The next morning, everyone gathered in the Fairy Tail guild after waking up with hangovers.
Those staying behind watched them with deep reluctance.
A radiant Edolas Lucy with tears in her eyes, waved goodbye and called out.
"Come visit when you have the time! Lucy!"
Earthland Wendy happily waved farewell to everyone and curiously asked her counterpart, who was curled up in a corner.
"Lucy-san, that Lucy-san is saying goodbye to you."
Earthland Lucy, dazed and leaning against the wall with dark circles under her eyes, stared blankly, lost in traumatized thought.
Natsu, full of energy, waved goodbye to everyone outside. "Goodbye, everyone! And Mystogan! We'll definitely come back to visit often!"
Mystogan smiled and waved back at them, while Makarov gave him an encouraging smile from a distance.
Meanwhile, many others were exchanging their final farewells.
Edolas Bisca and Alzack were actively encouraging their Earthland counterparts to eventually get together.
The Mirajane siblings hoped Lisanna would visit often, while Edolas Cana wished Gildarts would come back to see her someday.
There was also Edolas Gray crying and begging the Earthland Gray to accept Juvia's feelings, and Earthland Natsu trembling while shouting incomprehensible things to Edolas Natsu about taking care of his health.
And... the mature Edolas Wendy was reminding the younger Earthland Wendy to drink more papaya milk...
Amid all the noise and chaos, Mystogan finally gave the order to reverse the Anima!
The entire guild building began to glow as the last remnants of Edolas's Magic Power started flowing back to Earthland through the reversed Anima.
Ankh held tightly to the guild's fixtures, steadying himself.
Other members found their own supports, while the Exceeds filling the guild's multiple floors all took to the air.
Makarov had spoken with Queen Shagotte and the other Exceeds yesterday.
Since Edolas would reject all magical objects, they couldn't stay here either.
The remorseful Shagotte had begged Makarov to allow them to live in seclusion on Earthland and the kind-hearted Guild Master had naturally agreed.
Of course, this didn't stop Carla and Panther Lily from still holding some prejudice against Shagotte and these rude cats.
Happy was quite pleased, though—he really liked the scent of Lucky and Marl!
Gajeel hugged Lily, weeping openly. "Lily—you finally agreed to join the guild!"
Lily uncomfortably pushed away the even shorter Gajeel while explaining, "I just wanted to join the guild where the Prince grew up. I wasn't willing to live in seclusion with those Exceeds anyway. Joining the guild to spar with strong opponents sounds interesting."
Amid all the commotion, the Fairy Tail guild building trembled violently before transforming into a massive stream of light that shot skyward, gradually disappearing from Edolas entirely.
A trace of sadness flickered in Mystogan's eyes as he murmured in a voice too soft for anyone to hear:
"Goodbye, everyone. If only I could have stayed with everyone in the guild forever..."
Shaking his head with a wry smile, he dismissed these unrealistic thoughts.
He turned to face the familiar faces around him and shouted loudly.
"They have returned to their lives, and we have our own goals! Let's work hard together!"
"Alright!"
...
Earthland, Magnolia City, after several days of absence.
In the city center, a blinding blue light descended from the sky as the Fairy Tail guild—along with its entire foundation—reappeared in the city!
The sound of the guild landing created a huge noise throughout the city, causing many Magnolia residents to poke their heads out of their windows to investigate.
When they saw the familiar Fairy Tail sign, they were utterly astonished.
Three days ago, this rowdy guild had suddenly disappeared during an unexpected, heavy rainstorm.
After the rain stopped, everyone discovered it was gone completely, making it the biggest news in the entire magic world.
In recent days, various reporters had been investigating where that group of Mages had gone, even going so far as to alarm the Magic Council.
However, the Council's attitude was rather ambiguous, only stating that they would investigate the reason behind Fairy Tail's disappearance without explicitly searching for the missing Mages.
Many newly established Mage Guilds also sought to take advantage of the opportunity to move into Magnolia, hoping to enjoy the resources of a major magic city.
The Council paid no attention to these matters either, as they seemed to be preoccupied with some major event recently.
Fortunately, the Mayor of Magnolia, who was nearly ninety years old, held deep affection for Fairy Tail and decisively rejected the applications from all other guilds.
Although he would have to retire in a few years, the old man remained nostalgic, unwilling to abandon the Fairy Tail guild that had grown alongside his city.
Luckily, the members of Fairy Tail returned just in time, preventing the old Mayor from worrying himself to death...
Shortly after the guild's return, a large crowd of reporters and onlookers gathered at the entrance, forcing Makarov to send Erza and Natsu to temporarily shoo them away.
Of course, the events of the otherworld couldn't be openly discussed in front of everyone.
Lily and Happy, along with the others, left through a concealed back door to settle the smuggled Exceed clan.
Ankh, Laxus, and Gildarts accompanied Makarov to meet the only visitor allowed into the guild hall—the old Mayor.
The equally diminutive old Mayor clung to Makarov's head and wept.
"Brother, you scared me half to death! Next time, fight and cause trouble all you want, but please don't pull a collective disappearance like this again!"
Makarov hurriedly comforted the old baby, who was even older than himself, grinning carelessly with his big teeth.
"The world of Mages is always full of dangers, Mayor. Don't worry, just always believe we are still alive!"
The old Mayor wiped his tears and scolded him without holding back.
"Nonsense! I grew up with a troublemaker like you—I know better than anyone how tough you all are!"
"Hehehe..."
Gray, Cana, and the others didn't dare to breathe too loudly.
Although the Mayor wasn't a Mage, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had watched over this entire generation of young Mages as they grew up.
He was a deeply respected elder to all of them.
The two old men chatted animatedly, while Ankh leaned against the window.
Frowning, he pointed at the reporters outside and asked.
"Mayor, what exactly are those reporters saying the Council is busy with? They didn't even have time to kick us while we were down during our disappearance?"
The old Mayor clicked his tongue at him, complaining, "Ankh is still as blunt as ever."
"But don't blame the Council. In the three days you were gone, there really was a major event that kept them entirely overwhelmed."
As he spoke, the old Mayor paused and took a sip from the teapot beside him.
Ankh and Laxus exchanged a glance, then fixed him with their practiced, innocent, curious gazes and asked in unison.
"What was it?"
Seeing the curious looks of the younger generation, the old Mayor was instantly satisfied.
He lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "You two, especially Ankh, must have heard of the Western Continent, right?"
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