A few days had passed since the battle.
The war was over, and we'd come out on top. With The Fallen and his executives taken down, the rest of the dark guild forces either surrendered or ran for their lives. Cleanup was still underway—patching up the wounded, rounding up prisoners, and making sure there weren't any lingering threats.
I stood at the edge of the camp, staring out at the ruins in the distance. Even after a few days, the land still looked like a battlefield. Deep craters, shattered stone, and massive trenches stretched across the landscape—my handiwork.
"Still admiring your work?" a voice called from behind.
I turned to see Makarov walking over, hands behind his back.
"Hey, old man." I stretched, rolling my shoulders. "What can I say? I like to leave an impression."
Makarov sighed. "An impression is an understatement."
I smirked. "Yeah, yeah. You here to lecture me?"
He shook his head. "No. Just making sure you're ready."
"Ready for what?"
"The world's going to talk about what happened here," he said, glancing toward the ruins. "About you."
I scoffed. "Let 'em talk."
Makarov chuckled. "Somehow, I knew you'd say that."
I grinned. "Of course. I am pretty amazing."
The old man just sighed, shaking his head. "Come on. The others are waiting."
The guild hall was packed. Voices roared over each other, laughter bounced off the wooden walls, and mages from every guild raised their mugs in celebration. Tables overflowed with food, barrels of ale were being emptied at a concerning rate, and the atmosphere buzzed with relief and victory. After days of war, tension, and destruction, this was exactly what everyone needed.
And, as expected, I was the star of the night.
"To Aiden!" someone shouted, slamming their mug on the table.
"Oberon! King of the Fairies!" another voice boomed, and soon the whole damn hall was chanting it.
I nearly choked on my drink. "What?"
Jura, sitting across from me, smirked. "You haven't noticed? That's what people are calling you now."
I raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"
Bob giggled, resting his chin on his hands. "Oh, darling, since you obliterated an entire battlefield with that divine light show of yours. You were glorious!"
Goldmine nodded, sipping his wine. "The name spread almost instantly. 'Oberon, King of the Fairies.' Fitting, considering your... performance."
I blinked. "Huh. Could've been worse. At least it's fancy."
NIMO, floating beside me in his sleek sphere form, hummed. "The probability of someone calling you 'Sparkly Boom Man' was actually quite high. You should be grateful."
I nearly spit out my drink. "Sparkly Boom Man?!"
"Could've been 'Aiden the Destroyer,'" someone joked.
"Or 'Aiden the Catastrophe.'"
"Or 'Aiden, Please Stop, You're Scaring Us.'"
Jura chuckled. "I could see it."
I snorted. "Alright, alright. 'Oberon' it is, then."
Makarov sighed beside me. "Of course you don't mind the title."
I shrugged. "Hey, it's got a nice ring to it. 'Oberon' sounds kinda regal. If people wanna call me the King of the Fairies, who am I to stop them?" I grinned. "Besides, better than something lame like Lord Explosion Murder."
"You definitely considered naming yourself that, didn't you?" Bob teased.
I pointedly ignored him.
As I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed behind my head, I noticed Laxus standing beside me, arms folded. His face was unreadable, but his eyes were practically burning with something I knew all too well.
"You saw it, huh?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"NIMO showed me everything," he said, voice steady but intense. "That was insane."
I smirked. "Not bad, right?"
"Not bad?!" His hands clenched into fists. "You were unstoppable. That kind of power… I wanna reach that level too."
I ruffled his hair, much to his absolute frustration. "Give it time, kid. You've got potential. Who knows? Maybe one day, you'll be the one showing off while I sit back and watch."
Laxus swatted my hand away, scowling. "You better not get lazy."
Bob giggled. "Oh, I love the dynamic between you two! It's like an older brother and his slightly grumpy little sibling."
"Grumpy?" Laxus scowled. "I'm not—"
"You totally are," I cut in.
Jura chuckled. "You really are."
Makarov, shaking his head with an amused sigh, patted Laxus's shoulder. "Patience, boy. Strength isn't just about power—it's about knowing how and when to use it."
Laxus huffed, but nodded.
The party carried on, and people kept coming over to chat, congratulate me, or just gawk at the guy who ended a war with a single attack.
At one point, a group of young mages—clearly new recruits from different guilds—hesitantly approached. One of them, barely out of his teens, nervously cleared his throat. "Um… excuse me, sir?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Sir? Oh man, am I getting old already?"
The kid panicked. "N-No! I just—uh—um—"
Jura sighed. "Aiden, stop messing with them."
I waved him off. "Fine, fine. What's up, kid?"
The recruit swallowed hard. "C-Could you… uh… could you tell us how you did it? How you got that strong?"
I leaned back, thinking for a moment. Then, with dead serious eyes, I said, "Milk."
Silence.
"...Milk?" one of them echoed.
I nodded sagely. "Drink a glass every morning. Never miss a day. That's the secret."
The kids immediately started whispering among themselves, some nodding furiously.
Jura sighed. "Aiden…"
Bob was dying laughing. "Oh, darling, you're awful!"
"Am I?" I smirked. "Or am I ensuring the next generation gets their daily dose of calcium?"
Even Makarov pinched the bridge of his nose. "I should've retired already…"
NIMO, ever the enabler, added, "For the record, Aiden does, in fact, consume milk regularly. The information is not entirely false."
The kids sprinted off to what I could only assume was the nearest kitchen to chug milk.
Jura shook his head. "You're a menace."
"And yet, you still tolerate me."
Makarov sighed. "Because someone has to."
NIMO floated next to Laxus. "Laxus, I have noticed a 73% increase in your energy output since our last recorded sparring session. Would you like me to provide a performance analysis?"
Laxus scoffed. "You know I don't need some dumb analysis, NIMO."
NIMO hummed. "Correction. You frequently request battle footage and analysis when Aiden is not present. The probability of you doing so again in the next week is 98%."
Laxus twitched. "I—! That's—!"
I grinned. "He's got you there, huh?"
Laxus grumbled, crossing his arms. "Shut up."
The night continued with endless chatter, drinks, and jokes. I could feel the weight of everyone's gazes—some in awe, some in fear, but mostly in admiration.
At some point, a familiar presence slid onto the bench beside me.
I turned my head and met Alma's gaze. She had a soft smile on her lips, but there was something in her eyes—something only I would notice.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," I replied, my smirk softening.
"Still basking in your newfound title, Oberon?" she teased, resting her elbow on the table and her chin on her palm.
"Oh, absolutely. I might start demanding people bow before me next."
She rolled her eyes. "I'd pay to see someone dump a drink on your head instead."
"Bold of you to assume that hasn't already happened tonight."
She chuckled, but then her expression grew more serious. "So… the war's over."
I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. "Yeah."
She watched me for a moment, then nudged my arm. "You didn't forget, did you?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Forget what?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Our promise."
For a second, I blinked. Then it hit me.
Oh. That promise.
Before the war, before everything went down, we had made a simple vow—when this was over, we'd go somewhere together. Somewhere far from battlefields and dark guilds, away from all the madness. Just the two of us.
I leaned back, grinning. "Of course I didn't forget."
Alma arched an eyebrow. "Really? Because it kinda seemed like you did."
"I didn't," I insisted. "I was just… waiting for the right time to bring it up."
She smirked. "Sure you were."
I chuckled, shaking my head. "Where do you wanna go?"
Alma shrugged, glancing up at the ceiling as if considering it. "Somewhere quiet. Maybe a nice town, a beach… or even just a little place in the mountains. Anywhere that doesn't involve explosions, duels, or death threats."
"That rules out a lot of places," I mused.
She gave me a flat look. "I will strangle you."
I laughed. "Alright, alright. A quiet place, far away from all of this. I can work with that."
For a moment, the noise of the party faded into the background, and it was just the two of us sitting there.
"…You better not back out on me," she said, her voice softer.
I met her gaze, completely serious. "I won't."
Alma stared at me for a moment, then smiled—small but real. "Good."
NIMO, floating nearby, hummed. "The probability of Aiden following through on this promise is 100%. Historical data suggests he does not break promises made to those he cares about."
Alma chuckled. "I like you, NIMO."
"I am highly likable," NIMO responded.
I snorted. "Don't encourage him."
It was a weird feeling.
But, at the same time?
I kinda liked it.
After all, I was Oberon, King of the Fairies.
And tonight? The whole damn world knew it.
Alvarez Empire
The grand halls of the Alvarez Empire were silent, save for the soft crackle of a candle burning low. August, the most powerful of the Spriggan 12 and the Emperor's trusted advisor, sat at his desk, reading over the latest reports. His sharp eyes scanned the parchment, absorbing the details of a battle that had shaken Ishgar to its core.
A lone boy. A devastating power. A victory that defied all logic.
August exhaled slowly, setting the paper down. "A child… no, a warrior," he murmured to himself. "To wield such destructive force at such an age… how curious."
For the first time in years, a spark of intrigue flickered in his usually weary eyes. This "Aiden"—a name he had never heard before—was now impossible to ignore.
???
Far beyond the reach of men, a shadow loomed in the endless sky. Acnologia, the Dragon King, stood atop a floating ruin, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The scent of destruction still lingered in the air, faint but undeniable. He could feel the battle, the way power had surged and carved through the land.
His lips curled into a wicked grin. "Interesting."
For the first time in centuries, a human had stirred something within him. Was it amusement? Excitement? Perhaps even… recognition?
It didn't matter. If this boy was as strong as the world now whispered, then sooner or later… Acnologia would test him himself.
Somewhere in the Kingdom of Minstrel
Gildarts Clive wiped the sweat from his brow, glancing at the wreckage of the beast he had just slain. Another mindless monster, another job done. He was about to move on when a messenger, breathless from the long journey, arrived at his camp.
"News from Fiore!" the man gasped. "A battle—no, a war—has ended! And a mage named Aiden… they call him Oberon, King of the Fairies."
The rest of the words barely registered. Gildarts froze, gripping the letter handed to him.
Aiden? That Aiden? The same polite kid from Fairy Tail?
With a deep chuckle, he leaned back against a rock, scanning the details. "King of the Fairies, huh? Damn, kid, you really went and made a name for yourself."
His grin widened. "Looks like I've got something to look forward to when I get back."
???
Deep within his secluded domain, Zeref sat alone, an ancient tome resting in his lap. The pages were unread, his mind focused elsewhere. He had sensed it—that power, the one that had shaken the very fabric of the world.
"A force like that…" he muttered. "And they call him Oberon, King of the Fairies."
For the first time in a long time, he found himself curious. Not about the war, not about the politics of Ishgar, but about a single individual.
Would this Aiden be another piece in the game? Or would he be something far more unpredictable?
Tenrou Island
The wind carried whispers to Tenrou Island, bringing news from the outside world. Mavis sat on a rock, her ethereal form glowing faintly as she listened.
Aiden's name was spreading fast.
Her lips curled into a small smile. "Oberon, King of the Fairies… what a fitting name."
She had always believed in the potential of Fairy Tail's mages, and now, one of them had shaken the entire world.
"How fascinating…" she whispered, her ethereal presence flickering like the breeze.
The world had changed.
And now, all eyes were on him.
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