Fairy Tail: The Dark Swordsman

97 - Welcome to Edolas!

[X784, Edolas, Royal City Marketplace]

— Dannis Martell —

Light swallowed him whole. When his vision returned, he was no longer in Magnolia.

He hit the ground hard, clutching his head in pain. Around him, Levy and Juvia groaned, dazed.

Looking around, the first thing he noticed was that they were in a marketplace of sorts. Though their sudden arrival had caused every pair of eyes to gaze at them.

A woman had dropped her basket of fruit in surprise at the sight of Dannis, though he himself was frowning.

The world felt...wrong. He knew that Edolas suffered from some kind of Ethernano deficiency from Mystogan's stories, but it was another thing entirely to see it with his own eyes.

There was simply no magic in the air. It was kind of an odd, muted feeling. As if the world was colourless.

He was glad to realize that his lacrima eye still worked perfectly. He could still see through it, which matched with what Mystogan said about magic only capable through lacrima.

The only downside was that he had no access to his Clairvoyance, which was problematic.

Shouts rose as the people of the capital pointed at them.

"W-What happened?" Levy groaned, clutching her head. "Where are we?"

"We're in Edolas, a sort of parallel world to ours." Knowing what he knows about the world from Mystogan, he immediately whispered. "We have to get out of the street quickly. Can you two move?"

Seeing the nods from the two women, they darted into the nearest alley, but the murmurs in the square followed them, swelling louder.

"Look, that mark!" a citizen cried, pointing at the Fairy Tail emblem stamped into the back of his hand. "And his face—!"

"Halt!"

Armored soldiers marched into the square. On their hands were long staves with lacrima orbs embedded in the shafts, each one releasing a slight glow.

Just as Dannis was about to brandish his blade, he paused as the guards shouted.

"Dannis Martell! For the crimes against the prosperity of the kingdom and the good king Faust of Edolas, you are under arrest!"

"...Uh, what?" Dannis muttered, lowering his stance in confusion.

"It's the serial killer!" someone in the crowd screamed.

"Huh, who?" Another of the citizens mumbled.

"That's Dannis Martell! He's the worst terrorist in the history of Edolas, come on we gotta run!"

Dannis blinked slowly, then sighed. 'Of course my counterpart here had to be some kind of mass murderer. Just my luck.'

"What did you do, Dannis?" Juvia tilted her head, curious.

"The hell should I know?" he grumbled. Alternate dimensions were unpredictable like that. Earthland Jellal had been a slave while Edolas Jellal was a prince. Why would his double be any less bizarre?

"What the?!" Levy suddenly gasped, her index finger in the air though she bore a look of shock. "I can't use magic!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that part."

Levy screamed incredulously. "Tell us these things in advance!"

"Hey, we were supposed to talk about all this tonight with Master Mavis and Mystogan. How was I supposed to know that an accident like this would happen?"