Meeting him
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Gildarts Pov
I walked through the forest near Akane Beach. Going through that ridiculously expensive town was way too much of a hassle.
The Quest this time was a bit dangerous. An SS-class request to defeat a sealed being locked away beneath a forgotten shrine.
'I hate Ancient Mages,' I sighed. Always leaving behind curses, constructs, or goddamn doomsday triggers like it was part of their morning routine.
Still, the information that sealed bastard gave me… It's stuck in my head.
Tarot Gods. The sacrifice. Gods descending.
"Just what the hell is going on lately…" I muttered, brushing aside a branch.
All I wanted was to get back to the guild, maybe crack open a few barrels, see the old man, throw someone through a table... The usual.
Just please don't let me run into—
"Rhea, Sera, Myne… oh, and that blasted woman from Hargeon—what was her name again?"
I had lost count. Damn.
But still what my heart yearned for was. My steps slowed as I thought of her.
Cornelia.
It has been how much...seven...eight years since I saw her?
Sigh.
This time I must search for her. I can't keep going like this.
'I wonder how many new faces I will see.'
My thoughts wandered and my speed increased a bit and from the corner of my eyes I saw a beautiful rose garden.
Red Roses.
...Red.
I remembered a certain woman I had met. She had that beautiful red hair.
'I wonder how she is doing.'
Sara, wasn't it?
Strange woman. I'd only met her once—somewhere near the border. We shared a drink, a night, a laugh that lingered longer than the dawn. The kind of memory that stayed warm in the back of your head even years later.
She never asked for anything. Didn't cling. Just told me, "Go chase whatever's calling you."
She had that wild look in her eye too… like someone who knew the world was too big to stay still in one place. I liked that.
I hadn't seen her since.
Wouldn't be surprised if I never did.
I gave the rose garden one last glance and kept walking. The trail bent again, roots tangled like snakes in the dirt.
'I was near Western Forest.'
That's when I felt it.
'An attack?'
A man wrapped in clothes rushed towards me. A saber slashing but I felt no magic power being used.
'The edge of a saber came swinging low, quiet as the wind. No wild magic pressure, no killing intent—but it wasn't a test swing either.
My eyes flicked up. Just in time.
Clink.
I didn't move. Didn't need to. My forearm, wrapped in hardened magic, caught the blade easily.
'No magic... but strength?'
I gave a small grin and let my fist fly forward—not with my full strength, but enough to knock some sense into the kid.
Boom.
The air shook as the boy was sent flying, coat flaring, trees rattling in his wake.
But mid-air—his eyes burned. He stared straight back at me. There was something in that look. Not fear. Not panic.
Something else.
And then—
That pressure.
It wasn't magic. Not in the way I knew it. But it hit like a wall. For a split second, my body paused—like it remembered something.
The feeling passed. I exhaled slowly and turned my head as the sky lit up.
A beam of condensed energy, spiraling in tight destruction magic, aimed straight for me.
A spell?
I raised a hand.
"Crush."
The beam shattered into nothing. The trees, the ground, the road—it all turned to dust before the wave of my magic.
Along with the spell, the boy's hood got destroyed. I purposefully lowered the intensity of Magic since I did not want to hurt the kid.
He crashed into the dirt, rolling to a stop, his saber flying from his grip looked at him.
Red hair, wind-tossed and stubborn. Three scars running down from his eye. He barely looked sixteen.
Strong for his age. Stupidly bold. And that kind of magic… no, not just magic.
I crossed my arms, brow twitching in thought.
I couldn't see a mark, but for a moment when I hit him—I felt it. Barely a flicker. Familiar.
'Fairy Tail?'
I stepped forward.
"Who the hell are you, kid?"
The boy didn't answer.
He stood slowly, brushing dust from his shoulder. Then reached down and picked up his saber.
One hand on the hilt. The other rested lightly on the sheath.
He shifted his stance. Feet wide, body calm.
That posture-
He held it like it wasn't just a sword, but a verdict.
Like he was about to end something.
'Tch… serious one, huh?'
I raised an eyebrow.
He took a breath.
Then moved.
But before he could draw—
Snap.
I was already in front of him.
My finger tapped his forehead.
Thud!
He went flying backward again, crashing through a bush, flipping once before hitting the ground with a groan.
I dusted my gloves off and sighed.
"Kid, if you're gonna stare me down, at least wait till you've grown into that blade."
Just as I prepared myself to head to the Guild since I was getting bored of beating down a kid. I felt that pressure once again.
'What is this anyways? This raw will.'
He said something that surprised me.
"I am Shanks...Clive. My mother's name is Sara, and you are my...father."
Mother-
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