{A New Path}: World's Strongest Grandpa!

Because of the little interference from Tartaros, Amell arrived at the guild when Makarov and the candidates had already left.

"I am very sorry, Founder, they left about an hour ago." Macao stood in front of Amell and his back was drenched in sweat. 'Curse them, leaving me here with this monster, how am I supposed to entertain someone well over a century old.'

"Do not call me that, call me Amell!"

"Haha, I Apologize, so, if you want I could show you where the trial is taking place."

Amell shook his head. "No need, I know where they're heading." Macao didn't know this, but Amell had just located them by himself by spreading his magic around the planet. If there was wind, Amell could see and hear from any location.

"Then if there is nothing else you need, I shall take my leave."

"Before you do," Amell reached out his hand. "Do you have some paper, and possibly a pen I could borrow?"

"Eh, yeah, sure." He ran over to the bar to get some paper and a pen and quickly made his way back. "Here you go, why do you need it, if you don't mind me asking."

Amell took the material and started writing a note with not a lot of enthusiasm. "Well, you see, the reason I'm running late is that some members of Tartaros came looking for me. They wanted me dead or capture, something like that. I also promised the council that I would deliver any relevant news about that guild if I found any."

"Wait, What!? One of the three strongest dark guilds? That Tartaros?" Macao seemed not to be on the side of the believer. Amell's attitude was just so calm when talking about an encounter with a guild that the entire world feared.

"Yeah, so you've heard of them? Two of their big-shots came looking for me, and one of them even detonated an explosion in my face. I got some names and such so I thought the council should know." He finished writing it then created a dove out of solid air particles and sent it flying.

"Are you okay, Sir Amell? They are rumoured to be the strongest of the three main guilds. Mostly because of how secretive they are. I don't even know what they look like, I've only seen guilds working for them." Macao still found this hard to believe. Even if he was the strongest mage alive, there had to be a limit, right? Who could take on Tartaros and be this calm afterwards?

"Perfectly fine. I imagine they were a little stronger than Natsu, probably around Erza's level, maybe Mirajane actually. Somewhere around there, so I made short work of them." Amell said and squeezed into a seat, which was not that easy because of how tall and big he was.

"S-Short work? Are you sure you mean our Erza? She's like an undying monster."

"Hm, yeah I suppose you would see it that way, but that's mainly because of how weak you are. I mean, that sky-dragon slayer, Wendy I think her name was, is stronger than you. You could use some training." Amell continued talking and comparing the members in the guild without noticing the despair on Macao's face.

'Me, weak. Weaker than Wendy... How long have I been a mage for? Damn, that's a harsh reality to accept.' He was only half paying attention to Amell at this point.

"Anyway, which ones were picked for the Trial?"

Macao snapped back to reality. "There were eight this time. Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Elfman, Freed, Mest, Levy and Cana.

"I'm happy to hear that Makarov isn't a fool. He chose the most worthy one."

"Are you referring to Natsu too? He is the one that most of us vote for," Macao received some nods of agreement from the ones that we're listening in.

"Natsu? No, I was talking about Cana. She holds way more power than any of those fools and her heart is strong and pumps even stronger blood." Amell said proudly.

"Cana? Interesting, I've never seen her as a combat-oriented mage. She usually never fight or spar with anyone."

"That is because she has never had a proper teacher to show her how powerful her magic could be. Here's a lesson for you, never underestimate timid-looking magic. Just because it looks weak doesn't mean it is. When I started, people thought wind-magic was weak, yet I can cut a mountain in two with a wave of my hand." He said nonchalantly.

"Haha, I guess that's true." Macao laughed it off, so did everyone because they thought he was joking. No one would expect him to actually be able to cut a mountain in two.

"Are you going to go watch them? I think it could be interesting to watch."

"I think not. I can watch it from here if I wanted to."

"Okay," Macao nodded in response, but he didn't quite know what Amell meant by that. There existed magical tools for remote viewing, but they usually had a pretty low range, unless it was something from the magic council.

"I will enjoy my time here in the guild a while longer because then it's off on another adventure for me," Amell said with a smile.

"Well, let me know if you need anything. While Mira and master are away, I usually handle everything regarding the guild." He bowed his head before walking away.

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In an undisclosed location, the demon Kyoka stood in front of two containers with a strange creature inside each.

The usual smirk on her face wasn't there anymore, it had been replaced by a frown. Beside her stood another Demon Gate by the name of Seilah. She followed Kyoka religiously and acted almost like the physical representation of Kyoka's anger. She was always the one lashing out against others on behalf of her lady.

"That man is stronger than I thought. He easily took care of two Gates and instantly slaughtered one of our hordes. If our plans are to be carried out successfully, we must deal with him first. He is the only one that could stop us before we reach Face."

"Shall I take the rest of the Gates and plan an ambush. Surely he can't stand against our combined might?"

"Wrong Seilah. What if he can? People compare him to Lord Zeref, which is, of course, ridiculous but he took down someone like Jackal without receiving a single injury. Not even I can do it as clean as he did it. Caution is how we win this. We also shouldn't face him in direct combat anymore, find out everything you can about potential family members, anything that will give us an edge. We'll play this dirty if we have to." Kyoka actually didn't like unfair play against humans since her pride as a demon thought such methods were wasted on them. But for the Eight Saint, she had to swallow some of that pride.

"Yes, Lady Kyoka." Seilah left the room with haste, leaving Kyoka alone with Jackal and Franmalth who had recovered enough to speak. That's how she knew about their death and how easily they were killed.

"I don't wanna resort to such cowardly tactics. If you let me go after him again, I can kill him this time. I know his tricks and I have already thought up some countermeasures." Jackal said.

"You aren't capable of coming up with anything, you're too stupid and too stubborn for that. You only know one thing, and that is punch and explode. Don't try and convince me of anything else."

"Since that is all that I am good at, allow me to do that."

The demons of Tartaros followed a certain hierarchy and Jackal had gone against orders previously and chased after Amell, so he would now be closely monitored so he wouldn't do that again.

"No, you will stick to the plan that we have designed, otherwise you could turn out to be the cause of it falling apart."

"What should we do about the council? Jackal stupidly let that man know that we have informants inside the council. What if he goes back and helps those morons clean house? I don't believe they can stay hidden if he gets involved."

"Do not worry, Franmalth, I've dealt with our people inside the council. When things calm down a little, we'll make another attempt, but Crawford already gave us all the relevant information." Kyoka said.

"What about Face? Crawford will not be one of the keys anymore, and now they'll be a lot more careful with the screening."

"As I said, when things have calmed down, we will move against the council once more."

"By your will, Lady Kyoka." Franmalth quieted down to think. He rivalled Kyoka in intelligence and he was the one to help her devise this plan, but he had one major flaw and that was that he easily panicked when things didn't go as planned. And when that happened he would lose almost all his rational thinking. The fear of Amell had been integrated into him, so he wasn't thinking clearly at the moment.

"I'll come back when you two are fully resurrected," Kyoka said.

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"Here you go, Sir Amell, the ale you ordered," Macao said.

"Thank you," Amell said and took a sip, but quickly placed the mug back on the table. "Well, Macao, it's been great spending time here and getting to know you, continue as you are and you might make a fine guild master someday." He stood up and put on his cloak.

"What's going on!?" Macao was utterly confused about what was going on.

"My help is needed now, the guild is in trouble."

"I'll gather the rest, we'll go with you!" Macao didn't understand what was going on, but he heard trouble and that was enough for him to understand he needed to act.

"No, no, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it, none of you would offer anything, just stay here and protect the guild." Amell walked out of the building without bothering to listen to Macao's, please. He still didn't know what kind of trouble Amell was referring to.

When he got outside he immediately started flying towards Tenrou Island. ' Grimoire Heart is the extent of what they can handle, they can't handle the big guy.' Amell had been keeping an eye on Tenrou Island this entire time and he let the attack on it happen as a way to see the extent of the guild's strength. Grimoire Heart that attacked was nowhere near Tartaros so Amell wanted to know exactly where on the power scale the Fairy Tail mages were.

When Magnolia was in the rearview-mirror he sped up and disappeared like a bolt of lightning. And only a few minutes later he appeared on Tenrou Island which was still under attack from the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart. Amell scanned the surface of the island and he witnessed firsthand a war between mages. 'Until the big guy arrives, I do have something I need to do.' Amell used teleportation magic and disappeared.

In front of Mavis grave, Cana sat on her knees with tears in her eyes. The rain was pouring outside and if not for the barrier around the grave, she would be completely soaked. "What am I doing?! I'm such a failure, how can I tell him that I'm his daughter, why do I deserve this, I can't do anything." She wanted to scream, in hope that the frustration and anger would disappear, but who was she trying to fool. No matter what she did, she would never deserve to be apart of that family.

"Two legends, and who am I? I don't even know what I'm doing, what does it matter that I become an S-Class mage, nothing will change."

"That's not true," Amell said calmly. Cana quickly opened her eyes and saw him sitting on the steps to Mavis grave. "You can finally tell my stupid son that you're his daughter, right?" He smiled like this was yet another day at the guild. "Isn't that what this whole trial is for you? Validation that you deserve to be Gildarts daughter."

"Y-You..."

"Amell, I also go by, World's strongest Grandpa. Take your pick." He laughed to lighten the mood, but Cana was terrified, she sat still not responding to his jokes or comments.

"Beautiful place isn't it." He was referring to the space around the grave which had an otherwordly feel to it. "You know, I designed the barrier that protects this place."

"You... Know..."

Amell found amusement in her behaviour, but inside just like her, he also had a scarring pain that he didn't let anyone see. "I'm pretty observant. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you." He stood up and his massive frame covered the grave from her sight.

Her tears hadn't stopped coming, but now they fell for another reason. She didn't look him in the eye, it was too hard so her gaze stopped on his chest. "Are you... Really...?" She tried to speak, but coherency wasn't something she could muster. Everything came out in code that Amell was forced to translate in his head.

He chuckled calmly and said. "If you're asking if I am real, then the answer is yes. If you're asking if this is a trick, the answer would be a no. If you're asking if I'm your grandpa, then the answer would also be a yes. "He walked closer, but very slowly as to not scare her or rile up a wrong reaction.

He bent down in front of her and looked her into the eyes, but she didn't meet his gaze. She was looking at the ground. "You look pretty out of it, so maybe, for now, we don't speak. How about I give you something that is long overdue." He reached out and wrapped his arms around her. He was so big that she completely disappeared in his embrace. She could no longer keep her barrier up, she broke down crying even harder but simultaneously her arms moved up and squeezed the cloak that covered her.

"S-So warm..." Cana whispered into his chest, her grip tightening till she couldn't squeeze any harder. Her tears had stained the cloak but neither cared, and Cana's frown had finally transformed into a smile.

"I am so sorry for not being around! From now on, there will never be a time where you can't call for me or come to me for help." He got no response, but he felt her slow nods and he heard the muffled crying as she had buried her head into his cloak.

"Thank you..." He heard finally after they had been sitting in that position for a couple of minutes. "Thank you..." She said again even quieter.

"Cana, I have something for you." They separated and Amell smiled at her. "You came here, and for that let me give you what you deserve." He reached his hand back toward the grave and the light in the middle flew into his hand.

"Fairy Glitter, one of the magics Mavis entrusted to the guild. Now, I am giving it to you. It shall serve as proof of your strength and dedication to the guild." He placed a finger on her arm and just like that she now possessed one of the strongest magic spells in the world.

Cana looked at the marking on her arm with a disappointed look. "I don't deserve this, I betrayed Lucy and Fairy Tail."

"Cana, worthiness is overrated. Mavis entrusted the guild to me. She expected her own demise and she asked me to guide the guild in her place. But, what did I do? I left, just like that, and now I am worshipped as a founder. I deserve none of that, but now that I see I have people I need to protect I can no longer shy away from it. That's all that matters. As long as you use that to fight for the ones you love, you're as worthy as me, Gildarts or anyone else."

Cana looked up at him, and just then she noticed the love in his eyes, and it caused another wave of tears to stream down her face. "Thank you, grandpa."

"Of course. Now, should we join the others?"

"Are you staying?!" Cana asked as a smile sprouted on her face.

"For you, little princess, absolutely." Amell yanked her in for another hug.

"G-GRANDPA, AIR!!" Cana struggled to get out.

"Sorry, princess, you're just too adorable," Amell released her.

He stood up and also helped her to her feet. He turned to the grave with a smile. "It seems I returned sooner than expected, Mavis. I hope you continue to rest in peace after this is over with. And I promise I'll fix up the island before I go."

"You're talking like she can hear you."

"She is always watching over Fairy Tail and its children. She has and will forever do so. She's proud of you, just like I am." Amell stroke her cheek which caused her to blush.

"Now, we can go. I believe there is some trash left on the island that we should throw out." Amell smiled at her before he started walking back.

Cana waited a few seconds before following him, she was just watching him walk away. 'Coolest grandpa ever!'

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End