"No, Tike's magic isn't gloomy at all; instead... instead, it's very warm and comfortable."
Ultear refuted almost subconsciously, only realizing after she spoke that she seemed to have let something slip, her heart slightly alarmed.
Hades looked at Ultear with interest, intrigued by her reaction.
"Oh? In your eyes, is it such magic?"
Magic used to take others' lives could bring her comfort. It seemed he hadn't misjudged her back then; she was born to be in the world of darkness.
Ultear roughly guessed Hades' thoughts from his micro-expressions and gave a soft "Mm."
Hades continued: "Ultear, before infiltrating the Council, why not let that brother of yours join 'Grimoire Heart' first? I need talent like his, and he needs a mentor like me to guide him toward the only true essence of magic."
Ultear's expression instantly turned ugly.
"Tike won't be willing to come. Compared to me, he prefers the woman who acts as my 'mother.' So, he will only follow her and will never join 'Grimoire Heart'."
"In that case, just snatch him from your 'mother's' hands, right?" Hades said lightly. "At worst, just kill her, then won't he have no choice but to follow you?"
Ultear clenched her fists tightly, opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word, just staring blankly at Hades.
Watching Ultear's stiff expression, Hades chuckled darkly a few times.
"Hahaha... Look how scared you are. I was just joking. I'm not so outrageous as to ask a daughter to kill her own mother. However, regarding Tike, I still hope you can seriously consider my suggestion."
"Master, please don't lay a hand on Tike." Ultear spoke up hurriedly. "He hates being forced. If you insist on him joining 'Grimoire Heart,' he would definitely rather commit suicide!"
Hades nodded slightly, a glint flashing in his single eye, looking at Ultear scrutinizingly again.
"You are so obsessed with finding Zeref; is it also for him?"
Ultear hesitated for a moment but finally nodded.
That legendary black wizard Zeref mastered almost all the magic in this world; he would definitely be able to help alleviate the side effects of Tike's magic.
Seemingly remembering something, Hades' expression softened for a moment.
"I will respect your wishes, but the final outcome depends on your future performance."
"Thank you, Master!"
With Ultear's matter concluded for now, Hades turned his gaze to Blake, who had been standing silently aside, noticing the out-of-place maid outfit on her.
"Blake, why are you dressed like this?"
Blake lowered her head, looking utterly hopeless.
"This is... Master's task."
"...I never asked you to wear such clothes." Hades frowned in confusion. "What about your previous mission? Why hasn't there been any news for so long?"
Blake kept her head down, her hands twisting the hem of her maid dress, her voice full of depression: "People messed up the mission, la. Truly have no face to continue staying in 'Grimoire Heart.' Master, please show mercy, kick me out, and let me and my sister go back to our hometown to sell tofu."
Hearing this, Hades only felt a headache. He rubbed his brow and said helplessly, "Speak clearly first; what exactly happened?"
Blake looked up, gazing at Hades pitifully.
"I was defeated by a passing wizard. Now I've lost all my magic power and can't use magic at all."
"A passing wizard..."
Just like Ur two years ago, there were quite a few wandering wizards in this world who didn't belong to any organization but possessed exceptionally strong power.
"If that's the case, I can't blame you." Hades' expression softened a bit. "You said you can't use magic? Come here, let this old man examine you."
"Yes~"
Blake responded and walked obediently toward Hades.
When she passed by Ultear, a fleeting chill flashed in Ultear's eyes.
(Blake, don't you dare blabber.)
Hades placed his palm on Blake's forehead, trying to sense the magic flow within her body.
However, he discovered something even more surprising.
"You have absolutely no magic power right now?"
It wasn't that Hades hadn't encountered this situation before. He had once come into contact with a human from the alternate world "Edolas." She didn't possess a trace of magic power in her body and could only rely on external magic sources to drive magic.
But Blake was different. She could clearly use magic proficiently before; how could she suddenly lose all her magic power?
Could this be the means of that 'passing' wizard? Able to directly take away all of an opponent's magic power?
"For a wizard, magic power is the source of life," Hades said sternly. "Having lost all magic power, it's impossible for you to still be alive."
Blake touched her cheek and said with a narcissistic tone, "I don't know what happened either. Maybe that wizard saw I was beautiful and couldn't bear to kill me, so he specially let me live?"
Hades was silent for a while and said, "Blake, you know too much. This old man cannot let you leave just like this."
Blake had long anticipated this outcome. She shrugged, not showing much surprise or fear on her face.
"I thought so too. After all, I know so many secrets of 'Grimoire Heart.' But now that I've lost my magic power, I definitely can't continue as one of the 'Seven Kin of Purgatory.' What can I do staying here? You can't possibly make me clean up, right?"
Just then, Ultear, who had been standing quietly aside, suddenly proposed: "Master, why not let Blake work under me? I happen to need a personal maid. When I get into the Council in the future, I can have her take care of my daily life, which will also facilitate my better execution of missions."
Hades looked at Ultear somewhat surprisingly, then looked back at Blake.
"Blake, are you willing to follow Ultear?"
"I am! I am! It is my honor to serve Lady Ultear!"
Seeing Blake agree so readily, a trace of doubt flashed in Hades' eyes, thinking to himself, how come I didn't see their relationship was this good before?
But Hades thought for a moment and felt there was nothing inappropriate about this arrangement, so he decided to go with the flow.
"Blake, from today on, you belong to Ultear. Also, your previous subordinates, including your sister Lucia, are all handed over to Ultear's responsibility. You must obey Ultear's orders in the future."
"Yes!"
Blake knelt on the spot, while Ultear bowed slightly.
"Thank you, Master. I will take good 'care' of them."