"The strongest! The strongest! The strongest!"
The surrounding crowd was cheering wildly.
As expected of a battle for the title of Fairy Tail's strongest; it was truly spectacular.
Watching the two of them fight, Freed felt that Laxus hadn't lost for nothing. After all, if even a monster of a man like Gildarts couldn't handle Kael, Laxus never stood a chance.
Kael shook his head helplessly as he listened to the crowd's shouts. He knew Gildarts had held back. From beginning to end, Gildarts had barely taken the initiative to attack, mostly just waiting for Kael to release his techniques before defending against them.
Most importantly, Gildarts was still recovering from his injuries. Though Porlyusica's medicine had helped immensely, the loss of his left arm and left leg had a significant impact on his overall combat power.
"Kid, you're the strongest in the Fairy Tail guild now. Don't you dare go around losing face for us!"
Gildarts spoke with a relaxed expression. He had carried the title of Fairy Tail's strongest for a long time. Being the strongest meant constantly upholding that dignity; now that the title belonged to Kael, he felt a sudden sense of relief.
"Old man, you did that on purpose."
"Gwahahahaha! What are you talking about? I have no idea."
Gildarts rubbed the back of his head—a subconscious habit he had whenever he felt awkward.
Soon, the onlookers dispersed, and the guild members returned to the hall in small groups, excitedly discussing the battle they had just witnessed.
Makarov turned to Gildarts and said:
"Giving up the title of the strongest so easily... don't you regret it?"
Gildarts seemed carefree, but Makarov knew better. He knew that even as a brat, this guy was arrogant and stubborn, refusing to bow to anyone. A person's temper might change, but their core nature never does. That's just how men are.
He could see that Gildarts had intentionally passed the title of the strongest to Kael. With that reputation established, Kael's eventual path to becoming the Fairy Tail Guild Master would be much more stable.
While Fairy Tail didn't care much for formalities, the principle of "might makes right" was universal within mage guilds—and the magic world at large.
Mage guilds were full of hot-headed individuals, and conflicts happened constantly. A Master needed absolute authority, which was why the Master was almost always the strongest person in the guild.
Gildarts smiled. "Of course there's regret. But I'm not frustrated because I gave up the title; I'm frustrated with myself."
"Hmm?"
Makarov looked at Gildarts with confusion.
"I'm forty-five years old. I'm more than twice the age of kids like Kael, yet he's already about to catch up to me in strength."
"So, I conceded willingly because I truly lost. When I was his age, my strength wasn't even close to his."
"The regret is the same. I don't want to lose to anyone, regardless of age or experience."
"That kid is going to keep getting stronger, and fast. It won't be long before I'm left in the dust entirely."
The wine cup in Gildarts's hand trembled slightly. He had originally intended to show Kael that there was always someone better, to give him a proper lesson.
Who would have thought he would be the one receiving the lesson? This was the first time in years he had encountered someone who made him feel such an intense sense of urgency.
He suddenly felt like he had been slacking off over the years. It was time to return to his roots and train properly.
The appearance of the Black Dragon had shown him the true meaning of human despair.
With a challenge ahead of him and a pursuer behind him, his heart was filled with a newfound pressure.
Makarov clinked glasses with Gildarts. He knew this brat; Gildarts had been strong since he was a child. His title of "Strongest" hadn't been gifted to him by anyone—he had fought for it himself.
After this experience, he was sure the man would become even stronger.
On a deserted island, a young man cupped stream water in his hands and drank deeply. A full moon hung in the sky, making the island night feel as bright as day.
At that moment, a dozen starving wolves spotted the man as if they had found a delicious meal. They cautiously surrounded him from all sides.
"Don't come near me! Stop... I'm not your enemy."
The wolves were half-dead from hunger; they didn't care about enemies, only food.
But just as the wolves drew close, a wave of black light erupted rapidly from the man as the center.
Wherever the light passed, the life of the wolves was instantly snatched away. Birds dropped from the sky, and flowers and trees withered to death. It was as if all life had vanished.
"I'm sorry... I didn't want to take anyone's life. The world is rejecting me... Natsu... I want to see you soon."
Night, at Kael's home.
Bong! Bong! Bong!!
The midnight bell rang. Kael didn't know why his lucky window was always at twelve at night, but now wasn't the time to ponder such things.
[Would you like to perform a 10-pull?]
"Confirm!"
During his fight with Gildarts two days ago, Kael noticed his pull count had reached eight. Being only two away from a 10-pull, he immediately completed two A-rank missions to top it off.
Don't ask why he didn't do single pulls. Hadn't he pulled a purple character card that way before?
Yes! He had pulled a purple on a single, but he had never heard of anyone hitting gold on a single pull.
He had suffered too much from single pulls in his past life. Pulling chances were hard to come by; it was better to be honest and stick to the 10-pull.
On the system panel, the universe birthed and galaxies inverted. Ten points of starlight began to gather in the sky.
Even though there was no "skip" option, he never grew tired of watching this summoning animation.
"Go gold! Go gold! Go gold!!"
Kael clasped his hands together and prayed. According to the law of quantum entanglement, when a person's will is strong enough, things will develop in the direction they desire.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Streaks of colored starlight fell toward the earth, looking like various transmigrators descending into this world.
Based on experience, the first few were always white, green, or blue. Kael kept his eyes wide open, thinking that maybe one day the system would glitch or a bug would trigger a gold on the very first drop.
Of course, those were just fantasies, not even dreams.
Suddenly!
A flash of golden light ignited within the endless starry sky.
Kael jumped up in excitement. Even though he had already pulled several golds, it was still an incredibly thrilling sight.
"It's gold! It's gold!!"
While Kael was shouting, the animation didn't stop.
Yet another golden light ignited in the endless sky and fell toward the earth.
Seeing this, Kael was completely stunned.
That last one wasn't the tenth pull? It was the ninth!!
"This is... a Double Gold!!!"
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