"Impossible!"
Erigor crawled across the ground, trying to escape. He was badly injured and missing an arm, which was still bleeding and leaving a trail behind him. It was unbelievable that he was still alive, but at this point, his only thought was to crawl away.
Pain?
Any pain he could feel was easily overshadowed by his fear. All will to fight had vanished. How could he still be okay? He had just seen the demon Lullaby released... and defeated in less than a minute.
"Monsters!"
He was considered an S-Class wizard. However, there aren't standardized requirements across all wizards—it's up to each guild to test and decide what kind of wizard qualifies for that title. Judging who's fit to be an S-Class mage is very different in Fairy Tail than in Quatro Cerberus. That's why there's a disparity between Fairy Tail's S-Class wizards and those from other guilds, like Eisenwald in this case.
"No! No! I don't want to..." Erigor kept crawling, but even that became harder as he began to feel weak from the blood loss.
"For someone who was just about to kill himself, you don't seem too eager to bleed out."
"...!" Erigor stopped and looked up—at some point, Allen had arrived and was now standing before him. Despite everything that had happened, Allen's calm gaze remained unchanged, and he hadn't even gotten dirty.
"I don't want to die!" Erigor begged.
"..." Allen frowned. Erigor's words showed a broken spirit, but as Allen recalled, the man had just been ready to sacrifice his life to kill them. Why was he now begging to live?
Lucifer – Curious to know why?
"..."
Lucifer – You know, Allen, I enjoy playing and betting when there's a real chance of losing. That's right—only when both sides can fall does a gamble become exciting. It might seem like these conditions are made out of malice to screw you, but the truth is... they're meant to level the field... because you're pretty strong... Haha...
"..." Allen knelt down and grabbed the area where Erigor's arm had been severed, making the man scream out in pain.
"Ahh!"
"Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily... Vulnera Sanentur," Allen whispered the last part—a strange requirement for that particular spell.
The bleeding stopped, and the wound began to close, though the arm didn't regenerate. Vulnera Sanentur was a very powerful healing spell, but like all magic, it had its limits. When damage was too severe, it couldn't even prevent death, and it didn't regenerate limbs.
Erigor felt the pain fade, but his fear of Allen remained. "Who... are you?"
That was the last thing he managed to say before slowly slipping into unconsciousness. In the distance, he saw the army approaching. He knew this was the end. Strangely, there was no regret in his eyes—just relief that he didn't have to face that guy anymore.
---
Amanda – Shit! That was dangerous!
Starfire – Mmm, I still wonder… was Lullaby really that terrifying? Didn't seem like it...
Athena – Lullaby was a dangerous demon because of its deadly melody, not its raw strength…
Akeno – Ufufu~ So once my little brother sealed that ability, he was basically a giant punching bag~
Starfire – Oh, now I get it~
---
"This is amazing..." Lucy had walked over at some point and watched the healing magic in action. That kind of magic was incredibly rare. From what she knew, even in this world of magic, wizards often had to rely on healing the normal way.
Allen smiled at Lucy's curious look, "Where I come from, there was a requirement that to learn really dangerous magic, you had to be capable of countering it…"
"Oh? And what does that mean?" Lucy tilted her head.
"It means I wasn't allowed to break someone's bones unless I knew how to fix them."
"Ugh..." Gray had flashbacks to the powerful blow Allen had given him—almost sending him straight to the lobby of heaven.
"Allen, we need to go," Erza said as she approached him. She didn't ask about the magic Allen had used. From the beginning, they all realized that the more time they spent with him, the less they understood where he came from.
"It's the army,!" Lucy grabbed his sleeve. Even though she was technically one of the heroes of the day, she really didn't want trouble with the military.
"..." Gray, reluctantly carrying an unconscious Natsu, looked at Allen in silence. He remembered what Allen had said when he asked him what kind of magic he used.
– My type of magic... is magic itself.
At the time, no one really understood what Allen meant. They figured he just didn't want to answer and left it at that.
'Don't tell me this guy…' Gray looked at him with a serious expression as a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. But he quickly shook his head, realizing how ridiculous the thought was. 'That's impossible… that, it would not be something that a human being could do.'
Allen noticed Gray's look but found it odd. Was healing someone really that rare? What kind of wizard didn't know how to treat wounds? That seemed like an essential skill for surviving any mission. Unless this was an RPG world where you usually had a healer on the team, and the wizard could focus purely on offensive and maybe defensive magic.
"By the way, is all this caution around the army really necessary?" Allen asked, confused. Shouldn't there be some sort of reward for what they did? He wasn't expecting a medal or anything, but they stopped a demon and took down a dark guild—that should be worth a couple million, right?
Erza smiled. "The relationship between wizards and the army isn't always great—especially in situations like this."
Allen looked around and realized the severity of it all. Even if Lullaby had been defeated almost instantly, it was still a creature the size of a building, and its footsteps alone had damaged several structures.
"I see..." Allen simply turned and began walking, the rest of the group following him. "Jobs like this-no pay, no benefits—are gonna force me to find a rich or noble lady to support me in the future."
"Huh?! I could! – ... no, forget it..." Lucy twitched. She wanted to say something, but just blushed and stayed silent. Her flustered reaction made her lower her guard.
"You know, I usually make about ten million a month~" the redhead girl said with sparkles in her eyes.
"What?!" Lucy felt like a cat having its tail stepped on.
"Well, that's to be expected from an S-Class wizard," said Allen without much reaction, though purposely to annoy Erza.
"Erza's smile faded as she punched Allen in the stomach—but this time, he blocked it with his arm. "Why'd you block it?! Allen Walker!" she said, a vein bulging on her head.
"I'm not the comic relief. Go punch Gray, Erza Scarlet..."
Allen smiled with unabashed arrogance. Which made the girl tempted to wipe that smile off his face.
"Hey, leave me out of your couple fights!" Gray immediately protested, not wanting to become their punching bag.
"What did you say?!" Lucy stomped on Gray's foot.
"Ahh! What the hell, Lucy?!"
"Jealous women are scary..." Happy muttered teasingly.
"Shut up, cat!"
Erza began throwing fast punches at Allen, which he blocked just as quickly. It didn't look like a fight—it looked more like a pride-fueled game.
"..." Lucy puffed out her cheek in a pout. For some reason, watching those two interact made her feel jealous. Happy wasted no time teasing her.
"Again with this... whatever." Gray tried not to get involved.
"I'll be the strongest..." Natsu muttered, still out cold from Allen's punch.
With this chaotic harmony, the group headed to a bar to rest and report to Makarov, who surely knew what had happened by now.
The group received a letter from Makarov saying he was heading to Oshibana Town. With that in mind—and because they were all exhausted—they stayed at an inn for the night, each in separate rooms. Although, Happy teased Lucy about not staying in the same room as Allen.
....
The next day, Makarov arrived and called them all to a wizard's tavern. Natsu, upon waking up, was starving and ate at a separate table while Guild Master Makarov sat cross-legged on the table, arms folded, trying to process everything that had happened.
"Erza, Allen, Lucy... then Gray and Natsu joined. You fought on a train—which you destroyed—chased Eisenwald, fought again here, and defeated the entire dark guild including that "Shinigami" Erigor... then finally, Zeref's demon was released, and you took him down, destroying the artifact in the process…"
Makarov looked at the six of them. Lucy swallowed hard, Erza crossed her arms in silence, Gray leaned on the table, Natsu kept eating, Happy was fighting Timcampy over a sandwich—but the little golem won in the end—and Allen was calmly sipping tea.
"Doesn't matter~"
"Huh?!" Lucy stood up, unable to believe the master would let them go without punishment.
"What is it, Lucy?" Makarov asked with a yawn, then smiled. "How could I punish my saviors~?"
"Well... yeah, but—" Lucy sat down again, unable to put her thoughts into words. She knew there was no real reason to scold them. Maybe some property damage, sure—but in her eyes, they saved a city and all the guild masters. Still, something didn't feel quite right.
"..." Allen quietly watched Makarov. Despite the older man's words, Allen had his doubts. If none of them had stepped in... would Erigor have really been able to kill all the guild masters? Did the leading mages truly fail to stop him? Allen didn't buy it. Makarov alone could've probably defeated someone like a Zeref demon without much trouble.
Seeing the confusion on Lucy's face, Makarov softened his tone, speaking more like a grandfather than a guild master. "Lucy-chan, mages aren't saviors. We're not heroes. Most of the time, we just take jobs for money. That's why—even when we do the right thing—there will always be prejudice… You can be sure that even though you saved Oshibana Town, someone will still find a reason to complain."
Lucy lowered her head, and Allen gently patted it, making her smile a little.
Mages aren't heroes. Even Natsu had made that clear in the original story when he told Bora he didn't care whether someone was good or evil—no one would tarnish Fairy Tail's name. Another example was Erigor himself. He was a cold-blooded killer, and yet his punishment was merely being expelled from the Guild Masters League. Shouldn't his crimes have landed him in prison? Why was he still allowed to work like nothing happened?
It made one thing clear: legal guilds were not allies of justice. They were just regulated organizations operating under the Magic Council. They only accepted jobs that didn't involve murder, kidnapping, or serious crimes.
"BUT!" Makarov raised his voice, drawing the attention of everyone in the tavern. "In my eyes, you did the right thing—so hold your heads high!"
Makarov's words brought smiles to everyone's faces. Even Allen's lips curved upward. Lucy's eyes lit up, and she nodded.
---
Tony – Well, looks like this adventure's over. I liked it, even if it was short~
Thor – Personally, I was disappointed in the giant demon. I understand the threat came from his killing power, not his strength, but still—disappointing.
Kratos – Giant things aren't always the strongest...
Albedo – How sad that Allen-sama didn't even call me this time...
Jalter – How could he, when you're creepy enough to build a museum full of his paintings and statues?
Albedo – What I do in my free time and territory is my business!
---
As everyone got ready to return, Allen took a moment to sit in silence and check his mission.
> [Emergency Quest: There's No Good in Erigor – Prevent the flute from being played (Completed) + Increased team member trust + Increased affection from Lucy and Erza + 1,000,000 J + Light Magic (Basic Level)]
'Still not comfortable with how the system meddles in my relationships... but whatever,' Allen thought.
> [Main Quest: Let No One Die – (Completed) Big increase in respect, affection, and trust from Erza and Lucy + Increased respect from Natsu and Gray + Increased respect from Makarov Dreyar + Wind Magic (Intermediate), Earth Magic (Intermediate), Ice-Make Magic (Basic) + 1,000,000 J + Regeneration Potion (One use) + Unique Bond (Lucy) + Unique Bond (Erza)]
'Regeneration Potion...? That'll come in handy. And Gray's magic... interesting, even if it's just a basic level...'
> [Hidden Quest: The Power of Zeref – (Completed) + Slight general increase in people's trust (Improves rewards from personal requests, increases chances of shop discounts and better treatment from strangers) + Death Magic (Basic) + 1,000,000 J + Protective Ring (Lv. 2)]
'Level 2 Ring?'
Allen ignored death magic, he wasn't interested in it, let alone using it, even now he still has a resistance to using avada kedavra.
> [Host, item levels provide a more precise way of identifying their strength... basically going back to color ranks... level 2 would be equivalent to high green tier or something like that.]
'Well, guess we can try it for a while...'
[Roger!]
....
Just as everyone, including Makarov, was heading to the train station, Allen received a quest.
> [Quest: Journey to "Web Valley" – A secret lies hidden in this place, known for many fissures left by an ancient earthquake. Reward: "Alive Magic" Magic that gives life to inanimate objects (Temporarily) + 200,000 J]
"...!" Allen stopped walking, catching the attention of Lucy and Erza, who were beside him.
"What's wrong, Allen?" Lucy asked, blinking.
"Allen?" Erza stayed alert. She knew Allen never acted without a reason.
Even Makarov stopped. "...?"
Allen lifted his head. "I'd like to make a stop at Web Valley since it's on the way..."
His words surprised everyone. Web Valley was like a natural labyrinth where many travelers had gotten lost and starved to death. It wasn't a place any mage would choose to go through when safer paths existed.
"Is there a specific reason?" Makarov asked seriously.
Unlike the original story, where the Clover Town incident led the group to Web Valley by mistake, this time they weren't lost—Allen wanted to go there on purpose. In this world, that kind of magic was forbidden. Sure, some magic could kill directly and couldn't be justified, but this forbidden magic, perhaps it had a chance to be useful.
Allen decided to take responsibility. A magic like "Alive" was worth obtaining. He could even modify it to make it safer.
"I've got a sort of sixth sense... usually takes me places I need to be, of course I can ignore it, but I would like to go there," Allen said, trying to sound serious—but his excuse came off as forced.
---
Allen and the group walked through the valley for hours. Lucy, having the least stamina, began to tire.
"Damn it..." Lucy sighed. "A lady like me shouldn't have to do this much physical work."
"What? Are you tired already?" Natsu put his hands behind his head. "Allen told you that you could've taken the train, Luigi."
"I'm Lucy! Stop joking around and remember that!!"
"Nyahaha!"
None of them took the train. They all chose to follow Allen. Even Master Makarov came along, which surprised him.
Don't they trust me a bit too much? Allen smiled wryly. If I wanted to trick them, wouldn't it be ridiculously easy? He shook his head and smiled again. Whatever.
"Shut up..." Lucy looked at Allen with tired eyes. "Can you carry me for a bit, please?"
"..." Allen looked silently at the blonde girl, making her shift awkwardly. She had just been joking, but before she could take it back, Allen scooped her up and started walking.
Lucy blushed. "Wait! I was joking!"
"No refunds, Hime," Allen said with a cheeky grin, ignoring her protests and continuing to carry her.
"Ah! Wait, this is embarrassing—I'm sorry!"
For some reason, Erza also blushed and murmured, "Womanizer…"
"It's nice to be young~" Makarov chuckled under his breath.
Thanks to Allen and the mission arrow guiding him, they didn't get lost in Web Valley. Eventually, they reached a village in the middle of nowhere. It was large, full of homes and buildings—but the most shocking part was that not a single person was there.
"What is this...?" Lucy clutched Allen's clothes, feeling uneasy.
"It's strange…" Erza said, frowning.
Natsu, Gray, and Erza started exploring the houses. They found dishes and food on the tables, as if the people had just vanished.
A dead village, hidden in a place known as the graveyard of many travelers...
Allen narrowed his eyes as he looked around—the mission arrow was pointing directly at this location.
"Auris Arcanum..." Allen's pupils glowed faintly, and a moment later, his eyes widened in shock.
"This place—!"
===
More chapters on patreon: Patreon.com/_Aizen