Chapter 521 - 521: The Past Resurfaces (Part 1)

Elentear was a parallel world entirely separate from both Earth Land and Edolas.

Earth Land, the world where Ankh and the others lived, was saturated with Magic Power.

Nearly every living creature possessed some amount of magic within its body, and mages could draw upon that power to cast spells.

Edolas, Mystogan's homeland and a world Fairy Tail had once visited, stood at the opposite extreme.

Magic Power there had always been scarce—and by now, it would be more accurate to say that the world possessed almost none at all.

Elentear was different from both.

This world contained so much Magic Power that it practically overflowed.

Excessive concentrations of magic were considered a disaster here, making Elentear the complete opposite of Edolas.

It was also Selene's favorite world.

Deep within Elentear stood a mysterious mountain range bathed in perpetual moonlight.

At its heart was Black Moon Mountain, renowned throughout the world as the finest place to admire the moon—and the location Selene had chosen as her favorite stronghold.

At the summit stood an elegant hot-spring estate built in a distinctly Eastern style.

Inside one of its old-fashioned buildings, silver-blue light suddenly shimmered through the air.

A graceful figure stepped through.

"Moon Dragon God-sama!"

The moment Selene appeared with the unconscious Ankh supported against her, three women immediately knelt before her and bowed respectfully.

They were Selene's subordinates in this world, each possessing considerable combat strength.

The people of Elentear knew them collectively as the Three Moonlit Beauties.

"He's a friend of mine. Look after him for now."

Selene handed Ankh to the cool, beautiful woman standing in the center, whose pale appearance resembled a snow maiden. Without another explanation, she turned around, stepped back through her portal, and vanished.

The three women remained there for several seconds, exchanging bewildered looks.

"Byakune…" one of them finally said hesitantly. "Other than the dungeon, I don't think Black Moon Mountain actually has any rooms meant for men."

The speaker was a huge, muscular woman whose imposing physique looked more suited to wrestling dragons than serving in an elegant moonlit estate.

Despite her intimidating appearance, she had the remarkably cute name Mimi.

Byakune thought for a moment.

"Take him to the guest room for now. We can ask Moon Dragon God-sama what to do once she returns."

The three women worked together to carry Ankh inside.

Not long afterward, Selene returned with an unfamiliar red-haired woman.

The Three Moonlit Beauties rose to greet her, then quietly withdrew.

Selene led the newcomer over to where Ankh lay.

"Well?" she asked. "Can you save him?"

The woman with long crimson hair crouched beside the bed.

Life Divine Power gathered around her hand and slowly flowed into Ankh's body.

After a short while, the tension in his brow eased.

He remained unconscious.

Selene crossed her arms.

"Irene, are you sure that's enough?"

Irene shook her head.

"Injuries caused by gods need to be healed with divine power."

Selene leaned against the wall with a sigh.

"If you hadn't been so certain, I never would've believed that thing on the battlefield today was actually a god."

"I didn't believe in gods either once."

Irene continued feeding Life Divine Power into Ankh as though the matter were nothing unusual.

Selene's curiosity immediately returned.

She moved closer.

"So it really was this handsome little guy?"

Her eyes narrowed mischievously.

"How exactly did the two of you meet?"

Irene gave her a sideways glance and calmly avoided the question.

"His actual age is far greater than yours."

"Oh, don't give me that."

Selene clearly knew Irene well enough to ignore the attempt at changing the subject. She nudged her lightly with an elbow.

"Come on, tell me. I looked into him before coming here, and there's practically nothing connecting the two of you."

A faint shift passed through Irene's eyes.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.

"When I first met him, Ankh had not yet completely become human."

"At that time, Ankhseram-sama taught me many things. You could say he was…"

Irene's gaze settled upon Ankh's unconscious face.

Her expression grew complicated.

"…my teacher."

"Oh?"

Selene stared at her in surprise before sucking in a breath.

"You learned magic from a god?"

She looked Irene up and down with newfound understanding.

"No wonder you're so strong. What did he teach you?"

Selene continued bombarding her with questions, but Irene stopped answering.

Instead, she carefully lifted Ankh onto her back.

"We're going to Edolas. He can't be treated here."

"Edolas?"

Selene blinked.

"The world without Magic Power?"

She gestured vaguely around them.

"This is Elentear. The ambient magic here is several times denser than Earth Land's. Where could possibly be better for healing?"

"Magic Power doesn't matter."

Irene's answer was immediate.

"What he needs is divine power. Hurry."

Selene rolled her eyes.

"You really do treat me like your personal transportation service…"

Despite her complaint, she obediently began opening another portal.

...

Still unconscious on Irene's back, Ankh felt as though he had been submerged in a dark, chaotic void.

His limbs were cold and completely numb.

Strangely, his five senses could still perceive the outside world, but no matter how hard he tried, his body could not respond.

The sensation was horribly familiar.

It reminded him of the earliest days he had spent inside that dark guild—the bleakest period of his life, when every negative emotion inside him had been pushed to its extreme.

Feeling that darkness close around him again brought back an anger and unease he had not experienced in years.

Emotions surged like a black tide.

Then, through the darkness, Ankh faintly heard voices discussing him.

The moment he heard one particularly familiar woman's voice, something inside his mind seemed to unlock.

New memories began pouring in.

They were thick and murky at first, tangled together beyond recognition.

Then scenes from his past began flashing before him one after another, like an old film being played in reverse.

They moved backward through everything he remembered—

until they reached the very beginning of Ankh's known memories.

Then something impossible happened.

Instead of stopping there, the memories broke through the boundary and continued farther back.

What appeared next was completely unfamiliar.

It felt as though Ankh were watching a movie through someone else's eyes—

except the perspective was unmistakably his own.

War filled his vision.

Artillery fire thundered across the city while screams and battle cries echoed from every direction.

Flames consumed entire streets, and an ancient, imposing castle collapsed beneath the fighting.

Terrified civilians crowded the roads.

Soldiers shouted in panic.

Nobles screamed furious orders while desperately trying to escape.

Every detail was unnervingly vivid.

Then a hand entered Ankh's field of vision.

His hand.

Or rather—

Ankhseram's hand.

A dim black glow gathered within his palm, so faint that it would have been easy to overlook.

And then…

The countless screaming people before him turned into black ash.

They vanished into the wind.

The city fell silent.

Those who survived no longer dared make a sound.

They could only watch in terror as the God Ankhseram walked away.

Ankh had no idea what he looked like through their eyes.

But when the viewpoint within the memory lowered, he suddenly saw someone familiar.

"Erza?!"

No.

That wasn't Erza.

It was Irene when she was young.

Through Ankhseram's eyes, he watched himself bend down and lift the badly wounded Irene into his arms.

Under the terrified gazes of the surviving townspeople, he carried her away from the city.

Irene's weak voice reached his ears.

"Thank you…"

"Belserion."

---------

Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.

patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator