Beta read by Shigiya
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-Greenside Village border-
It wasn't uncommon for caravans to encounter danger when traversing the dangerous roads leading to various locations around Ishgar. The further away a village or town ended up being, the more likely one would encounter a monster along the way.
The forest around the border of the Greenside village clearing was vast, to say the least, a natural arena of flattened dirt and trampled undergrowth. A path of destruction marred the landscape, marked by the prone forms of unconscious Vulcans and other lesser beasts, their bodies scattered like discarded dolls. The relative quiet was shattered by the sound of a distant explosion, a deep boom that vibrated through the soles of the feet. A hulking Lizardman, its scales the color of mossy stone, stomped into view at the far edge of the clearing. It let out a guttural roar, a sound of fury and challenge, before charging.
Whoosh!
A flash of silver light, so fast it was nearly subliminal, crossed its chest. A thin red line appeared, and a spray of dark blood followed. The creature stumbled back several paces, a groan of pain escaping its throat. Its rage intensified, and it lunged again, its massive claws aimed at the solitary figure standing in its path.
The figure met the charge not with a weapon, but with a wall of steel. A giant, kite-shaped shield, emblazoned with a crimson insignia, materialized on her arm just in time.
Bang!
The impact was tremendous enough to force both parties to a standstill, the force of the Lizardman's blow sending shockwaves through the ground. Yet, the armored woman held firm, her boots digging into the earth. With a powerful shove, she pushed back, her strength surprising the beast. The Lizardman, caught off balance, stumbled forward, its momentum turning against it as it tripped over its own feet and crashed to the ground.
"Now!"
Before the monster could even think to rise, the figure moved. There was no blur, no streak of motion; simply one moment she was there, the next she was gone. All that could be perceived was the brief flutter of scarlet hair caught in the wind. Then, the Lizardman's body was seized by a series of violent spasms. A dozen new cuts appeared simultaneously across its torso, its limbs, and its thick neck. It gurgled before collapsing in a heap, its life extinguished.
"Hah…"
The armored woman took a single step back, her shoulders rising and falling with an almost haggard breath. The massive shield and the slender sword that had appeared in her other hand dissolved into motes of light, her standard armor replacing them in an instant. She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow with the back of her gauntlet.
"Does that make the hundredth one, Erza?" a cheerful voice called from behind her.
Erza frowned, turning to glare at the white-haired woman sitting on the driver's seat of a nearby carriage. "It wouldn't hurt you to help out a bit. I've been doing all the fighting since we entered these woods!" Dealing with such creatures was not a challenge, but doing so nearly a hundred times and rising sure did drain her energy quickly!
Mirajane simply pointed a delicate finger at a complex, string-like device wrapped around her wrist, connected to the carriage's engine by a thick ethernano conduit. "I have to make sure this thing doesn't get destroyed by the monsters. Besides, I know you're more than capable of handling it."
Knowing that she was more than likely just messing with her, she still found herself unable to deny the logic. Erza let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head, letting the matter drop. She walked back towards the carriage, settling onto the bench beside Mirajane. "How much longer until we reach our destination? The village should be on the horizon, no?"
"Another few hours, at this rate," Mirajane replied, flicking the reins. "We should get there before sunset."
The armoured wizard hummed in thought. "It'll be too late. Broly's probably already there, given he most likely flew there."
"I know," Mirajane agreed, her expression turning serious. "But if I pump any more magic into this device, the carriage will break apart."
Erza hummed again, this time in reluctant agreement. "There might be more monsters waiting to ambush us, anyway."
"Why are there so many monsters in such a small area?" Her partner asked, eyes scanning the dense foliage surrounding the clearing.
"I'm not sure. It almost looks like they're all running away from something. It's not normal for Vulcans and Lizardmen to travel in a pack, much less with all the other creatures we've seen. Something is forcing them to migrate away in a hurry."
"Maybe that's what Broly is dealing with," Mirajane suggested. "Then again, it could be Broly himself. It's not the first time he's scared away the local wildlife."
"If it were him, we would have sensed something by now," Erza countered, given she had already figured out looking out for several clues for whenever the Saiyan fought. "Like an earthquake."
Mirajane gave her a strange look. "You don't need an earthquake every time Broly starts using his powers to fight something."
"When was the last time that happened?"
A pondering expression crossed Mirajane's face as she thought back. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized the truth. She whispered, "I... may have a point. But still, there are times when there are no earthquakes."
Erza pointed a finger upward. Both women looked to see a faint outline of the moon hanging in the morning sky. A significant portion of it was missing, the debris now floating in a loose ring around the remaining crescent.
Mirajane sighed in defeat. "Yes, you have a point."
Right on cue, the earth beneath them began to tremble. In the distance, a plume of dark smoke rose into the sky, marking a point of impact. They looked at each other with dry, knowing stares.
"It's Broly," they said in unison.
Mirajane immediately began pouring more of her ethernano into the carriage. The vehicle lurched forward, its speed doubling until it became a dark blur racing down the forest path.
As they continued their frantic journey, the commotion in the distance grew stronger. The very air felt charged, and the destruction was clearly on a scale that was anything but normal. Erza couldn't help but voice her concern. "Is this something we should be worried about?"
"Broly is most likely dealing with demons," Mirajane stated, her focus locked on the path ahead. "He asked me if I could sense them earlier. Demons are very tricky. In some cases, they require more than just simple brute strength to defeat. They could be dangerous if Broly, who knows nothing about them, goes to confront them head-on."
"Did you make sure not to spread the word to the others?"
"Of course. If Lucy or Cana heard about this, they'd immediately try to make their way here as well… especially Natsu, who was already quite suspicious of me. We both know Broly wouldn't want to put them in danger."
They rushed ahead, the sounds of battle growing louder with every passing minute. The carriage rattled violently as it sped over rough terrain.
"Incoming!" Mirajane shouted, her eyes widening as she spotted something falling from the sky at an incredible speed. It was moving so fast that they didn't have time to detach the carriage.
Reacting instantly, Erza equipped a blade and sliced through the thick cord connecting Mirajane to the engine. Grabbing the white-haired wizard and leaped from the carriage just as the object impacted the ground where they had been. A deafening boom echoed through the forest as the carriage was obliterated.
"Oof!"
"Ah!"
Both women rolled across the ground, coughing as the dust cloud kicked up by the explosion settled around them. They pushed themselves to their feet, the redhead having already summoned a different armor while Mirajane fell into a defensive stance, her body still untransformed.
"Is it another monster?" The latter asked, peering through the haze.
"Doesn't seem like it," Erza replied, her eyes narrowing. "I think it's a person."
Her words were cut off as the figure within the crater groaned and pushed herself up. "Tch, I'll kill that man for this one day," a female voice cursed. The individual flicked her wrist, and the cloud of dust around her dispersed instantly, revealing her form.
The sight of her shocked both Erza and Mirajane. They stared, their own eyes wide. Mirajane, in particular, couldn't stop herself from whispering, "Erza?" as she looked at the woman who was a near-perfect mirror image of the red-haired knight, save for the more mature cast of her features.
Erza's own eyes were wide with disbelief. A single, trembling finger pointed at the woman. "You're the one from before... when we were fighting the Oración Seis…"
Irene, her clothing tattered and her form showing clear signs of a rough battle, though no visible wounds, was momentarily taken aback by their presence. The surprise showed on her face for a split second before she masked it with a look of annoyance. "Oh? What are you even doing here?"
"We're the ones who should be asking the question!" She shot back. "You're the one who landed on our carriage! Now tell me, who are you!"
Irene didn't even acknowledge their questions. Her focus shifted to the distance, towards the rising smoke. "He'd better have a good excuse by the time I get there."
Confused by her words and who she was talking about, the two Fairy Tail wizards watched as Irene began to chant. Her eyes started to glow with an ominous, cross-shaped light. High above them, the clouds began to swirl and part, and a gigantic eye, as large as a mountain, opened in the sky.
"—!?"
Its presence could only be described as suffocating, as if nothing could be hidden from it. It looked down over the entire terrain, the same cross-shaped pattern within its pupil matching the one in Irene's eyes. The sheer magnitude of the spell was overwhelming, the amount of energy emitting from it shaking both Mirajane and Erza to their very cores.
As the giant eye in the sky observed the distant conflict, the look on Irene's face soured, twisting from concentration to pure disbelief. "He's getting pushed back?" she whispered to herself. With a flick of her wrist, the spell deactivated, the colossal eye vanishing as if it had never been there. Without a moment's hesitation, she incanted a spell, her feet lifting from the ground as she prepared to fly away.
"You're not getting away!"
A flash of light, and Erza was there beside her, moving to intercept. The knight's armored gauntlets closed around Irene's arm. A simple, almost lazy movement of Irene's staff was all it took. A concussive force erupted, blasting Erza away. Her form shot across the terrain, crashing through the trunks of several thick trees before finally striking a large rock with a sickening crunch.
"Erza!" Mirajane cried out, her voice filled with pure worry. She looked back at Irene, who met her gaze with an expression of utter indifference.
"Who are you?" Mirajane demanded. "You look just like Erza."
The woman didn't even offer a response, behaving as if Mirajane was nothing more than a piece of scenery. The white-haired wizard's eye twitched with irritation. "I see," she muttered, her voice low. A dark aura erupted around her as she transformed, her form shifting into that of a fearsome demon with large, black wings and a tail. "Satan Soul!" With a powerful flap of her new wings, she launched herself towards Irene.
"Ha!" The crimson-skinned demoness's claws raked through the air, aimed at Irene's chest. The scarlet-haired witch simply raised her staff, intercepting the attack with a dull clang. With a shove of magical force, she sent Mirajane skidding backward through the dirt.
Before the demoness could regain her footing, Erza was back on her feet, requipping into her Heaven's Wheel armor. A circle of ten swords floated around her. "I won't let you leave until you answer our questions!" She declared, sending the blades flying in a complex, interweaving pattern.
"How irksome." Irene sighed, a sound of profound annoyance. She spun her staff, creating a shimmering barrier of hexagonal shapes that deflected every sword with ease. "Go away," she warned, her voice losing its patience. "Or you will regret your actions."
Ignoring the warning, Erza charged, requipping mid-stride into her Flight Armor, her speed increasing dramatically. Swinging a twin-headed spear, but Irene sidestepped the attack with minimal movement. At the same time, Mirajane swooped in from above, her claws glowing with dark energy. Irene pointed two fingers upwards, and a burst of telekinetic force caught the demoness mid-air, slamming her into the ground.
Erza's assault was relentless, equipping again, this time into her Adamantine Armor, bringing a massive tower shield down to crush her opponent. The ground shook with the impact, but Irene stood within a small crater, completely unharmed, having simply raised a more potent magical shield. "This is your last warning," Irene stated, her eyes glowing with power.
Both Erza and Mirajane attacked simultaneously, a coordinated assault of steel and demonic claws. Irene had had enough. She slammed the butt of her staff into the ground. "World Enchantment: Variable Gravity," she intoned lazily.
The effect was instantaneous. The air grew heavy, thick. Erza and Mirajane felt a crushing force bear down on them, as if the very weight of the world had multiplied. They crashed to the ground, their bodies sinking slightly into the dirt. "Ugh!" It was a struggle to even breathe, let alone move. Their bodies felt like they weighed several tons.
"I already warned you several times," Irene's voice echoed from above them. "You did not listen. It's your own fault." She raised her hand, a condensed ball of crimson energy beginning to form above her palm. The destructive spell crackled with immense power, ready to be unleashed.
At the last second, a hand shot out and grabbed her raised arm. The crimson energy dissipated instantly. Broly had appeared beside her, his presence a sudden shock to everyone. "Stop," he said, his voice a strained rasp.
He looked rough. His upper shirt was gone, and the lower parts were torn in several places, and fresh bruises were forming on his arms and face. He let go of Irene's arm and stumbled over to a nearby rock, sliding down against it as he took deep, exhausted breaths.
Irene walked over to him, her previous irritation replaced by a scrutinizing gaze. "What even happened back there? Who was that person?"
The Saiyan shook his head, still trying to catch his breath. "I don't know. But he is dangerous."
"I already came to that conclusion after what I saw," Irene replied. "Is that thing from your world?"
"Most likely," Broly said. "But I'm not sure how he made his way here."
"Did you kill it?"
"No," Broly admitted. "I wasn't strong enough to kill him. I managed to teleport him away with the help of someone."
Irene did not expect that answer. "Someone that even you could not kill? How interesting." A flicker of intrigue crossed her features.
He looked over at the two struggling women on the ground. "Can you please undo the spell you put them under?"
Irene seemed to have completely forgotten about them. "Oh, them. Fine," she said with a dismissive wave. "Only if these two stop nagging me. They are being really troublesome and getting in my way." With a flick of her wrist, the gravity spell dissipated.
The crushing pressure vanished. Erza and Mirajane felt their bodies lighten, returning to their prior state. They gasped, finally able to draw a full breath. Erza pushed herself to her feet, but instead of rushing to Broly's side, she fixed her gaze on Irene. Her look was one of pure doubt and suspicion, with no intention of backing down.
Irene huffed. "You are really stubborn."
Erza ignored the comment, turning her attention to Broly. "Who is she? And wasn't she the one who attacked us during the Oración Seis incident? What is going on between you two?"
Broly scratched his cheek, a gesture of uncertainty. "I was actually trying to arrange for you both to meet at some point in the future. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. I'll explain everything later."
"Explain what?" Irene cut in. "You don't even know the answer yourself."
Broly nodded in agreement. "Yes. I was hoping I could get you to talk instead." He then looked at the scarlet-haired witch. "If you just tell the truth, it would be much less annoying for you. Dealing with us constantly trying to make you talk."
Irene stood there quietly for a long moment, considering his words. "Fine," she finally said. "But it won't change anything. It might even worsen the situation. If that happens, the responsibility will fall on your shoulders."
"I'm willing to bear that," he stated without hesitation.
{Break}
(A few hours later)
The village ended up being deserted, its inhabitants having fled after sensing the immense power of the distant battle. The four of them found an empty tavern, its tables and chairs left in a hurry. They settled around a large wooden table, the silence broken only by the crackling of the hearth fire. Broly needed to rest, and the location served as a temporary base to monitor the area in case the mysterious opponent returned. Which ended up working in his favour.
Mirajane emerged from the back room carrying a heavy wooden platter. On it were several tankards of ale and a few clay jars filled with salted jerky and hard cheese. She placed the platter on the table with a soft clatter. "I'm not familiar with this village," she said with a small smile, "and they don't exactly have the quality stuff we're used to back at the guild, but this will do. I made sure to clean up."
"Thank you, Mira," Broly said, his voice still rough from the prior fight.
Erza gave a nod of gratitude as well. "Appreciate it."
Irene, however, just sat there with her arms crossed, not even sparing a glance at the food or drink. Mirajane's smile tightened slightly at the lack of response. She let out a small huff before returning to her seat.
The silence stretched for a moment before Erza finally spoke, her gaze fixed on Broly, though her words were for the woman sitting opposite him. "Who is she?"
Seeing that delaying this matter wouldn't help, he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I met Irene during our confrontation against the Oración Seis, as you may know. We had a small confrontation, which thankfully did not end that badly."
"Did it not end badly? You ended up destroying a part of the moon because of it," Irene interjected, her voice flat.
"Part of it," the man corrected. "Not the entirety."
Mirajane's eyes widened in realization. "Was she the one responsible for taking control of your mind back then? For making you lose control!?"
A wave of hostility started to emanate from both Mirajane and Erza, their eyes narrowing as they glared at Irene. The scarlet-haired witch simply smirked. "It's cute how you think you can do anything against me."
Not again… Broly raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Calm down, both of you." He looked between them. "While it may look like it was Irene's fault, it wasn't entirely. I was also to blame. My mindset back then was not stable. I was no different from a ticking time bomb that would have erupted sooner or later. She merely accelerated the process, and thankfully enough, I ended up gaining something from it. After that, while I was captured by the council, we had a talk. We came to an understanding that she wouldn't do that again. In exchange, she would help me."
"Help you?" Mirajane asked, confusion clear on her face. "Help you how?"
"She's like a researcher, one who is interested in my power. So, I let her study my body and abilities."
This shocked both girls. "How could you do that!?" Erza exclaimed with a mortified face. "She might end up bringing more trouble if she finds out how to duplicate your ability!"
"I've considered that," Broly admitted, "but I don't feel Irene could do such a thing. Even if she learned to control ki, it wouldn't necessarily make her as powerful as me. Her magic is already incredibly strong. Besides, I trust her not to do anything bad. She's not a bad—"
His words were cut off with a pained "Ow!" as Irene bonked him on the head with her staff.
"Stop saying all those ridiculous things and be serious," she said with a dry tone. Turning her attention back to Erza and continuing the conversation instead. "It would be best for us to move on with the matter and get to the main topic at hand."
The young redhead looked at the older one. "Go on then," she urged. "Tell them who you really are."
Irene smiled, a slight, knowing tilt to her head. Looking directly into Erza's eyes. "Why do I need to say it? You should be vaguely aware just by looking at my face. No, you definitely know. You're merely pretending or rejecting the truth."
"..."
Erza remained silent, her fists clenching so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Irene continued, her voice soft but cutting through the silence. "I am your mother."
The words hung in the air. Mirajane's jaw dropped. Broly stared, his eyes wide with a shock he hadn't even shown when fighting the unknown warrior. Erza's reaction was the most visceral. Her entire body went rigid.
"That's a lie!" she denied, her voice shaking. "I grew up in Rosemary Village! I told myself I no longer had any parents left alive!"
"What you thought and what is reality are two different things," Irene stated, her posture unchanging. "Convincing yourself of a fabricated truth will not make it fact."
"Shut up!" Erza shouted, slamming her palms on the table. "The only people I consider my parents are Master and Rob!"
Mother and daughter, huh, part of him already suspected that, given their similar Ki signature. Not exactly the same, but still close enough to what one would see between relatives. Still, he didn't expect Irene not to seem disappointed or even remotely affected. "It doesn't matter to me who you consider your parents or relatives. It's fine by me. I will simply consider myself as not having a daughter."
Broly, looking utterly bewildered, leaned towards Irene and whispered, "So all this time, you really weren't Erza's sister. Then again, you look young enough for me to confuse—ouch!"
The smirk on Irene's face cracked into an ugly frown. She smacked him on the head again, harder this time. "What is with you and that made-up truth!? Drop it, or I'll forcefully erase that thought from your mind! I have the ways."
She brought her attention back to the stunned girl in front of her. "There you go. That is the truth. You can do whatever you want with it."
Erza's head bowed, her scarlet bangs falling to hide her eyes. Her entire frame trembled with an inner conflict. "Why... why did you come back after all these years? What the hell are you doing here?"
"I already told you," Irene said, her voice losing all its previous edge, becoming purely clinical. "There is no other reason than Broly. He brought me here. This has nothing to do with you. In fact, I would have preferred this meeting never to have happened. It would have been better off if you had not known of my existence, since it brings unwanted trouble and wastes my already precious time."
Erza shot to her feet, her chair scraping loudly against the floorboards. Her hands smacked down on the table, the wood groaning under the force. "Is that all you have to tell me!?"
Irene just looked at her calmly. "Why would I care if that's all I have to say? Weren't you the one who just said that in your mind, your only parental figures were Master and Rob, and that I had nothing to do with it? Then why are you getting angry now?"
As Erza's face grew redder with rage and Mirajane reached out a hand to try and calm her, Irene continued, her tone dripping with condescension. "If it's of any consolation, I am somewhat disappointed that my own blood could only achieve this level of strength. You still have so much to learn before you're able to achieve even a fraction of the strength I possess."
"Why you…!"
Erza gritted her teeth, and without another word, she turned and stormed out of the tavern, the door slamming shut behind her. Mirajane gave Irene one last, reproachful look before hurrying after her friend. Broly stayed behind, watching the door. Irene finally reached for the mug of mead Mirajane had poured. She lifted it, gave it a taste, and placed it back on the table.
"It's palatable enough," she stated to the empty room.
"You couldn't have said something nice to your own daughter…"
The redhead stared at the exasperated Saiyan with a look of confusion. "What do you mean? I was complimenting her. She has my blood and thus should be capable of much more than what she showcased last time, meaning she has plenty of room to grow, and I am just pushing her in the right direction.
It dawned on him that perhaps Paragus and Irene could have gotten along well with each other. Then again, Broly began to wonder that family issues might be a common trait for people in Fairy Tail. Cana and Lucy also suffered from a similar issue.
{Break}
The wooden roof creaked under the weight of a single figure sitting on the edge. Erza sat there, her legs dangling over the side, her gaze fixed on the stars above. The tavern below was quiet, save for the occasional flicker of firelight. The wind rustled her hair. A moment later, Broly landed beside her, his boots making no sound on the timber. He sat down, close enough that their shoulders brushed.
A comfortable silence stretched between them, the only sounds being the crickets and the distant wind.
"Why did she say that…" She asked suddenly. "And did you know about this from the beginning?"
Broly looked at the horizon. "I did notice her resemblance to you at first. Aside from that, and perhaps the similarity in life energy, that's where the differences ended. It was clear that Irene herself would not give me the answer so easily. I had to force her and egg her on so much that she only revealed it today."
"It doesn't matter in the end," she said, her voice hardening slightly. "Whether she is my mother or not, it doesn't change everything that has happened so far. I grew up in Rosemary, and my family is Fairy Tail. That is who I am."
A smile made its way to his lips, and Broly nodded slowly. "I understand. I will not force you to acknowledge her as your mother. It was never my plan. I just wanted to know the truth from Irene's mouth. That's about it."
He paused, looking down at the ground. Recalling every moment he spent with that woman and all of it led to another conclusion. "But I don't feel like she is a bad person."
"Perhaps, but to me she is not. Did Irene abandon me because she didn't want me? Did she think I was too weak and useless? Not even taking the effort to raise me?"
"I don't know," Broly admitted, knowing full well that no matter how he tried to defend that woman… some things just were not forgivable. "I can't tell you anything. Even I don't know. And I don't think that's the case. There should be more to the story, but she's just too stubborn to say it all."
Erza looked at him, her eyes searching his face. "What if it truly was all there is to it? What if Irene truly abandoned me for those reasons?"
He returned a resolute gaze with no room for hesitation. "She would have truly disappointed me. And I will make sure that she tries to earn your forgiveness, even if she may never get it. I will use force if I have to."
"Heh," Surprisingly, Erza chuckle. "I am not interested in giving forgiveness to the woman who calls herself my mother. As I said, it doesn't matter if either of these is true or not, or if there truly was a reason or not. At the end of the day, I already have a family who cares about me, and I have you by my side. I don't need another one. And clearly, the other one doesn't need me."
She leaned her head against his shoulder. The rest of the hour passed in silence. Eventually, her breathing slowed, and her head lulled to the side. Broly looked down at her, seeing her eyes flutter shut. He stood up, lifting her gently into his arms. She didn't stir. He carried her inside and placed her on one of the empty beds in the back rooms.
He walked back out to the main area. Irene was hovering in the air just outside the tavern, her back to the building, looking out over the dark forest.
Broly flew up to join her. "Are you planning on leaving?"
The woman turned to face him. "There is no point in my staying here any longer. I already talked to the girl as you wanted. This part of our deal is done."
"Perhaps I might have hoped that you two could talk more with each other."
"Fufufu~!" She laughed softly, a sound devoid of warmth. "Are you trying to repair a relationship between mother and daughter? How amusing."
His silence served as an answer in itself.
Broly didn't respond.
"Irene," Broly called her out, but she cut him off.
"You are plenty powerful, but you are still quite naive. You cannot fix a relationship when there was not one there to begin with. Nothing was destroyed, and nothing can be created. You do not care enough to put any effort into Erza, and the others will not accept you. I am not going to lie just to make a random child happy," Irene said with a frigid tone.
Broly narrowed his eyes. "If that's the case, then why are you lying now? You didn't tell the complete truth back then. Nothing is stopping you from lying to yourself."
Irene went quiet. She looked back at him, her eyes flashing with a cold glare. She took a deep breath, then another. "What was that demon from earlier? That person from earlier?"
She was clearly trying to change the subject, but he had no choice but to go along with it since pushing the matter wouldn't help. "The person calls himself Moro. And he is extremely dangerous. You shouldn't ever try to find him."
"You have no say in what I will do or want to do."
"Irene," Broly said, knowing full well how stubborn she could be, he had to be more forceful. "The man can absorb magic."
"That's no big deal," she scoffed. "Moro is not the only being capable of that. The current Dragon King also holds a similar magic."
Acnologia? While he recalled the latter trying to absorb his Ki, the dragon still failed. For it could only absorb magic rather than Ki itself. But Moro had no such restrictions, and thus he shook his head. "You do not understand. Moro is on a much different level than the Dragon. He can also absorb life energy. Whatever spell you use will be useless. Trying to fight him will only result in your death."
Irene looked at him, a smirk returning to her lips. "If I die, then it will work out in your favour."
"It won't," Broly said firmly. "And I will be sad, and so will Erza. She may not have accepted you, but she knows her mother is still alive now, and you disappearing will be heartbreaking."
Her eyes twitched. "You are an irritating man."
"I know that you told me several times already."
"Perhaps you have a point," Irene said, her tone shifting. "But what do you plan to do?"
"I will get rid of him," Broly stated. "I cannot allow Moro to return and do such a thing to other wizards. If at some point you truly believe you can defeat Moro, then first you need to defeat me and prove yourself."
"You have your work cut out for you," she stated, her gaze drifting back to the forest. "First, you need to find that demon again. And you still need to help that friend of yours. If nothing happens, his state will only keep worsening."
To her surprise, Broly shook his head. "Someone already agreed to help me."
Irene raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
Broly pointed towards the tree line of the forest. Irene followed his gaze and was surprised to see a certain black-haired Etherious walk out of the shrubs. Her state was still quite pitiful, with several parts of her body charred, but a large section of her skin was already starting to heal, showcasing her prior beauty.
Irene hummed in acknowledgement. "I am impressed. I was not expecting you to make a deal with her kind."
"If she hadn't gone through with her promise," Broly said, his voice firm, "I would have gone back to search for her tonight and dragged her back to Fairy Tail by force."
A genuine smile spread across her face. "You're not as naive as I feared after all."
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Taimanin with 3, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.