“Magic infusion complete! The Requip Magic card is finished!”
Byakuran excitedly raised the card in his hand, having successfully created his first practical magic card.
“Erza, thank you for being willing to engrave your magic into the card.”
Erza was breathing slightly heavily.
She was still young, and her magical power was limited.
Even though she had only assisted with the card’s creation while Byakuran had handled most of the work, it had still been quite exhausting for her.
“Don’t mention it. We’re all companions in the guild.”
After catching her breath, Erza suddenly asked,
“By the way, Byakuran, why did you choose to engrave my Requip Magic into the card? This magic doesn’t provide much of a direct boost to combat power, so it shouldn’t be very useful to you, right?”
“Magic doesn’t have to be combat-oriented to be useful.”
Byakuran smiled.
“Requip Magic is actually extremely powerful. The extra storage space alone is incredibly useful!”
Besides that, Byakuran had another idea.
Perhaps he could find some powerful armor in the future to compensate for his weakness in close combat.
His greatest advantage was the infinite firepower provided by his infinite magical power.
However, he didn’t possess any particular talent in terms of physical ability.
If he could compensate for that weakness through training, naturally, that would be ideal.
Unfortunately, after realizing that the results of his physical training were mediocre, he had decisively given up on it and instead focused on researching various types of magic to fully exploit the advantage provided by his immense magical power.
That was why he had begun considering external equipment to make up for his shortcomings.
The future Erza would become extremely powerful and possess a wide variety of armor that could enhance her abilities.
This proved that magical equipment in this world could indeed provide considerable strength.
Even if he couldn’t find suitable armor, Requip Magic would still be extremely useful simply as a form of spatial storage.
“Speaking of which, I’ve never actually seen your full strength, Byakuran.”
Erza looked at him curiously.
“Would you like to have a match with me and see?”
“Uh… no, no.”
Byakuran quickly shook his head.
“I don’t possess combat ability as formidable as yours.”
Erza didn’t seem to realize how frighteningly strong she was when she fought.
If Byakuran won, everything would be fine.
But if he lost…
He didn’t even want to imagine what would happen.
After all, they couldn’t simply bombard each other with powerful magic during a friendly spar.
Another year had passed since Erza joined the guild.
During that time, Gray had initially maintained his fighting spirit and continued challenging Erza almost every day.
However, on one particular occasion, Erza became so annoyed that she beat Gray half to death.
He had to be sent to Granny Porlyusica for treatment.
After that incident, even Gray had developed a certain fear of Erza.
Byakuran felt that his own fragile body probably couldn’t withstand such treatment.
“Is that so?”
Erza looked puzzled.
“But everyone in the guild says you’re very strong.”
“I simply have a lot of magical power, which allows me to cast large-scale magic.”
Byakuran shrugged.
“If large-scale magic can’t solve the problem, then my actual combat ability isn’t particularly impressive.”
“When sparring with guild members, I can’t use excessively powerful magic. And if I deliberately weaken my magic against an opponent, my combat ability is only enough to deal with ordinary mages.”
“I can’t compare with you guys.”
“I see.”
Erza nodded thoughtfully.
“Then never mind. We can’t use large-scale magic during a spar anyway, or we’d damage the guild.”
“Mm-hmm. Exactly.”
Byakuran stood up.
“I’m going to take on a job. Let’s leave it at that for today. Bye, Erza!”
With that, he hurriedly left the guild.
Once he was outside, Byakuran quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although watching Erza beat up Natsu and Gray in the anime had been hilarious, it certainly wouldn’t be funny if he were the one getting beaten up.
Without him realizing it, the year had already reached X777.
And this was the year when something major was going to happen.
Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, and the other Dragon Slayers would travel from four hundred years in the past to the modern era.
Lucy’s mother, Layla, would fulfill the destiny passed down through their ancestor Anna from four hundred years ago by opening the Eclipse Gate and bringing the Dragon Slayers into the present era.
However, because Aquarius’s key could not be delivered in time, Layla would be forced to open the gate by sacrificing her own life.
That tragedy would also lead to the subsequent destruction of Lucy’s family.
If Layla hadn’t died prematurely, Lucy’s father, Jude, might not have fallen into paranoia and pushed his daughter away.
And after the Tenrou Island arc, father and daughter wouldn’t have been separated by death without even having the chance to see each other one last time.
Before transmigrating, Byakuran had only watched Fairy Tail up to the Tartaros arc.
For various reasons, he hadn’t continued watching afterward.
Still, he remembered some of the later plot because he had encountered discussions about it online.
Now that he had the opportunity to correct some of those regrets, it was naturally best to do so whenever possible.
As for how to accomplish it…
Although Byakuran knew that Aquarius’s key was somewhere on the West Continent, he didn’t know its exact location and had no way to retrieve it.
But replenishing the magical power needed to open the Eclipse Gate was completely within his capabilities.
He could simply arrive shortly before the gate was opened and provide the additional magical power needed, allowing Lucy’s mother to avoid sacrificing her life.
However, if he wanted to interfere with the plan, he still had to prepare carefully.
After all, this was a grand four-hundred-year plan jointly established by the royal family and the Heartfilia family.
He couldn’t accidentally get himself dragged into it.
Based on Layla’s personality in the original story, meeting a child like Byakuran probably wouldn’t make her hostile toward him.
She might simply treat him as an ignorant child and let the matter go.
But that would be rather awkward and embarrassing.
His seemingly endless and enormous magical power was the perfect disguise.
Under normal circumstances, other people would only sense that he possessed an extraordinary amount of magical power.
But once he released that power, continuously drawing upon his infinite magical reserves, the resulting pressure would be enough to make ordinary people’s legs go weak.
If he needed to demonstrate his strength, this method would be far more effective than any verbal explanation.
Once people were intimidated, everything else would become much easier.
It was a pity that magical pressure didn’t possess the same ability as Conqueror’s Haki to directly knock ordinary people unconscious.
Otherwise, Byakuran really wanted to experience the scene of several people fainting every time he took a step forward.
Secondly, even if he encountered someone stubborn and aggressive enough to attack without saying a word, the current Byakuran wasn’t someone who could be easily bullied.
Being weak in close combat only meant that he had a weakness.
It didn’t mean he was truly weak.
As long as he didn’t encounter some ridiculously overpowered monster, he wouldn’t back down.
The Fiore royal palace wasn’t the Alvarez Empire, either.
The mages there were ordinary mages, not monsters of the highest caliber.
The only problem was that fighting would inevitably expose his magic.
Therefore, avoiding combat whenever possible was the best option.
Finally, he needed to prepare for hiding his identity.
Byakuran sorted through several magic cards that he normally carried with him—illusions, soundproofing, presence concealment, and so on.
When the time came, he would also use magic to alter his body shape and voice, ensuring that no one could recognize him by his appearance.
As for the experts on the royal palace’s side and the Heartfilia family’s side…
The royal palace’s strongest people were probably just a few executioners.
They had some strength, but they weren’t top-tier, likely capping out around S-Class level.
Layla, however, should be quite powerful if she could open three gates simultaneously.
Hmm…
Perhaps he could try to assist them peacefully.
The worst possible outcome would be a wasted trip.
The best outcome would be Layla surviving.
Even if his identity were exposed halfway through, there shouldn’t be much danger.
It was worth trying.
As for whether Lucy would still join Fairy Tail afterward…
That could be left to fate.
Byakuran casually made up an excuse about going out to train and left the guild.
On July 1, X777, he arrived in the capital of Fiore.
He planned to wait nearby for Layla’s group to appear.
However, he first needed to disguise himself before getting involved.
The first problem was his height.
A child’s height would be far too obvious.
Byakuran therefore used Nature Magic to temporarily mature his body, transforming himself into an adult physique.
A handsome young man soon appeared on the streets of the Fiore capital.
Immediately afterward, Byakuran purchased an outfit similar to what he had worn back when he was associated with Grimoire Heart.
Black clothes.
Black pants.
Black gloves.
A hooded trench coat.
And finally, a black mask that concealed his entire face except for his eyes.
With this appearance, even if he encountered Layla later, she shouldn’t be able to recognize him.
For the next two days, Byakuran hid near the royal palace at night, waiting for Layla and her group.
Eventually, he spotted them.
Their entourage was quite large.
There were servants, a butler, Layla, and even Jude.
Byakuran found the situation somewhat difficult to evaluate.
After all, this was an enormous event connected to the Age of Dragons four hundred years ago.
Yet the group consisted mostly of ordinary people and a few Celestial Spirit Mages.
If anything went wrong, they would have very little ability to respond.
As for the royal palace’s mages, they couldn’t even compare to the members of the Magic Council.
They were basically cannon fodder and couldn’t be relied upon if something happened.
Not to mention that the process of gathering the keys had been delayed until so close to the deadline that one of them couldn’t arrive in time.
It was an incredibly amateurish operation.
Especially considering that the Heartfilia family was a prestigious clan with a history spanning four hundred years.
Byakuran followed them for a while from the street corner, confirming that they were indeed heading toward one of the royal palace’s side gates.
The procession maintained a solemn atmosphere.
The butler remained vigilant at all times, while Jude stayed close to Layla with a tense expression.
Once they entered the royal palace, it would become much more difficult for Byakuran to get involved.
Negotiating with Layla would be far simpler than trying to negotiate with the royal family.
He needed a way to mingle with the group.
After thinking for a moment, he came up with an excuse.
Byakuran stepped directly out from the shadows of the alley.
From the group’s perspective, a suspicious figure dressed in a black coat had suddenly appeared in their path.
He wore a hood and a mask that concealed his face so completely that even his eyes were difficult to make out.
He blocked the procession.
“People of the Heartfilia family.”
Byakuran spoke.
His voice had been altered through magical vibrations, changing its tone and adding a faint echo.
It sounded exactly like the voice of a mysterious final boss.
“I am the person who has come to assist you in opening the Eclipse Gate.”
“You may call me…”
He paused dramatically.
The procession immediately came to a halt.
Everyone fell into a brief panic.
Jude abruptly pulled Layla closer to him.
“Who are you?”
Jude asked in a low voice.
“The area around the royal palace is no place for someone like you to wander around. Step aside.”
Byakuran ignored him.
“Layla.”
Layla gently pressed down on Jude’s arm and slowly stepped forward.
Her expression was solemn as she stared at the completely covered figure before her.
“Sir, the Eclipse Gate isn’t something that can be casually mentioned.”
“The fact that you know about it is already extremely unusual.”
Byakuran didn’t approach.
He simply stood where he was, spread his hands, and shrugged.
“The oath made four hundred years ago isn’t merely your family’s destiny.”
“You Heartfilias are only the executors on the surface.”
“There are also people hidden in the shadows, ensuring that this grand event proceeds perfectly.”
“I am one of those people.”
Byakuran spoke with absolute confidence, as though such a secret organization truly existed.
“If you were capable of completing the plan smoothly, I wouldn’t have appeared.”
“The reason I’ve come here now is precisely because you’ve made a mistake that shouldn’t have happened.”
Layla couldn’t help clenching her fists.
Her expression darkened slightly as she cautiously asked,
“What exactly do you mean by that, Your Excellency?”
“One of the twelve Golden Keys required to open the Eclipse Gate is missing, isn’t it?”
Byakuran looked straight at her.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Jude’s expression changed drastically.
His head snapped upward, his brows tightly furrowed.
“How do you know about the keys?”
“If I weren’t even aware of such a basic matter, how could I claim to be responsible for ensuring the perfect execution of this event?”
Byakuran answered calmly.
“I’ve already confirmed the source of the problem. That’s why I’ve come here.”
Layla’s fingertips tightened slightly against the side of her skirt.
This was indeed her mistake.
She hadn’t expected Grammi to have moved to the West Continent.
By the time Grammi received the summons, there was very little time left before the Eclipse Gate was scheduled to open.
It simply wasn’t enough time for Grammi to return.
And that had ultimately resulted in one of the keys being missing.
Yet the Eclipse Gate had to be opened.
The four-hundred-year destiny passed down through her family had to end with her generation.
Now, this mysterious masked man had appeared outside the royal palace and spoken directly about the very problem that had been troubling her for days.
She couldn’t tell whether his appearance was a blessing or a curse.
“I’ve never heard of such a third-party faction.”
Layla’s attitude softened slightly, but she remained cautious.
“The records left by our ancestors only mention the Heartfilia family’s mission to open the gate and the Fiore royal family, which is responsible for guarding it.”
“There is no mention of anyone like you.”
“Naturally.”
Byakuran’s tone remained firm.
“Trump cards are more effective when they remain mysterious.”
Jude sneered.
“Ridiculous.”
“A rat hiding its head and tail. Your name is probably fake, too.”
“You just happen to appear at the exact moment we’re most anxious, and with a few words, you claim to be our ally?”
“Layla, don’t listen to him. This person is far too suspicious.”
“He may have some ulterior motive for wanting to use the Eclipse Gate.”
Under normal circumstances, no one would allow a masked stranger with an unknown background to interfere with such an important plan.
But their current situation was simply too urgent.
“If there really is such a hidden trump card, then I can understand why you would appear at such a critical moment.”
Layla pondered for a moment before continuing,
“But, sir, if you want me to believe your identity, you must at least provide some proof that can convince me.”
“Otherwise, I cannot acknowledge you as our ally.”
Proof naturally didn’t exist.
However, Byakuran possessed information that only someone who knew the future could possibly know.
All he could do was exploit that information gap and bluff his way through.
“Proof?”
Byakuran smiled beneath his mask.
“I have some.”
As he spoke, he activated Thought Telepathy on Layla, ensuring that the following words could be heard by her alone.
“In an era abundant with magical power, when the sun and moon intersect, open the Eclipse Gate.”
“Bring the five Dragon Slayers from four hundred years ago into the modern era.”
“They are the trump card capable of opposing the world-destroying Black Dragon, Acnologia.”
“They are also the hope of saving this world.”
Byakuran’s voice echoed directly within Layla’s mind.
“This…”
“Is the true purpose of your Heartfilia family’s four-hundred-year destiny.”