Inside the Fairy Tail Guild Hall—
"Hahaha!!!"
"Blackmail material! And in high definition, too!"
"Mhm, mhm, Natsu and the others are truly men among men!"
"Jet's maid outfit isn't half bad, either."
It was Wednesday. With the highly anticipated release of this week's issue of Weekly Sorcerer, waves of uncontrollable laughter and teasing echoed throughout the guild.
"As expected of Gray-sama, even wearing stockings can't hide his handsomeness..." Juvia squealed.
She hid her flushed cheeks behind the magazine, steam practically rising from the top of her head.
Meanwhile, the four subjects of the embarrassing photos had wordlessly hidden themselves in a dark corner.
Pretending to be ostriches, they buried their faces in their hands, repeatedly muttering.
"Don't look at me, don't look at me..." under their breaths.
Raizel borrowed a copy of the magazine from Erza and flipped through it casually.
Seeing Natsu in fishnet stockings and a tight red bunny girl outfit... it was simply too cursed!
It was definitely better not to look any closer.
"Here, you can have it back," Raizel sighed, handing the magazine over. "I'm afraid I'll have nightmares tonight."
Erza blinked, looking adorably clueless as she tilted her head. "Really? I think they look quite nice."
"Something's wrong!!!" Max and Warren stumbled through the guild doors, completely out of breath.
Bong— Bong— Bong—
Suddenly, the massive bells of Magnolia began to ring once more, their heavy chimes echoing across the town.
"What's going on?"
"What's happening?"
"This bell ringing... it sounds like..."
Voices of confusion and alarm rose from the residents gathering in the streets and alleys of Magnolia.
"What is it???" Lucy asked, looking at the flustered Max and Warren in confusion.
"This specific pattern of ringing..." Natsu, who had been playing ostrich in the corner, suddenly stood up, his demeanor entirely shifting.
"Aye!" Happy cheered.
"It should be Gildarts," Raizel and Erza said simultaneously, recognizing the familiar alarm.
"It's Gildarts! He's back!!!" The rest of the guild members jumped to their feet, raising their mugs high in unison to celebrate.
"Why is everyone so excited..." Gajeel muttered, shaking his head as he watched the guild members go wild.
"Gildarts? I think I've heard Raizel or Gray mention him before," Lucy frowned slightly, looking questioningly at Levy for an explanation.
"Gildarts is the strongest Mage in Fairy Tail," Levy explained, nodding in confirmation.
"The strongest?! Stronger than the Master?" Lucy tilted her head in disbelief.
Levy lifted her head slightly, pondering the question for a moment before replying.
"I'm not entirely sure about that, but everyone says Gildarts is the absolute strongest."
"He hasn't been back for three years..." Raizel noted.
He and Erza also stood up from the bar counter and walked toward the main guild entrance.
Inwardly, Raizel was a bit concerned about Gildarts's physical condition, wondering if the man's arm and leg had been severely injured during his journey.
"No wonder I've only heard you all talk about him but never seen him in person," Lucy said, nodding in understanding upon hearing Raizel's words.
"But what has he been doing for three whole years without returning?"
"Above S-Class quests, there are SS-Class quests, and even higher than those... there are Ten-Year quests," Mirajane elaborated softly.
"Ten-Year quests!" Lucy's eyes widened suddenly at the magnitude.
Erza added, "Those are extremely dangerous quests that no one has been able to complete for ten consecutive years. Gildarts is someone capable of completing Ten-Year quests entirely solo. But this time, he went to undertake an even more difficult one—a Hundred-Year Quest that no one has ever completed to this very day."
"Following that logic... does that mean it's a quest that no one has been able to complete for an entire century?"
While immensely surprised, Lucy raised a small, practical question.
"Um... after a hundred years, is the original client even still alive...?"
"We're not sure about that. There's very little information available about the Century Quest," Erza replied, shaking her head with her eyes closed in solemn respect.
"Gildarts is back!"
"Magnolia will now switch to Gildarts Mode. All citizens, please move to your designated locations immediately."
Dozens of winged magic horns broadcasted this urgent announcement loudly over the bustling town of Magnolia.
"What's 'Gildarts Mode'?" Lucy frowned in sheer confusion.
"By the way, hold onto the table and brace yourself," Raizel reminded Lucy calmly.
"Huh??"
BOOM—
The entire guild hall suddenly began shaking violently, trembling as if caught in a massive earthquake.
"No way???" Lucy gasped, watching through the windows as the giant buildings outside literally kept shifting positions on mechanical tracks.
Actually, it was the entire designated area of the town that was moving.
Standing at the guild's main entrance, Lucy was completely stunned by the sheer scale of it.
"The city... has been split perfectly in half!"
"Gildarts uses Crush Magic," Erza explained to the bewildered celestial mage.
"Anything that touches him gets instantly shattered," Mirajane added with a polite smile. "If he spaces out while walking, he'll accidentally destroy people's houses and pass right through the walls without even noticing."
A towering figure finally appeared at the guild's main entrance.
He had brown slicked-back hair, a stubbly beard, and wore a dark green, high-collared cloak with heavy shoulder armor.
The edges of the cloak were heavily worn from travel, emphasizing his robust, battle-hardened build.
"Sigh..." Gildarts Clive sighed heavily as he stepped into the guild tavern.
"Seems I got lost again..."
"Gildarts! Come fight me right now!" Natsu roared, clenching his fists as he immediately flared up, full of blazing fighting spirit.
"After three whole years apart, that's the very first thing you say to him?" Elfman expressed his profound confusion at Natsu's priorities.
"Welcome back, Gildarts," Mirajane greeted him warmly from the bar.
"Oh? Mira, why are you working at a different tavern? Did you leave Fairy Tail? That can't be right..." Gildarts asked in confusion, looking closely at the now-grown-up, radically changed Mirajane.
"This is the guild!" someone corrected.
"Why does the guild look so new?" Gildarts asked, keeping his hands in his pockets as he looked around the newly rebuilt guild tavern in astonishment.
"He didn't even notice when he saw the exterior... with such a massive Guild Mark up there..." Lucy couldn't help but complain quietly.
"Where's Cana? Where's Cana? Where is she???"
After greeting everyone else, Gildarts began eagerly scanning the crowd, searching frantically for his daughter.
"She's out on a mission and hasn't returned yet. You didn't send word that you were coming back, after all," Mirajane answered his question with a sympathetic smile.
"What's the exact relationship between Cana and Gildarts?" Lucy quietly asked Wendy beside her.
"Cana is that uncle's daughter," Wendy whispered back.
"Oh? I never heard Cana mention that," Lucy said, her curiosity piqued.
"She rarely talks about Gildarts," Ultear stepped in to clarify Lucy's doubt.
"I wanted to surprise Cana," Gildarts laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"I think she'll probably want to beat you up when she sees you, after you being gone for three years without a word," Raizel chuckled, coming forward to formally greet him.
"Well, that's a long story..." Gildarts grinned shamelessly, showing no real remorse.
"Gildarts!" Natsu shouted again, refusing to be ignored.
"Oh? Natsu! Long time no see, kid," Gildarts turned, greeting him casually.
"Let's settle this!" Natsu leaped high from the wooden steps, throwing a blazing Fire Dragon's Iron Fist straight toward Gildarts's face.
"He still never learns, does he," Raizel sighed, shaking his head helplessly at Natsu's recklessness.
Gildarts didn't even flinch.
He narrowed his eyes, effortlessly cupped Natsu's abdomen with his palm, spun the fire mage around in the air several times to dizzy him, and hurled him straight toward the ceiling.
Natsu crashed into the roof, smashing a large hole in it as he got stuck.
"Coming back and causing destruction right away, huh..." Ultear sighed, shaking her head helplessly at the chaotic scene.
"Oops, oops." Gildarts looked up at the broken ceiling and awkwardly scratched the back of his head, looking mildly guilty.
Lucy deadpanned from the side, commenting, "Shouldn't you be concerned about Natsu at a time like this? Yet you're only worried about the ceiling..."