Chapter 119: A Somber Return
January 2nd, X785
Meliodas stood outside of the abandoned cabin he was staying at as he watched the sun rise. His injuries healed, he was now wearing the long sleeved tunic he had bought from Heart Kreuz previously instead of being wrapped in bandages. Standing next to him were Ultear and Meredy.
"You're leaving now? Are you sure you've healed enough?" Meredy asked.
"Yeah. I heal pretty fast. Besides, I need to return to Fairy Tail and let them know I'm alright." Meliodas answered.
"Take care of yourself, Meliodas." Ultear added in.
"I will. And thanks again for saving me. You know where to find me if you ever need my help. By the way, what do you two plan on doing since you're no longer with Grimoire." Meliodas asked.
"I don't quite have a plan yet. However, I do intend on doing something to atone for my past." Ultear answered.
"And I'll be joining Ultear with whatever she does." Meredy added. Meliodas nodded and smiled at the two of them.
"Then I wish you two good luck!" Meliodas said as black wings of darkness sprouted from his back. He jumped into the air and took off north.
"I can't believe he's already healed. When we found him, his body was completely torn. I didn't even think he would live, much less heal in two weeks..." Meredy said.
Ultear nodded in agreement. "Yes. There's something odd about him. But I know for certain that he is definitely not human..."
"Then what is he?" Meredy asked, shocked at Ultear's response.
Ultear remained silent for a moment. "Well, it doesn't matter what he is. He's a member of Fairy Tail and we owe a debt to Fairy Tail."
Meredy nodded. By the time they finished their conversation, Meliodas's figure had already disappeared into the distance.
---
Meliodas wasn't initially too far away from Magnolia Town, as he had spent his time resting in the abandoned cabin that was in a forest close to Hargeon Port. Meliodas took his time flying back to Magnolia as he thought about his next plans.
'I couldn't help those who were with me on Tenrou...but while I'm still here, I need to help those who are still in the guild as the key members of Fairy Tail are now all gone…and in order to do that…' Meliodas thought about Mel Force, having broken it when he clashed against Acnologia. 'Hmm...Now that I think about it, I don't remember holding onto it when I got slashed and launched across the ocean. I'll definitely need another sword like that for future fights.'
Meliodas landed in front of the guild hall entrance. His black wings of darkness dissipated and he walked into the guild. The guild hall was silent and with far less people. However, there were still a few faces Meliodas recognized.
Wakaba, who was sitting alone at one of the tables, noticed Meliodas walk into the guild. His eyes opened wide as tears began streaming down his face. He immediately jumped up from his seat and ran towards Meliodas.
"Meliodas!" Wakaba exclaimed. Some of the other guild members there turned their heads towards Wakaba and upon seeing Meliodas, immediately ran towards him.
"It's really Meliodas!" Nab shouted.
"Y-you survived?!" Max questioned.
The group gathered around Meliodas, hugging him as Meliodas stood uncomfortably in the middle.
"What's going on?" Macao shouted as he walked out of the Guild Master's office. Meliodas squeezed his way out of the crowd that was smothering him and looked at Macao.
"Meliodas?!" Macao exclaimed. "You're really alive! Then that means everyone else is-"
"No." Meliodas said solemnly. The cheers of the other guild members immediately quieted down upon hearing Meliodas' statement.
"As far as I know...I'm the only one who survived. It was pure luck that I'm still alive here today…" Meliodas continued.
"How did you even get out of that?!" Wakaba questioned. Meliodas thought briefly about bringing up the fact he was rescued by Ultear and Meredy but decided against it as he knew they were still wanted criminals.
"Well a few fishermen found my body floating in the ocean." Meliodas responded.
"I see…" Macao responded. "Well since then, the past couple of weeks have been rough. We've sent people to Hargeon to try and locate Tenrou after the council informed us of what had happened, but we found no trace of the island. Right now, Reedus, Vijiteer, and Warren are out there."
"By the way, who is the new guild master now?" Meliodas asked.
"You're looking at him." Macao said smugly. "Although-" Macao held his tongue at what he was about to say to Meliodas. He knew Meliodas' situation with being from another world and wanting to return back to it. Even if he felt Meliodas would be a better fit for guild master, it would have felt wrong to place that kind of burden on Meliodas.
"I'm his advisor." Wakaba added. "It's probably a bit out of place to ask this but...did the S class trials ever finish?"
Meliodas nodded his head in response.
"Makarov promoted me to S class."
"Congratulations! It would be a time to celebrate but…" Macao paused.
"It's fine. Now that I'm in S class, I'll do whatever I can to help this guild thrive." Meliodas said.
"The S class board has gone quite empty due to our lack of ability as of late to complete those kinds of jobs, but we still have a couple left on the board if you decide to take those." Wakaba said.
"I'll do what I can to help you guys out. But I broke my sword when I fought Acnologia so I'll be going to get another from Musica first before I take on any missions." Meliodas said as he began to make his way back towards the guild entrance. "Tell the others I'm back once they return from Hargeon."
"Will do Meliodas." Macao responded as he and the other guild members watched Meliodas leave.
"Don't overwork yourself!" Wakaba shouted as Meliodas was walking out before turning to face Macao. "He's really changed. That lighthearted tone he always talks in is...colder..."
"I hope he's not blaming himself for what happened…" Macao responded.
---
Meliodas stopped by his house and knocked on Schneider's door. The door opened and Schneider's eyes opened wide with surprise upon seeing Meliodas.
"You're alive?!" Schneider exclaimed.
"Sorry I missed last month's rent. This is for you." Meliodas said as he handed Schneider the jewels. Schneider looked down at the money he was payed before looking back up at Meliodas. Without even a chance to even get a word in, Meliodas had already run off.
"O-oh...thanks." Schneider responded, trying to comprehend what was happening. 'He even included an extra 25,000 for the late fee...I wasn't going to charge him for that considering what had happened…'
---
The warm afternoon sun shined down over Meliodas as he flew north towards Clover Town and landed right in front of Musica's house. Sitting on a chair on the porch was Musica with a bottle of ale in hand. He immediately stood up from his chair upon seeing Meliodas.
"Meliodas?!" Musica shouted. He momentarily froze and dropped the bottle of ale in his hand, causing it to crack and spill the contents inside as it hit the ground.
"Yo!" Meliodas greeted with a wave.
"Don't just greet me casually like that!" Musica shouted as he ran towards Meliodas. "I heard that you were dead! I don't know the details, but apparently something happened at your guild's S class trials and the guild master along with a bunch of other members had died…including you…"
"Well it was a stroke of luck that I got out of it…" Meliodas replied somberly. Musica saw the sadness in Meliodas' eyes and immediately changed the subject.
"So what brings you here?" Musica asked.
"I broke Mel Force." Meliodas responded bluntly.
"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE! HOW COULD ONE OF MY SWORDS BREAK?!" Musica shouted angrily.
"Well I was fighting Acnologia." Meliodas continued. Musica flinched upon hearing the name of the black dragon.
"I suppose even my creations would be no match for that damned dragon…" Musica said. "To think you would be fighting something like that…where are the remains of Mel Force now?"
"I don't have it anymore. Acnologia nearly killed me so I must have dropped it in the ocean somewhere…" Meliodas responded.
"Well...it can't be helped...I'll craft you another Mel Force as I still have a few anti link crystals leftover from the last time." Musica said. "Although if you're going to be fighting something like Acnologia...I'll need a different material than typical steel and iron…"
"What would that be?" Meliodas asked.
"Neotite. It's an incredibly rare metal that is far stronger than steel. It's an augmentor type metal, meaning that the more magic you pour into it, the stronger it becomes and can conduct magic better than steel ever could."
"And where do I find this metal?" Meliodas asked.
"Northwest of Crocus is a mountainous area. The highest mountain there, Tremolo Mountain, is the only place in Fiore that I know of to get this metal." Musica answered. "I tried going there a couple of weeks ago but I was denied entry by the council. They've set a perimeter around the area and wouldn't tell me why."
"Hmm...that is quite problematic. But I think I know someone who might be able to get me in." Meliodas responded.
"Really? Who?"
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