Makarov clenched his fists, and Hades resigned himself to his fate, closing his eyes.
But after waiting for a long time without feeling the attack descend, he raised his head and looked at Makarov in confusion.
"I have learned many things from you. As a return gift, I will turn a blind eye this time and let you leave this island." Makarov said.
"How naive. If you let me go, I will definitely crush your Guild next time." Hades said, looking at Makarov.
"Just you? Although my strength is inferior to yours, my children can defeat you right now, and they will only grow stronger. If you want to continue this, then come." Makarov did not take Hades's threat to heart at all.
He is already over a hundred, how many more years can he jump around?
The children in the Guild are still very young and are rapidly growing stronger.
Especially Takeshi.
Originally, he thought Takeshi's strength was comparable to Gildarts's, and if Gildarts got serious, Takeshi might not be Gildarts's match.
But today's battle showed him that Takeshi's strength was far, far greater than he had imagined. If he were given a few more years, Makarov had no idea how strong Takeshi would become.
"Why did you fall into darkness?" Makarov asked.
He couldn't imagine that the man who had once taught him and supported Fairy Tail would turn into this current state.
Hades revealed an expression of extreme desire as he spoke, "I've already said it. Magic was originally 'Darkness,' a miracle born from the darkness, which is called 'Magic.'"
"After retiring from the Guild, I constantly delved into Magic and found the truth of this world. I discovered that this world, which is saturated with magic, is a false world. The world where Zeref resides, the 'Great Magic World,' is the true world of magic. I want to experience that kind of world."
"For this, I caused Zeref's awakening and obtained all the keys. I was just a little bit, just a tiny bit, away from obtaining the 'Only Magic.'"
Makarov said, "Even if you find that thing, nothing will change. If magic was originally 'Darkness,' so be it. If it was 'Light,' that's fine too. Magic is endless. It advances with the times, constantly changing the role it plays and growing with us."
"Everyone's understanding of magic is different. From a sensory perspective, it can be darkness, or it can be light. It can be red, or it can be blue. Fairy Tail will survive alongside freedom. All of this is what I learned from you."
"Take your people and get off this island."
"Master Hades!"
Several Grimoire Heart members who could still barely move quickly came over to help up Hades, including Jose and Bluenote. They were all taken away by the people of Grimoire Heart.
"Wait a moment!"
At this moment, Takeshi's voice rang out.
The members of Grimoire Heart were startled when they heard Takeshi's voice, thinking he was going to change his mind.
Instead, they saw Takeshi throw a black-haired young man onto the ground.
"Take this guy with you too."
The Grimoire Heart members were still confused, unable to figure out the situation.
This person wasn't a member of Grimoire Heart, was he?
When Hades saw the person's appearance, he immediately became agitated.
"He... he is... Zeref."
"What?!"
Everyone present was greatly astonished.
Only Elfman and Evergreen among those present had seen Zeref before.
"Zeref? Is he the legendary Zeref?" Erza's eyes widened.
Since childhood, she had suffered greatly at the hands of Avatar, which worshipped Zeref. Zeref was the nightmare of all Mages in the magic world for 400 years.
Jellal was affected by Zeref's influence to use the R-System to resurrect Zeref.
"Yes, that Zeref."
"He... he's actually still alive?!"
Erza thought Zeref was dead, because Jellal was trying to resurrect him. Furthermore, Zeref was an ancient person from 400 years ago, how could anyone live that long?
Grimoire Heart, on the other hand, never expected that the person they had sought so painstakingly would appear right before their eyes, and they instantly became excited.
"Quick! Go quickly and bring Zeref! Bring him in!" Hades urged the people beside him.
Several people quickly carried Zeref into the airship. The airship then quickly started up, taking off in a panic to escape, terrified that Fairy Tail would go back on their word and change their minds.
"Takeshi, that's the legendary Black Wizard Zeref. You just let them take him away like that? Won't that make things even more dangerous?"
Erza didn't understand why Takeshi would give Zeref to Grimoire Heart. Wouldn't that strengthen the enemy's power?
Takeshi smiled faintly and said, "It would be more troublesome not to let them take him. That guy is a hot potato. He's trouble alive, and even more trouble dead. Since he's trouble either way, we might as well throw this trouble at the enemy."
"Takeshi... are you saying..." Makarov looked at Takeshi.
Takeshi nodded and smiled mysteriously. "Yes. Those guys are dead."
—
Aboard the Grimoire Heart airship.
Everyone was silent. This was the first time Grimoire Heart had experienced such a crushing defeat.
"I really didn't expect us to be defeated." Rustyrose said.
Although they knew Fairy Tail was strong, Grimoire Heart was the strongest Dark Guild, and they had three powerhouses of Wizard Saint level in their Guild.
Those were Wizard Saints!
The Magic Council had only selected ten such powerhouses in the entire continent of Ishgar.
"That's right. Unbelievable..."
"If it weren't for that monster, we definitely wouldn't have lost."
The members of Grimoire Heart were filled with fear toward Takeshi. That guy wasn't human, how could a person be so powerful?
"Phew... Although we failed to eliminate Fairy Tail this time, the goal of our trip has been achieved. We found Zeref. As long as we make him undergo awakening, we will be able to reach the true Great Magic World."
Although Hades was severely wounded, he was still in a decent mood at the moment because he had finally found Zeref, and he would be able to master the 'Only Magic.'
When the others heard this, expressions of fanaticism appeared on their faces.
Suddenly, a voice rang out. "It is the existence of people like you that created me, and it is the evil thoughts of people like you that summoned Acnologia, thereby announcing the end of this era. No one can stop it now. The world will end here."
Zeref slowly stood up as he spoke these words.
Seeing Zeref, everyone in the airship knelt on one knee on the ground to show respect. This was the legendary Black Wizard Zeref, the man standing at the endpoint of darkness.
***
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