Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Open Seas.
December 15, x784.
"Natsu, are you sure this is a good idea?" Happy asked. "What if you get in trouble again? You might not be able to take the exam again next year, too."
Currently, Happy, while carrying Natsu, Carla, and Panther Lily were flying over the seas towards Tenrou Island. While Happy was simply accompanying Natsu, Panther Lily was doing the sa with Carla, who was worried about Wendy.
Hearing Happy's warning, Natsu shivered involuntarily. A mont later, however, he wore a resolute expression.
"Yeah." Natsu replied. "Even if I can't take the exam next year, I have a really bad feeling. Sothing's definitely gonna happen on Tenrou Island. And I wanna be there to help."
"What makes you so sure about that?" Panther Lily asked, having not spent enough ti around Dragon Slayers to understand how sharp their instincts were.
"Besides, even if you're there, how much help would you really be?" Carla asked. "I an, Master, Gildarts, Ur, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Laxus, the strongest mbers of the guild are there. If the six of them can't handle it, what good will you being there do?"
To that, Natsu did not have a response. Still, he refused to turn back.
"Wel, we can worry about that later." Panther Lily said, pointing forward. "That should e Tenrou Island, right?"
Following the direction Panther Lily pointed, the group could see a rather small island with no other islands visible in its vicinity. The island was quite rocky with one side of the island being considerably rockier than the rest. Even so, there was lush vegetation covering the majority of the island.
There were also two incredibly noticeable rock formations on the island that could be seen from the distance. The first was a large formation that jutted out over the sea. And the second was a large formation near the center of the island with a pair of waterfalls falling from it into a lake.
Then, there was the most distinctive landmark of the island, known as the Great Tenrou Tree. This gargantuan tree had a gnarled, sowhat curved trunk that extended high up into the sky. Near its peak, its large branches held up a large mass of earth with many normal-sized trees growing from it.
"Incredible." Carla muttered after seeing the island.
"Yeah, it looks like an island holding another island." Panther Lily said with a nod of agreent.
"Well, what else did you expect?" Natsu asked, puffing his chest out with pride. "That's the holy ground of our guild."
"Yeah, in fact, it's so special that if anyone with the Fairy Tail gild mark steps onto the island, they get stronger." Happy added.
Hearing that, the amazent in Carla and Panther Lily's eyes increased as they gazed upon Tenrou Island.
"Anyway, we need to hurry." Natsu said, pointing towards a certain part of the island. "Alfonzo's ship is already docked. That ans the exam has already started.
Just as Natsu said, the three Exceed noticed Sixth Sense docked at the island's pier. Then, the three picked up the pace, hoping to arrive before anything happened.
From another direction another group was also approaching the island. Though, this group was not approaching from the air like Natsu and the Exceed. Instead, they approached by the sea. This group consisted of a fleet of ships flying the Magic Council's flag.
"Lahar, sir." The captain of the fleet's flag ship said, approaching Lahar, who had been watching the sea from the ship's bow. "We're approaching the coordinates the Council provided. But we still don't see the island in question."
"That's natural." Lahar replied while adjusting his glasses. "I rember hearing Chairman Gran Doma ntion this island before. Apparently, there is a barrier that obscures Tenrou Island from all those who don't bare the Fairy Tail guild mark. But we need not worry. As long as we are nearby, Doranbolt should notice us. And with his [Teleportation Magic], he'll be able to get to us with no issue."
"Understood." The captain replied with a salute. "Either way, we will reach the place where we should drop anchor in about half an hour."
"I understand." Lahar said with a nod. "You may return to your duties."
"Yes sir!" The captain said energetically with another salute before turning away and returning to his station.
Alone once again, Lahar gazed out at the empty sea in front of him. And he could not help but fall into contemplation.
'Sothing about this mission seems wrong.' Lahar thought to himself. 'Usually, only the Chairman has the authority to authorize a mission of this scale. And although the orders had his seal on them, this is the first ti he's ever handed orders like these through a ssenger. On top of that, as a man of justice, I can hardly believe that the Chairman would send Doranbolt to infiltrate Fairy Tail. Especially since it's against the laws set by the Magic Council for the Council to directly interfere with the internal workings of a guild. And sending one of ours to take part in their S-Class Promotion Exam is doing exactly that.'
As the fleet approached the anchor point, Lahar could not help but frown at all the inconsistencies. Still, with his personality, he would complete his mission and ask questions later.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.
anwhile, back on the island, Cana and Lucy were making it to the end of the cave they chose. And as soon as they stepped into the battle area, both girls could not help but groan audibly.
"Of course, it would be him." Cana muttered while face palming.
"Do we even have a chance of winning, Cana?" Lucy asked.
"Of course, we do." Cana said, lowering her hand as she spoke. "And even if we don't, we're wizards of Fairy Tail, we never give up."
*Smack!* x 2
After hearing Cana's words, Lucy slapped her cheeks with both hands. Then, she stared at the duo's opponent with determination in her eyes.
"Right, like I told you, I'll make sure that you pass and beco an S-Class wizard, Cana." Lucy said.
With that, Cana and Lucy started walking forward. The sound of their footsteps eventually alerted the wizard who was waiting to test them. Raising his head, the man, Gildarts, who had been sitting in the middle of the room and drinking from a bottle of liquor, smiled goofily upon catching sight of Cana.
"Cana!" Gildarts shouted as he jumped to his feet. "Daddy missed you! You should sit down with Daddy and have a drink. We don't need to worry about the exam, it's not like I could fail you, anyway. Instead, why don't you tell Daddy about what's been bothering you."
As Gildarts spoke, he quickly moved about the cave, using his [Crash Magic] to break down pieces of the wall and making them into seats for Cana and Lucy. anwhile, Cana and Lucy could only look at him dumbfoundedly as the tension they had built up for the battle crumbled.
"*Sigh* I guess I should have seen this coming." Cana said while shaking her head.
As she spoke, Cana reached into her card pouch and pulled out several cards. Then, after forming a few combinations and making sure they were correct, Cana nodded in satisfaction. Then she slapped the card combinations onto her exposed skin.
"[Card Magic: Enhancent Cards: Speed, Power, Magic Power Density]." Cana chanted, activating the card combinations.
These card combinations were spells that she had been working with Alfonzo and Elicia to complete for the last few years. And although it did not take her that long to get the basics of the spells right, getting them to a point she could use them in combat was the difficult part.
Like the spell nas suggested, these card combinations increase Cana's speed, physical strength, and the density of her magic power. And while getting them to work properly has never been an issue, controlling the output so she could use them without exhausting herself imdiately was the hard part.
Once all her spells took effect, Cana dashed forward, leaving a streak behind her. Then, while Gildarts was busy moving a boulder to where the others were, he was struck in the sternum with a strong kick that sent him flying into the wall.
"Gah!" Gildarts grunted in pain.
Before he could recover, however, Gildarts saw his daughter appear in front of him with her fists raised and ready to throw a series of punches.
"Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora~~~~~~~~~!" Cana shouted repeatedly as she rained blows on Gildarts for nearly a minute, until her enhancents tid out.
anwhile, Lucy, who had been confused ever since Gildarts welcod them into the room like they had co to attend a party rather than being in the middle of the S-Class Promotion Exam, could only look on in shock as Cana pumled her father with no remorse. Still, once Cana's attack was finished, she started making her way over to her partner.
Cana, on the other hand, wore quite the refreshed expression after unloading on her father like she did.
"Ah~~! That felt great!" Cana said in a relaxed tone as she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. "I've wanted to do that for years. Finally releasing all the stress from all the tis he's embarrassed with his doting dad act feels amazing."
"Um… Is that okay?" Lucy asked after arriving next to Cana. Judging by the expression on her face, it was clear that she was amazed at just how easily Gildarts had been defeated. Then, she looked at Cana with shock written all over her face. "Are you actually the strongest mber of the guild and just didn't tell anyone?"
"Hahaha! Yeah, right." Cana said, throwing her head back in laughter at Lucy's question. Then, she pointed at her father and continued with a smile. "I still can't even beat Fonzie and Lici. The only reason I could do this is because Dad dropped his guard completely."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Lucy said, nodding her head in understanding. "Still, you could have warned , Cana. I'm supposed to be your partner. But I haven't been able to help you, at all. I even got my spirits to teach the spell Alfonzo and Lici talked about. But you haven't given a chance to use them."
"Oh, they actually taught you?" Cana asked in surprise. "But I thought you said they refused."
"They did, at first." Lucy replied with a nod. "They said it was because I didn't have enough magic power. But after Alfonzo taught everyone how to compress their magic power, they changed their mind when they noticed how dense my magic power was."
"Damn." Cana muttered. "Now I kinda regret fighting Dad the way I did. I really wanna see that spell."
"Yeah, I really wanted to use it, too." Lucy said in a downcast tone.
"Oh well, it's not like the exam is over, right?" Cana said, throwing an arm over Lucy's shoulders. "I'm sure we'll have more chances for you to use it, right?"
Hearing that, Lucy perked up again.
"That's right." Lucy said, raising her fists in front of her chest. "I'll get the chance to help you in the next part of the exam."
"Wow, you really bounce back quick." Cana said with a smile. "Now I can see why Fonzie likes you so much."
With that, Cana started pulling Lucy towards the entrance that opened after Gildarts was defeated. At the sa ti, all the excitent Lucy was showing at the opportunity to test her new spells in real combat was replaced with embarrassnt and a blushing face.
"I guess these really don't hurt, either." Cana said as she smirked roguishly.
In the next instant, the arm on Lucy's shoulders dropped down as she grabbed a handful of Lucy's butt. At the sa ti, Cana's free hand reached out and squeezed one of Lucy's rather ample breasts.
"Cana~~~~~!" Lucy shrieked as she tried to break away from Cana's grip. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing really, just checking out the goods for Fonzie." Cana said playfully while squeezing Lucy's assets. "And I must say, he's really gonna like them. Hahahahaha!"
"Cana!" Lucy shouted again. And this ti she was able to break away from Cana successfully.
Then, with one laughing happily while running away, and the other chasing with a bright red face, Cana and Lucy made their way out of the battle area and onto the next part of the exam.
A few monts later, Gildarts slowly opened his eyes. Then, he raised his hand and started rubbing his jaw.
"Damn, that hurt a hell of a lot more than I that it would." Gildarts muttered with a slightly pained expression. "Although that was definitely enough to qualify her as an S-Class wizard, there's no way that was enough to defeat . And I'm pretty sure Cana knew that, too. That's why she started teasing Lucy almost imdiately after her sneak attack ended."
With that said, Gildarts stood up and dusted himself off.
"Or maybe, she's just a pervert." Gildarts thought aloud with a helpless expression. "Well, she is my daughter, after all. And the apple never falls far from the tree."
At the sa ti, in a lush forest near the center of the island, a black-haired young man wearing a high-collared, black robe with gold trim, black pants, a pendant around his neck, and a white toga slowly opened his eyes.
"*Yawn* I haven't slept that well in ages." The young man said as he stretched. Then, he looked around and noticed a number of small, herbivorous animals had gathered around him while he was sleeping. A mont later, however, his expression beca much more tense. "Why are there so many people on the island? Oh, wait… What day is it? Uh… That's right, it's ti for the S-Class exam, isn't it?"
With that thought, the young man looked towards all the people he could sense.
"I wonder if Natsu is a candidate this year." The young man said with a fond smile on his face as he grasped the pendant hanging around his neck. A mont later, his fond smile turned into an expression mixed with both panic and pain. "No, not now…"
Sensing sothing was wrong, the animals stood p and bolted away from the young man. Before they could get too far, however, the young man released a burst of dark and sinister magic power that caused everything, whether they be plants or animals, to die once it washed over them.
"Not again." The young man grumbled with a genuinely remorseful expression on his face as he looked around at the lives he had taken unintentionally.
A mont later, he walked away from the scene of devastation, intending to find sowhere else to sleep until it was ti for him to return to where he ca from.
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