"Hehe, I hope you like my surprise, Master Mavis," Akira murmured with a smirk, standing by the ship's railing as he gazed out at the disappearing silhouette of Tenrou Island.
For someone who had completely perfected his clone abilities, leaving a clone behind to keep a lonely loli company was far too easy. And besides, if his clone played his cards right, he might just be able to milk that first master into teaching him some more legendary spells.
If he was lucky enough, he might even stumble across a certain legendary dark wizard hiding out on that island—someone who honestly deserved to be locked away in a high-security prison by the CIA. All in all, Akira couldn't see a single downside to his decision.
"Hey, kid, what are you daydreaming about?" Gildarts, who came to check on Akira, asked as he saw him staring at the deep sea, deep in thought.
"No, it's nothing, just wondering what kind of trials I would do for next year's S class trial " Akira said with a smile as he looked at Gildarts.
Gildarts was silent for a moment before saying, " Please keep the difficulty in moderation." Gildarts could already imagine the faces of despair when the young brats come to take on the S-class trial. Now that this kid is an S-rank wizard, there is no one who could keep this guy in check.
Oh well, Master should be able to handle it right. Well, most probably.
…..
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
During these four years, Akira's name completely shook the magic world. As the youngest S-class mage ever, his appearance caught the Magic Council's attention. But no one thought this was true because they refused to believe a brat who is not even 10 years old could become an S-rank mage.
At first, they all thought Makarov had become senile and made a kid S-rank. In fact, it wasn't just the council that had this thought; many wizard guilds that first learned of this news also thought so at first. Some of the guilds that had close relationships with Fairy Tail, like Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale, also came by to find out what really happened.
When Akira learned of this, he just sneered and took a few S-class missions at once and disappeared from the guild. Then, in less than a week, he handled all those high-level missions effortlessly, making Fairy Tail's reputation grow even more terrifying. Those voices that were questioning his qualifications as an S-class mage gradually disappeared as his terrifying reputation grew with each mission.
And as Akira's reputation grew, he also began to earn many titles from the masses. These titles gradually overlapped, and finally, Akira was bestowed the nickname 'Sage of Thousand Faces.'
He also became known as the only S-rank mage of Fairy Tail who broke the rule of 90% property damage the guild was famous for for ages. Unlike Gildarts, who left a trail of destruction wherever he went, Akira completed his tasks with absolute precision and elegance, earning a large fan base.
Coming back to the present, Akira sat on the couch on the guild's second floor as he looked down at the guild, which was bustling as ever. This liveliness, which would usually make him calm, couldn't contain Akira's mood right now.
Because all his attention was directed at a red-haired young girl who was wearing full-body armour, sitting quietly at the bar. At one glance, one could tell this girl was obviously very lonely and couldn't adapt to the guild's lively environment.
She just sat there silently, looking completely disconnected from the flying chairs and shouting mages around her. It was Erza. Even though she had joined the guild, she still kept her heart locked tightly behind that heavy iron armour, acting like a little soldier who was always on guard.
It had been two days since the Tower of Paradise incident happened and Erza joined Fairy Tail. Looking at his dear sister, Akira couldn't bring himself to meet her. After all, as an older brother, he was really a big failure.
Although Akira had tried every single method to search for Rosemary Village or even the Tower of Paradise over the years, he was met with absolutely nothing. His sensor abilities and high stats couldn't track down a hidden location that the Magic Council itself couldn't find. And this resulted in Erza being forced to go through all those horrific experiences, just like the original story.
Akira felt that as a transmigrator and an older brother, he was truly an utter failure. He had all this cheating strength, yet he couldn't even protect his own little sister from her tragic fate.
Thinking about this, the grip on his mug tightened, making the wood creak. But Akira didn't pay this any mind as he gulped down the whole mug full of alcohol straight down his throat. Although Makarov and Sera both would never let Akira touch alcohol, for Akira, who was now in too much pain, he couldn't care less about that rule. Only alcohol could let him muddy his brain to get some relief from listening to all those painful memories that were constantly coming out from Erza.
Yes, from the very day Erza joined the guild, Akira had never stopped activating his unique skill. In fact, for all these past days, he had been listening to every single piece of negative emotion trapped in Erza's heart.
The heavy despair, the terrifying nightmares of the tower, and the painful loneliness—he forced himself to hear it all. This was the punishment Akira had ordered himself to endure for not being able to protect his dear sister. Every dark thought she had, he felt it too, letting it burn into his mind as he stared down at the lonely red-haired girl.
…..
Night fell as the guild members began to leave the guild, half drunk. But even though it was very late on the second floor, there was still a person who was drinking with bottles of whisky that he brought from somewhere.
"How long are you going to stay like this, Akira?" A voice came as Akira turned to look back, squinting his eyes. Although his vision was blurry from the alcohol, his unique skill instantly identified the person standing in front of him.
"Hey, Laxus, did you also want to have a drink?" Akira asked with a lazy smirk, offering the whisky bottle towards Laxus.
Laxus didn't say anything at first, but the raging lightning that was dancing around his body told everyone in the area exactly what he was thinking. Taking a deep breath, Laxus exhaled heavily and sat right next to Akira on the couch.
"Is it because of that girl, Erza, that you became like this?" Laxus asked, turning his eyes towards the red-haired girl at the bar before looking back at Akira.
As someone who had seen this guy's face every day for years, Laxus immediately noticed how Akira and Erza looked strikingly similar. In fact, both Erza and Akira looked almost like twins. Even Laxus, when he first saw her walk into the guild, thought the old man had somehow brought back a younger clone of Akira.
" Yes , that girl Erza is my sister " Akira spoke as he dropped the bomb, making Laxus stunned. He turned his head slowly, staring at Akira with wide eyes to see if this was just some stupid joke from a drunk guy. But looking at Akira's painful expression, Laxus knew he wasn't lying.
"Your sister..." Laxus muttered, the shock clear in his voice, as he asked. "If she's your sister, why the hell are you sitting up here drinking yourself to death? I remember that girl had been in this guild for at least two days."
"Because I failed her, Laxus," Akira said, letting out a self-deprecating laugh as he took another swig from the bottle. "I have all this strength, all these cheat abilities, and yet I couldn't even find her when she needed me. I was nowhere when she was trapped in a living hell and even lost an eye."
Laxus stayed silent for a long moment, listening to Akira's words. In the past, he had always seen Akira as this perfect, unbeatable monster who could handle anything with a cool smile. Seeing him so broken over a little girl made Laxus feel complicated inside. Even though Laxus wanted to spar with him, Akira is still the only friend he has.
"So that's why you've been punishing yourself with your unique skill?" Laxus asked, his tone turning serious. He knew about Akira's ability to hear things, and he could only imagine the sheer amount of negative emotions. Akira was forcing himself to take in right now.
"I deserve it," Akira whispered, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at Erza. "Every nightmare she has, every bit of pain she feels... I will carry it with her."
Laxus suddenly reached out, grabbed the whisky bottle from Akira's hand, and set it heavily on the table.
"Stop acting like a pathetic loser, Akira," Laxus barked, glaring at him. "The Akira I know doesn't sit around crying over the past. If you really feel guilty, then get your act together and go protect her now. She doesn't need a brother who drinks in the shadows. She needs a brother who will stand in front of her and smash anyone who tries to hurt her again."
"But do I really have the right for that?!" Akira shouted back, looking at Laxus with bloodshot eyes.
Laxus had provoked him too much. The heavy alcohol combined with the endless wave of Erza's painful memories finally caused Akira to completely snap. The absolute calm and handsome smile he usually maintained vanished, replaced by pure anger and overwhelming guilt.
And with that, Akira threw a punch straight at Laxus.
****
Author's Note: Hey everyone! If you're enjoying the story and want to support my journey through university, consider checking out my Patreon. Every bit helps with my tuition, and you can get up to 20 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/Nauty_Manu