When he arrived back at camp, he spotted Yajima waiting outside the Crystal Wall.
Marco had actually met this former member of Fairy Tail before, though it had been during his early childhood.
In recent years, their paths had rarely crossed.
"Do you still recognize me, little Marco?" Yajima spoke first, his face warm with a kind smile.
"Councilman Yajima—of course I remember you." Marco grinned in response, then waved his arm to dispel a section of the Crystal Wall, gesturing for Yajima to enter the camp.
"This... wall. What kind of magic is it?" Yajima asked curiously.
He had spent quite some time studying it, only to grow more baffled the longer he looked.
The wall was truly confusing.
"Celestial Spirit Magic of Aries," Marco replied with a smile.
Yajima fell silent.
He was well aware that Marco had always claimed to wield 'Celestial Spirit Magic'.
"Truly... remarkable magic."
Not knowing how else to respond, Yajima settled on praise.
Marco tossed his gathered materials into an ice storage unit he had created, washed up, and then led Yajima into the tent.
After pouring two cups of tea, Marco asked with genuine curiosity.
"What brings you here in person?"
Normally, Yajima avoided direct contact with Fairy Tail to maintain some semblance of impartiality—though his vocal support for the guild was hardly subtle.
Frequent interactions would raise eyebrows.
"Well, no one else was willing to take on this task, so I volunteered. It also gave me a chance to meet Fairy Tail's newest S-Class Mage. The guild's future is clearly in good hands!" Yajima looked quite happy.
Although he had left Fairy Tail, seeing the guild thrive still brought him joy.
He believed that while the members of Fairy Tail often caused trouble, their hearts were in the right place, and they were doing things beneficial to society.
"The guild has been developing well. I believe in a few years, even more S-Class Mages will emerge." Marco nodded and spoke up.
"That's wonderful. Having more S-Class Mages like you would be a great boon for the entire Ishgar continent."
Yajima grew even happier, but his words made Marco break out in a cold sweat.
"It's not that exaggerated..."
Marco wiped his forehead, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the high praise.
Such things were hard to predict.
He could only say he definitely wouldn't "harass" ordinary people, but claiming he could benefit the entire Ishgar continent was a stretch.
Well, perhaps he could contribute to Ishgar's cultural and spiritual enrichment—his localized adaptations of books and music were quite popular—but that had little to do with his strength or status as an S-Class Mage.
"Let's not dwell on that. Marco, how's the beast tide situation this year?"
Yajima changed the subject, turning to more pressing matters.
The beast tide was no trivial issue.
Although the last major incident had been decades ago, whenever it occurred, many lives were inevitably lost.
"At the moment, the situation isn't good. I've never been to Nord Forest before, but I've seen beast tides elsewhere. The ferocity of the magical beasts here far exceeds other regions."
Marco shook his head, delivering the bad news.
Based on his observations, the situation was grim.
"Are you certain?" Yajima's expression immediately turned serious.
This was no joking matter.
If there really was a problem, preparations needed to be made early, requiring the mobilization of greater forces.
"Absolutely certain." Marco nodded.
He had spent nearly every day in Nord Forest, so there was no way he could be mistaken about this.
"Then why didn't you report it sooner?! When we were called to aid the disaster victims, why didn't you include this information in your report?!"
After receiving Marco's confirmation, Yajima grew visibly annoyed.
He felt Marco hadn't handled this well.
"Huh?" Marco was taken aback, his face full of confusion.
"Wasn't this my task? I thought it was within my scope to handle, so I didn't report it."
Seeing Yajima's anger, Marco patiently explained.
He understood why Yajima was upset, which was why he took the time to clarify—otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered.
"Are you saying you can handle this situation alone?" Yajima suppressed his agitation, staring at Marco with disbelief, as if he thought Marco was talking nonsense.
"Of course. Isn't that what I'm doing now?"
Marco looked at Yajima with a puzzled expression, his tone matter-of-fact because he truly was dealing with it.
"How exactly are you handling it?" Yajima fixed his gaze on Marco, waiting to hear his so-called brilliant solution.
"The beast tide is terrifying precisely because there are too many magical beasts. If I just kill more of them, wouldn't the tide become less frightening?" Marco said with a smile.
His logic wasn't flawed, but it nearly made Yajima laugh in exasperation.
"How many beasts can you kill alone?! And how many beasts are there in Nord Forest?! Do you really think you can wipe them all out?!" Yajima shook his head in frustration.
This kid was still too naive, completely unaware of the gravity of the situation.
"Given enough time, it's not impossible."
Faced with Yajima's questioning, Marco wore an expression of serious contemplation, as if genuinely considering the possibility of exterminating all the beasts in Nord Forest.
"Not impossible my ass!" Yajima gave up.
He felt this kid was beyond saving.
"Wait! Councilman Yajima, do you hear something?"
Marco twitched his ears, faintly catching the sound of roars.
But before he could finish speaking, he noticed the ground trembling.
Now, even without him pointing it out, Yajima sensed it too.
"The beast tide!"
Their eyes met, both realizing what was happening.
"What do we do now..."
Yajima froze, his face was a picture of helplessness.
He was truly at a loss.
He hadn't expected things to escalate so quickly, and now they were utterly unprepared.
Forget about reinforcement—they might as well all wait for death together!
"Don't panic. I've been ready for this. I've been waiting for them."
Unlike the panicked Yajima, Marco remained perfectly calm, even brimming with eager excitement.
"This kid..."
Watching from the side, Yajima couldn't help but think Marco was a little crazy.
Did this boy really believe he could handle this alone?
"Follow me!" Marco dashed forward, calling for Yajima to keep up.
Though shaken, Yajima followed.
The moment he stepped out of the tent, he was met with a staggering sight.
The sky above glittered with stars and at the forest's edge in the distance, countless starlight cascaded down upon an invisible wall.
The entire perimeter of the forest radiated with magical energy, a pale blue-white glow forming a colossal barrier that sealed off the entire forest.
'Hummm!'
The magic pulsed with intense ripples of light.
The unseen wall stood like a fortress, enduring relentless assaults from the beasts.
Those that crashed into it were shattered to pieces, yet the wall remained unshaken, not even stained by their blood.
"The stars of Aries are shining! That's a constellation of the Zodiac!"
Yajima looked up.
Normally dim, the Aries constellation now stood out vividly, its starlight sketching a leaping ram that continuously poured magic into sustaining the barrier.
Overwhelmed, Yajima approached the wall, stopping beside Marco.
As he watched the beasts dash themselves to death against it, his mind reeled.
"See? I told you I could handle it alone."
Taking in the scene before him, Marco grinned as he spoke.
As his connection with the Aries constellation grew stronger, the power of his "Aries Gold Cloth" became increasingly stronger.
At the moment when the true bond was established, this Gold Cloth's strength advanced yet again, finally reaching its complete form.
"This could truly be called the Wall of Ishgar," Yajima remarked with awe as he witnessed everything unfolding before him.