"I... don't know her..." Lucy answered honestly.
She truly did not know this person.
And logically speaking, if the Heartfilia family still had any relatives, they should have come out and recognized them long ago.
When one was poor, even a busy market brought no visitors; when one was rich, relatives appeared from deep in the mountains.
With the Heartfilia Konzern's current fame, if the Heartfilia family still had relatives, they would definitely have come forward.
Makarov jumped down from the bar counter, his expression serious.
The other members exchanged looks as whispers began spreading through the hall.
The old man knew about this matter.
Marco had informed him in advance, telling him about the Eclipse Gate and Anna Heartfilia. After all, having an elder at home was like having a treasure.
Perhaps the old man knew something about these old matters, so Marco had naturally needed to compare information with him.
"Where is Marco-san?"
Being stared at by everyone, and being locked under those wary, examining gazes, Anna Heartfilia did not panic at all.
She continued speaking, saying the name of the person she had come to find.
Buzz!
A strange wave of energy appeared, and Marco's figure materialized out of thin air.
Looking at Anna Heartfilia standing in the guild hall, Marco's expression showed no surprise, as though he had long expected this moment.
"I've been looking for you, Miss Anna."
Marco stood several steps in front of Anna and greeted her with a smile.
His appearance and attitude immediately eased the atmosphere in the hall.
The guild members relaxed their guard.
With both the old and new Guild Masters here, no matter who came, they would not be able to cause trouble.
Forget someone from four or five hundred years ago.
Even someone from four or five thousand years ago would have to stand properly once they entered Fairy Tail.
"King Toma told me about you, the Eclipse Gate, and those five children. We have a common goal."
Under Anna's examining gaze, Marco spoke slowly.
He knew that this visitor from the past was definitely a friend, not an enemy.
Anna studied Marco, suspicion lingering in her eyes.
She admitted that Marco was very handsome and carried the air of a strong man, but humans were humans in the end.
If he did not even know Dragon Slayer Magic, how could he possibly have driven back the Black Dragon?
It was not strange for Anna to think this way.
In her understanding of the world, if someone was not a dragon and did not know Dragon Slayer Magic, they did not even have the qualifications to fight dragons, let alone repel the Black Dragon Acnologia.
It sounded full of holes no matter how she looked at it.
"I heard the rumors. You claim that you drove back the Black Dragon Acnologia, but in the more than four hundred years of history I know, no human has ever been able to do that. Especially since you do not know Dragon Slayer Magic. There is no need to refute it. I can tell."
Anna spoke her doubts very directly.
The guild fell silent.
Everyone held their breath as they watched the scene.
Gray clicked his tongue, ready to step forward and refute this strange woman.
Other people not being able to do it did not mean Marco could not do it.
It did not mean Fairy Tail could not do it!
However, before Gray could step forward and act cool, Lucy had already been unable to hold back.
She took several steps forward, her eyes wide as she asked,
"You... You said your surname is Heartfilia? And that you came from four hundred years ago? What exactly... is going on?"
Hearing this, Anna looked toward Lucy, and her eyes softened for a moment.
"Lucy, you are Layla's daughter..."
Looking at Lucy, Anna suddenly did not know what to say.
She did not believe there was anything wrong with what she had done.
Everything had been for the sake of destroying the Black Dragon.
Everything had been for the sake of saving the world.
However, Anna also had to admit one thing.
Layla's death had caused this child real pain.
"Yes. My mother, she... What exactly happened to her?"
Looking at Anna, Lucy's expression became tense.
She realized that her mother's death seemed to be connected to the person before her.
"Lucy, your mother... was a hero. She completed the mission carried by the Heartfilia family..."
Looking at Lucy, Anna could only say that.
She could actually understand Layla. The mission had been completed in Layla's generation.
Layla must have been very happy, because Lucy would no longer need to carry it, and Lucy's children would not need to carry it either.
"A mission... What mission?"
Lucy did not understand and continued asking.
"The mission to open the Eclipse Gate so that Miss Anna here, along with Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, and the others, could come to this era."
Marco interrupted the slightly heavy atmosphere.
And his words directly stunned everyone.
They had not expected Anna Heartfilia's words to actually be true.
More importantly, this also involved Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy.
"Huh?!"
"What?!"
Natsu and Gajeel cried out in shock, finding it utterly unbelievable.
They had actually traveled through time from several hundred years ago to the present?!
"Then... then what about Grandeeney...?"
Wendy opened her mouth, her eyes filled with fear.
If things were really like this, then did that mean she would never see Grandeeney again?
July 7, X777.
Wendy, Natsu, and Gajeel had all been separated from their dragon parents on that day.
If they had traveled through time to the present on that day, then did that mean Grandeeney and the others were still several hundred years in the past?
The moment Wendy thought of that, her fear grew stronger.
That Black Dragon was so terrifying. It was said to have killed all the dragons. Did that mean... Grandeeney and the others were also...
"Don't worry. They are all fine."
Anna took over the question, giving Wendy a reassurance that also calmed Natsu and Gajeel, who had just realized the same thing.
"You know Igneel?! Do you know where he is?!"
Natsu hurried forward, anxiously asking about Igneel.
"They never left. They have always been by your side." Anna spoke slowly.
But those words only left Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel even more confused.
What did she mean, they had always been by their side?
Why had they never seen them?
Dragons had such enormous bodies. Could they really hide?
Wasn't that just nonsense?
"..."
Marco also frowned.
He hated riddlers the most!
But in truth, Marco had already guessed one possibility. Even if he had never eaten pork, he had at least seen a pig run.
After reading so many novels and watching so many stories, Anna's words could only mean one of two things.
Either all the dragons were dead, but spiritually remained with Natsu and the others, or it was the literal meaning of "together."
Perhaps through some kind of magic, they were residing inside Natsu and the others.
"They have always been inside your bodies. Igneel, Grandeeney, Metalicana, as well as Skiadrum and Weisslogia, entered the bodies of you five children respectively through the Dragon Soul Technique and crossed time together with you."
After a moment of silence, Anna revealed the truth.
Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy all froze.
This was something they had never imagined.
'So that really was it.'
Marco thought to himself.
There were only so many tricks this kind of setup could play.
"All right, the reunion ends here for now. Let's talk about business first."
Seeing that Natsu and the others looked as if they still had endless questions, Marco interrupted their conversation.
Since Igneel and the others were inside Natsu and the others' bodies, there was no urgency.
There would be plenty of time to deal with that later.
The priority right now was to handle the Eclipse Gate.
As soon as Marco spoke, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy stopped fighting to ask questions.
Lucy also temporarily suppressed the doubts in her heart.
In any case, Anna was not going to leave immediately.
There was no need to rush.
They could wait until Marco finished dealing with the matter first.
"Miss Anna, I can understand why you don't believe someone could repel the Black Dragon. That is only because you don't know enough about me."
Looking at Anna Heartfilia, Marco began explaining.
He was not angry or impatient because of her doubts.
This ancestor of the Heartfilia family, who had come from several hundred years in the past, would have been more suspicious if she immediately believed his claim.
Marco might have begun doubting her identity instead, wondering if she were an impostor.
Someone who had come from an era oppressed so heavily by the Black Dragon that they could barely breathe would never easily believe that someone could drive back the Black Dragon alone.
Especially when Marco was not even a Dragon Slayer.
Anna remained silent and did not speak, but it was clear that she still did not believe him.
"Fine. We can set that aside for now. You'll understand sooner or later. Let's talk about the Eclipse Gate first. If that thing falls into the hands of bad people, it is far too dangerous and must be destroyed. I have already destroyed the one in Crocus. Now I want to know whether there are any other Eclipse Gates somewhere else."
Marco changed the subject, no longer trying to prove himself.
Instead, he brought up another matter, which was also the real reason he had been looking for Anna.
The news that the dragons were inside Natsu and the others was an unexpected pleasant surprise.
But Marco had not yet obtained the information he truly needed.
The Eclipse Gate concerned a Gold Cloth, so there was no way Marco would not be anxious about it.
After all, he needed greater strength to fight the Black Dragon Acnologia. One thing led into another.
Unfortunately, none of that could be used as an explanation.
"King Toma didn't destroy that Eclipse Gate?"
Hearing Marco's words, Anna Heartfilia frowned.
Before leaving, she had specifically instructed King Toma to destroy the Eclipse Gate.
Since she had thought of using time travel, she naturally would not assume that their enemies would definitely be unable to think of the same thing.
That was why she supported destroying the Eclipse Gate.
"He... had a moment of foolishness."
Marco shook his head and did not hide it for King Toma.
This was indeed something King Toma had done wrong.
But Anna also bore some responsibility.
She had been far too trusting, simply giving her instructions and then leaving.
"It's partly my fault too. At the time, I was too anxious to confirm the children's safety..."
After blaming King Toma, Anna quickly realized the problem.
She knew she was also responsible for this matter.
"There is indeed more than one Eclipse Gate. Zeref built two gates. Because the other one was built earlier than the one in Fiore and was even more unstable, we chose the Fiore gate."
After blaming herself, Anna began speaking about the Eclipse Gate.
As expected, she knew where the other gate was.
Marco's gaze became solemn.
"Where is the exact location?"
"I will take you there. But before that, I must confirm whether you have the strength to face the coming storm. Recklessly provoking the Black Dragon is absolutely not a wise move."
Anna's expression was serious.
She still believed that Marco's actions were wrong.
And extremely dangerous.