Year X775, Earth Land, Eastern Continent, somewhere in Ishgar.
A huge airship soared through the sky.
Inside a secret room aboard the airship, a tall, elderly man wearing a single eyepatch stood before a ten-year-old child dressed in a hood and face mask.
“Byakuran, you will be the one to bring the Dark Mage Zeref back to me.”
Byakuran slowly raised his head.
His pitch-black eyes met Hades’s gaze directly, without the slightest hint of emotion.
“Yes, Master!”
After receiving his orders, Byakuran slowly walked toward the door.
Once he reached the corner of the dark corridor and confirmed that no one was around, the lifeless look in his eyes finally disappeared.
He placed a hand over his heaving chest.
“Sending a ten-year-old kid to find Zeref? Why don’t you just send me to fight Sukuna while you’re at it?”
“But this is perfect. I can finally leave this damn guild fair and square. I’m finally going to be free!”
Byakuran was a transmigrator, and unfortunately, he had joined Grimoire Heart at a very young age.
The scene that had just taken place was the result of Hades suddenly having a flash of inspiration.
He had come to believe that Zeref had a deep connection with the First Master of Fairy Tail.
Since they wanted to find Zeref, his former guild, Fairy Tail, was naturally an important lead.
Therefore, Hades had dispatched his most trusted young member to infiltrate Fairy Tail and investigate any information regarding Zeref.
After all, Byakuran was still young, making it easy for him to gain Makarov’s trust.
At the same time, Byakuran had been born and raised within Grimoire Heart, so Hades trusted him deeply.
When Byakuran first transmigrated into this world, he was reborn as an infant.
And when his consciousness awakened, he found himself lying alone in the wilderness.
Right after transmigrating, Byakuran was completely numb.
What kind of situation was this?
Had he been abandoned immediately after birth?
Or had he transmigrated with his original body, only to somehow regress into an infant?
He had no idea.
But one thing was certain: if he stayed there for much longer, he would eventually become food for some wild beast.
Fortunately, just when he was about to despair, his cheat arrived.
Byakuran named it the Talent System.
Its function was simple.
It could randomly draw a unique ability from the new world he had transmigrated into, just like receiving an initial Pokémon.
But the strange thing was that, after all these years, Byakuran had discovered that this cheat only had a drawing function.
It had no traveling function whatsoever.
What kind of trashy, half-finished system was this?!
Fortunately, this world could also be considered a new world.
Not long after being reborn as an infant, Byakuran discovered the system and performed his first ability draw.
And what he received was a golden legend—
[Infinite Magic Power]
The moment he obtained [Infinite Magic Power], a terrifying surge of magical power erupted from infant Byakuran’s body.
The overwhelming magical tide snapped the towering trees around him, tore through the clouds in the sky, and caused a massive disturbance in the heavens and earth.
However, it was precisely this disturbance that attracted the attention of an airship flying nearby, prompting the people aboard to investigate.
Fortunately, although [Infinite Magic Power] could provide him with an endless supply of magical power, Byakuran’s body was still nothing more than a fragile infant.
It was like trying to draw water from an ocean through a tiny pipe.
No matter how much water was available, only a small stream could flow through at a time.
As for the initial disturbance in the heavens and earth, it was more like the flashy special effects that appeared when drawing an SSR.
Only after Byakuran’s magical capacity grew large enough would the true power of [Infinite Magic Power] be revealed.
Therefore, when the members of Grimoire Heart found Byakuran, they never realized that he had been responsible for the disturbance.
They simply assumed he was an ordinary abandoned child with considerable magical talent and brought him back to Grimoire Heart, adopting him as a potential future member.
Being taken in by Grimoire Heart could even be considered a blessing.
At the very least, it saved his life and solved his immediate problem of survival.
It was only after living in Grimoire Heart for some time that Byakuran discovered he had transmigrated into the world of Fairy Tail.
The good news was that he had watched the anime in his previous life.
He had quite enjoyed the friendships and passionate adventures of the main cast, and he had always thought this world was incredibly exciting.
The bad news?
He had somehow been given a starting point in the villain faction.
Even worse, in his previous life, he had only watched as far as the Tartaros arc.
Most of the events afterward were things he had only seen through scattered short videos.
He had some knowledge of the future, but not nearly as much as he would have liked.
Fortunately, he had a cheat.
So the situation shouldn’t be too bad.
However, although Infinite Magic Power was an ability that defied the heavens, it couldn’t make Byakuran instantly invincible.
The ability was more like having a power bank with an infinite supply of energy.
How much power he could actually release at once still depended on the size of his own magical container.
To put it another way, imagine that Byakuran himself was a small pistol.
Infinite Magic Power would give him infinite bullets.
If Byakuran eventually became an enormous cannon, then he would have an infinite supply of artillery shells.
But the newly transmigrated Byakuran couldn’t even be considered a small pistol.
He hadn’t even learned any magic yet.
The future was promising, but for now, he still needed to keep a low profile.
…
Life in Grimoire Heart, however, was truly miserable.
If Byakuran had to summarize it in one sentence, it would be:
“I often feel out of place among you people because I’m not perverted enough.”
One had to understand what kind of people made up Grimoire Heart.
There was Master Hades, who had fallen completely into darkness.
His heart had become twisted to the extreme, and he firmly believed that absolute power and the abyss of black magic were the ultimate answers to the world.
Under Hades’s extreme brainwashing and manipulation, the members of the guild had also become a group of arrogant individuals with twisted hearts who treated human life as worthless.
One by one, they had been fooled and corrupted by Hades’s delusion of an Ultimate Magic World—a world where everyone could fulfill their wishes at will.
If such a wonderful world really existed, why wouldn’t Zeref create it himself?
Would it ever be their turn?
Blinded by this illusory goal, the members of Grimoire Heart completely lacked any sense of camaraderie.
They killed and plundered without the slightest burden on their consciences.
In such an environment, getting stabbed in the back by one of their own at any moment wouldn’t have been surprising at all.
Fortunately, Byakuran possessed the consciousness of an adult from his previous life.
Since Hades and the others only used relatively mild brainwashing and manipulation techniques on him because he was a child, Byakuran managed to avoid being completely turned into a madman who viewed human life as worthless.
However, blending into an environment that was completely incompatible with his previous identity as an ordinary law-abiding citizen was extremely difficult.
Byakuran was constantly under tremendous psychological pressure.
He always wore a hood and mask to prevent anyone from noticing something strange about his expressions.
He was terrified that if he accidentally failed to maintain a straight face, he would attract unnecessary trouble.
Environment changes people.
If he remained in such an environment for too long, it would inevitably affect him.
Furthermore, Hades’s goal required an infinite source of magical power.
Apart from the source beneath the Fairy Tail guild, Byakuran himself was also an infinite source of magical power.
If Hades ever discovered the truth, Byakuran’s situation would become even worse.
Therefore, Byakuran had always wanted to escape.
But defecting from such a powerful organization was no easy task.
If Grimoire Heart hunted him down, Byakuran, who was still young, wouldn’t have much ability to resist.
So he could only learn magic while patiently waiting for an opportunity.
He carefully pretended to be an ordinary child with exceptional magical talent, quietly surviving within Grimoire Heart.
And now, he had suddenly been given a mission to infiltrate Fairy Tail.
This was simply perfect!
He accepted the mission.
He would handle the undercover work.
As for whether he would ever return…
That was another matter entirely.
If Hades discovered something was wrong and came looking for him in the future, Byakuran could simply claim that, in order to become a perfect undercover agent, he had used memory magic to erase his own memories of being a member of Grimoire Heart.
Surely Makarov wouldn’t send him back to Grimoire Heart as an undercover agent again after that.
…
Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
At the end of a street stood an imposing three-story villa-style building.
A dome crowned the top of the building, with a flag planted proudly at its peak.
Three eye-catching flags hung from the outer wall of the third floor.
Above the heart-shaped front door was a huge, artistic signboard bearing bold, unruly letters:
[Fairy Tail]
Standing before the entrance, Byakuran felt a mixture of emotion and excitement.
He had finally arrived at the legendary Fairy Tail.
At this moment, Byakuran had removed his hood and mask, revealing a handsome little boy with black hair and black eyes.
A surge of anticipation welled up inside him.
“This is the kind of place where I should have started.”
Byakuran pushed open the door and entered.
The first-floor lobby was furnished with numerous wooden tables and chairs.
People were scattered around the room, drinking, chatting, and competing with one another over their drinks.
At a table near the entrance sat a pompadour-haired man wearing sunglasses and a blue-haired, spiky-haired man.
The two were arguing with a half-naked brat standing beside them.
The lobby wasn’t exactly quiet, but compared with the constant house-destroying chaos Byakuran remembered from the future, it still seemed somewhat lacking.
Then again, it was only X775.
Erza, Natsu, Mira, and the others hadn’t joined Fairy Tail yet.
The guild wasn’t yet the number-one guild in Fiore, so naturally, it wasn’t quite as lively.
Byakuran walked through the hallway and headed straight toward the counter.
Sitting behind the counter was an extremely short old man wearing a jester’s hat.
He held a wooden wine glass in one hand.
When he saw Byakuran approach, the old man blinked in confusion.
“Child, what brings you to Fairy Tail? Are you here to post a request?”
“Hello, Grandpa. I want to join the guild! Is this where I apply?”
Makarov was slightly surprised.
He looked over the quiet child standing before him.
Although the boy seemed calm, there was also a trace of maturity in his demeanor.
Makarov scratched his head and chuckled helplessly.
“Haha, this old man is the master of Fairy Tail—Makarov. You’ve certainly come to the right person if you want to join the guild.”
“But joining a guild isn’t child’s play. A mage’s job can be very dangerous!”
“Where are your family members? Do they know you’ve come here? If you ran away from home after arguing with your parents, this old man can’t simply take you in. They must be worried sick about you.”
Byakuran’s expression remained calm.
He casually replied as though he were talking about something completely insignificant.
“Don’t worry about that. I have no family left in this world.”
“So I need to join a guild and take on requests to make a living.”
Makarov was stunned for a moment.
Looking at the child who was completely alone yet seemed strangely unconcerned about it, a trace of natural concern appeared in his eyes.
He put down his wine glass.
Then his mouth split into a wide grin.
“Of course there’s no problem with you joining the guild!”
“Fairy Tail always welcomes children who want to become part of our family.”
As he spoke, Makarov pulled a magical stamp bearing the guild crest from inside his clothes.
“Come on. Tell this old man your name. What color do you like, and where would you like the Fairy Tail mark stamped?”
Byakuran naturally raised his right hand.
“My name is Byakuran.”
“As for the color, let’s go with white. I’d like it stamped on the back of my right hand.”
Makarov skillfully pressed the stamp onto the back of Byakuran’s hand.
The white Fairy Tail emblem instantly appeared, emitting a faint magical glow.
On this ordinary afternoon, the protagonist officially became a member of Fairy Tail.
“Emmm… It feels a little too casual joining like this.”
“Don’t you need to test my magic or something?”
Seeing the serious yet slightly bewildered expression on the little boy’s face, Makarov blinked.
Then he suddenly threw his head back and burst into hearty laughter.
“Ha… Hahaha!”
“Kid, what do you think this place is? The admissions office of a magic academy?”
Byakuran’s ears buzzed from the old man’s sudden laughter.
A rare look of speechlessness flashed across his face.
He blinked and answered with complete seriousness.
“…Isn’t it?”
“I thought you’d at least confirm whether I’m a mage or make me fill out an application form or something.”
“The magical power in your body is more than enough to prove that you’re a mage.”
“This old man won’t ask where you came from. As long as you wear this mark, you are family.”
“If anyone dares to lay a hand on you, they’ll be going against the entire guild.”
With that, Makarov nimbly jumped back onto the counter.
He raised his wine glass high and shouted at the crowd in the lobby at the top of his lungs.
“Hey! Listen up, everyone! This old man has something important to announce!”
The noisy sounds of drinking and conversation in the lobby suddenly fell silent.
A little girl wearing a green dress looked over from the distance.
At the table near the entrance, the pompadour-haired man wearing sunglasses lifted his chin.
The blue-haired man still had some wine hanging from his lips.
Meanwhile, the half-naked brat beside them stood on his tiptoes, trying to get a better look at what was happening at the counter.
“Starting today, Fairy Tail has gained a new family member!”
“His name is—Byakuran!”
“He’s ten years old, so please take good care of him from now on!”
“Ten years old?!”
Macao, the blue-haired man, nearly choked on his wine.
“Master, did you take in another brat?”
“What do you mean by ‘another’?”
Makarov glared at him before chuckling.
“This old man calls it recognizing talent.”
“Byakuran, from now on, everyone here is your companion.”
Wakaba, the pompadour-haired man wearing sunglasses, whistled and lifted his chin toward Byakuran.
“Heh, kid. You’re pretty composed.”
“Unlike some people who start shouting about picking a fight the moment they walk through the door.”
“Who are you talking about?!”
Gray, the half-naked brat, immediately exploded.
“Alright, let this old man repeat one of Fairy Tail’s rules.”
“In Fairy Tail, there are no outsiders.”
“From the moment the crest is stamped onto you, you become each other’s family and each other’s backing.”
“Byakuran, you’re no exception.”
“Everyone, welcome him!”
“Welcome!”
Scattered voices rang throughout the guild hall.
Although the response wasn’t particularly loud or uniform, it carried a genuine warmth.
Some members waved in acknowledgment.
Some raised their glasses in welcome.
Others simply smiled and nodded toward Byakuran.
Standing beside the counter and facing everyone, Byakuran couldn’t tell whether he was nervous or excited.
A smile appeared on his face.
He bowed slightly and somewhat awkwardly before speaking in a clear voice.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Byakuran.”
“Please take care of me from now on!”