Chapter 346: Capturing the Chairman
"Curses, death... To humans, death is the only permanent slumber."
The hollow, bone-chilling voice of Keyes, the Black Archbishop, echoed through the dimly lit halls of the Tartaros headquarters. The skeletal demon stood tall, his dark robes pooling around his floating form like shadows. His empty eye sockets seemed to bore into the very fabric of the world, his philosophical musings on mortality serving as a grim prelude. He had made his stance perfectly clear: he was more than ready to declare an all-out war against the Fairy Tail guild.
"Bastard! That blasted human bastard! He hit me so incredibly hard!"
Across the cavernous room, Franmalth was throwing a grotesque, bouncing tantrum. The rotund, cyclopean demon stomped his stubby legs, his single eye bulging with manic fury as he clutched his bruised, gelatinous body.
"Do you have any idea how much this costs?! How many Souls this is worth?!" Franmalth shrieked, his voice pitching into a hysterical squeal. "The sheer, unadulterated loss! How many Souls?! I must devour his Soul to make up for this deficit! He must pay!"
Nearby, the heavy, oppressive atmosphere seemed to visibly weigh on the female demons. Seilah, the Etherious of the Macro Curse, turned her beautiful, dark eyes toward her superior. Her gaze softened into one of absolute, almost intimate reverence as she took in the sight of the woman beside her.
"Lady Kyoka?" Seilah whispered, her voice a sultry, devoted hum.
Kyoka, the cruel and unyielding commander of the Nine Demon Gates, was currently seated upon a stone ledge, her sharp brows drawn together in a deep, uncharacteristic frown. She hadn't said a word since the meeting began. The sheer silence radiating from her was suffocating, and the other demons could acutely feel that something was terribly off with the usually decisive sadist.
"Kyoka, what is wrong with you?!" Ezel suddenly roared, slamming his massive, multi-armed fists against the rocky floor, cracking the stone beneath him. The demonic swordsman's face was twisted in a savage snarl of bloodlust. "Fairy Tail has already humiliated us at our very doorstep! They've spat on our pride, yet you still haven't spoken up or given the order! Let me loose! We must grind every last one of those pathetic humans into a bloody pulp to vent our anger!"
Seilah's expression immediately frosted over. She stepped smoothly in front of Kyoka, shooting Ezel a warning glare that promised unimaginable agony.
"Mind your tone, Lord Ezel," Seilah reprimanded, her voice dripping with cold authority. "Lady Kyoka has her concerns, and you would do well not to question them. Furthermore, you are severely underestimating our enemy. Fairy Tail is not just some backwater gathering of amateurs; they are currently renowned as the strongest Mage Guild on the entire continent of Ishgar. Need I remind you that Lord Tempester was forced to blow himself up and sacrifice his physical vessel merely because he encountered a single Mage from their ranks?"
Ezel gritted his jagged teeth, a low growl rumbling in his throat, but he didn't argue. Tempester's defeat was a bitter pill that none of the Nine Demon Gates had fully swallowed yet.
Just as the tension in the room threatened to snap, the rapid, annoying clatter of wooden sandals echoed down the corridor. A petite girl with long dark hair and large, fluffy rabbit ears protruding from her head came sprinting into the hall, waving her arms frantically.
"Lady Kyoka! Lady Kyoka!"
"Lamy, what is it?" Kyoka asked, finally pulling herself from her brooding thoughts. She looked down at the eccentric girl running toward her. Lamy was a specialized member of Kyoka's personal squad, a sadistic scientist primarily responsible for the delicate task of regenerating and modifying the physical vessels of demons within Hell's Core.
Lamy came to a skidding halt, her cheeks flushed with twisted excitement. "Lord Jackal is back! He's currently in the process of Rebirth in the amniotic vats. Lord Jackal has something he urgently wishes to say to you, Lady Kyoka!"
Kyoka's frown deepened, cutting harsh lines into her beautiful face. Although now wasn't the best time for interruptions, Jackal returning from the dead meant he had fresh, critical intelligence.
Without a word, Kyoka stood up, her dark cloak swishing behind her. Seilah, Keyes, and Ezel immediately followed her lead. The group walked briskly down the winding, organic corridors of the Cube, descending into the fleshy, pulsing depths of Hell's Core—the grotesque laboratory responsible for demonic Rebirth.
The air in Hell's Core was thick, smelling strongly of sulfur, ozone, and the metallic tang of blood. Giant glass vats filled with a glowing, viscous amniotic fluid lined the walls. Floating inside the largest central vat was a gruesome sight: Jackal.
The explosive demon's body was only partially formed. Exposed muscle fibers and raw bone were slowly knitting together in the glowing green gel. Half of his face was still missing, revealing the skull beneath, but enough of his throat and jaw had been repaired to allow him to speak.
Kyoka stepped up to the glass, her expression unreadable. "Jackal."
Jackal's single, amber eye snapped open, glaring through the murky fluid.
"Jackal, who exactly did you encounter?" Kyoka demanded, her voice echoing in the damp laboratory. "How were you taken down so easily?"
Jackal's half-formed face twisted into a vicious, deeply ugly scowl at the memory. The demonic gel bubbled furiously around him, reacting to his rising temper.
"It was... a guy from Fairy Tail," Jackal spat, the words scraping against his newly formed vocal cords. "His name is Ren."
"Ren?!"
A collective chill swept through the room. Several of the demons exchanged wary glances. They certainly hadn't expected to hear that particular name again so soon.
"Yes," Jackal hissed, his single eye burning with a mixture of hatred and lingering dread. "That bastard appeared out of nowhere while I was assassinating a Council Member. He transformed—his hair turned stark white, and his presence completely shifted. None of my explosions worked on him. Not a single spark. According to his own arrogant boasting, he can infinitely subdivide the distance between himself and his opponent, making it physically impossible for my attacks to even touch his clothes."
Jackal paused, a visible shudder wracking his exposed musculature. "Later, when I realized I was outmatched, I planned to use my ultimate self-explosion to take him down to hell with me. But... he used a strange, terrifying technique. It paralyzed my brain entirely. He flooded my mind with an infinite void of information. After that, my soul was crushed. I completely lost consciousness and only reappeared in this vat."
"Fairy Tail..." Kyoka murmured, her eyes narrowing to dangerous slits.
The other demons fell into a heavy, oppressive silence. Ezel, for all his impulsive bloodlust, was not a fool. Tempester was forced into self-destruction by someone from Fairy Tail, and now Jackal, an incredibly destructive member of the Nine Demon Gates, was also utterly humiliated and killed by someone from Fairy Tail.
The grim mathematics were impossible to ignore. This meant that Fairy Tail harbored at least two absolute monsters with combat power far exceeding that of standard mages—power that eclipsed even the elite demons from the Books of Zeref.
Perhaps there were even more. After all, both Tempester and Jackal were defeated in strict, one-on-one combat. That meant Fairy Tail possessed at least two combatants capable of effortlessly crushing a Demon Gate. Factoring in the rest of the guild's formidable roster, it would put Fairy Tail's overall fighting strength at a terrifyingly high level.
This was already equivalent to half the total military might of Tartaros. If they acted recklessly, the Dark Guild could suffer catastrophic losses. They needed to be exceptionally cautious.
"I will report this directly to Lord Mard Geer and let him decide our next course of action," Kyoka announced decisively, turning on her heel.
Leaving the grotesque laboratory behind, Kyoka ascended to the highest reaches of the Tartaros headquarters, entering the grand, oppressive throne room of the Underworld King.
"Kyoka, you have disappointed me," a smooth, aristocratic voice drifted from the shadows.
Mard Geer Tartaros lounged elegantly upon his throne. He was a man of cold, refined beauty, dressed in dark regal attire. In his hands, he gently, almost lovingly, clutched a sealed magic book with the letters 'E.N.D.' emblazoned on its dark cover.
He didn't even bother to look up as Kyoka knelt before him. "To have to seek my opinion on such a trivial matter because you lack the spine to make a decision... The demons of the Books of Zeref are collectively known as Etherious. We are the pinnacle of creation. How could mere, frail humans possibly be a match for us?"
"Lord Underworld King Mard Geer," Kyoka kept her head bowed, her tone respectful but urgent. "The enemy is far stronger than we originally imagined, especially that man named Ren. According to my tactical estimations, his strength is nothing short of terrifying. A single person of his caliber might require five or even six members of the Nine Demon Gates attacking simultaneously just to rival him. Therefore, I did not dare to make a hasty decision."
"Oh?" Mard Geer finally looked up, a dark, condescending smirk playing on his lips. "It seems that while I was slumbering, some remarkably amusing fellows have appeared among the human cattle. I suppose it makes sense; humans on this continent are as numerous as locusts, constantly and mindlessly breeding. Given their absolute sheer numbers, some extraordinary mutations are bound to be born every few centuries. This fellow must simply be one of them."
"Yes, my Lord. He is currently recognized as the First Seat of the Ten Wizard Saints of Ishgar."
"The Ten Wizard Saints?" Mard Geer chuckled, the sound devoid of any real warmth. "Just ten frail mortals chosen at random by a defunct Magic Council. However, I suppose being chosen as their pinnacle does hold some marginal reference value."
Mard Geer slowly stood up from his throne, his dark magical pressure leaking into the room, heavy enough to crack the stone pillars around them.
"The First Seat... It seems he does have some skill. But no matter how strong he is, he is ultimately just a human. Flesh and blood. A mortal lifespan. No one can provoke Tartaros and remain unscathed, especially not when our grand design, our crucial plan, is at stake. The Face project cannot fail. Move out, Kyoka. Annihilate them. If this man proves too bothersome, I will deal with him personally."
Mard Geer dismissed her with a lazy wave of his hand. He truly didn't care. No matter how powerful a human was, they were still bound by the rules of mortal magic. They could never be a match for the Underworld King.
"Yes, my Lord!"
After receiving Mard Geer's absolute mandate, Kyoka felt the heavy burden of hesitation lift from her shoulders. They were going to war against Fairy Tail.
Kyoka slowly backed away, leaving the throne room in silence, until only Mard Geer remained in the great hall.
The Underworld King sat back down, gently stroking the spine of the E.N.D. book. His eyes glazed over with a fanatical, dark devotion as he muttered to himself in the empty room.
"It is finally beginning. Will the absolute darkness overflowing from Tartaros shroud all the world's pitiful light, or will their fragile light attempt to dispel our darkness? Regardless of which side falls, the world will soon welcome a true Rebirth. Isn't that right... Master E.N.D.?"
Outside the palace, Kyoka returned to the grand hall, standing imposingly before the gathered members of the Nine Demon Gates.
"Lord Mard Geer has issued the absolute order," Kyoka's voice rang out, commanding and ruthless. "From this moment on, change the Cube's course immediately! Set the coordinates straight toward the Fairy Tail guild and completely eliminate every last one of them!"
"Ohhh!! Now that's more like it!!" Ezel roared, his massive muscles bulging as he flexed his four arms in sheer, unrestrained euphoria. "I'm going to kill, kill, kill! I'll butcher every last one of those Fairy Tail brats!"
"Since it is a direct order from the Underworld King himself, we must give our absolute all in this battle," Seilah added, her beautiful face setting into a mask of serious, chilling determination. For Kyoka to consult Mard Geer, Fairy Tail was definitively not an ordinary target.
Off in the corner, leaning silently against a dark stone pillar, stood Silver Fullbuster.
The Ice Devil Slayer had not spoken a single word since the meeting began. Unlike the others, he was not an Etherious; he was a human corpse animated by necromancy, walking among demons. Compared to the arrogant, isolated Etherious of Tartaros, Silver understood the outside world. More importantly, he understood exactly what kind of monster Ren was.
That boy's power was definitively, undeniably far beyond anything the demons of Tartaros could comprehend.
Fools, Silver thought, closing his eyes as a heavy sigh escaped his lips. If it's that man... Tartaros isn't marching into battle. They are marching straight into their own graves.
Fairy Tail Guild
Whoosh—!!
`[System Prompt: Flying Thunder God Technique deactivated. Spatial Transfer Successful. Location: Fairy Tail Guild Hall.]`
A sudden, sharp displacement of air tore through the bustling, chaotic atmosphere of the Fairy Tail guild. The scent of spilled beer and roasted meat was briefly swept away by a gust of spatial wind as Ren materialized perfectly in the center of the hall.
"Ren!"
"Hey, Ren is back!"
The lively chatter of the guild erupted into cheers, but the welcoming smiles quickly froze as the members noticed the strange, struggling baggage their strongest mage had brought with him.
"Eh? Why is he dangling another person from his hand?!" Wakaba nearly dropped his pipe, leaning over his table to get a better look.
"Who is this pathetic old guy?!" Macao squinted, thoroughly confused.
The entire guild fell into a bewildered silence. What on earth was going on? Every single time Ren went out on a stroll lately, he ended up kidnapping someone and bringing them back to the guild.
"Who are you people?! Unhand me this instant! Do you have any idea who I am?!"
The old man dangling from Ren's effortless grip was kicking his legs furiously, his face flushed purple with indignation. He wore fine, bureaucratic robes that were now terribly wrinkled from the teleportation. "Let me go! Do you hear me?! This is a violation of international magical law!"
Sitting at the bar, Guild Master Makarov was halfway through a massive mug of ale. As he turned to see the commotion, his eyes bulged out of his skull, and he choked violently, spraying ale across the counter. Erza, standing nearby, dropped her strawberry cake onto the floor in utter disbelief.
Both of them were completely shaken to their cores.
"Former Chairman Crawford?!" Makarov shrieked, his jaw hitting the floor.
Ren simply smirked, tossing the disgraced politician onto the wooden floorboards of the guild with a heavy thud.
Let the interrogation begin.
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