"Why? Why? WHY?!"

The question repeated again and again while the sound of blows still sounded, getting faster and stronger.

Jean found himself knocking down a new tree with naked fists, the hassle, and frustration evident on his face as he ignored the pain in his knuckles and crimson red drops that fell on the grass.

"So many years practicing, so much time striving, and even so, I cannot awaken my touki? Why can't I do it? Every day I've pushed my body to the limit, every day I gave everything I had, and it is not enough yet?" He asked no one in particular before he punched it with all his strength, not only breaking other trunk but pushing it a couple of meters in the air before it touched the ground.

Looking at his hands with red liquid falling from his knuckles for a few seconds, he growled with annoyance before touching the dumbbells on his wrists; the small sword hanging on his neck shone, and Jean almost lost his balance for the sudden gain of weight, the floor under him gave him a little, cracking and breaking, sinking his feet some centimeters.

It took a few seconds to recover and be up again before lying on the floor and making lizards while sweat ran through his body.

Jean was frustrated; from the beginning, he knew that what he wanted to get was difficult, and he decided to advance no matter how much he had to strive, but that was the problem with which he came up after years of rigorous training, he had come to his limit, a wall that tried to overcome for almost a year, and without the slightest indication of whether he was or not on the right path.

During all this time, he only focused on giving it his all during training before regaining energy at night with a long bath, letting his divine protection leave him fully ready to repeat the routine the next day.

But all his efforts were futile; in that year, he could barely increase the weight he lifted, the time he held that weight, or the speed at which he moved.

And that had taken him to the point of not thinking clearly and doing things that clearly threatened his own health.

After all, he had taken advantage of the fact that his mother had made a short trip to the capital to go out to train very early, it was close to 5 pm, and he had been pressing every part of his body for over 12 hours without showing the slightest intention of stopping even to use his divine protection to alleviate his condition a bit.

"I'm a little over a year and a half before I go on a trip; I failed in using senjutsu; I can't fail in this too". He told himself as he noticed the contours of his vision becoming increasingly blurred.

The hours passed, and the stars filled the night sky; it was 3 a.m, and in the middle of his training place, Jean continued with something that, more than training, at that moment, seemed like an act of sadism and self-torture.

Still, even when every muscle screamed in agony for him to stop, when his nose dripped blood from overexertion and his vision was nothing more than a collection of blurred and dull colors, he kept moving.

And when the clocks struck 4:07 a.m., a sound besides that of nature itself filled the place.

"JEAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

"JEAN! ANSWER US IF YOU ARE HERE!"

At any other time, Jean would have easily heard the voices or seen the lights, but right now, he was in a semi-conscious state, not even knowing what kind of exercise he was doing at the time; his body moved almost by itself repetitively as if it were a machine, his eyes were cloudy and his ears covered, so even though those who were looking for him were relatively close, he didn't even notice them.

At that moment, Jean was in his own world, locked in his mind with his pessimistic thoughts while his body continued with the self-imposed torture.

Questions like. 'Why can't I do it? What am I missing?' Echoed in his mind with his voice.

And along with them were also the statements that tried to discourage him, said in the voice of the man he hated the most. 'You're useless; why do I have to take care of the ballast that your fucking parents left behind?' They repeated themselves endlessly.

Jean's teeth clenched, and his fists clenched until his palms bled; he would prove those voices wrong, he would prove that he wasn't the same scared kid who couldn't even fight back when his life ended, and for to do so would overcome himself and his weakness.

A scream at the top of its lungs echoed throughout the place, alerting anyone who could hear, but it was not a scream of fear, sadness, or frustration; it was one full of determination, as if an apex predator challenged the entire world.

Michael and Lucy recognized the voice and quickly ran to the origin, only to freeze when they saw him.

Standing near several fallen trees was Jean, a semi-transparent white aura enveloping his body, exuding power to the point that it destroyed the weights he had on his wrists, a power waiting to be used.

But as soon as it arrived, it was gone, the aura dissipated, and Jean began to fall.

Moving at full speed, Michael could catch him before his body hit the ground.

"Jean?!" Lucy reacted a moment later when she finally got over her shock and walked over to see Jean with his eyes closed, inhaling and exhaling deeply, but with a happy smile as if he was satisfied.

"I... didn't fail this time". That was all he said before he fell completely unconscious.

#####

"Now, let's begin the third and final round". Jean said as he pointed at the three mages he had been fighting with.

"Ze-". Aria couldn't finish his spell because a metallic glove grabbed his face, just like Sol, while a metallic boot collided with Gajeel's chest; Jean had traveled the distance from Lucy's side to where they were standing in a blink before launching them in the same direction where they had been fighting.

"Lucy". Ignoring the two remaining mages who were now beside him, Jean spoke to his traveling companion. "Be careful". He said before bending his legs a bit and speeding towards the battlefield.

Jean's speed allowed her to catch up with the three mages while they were still rolling on the ground, so he decided that he would knock out the weakest one first.

His arm retracted, his fist clenched, and a punch was thrown toward Sol's stomach; however, as soon as he made contact, Jean sensed that something was wrong, and when the green-haired wizard's body turned brown, he realized that he had hit a ground double.

Sharpening his senses, he jumped when two hands emerged from the ground trying to grab his legs, and instead, he lowered his right hand, holding one of the arms and pulling it, pulling the earth mage out of the tunnel where he was and then using it as a club hitting something invisible behind him.

"That will not work again". He said as if he knew who was there, and a second after the crash, Aria's figure was visible as he was sent flying a couple of meters along with Sol.

Quickly Jean raised her hand, stopping Gajeel's punch that was aimed at his face.

Swinging his leg now transformed into a chainsaw, the dragon slayer tried to connect a blow, but in Jean's free hand, a black sword materialized that seemed to vibrate.

Both blades collided, and sparks flew through the air as both tried to cut each other.

Gajeel's eyes widened as he felt the sharpness of his chainsaw deteriorate and chip with each passing second, but before he could do anything, a knee struck him square in the chin, making him fall backward.

Heavy, extremely heavy, that was what Gajeel felt from the blow he had just received, he had already received Jean's blows before, so he thought he knew the power they normally had, but this, this was different in every way.

As he fell, his vision flickered like the light of a lacrima about to go out, and his dragon-scale armor began to crack where he had been hit.

But clenching his teeth and ignoring the coppery taste that filled his mouth, he imitated the movement that Jean had made in their "first round".

His palms touched the ground behind him, his knees buckled, and as he tensed all four limbs, he propelled himself towards Jean as he turned his legs into iron canes that struck Jean squarely in the chest area.

Jean took a step back, and if anyone could see through his helmet, they would notice that he was surprised by the fact that Gajeel had not only remained conscious after that blow but had also maintained enough lucidity to attack him.

'He is definitely a tough guy'. Thought Jean with a smile on his face.

His fist was raised once more to strike him, but his feet sank into the ground that went from having a hard consistency to a puddle of mud, courtesy of Sol.

"METSU!" Aria uttered with her arms in front of the immobilized Jean, two magic circles appeared at her sides, and light surrounded the armored young man.

"No matter who or how strong you are, your own magical power will turn against you". The giant spoke before the light brightened up until be almost wholly blinding.

BLOW*

Just so that when the shine faded, Sol and Gajeel could see Jean's left fist collide with Aria's face, causing him to hit the ground with such force that the wind mage bounced like a ball.

Sol and Gajeel, each on opposite sides of Jean, attacked simultaneously, one using a fist made of solid rock and the other of blunt metal.

The knight, for his part, raised his arms and then smashed them against the ground, causing the ground where they were to break like a cookie.

Both Sol and Gajeel lost their balance, so their attacks missed Jean by several centimeters.

A pair of daggers materialized between Jean's fingers and were thrown stabbing into the ground in front of Gajeel and Sol's feet, and a second later, Jean appeared in front of Gajeel with a spinning leg sweep that knocked him down.

Without wasting a second, Jean's foot moved, kicking into the air, but a blink late,r he reappeared in front of Sol, and his leg hit the earth mage's side sending him to the ground.

And when he teleported again to where Gajeel should be, Jean noticed that he was no longer lying on the ground, and turning his head, he didn't see Sol either.

Without seeing his enemies, he obeyed his instincts and jumped back to take distance when a series of explosions hit the place where he was.

Looking to the place where he heard the voice of one of the magicians, he saw the three standing looking at him; they all seemed exhausted, sore, and about to faint, so he stood where he was instead of rushing to attack once more.

"Are you sure you want to continue this?" He asked with genuine curiosity, in his opinion, it seemed that any of them would fall if he managed to connect one more blow, with the clear exception of the one called Gajeel, Jean would have to admit that the guy was stubborn like few people he had met before, and his will was something he could respect.

"Damn it". The dragon slayer growled before all the magical power he had left exploded out of his body, Sol and Aria mimicking his action.

Gajeel's chest puffed out a little as he didn't stop sucking in air, the wind swirling violently around Aria and the ground vibrating as Sol aimed her right fist at Jean.

"So, it will be so?" Asked the young man in armor, excited for what was to come. "Well, come with everything; I'm going to receive it head-on". He declared with his arms outstretched as he mentally used his Sacred Gear.

Jean's ability, ultimate armor, was nothing more than the set of hundreds of thousands of tiny swords used as building blocks to create one of the trump cards that Jean had in his repertoire, so he could change any part of the armor and its properties at any time he wanted.

And seeing the combined attack that he was about to receive, he decided to respond appropriately.

With the mental order given, all the armor changed, initially made to be as resistant as possible, left durability aside, and part of the back began to absorb the ethernano from the environment at full speed while the rest took care of carrying the energy obtained to his hands, which had become a cannon where a brilliant light began to be born.

Jean reached out with her hands as the light increased in intensity with each passing second, waiting to be released.

"IRON DRAGON'S ROAR!"

"ZEROOOOO!"

"PLATRE SONATA!"

The three mages launched their attacks using all their remaining magic power, a steel-colored whirlwind, a gale formed by a multitude of airspaces, and a fist made of plaster the size of a truck blew Jean away at top speed, and he responded launching his own attack.

"RAGNAROK!"

An attack made of pure and concentrated ethernano was fired from the cannon that covered Jean's hands, flying in a straight line until colliding with all three attacks.

And for a couple of seconds, both sides seemed to enter a stalemate, but at the third second, Jean's attack light broke through, destroying the combo attack and advancing towards the mages as something in the corner of Jean's vision called his attention.

#####

"Be careful". That was all that Jean said before disappearing, taking off at a speed that sent a shock wave that pushed the 2 Phantom Lord wizards and left a cloud of dust that was used by the blonde and her spirit still present to hide behind the same rock where she had been leaning.

As she watched him go, her fists clenched, she had to hurry; she had to win and prove, not only to Jean but also to herself, that she would not be a liability, that all the work she had done, that all the training she had had not been in vain.

So there was no other way; she would bet everything in a single attack, after all, although at that moment, the magic power that she had in her bracelet was, for all intents and purposes, almost endless; her resistance and stamina were about to run out.

"Virgo, you're one of my newer spirits, so I've never used this with your key, but please, help me". She asked her spirit; after all, the Star Dress required not only skill but also the compatibility and support of the spirit, especially on first use.

Virgo looked directly at Lucy for a second before a sincere smile spread across her face. "The princess is my master, but her way of being, of fighting, and of striving for what wants to achieve, all of that has made me serve you with all my heart, my power is yours to use as you wish, that is the duty of a maid". She told her before disappearing in flecks of golden light.

If it had been at any other time, Lucy would have taken the time to cry a little and thank her spirit wholeheartedly for the demonstration of loyalty and appreciation she had given her, even more so considering that Virgo was her second newest spirit.

But being on the battlefield, she just wiped away a single tear that fell from her eye and smiled with all the happiness she could muster before using her trump card.

"STAR DRESS MIX: AQUARIUS X VIRGO FORM"

With the order given, a golden light covered her body, illuminating the area and showing her opponents where she was.

When the transformation was complete, Totomaru and Juvia were already by her sides, each sending an attack toward her.

A whirlwind of water formed at Lucy's feet, raising her and preventing the water and fire attacks from hitting her, and when she reached 20 meters high, she stopped.

Raising her palms upwards as if she were holding something, she spawned four tornadoes of water with huge chunks of rock that emerged from under the ground, all coalescing above her upraised palms.

"WITH THE FORCE OF WATER AND THE POWER OF SPICA: AQUATERRA!" She screamed as the whirlwind of water at her feet faded, dropping her as she hurled the massive mass of water, dirt, and rocks at her opponents, causing a massive brown geyser to rise into the sky.

At the same time, as she launched her attack, Lucy caught a glimpse of a huge explosion in the distance from the corner of her vision, and she could only smile, knowing what that meant.

#####

"Well, that was intense". Jean said, exhaling a little while the armor that covered him disappeared; he hoped to have some good fights during his trip, but one like this before reaching his first destination was something that he really didn't expect.

"Cough cough". Hearing someone's cough, he turned his head, and his eyes widened in surprise because lying among his clearly defeated companions was the still conscious Gajeel.

Walking over to make sure he really was awake, Jean could tell that he was barely keeping one of his eyes open.

"Wow, you're really something else; remaining conscious after a giant energy beam has been launched at you is something that few could do; even if I didn't do it at full power, I was sure that it would knock you out"

"Y-you.. h-how can you be so strong?" The wizard asked between heavy breaths.

"What do you mean when you say 'how'?" Jean returned the question with confusion. "The answer is clear, training; for more than 13 years, I have trained every day, getting stronger and taking advantage of all the advantages that I had in my favor". He said, looking at his palms, the calluses present reminding him of the endless hours of practice, not only with the sword but with every discipline that could take him even further.

"…"

"But to be fair, I really couldn't have gotten this far on my own; my swordplay, muscle strength, fighting techniques, all of that came from my uncle, the dagger throwing, acrobatics and reflexes, it was thanks to my master Bobby, the effects of my swords, the showy moves, even my armor, it all comes from people I don't even know if they exist or not, and I could go on like this with a huge list, there's always something to learn from everyone, I even learned a move that helped me in this fight from Lucy, concentrating my aura on specific points on my body before taking a hit, thus greatly reducing the damage". The brunette said, getting lost in his thoughts.

"You... talk too much, and you say meaningless sentimental things; I don't need anyone to be strong". Gajeel said rudely after hearing it.

Jean blinked a few times before she began to laugh heartily. "Hahaha, the first part may be true; it seems that I felt relaxed talking to you; who would have thought, huh? But as for the second part, look at it this way, if someone who was initially a weakling like me could get all this strength by leaning on others and letting them lean on him, how strongly do you think you would become if you did the same?" He let the question hang in the air before grabbing Aria's unconscious body and tossing it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"What are you doing?!" The dragon slayer asked, seeing how Jean approached Sol to do the same.

"Don't worry, I'll just take all of you to your other guildmates; Lucy must have finished too". The brown-haired responded by approaching the magician to also throw him over his shoulder and over his unconscious companions.

"How do you know that she beat Totomaru and Juvia?" He asked, and Jean could sense a bit of disbelief in his tone at the thought that his guildmates had been defeated.

"She... is a stubborn girl; she thinks she has something to prove; both to herself and me, it's not to offend, your guildmates looked strong, especially the pretty one with the poker face, but just like you, they seemed to underestimate her, I know Lucy well, and she's probably used that to surprise them both on at least one occasion, and I know she'll push herself to her absolute limits if that's what it takes to prove she's not a damsel in trouble, that's why I bet on her"

'And also because I felt her energy in those four tornadoes of water and earth that I saw when I launched Ragnarok, but saying that now would be a bit anticlimactic'. He thought before speaking again.

"Now". Unlike the calm and friendly tone before, Jean spoke quite seriously this time, showing that his following sentence would not be a request but an order. "You're going to tell me EVERYTHING about who sent you to look for her"

#####

"Uf uf uf". Lucy stood with her hands on her knees as she gasped, barely able to stand, and her whole body ached. However, the smile on her face was probably one of the biggest and happiest she had ever shown in her entire life.

"I… did it… I... won". She said as she looked at the fall forms of her opponents; both Juvia and Totomaru were lying on the ground completely still, except for the rise and fall of their chests as evidence of their breathing.

Moving very slowly, she sat on a rock close to her while the star dress mix faded away, leaving only the dress she wore when she used the Aquarius power.

In the distance, she could see a huge and blurred figure approaching, but with each passing moment, her sight allowed her to distinguish better what or who was, and just as she expected, it was Jean, who was carrying on his shoulders the three wizards with whom he fought.

Walking with a smile on his face, Jean laid the wizards down next to their two companions before approaching the blonde.

"Is this enough to prove I can go with you?" She said, looking directly at him and waiting for an answer.

Jean shook his head. "Lucy, what I think right now is irrelevant, so tell me, do you think you're capable enough?" He asked, although if he was sincere, the smile he had seen on her face before approaching her was answer enough.

Lucy puffed out her cheeks as she complained. "I still want to hear you say it". She replied, after all, even if she was proud of what she had accomplished, hearing it from Jean would give her closure.

"Fine, fine, if that's what you want". Jean spoke a bit exasperatedly before changing to a happy one, smiling sincerely and giving a thumb up. "You were amazing, Lucy; I knew you could do it"

Lucy smiled happily before giving a thumbs up too; it was a really comforting moment, which lasted only a second longer because that was the exact moment in which the Aquarius star dress dissipated in the air, leaving Lucy as exposed as the day she was born.

Everything in the world seemed to stop except for Jean's eyes, which widened as he saw his childhood friend's body exposed, the expression of both wholly frozen in their previous smile.

One, two, three seconds passed, and Jean, showing his incalculable idiocy for this kind of situation, raised his other hand, giving a second thumb up, just like he had done the last time a situation similar to this occurred.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" A female scream echoed throughout the venue, followed by a loud slapping sound.

#####

"Are you ready?" Jean asked, looking at the horizon with a red mark in the shape of a palm on his cheek.

"D-don't turn around!" Lucy said with embarrassment and frustration in her voice; why did she always get this? And why did he have to give her a thumbs up again? She could barely stand as she changed, both from exhaustion and embarrassment, without counting her ankle that still hurt.

"I'm ready". She said when she finished adjusting her light blue blouse and white skirt.

"Well, then the best thing would be to continue". Jean answered, turning to see her, this time fully dressed.

"What about them? Are you sure it's a good idea to leave them there? Won't they chase after us when they wake up?" The blonde asked, pointing to the five mages they had fought.

They were lying in a row, courtesy of Jean, while she got dressed.

"No problem, I made some arrangements; they won't be able to follow us"

"You didn't do anything perverted to her, did you?" Lucy asked, referring to the water mage.

"Hey, I have principles, and while she is... pretty easy on the eyes, if I wanted to do something like that, I would be when she was awake and only if she wanted to too, so no, I didn't lay a finger on her in that way"

"Hmm". Lucy looked at Jean directly as if she was trying to see any signs that he was lying. "Well, then let's go". She said, accepting Jean's explanation. "Although I would have liked to ask them why they were looking for me"

"Nah, don't worry about it; if we talk to them and they see where we're going, they might continue to follow us. Besides, when we're done in the forest, we can visit their guild and ask their guild master personally; after that, it would be fun to have a rematch; who knows, this time maybe I could fight with the 5, and if the other members of Phantom also want to join it could be something very challenging"

"Do you really want to provoke a guild master?"

"Why not? I don't plan to fight him, but if he gets violent, then it would be a unique experience, and although I have no idea how strong he is, I'm sure I'll find a way to handle the situation"

"Knowing you, you are likely looking for a fight". Lucy said, rolling her eyes.

"Who knows, that's something for future Jean to worry about, not me... but for now". Jean said, approaching Lucy before carrying her.

"H-hey, w-what are you doing?!" She asked him in a panic.

"Your ankle, I would have to be blind not to notice that you are barely putting weight on it; I know I said that I took some measures to prevent them from following us, but getting as far away as we can be good too, with how strong lizard boy was, I wouldn't be surprised if he woke up in 1 hour or so, and in your state, we won't be able to make much headway"

"But, even so, this position is shameful"

"Come on; I've carried you like this before more than once"

"Yes, but the last time was when we were children"

"While people of 14 and 16 are still young, I'm not sure if they would fit the description of a child, especially since at 15 anyone could drink alcohol without anyone complaining; but if it bothers you, then I could carry you on my back, but I'm going to go full speed, and if you move too much I might end up touching your butt and-". Jean stopped his words when his friend gave him a dangerous look.

"If you finish that sentence, I'm going to hurt you"

"Hahaha, ok, ok, no more jokes, then hold on tight". Said Jean when his touki manifested again, and the sword on his neck shone, covering both him and Lucy with a small barrier to prevent the wind from slowing them down, and a second later, he started running at full speed.

---

Chapter 20 done.

This shows how strong Jean is, but also that he wasn't always as confident as he is now, and like any other person, he can get frustrated; he can be impulsive and irrational to the point of putting himself in danger.

Also, Lucy can use the star dress mix but she needs her bracelet to achieve it because her magical reserves are not yet enough.

How strongly do you think they are compared to the rest of the main cast?

In any case, the trip continues, and both are almost about to enter the anti-wizard forest; let's see what awaits them there.

And if Jean's decision to let Lucy accompany him was the right one or the worst he could have made in his life.

That's all for now, Ciao.