Chapter 117: FTRJ: Chapter 117

“Three years? What was he even doing out there?” Lucy asked, voicing the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“Let me answer that,” Mirajane said, turning her attention to the mission board.

“I mentioned S-Class missions before. Above those are even harder SS-Class missions, but beyond that, there’s something even more difficult: Century Missions.”

“Century Missions?” Lucy’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Missions no one has completed in a century. That’s why they’re called Century Missions. Finn completed one solo!” Mirajane explained.

“Finn?” Lucy looked at Finn, who stood nearby.

“He’s a monster, then,” Carla commented quietly, her voice laced with a hint of awe.

“Century Missions are many times more dangerous than S-Class. I had a really tough time with mine,” Finn said, joining the conversation.

“So… Gildarts was on a Century Mission?” Lucy asked.

Finn shook his head.

“Gildarts was on something even harder: a Millennium Mission!”

“A Millennium Mission?!” Lucy gasped, her eyes wide with shock.

“You mean, a mission no one has completed in a thousand years?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“Exactly. That’s why he was gone for three years. He only just got back,” Finn said with a knowing smile.

Lucy couldn’t even begin to imagine the unimaginable difficulty of a Millennium Mission; even the strongest mage in the guild had been gone for three years.

The meaning of the bell tolls wasn’t lost only on the members of Fairy Tail; the residents of Magnolia also understood its significance.

A wave of unease swept through the town as the residents scurried towards their homes.

A magical loudspeaker blared from the sky.

“Magnolia is entering Gildarts Mode. All residents must immediately evacuate to designated areas!”

“Even so, this is a bit extreme,” Carla commented, her voice laced with disbelief.

“What’s ’Magnolia Gildarts Mode’?” Lucy asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Let’s go see for ourselves,” Finn suggested.

Stepping outside, Lucy and the others’ eyes widened in astonishment.

“What in the world is going on?!” Carla exclaimed, her finger pointing towards the unfolding scene, her voice filled with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

A deafening roar, akin to the sound of massive gears grinding together, emanated from the town. Numerous buildings were visibly splitting apart into individual sections, which then began to rise into the air.

After what seemed like an eternity, the transformation was complete. All the buildings in the town had been elevated, leaving only a single, perfectly straight path leading directly to the Fairy Tail guildhall.

“The city… it’s been split in two!!” Lucy gasped, her voice filled with horror.

“Gildarts uses Crush Magic,” Erza explained, her voice calm despite the extraordinary circumstances.

“As the name suggests, it completely crushes everything he comes into contact with. If he gets lost in thought while walking, he might accidentally smash through someone’s house,” Mirajane added, her tone light despite the gravity of the situation.

Lucy’s eyes widened even further in horror.

“How incredibly clumsy! They actually remodeled the entire city because of that?” she exclaimed, her voice laced with disbelief.

“That’s amazing, Carla!” Wendy exclaimed, her face a picture of astonishment.

“Yeah, amazingly clumsy,” Carla commented dryly.

“Haha, Carla’s right. That guy’s a real klutz!” Finn chuckled, his amusement evident.

Their gazes shifted towards the end of the newly created path, where a familiar figure could be seen slowly approaching.

“Speaking of which, Finn seems pretty close to Gildarts,” Lucy remarked, turning to Finn.

“That’s because Gildarts was the one who brought Finn to the guild,” Mirajane explained with a smile.

“Oh, I see…” Lucy murmured, a thoughtful expression on her face.

As the sound of footsteps grew steadily closer, a palpable sense of excitement rippled through the group, their anticipation building as they waited for the return of their legendary guildmate.

Lucy and Wendy’s eyes widened, both eager to finally catch a glimpse of the man who held the title of Fairy Tail’s strongest mage.

With the sound of footsteps finally ceasing, Gildarts emerged into view at the entrance of the guildhall.

His appearance was far from impressive: a tattered cloak, his dark orange hair a mess, his face covered in a thick layer of stubble, clearly neglected for quite some time, and a worn-out backpack slung over his shoulders. His overall appearance was one of utter dishevelment.

“He’s… surprisingly ordinary,” Lucy observed, her initial impression of Gildarts far from what she had expected.

“Is he really Fairy Tail’s strongest?” Carla questioned, her voice laced with doubt.

Gildarts looked around, his brow furrowed as if something seemed amiss.

He let out a long, weary sigh.

“Gildarts! Let’s settle this with a fight!” Natsu, his voice brimming with excitement, charged down from the second floor of the guildhall.

“He’s challenging him right off the bat?” Elfman exclaimed, his voice filled with astonishment.

Gildarts, seemingly oblivious to Natsu’s challenge, trudged forward in a dejected manner, his gaze fixed on Mirajane.

“Welcome back!” Mirajane greeted him with a warm smile, her expression radiating genuine happiness at his safe return.

Gildarts, however, glanced at Mirajane, his face still etched with a look of bewilderment.

“Little miss, I seem to recall there being a guild called Fairy Tail somewhere around here,” Gildarts stated, his voice laced with confusion.

Mirajane’s smile remained undeterred. “This is it. And I’m Mirajane!” she replied, pointing to herself.

“Mira?” The name triggered a memory in Gildarts’s mind, the image of the fierce, powerful mage flashing before his eyes.

Comparing that image to the gentle, refined woman standing before him, his eyes widened in astonishment, as if he had stumbled upon some incredible discovery.

“Wow, you’ve changed so much! You’re a completely different person now!” he exclaimed, his tone filled with genuine surprise.

Gildarts’s somewhat dazed and bewildered demeanor caused Lucy to harbor serious doubts. Is this really Fairy Tail’s strongest mage? she wondered.

“And the guild… it looks so much newer now,” Gildarts remarked, his gaze darting around the guildhall, his face a picture of amazement.

“He didn’t even recognize the building from the outside?” Lucy muttered under her breath, her voice laced with disbelief.

“Gildarts!” Natsu, unable to contain his excitement any longer, charged towards Gildarts.

Gildarts turned to face Natsu, a weary smile spreading across his face. “Oh, Natsu! Long time no see!”

Seizing the opportunity, Natsu launched himself into the air, his voice booming. “I’m challenging you to a fight, remember?!”

Faced with Natsu’s aggressive advance, Gildarts let out a long, weary sigh. “I’m terribly tired…” he mumbled.

“I don’t care!” Natsu retorted, his attack undeterred as he unleashed a powerful punch towards Gildarts.

Bang—

Gildarts effortlessly caught Natsu’s punch, his movements fluid and precise. With a swift, almost casual motion, he redirected Natsu’s momentum, his hand moving to Natsu’s abdomen before spinning him around and sending him flying towards the ceiling.

“We can do this another time,” Gildarts said nonchalantly, his tone suggesting that he wasn’t even remotely fazed by Natsu’s attack.

“He’s seriously super strong!” Natsu exclaimed from his suspended position on the ceiling, his voice filled with a mixture of awe and grudging admiration.

“You haven’t changed a bit, old man!” Gray greeted Gildarts, his voice laced with a hint of playful banter.

“A true champion among men!” Elfman declared, his gaze fixed on Gildarts with undisguised reverence.

If Finn was Elfman’s top idol, then Gildarts, with his immense power and kind demeanor, was a close second.

The guild members continued to greet Gildarts, who responded with nods and smiles, his gaze sweeping across the room.

“So many new faces! Things have certainly changed a lot around here!” he remarked, his voice filled with a mixture of surprise and amusement.

“Yo! Old man, you finally decided to show up!” Finn greeted Gildarts with a hearty laugh.

“Oh? Finn, is that you? Long time no see! You’ve grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you,” Gildarts replied, his voice filled with warmth and genuine affection.

“I think it’s more that you’ve been gone for far too long,” Finn retorted playfully. “Speaking of which, I’m guessing your little sister kept you busy?” he teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Gildarts’s face flushed a deep shade of crimson. “You little rascal, what are you talking about? I was on official guild business, of course!” he insisted.

“The mission itself might have been legitimate, but your activities during that time… well, that’s another story altogether,” Finn muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

Finn was well aware of some of Gildarts’s less savory past exploits.

“And Laxus is here too. He seems to have matured quite a bit,” Gildarts remarked, his gaze settling upon Laxus, who was now engaged in amicable conversation with the other guild members. A look of quiet pride and satisfaction crossed Gildarts’s face.

Gildarts had practically watched Laxus grow up from a boy into a man.

Laxus, fully aware of the implication behind Gildarts’s words, offered a slightly sheepish smile.

“Gildarts!” Makarov’s voice boomed across the guildhall.

“Oh, Guild Master! Long time no see!” Gildarts replied, approaching Makarov.

“How did the mission go?” Makarov inquired, his arms folded across his chest.

A hush fell over the guildhall as Makarov’s question hung in the air.

Yes, how had the mission gone? The question echoed in the minds of every guild member.

It had been a Millennium Mission, after all—a mission of such legendary difficulty that it had remained uncompleted for a century.

“Um…” Gildarts tilted his head, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.

“Hahahaha…” A burst of laughter erupted from Gildarts, his head scratching thoughtfully.

“Well… I’m afraid I didn’t quite manage to complete the mission…” he admitted, a hint of bitterness lacing his laughter.

“What?!”

“No way?!”

“He’s Gildarts!”

“He actually failed a mission?!”

A wave of astonishment swept through the guildhall as the gravity of Gildarts’s admission sank in.

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