"I guarantee it. I learned it the last ti I spoke with Zeref on Tenrou Island. The reason Zeref created demons in the first place was to have sothing capable of killing him."
Raizel casually brought up Zeref himself as proof.
"That's way too wild, even for you! That was Zeref the Black Wizard!"
"You really just sat there and chatted with him like it was nothing?!"
"As expected of a real man!"
Natsu, Gray, and Elfman all wore the exact sa dumbstruck expression.
Ultear quickly pressed on. "Then do you know where they're hiding?"
Raizel did not answer imdiately. Instead, he raised one finger and pointed toward the ceiling.
"A flying fortress like Grimoire Heart's?" Ultear caught on almost instantly.
"You could say that, but it's not exactly the sa. That thing is a demon too."
Raizel had forgotten the monster's na, but he rembered one very important thing—Do not go inside it.
If they were going to wage war against Tartaros, it had to be done outside, and ideally that flying demon needed to be killed first.
"So that's why the Council could never locate their base," Makarov said with a nod.
"Then why are the councilors their targets?"
Yajima's pupils suddenly shrank. "Don't tell ... it's that."
The mont Gray heard that, his head started hurting.
Irritated, he snapped, "What do you an 'that'? I've said it before—what I hate most in life is people talking in riddles!"
This ti, Raizel did not leave things vague.
"That's right. One of the Magic Council's two secret weapons—F.A.C.E."
The white legacy, F.A.C.E., was a strategic weapon capable of wiping out all magic power across the continent of Ishgar in an instant.
But the conditions required to activate it were extrely strict: it needed three councilors linked through Organic Link Magic, and the councilors themselves were unaware of it.
Put simply: the key doesn't even know it's the key.
The only one Raizel knew for certain was Jellal. As for the other two, even he did not know.
Yajima, who had only been half-convinced before, let out a helpless sigh.
"So it really was that..."
"But how did Tartaros find out about it?"
Raizel raised a brow. "My guess would be a spy. Or perhaps a forr chairman or forr council mber."
Yajima offered his own theory. "I think... the forr chairman is the most likely. Crawford was deeply resentful about being forced out of office."
Ur sumd it up neatly. "So our goal right now is to bring the surviving council mbers back under protection, right?"
Cana grabbed at her hair in frustration. "But we don't know where any of them live..."
Loke appeared before them with both hands in his pockets. "No, that's not necessarily true. I happen to know where so forr council mbers live. Not all of them, but a few."
"Loke?" Lucy blinked in surprise at his sudden appearance.
"Why would Mr. Loke know that?" Wendy asked curiously.
Loke crouched down and whispered the answer into Wendy's ear.
Wendy's face turned bright red almost instantly.
"Of course. A woman," Lucy said flatly, exposing the truth in a single sentence.
Raizel stood on the guild's stage with a marked map hanging behind him.
"Based on the information Loke provided, we now know the locations of four forr council mbers. Adding Councilor Org's residence from Mr. Yajima, that gives us five locations total. Split into teams and head out to bring those forr council mbers here."
"They'll probably refuse to talk or cooperate. Your mission is to bring them back no matter what. Knocking them out is acceptable. And if you run into Tempester, don't force the fight—especially watch out for his self-destruction."
After Raizel finished, Makarov stepped up beside him wearing the cloak of a Wizard Saint. He clenched his right fist and raised it high.
"Our enemy is Tartaros—an opponent even more troubleso than Grimoire Heart or Oración Seis!"
"But if we could destroy two of the Balam Alliance's three great powers, then Tartaros will be no exception!"
"They will regret ever being foolish enough to make enemies of the fairies!"
"With our bonds and our pride on the line, we will wipe out every enemy that dares threaten our family!"
"OOOH!!!"
...
Bringing back Org turned out to be the easiest task of all.
When Raizel teleported to Org's house and briefly explained the situation, Org agreed to leave at once.
He had even packed his luggage already.
In truth, if Raizel had arrived just a little later, Org would have already left on his own, taking his clothes and valuables with him.
The instant he saw the news, Org had co to one conclusion: He was no longer safe either.
Jellal and redy had already settled in Magnolia, in fact in the northern residential district.
It was Raizel who had helped inquire about the house for them, though he had carefully kept himself out of the actual transaction.
You could say he had kept his hands very clean.
Raizel had already sent Jellal a telepathic ssage, telling him to bring redy to the guild tavern for the ti being.
With Makarov and Ur there, plus Jellal himself, that made three Wizard Saints in one place. Unless Mard Geer personally showed up, they would be fine.
And Mard Geer thought too highly of himself to move unless soone attacked his doorstep first.
...
Island in the Middle of the Lake
Forr council mber Michello lived here.
Natsu, Wendy, and Lucy had been assigned to bring him back.
Leaning on his cane, Michello stood at the front gate and said irritably, "I appreciate the thought, but frankly, this is very inconvenient. And how did you even find out where I live?"
Happy raised a paw with a blank little smile. "Co on, don't be like that. We're all cats here, right?"
Michello flew into a rage. "Who are you calling a cat?! I only look like one!"
"In my opinion, you're just planning to use as bait, aren't you?"
"Whether we ca for you or not, Tartaros has already targeted you!" Natsu shot back. "How does that make you bait?!"
"Don't be ridiculous! What kind of idiot keeps living comfortably after learning he's been targeted? I'm leaving this place. And don't co looking for again."
"Grandfather, they ca because they're trying to help. Don't be rude."
Michello's granddaughter, Michellia, appeared carrying tea.
The mont she stepped out, Wendy pressed her lips together, blushed furiously, and nearly started steaming on the spot.
'So she's the one Mr. Loke was talking about...'
"You should go with them," Michellia said. "All the current council mbers have already been killed."
"Hmph." Michello turned his head away.
"Grandfather! As a forr council mber, can you really stand by and do nothing?"
At that mont, Natsu caught a strange scent in the air, and his expression instantly sharpened.
"Everyone, get down!"
He tackled Wendy and Lucy to the ground first, then rushed forward and threw himself over Michello and Michellia to shield them.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted across the island in the lake.
"Is everyone okay?" Carla asked first, checking Wendy and Lucy before looking toward Happy.
"With an explosion that big... we're still alive?" Michellia asked in a daze.
Natsu patted his stomach, which had swollen to nearly twice its usual size.
"I barely managed to eat all the explosion and flas."
"Ate it???" Michellia stared at Natsu like she had just seen a ghost.
Natsu even let out a belch.
"Oh? I figured that would've blown everyone away."
Standing atop the broken wall of the ruined house, looking down on them from above, was Jackal.
"Who are you?" Lucy demanded, already in a fighting stance.
"He should be Jackal!" Wendy compared his appearance to Raizel's description and quickly confird his identity.
"So you're from Tartaros?"
Jackal looked at them with contempt. "And who are you supposed to be, brat?"
Natsu turned to face him directly.
"I'm Natsu of Fairy Tail."
He grinned, fire rising in his eyes.
"Now let the hunt begin."
"I'm hunting Tartaros!"
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