After that day, Natsu ended up in a fight, well, that wasn't the unexpected part. It was against Max, and he struggled and even had to result in using his Lightning Flame Dragon mode to make Max give up. And then Natsu passed out from having used too much magic power in just that one roar.
After that, Gray realized that their strength hasn't kept up with the times. Except for monsters like Neos, Gildarts, Laxus, and Mana. And Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla went to find a way to grow super strong really fast. They resulted in going to Porlyusica to maybe get some potions that would make them stronger.
In the meantime, Makarov had an announcement to make at the guildhall. "And so... I have decided to retire. I'll now introduce you to your new master."
"Are you serious?" Cana questioned as all of them didn't want Makarov to retire already.
"Hold on. I still need to prepare myself." Macao said, straightening his coat, thinking he would keep the title of guild master.
"It obviously ain't you!" Wakaba said.
"The fifth master of Fairy Tail is... Gildarts Clive!" Makarov announced but in the direction he was pointing at stood Mirajane who just beamed with her usual smile.
"..."
"..."
"Where is Gildarts?!" Makarov asked.
"He left us some letters." Mira replied and handed Makarov a letter.
"Call it." Neos said.
"Dear Master, and the rest of my guildmates... Sorry, but being a master and all that ain't my style." Makarov read from the letter to the point where most of the guild were laughing at his stunned facial expression. "But, since this is a rare chance, there are two things I'll do as the current master. First, I hereby recognize Laxus as a member of Fairy Tail."
Laxus looked stunned and surprised at this. "The nerve of him!" Makarov growled.
"That old guy..." Laxus uttered.
"That's great news, Laxus!" Bickslow said with a grin.
"Now the Thunder God Tribe is completely back in action!" Evergreen hugged Laxus' arm out of joy that was shared with the rest of the group.
"Gildarts! How kindhearted you are!" Freed cried tears of joy.
"If the current master insists, then so be it." Makarov said although he was slightly happy over having his beloved grandson back.
"Anyway. Second, I hereby appoint Makarov Dreyar as Fairy Tail's sixth master." Makarov read from the letter. "But I just retired!" Makarov looked slightly angry while as everyone laughed at that things were getting back to normal. "Neos! Become the new master! Please!" Makarov begged.
"Yeah... I don't think that is going to work any time soon." Neos said with an amused smile making Makarov hung his head down as he had to come back from retirement.
"I'm going to travel for a while. I plan on coming back when I feel like it. Until then, take care. Signed, Gildarts Clive." Makarov finished the letter.
Mira then handed Cana another letter from Gildarts, which contained a card for her to summon him when she needed it. To which she ripped apart stating that she was fine with how things were and that she didn't need it. And finally, Mira handed Neos the last letter from Gildarts.
"Huh. Look like he really has a lot to say before leaving." Neos said holding his letter.
"Yeah unlike Mister. Goodbye and Left without a single word." Cana said teasingly.
"I have my reason." Neos said before opening the letter and reading it.
"To Neos, don't you dare lay a hand on my daughter unless you're going to marry her got it!" Neos read out loud and everyone stayed silent for a bit.
"Is that a death threat?" Laxus asks somewhat amused.
"Probably." Neos said before continuing to read. "If you even lay a hand on my dear Cana, I'll run back to Fairy Tail and punch you across the face."
This makes everyone else chuckle as Cana lets out a huge sigh while Neos raises a brow.
"This old geezer." Cana said face palming herself. "Kya!" She suddenly feel a hand on her butt turning to see it was Neos' hand as he look around.
"Okay so that was a lie, or he's slower than I thought." Neos said before going back to read his letter now with a red handprint on his face. "Let's see. If I-"
"Don't just go back to reading it! If you are gonna touch me, at least make it seem like you actually want to!" Cana cut him off feeling offended by him.
"You actually want me to touch you or something?" He said looking at her.
This just makes her face turn a deep crimson red before she suddenly throws a table at him, now yelling at him to drown down her embarrassment. "I'm not that type of girl!"
More into Gildart's letter which is just warning for Neos to stay away from Cana. Before Gildarts' final wish in their letters to Makarov was that he would lead Fairy Tail back to the top.
"Fine! After this, I won't let anyone else be master now! I'm going to keep going until I die! That's the final thing!" Makarov declared to which everyone let out a chuckle.
Then discussion on how Fairy Tail would become number 1 again occurred, and everyone thought it was going to take a long time until that happens. That is, until Romeo jumped on a table. "I waited seven years! I don't wanna waste any more time, Erza-nee, Neos-nii! There is a way we can shoot right to the top!"
"Ho?" Neos raises a brow now somewhat interested in this.
"Y-You can't mean...?!" Nab questioned as for some reason everyone looked either ashamed or scared.
"No! I decided we wouldn't take part in it!" Macao shouted.
"What is "it", Fourth Master?" Makarov questioned.
"Could you not call me that, Sixth Master?" Macao said.
"Look, it doesn't matter because we are not doing it." Macao said.
"We are doing it! We are! We are! We are!" Romeo argued with his father.
"We're not! We're not! We're not!" Macao argued with his son like a little child. "I absolutely disallow it! We're never taking part in it again!"
"We're back!" Natsu announced as they walked through the door, they didn't manage to find anything from Porlyusica.
"You don't get to decide, dad! You're not master anymore!" Romeo argued.
"I'm speaking as a member of the guild!" Macao argued.
"Enough! How about you stop keeping us out, and just tell us what it is before we decide on anything!" Erza said as everyone froze and looked a little frightened at the fact that she raised her voice and definitely wasn't because Erza was holding Neos' Nine-Lives Blade Work.
"Umm, well you see, it wouldn't matter because you guys missed out on seven years of training, so participating in that is out of the question." Macao said with a calm demeanor.
"I haven't. But that isn't what we ask." Said Neos with somewhat of a cold tone.
"While you guys were away, a festival started up to determine Fiore's number 1 guild!" Romeo said to which Natsu looked excited.
"That sounds fun!"
"Guilds from all over Fiore gather and compete with magic power! It's known as... the Grand Magic Games!" Romeo explained.
"Oh!" Natsu looked excited.
"The Grand Magic Games!" Lucy also had an excited look on her face, not the same as Natsu who just wanted to fight.
"Sounds fun!" Wendy said with the same excitement as Lucy.
"So, it is literally a festival!" Gray said also looking a little excited, like Natsu, well almost.
"I see. And Fiore's number 1 guild right now is... Sabertooth, was it?" Erza asked.
"Yes! If we beat Sabertooth and win the games, we can be Fiore's number 1 guild!" Romeo said with excitement at getting back on the number 1 spot.
"Still, I'm not sure that's possible with our current skill level..." Makarov said considering everyone else has had seven years to improve while they were stuck on Tenrou.
"Yes! That's right!" Macao agreed with Makarov.
"If we win, the guild will get 30 million Jewel in prize money!" Romeo said appealing to the master's greedy side.
"We're participating!" Makarov announced.
"Master!" Macao said.
"It's pointless! What about Pegasus and Lamia...?" Droy questioned.
"Sabertooth isn't our only competition!" Warren said.
"We'll just have to beat them all to a pulp!" Makarov declared while throwing air punches.
"Sabertooth, huh? I'm fired up now!" Natsu declared while letting out fire from his fist. "When is this tournament, anyway?" Natsu asked Romeo.
"In three months." Romeo replied.
"Good, that gives me plenty of time..." Neos said to which everyone looked at him confused. "... To prepare the best team for this festival, my way." Neos said with a grin that seemed malicious, and it didn't help that he was holding a projected Yamato.
He turns cutting the air creating a rift and walks in it. Leaving almost everyone sweating bullets, and those who knew they were strong began to pale looking white as ghosts. "We're screwed..." Gray uttered.
(Time Skip)
Letting out a long sigh, Neos scratched the back of his head before opening his eyes to look at Laxus, Gajeel, Levy, Mana, Erza, Wendy, Carla, Lily, and Ace.
"So who will mostly be training?" Neos ask. And they all raise their hand except for Levy and Carla. Panther Lily wasn't going to raise his hand but seeing Ace his rival did, he couldn't help himself but be motivated to do so as well.
"Good, but there will be a few cuts. Seeing how there can only be 5 members on a single team." Neos said projecting Yamato turning to cut the air opening a rift.
"So until then, I want you all to see each other as rivals to motivate yourself to become even stronger." He said walking into the portal as they all followed him inside.
Walking out they're hit by a huge gust of wind making almost everyone cover their eyes.
"Where are we?" Levy said looking around and seeing that they were now in somekind of ruined temple.
"Just what is this place?" Laxus asks as he takes in his surroundings, seeing the beaming sunlight and...
"We're above the cloud!?" Erza said seeing that they were in a temple high in the sky on a mountain that pierced the cloud.
"Just what is this place." Wendy said as she took in a deep breath feeling much more refreshed.
"Victim Sanctuary... Fudo's resting place." Mana said as everyone except Neos turned to her.
"Yeah, kinda wish I tore him a new one while in the afterlife." Neos said as Mana walked up to him standing in front of a broken statue.
Mana placed her hand on it letting her magic energy in as a walk opened up, revealing a hidden entrance, the other members widened their eyes seeing the dark dusty entrance opening up in front of them. Levy can't help but feel excitement seeing this, Carla feels unease not just by it but also by how dark and dirty it is.
Multiple swords made from pure light appear around Neos, as he walks inside followed by Mana, and soon the others all join them.
"So why are we here exactly?" Laxus asks as Mana turns back giving him a glance. "I know we're training and all but, what does exploding some dragon grave have anything to do with it?"
"We'll set up a temporary base here. Inside here not only held ancient dragon language but also dragon slayer magics left by those that once lived here." Neos said as they walked deeper in, Laxus, Wendy, and Gajeel's faces lit up hearing his words.
"Dragon Slayer Magic!?" The three ask in unison.
"Yeah, this is also where I learn some of my dragon slayer magic, and somewhat learn how to combine it with my other magic." Mana said remembering the time she sneaked out of bed to go read and get dragged back to bed by Neos.
"What is this!?" Erza said as everyone turned to her seeing her looking at a huge wall with the carving of a warrior in armor standing on top of multiple dragons.
"The Dragon Destroyer Swordman," Neos said as everyone turned to him, still seeing him walking with Mana as they all followed him. "He was the first human that knew dragon slayer magic without the help of a dragon. He became a legend in even the history of dragons."
"Wow! Someone like that actually exist?" Levy said as she wrote down with lightning speed on to her notes. This makes Gajeel sweat drop seeing how excited the blue-haired girl actually is.
"Yes, but his magic is forgotten in time. As he was unable to teach it to anyone." Mana said as they finally made it to one of the room with a lacrima in it.
Both Mana and Neos place their hand on the lacrima as the dark room all begin to light up with white light. Now everyone can see the place more clearly.
""WOW!""
"I was able to recover some of it. So Erza, I will be teaching it to you." Said Neos which made the red-haired female warrior's face light up with joy.
"Really!?" Erza said happily, it has been sometime since she got to learn something new from Neos.
"Uh, what about Wendy and the other dragon slayers?" Carla ask.
"I'll also help them train. I remember reading about other dragon slayer magics in here. Maybe we'll be able to find you guys something new. If not we can ask Onii-san for help." Mana answered which put a smile on everyone's faces.
"So much ancient knowledge!" Levy said with joy.
"I knew picking to go with my sibling was the better idea." Said Erza feeling excited to learn about dragon slayer magic that was once wielded by a legendary swordman.
"Salamender is going to be so jealous, now that I got new spells." Gajeel said with a determined look.
"Yeah, even if we can't find anything, training in the mountain is a great way to improve our strength." Laxus said with a smile as lightning crackled around his body.
"This means I'll be able to get much stronger!" Wendy said looking at Mana with a determined look, really wanting to catch up to her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Mana said seeing Wendy eyeing her like how she usually eyed a piece of meat that might try to run away.
"This is going to be exciting." Pantherlily said turning to his muscular form.
"Yeah, we still have a score to settle." Ace said turning to his half-human form.
The two turn to each other both with a determined look.
"At least you're all motivated." Carla said as she also turned to her half-human form.
"Before starting..." Neos projected multiple brooms throwing them to each member of the Fairy Tail Mages as they all caught it. "We need to clean this place up first. Or do you all prefer sleeping with dirt and dusk?"
This immediately shut them all up, seeing Mana had already begun cleaning, they all followed through making sure the place was clean enough to set up camp, Levy was extremely serious with this seeing how she didn't want them to accidentally ruin some of the writing on the wall.
After that, their training begins, Lily and Ace, are sparring with each other like they usually do. Erza is meditating trying to feel the essence of dragon slayer magic around her.
Wendy is focusing on her wind magic gathering them around her palm and spinning it trying to keep its momentum. Laxus is having difficulty shaping his lightning into the form of a blade on his hand, while Gajeel is troubled with maintaining the multiple large spiky metal scales on his body, covering his body with iron is one thing but actually turning it into a form of absolute defense and offense excited him.
The three all have a determined look on their faces, each having something to prove but all driven by the same goal is to get stronger. While Mana is being trained by Neos to control her half-dragon transformation.
After hours of training, they all decide to take a rest as Neos come back with fleshly hunted boars and fish, cooking them for everyone to eat.
"This is delicious!" Gajeel said biting into the juicy meat.
"Don't hog all of them, leave some for the other." Laxus said while chewing on a cooked fish, it's delicious but he won't admit it to Neos.
"I work tirelessly today." Gajeel said.
"We all work hard today. At least you all get to move around." Said Erza as she was getting somewhat sore from meditating almost all day.
"Well, then let's work extra hard tomorrow." Wendy said with a smile trying to cheer everyone up, as a smile appeared on all of their faces.
"I want to but, Onii-san is a bit rough." Said Mana as she was the only one that was covered with bandages. "At least you all get to do warm up." She said biting into her cooked fish.
"That's because you can't fully control that half-dragon form of yours." Said Neos cracking his neck.
This just motivated them to train harder, seeing how Mana's training is much more difficult than theirs.
'I won't let you leave me behind, Mana.' Wendy thought.
'This kid, can go toe to toe with my rival when he's holding back. Just you wait rival, I won't lose to you or your little sister.' Laxus thought.
'She is powerful, maybe even more than all of the dragon slayers combined. Damn, I won't let her outshine me so much.' Gajeel thought.
'Even my baby sister is stronger now, my pride won't allow it to stay this way. Just you wait, I'll be much more powerful so that you won't have to fight to protect me.' Erza thought.
After three months a portal was open inside the Fairy Tail guildhall, everyone knew where it was from as each one of Neos's group began to walk out. Almost all of them are covered with bandages, and scratch marks, but what surprised the other members is that they can hardly feel any sense of magical energy coming from them. As if their control is so good to the point that sensing them is hard.
"Best decision I ever made." Said Gajeel as he flexed his muscles letting out a few popping sounds.
"No wonder why Mana is strong. Faker really knows how to make you stronger." Laxus said cracking his neck. The Thunder God Tribe is excited to see their leader again as now he is even more powerful than before.
The only one that doesn't see many changes are Levy, Carla, Mana, and Neos.
"Look like I'm up one." Lily said with a smirk.
"Enjoy it when it last." Ace said back to his rival with a smirk.
"You two and your rivalry. Does everything have to be a competition between you two?" Carla said that in the months she spent with them, those two acted like siblings always trying to one-up each other.
"So pretty boy, how was training camp?" Cana asks leaning on Neos.
"You mean, running the training camp?" He said which just made her chuckle.
"Um, Neos. Can I ask you for a favor?" Levy ask somewhat nervously. Which just made him question what she wanted. They all did the training, but her was more light compared to the others.
A cut appears in the air as a portal opens and Neos walks out from it. Stepping onto the sandy beach he looked around for Lucy and her group until his eyes landed on Jellal, Ultear, and the pink-haired girl Meredy who was a former member of Grimoire Heart like Ultear with his guildmate.
Jellal looked more mature than before but otherwise, he was just the same, Ultear also looked more mature but her hairstyle changed slightly as she had bangs going over her forehead, and Meredy looked far more mature she had grown into a beautiful young woman, her chest had grown bigger and her pink hair had grown much longer.
"What's going on here?" Neos questioned.