Seeing the beast shift its focus to Gray, who was unable to notice how dangerous it was and continued to attack it, I grunted before leaping out of the haybales as I lunged right for my stupid little brother. While dashing through the farm, the beast dropped the animal from its mouth and loudly roared before charging towards Gray, who finally began to notice he was doing nothing to it. "D-Dammit! Freeze!" As Gray became nervous, he attacked in a frenzy, but it was pointless; the beast was akin to a tank and didn't slow down.
Leaping over the fence, I landed on the ground and increased the output of my magic power, causing my skin to shimmer gold as I dashed toward Gray, who erected a thick ice wall, separating him and the beast. However, using its huge, powerful legs and deadly talons, it effortlessly slashed through the ice wall, with its next target being Gray, though before he was sliced in two, I leaped in front of him while crossing my arms, taking the brunt of the attack while I flung into Gray, causing the two of us to skip across the ground like stones.
Ignoring the pain and taste of blood, I raised my head, glancing at the beast that growled before turning around and entering the forest with its dinner; watching it walk away angered me as I knew exactly what that beast was thinking. It didn't view us as a threat, so it didn't bother to finish us off since it knew even if we attempted to fight back, we could do nothing to it, and it infuriated me that I was given such pity. By a beast no less. However, when I heard Gray coughing and Cana's worried voice, I looked away with a grunt while suppressing my anger as I glanced at Gray, who was aggressively coughing, though other than that, he looked fine. "Gray! Gray, are you okay!?"
Attempting to stand up, I collapsed onto my arm, causing me to wince in pain as my arm had been brutalized from blocking that attack; broken bones were jutting out, muscles were torn, and flesh was sliced open. My chest had a large gaping gash that went from the bottom of my neck to the bottom of my abdomen. 'Ugh, t-this hurts.' Grunting, I used my head to prop myself up as I stood upright while blood trailed down my clothes and leg onto the ground, leaving a trail as I approached Gray and Cana.
"You fine, stupid?" Gently kicking Gray, he nodded while coughing, only for Cana to scream as she looked at me, causing me to roll my eyes. "Cooper! A-Are you fine!? Please tell me you'll live!?" Nodding at Cana, I gently hit her head with my own, causing her to hiss while Gray slowly stood up, gazing at my injuries with a complicated expression. "Relax, will you? I'll live; the beast didn't manage to cut the muscles in my torso, so I'm fine… It would be a different story if he did, though." Given that my muscles were the only thing preventing my organs from falling out of my body, I was pretty lucky, especially given how strong that beast was.
"C'mon, let's return to the village chief and tell him the mission failed… Tsk, my perfect run has ended." Muttering under my breath, I walked back to the village, leaving behind a trail of blood as Gray followed while Cana tried to help me walk, but with my broken arms, she was always hesitant to try and help since she didn't know where to do so.
Anyway, once we arrived at the tower to speak with the village chief, I was pushed to the couch by Cana, who began to bandage my wounds, which I didn't refuse as I was feeling slightly lightheaded from the blood loss. "O-Oh my goodness! A-Are you okay!?" Glancing at the village chief, who dropped the tray of snacks when he entered the room and spotted me, I nodded with a yawn. "I'm fine, just a bit sleepy… Anyway, we can't complete the request." It was annoying saying those words, but there was nothing I or any of us could do against that beast.
"That creature was Wyvern, a mighty beast that descended from Dragons. If you wish for it to be dealt with, you'll require a far higher reward." Said Cana in annoyance as she glanced at the village chief while wrapping my arms in bandages, which I would have to remove later to fix my bones, but I can do that when she's not present, as it's pretty gruesome. "I-Is that so?" The village chief seemed somewhat despondent from Cana, though he didn't press the issue and quickly left us alone after cleaning his mess with the tray.
Once he left, the room descended into silence as Cana continued to bandage my body while Gray silently kept his head down; when she finished, she left the room to wash her hands, prompting Gray to finally break the silence. "I'm sorry." Opening my eyes, I glanced at Gray, who refused to raise his head, only to grunt as I plopped onto my back. "It's okay; don't worry too much; I'll fully recover, I always do." Yawning, I closed my eyes, attempting to fall asleep, though Gray didn't like my response. "But you nearly died protecting me because I was trying to prove my strength!" Hearing him yell, I groaned in annoyance while stuffing my head underneath a pillow.
"I said it's fine. You managed to live from your failure and learn from it; that's good enough for me. Now be quiet; I'm trying to sleep." Dismissing Gray's concerns, I yawned once more before eventually falling asleep.
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After failing the mission, we promptly left the village and took our time as we returned home, which took two days as we, and when I mean we, Cana, got a little sidetracked at Borwatt Town; Gray was still upset with himself over what happened in Tuly Village, though I genuinely didn't care, so long as we lived. I was required to manually realign my broken bones back into my arm, which was excruciatingly painful, though, as it wasn't my first time, I was a bit experienced.
By the time we arrived home, the two of them were mostly in good spirits; Gray was still a little bothered with himself, though I think my nonchalant attitude was helping him move past it.
Kicking and opening the doors to the guild, the three of us entered the guild while I headed for Gramps, who, like usual, was sitting on the bar, sighing when he saw me approach him with numerous bandages. "Haa, every single time, Cooper, huh? The only saving grace is that I can count on you to keep your reckless behavior to yourself." Seeing Gramps glance at me before raising his head and looking at Gray and Cana behind me, I rolled my eyes while handing him the request paper, wincing as my arms had barely healed.
"We failed… The beast in question is a Wyvern." Hopping onto the stool beside Gramps, who slightly widened his eyes before slamming his fist onto the bar. "Tch, stupid bastards, giving my children such an unreasonable mission. Well, I see why you're so injured, Cooper." Nodding at Gramp's, I used a straw to drink from a cup, only for him to gently pat my shoulder. "Still, I'm proud to see you've grown; you may not realize it, but I do." Glancing at Gramps, I growled while shaking his arm off my shoulder, causing him to chuckle.
While I drank water, I watched as Gray was teased by the guild for failing his first mission, which eventually escalated into a fight, one that I reluctantly had to watch from the sidelines since I was still injured.
I spent the next week at the guild, healing up while practicing my magic before eventually setting off, taking on requests alone that revolved around fighting mages, though, of course, there wasn't always a mission available, as I would notice in the following year, their activity within Fiore was slowly reducing.
However, during the following year, our guild, Fairy Tail, continued to grow as a few people joined, earning me new little siblings; three joined in total. The first was Fried Justine, a boy two years younger than me with green hair; while he initially didn't like being my little brother, he didn't have a choice; my strength was undeniable. The second was a little girl, four years younger than me, named Laki Olietta. She wore large glasses and had purple hair; she was a bit awkward, given her curious nature, but that was fine with me. Lastly, the one who joined was Max Alors, a young boy four years younger than me with a terrible haircut, but I'm sure he'd grow out of it in due time… Hopefully.
Actually, there was another person who had just joined today, an adorable little girl named Levy McGarden, who was five years younger than me; she had short blue hair and was incredibly smart, which made me seem stupid. Which I wasn't; I just rarely applied myself to the academic field; anyway, I arrived home just in time to see her get stamped by Gramps.