Chapitre 28: Reunion

Earth Land, Ishgar, Isvan, Unnamed Village.

August, x774.

While Deliora regenerated its chin, Gildarts turned back to look at the woman he had just saved. Surprised to see how beautiful she was, Gildarts quickly shook his head to get any untoward thoughts he was having out of his head.

Meanwhile, the woman, Ur, stared at Gildarts in disbelief. Although she found it unbelievable that the man in front of her could injure Deliora with a simple magic power infused uppercut, what she really found unbelievable was the sight of the little girl he was carrying on his back.

Though she had not seen her in several years, Ur knew immediately that the girl the man in front of her was carrying on his back was her daughter, who she had believed was dead for years.

"Ul... tear?" Ur muttered as she began to tear up. "But they said... you were..."

Unable to finish her sentence, Ur rushed toward Gildarts and pulled the little girl, Ultear, from Gildarts back and wrapped her in a tight hug.

Ur's daughter, Ultear, as previously stated, had been left in the care of the Bureau of Magical Development when she came down with a disease that none of the doctors in Isvan could find a cure to.

During their initial investigations into the disease, the scientists at the Bureau discovered that Ultear was not sick in the normal sense. Instead, they found that she was producing more magic power than her young body could handle.

So, in order to keep a promising test subject, the next time Ur showed up to check on Ultear's condition, the scientist that received her the first time told Ur that Ultear had died. Then, he refused to allow Ur to see the body. Making up an excuse of possible contagions.

So, Ur left the facility heartbroken. Meanwhile, Ultear was kept unaware of her mother's visit. Then, over the next few years, the scientists were able to strengthen Ultear's body enough to safely contain her large amount of magic power.

At that point, Ultear escaped from the facility forcefully, injuring many of the scientists and guards that tried to stop her. However, she did not kill any of the scientists or guards. But when Gildarts found her, she was in fact, going back to the facility to kill everyone there and destroy the facility to punish them for all the painful experiments they put her through.

Back in the present, Ultear was confused by the reaction she was getting from Ur.

'Why is she crying?' Ultear thought to herself. 'Didn't she forget me? Didn't she replace me with those two boys? Speaking of those two boys, where are they?'

Before Ultear could put her questions into words, however, Gildarts spoke up.

"I'm sure there is a really touching story here." Gildarts said with a doting, fatherly smile. "I know what it means to find a long lost child of yours. But things are about to get dangerous. So, I think the two of you should take some distance. I'll kill this thing, then we can talk."

Using one hand to wipe away her tears, Ur looked at Gildarts once again. Then, she nodded without saying a word. After that, she carried Ultear away and took refuge with Lyon and Gray.

When the mother-daughter pair arrived next to Ur's two pupils, Ultear looked at them with a combination of curiosity and hostility. Although she knew that Ur had not forgotten her as she had thought initially, she still thought that these boys were the reason why she never came to get her from the facility.

Once again, before she could put her thoughts into words, she was interrupted.

*Roar!*

After hearing that roar, all four of the onlookers snapped their heads in the direction of Deliora, who had finished regenerating, and the unfamiliar man who had just saved Ur.

"Ultear, do you know who that man is?" Ur asked in a tender, loving tone.

When they heard Ur's question, both Lyon and Gray turned their attention toward the girl in her arms. However, when they heard what Ur called the girl, they opened their eyes wide.

"Master, did you just called her... Ultear?" Gray asked in a shocked tone.

"Isn't that your daughter's name?" Lyon asked. "But you told us she died a long time ago."

Hearing that, ultear was confused.

'I died?' Ultear questioned internally.

"Yes, that's what I told you." Ur replied, turning her gaze toward her pupils. "Because that' what the scientists at the Bureau of Magical Development told me."

Hearing Ur's explanation, Ultear frowned deeply.

'I should have killed them all.' Ultear thought. 'If I ever see any of them again, I'm going to make them regret separating me from my mother.'

"But that's not important right now, we can talk about that later." Ur said, turning her attention back to her daughter. "Ultear, can you tell me who that man is? And how did you end up traveling with him?""

After hearing her mother say her name, Ultear shook off the dark thoughts that were invading her mind. Then, she looked into her mother's eyes and answered the question.

"He found me after I passed out on the road." ultear said, thinking it would be better to not tell her mother that she ran away after seeing her teaching her two pupils. "And when I woke up, he said his name was Gildarts Clive of Fairy Tail."

While Lyon, Gray, and Ultear did not know the weight the name "Gildarts Clive" carried with it, Ur, an experienced, retired S-Class wizard was more than familiar with it.

'Gildarts, huh? Time's really caught up with him. But if Gildarts is here, I wonder if the other two are nearby.' Ur thought with a fond smile on her face. 'I'm surprised he didn't try to hit on me like he did last time, though. I wonder what has changed over the last ten years.'

*Roar!*

Once again, as Deliora finally stood up, it roared again, causing the quartet's attention to snap toward the battlefield again.

While Ur, Lyon, Gray, and Ultear were talking, Gildarts stood still, allowing Deliora to regenerate. When he was approaching, he could sense the demon's strength. So, he knew that it posed no threat to him in terms of magic power. However, he did not know all of its tricks, so he did not think it was a good idea to just rush in. Even if Deliora had been knocked to the ground with a serious injury.

"So, you can regenerate, huh?" Gildarts muttered to himself after Deliora's last roar. "I guess that will make this a little more difficult. But I can handle it."

While Gildarts was muttering to himself, Deliora prepared yet another energy beam. However, unlike last time, it was conscious of Gildarts' presence. So, it would not be sneak attacked again.

Gildarts also had no intention of sneak attacking Deliora again. Instead, he waited for Deliora to fire its attack while channeling his [Crash Magic], a destructive Caster Magic that is able to breakdown both physical objects and magic, around his right fist.

Then, when Deliora finally fired the energy beam, Gildarts leapt toward it with his right fist cocked back.

"Crash Magic: Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean]." Gildarts muttered as he threw his fist forward just before he was struck by Deliora's attack.

As the two collided, the onlookers were shocked to see that Gildarts' punch was breaking down Deliora's attack as he neared the demon's face. Eventually, the entire attack was dispersed, and Gildarts' fist once again slammed into the demon's head, sending it flying.

This time, however, instead of just flying away, Deliora burst into hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller, doll-sized copies of itself that rained down to the ground.

Gildarts' attack was not done yet, though. As he fell toward the ground, Gildarts once again gathered his [Crash Magic] into his right fist. And once again, he cocked his fist back as he fell toward the area where all the small copies of Deliora had fallen.

"[Crash Magic: Mizuwari]." Gildarts said, chanting another spell.

With his hand imbued with his magic, Gildarts eventually slammed it into the ground where the Deliora copies were gathered.

*Boom!*

*Crack!*

When his hand hit the ground, a strong shockwave was sent out in all directions. This shockwave naturally struck all the copies of Deliora, many of which, were immediately disintegrated into dust. The rest were sent flying into the distance.

At the same time, cracks spread over the ground. Cracks that many of the Deliora copies that were sent flying fell into.

Wasting no time after he landed, Gildarts made sure to watch out for the cracks, so he did not lose his footing and began sending magic imbued punches into the small copies of the demon that remained on the surface.

In the next few minutes, Gildarts was able to destroy about half of the copies on the surface, his magic dismantling them into dust.

However, the effect of breaking a living being down into smaller copies of themselves was not only an involuntary one, but it was also a temporary one. And considering how strong Deliora was, it did not last as long as it usually would.

Eventually, all the still living copies of the demon began to gather. However, when Deliora was back to being just one being, once again, he was much smaller than he was at the beginning. Angered by this, Deliora once again gathered energy in its mouth, aiming the attack at Gildarts.

"*Sigh* You really are just a one-trick pony, huh?" Gildarts asked in an exasperated tone. "Whatever, I'm tired of this game. So, let's end this. [Crash Magic: All Crash]."

As Deliora fired another energy beam, Gildarts extended his palms toward deliora and fired his own beam of magical energy. Naturally, this magical energy was made of his [crash Magic]. And just like last time, Gildarts' attack broke down Deliora's beam as it traveled forward.

When the beam made contact with Deliora, instead of sending him flying or causing an explosion, the demon began to disintegrate, starting from the point of impact. Then, after thirty seconds or so, Deliora was nothing but a pile of dust that blew away with the wind.

Had Gildarts used that spell at the beginning of the battle, it would have injured Deliora at the most. However, since much of its total mass and magic power had been destroyed and dispersed earlier, this spell acted as a finishing move.

"That used up more magical power than I thought it would." Gildarts said as he began stretching his body. "I guess he was much more durable than I thought originally. Well, I guess that makes sense, I had to disintegrate him faster than he could regenerate, after all."

After he finished stretching, instead of looking back to see if the woman and girl were okay, Gildarts smiled a big, goofy smile.

"Whatever, it will all be worth it when I can see my princess again. Hahaha!" Gildarts said before laughing uproariously in a joyful manner.

"You've changed a lot since I saw you last, Gildarts." Ur said as she carried Ultear while leading Lyon and Gray toward Gildarts, who was laughing loudly.

"Huh?" Gildarts stopped laughing abruptly as he turned back to the approaching group. "Do I know you, pretty lady?"

"Never mind, I guess you haven't changed as much as I thought." Ur said while shaking her head. "It has been a while, though. So, I'm not surprised that you don't remember me."

Hearing that, Gildarts stared at Ur for a while as he searched through his memories. Then, in a moment of epiphany, he opened his eyes wide.

"You're Ur, right?" Gildarts asked with a smile. "Ur Milkovich."

"I guess Bianca was right." Ur said with a smile. "You're the kind of womanizer who will never forget a pretty girl."

Contrary to what she expected, Gildarts didn't shout about Bianca dragging his name through the mud. Instead, he wore a sad expression with an even sadder smile.

"You have no idea what I wouldn't give to hear her say that one more time." Gildarts said in a sad tone.

Hearing that, Ur opened her eyes wide.

"Does that mean she's...?" Ur asked.

"Yeah, she was killed by Zeref cultists almost four years ago." Gildarts said, answering Ur's unfinished question. "They got her and Orlando."

Hearing that news, Ur fell silent, a somber expression making it onto her face.

Although Ur had never been a part of any guild, she was a well-known independent wizard with quite the reputation. In the past, she had worked with Bianca, Orlando, and Gildarts on many quests. She eventually retired when she got married.

"They're kids survived, though." Gildarts said, trying to smile more happily. "And they joined Fairy Tail."

"I guess that's good news." Ur said, still sad to hear about her old friends' death.

"Hey, why don't you come back with me to magnolia." Gildarts suggested. "Even if you don't want to join the guild, it would be good for the kids you have with you. On top of that, I'm sure seeing Bianca and Orlando's kids will cheer you up a little. My little girl is there, too."

Hearing that Gildarts had a daughter was even more surprising than hearing about Bianca and Orlando's deaths to Ur, though not quite as impactful. However, when she saw the doting smile he wore on his face, she smiled involuntarily.

"I never thought I'd hear that you had a child, Gildarts." Ur said.

"*Sigh* It's not a story I'm proud to tell." Gildarts said with a wry smile. "But that girl means everything to me."

"Now that's a story I would like to hear." Ur said with a smile.

"Well, if you come back to magnolia with me, I'll tell you." Gildarts said with a crafty smile.

"*Sigh* Fine." Ur said. "Let's go back to my house first, though. Gray, Lyon, and I have things to pack."

L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
SixthSense1029

2/2

I should be back with 2 chapters tomorrow. They might be earlier than usual, though.

If you're interested, check out my other story, High School DxD: Scattered Cherry Blossoms.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story.

Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.

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Chapitre 29: Gildarts' Return

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

August, x774.

Early in the morning, Magnolia's residents were preparing for another productive day. However, their early morning preparations were disturbed by an announcement.

{"Citizens of Magnolia, we advise that you please return to your homes."} A stern female voice rang out over the public broadcasting system in the town. {"In exactly three minutes, the Gildarts shift will be in effect. I repeat..."}

This naturally caused all the civilians to stop what they were doing and return to their homes, dragging anything of value back into their homes with them.

Meanwhile, at the Fairy Tail guild hall, Alfonzo had just finished his breakfast shift in the kitchen a few minutes ago. So, instead of cooking, he was sitting with Elicia, Cana, Laki, Alzack, Levy, Jet, and Droy, with the latter two glaring at him warily, enjoying breakfast.

Hearing the announcement, the Fairy Tail wizards who were in the guild hall were surprised. Gildarts had not even left a year ago. The last time Gildarts left it took him almost three years to return. Seeing as he had taken a Ten Years Quest, that made sense. What the guild members did not know, however, was that Gildarts only took an S-Class quest this time around.

"Daddy's back!" Cana shouted excitedly, raising her fork with a slice of pancake skewered on it in the air.

"What job did he take again?" Alfonzo asked curiously while he cut his steak and cheese omelet.

"I asked him to help the people in Isvan." Cana replied before stuffing the pancake into her mouth. "Dere wav a momphtah destwoying viwabis." (There was a monster destroying villages.")

Hearing that, Alfonzo and Elicia exchanged glances. They were both thinking back to the same event. Then, they had a short conversation through eye contact.

Alfonzo: Do you think he went to kill Deliora?

Elicia: Definitely.

Alfonzo: I wonder if he saved Ur.

Elicia: I hope so. She died because of Gray's stupidity. So, she deserved to be saved.

Alfonzo: I agree.

With their short conversation concluded, Alfonzo and Elicia nodded in satisfaction at their deductions. However, Cana, who had watched the exchange, pouted enviously. Then, as a show of her discontent, she reached to her right, toward Elicia's plate, and speared one of the strawberries from the top of Elicia's stack of pancakes.

"Ahh! Cana, why!?" Elicia shrieked. Then, she watched in horror as Cana stuffed the strawberry into her mouth. "My strawberry! No~~~~~!"

While most of the people at the table began to chuckle at Elicia's over-the-top reaction, Alfonzo began to worry. It was obvious to him that Cana had caught feelings for him a while ago. The worrying thing about that, however, was Cana's jealousy. It had also been clearly growing, too.

'*Sigh* I should probably have a talk with Lici about this.' Alfonzo thought to himself as Cana and Elicia bickered over the strawberry. 'We can't let this get outta hand. I know that neither of us wanna see Cana get hurt. And then there's... Gildarts... to worry about as well.'

Naturally, Alfonzo had never even considered giving up Elicia. He liked Cana well enough, especially since he had seen her in the anime in his past life. But Elicia was special to him. Unfortunately, Elicia was unpredictable at the best of times. So, he had no idea what her opinion on the matter would be.

{"Citizens of Magnolia, the Gildarts shift is starting... Now."} The same female voice announced over the town's speaker system.

"*Sigh* I hope he managed to keep property damage down to a minimum on this quest." Makarov said in a tone of lament. Then, he looked across the guild hall and raised his voice. "Alfonzo, my boy, could you come back to the kitchen when you're done eating, I'm sure Gildarts will want a good meal when he comes back."

"Sure thing, Gramps." Alfonzo replied with an okay hand gesture. "But you know this will cost you extra, right?"

About ten minutes later, the children were done with their food. Usually, they would go out to the guild hall's backyard to train. But since Gildarts was coming back, they decided that they could wait. So, instead of going to train, Alfonzo made his way back into the kitchen while everyone else sat in the guild hall to welcome Gildarts back.

While Elicia, Cana, Laki, and Alzack talked about Gildarts, Levy, Jet, and Droy felt a bit left out. Although they recognized the name, Gildarts, and knew that he was Cana's father, they had never met him before.

"So, what is Gildarts like?" Droy asked curiously. "I know he's the guild's ace, but that's all I know about him."

"Yeah, to be the strongest guild's ace, he must be really strong, right?" Jet added. "Sounds like he'd be pretty scary, too."

"Nah." Cana said, waving off Jet's concern. "He's a big ol' goof ball."

"A big ol' goof ball who destroys things by accident." Elicia added to Cana's explanation.

"He's afraid of Elicia, too." Laki added.

"Afraid of Elicia, why?" Levy asked in a surprised tone.

"Because she punched him in the junk." Alzack replied. "I can feel it every time I even think about it."

"*Sigh* I can't believe I missed that." Cana said with a giggle.

"Well, if you hadn't run away, I wouldn't have done it." Elicia said with a shrug. "But he deserved it."

*Crack!*

Around that time, the wall next to the guild's front entrance began to crack, causing Elicia's head to whip around toward the cracking sound. Then, as if the cause of the crack felt Elicia's glare, the cracks stopped expanding. A moment later, the guild's large wooden doors swung open.

Standing in the doorway was Gildarts. It was clear to anyone who saw him that he was slightly paler than usual with a forced smile on his face.

"Hey everyone, I'm back!" Gildarts shouted as he stepped into the guild hall.

With Gildarts' entrance, the guild erupted in cheers.

"And I brought some new members, too." Gildarts continued.

Once again, the Fairy Tail wizards cheered. And as they did, a group of three, a woman, a boy, and a girl, entered the guild hall behind Gildarts.

This group of three was Ur, Gray, and Ultear. Originally Lyon had traveled with them as well. However, seeing that Gildarts was stronger than Ur, he felt betrayed. He had made himself believe that Ur was the strongest wizard, so when he found out that there was someone stronger than her, he decided to split off from the group, when they entered Fiore, to find someone stronger to teach him magic.

Although Ur was disappointed to see Lyon go, she understood why he did so. So, she let him leave without a fuss. Ultear, on the other hand, was happy to see such an ungrateful kid leave. While Gray was a bit sad that he had to say goodbye to his friend.

"Gildarts, it's good to have you back." Makarov said from his spot atop the bar. "Why don't the four of you come on over, Alfonzo is in the kitchen. He'll take your orders."

"Alfonzo's in the kitchen at this time?" Gildarts asked in surprise. Then, he looked over his shoulder and spoke to Ur, Gray, and Ultear. "Looks like you're in for a treat, get ready for one of the best meals you've ever had."

During the trip from Isvan to Magnolia, Gildarts had talked about what they could expect in Fairy Tail with the trio. However, what he focused on the most was Cana, naturally. In a not so close second place were Alfonzo and Elicia. So, they had heard stories of how good Alfonzo's cooking was.

"Daddy!"

Before Gildarts and the other three could reach the bar, a dark brown haired bullet slammed into his chest. However, after hearing the cry that rang out just before impact, Gildarts was completely aware of the bullet's identity.

"I'm back, princess!" Gildarts said excitedly as he hugged Cana and began to spin in place. After a moment, Gildarts came to a stop with a laughing Cana in his arms.

"Did you help the people in Isvan?" Cana asked while hugging her father.

"Sure did." Gildarts replied as he began walking toward the bar again. "I even brought back some new and old friends."

"Hey, Gildarts, you didn't just call me old, did you?" Ur asked in a menacing tone.

Shivering at Ur's tone, Gildarts looked back with a wry smile on his face.

"Come on, Ur, you know that's not what I meant." Gildarts replied.

After that short conversation, Cana finally took a look behind Gildarts and saw the three new faces.

"Daddy, who are they?" Cana asked, pointing at Ur, Ultear, and finally stopping at Gray with a confused expression on her face. "And why is he only wearing his underwear?"

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Gray asked in a confused tone. "I'm not... Ah, where are my clothes?"

An instant later, Gray began searching frantically for his clothing. Meanwhile, Ur and Ultear could only sigh.

"Well, the pretty lady is Ur Milkovich. A friend of mine from back when I was on a team with Alfonzo's mom and Elicia's dad." Gildarts replied. "The little girl is ultear, Ur's daughter, she should be a year older than you. And the kid gathering his clothes is Gray. As for why he's wearing just his underwear, you'll have to ask Ur, I think."

"Don't put that evil on me, Gildarts Clive." Ur said angrily. "I didn't teach him to do that."

"Yeah, it's not Mom's fault." Ultear said, backing up her mother's complaint. "Lyon went through the same training, and he doesn't start stripping in public."

"No, it is Master's fault." Gray protested. "I never had this problem before I met her. If it wasn't for Master, I never would have had to strip in the first place."

"Order up!" Alfonzo shouted from the kitchen. "Four ham and cheese omelets with onions and green peppers."

Hearing that, Gildarts put Cana down and took his seat at the bar. Ur and Ultear followed shortly afterward. Then, after getting dressed, Gray also took a seat.

"Okay, Sweetie." Gildarts said to Cana. "I'll tell you all about my trip after I eat and talk to Master. But for now, I'm starving."

"Okay." Cana replied with a nod before scurrying off to sit with her friends.

A moment later, Alfonzo walked out from the kitchen carrying a large tray with four identical plates on it. Then, when he arrived behind the bar, a taller waitress took the tray from him and served the meals to the four waiting people.

"You must be Bianca's kid, huh?" Ur said, looking at Alfonzo from across the bar. "You have her eyes."

"Yes, I'm Alfonzo Marcus." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"Don't be so stiff, Kid." Ur said, waving at Alfonzo dismissively. "I'm Ur Milkovich. Your mother was one of my best friends during my career as a wizard, even if we only met occasionally. And she was never so formal."

"Then, should I call you, Auntie?" Alfonzo asked with a smile.

Ur could feel the veins in her forehead start to pop when she heard Alfonzo's question while Gildarts had to stifle laughter.

"Of course not." Ur replied through gritted teeth. "I'm only twenty-nine. I'm even younger than Bianca."

"But you said she was one of your best friends, right?" Alfonzo asked, making his way from behind the bar. "And if you were that close, you were like sisters, right. So, if you were my mom's sister, that would make you my aunt, right?"

Then, as soon as he was finished, Alfonzo sprinted away. His instincts were telling him that if he stuck around, he would get beat up. And knowing what he knew about Ur from the anime and manga, he knew that he was strong enough to be a Wizard Saint Candidate. So, he would have no chance to even fight back.

"That damn brat." Ur hissed out through gritted teeth. "He's definitely Bianca's son."

"Don't get angry, you should eat before the food gets cold." Makarov said with a smile. "Believe me when I tell you this, you're truly in for a treat."

Like that, Gildarts, Ur, Gray, and Ultear began to eat. While Gildarts smiled happily at the taste, Ur and Ultear moaned sensually. Gray, on the other hand, opened his eyes wide before shoveling the food down his throat. Then Gildarts began to discuss the details of the quest with Makarov.

L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
SixthSense1029

1/2

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but when I thought about all the free, grilled food and the people I would be enjoying it with, I would be having yesterrday, I couldn't concentrate on the story. So, I put it off until today.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story.

Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.

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