasn't behaving properly, so they created a replacement Erza out in the world?!"
At that thought, tears welled up in Erza's eyes.
"Eh?!"
Evan flinched as he saw Erza's tearful face.
"Brother… you don't want me anymore?"
Just as Evan was at a loss, Erza, with tears in her eyes and the look of a kitten abandoned by its family, asked him in a heartbroken voice.
"How could I possibly not want you?"
Evan quickly pulled Erza into his arms, gently patting her little head to reassure her.
"Then why did you go and make another Erza out there?"
Erza asked with a pout, clearly upset.
"What do you mean I made another Erza?! That's not something I did!"
Evan clutched his head, unsure how to even begin explaining.
"Erza, have you ever heard of the world of Edolas?"
Evan rubbed his temples, then looked at Erza and started to explain.
"Edolas?!"
"You mean like Aunt Selene's Elentear? Another alternate world separate from Earth Land?"
Erza's eyes widened. She remembered Elentear from the S-Class exams last year and from the women's gathering a few months ago.
She knew Elentear was a world ruled by Selene, so when Evan mentioned Edolas, she immediately thought, could it be like Elentear, a special alternate world?
"Yes, exactly…"
"In that world, Edolas, there are people who look exactly like those in our world, but with different personalities. That's what Edolas is."
"And the girl you saw earlier… that was the Erza from Edolas."
"So no, I'm not replacing you or abandoning you."
Evan gently ruffled Erza's hair and spoke softly.
"I see. That makes sense."
Erza chose to believe Evan. Once he explained, she quickly calmed down.
"So… Big Brother, are you planning to go to Edolas?"
Erza looked up at him and asked.
"Uh… well, since it was my other self who asked, I should probably go at least once…"
Evan scratched his cheek awkwardly as he gave his revised reason for going.
Of course, he didn't dare say that the real reason he agreed was because Edolas Erza acted all sweet and clingy to him. Going there just to meet another world's Erza? That could trigger a war...
"Oh? Another version of you from another world?"
"So what exactly is he asking you to do over there?"
Erza narrowed her eyes, watching Evan closely with suspicion.
Something felt off, even if she couldn't say exactly what. Must be a woman's intuition.
"Uhh…"
Evan felt a chill and began spinning up a believable answer.
"Well, a while back, me and my other-world self, Wisdom, made a promise."
"Because there's a Fairy Tail in Edolas too…"
"We both believe our own version of the guild is the strongest!"
"So we decided to each gather a few members and hold a cross-world Fairy Tail vs. Fairy Tail showdown to see which world's Fairy Tail reigns supreme!"
He laid out the whole plan and their original bet.
It wasn't technically a lie, it really was part of the reason.
"I see…"
Erza nodded with a sweet smile, showing she understood.
"I'm glad you get it."
Evan let out a breath of relief.
"So, Big Brother Evan, have you decided who's going with you for the match?"
Erza asked innocently, eyes wide.
"Uh… not yet."
Evan blinked, then answered honestly.
"That's perfect! I wanted to visit another world anyway~"
"You're not gonna not take me with you… right, Big Brother Evan?"
Erza put her hands behind her back, narrowed her eyes, and smiled sweetly, a very dangerous expression.
"O-of course I'll bring you…"
Evan's pupils shrank. The pressure Erza was giving off was making him sweat.
She really was turning more and more like her mother, Irene…
"I knew Big Brother was the best!"
"Then I'll help choose the rest of the team too~"
Erza beamed and clapped her hands.
"Er… Erza…"
"Edolas folks are pretty weak. Don't pick anyone too strong. I don't want to crush Wisdom's self-esteem too badly."
Evan looked a little troubled, after all, Fairy Tail in their world was just too powerful.
Their top fighters included Irene, Selene, Evan himself, and the Magic King…
Then there was Gildarts, who could take hits like a tank…
And a whole roster of S-Class mages with power beyond even the Ten Wizard Saints!
Fairy Tail in Earth Land was undoubtedly the most powerful force across the three realms.
If their top team showed up in full force, Edolas might not survive the encounter…
"Don't worry~ Big Brother Evan~"
"I know exactly what I'm doing~"
Erza smiled sweetly in reply,
Then immediately turned to go gather her team…
"Sigh…"
"Let's just hope this doesn't turn into a disaster…"
Evan looked at Erza's cheerful demeanor and sighed helplessly.
A short while later…
"Big Brother Evan, I've gathered the team for our journey to the other world~!"
Erza cheerfully ran over to Evan, beaming up at him.
"Mhm."
Evan smiled and gently patted Erza's head.
As for the team she brought…
"So the other world's Fairy Tail, huh? Sounds interesting…"
Laxus smirked slightly, lightning crackling around him.
"A long-awaited trip with Evan and Erza~"
Mirajane stretched her limbs, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"B-Big Brother Evan! I'll do my best!"
Kagura waved her katana and nervously waved to Evan, having mustered the courage to join him.
"So you chose Laxus, Mirajane, and Kagura to join us, huh?"
"Well, with the four of you, that should be more than enough~"
Evan nodded at the group. Erza and Laxus were clearly Wizard Saint-level in power. Either of them alone could flatten someone like Jose Porla with ease.
Mirajane, while weaker in terms of raw magic power, was still near-Saint level and could even momentarily unleash power beyond the average Wizard Saint. Kagura, too, was a seasoned S-Class Mage.
In Evan's view, these four could probably crush the Edolas Kingdom's army by themselves…
As for the Edolas version of Fairy Tail? They'd be a breeze.
"Alright! In that case, let's move out~"
Evan smiled, clearly satisfied with the team, strong enough to handle Wisdom's lineup, but not so overpowered as to be insulting.
"How are we traveling to another world?"
Laxus crossed his arms and looked at Evan.
"Water Wings~"
Evan simply smiled and gave a small wave of his hand. Immediately, swirling water currents formed in mid-air, opening a portal right before them.
This was a spell Evan had secretly learned from Selene…
"Let's go~"
He stepped through the Water Wings portal and crossed the boundary between worlds.
Erza, Kagura, and Mirajane followed right behind him without hesitation.
"…It's really that easy?"
Laxus stared at the portal, the corner of his eye twitching.
"Evan… just how far have you progressed?"
He sighed and stepped through after the others. The only other people he'd seen casually use such long-distance dimensional travel magic were Irene and Selene.
As the five, Evan, Erza, Kagura, Mirajane, and Laxus, passed through, the portal vanished without a trace.
They arrived in the royal palace of the Edolas human kingdom.
Inside the grand palace…
Mystogan and the rest of the empire's high-ranking officials had been waiting for Evan for some time.
"Brother Evan, we meet again…"
Mystogan greeted Evan first.
"Long time no see, King Jellal~"
Evan smiled and emphasized the word King, clearly teasing Mystogan.
"Heh… please don't make fun of me…"
"I hardly have the dignity of a king."
"Just call me like you always do…"
Mystogan looked helplessly at Evan. That "Your Majesty" had practically triggered his social anxiety, especially with so many familiar faces around.
"Erza, Laxus, Mirajane, Kagura, you can all speak to me normally too. No need to stand on ceremony."
Mystogan turned to the others with a warm smile.
"…Who're you supposed to be?"
Laxus, never one to care about kings or titles, looked at Mystogan with a confused expression.
"Isn't he that new Wizard Saint, Jellal?"
Mirajane seemed to vaguely remember him.
"No, he's the other world's Jellal."
Erza, already briefed by Evan, quickly explained.
"Huh?! Oh, I see…"
Mirajane blinked, then nodded in understanding.
"Hello, King Jellal!"
Kagura, on the other hand, gave a very formal bow.
"Seriously, you guys are gonna make this even more awkward…"
Mystogan muttered, feeling more out of place as he looked toward Evan for rescue.
"Hehe…"
Evan chuckled at his old friend's distress.
"This is Mystogan~"
He clarified for the others, explaining the identity of the Edolas version of Jellal.
"Eh?!"
Apparently, all of them, Laxus, Erza, Mirajane, and Kagura, had heard of Mystogan. He had, after all, participated in last year's S-Class exam at Fairy Tail.
While they hadn't interacted much, his name was familiar.
"What a surprise~"
"I never imagined that the guy who always wore a mask looked like this."
Laxus was genuinely taken aback. He even remembered once inviting Mystogan to team up, and being refused.
"I'm your Jellal's Edolas counterpart, so I had to keep my identity hidden."
"I believe you once invited me to form a team… I apologize for refusing back then. I had a special mission at the time and couldn't work with others. I hope you understand."
Mystogan scratched his cheek and looked sincerely at Laxus.
"No worries. Everyone has the freedom to choose their teammates. I've refused plenty myself."
Laxus waved it off casually, though the truth was, he'd held onto that grudge until now. Only after this apology did he finally let it go.
Otherwise, if Mystogan had joined another future exam, Laxus had definitely planned to give him a hard time.
"The king of another world is actually one of our own Fairy Tail members?"
"That's… shocking!"
On the other side, Erza, Mirajane, and Kagura were stunned to learn that Edolas's king was part of their own guild.
But then again… even the king of Fiore was a Fairy Tail member too, so maybe it wasn't that shocking after all.
"Big Brother Evan~!"
Just as Mystogan and Laxus finished clearing the air, a crimson-haired girl came rushing toward Evan from across the palace.
"Erza…"
Evan instinctively whispered her name as he saw the red silhouette.
"Oh?"
And the moment Evan spoke that name, the Erza beside him raised an eyebrow and instinctively stepped in front of him protectively.
In that instant, Erza Belserion of Earth Land and Erza Wisdom of Edolas locked eyes for the first time.
"You must be…"
"…the Erza from the other world?"
They spoke in perfect sync, eyes sharp.
Then both of them smirked at the same time, their expressions eerily mirrored,
"If I eliminate this eyesore… then I'll be Evan's only sister~"
"Hahaha…"
With that thought, both Erzas began to laugh lightly at each other, as if they were looking into a mirror.
The air was sweet.
The atmosphere?
Absolutely terrifying.
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