440. Last Gifts

His battle against Viernes was far from satisfying even though he was quite happy to see a type of magic he had never seen before. It would be more satisfying if he could enjoy his battle, but he is short on time. He has been staying in this timeline for months, so it's about time for him to return.

For now, he will check on Selene and the Dragon Slayers. He needs to make sure they won't be threats to his family in this timeline. Ben goes to their battle location to observe how they are doing against the Wood Dragon Aldoron.

It's a completely one-sided battle with Selene being the main attacker. She is already stronger than the injured Aldoron and she has some Dragon Slayers helping her, so the Wood Dragon doesn't stand a chance. But they can't overwhelm their opponent as good as Ben.

Though it's not power that they lack, but battle skills and strategy. Ben could overwhelm Ignia and Viernes so much that they couldn't even fight back because he made them unable to attack him using his gravity before attacking them mercilessly.

However, Selene and co are not restricting Aldoron's movements. He doesn't know whether they don't plan to do it or they simply can't do it though. But he knows for sure that their battle becomes harder because Aldoron can freely attack them.

Also, this is something that always makes him frustrated every time he watches others' fights. They always let their opponents finish their attack preparations even though they can interrupt them. It's another thing if they are confident they can take those attacks or they are very curious and want to learn more about those attacks like him.

The problem is usually they got blasted or even defeated by those attacks. Ben also rarely interrupts his opponents' attacks just because he is very curious about their attacks. But he always makes sure he is prepared to either block or dodge those attacks, unlike most people he knows who just take those attacks and get hurt.

That's why he is quite frustrated seeing Selene and the Dragon Slayers just keep letting Aldoron make his attack. They have more people, but they can't even interrupt him. Then they get hurt badly after taking his attacks because they are not prepared for those attacks.

But he doesn't say anything because it's not his business and this is a good chance to observe them too. He is also interested in Aldoron's power because Wood Magic is something that always piques his interest. It's magic that involves life, after all, so it's really interesting.

Though he doesn't have much time to observe because the battle ends not long after he arrived. Selene stabs Aldoron's chest and rips his heart out to kill him. Then after a while, she uses Spatial Magic to send Aldoron's body elsewhere.

Ben smirks because he already knew that Selene has a plan to use Aldoron's body. He doesn't exactly know what she's planning. His guess is she wants to make a Wood Dragon Slayer. The Wood Dragon Magic must've some abilities that she desires, that's why she chose to attack Aldoron and let Ben attack the other 2 Dragons.

"Well, whatever, I have nurtured a lot of Dragon Slayers after the war. Wood Dragon Slayer Magic is interesting, but it pales compared to that Dragon Slayer Magic."

Ben approaches Selene's group who gets surprised to see him here already. They never thought that he would defeat 2 Dragon Gods faster than them who ganged up against just 1 Dragon God. It shows just how big their power difference is.

"Before we go back to Earthland, I want to make a contract with you guys."

"A contract?"

"Yeah, a magic contract to be precise. It will make sure that none of us will breach the agreements we made because there will be harsh consequences."

"Was there really such magic? And what kinds of consequences are there?"

"There was something similar used by Spirit Mages. I modified it so it will be applicable to all creatures that can use magic. So, how is it?"

"How can I be sure that this magic contract won't harm us and only benefits you? You are its creator, so you can do anything you want with it, after all."

"Well, you can't be sure because I can't prove anything. However, you must remember that you don't have any choice right now."

Ben suppresses them with his magic power and gravity magic. He can tell them the reasons why the magic contract will be fair to everyone. But it will take a long time and they will still be skeptical about it. He doesn't want to waste time, so he shuts them up with force.

"Now choose. Will you discuss some agreements and make a contract with me, or we end everything here? I'll just tell you something. You guys are more valuable to me as Dragon Lacrimas than as living beings. So I will never complain if you refuse."

They gulp their saliva and finally choose to make the contract with Ben. This magic contract will make sure that they won't harm his family and attack Ishgar. They will die if they breach this contract because this magic contract is bound to their souls.

After dealing with them, Ben returns to Earthland with them. He really wants to see around Elentear, but he has more urgent matters now. Besides, he can always go to Elentear in his timeline now that he already knows the method to cross dimensions.

Elefseria is very surprised when he sees Selene is still alive. He asked why Ben doesn't kill Selene, so Ben just tells him that she is still useful. Ben calms Elefseria by telling the old man that he has made a contract with Selene & co.

"You guys are going to live on Guiltina, right?"

"Yeah, this is our home, after all."

"Good, then I'll take Elefseria to Ishgar. He is my vassal now, after all. Don't worry, we won't disturb whatever you do here as long as you don't disturb us first."

They know it's a warning, but they are very relieved to know that Ben won't stay on Guiltina. None of them know that the current Ben isn't from this timeline and will disappear soon. But he doesn't have any plan to tell them because it's better to make them think that he'll always be there to watch over them anytime so that they won't do anything stupid.

Ben and Elefseria arrive at Ishgar in a short time using Ben's Light Magic which allows them to fly at a very high speed. They arrive on Magnolia and get surprised by the town's rebuilding progress. The town now has a lot more buildings and people even though it has just been a few days since Ben left.

Lucy tells them that a lot of survivors were found in the last few days and the Earth Mages have gotten better at construction. The buildings are made of stones now, not just hardened soil. Although the hardened soil was sturdy enough, it is weak toward the water and will be dangerous when it starts raining, while the stone buildings won't have that problem.

"Do we get anyone with construction experience among the survivors?"

"Yeah, there are people who worked in construction as workers or even architects. There are also a few people who majored in civil engineering, so they will be very helpful in this project. But all of them are still not in their best condition and some are even on the verge of dying because of various reasons. Construction work needs a lot of energy, so for now, we focus on helping them regain their health."

"Alright, you can start with the planning for now like designing the landscape of the town and buildings. I'm sure they can think even if they are still not fully recovered. If there are people who keep complaining even though they are able to work already, then just kick them out. We don't need people who don't want to work for their own future. We need to be strict or others will behave like that too."

Ben gives some more pointers to Lucy who is tasked as the leader of the town reconstruction project. She might not be the strongest, but she is very smart and after going through the war against the Dragons, her leadership ability has improved so much.

A few days after he returned to Magnolia, Ben has a meeting with his family members. Wendy, Bella, Carla, Ariel, Gabriel, and even Lucy who he considers as a family already. They gather in Ben's lab near Cait Shelter village.

"I have something important that I need to tell you guys. It has been a few months since I came here, so it's time for me to return to my timeline."

The others have predicted that he would return soon, but they are still not ready to part with him, especially Ariel and Gabriel who finally can see their father again.

"Do you really need to return so soon, Daddy?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Ariel. There might be consequences if I stay in another timeline for too long. The God of Time might do something if I stay here for too long. Even I don't have the confidence to confront a God of his level. He is said to be stronger than even Ankhseram, after all."

".... We understand."

Ben pats his kids' heads before taking out 2 crystal balls.

"I have prepared gifts for you 2. Before I leave, I will give you new types of Dragon Slayer Magic. The 1st one is Acnologia's Dragon Slayer Magic while the 2nd one is Sun Dragon Slayer Magic."

Everyone is surprised to hear that because these 2 types of Dragon Slayer Magic can be said to be the strongest among all types of Dragon Slayer Magic now.

"I understand that you made Acnologia into a Dragon Lacrima, but what about the Sun Dragon Slayer Magic."

Lucy is confused just like the others, but Ben just smiles before he explains.

"To tell you the truth, this Sun Dragon Lacrima wasn't made by me. It's made by your real father, this timeline's me, this timeline's Ben Cooper."

This timeline's Ben was experimenting on how to stop his Dragonization by turning his Dragon Seed into a Dragon Lacrima just like me. So he crystallized his magic and created a very small Dragon Lacrima. But before he could finish his experiment, the Dragons attacked.

Jarvis told Ben about this after he came to this lab a few months ago. So Ben decides to complete the Sun Dragon Lacrima. He has succeeded at turning his Dragon Seed into a Dragon Lacrima, after all, so completing the experimental Sun Dragon Lacrima is easy.

"These 2 Dragon Lacrimas are gifts from both of your fathers, this timeline me and myself."

Ariel and Gabriel hug Ben while crying as the others also seem teary. These 2 Dragon Lacrimas may be great, but Ariel and Gabriel don't care about it. For them, the most precious thing is that they now have things that connect them to their father.

________________________________________

You can read more chapters ahead of my fanfics and more pictures on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.

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1. Chapter 443. The End (Fairy Tail: Sun Eater)

2. Chapter 488. The Following Months (Transcended as Lord Buggy)

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