Chapter 325: Successors
"This old man is really exhausting!"
Ren complained helplessly, rubbing his temples as if trying to massage away a sudden headache.
"Alright, jokes aside, let's talk business."
The group sat down at the rustic wooden table and chairs outside the house. Despite the arid, scorching environment of the surrounding wasteland, the immediate vicinity of the cottage was a lush, vibrant oasis, teeming with a comfortable, cool breeze.
"Since I retired, I've been working on greening the desert," Warrod Sequen explained, pouring a cup of herbal tea. His bark-like face carried a serene, grandfatherly smile.
Lucy Heartfilia blinked, leaning forward in her chair. "Retired? Did Warrod-san use to work in a guild too?"
"Hahaha, it was a wonderful guild!" Warrod laughed warmly, his eyes crinkling with deep nostalgia. "Nowadays, I use my 'Green Magic' to stop the desert from expanding. Calling it a charity event sounds nice, but it's actually just a hobby to pass the time."
As Warrod spoke, he gently raised a finger. A vibrant, beautiful flower quickly bloomed from his palm, its petals unfurling to release a sweet, calming fragrance into the air.
"So, I travel through deserts everywhere all year round. Recently, during my travels, I discovered a strange settlement," the old man continued, his tone turning a bit more serious. "According to ancient records, it's the Sun Village, a hidden settlement that worships an eternally burning flame as its guardian deity."
"An eternally burning flame? Does it taste good?!"
Natsu Dragneel's eyes instantly lit up like literal stars the moment he heard the word 'flame'. He slammed his hands on the table, drool practically pooling at the corner of his mouth.
During the apocalyptic Dragon attack on Crocus, Natsu had eaten his fill of Atlas Flame's hellfire. Though despite that massive power boost, he couldn't do anything to truly defeat the fire dragon and could only barely hold it back. The prospect of an 'eternal' flame sounded like an all-you-can-eat buffet to the pink-haired Dragon Slayer.
"I don't know, I don't eat flames after all," Warrod replied, entirely unfazed by Natsu's bizarre dietary question. "But that's not the point. Whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made curse, that village is now completely frozen."
Warrod's expression grew solemn. "People, animals, giant plants, buildings, the flowing rivers—even the Eternal Flame that protects the village is frozen solid."
"The flame is frozen?!" Natsu gasped, his jaw dropping in sheer disbelief.
"How can that be?! Fire melts ice, not the other way around!"
Lucy and Happy were deeply shocked. The very concept defied the fundamental laws of nature and magic. For ice to completely encapsulate and freeze a roaring, divine flame, the magical power behind it had to be extraordinarily twisted and profound.
"I don't know what happened in that village, but the villagers trapped inside the ice are still alive," Warrod explained, tapping his wooden staff against the ground. "I can hear the faint whispers of the surrounding nature. I can't just ignore villagers who are still living but entombed in frost."
The ancient mage looked directly at the Fairy Tail group. "So, I hope you can save that village. This is my formal request."
Natsu pumped his fists into the air, instantly getting excited upon hearing the request. "I see!! That's easy then!! I'll just go there and melt all the weird ice with my Dragon Slayer flames!"
He finally had an S-Class mission suitable for him. He knew he was right to tag along this time; if he successfully completed an S-Class mission requested by a Wizard Saint, his promotion to an official S-Class Mage would be an absolute sure thing.
"Aye! Natsu is all fired up!"
Happy was also very happy that Natsu was going to complete an S-Class mission, already doing a little victory dance in the air.
"No... that isn't ordinary ice. My magic couldn't easily pierce it," Warrod warned, shaking his head slowly.
Lucy raised her hand, her brow furrowed in deep confusion. "Wait, Warrod-san, aren't you ranked fourth among the Ten Wizard Saints? You're one of the Gods of Ishgar! A legendary, powerful mage like you should be able to solve this easily on your own."
"You seem to have some misunderstandings about titles, young lady!" Warrod chuckled softly, not offended in the slightest. "Even the Ten Wizard Saints aren't omnipotent gods. They're merely ten people arbitrarily selected by the Magic Council based on reputation and public feats."
Warrod took a slow sip of his tea. "In this continent alone, there are plenty of hidden mages far stronger than me. And outside this continent, across the vast oceans, I am but a very small existence."
"Take Ren, for example," Warrod gestured toward the tall, white-haired mage sitting quietly beside Natsu. "Despite possessing such world-shaking power, he wasn't one of the Ten Wizard Saints before the Grand Magic Games. It was only after he publicly defeated a flight of Dragons that the Council panicked and recommended him for the First Seat."
Warrod used Ren as a prime example of how flawed the Council's ranking system truly was.
Lucy nodded slowly in understanding. "That's true. Gildarts is also incredibly strong—probably strong enough to shatter mountains—yet he isn't one of the Ten Wizard Saints either because he hates dealing with the Council."
It made perfect sense. During the brief, terrifying sparring match between Gildarts and Ren, the crash of their magic had been apocalyptic. Gildarts's raw destructive strength was far greater than that of Jose Porla, Jura Neekis, or even Jellal Fernandes—who were all official Ten Wizard Saints at some point—yet he remained an unranked, wandering vagabond.
Similarly, in the dark underworld, masters of Dark Guilds like Zero of Oración Seis, and the terrifying Hades of Grimoire Heart, were also far stronger than the average Ten Wizard Saint.
Hearing this, it became glaringly obvious that the Ten Wizard Saints might just be an arbitrary political tool chosen by the Magic Council to maintain order. Though, there was no doubt that those selected were still undeniably powerful in their own right.
"Actually, to be completely honest with you, I know almost nothing about offensive magic," Warrod admitted with a gentle smile. "If I were to face you young, energetic people in a direct combat duel, I wouldn't be confident in winning at all. My magic is meant for nurturing life, not taking it."
Warrod shifted his gaze, his dark eyes locking onto Ren. "However, I saw your performance in the Grand Magic Games broadcasts. Ren, that final golden transformation of yours, and the technique you called 'Merciless Sun', should be the pinnacle of ultra-high-temperature magic."
The old man leaned back in his wooden chair. "Plus, from what I've gathered, you have endless, incomprehensible tricks up your sleeve. You should be the most qualified person on this continent to solve this frozen anomaly. That's why I sent a specific request to Fairy Tail just for you."
Ren nodded calmly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright, I accept this request. Leave the rest to us, old man."
[System Notification: S-Class Quest "Save the Sun Village" Accepted.]
He had already accepted the overarching quest on the System interface the moment they arrived; coming here was just to learn the specific lore behind the task and follow the proper guild procedures.
"Where exactly is that village?" Ren asked, looking out toward the endless dunes of the desert.
"About two thousand kilometers south of here," Warrod answered casually.
"That doesn't seem close at all," Lucy deadpanned, a bead of sweat forming on her cheek.
Two thousand kilometers was a massive journey. Even by magic train, it would take days. Traveling through rugged mountain roads and barren deserts would make it an incredibly exhausting and troublesome trek.
"Don't worry, let me help you with the travel," Warrod said, standing up and grabbing his wooden staff. "Gather over there on that patch of dirt, and don't forget your luggage."
The group complied, standing exactly where Warrod pointed his gnarled finger.
"Turn right!" Warrod commanded sharply.
Swish!
Hearing the sudden, authoritative command, everyone turned right in perfect unison—except for Happy, who got completely confused and spun to the left, saluting the wrong direction.
Silence hung in the air for three agonizingly long seconds.
"...That was a joke." Warrod said with an utterly deadpan expression.
"Hey—!!"
The entire group yelled in unison, their anime-style oversized heads popping with veins of pure annoyance. This old man loved making terrible, dry jokes at the worst possible moments.
Ignoring their exasperation, Warrod closed his eyes and chanted an ancient, resonant incantation. The earth beneath their feet began to rumble with intense, vibrant magical energy.
A small, emerald-green sapling breached the surface of the dirt. Then, fueled by Warrod's immense life-force magic, the sapling began to grow at an impossible, terrifying rate. It thickened into a massive trunk in mere seconds, lifting everyone high up into the air.
"What is this?!" Lucy screamed, grabbing onto Natsu's scarf to keep from falling as the wooden platform beneath them skyrocketed.
"I'm counting on you, youngsters of Fairy Tail!" Warrod called out from the ground, waving a cheerful hand as he rapidly shrank in their field of vision.
The tree began to grow wildly, its massive branches stretching out like a catapult. It shot across the sky, leaving the cozy wooden house far behind in the blink of an eye.
"Whoa!!" Natsu roared, struggling to keep his balance on the rapidly extending branch.
"So cool!! We're flying on a tree!" Happy cheered, holding onto Natsu's head.
Looking down at the world blurring beneath them, Natsu grinned wildly. "That old man is clearly very powerful! To make a tree grow across the whole country... he's a monster!"
Ren smiled, his Six Eyes passively analyzing the lingering traces of natural mana propelling them forward. "What did you think? He's the fourth-ranked of the Ten Wizard Saints; he's just keeping a very low profile. His total magic power reserves aren't any weaker than the old man's."
In fact, it was a completely different application of magic. Master Makarov's specialty was Giant Magic, which was incredibly strong in direct physical attacks, but also made him a massive, easy target on the battlefield.
Furthermore, Fairy Law was practically an absolute mass-kill skill against large armies of enemies with magic power lower than the caster's. But against single targets with similar or higher magic power, the supreme spell dealt almost no significant damage and severely drained the user's lifespan.
So, in the grand scheme of the Council's rankings, Makarov's localized, destructive ranking was relatively not that high compared to the Gods of Ishgar. Warrod, on the other hand, possessed the sheer, overwhelming mana capacity to casually alter the geography of an entire continent.
"The wind is blowing. It's been 105 years since then! Mavis, your will has been inherited by the young ones."
Warrod watched Ren and the others fade into the distance and couldn't help but feel emotional. He was one of the founders of Fairy Tail, having established it with Mavis, Precht, and Yuri. He hadn't returned for many years, but he had always been watching the youngsters of Fairy Tail.
He specifically requested Ren for this task because he wanted to see this young man from Fairy Tail with his own eyes. After seeing him, he was very satisfied.
Ren's magic power was abundant, his strength was immense, and his Heart-Nature was good. He was very suitable to inherit Fairy Tail.
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