In the camp.
Rhode and Mira had already settled the wounded Fried and Biguslo, performed simple bandaging, and were preparing to set off to find other companions.
But Rhode suddenly stopped: "Hades?"
Rhode immediately noticed the extraordinary presence of the bearded, one-eyed old man appearing in the River Crab's view.
The second glance made him feel familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, at least in a photograph.
The third glance... a magic chain darted towards him.
Then the view was cut off.
Clearly, the River Crab was gone.
Rhode thought carefully, his expression was shocked: "No way?"
Mira asked, "What's wrong? Did you discover an enemy?"
"I saw an old man with the emblem of Demon Heart on his clothes. It might be Hades. But..." Rhode said incredulously, "He looks a bit like our guild's second President, Precht."
"What?" Mira was startled, "Really?"
"Yes, I've seen photos of the guild's founders in the library. Although the temperament looks different, it should be him."
Photos of the second President in his old age seemed kind, but now this one felt somewhat sinister.
Moreover, it's been 98 years since Fairy Tail was founded, and back then Precht looked at least over twenty. By now...
Over a hundred and thirty years old?
The more Rhode thought about it, the more absurd it seemed: "We should really confirm this with the President."
"Then shall we set off now?"
"Let's go."
A one-on-one confrontation was out of the question. For such a powerful-looking old man, of course, they had to call all the best fighters from the guild to properly 'care' for him.
However, seeing how he was just now, it seemed he was searching for something. Rhode summoned three Void Nest Insects, instructing them to concentrate the worms in that direction.
...
"Erza, are you alright?"
After her magic power recovered, Kana was worried about Erza, so she brought Kildas to find her.
They met Erza halfway, dressed in a chest wrap and red long pants.
"I'm fine, on your side..." Erza glanced at Kildas, smiled, and said, "It seems the enemy has been dealt with."
Seeing Erza like this, Kildas felt it was his fault: "Sorry, I was a bit late."
"That was my fight. After all, I'm S-Class," Erza didn't mind, she was always prepared to take on challenges, "Zeref, then?"
"No idea," Kana said, "He was gone when I was fighting that little girl."
"Are you sure that was really Zeref?" Kildas had already heard from Kana on their way, but he still found it hard to believe.
Erza said, "The people from Demon Heart were very sure of his identity, they even fought us without hesitation, it should be accurate."
There were rustling noises from the bushes, and the three looked over to see a wolf jump out, howling to the sky.
Kildas was about to act, but Kana stopped him: "It's Rhode's wolf, he should be looking for us."
Sure enough, Rhode swooped down from the sky not long after: "Found you!"
As soon as he landed, he immediately started buffing Erza and Kana without even thinking. Red, blue, purple—he quickly added them all, leaving the three a bit confused.
At the same time, wolf howls were heard nearby, sounding very close.
Before long, a group of people came over together.
Elfman carried Gajeel, Lucy carried a reluctant Jubia, Ibarglin carried Lisana, Mira supported Wendy, Gray sullenly supported Natsu who was holding Hapi.
Rhode, Erza, and Kana instantly recognized someone who shouldn't be here: "Laxus?"
"..." Laxus stood with a tense face, trying to avoid their gaze, but couldn't quite manage it.
After a few seconds of silence, he squeezed out, "Hello."
Looking at the scars on Laxus' face and his tattered clothes, Erza guessed that he had also fought hard and smiled with relief.
"Hahaha..." Kildas carelessly slung an arm around Laxus' shoulder, patting his back while laughing out loud, "I heard you got kicked out of the guild, huh? Talk about pathetic, ha ha ha..."
Laxus blushed, glaring and grumbling, "Too talkative, old man."
"Oh, I haven't introduced you yet." Kildas pulled Kana over, boasting, "Look, my daughter!"
"What?" This was indeed news Laxus hadn't caught up on.
"Ahahaha, what's that face?" Kildas tugged at his own face, mimicking Laxus, "What? What? Ahahaha... Didn't know you could make such a cute expression—what?"
Laxus couldn't deal with this frivolous old man, sighing heavily: "This guild is so annoying."
After a brief exchange of information, they counted Rhode with three, Mira with one, Erza with one, Natsu with one, Kana and Kildas with one, it seemed the Seven Dependents were all dealt with.
Plus the Vice President Laxus defeated, and the chickens and dogs taken care of by Jubia and Elfman, it's possible that Demon Heart now only had Hades and a bunch of weaklings left.
Rhode said, "That's good then, those with severe injuries should return to the camp to recuperate, leave some people to look after them, the rest will come with me to find the President, and then settle things with Demon Heart."
Natsu, rubbing his hands, said, "Is it necessary? Can't we all just go together without bothering the old man?"
Rhode shook his head: "If it were anyone else, we could go directly, but this Hades, might very well be our guild's second President, Precht."
Except for Mira, everyone wore expressions of disbelief: "What?"
In their surprise, a familiar voice reached them from the side: "Not 'might very well,' it's him."
They turned to see a Two-headed Wolf carrying Makarov and Carla rushing over.
Makarov repeated, "That is indeed our guild's second President, Precht Gaebolg."
"President!"
"Old man!"
Makarov softly acknowledged with a nod, turning to face Laxus.
Laxus avoided his gaze: "I... came to pay respects at the First Generation's grave."
Makarov's head suddenly expanded, shouting in Laxus' ear, "Who gave you permission to enter the island on your own?!"
Laxus helplessly looked up at the sky.
Others quickly intervened to hold back Makarov:
"Laxus saved us, President."
"It's good that he's back, isn't it?"
Rhode also chimed in, "Let's not discuss this now, there are still enemies on the island. If you must, you can punish him back at the guild."
At this moment, a worm passed by, jumping and latching onto Laxus' head.
It didn't penetrate, but its wriggling made for an amusing scene.
Laxus looked at Rhode: "Is this... the punishment?"
"Haha... Sorry, they're set to attack anyone without a guild emblem."
...
Precht recognized the big crab, Rastillos and Zankuro had once shared information about Rhode.
Though he found it of little use, with his mind, he only needed a glance to remember.
"A scouting Summoned Beast... does that mean I've been discovered?" After casually eliminating the River Crab, Precht didn't hurry on his way.
With his understanding of Fairy Tail, once discovered, he should soon encounter the Summoned Beast's owner.
However, a few minutes later, Precht looked at the bluish-purple worms surrounding him from all directions, deep in thought.
Is that guy really from Fairy Tail?