"Uh..."
When Jose Porla directly felt Precht's powerful magic, he suddenly realized how weak he truly was.
For a moment, Jose seemed to recall the fear he once felt under Medivh's dominance.
"This old monster!"
Jose gritted his teeth, silently complaining in his heart.
"I'm already one of the Saint Ten Wizard, so why are there still so many beings stronger than me in this world?! Why is that?!"
Indeed, in Jose's heart, Precht was undoubtedly a monster in the 'Non-Human' realm, above 'human' level.
At the same time, Jose now believed Crawford's words that Precht was a monster whose strength rivaled the 'Heavenly Kings' of Ishgar, and perhaps even surpassed them.
"Respected Master Hades, we mean no offense to you..."
"The reason we traveled so far to find you this time is to beg you to help us deal with a Light Magic Guild!"
Before Jose could speak, Crawford fell to his knees with a 'thud' before the old man's throne, pleading incessantly.
"Hahaha..."
"That's truly interesting."
"That's why I said you people are too hypocritical."
Hades was amused by Crawford's words...
As he spoke, he dispersed the magic around him and looked coldly at Crawford and Jose Porla, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes, as if he were looking at two clowns.
"Hehehe..."
"One of you is the former Chairman of the Magic Council, and the other is the Master of a well-known Magic Guild in the Fiore Kingdom, and also one of the Saint Ten Wizard..."
"And now you've come to beg me, the Master of a Dark Magic Guild, to help you deal with a 'Light' Magic Guild? Isn't that a bit too 'contrary to the natural order'?!"
Not long after, Hades sneered after confirming Crawford and Jose's identities.
"No! This is not contrary to the natural order..."
"This is not contrary to the natural order at all!"
"To be honest, that Light Magic Guild, while seemingly a legitimate 'Light' Magic Guild on the surface, is essentially no different from a Dark Magic Guild."
"In fact, their actions are even worse than those of a Dark Magic Guild! At least Magicians belonging to the dark never claim to be light!"
"Unlike them, they act in the name of eliminating evil for the people, doing things that cause public outrage and make the Council members feel annoyed and difficult."
"So I'm also eliminating evil for the people..."
Crawford was good at finding excuses for himself. He gently stroked his long beard while speaking with a fawning smile.
"You're good at finding excuses for yourself."
Hades sneered, but he was noncommittal about Crawford's words.
In this world, the line between light and dark is very blurry...
It's not that those who belong to the light have clean hands, nor is it that those who belong to the dark have dirty hands! Many times, a person being in light or darkness is just a matter of perspective.
After all, even magic is a product born from the abyss.
If one must divide the world into right and wrong, and Magic Guilds into light and dark, then everyone might as well stop using magic altogether.
"I'm not really interested in your light or dark matters..."
"Now, let's talk about something that interests me~"
"It's not impossible for me to act for you!"
"But what's the price?"
"As the former Chairman of the Magic Council, you should know that even asking people of the light to help you complete a requested task requires a price!"
"What's more, you're now asking me, an old bone who has long integrated into the darkness, into the abyss of magic, to act?!"
"My services are very expensive."
Hades sat on his throne, glancing at Crawford, who was kneeling before him, and said coldly.
"Hehe..."
"You can rest assured about that!"
"I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Crawford's old face squeezed out a few fawning smiles.
However, beneath this fawning expression...
Crawford was silently complaining in his heart about Hades, the old man: "Damn old man, after talking for so long, aren't you just asking me for more money?! Do you think I'm short a little bit of that? When I was serving in the Magic Council, I embezzled quite a lot."
"You also know..."
"Not long ago, I was still the Chairman of the Magic Council ERA, and using that identity, I gained a lot of benefits in various kingdoms across the Ishgar continent!"
"As long as you can help me eliminate that damned Magic Guild of the light world, I can offer you this much! No more, no less, a full 100 million J!"
Crawford's old face smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum. He rubbed his hands together incessantly and offered a price he considered reasonable.
"100 million J?!"
"This damned old man is actually so rich?!"
"Even I, a Saint Ten Wizard, don't have such a high net worth..."
"Even if I sold the entire Phantom Lord, it wouldn't be worth 100 million J!"
"Sure enough, this old man took a lot of dirty money when he was in office!"
"Heh heh, the Chairman of the Magic Council, that's where the money is..."
Jose Porla, who had been standing beside Crawford, widened his eyes upon hearing Crawford's words...
He couldn't help but curse Crawford, that old fox, in his heart. When he was the Chairman of the Council, he never did anything proper, but he never missed a single penny when it came to embezzlement!
For a scoundrel like Crawford, who only knew how to embezzle, to land safely and leave through the front door of the Magic Council ERA, in Jose's opinion, was already a blessing...
Yet this old scoundrel was still not satisfied?!
In Jose's view, Crawford should really thank the Magic Council ERA for its mercy. If it were Jose Porla serving as a Council member and disciplinary officer, old scoundrels like Crawford should have been arrested and executed long ago.
Of course, given Jose's temperament, if he became a Council member, he would definitely collude with Crawford, and even be more greedy than Crawford, to the point of insatiable greed...
"Tsk tsk tsk~"
On the other side, Hades, sitting on the throne, clicked his tongue disdainfully after hearing that Crawford wanted to offer 100 million to hire him.
And slowly extended his right index finger towards Crawford, gently shaking it at him. Clearly, Hades' meaning was already very clear to Crawford: this amount of money was far from enough to hire him.
"This old man is greedy enough; 100 million isn't enough."
"In Jose's opinion, at the price of 100 million J, it wouldn't be impossible for him to abandon the light and join the dark magic world."
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