"It actually recovered?"
"So amazing, what kind of magic is this exactly?"
Inside the cavern, Wendy's small face was filled with astonishment after seeing everything around them completely restored.
Mirajane also looked surprised.
Then she said to Kenichi with a smile: "Kenichi, thank you for helping me again!"
The 'again' in Mirajane's words naturally referred to the incident with Lisanna last time.
Actually, Lisanna's return wasn't greatly related to Kenichi.
He had only told Mirajane that Lisanna was still alive.
In reality, even if Kenichi hadn't told Mirajane that Lisanna was alive, Lisanna would have eventually returned to Fairy Tail and reunited with Mirajane.
But Mirajane didn't see it that way.
In her view, Kenichi had given her hope, and ultimately helped her realize that 'hope'.
Hearing this 'again' from Mirajane, Kenichi looked helpless, then waved his hand and said: "I also had a part in destroying this exam venue, so no need to thank me!"
Having said that, Kenichi asked Mirajane: "Should the exam continue?"
"Of course not. You can just go straight through here to reach the end point of this round of the exam!"
Mirajane walked to the side, pointed to the path exit behind her, and said to Kenichi.
Hearing Mirajane's words, Wendy was immediately delighted.
As Kenichi's partner, she was very happy to see Kenichi 'smoothly' pass the exam.
"Mira-san, aren't you coming out with us?"
Seeing that Mirajane showed no intention of leaving, Wendy asked.
"I'll be regrouping with Erza and the others later."
"You go on ahead!"
Mirajane glanced at Kenichi, then said to Wendy with a smile.
"Then, see you after the exam!"
Wendy waved to Mirajane, then, under Mirajane's gaze, left together with Kenichi.
"Kenichi-nii, it seems we are the first team to pass the exam!"
When Kenichi and Wendy arrived at the end point, they saw no one else was there yet. Wendy then said somewhat happily.
Not long after Wendy finished speaking, the voices of Lucy and Levy conversing came through the air.
"Really lucky! If those 8 paths hadn't been destroyed earlier, revealing the inside situation, we wouldn't have so easily chosen the [Quiet] path!"
"Lucy-chan, doesn't this count as breaking the rules?"
"What does it matter? Master tacitly allowed it anyway. Speaking of which, we have to thank that terrifying explosion earlier!"
As Lucy and Levy talked, they arrived at the end point.
When they saw Kenichi and Wendy over there, Lucy immediately thought of something. She looked at Kenichi in astonishment and exclaimed: "Don't tell me that explosion earlier was caused by you!"
"This..."
Before Kenichi could answer, the slightly awkward expression on Wendy's face beside him 'betrayed' him.
"It was you after all!"
Hearing Lucy's exclamation, Kenichi said: "You should be thanking me, right?"
"Well... that's true..."
Realizing that Kenichi had overheard her conversation with Levy, she scratched her cheek with her finger, looking embarrassed.
Levy, however, said to Kenichi very seriously: "Thank you very much!"
"I was just joking with you, don't worry about it."
"Besides, this exam tests both luck and strength. You happened to encounter the paths being exposed, so that counts as your luck."
Kenichi said to Levy.
Prompted by Kenichi's words, Levy immediately remembered that when Makarov explained the rules, he did mention the exam tested strength and luck.
At that moment, the guilt in her heart instantly vanished.
"You're right!"
Levy said to Kenichi with a smile, then stood gracefully, albeit a bit awkwardly, beside Kenichi.
As time passed, the teams of Natsu, Gray, Cana, and the others also arrived on Tenrou Island after Freed's Jutsu Shiki was dispelled and chose their respective paths.
Eventually, each team encountered their respective opponents within the paths.
Gray, Gajeel vs Erza.
Mest, Elfman vs Juvia, Lisanna.
Natsu, Happy vs Gildarts.
Freed, Bickslow vs Cana, Evergreen.
After a series of fierce battles, the teams of Juvia, Natsu, and Cana emerged from the paths.
Although the teams coming out of the paths weren't necessarily the strongest, it at least meant their luck was good.
"That's great, Lisanna, you passed this round of the exam!"
Seeing Juvia and Lisanna walk over, Wendy went up and said.
"Hehe, actually, we encountered Elfman-nii. He simply didn't dare to attack me. And the other guy named Mest suddenly fainted for some reason. We won without even fighting!"
Lisanna squatted down and said to Wendy happily.
'Mest!'
Hearing this name, Kenichi's expression shifted slightly.
Perhaps the memories of others in the guild about this person were somewhat fuzzy, but Kenichi knew that Mest was the spy Makarov sent to the Magic Council.
Kenichi was quite interested in Mest's Teleportation Magic.
It was a Spatial Magic that allowed instantaneous movement over long distances, so it would be very convenient for traveling.
'They should be arriving soon, Grimoire Heart.'
While Wendy, Lisanna, and the others were talking, Kenichi looked up at the sky and thought to himself.
…
Dozens of kilometers away from Tenrou Island, in the sky above, a huge magic airship was sailing towards Tenrou Island.
Zooming in on the deck of the airship, eight people were gathered there.
If Kenichi were here, he would definitely recognize these eight people.
They were none other than the Seven Kin of Purgatory and the Guild Master, Hades, of the dark guild Grimoire Heart.
"We're almost at Tenrou Island, right?"
Hades, sitting on his skull throne, asked in a sonorous voice.
Hearing Hades' words, a white-clad, long-haired woman below, with one hand on her hip, answered Hades: "Yes, we'll be there soon!"
This white-clad, long-haired woman was none other than Ultear, who had fought Kenichi on Galuna Island before.
"I've waited too long for this day!"
"However, according to intelligence from the advance team, the Fairy Tail Guild is currently on the island."
"Oh? Fairy Tail, you say?!"
Hades paused slightly, then continued: "Then we'll destroy them along with it!"
"Understood."
Ultear responded flatly to Hades, then a curve formed at the corner of her mouth as she thought to herself: 'Kenichi, thinking that I'll see you again soon, I'm actually getting a bit excited!'