Shirou's clones number 30 million

A few seconds later, some familiar images suddenly flashed into his mind.

"I remember now, the parallel world Edolas?"

“It seems you already know what happened here.” Mavis walked around Shirou, looking thoughtful.

"I suppose so."

Shirou sighed softly, then said again:

“More than four hundred years ago, I and everyone in the guild were sucked into a magical vortex that suddenly appeared in the sky. On the other side of the vortex was the parallel world Edolas.”

“There is also Fairy Tail in that world. Natsu, Lucy, Wendy and others are also members of Fairy Tail, but their personalities are completely different from ours.”

“Hmm…that sounds really interesting. Can we go over there too?” Mavis said with a smile.

"Probably not. Besides, the building ruins on the ground are all wet, so Natsu and the others probably didn't go there in the last couple of days."

Shirou shook his head slightly, denying it:

"Even if we could get there, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Although I don't remember it very clearly, we didn't stay in Edolas for very long back then."

"They probably only stayed for about a week. In such a short time, by the time we get there, Natsu and the others might already be back."

"Is that so? What a pity! I wanted to see Fairy Tail from a parallel world."

A hint of disappointment flashed across Mebbes' face, but he quickly broke into a smile again.

"Now that everyone is almost back, should we hire someone to repair the house?"

"The housing problem is easy to solve. We can take this opportunity to rebuild an impregnable guild headquarters."

Shirou formed hand seals, and the Shadow Clone Technique was activated.

In the next instant, a hundred Shirous appeared all around.

"Let's start building the house. Use the existing site as a template and make it as sturdy as possible."

"Leave it to me!"

"I am a master architect, and I am determined to build a magnificent building unlike any other."

"It needs to be big, tall, and impressive!"

Amidst the heated discussion, the 100 Shirous dispersed and used magic to build houses.

In just a few seconds, the foundation rose from the ground.

"Wow... Such excellent control over magic, no wonder she's Fairy Tail's number one mage." Mavis clapped excitedly a few times.

Shirou didn't reply, but instead walked towards the distant ruins of the building.

There, a hooded man was crouching on the ground, shivering.

Although the building blocked their view, the overwhelming sense of fear was impossible to ignore.

"Come out! I've found you."

Those hiding behind the ruins were still trembling, showing no intention of coming forward.

Seeing this, Mavis curiously ran over, approached the man, and comforted him:

"Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you."

"First generation?"

With a soft mutter, the man stopped trembling, pulled down his hood with one hand, revealing a head of golden hair.

"Huh...? Lucy? Didn't you go with Natsu and the others?"

Upon hearing this, Shirou followed him over.

It was indeed Lucy, but she seemed to be missing an arm under her coat, and her mood was extremely low, completely lacking her usual energy.

Upon noticing Shirou approaching, Lucy's face showed obvious fear, and her body trembled slightly again.

Chapter 374 The Future Man

Chapter 374, Section 375: The People of the Future

"Don't you recognize me?" Black Dragon Shirou frowned slightly.

“No, I… know you. Black Dragon King—Acnologia.”

Lucy bit her lip, trying to suppress her fear and avoid looking at his face.

Seeing this, Mavis gently hugged her from the side and comforted her:

"Don't be afraid, Lucy. He's a member of Fairy Tail too. Although he looks a bit fierce, he's surprisingly a good person and would never hurt you."

"In addition, although he is indeed Acnologia, he will respond when people call him by that name."

“But he actually hates this name, so please call him Shirou. That should make you feel more relaxed.”

Shirou remained silent. As she said, Acnologia was indeed his name, but it was also the object of his deepest hatred.

To this day, I still find it difficult to face myself in the mirror.

“Lucy, the Acnologia you know is probably not the same person as me.”

"I was just an ordinary member of Fairy Tail, joining the guild two years before you."

"During the trials on Tenrou Island, Natsu and the others were all killed by the Black Dragon King Acnologia. Only Lucy and I managed to escape with our lives."

"After that, I happened to pass through the Gate of Eclipse and returned to four hundred years ago."

"Originally, I wanted to become stronger through dragon-slaying magic in the world four hundred years ago, but I unknowingly replaced the original Black Dragon King."

"Because I bathed in too much dragon blood, I gradually lost my mind. Over the past four hundred years, I have destroyed countless towns and countries. I only regained my sanity half a year ago."

"Then, on the day Lucy joined Fairy Tail, she returned to the guild."

By the end, Lucy's eyes visibly wavered.

Because the First Generation was right there, she already believed Shirou's explanation, but that's precisely why she found it hard to accept.

If all of this is true, doesn't it mean that I didn't go back to the past, but came to a parallel world similar to Edolas?

"I...I come from seven years in the future."

“I can’t tell at all.” Mavis looked her over carefully. “It’s incredible that Lucy looks exactly the same seven years from now.”

"This is the effect of the Fairy Sphere. On Tenrou Island, the first generation used the Fairy Sphere to defend against the Black Dragon King's attack. But at the same time, our time was also stopped for seven years..."

Lucy slowly recounted her experiences. Seven years later, Fairy Tail had become a small, unknown guild because its main members were no longer around.

In order to restore the guild's reputation, everyone went together to participate in the Grand Magic Games.

But on that day, someone opened the Gate of Eclipse, and tens of thousands of dragons traveled from the past to the present. All the Fairy Tail members were wiped out, and only she survived.

After that, through a series of actions she herself didn't know she had performed, she traveled through time and space back to seven years ago.

"I originally came here to find everyone, but when I got to the guild, it had become a ruin."

"I see..."

Mavis felt somewhat saddened. She hadn't expected that instead of going to Edolas, she would encounter Lucy, who had traveled from a parallel world.

It's easy to deduce from Lucy's words that she comes from a parallel world without Shirou.

"Shirou, medicine."

"Ah."

Shirou's heart stirred, and he took out the highest quality slime-brand recovery medicine from the white mist space and handed it over.

"Lucy, let's treat your injuries first, and we can talk about the rest later."

"Thank you."

Lucy carefully took the recovery medicine, opened the bottle, and drank it all in one gulp.

The next moment, she suddenly froze on the spot.

He lifted his coat and stared in astonishment at the arm that was regrowth at a visible speed.

"This is…?"

"Hehe... This is a recovery medicine specially made by Shirou. Only Fairy Tail in the whole world has it."

Mebius said with considerable pride:

"Not only can it restore limbs, but even if only a head is left, as long as the person is still alive, it can be restored to its original state very quickly."

"Thanks to this recovery medicine, Fairy Tail has a pretty good reputation worldwide."

"Wow, that's amazing..." Lucy was full of surprise. When she looked up at Shirou again, her fear had lessened considerably.

By this time, Shirou's many shadow clones had built a magnificent seven-story building.

"The guild has been built, and the destroyed houses in the surrounding area have been repaired. Of course, those houses have only been changed from wooden to stone, so there are no major changes."

"The interior furniture wasn't installed; after all, stone furniture wouldn't be usable, would it?"

"Do you need me to go to another town to buy some furniture?"

"Go on, buy some more ingredients and wine." Shirou waved his hand, dismissing the shadow clones, and then looked at Lucy.

"Lucy, what are your plans? If you want to return to your original world, I can send a clone to help you fight the dragon."

Lucy fell silent. She longed to go back, but she was also terrified of going back.

“I want to change that future. If I go back now, I probably won’t be able to change anything.”

"Even if you can help me kill those tens of thousands of dragons, those who have already died will not come back."

"I...I want to stay in this world and go back when I find a way to change the future."

Shirou remained silent. Indeed, the Gate of Eclipse was too uncertain, making it difficult to ascertain the time to go where one wanted to go.

Just like my past self, I wanted to go back a few months, but instead I went back four hundred years in one go.

No one can be sure what era she will travel to when she opens the Gate of Eclipse again. Staying is indeed the best option.

"Actually, staying is fine too. My biggest dream used to be to go back to Sirius Island, kill that black dragon, or sacrifice myself to save everyone."

"But things are unpredictable. Who would have thought that I would become the very thing I hated most?"