Chapter 3

However, the price was that the entire Tenrou Island, including the main members of Fairy Tail on it, were all sealed away.

Time fell into a standstill, and it was only seven years later, which is now, that it was successfully unsealed.

Seven years of time felt like a dream to them.

Yes, it really felt like a very, very long dream.

Waking up, the whole world seemed to have changed.

The guild of the past had become a thing of the past; all that remained was ruin and sorrow.

When the members of the Tenrou team successfully returned to the guild,

everything they saw could not help but make their hearts tremble and their eyes moisten.

It was like the sense of disparity of a billionaire going bankrupt overnight, which almost suffocated them.

But the most fatal thing was the companions who had stayed behind in the guild.

Seven years of time seemed to have taken away the youthful innocence on their faces,

leaving only the vicissitudes of life after being weathered by wind and frost.

They had suffered greatly; even the guild master, Makarov, could not imagine how, with the main force lost,

they could preserve Fairy Tail under the jealous eyes of countless people.

But... these mere dozen mages who stayed in the guild managed to do it.

Although, for this, they almost threw away the dignity they were once most proud of.

Looking at all this, the people of the Tenrou team fell silent.

They didn't know how to comfort this group of traumatized companions.

Because, no matter how the Tenrou team asked, all they got were the indifferent smiles of their companions.

Yes, they didn't care at all about how much pain they had suffered over these seven years.

As long as... they successfully waited for the return of the Tenrou team.

That was enough.

The simple and unadorned thoughts made the Tenrou team even more grief-stricken and indignant.

They felt sad for the experiences of their companions over these years,

and they also felt angry at those guys who kicked them while they were down over these seven years.

But... even more angry... perhaps it was only themselves?

Yes, the ones who should be hated the most should actually be themselves.

The ones who should bear all this should actually be themselves.

If, seven years ago, they could have run a little faster.

If, seven years ago, they hadn't been so impulsive.

If, seven years ago, they had been a little stronger...

Countless possibilities flashed through the minds of all the returned Tenrou team members.

Finally, it settled on a unified thought.

If they could have possessed even greater strength...

Would they have been able to successfully confront the Black Dragon seven years ago and survive under its roar?

Then... wouldn't all of this have been unnecessary?

Natsu punched the table in front of him,

angry veins bulging on his forehead.

The sound of gnashing teeth also followed.

"Damn it! It's all my fault... even though I'm a Dragon Slayer, I had no effect when facing a dragon..."

Listening to Natsu's words, the other two Dragon Slayers present, Gajeel and Wendy, also pursed their lips one after another.

Yes, the original intention of Dragon Slayer Magic was magic that existed to destroy dragons.

However, as one of the few Dragon Slayers of this era,

they had absolutely no ability to fight back when facing the descent of a giant dragon.

What on earth is this?

At this moment, deep in the hearts of the three Dragon Slayers, an unreal thought even began to emerge.

Dragon Slayer Magic... can it really slay dragons?

If it could, then why, seven years ago, did the three of them exhaust all their magic power and still fail to leave even a tiny scratch on that giant dragon?

It seemed to have seen through the self-doubt in the hearts of the three.

The uncle in the guild, who is also the strongest mage in the guild, Gildarts, sighed softly.

He reached out and stroked Natsu's cherry-blossom-colored hair, and said, "Don't mind it, Natsu."

"It's normal not to be able to win against that kind of thing."

In his mind, he seemed to recall the first time he saw the Black Dragon.

Gildarts sighed with emotion: "Strictly speaking, it no longer belongs to the category of living things."

"That is a monster through and through, a monster that transcends the world."

"We can already be proud to have survived from its hands," Gildarts said softly.

Yes, this is indeed worthy of pride.

You know, as the strongest mage in the guild, Gildarts once just happened to encounter the Black Dragon during a mission.

And in an instant, he ended up with half his body crippled.

This time, it was already very good that everyone could survive the Black Dragon's world-destroying roar.

All the guild members present who had witnessed the Black Dragon's power nodded in deep agreement.

Sounds of agreement kept ringing out.

After all, the Black Dragon can indeed be said to be an existence that humans can never reach.

There is nothing shameful about being defeated by such an existence.

Natsu opened his mouth, just about to say something.

But the words stopped at his lips in an instant.

His brows were tightly furrowed, and he listened with some disbelief to the voice coming from the bottom of his heart.

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