Eros in Fairytail

[The next day.]

The doors of the guild suddenly burst open as Gildarts and Cana entered the hall. Cana looked down at the floor, embarrassed, while holding his hand. Gildarts, with an unusually serious expression, scanned the room.

"Listen, everyone!" His firm tone immediately drew everyone's attention. The next moment, his expression shifted to something almost comically idiotic. "I'm Cana's daddy!" Gildarts exclaimed, a huge grin on his face, his cheeks flushed with emotion as he hoisted the completely mortified girl into his arms. "I'm so happy!"

"Let me go," Cana pleaded, covering her face with her hands, her embarrassment palpable. "Everyone is watching…"

"Let them watch! Let the whole world know I have such a beautiful daughter!"

"Dad!!!"

The guild members watched the scene with smiles, some bursting into laughter. Even Makarov, seated at the bar with a mug of beer, chuckled heartily. Eros, meanwhile, was in the library, engrossed in drawing runes. His training for the week had been canceled since Gildarts intended to spend this time with Cana. Eros couldn't help but feel happy for them both.

At a nearby table, a group of children were diligently practicing their spells. Lily and Rick acted as their teachers, explaining the intricacies of magic and demonstrating techniques. In the guild kitchen, Roni was working part-time under the cook, assisting and learning as much as he could.

During the day, both Roni and Rick trained in fire magic under Macao. The older mage was delighted with his new students, especially Rick, who was advancing rapidly. Rick's flames, a brilliant shade of orange, were incredibly potent. No matter what Macao tried, he couldn't extinguish them. On the contrary, Rick's fire would absorb nearby flames, growing stronger.

Only Makarov could extinguish the boy's fire. He insisted that training be conducted far from the guild and the city to avoid any accidental catastrophes.

[Three weeks ago.]

"Teacher, I've completed the first two stages! Let's move on to the third!" Eros's eyes gleamed as he stared at Gildarts, eager to absorb every spell the senior mage could teach. Lately, Eros had realized his lack of attack-oriented skills, both in close and ranged combat.

"Whoa, slow down," Gildarts replied with a nervous smile. "I'll teach you everything I know, but most of my spells are heavy on magic consumption."

"But I have a lot of magic," Eros countered confidently.

"Yes, but not enough to use my spells more than a few times in battle."

"Eee…" Eros muttered, clearly disappointed.

"Don't give me that look." Gildarts grinned. "I'll teach you how to enhance your body with Crush Magic, along with a few spells. Honestly, though, I rarely rely on my magic during fights."

"Why?" Eros asked, surprised. "With Crush Magic, you could obliterate any enemy."

"That's the problem," Gildarts said, a hint of frustration in his voice. He turned to a large boulder nearby and touched it lightly. A brilliant white light engulfed the area before fading. Where the stone once stood, there was now only emptiness. "I use this magic only against exceptionally strong opponents. Otherwise, it's too destructive."

He added, "By nature, I'm a pacifist. I don't want to kill unless absolutely necessary. That's why I've focused so much on strengthening my body."

"I see. Then let's begin," Eros said eagerly.

Gildarts nodded. "Alright, but first, let's discuss Crush Magic." He sat down on the grass and motioned for Eros to join him. Eros complied, sitting beside his teacher.

"You probably think this magic is only about destruction, right?"

"Not just destruction. It can also be used defensively," Eros replied.

"Correct. But it has far more applications than you realize…"

That first day was devoted entirely to theory. To Eros's surprise, Gildarts, whom he had always thought of as a man of action, delivered an insightful and engaging lecture. By the end of the day, Eros was so absorbed that he hadn't even noticed how quickly time had passed.

The second day—and much of the following week—focused on concentrating magic. Eros practiced channeling magic into his limbs for powerful strikes and learning to redirect it instantly for defense or successive attacks. The strength of these attacks was astonishing, but mastering this skill proved challenging.

Over the remaining two weeks, Eros managed to learn only one spell: "Disassembly." This technique allowed him to block incoming spells while simultaneously attacking, effectively splitting an enemy into smaller, weaker versions of themselves. Initially, Eros thought the spell was designed to dismember opponents, but Gildarts's explanation corrected his misunderstanding.

The spell worked by dividing an enemy into multiple smaller replicas, each significantly weaker than the original.

Eros primarily trained on his own during this period since Gildarts spent most of his time with Cana. The senior mage was preparing to embark on an S-rank mission to settle an outstanding debt and deemed it too dangerous to bring Cana along.

Still, Gildarts spent a few hours each day with Eros, offering guidance, correcting mistakes, and answering questions. After these sessions, Eros would go hunting to earn money before returning to the guild in the evening.

*************************

A week later, one evening, as Eros walked towards the guild building, he encountered Gildarts carrying a sleeping Cana in his arms.

"Oh, Eros, just the person I was looking for," Gildarts said, beckoning him over. Pulling a simple-looking leaflet from under his cloak, he handed it to Eros. "Meet me at the gates of Magnolia tomorrow morning. Don't be late," he added before walking on, leaving Eros staring at the leaflet as though spellbound.

"Finally!" Eros exclaimed, rushing home at full speed to prepare for the upcoming journey.

Makarov, meanwhile, was pacing furiously, puffing and shouting about Gildarts' decision to bring a child on such a mission—even if that child was practically an A-rank mage.

The rest of the guild remained quiet, hoping to avoid Makarov's wrath. Meanwhile, Eros and Gildarts discreetly slipped out through the gates when Makarov's back was turned, bidding farewell to the others beforehand.

Both of them knew Makarov would be too worried to give his approval. Half an hour later, they were already far from Magnolia, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Sharing a glance, they realized the absurdity of their escape and burst into laughter.

"Teacher."

"Hm?"

"I have a question about the mission," Eros said, holding up the leaflet. "'Investigate missing persons cases'? This doesn't seem like an S-rank mission."

"I thought so too and contacted the client," Gildarts replied, folding the leaflet and tucking it into his pocket. "But there's no mistake."

"You specifically chose this mission, didn't you?" Eros asked, narrowing his gaze at Gildarts.

Gildarts, unbothered, shrugged. "I promised to take you on an S-rank mission, didn't I?" Without waiting for a response, he added mockingly, "Well, here it is."

"Alright, my mistake for not specifying what kind of mission," Eros sighed, turning his attention to the surrounding scenery.

"Don't be upset, kid," Gildarts chuckled, ruffling Eros' hair. "In a few years, you'll be tackling these on your own—or with some beautiful lady by your side." He winked, earning a small smile from Eros.

"It would've been better to stay in Magnolia. At least I'd have been productive," Eros retorted.

"I doubt this trip will be dull."

"And why's that?"

"Call it intuition," Gildarts said with a grin, quickening his pace slightly.

Half a day later, they arrived at their destination. Shirotsume was a small town nestled in the northern mountains. It was more akin to a large village compared to Magnolia, with modest, two-story buildings that appeared rather gray and dull.

Eros and Gildarts sat in a small tavern, waiting for their client.

"Where is he?" Eros grumbled, sipping his juice. "He set the time and is late himself."

At that moment, five elderly men in gray-toned attire entered, each bearing an emblem shaped like the letter "S."

"There he is," Gildarts murmured as the group approached their table. The eldest, appearing around sixty, pulled out a chair and sat across from them.

"Hello, elder," Gildarts greeted.

"Greetings, magicians," the man replied as a waitress placed a cup of tea in front of him.

"We're from Fairy Tail," Gildarts said, pulling his cloak aside to reveal the black guild mark on his chest and handing over the leaflet.

"We received the notice and are grateful such a powerful mage took on this task," the elder said.

"Can you tell us more about the mission?" Gildarts asked, gesturing at the leaflet. "It barely provides any details."

The old men exchanged uneasy glances before the elder handed Gildarts and Eros a thick stack of leaflets. Gildarts flipped through them quickly, his expression darkening as he stopped at the fifteenth page.

"These are all children, aged twelve to seventeen, who've gone missing over the past five months," the elder explained. The tavern fell silent as all eyes turned toward Eros and Gildarts. "We beg you—find them, find our children!" the elder pleaded, tears streaming down his face. The others behind him echoed his desperation. "We'll pay any amount. Just bring them back!"

"Five months," Gildarts said coldly, the tension in the tavern palpable. "Why are you only coming to us now?" His calm voice barely concealed his anger. "This mission's been listed for two months! Why didn't you seek help sooner?"

Gildarts' fist slammed into the table, shattering it into pieces. The elders trembled, not from fear but shame.

"We couldn't…" the elder admitted, his gaze fixed on the floor. "The Duke forbade it. He feared exposure would strip him of his title and land."

"And you just obeyed him?" Eros interjected, his voice sharp. "A pompous tyrant like him?"

"We had no choice," the elder continued. "He took our families hostage. It wasn't until three months later that Duke Everlue allowed us to seek help—but only from guilds. Mages from other guilds came before you, but… they disappeared the very next day."

"I see," Gildarts said, regaining his composure. "Has anyone seen the kidnapper? Any clue about who—or what—they might be?"

At that moment, the sound of a glass shattering broke the silence. Both mages turned toward the noise to see an elderly woman in mourning attire, her face and hands the only visible parts of her.

"A demon…" she whispered, terror etched into her features. "It was a demon…"

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Thank you all for reading, please vote with power stones

Hello all, for some reason, my fanfic "Good or bad, does it matter?" Got blocked, I have sent them an email to clear it, let's hope for the good.