Capítulo 374: (Title at bottom)

*Earlier that day*

A lone figure stood at the railing of a ship that bobbed up and down in the surf, silent and contemplative as he took in the sight of the seaside town before them.

Paul recalled the last time he had been to Hargeon, the destroyed and boarded up buildings, the injured and filthy looking people with dead empty eyes as they fought against starvation and disease. Now however the town seemed to have been completely revived.

The buildings looked new and pristine, the people happily went too and fro as they tried to reestablish their livelihoods, and children ran up and down the streets laughing and playing. The only place that seemed the same as the last time Paul was here was the harbor, then again that was to be expected since they needed to use it, but now there appeared to be several people hauling in lumber and other supplies as they tried to rebuild and repair some basic fishing vessels.

"Hmmmm, curious." Paul muttered as he stole a glance at the crew mates of the ship he was on, their own shock telling him that the town wasn't like this when they left. He didn't need to look at them to confirm this though, as the pole that formerly bore the flags of the Dark Emperor and the Black Collar guild no longer had them. Instead was a flag with the crest of the royal family of Fiore at the top, and a flag bearing the crest of Fair Tail under it.

"Curiouser and curiouser..." He muttered to himself while trying to figure out how the guild was involved in the restoration of Hargeon.

He had heard from Darius about the attack on Tenrou Island failing, but the Dark Emperor had decided to save the majority of the details of what happened for when Paul rejoined him. This meant he was currently in the dark about the arrival of another reincarnator, but, with Fairy Tail apparently being on Tenrou to fight, and it being around that time of year anyways, Paul suspected that the guild was more than likely not the ones responsible for the change here.

His thoughts were interrupted though when someone suddenly shouted in his ear,

"PREPARE TO FIRE THE MAGIC CANNONS!"

"""AYE AYE!"""

With the captain of the ship giving the order the crew began to ready themselves to attack, only for Paul to suddenly say,

"Belay that order!" His voice made everyone around him jump from not noticing his presence, while the captain who's orders he had just said to ignore demanded angrily,

"And why the hell would we do that?" Paul just looked at the captain as if he was seeing him for the first time, and asked,

"Well, why would we just randomly attack them?" This time the captain looked at Paul as if he was the idiot before pointing at the flag pole and shouting,

"How about blatant disrespect towards our emperor!?" Paul rolled his eyes at him and said sarcastically,

"Yes, because these people are definitely in the wrong for not properly respecting the man who's responsible for destroying their lives, killing or enslaving their friends and family, and who's men have made it their own little game to ensure they're as miserable as possible every single day." When he heard this the captain was completely red in the face with anger as he slowly demanded,

"Are you criticizing his imperial majesty?" Paul deadpanned at him since he was well aware that the only reason dark mages, like the crew around him, followed Darius was because they were able to obtain power over the common people by doing so, not from loyalty.

"No, I'm just pointing out how it's obvious that people will never respect a person who directly caused their suffering, instead they will only fear and hate him. So why wouldn't they take the first chance they get to try and rebuild their lives?" Paul didn't necessarily care about the civilians circumstances, but he did understand how people behaved to an extent, and why they'd do the things they did. So he considered it only natural that those who had suffered under Darius's control would try to rebuild their lives once the chance presented itself.

However the captain and the rest of the crew didn't see things like that.

They were mostly made up of the Black Collar guild, so they couldn't help but get angry when they saw the people they had lorded over going about their business without a care in the world. Paul however couldn't give a damn what they thought, they were there to escort him to Hargeon and nothing else.

However, proving their own hypocrisy regarding respect, one of the crew mates suddenly leapt forwards and thrust his hands out while summoning a large blast of fire, making Paul sigh as the flames made their way towards him.

"They never learn..." He muttered to himself as he held out his own hands at he oncoming flames, only to 'catch' them before they reached him. Time seemed to slow then as Paul's hands started blurring slightly and a strange membrane seemed to form around the flames, preventing them from escaping his grasp.

The rest of the crew watched in awe as the flames he held seemed to slowly diminish, until they vanished in his hands altogether. Silence descended upon them as everyone held their breath in anticipation of what Paul would do next, before he simply said,

"Thank you for the energy, but I'm afraid I'll have to return some of it." With the aura around him becoming exceptionally sinister at the second half of his statement, Paul held up a finger before a small mass of energy formed at its tip.

Without a single sound it traveled faster than anyone could see before it imbedded itself in the chest of his attacker, leaving a golf ball sized hole in his body with singe marks around it. Everyone then watched in horror as the hole started spreading across his chest in every direction, every place it spread to turning to ash and dust.

Within seconds the man's entire body and clothes crumbled away into nothing, before the small patch of dust that was left blew away in the wind.

"Now then-" A voice said from behind the captain, making him and everyone else around him jump, except the back of the captain's neck was firmly gripped in Paul's hand. He then continued,

"-shall we discuss the terms of our time together again captain?" The captain shuddered at the question, the image of his crew mate turning to ash fresh in his mind, before it turned briefly to the same thing happening to him from the back of his neck.

Taking his silence as agreement, Paul then continued, "I needed you and your crew to ferry me to Hargeon because you told us that you had captured Lucy Heartfilia and were holding her here, however I have my own way of returning with my quarry if need be, meaning that now that we are Hargeon I no longer need any of you.

"From this point forward there are two scenarios that can play out. The first one is that I kill you and your entire crew, sink your ship, and then use my alternative method to return once I verify the situation in town. The second scenario is that you all shut up and do as I say, when I say it. Then, when I return to the Gardens, regardless of method, I can report to the Dark Emperor about how skilled and capable sailors you are, and that you are a very valuable asset to the empire.

"So, which scenario should we go with?"

Obviously the captain didn't hesitate to choose which option he preferred, but he did hesitate to voice it out loud lest he anger Paul some more. Sensing this, Paul flashed a vicious smile before whispering to him,

"Smart choice." Paul then released his hold on the captains neck, before turning back towards shore and saying,

"Now then, shall we head to shore?" Though it took a second, the captain quickly gave the order for them to enter the harbor. Paul smirked as they jumped to make sure he didn't revert to the first option that he had given them, a scarily possible scenario considering the majority had already lost track of him thanks to his second ability.

Paul then made his way to the railing of the ship once more, and placed his hands on it before activating this same ability once more. Though nothing seemed to happen at first, the effects of his actions was noticeable when no one seemed to notice the ship that had inspired fear in the citizens of Hargeon for years pulled into port.

He then turned back towards the captain and the crew before saying,

"I'll be going to shore alone, remain ready to cast off when I return since I shouldn't be too long." Without waiting for their reply, as the majority of the crew mates were flinching from suddenly seeing him again, Paul casually stepped down onto the gangplank before going ashore.

With his ability to completely conceal his presence no one even noticed him as he casually began walking amongst the people there, or even when he stole a cloak to disguise himself as a refugee. After dirtying himself up so that he looked as if he had spent several weeks on the road, Paul wandered from person to person to ask them questions about the town's revival.

Very quickly he confirmed his original conclusion that the ones responsible for Hargeon was not Fairy Tail, despite the people's insistence that it was the famous guild that helped them. First of all was due to the fact that no one at Fairy Tail was capable of the things the people told him about, instantly restoring the entire town to its prime in seconds, instantly healing the myriad of wounds that had afflicted the people for years, and supplying them with everything they needed to rebuild their lives.

The second clue was that no one in Hargeon had even seen a single member of Fairy Tail, which Paul knew would've been impossible if anyone from the guild had been there. Lucy aside, every single member of Fairy Tail was extremely conspicuous in their actions, to the point that Natsu alone would often destroy several buildings during almost every job he took.

To try and learn even more, Paul then decided to head to the place where all of this supposedly happened, the former guild hall of Black Collar. The people he questioned had already informed Paul that the guild hall that had represented the oppression they suffered under for years was completely gone, and was instead replaced with what appeared to be a great stage where all of the food and supplies they were given was left.

When he arrived though the great stage had been transformed into a place where refugees that had heard about Hargeon's restoration were staying, and was covered in tents and various other temporary homes. Frowning at the sight, this time Paul closed his eyes and focused for a moment, before opening them to see the world around had taken on a duller grey look.

Along with his concealment ability and being able to absorb and use any type of energy, Paul was what could be referred to as a 'Greywalker'. Greywalkers were people who from a certain world that were considered to be powerful spirit mediums, but their abilities were far more than that.

According to the laws of that world 'ghosts' were simply lingering echoes of people when they were alive, 'memories' that were rarely able to take on a consciousness. Greywalkers were not only able to interact with these echoes, but were even able to do the same things they could to some extent, and each time they 'died' the Greywalker could come back with a brand new ability, up to a certain number of times of course.

One example of what they were able to do was that they could voluntarily travel backwards through the echoes of time to see things and possibly interact with the people there themselves, to a limited extent of course. This was also what allowed 'ghosts' to do things like walk through walls, as in the echoes they still existed in there was a door or something there instead of a wall.

Paul primarily used his ability to gather information or infiltrate places that should've been impossible to get into, as he simply needed to find a point in time when the door was open, or the defenses were down to enter any place unimpeded and unmolested.

He did the same thing now, slipping through the echoes of time until he arrived at the point right before the stage went up, and the guild hall of Black Collar still stood. Paul then walked through the stage that still existed in the present as if he himself was ghost, before slipping through the opened door to find a muscular man sitting at the bar while surrounded by several very beautiful women.

Though it was a recent event Paul could barely make out what the group was saying as they talked, their voices sounding muffled and dull. That didn't mean he couldn't hear everything they were saying though, as the man turned towards the silver haired maid at his side and said something, during which Paul caught the word 'Asora'.

With this particular word catching his attention for some reason, Paul waited as several other things were said between them, as well a dark skinned woman, before the maid was suddenly enveloped by a cloud of mist. Seized by a sudden suspicion, Paul didn't hesitate as he too stepped towards the cloud of mist, only for him to find himself standing in the middle of an entirely new place.

Looking around at the place he found himself in, Paul smiled widely as he muttered to himself,

"So this must be Asora!"

He then began to wander around as he started to explore to learn even more about this strange place.

***

"Edith, be careful!" Gabriel called out with a warm smile as she watched her daughter excitedly play with the other children, her white sundress billowing around her while her blond pigtails bounced as she ran.

Currently they were at a park that had recently been built in Asora, which was the first time Edith had ever been able to go out and play with other children due to how young she was. Gabriel's smile widened as she watched Edith run around excitedly, along with her siblings Mai and Myuu. Beside her was Koneko and Remia, both of who were also happily watching their daughters play.

By now Edith and Mai were both about three years old due to the amount of time they would spend with Alex in the space-time orb, while Myuu was approaching her sixth birthday. All three were excitedly awaiting the day that Alex came home, but until then their mothers were trying to keep them preoccupied by bringing them to the new park.

"So do you have any ideas Gabriel?" Remia asked suddenly, making Gabriel glance at her before sighing slightly and saying,

"Grayfia said she wasn't sure when they'd return, but hopefully it'll be soon." The other two women nodded in agreement as they anxiously awaited the day their husband would return, along with those that went with him of course.

Together they he trio chatted while their daughters happily played until it was about time for lunch, when they got out the picnic basket they brought with them.

"Edith, Myuu, Mai, time for lunch!" Gabriel called out as she helped set the food out on a picnic table with Remia and Koneko. When only the two latter ones came running though Gabriel frowned and asked,

"Where's Edith?" Mai tilted her head cutely and only replied with cute, yet confused, "Nya?" Myuu however frowned and said,

"I thought she was just here...?" When she noticed Edith wasn't around Myuu showed a worried expression, as, despite her young age, she took her role as a 'big sister' very seriously.

"Edith!" Gabriel cried out a little bit worriedly, to no avail.

"I-I sure she's fine somewhere Gabriel." Remia quickly tried to reassure her, while Koneko closed her eyes and began trying to find Edith's aura from those around them. Gabriel however had a bad feeling and was growing increasingly panicked with each passing second as she cried out even louder,

"Edith!!!"

By this point the other parents at the park started becoming alerted to what was happening, and also began looking for Edith.

Soon Gabriel had grown worried enough that she closed her eyes as well, and pulled on her divinity as 'Goddess Gabriel', even though she hated being considered a goddess. With her image being geared towards being the 'mother of all' in Tortus, that meant Gabriel could easily find her own children anywhere in the world, no matter how far.

However as she tried to sense Edith she couldn't feel a thing, meaning that either Edith was no longer in Asora, or someone was cloaking her from her senses. There was a third option as well, but Gabriel refused to even consider it as she became increasingly panicked.

"Have you seen Edith?!" She demanded of an angel who had simply been walking by, making the angel adopt a serious expression as he said,

"No lady Gabriel, is she missing?" Gabriel however didn't bother to answer him as she moved onto the next person, and the next, all stating that they haven't seen her daughter. With word spreading soon more and more people were joining the search, while Remia contacted Serafall, Yasaka, and Barakiel about the situation.

Soon all of Asora was alerted to Edith's disappearance and began helping to search for her, while Gabriel steadily became increasingly frantic as she tried to locate her missing daughter.

"Edith!"

"EDITH!"

"EDITTTTTTTTTTTTTTH!!!!!!"

She cried out at the top of her voice, even going so far as damaging her throat from how much she screamed, as a bit of blood trickled from the side of her mouth. Gabriel paid it no mind though as she continued to desperately search for her daughter.

***

Meanwhile a certain figure was once again walking through Hargeon, still in disbelief of his luck as he explored that place referred to as 'Asora'.

"Where's daddy!" His new companion demanded with all the attitude of a child her age, making Paul look down at the little girl in his arms that was dressed in a white sundress, her blond hair styled into pigtails.

Paul adopted the warmest smile he could muster as he said comfortingly, "Don't worry, you'll see your daddy soon. He and I are about to become the best of friends!"

He then eyed the long brown monkey tail hanging from her backside, taking it in his hands as he did so. Ignoring her squirming from the discomfort she felt at someone handling her tail, a vision floated before Paul's eyes.

He saw an army of tailed warriors arrayed and awaiting his orders, all bred and raised within something else he had discovered in Asora, the so-called space-time orbs. Imagining the power they'd wield compared to the pathetic dark mages they were currently allied with, Paul couldn't help but smile as he repeated quietly,

"The best of friends..."

He then resumed his walk to the ship he had arrived on, which he'd send back by themselves while he'd use the thing Darius had given him before leaving to instantly return with his prize.

(A.N. Title- The Ultimate Fuck up)