At that moment, Wendy stepping forward to face Laxus had already been incredibly brave.
No one had demanded that she actually stop him.
"It's fine. You all fought wonderfully, so don't belittle yourselves. You were the only team qualified to stand in front of them and issue a challenge. You can hold your heads high. No one will question you."
Marco smiled as he spoke.
The members of Fairy Tail Team A were not losers.
They were the victors who had defeated every participating team except the final boss team.
Second place might not usually be remembered, but if "first place" was an undefeated existence, and everyone else had only come to compete for second, then second place was not much different from first.
Moreover, the format of the Grand Magic Games made people even more likely to remember the "second-place" team. The "first-place" final boss team had only appeared at the end.
The audience's recognition of Team A would not decrease just because they lost to the final boss team.
After all, everyone had watched them win their way here.
They were the heroic party that had gone to challenge the evil dragon.
Even in defeat, there was honor.
"And you, Wendy. If you could fight Laxus at your age, then by the time you reached my age, I'd probably have to step down and let you become Guild Master."
Marco walked over to Wendy, smiled, and rubbed her hair.
He genuinely felt that Wendy thought too much and carried too heavy a burden.
She always did not want to disappoint other people's expectations, even though everyone had never actually placed such a heavy burden on her.
"Ugh~ It's not that exaggerated..."
Wendy blushed fiercely at Marco's words.
How had this suddenly become him letting her become Guild Master?
She was nowhere near as capable as Brother Marco...
Still, after Marco said that, Wendy did feel much better.
That was true.
The age gap was right there.
It was only natural that she could not beat Laxus.
If she had beaten him, then Laxus would have been the one feeling depressed.
What had he been doing all these years, living like a dog?
"Keep working hard. Fight again next year! Aim to earn the right to challenge them again!"
Seeing that the members of Fairy Tail Team A had recovered, Marco gave them one final word of encouragement.
This goal was relatively realistic.
If he told them to aim to defeat the final boss team next year, the pressure on the girls would only become even greater.
...
Soon, amid a wave of celebration, the first Grand Magic Games held in the Flower Blooming Capital, Crocus, officially came to an end.
This year's Grand Magic Games had been very successful, far grander and more impressive than the version previously organized by several guilds.
After all, King Toma had strongly supported it and personally supervised the entire event.
Naturally, it was much better than something organized by one or several Mage Guilds working together.
The resources invested and the scale of promotion were on completely different levels.
This excellent beginning also allowed Marco to feel more at ease about handing the right to host the Grand Magic Games to King Toma.
That man truly had worked diligently.
If someone did not know better, they might think this was his actual profession.
What "King of Fiore"?
Never heard of him.
Please call him the Chairman of the Grand Magic Games Organizing Committee!
With the Grand Magic Games over, the Mage Guilds dispersed one after another and returned to their respective bases.
They had played enough over the past few days. It was time to go back and resume normal guild life.
Fairy Tail also quickly returned to Magnolia.
Unlike the other guilds, Fairy Tail had brought far too many people to participate, and most of them were capable members of the guild.
This really did affect the guild's normal operations somewhat.
Fortunately, Fairy Tail had a large foundation, so it was not as though there had been no one left to take jobs.
However, higher-level jobs and more difficult requests had indeed begun piling up.
After everyone returned, they could choose their jobs properly and get to work.
Everyone had gained quite a lot from this Grand Magic Games.
They had seen the talents of the wider world and gained a great deal of confidence as well.
No matter how one looked at it, this trip had definitely not been wasted.
The influence brought by the Grand Magic Games would also continue for some time.
Fairy Tail's reputation spread even further, and visitors came to Magnolia in an endless stream.
...
Three days after the Grand Magic Games ended, a mysterious figure wearing a cloak that covered their entire body entered Magnolia among the tourists.
Beneath the cloak, strands of fluttering blond hair were blown out from under the hood by the wind.
The mysterious person tugged at the hood, covering themselves even more tightly.
Beneath that hood was a face strikingly similar to Lucy's.
It had to be said that the Heartfilia family really did look as though they had been carved from the same mold.
Naturally, Anna Heartfilia was no exception.
At first glance, she truly looked like a more mature Lucy.
Of course, if one looked carefully, they could still tell the difference.
First, their hairstyles were not quite the same.
Then there were subtle differences in their features. Lucy looked more lively and playful, while Anna was more mature and gentle.
A careful look would reveal that they were completely different people.
Walking through the streets of Magnolia, Anna frowned tightly.
She had heard the rumor.
The fourth Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Marco Dreyar, had encountered the Black Dragon Acnologia and had even fought it.
At first, Anna had not believed it.
How could anyone face that Black Dragon and still be alive and well afterward?
Not to mention, Marco had even claimed that he had driven back the Black Dragon.
He had declared that as long as he was there, he would definitely kill the Black Dragon and would never allow the legend surrounding it to become reality.
He had even seriously begun searching across the entire continent for information about the Black Dragon.
In Anna's eyes, this behavior was absolutely ridiculous.
If Marco had truly encountered the Black Dragon, and truly fought the Black Dragon, then he would never have done something like this.
More than four hundred years ago, she had planned to use the Eclipse Gate to defeat the Black Dragon Acnologia together with the Fire Dragon King Igneel, the Iron Dragon Metalicana, the Sky Dragon Grandeeney, the Shadow Dragon Skiadrum, and the White Dragon Weisslogia precisely because they had been unable to oppose that Black Dragon directly.
And yet, after arriving in the future several centuries later, someone actually claimed that he had driven back the Black Dragon Acnologia by himself.
It would have been stranger if Anna Heartfilia believed that immediately.
Even so, despite her heart being filled with doubt, Anna still decided to come here and take a look.
She would not give up any clue related to the Black Dragon.
Of course, the most important point was that three of the children she had sent to this era were in Fairy Tail.
Marco's actions made her begin to question whether this had been the correct choice.
Could Fairy Tail really be fine under the control of a person like that?
Moreover, even in the unlikely event that the Black Dragon Acnologia really had been drawn by Marco Dolea's actions, the still-immature Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy absolutely could not oppose the Black Dragon yet.
That was something she could never sit back and ignore.
Because of that, no matter what, Anna had to make a trip to Fairy Tail.
"They seem to be looking for me. Did King Toma say something?"
Anna Heartfilia was not foolish.
With the Kingdom of Fiore, the Heartfilia Konzern, and so many other forces openly searching for someone, she naturally noticed it.
This was also one of the reasons she had come here.
After all, she had already been exposed.
Anna knew that King Toma must have revealed information about her to someone.
And that someone was most likely Marco Dolea.
Lost in thought the whole way, Anna arrived before the doors of the Fairy Tail guildhall.
She took a deep breath and stepped forward.
When Anna Heartfilia entered the Fairy Tail guildhall, the inside was a scene of noise and celebration.
No matter when one came here, Fairy Tail was always this lively. Everyone laughed and chatted, as if they had no worries at all.
As Anna stepped into the guild, the noisy voices in the hall gradually lowered.
Many gazes turned toward her.
A stranger wrapped head to toe in a cloak naturally made it difficult for people not to notice.
"Excuse me..."
Mirajane came forward with a professional smile.
"Are you here to make a request?"
Looking at this mysterious person who had covered herself so thoroughly, Mirajane had no intention of prying further.
She simply followed the usual reception process.
Anna did not answer immediately.
Her gaze swept across the entire hall, pausing briefly on Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy. A faint, almost imperceptible ripple flashed through her eyes.
Then her gaze shifted to Lucy, and this time, it was filled with apology.
Anna raised her hand and slowly removed the hood from her head.
A head of long golden hair spilled down, revealing a face that looked extremely similar to Lucy's, yet more mature and composed.
The entire guild instantly fell silent.
"Eh... Eh?!"
Lucy was the first to cry out in shock.
The juice in her hand nearly slipped and fell to the floor.
"Who... who are you?"
Lucy stared at the unfamiliar woman before her, mouth open in disbelief.
To others, this woman might look very similar to Lucy.
But in Lucy's eyes, this unfamiliar woman actually resembled her mother more!
There were still obvious differences between the two of them.
"I am Anna Heartfilia."
Anna's voice was calm and clear as she directly stated her identity.
There was no longer any need to hide it.
King Toma must have already said everything.
She had come to this era through the Eclipse Gate located in Crocus's royal palace, so there was no way she could hide it from the royal family.
And if King Toma had revealed everything to Marco Dolea, then he must have judged that man to be highly trustworthy.
"I came from more than four hundred years ago to destroy the Black Dragon Acnologia and save this world."
Those words were like a massive stone thrown into water, instantly leaving everyone with their mouths wide open.
After all, most people did not know anything about the Eclipse Gate or Anna Heartfilia.
"More than four hundred years ago?"
"Save the world?"
"What the hell is she talking about?"
"Lucy, is she one of your relatives?"
The surname Heartfilia was already obvious enough. Everyone looked toward Lucy, but Lucy herself was completely lost.
She had no idea that she had a relative like this.
Nearby, Natsu tilted his head in confusion. Gajeel also frowned, while Wendy unconsciously tightened her grip on Carla.
The three Dragon Slayers all felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity when they saw Anna Heartfilia, as though certain memories were beginning to wake up.
It felt as if they knew this strange woman standing before them.
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