"It's not like I'm telling you to stay in the guild and drink. You'd better guard the guild properly for me."
Hearing Raizel's tone, black lines practically formed on Makarov's forehead.
He angrily said, "Are you the guild master, or am I the guild master?!"
"If anything unexpected happens, contact Jellal at any time. Just in case, I've also had Cana call Gildarts back."
Ur nodded to Raizel.
"Leave things here to us. You all need to be careful on the front line too."
"Second Master, I'll be counting on you as well."
Precht struck the ground heavily with his magic staff and solemnly promised,
"I will not allow anyone to lay a finger on Fairy Heart, nor will I allow anyone to destroy Fairy Tail."
In addition to that, due to their previous cooperation with the Northern Magic Council MNP in Guiltina, MNP had given ERA the blueprints for the newest model of Magic Convergent Cannon—Uranus.
That could be considered a small upgrade as well.
Fairy Tail had also obtained one since Raizel had bought it from MNP.
The Council had originally intended to give it to them for free. After several rounds of refusal, they finally sold it to Raizel at a price lower than cost, practically half-sale and half-gift.
In their words, it was to make a friend.
With this, Fairy Tail currently possessed two Magic Convergent Cannons.
One was Jupiter.
The other was Uranus.
Jupiter had been seized from Phantom Lord during the war against Phantom.
At present, both Magic Convergent Cannons were installed on the guild's sixth floor. Bisca operated Uranus, while Alzack operated Jupiter.
...
This time, the lineup could be called luxurious.
Aside from the original group that had gone to the Alvarez Empire the first time, Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel had returned.
Kurnugi, Laxus, and the Thunder God Tribe also went along on the ship.
Among the girls, Cana and Juvia were added to the group.
According to Gajeel, he had also obtained some rare metals during the months he was away and had strengthened his body with them.
After Ultear learned spatial Magic from Selene, they did not even need to prepare supplies in the usual way this time.
They packed enough necessities for half a month, and under Raizel's command, the magic airship rose into the sky and flew at full speed day and night.
...
Lucy secretly observed the area below with a telescope.
"There are so many warships..."
Kagura nodded.
"Mm. And they are well-organized."
The closer they got to the Alvarez Empire, the more they could feel the gap in military strength between the two sides.
Around the islands controlled by the Alvarez Empire, magic cruisers flying the Alvarez Empire's flag were lined up in dense, orderly formation.
Moreover, all of these magic cruisers were equipped with weapons. One could imagine the role these warships could play on a battlefield.
Ultear used a magic crystal ball to observe and record.
"Number of magic cruisers near Galakle Island, approximately fifty."
Ultear looked at Mira.
"Send the information back to Jellal. Though I feel the Council should already know."
Mira nodded slightly.
"Understood."
...
The capital of the Alvarez Empire, Vistarion—
The inspections in the capital had not been strict recently.
Emperor Spriggan was present, and August was there as well. Even if some petty troublemakers tried to cause trouble, there was nothing to fear.
Because of that, Raizel and the others did not undergo any inspection and entered the capital openly.
Emperor Spriggan had returned, and the atmosphere here had clearly changed.
The residents of the capital were passionately discussing the Alvarez Empire's recent movements.
Everyone knew very well that the Alvarez Empire was about to take action against Ishgar.
This was not unusual in the Alvarez Empire. The Desert King Ajeel was a warmonger who often went on campaigns to various places.
But the current situation was different.
This time, the members of the Spriggan 12 were preparing their armies together.
Raizel and the others landed the airship in a forest.
When they arrived at the capital, they felt a sharp, murderous atmosphere in the air.
"Still, I heard that Lady Irene, one of the two pillars, has disappeared. Completely vanished, apparently..."
This matter had already spread throughout Vistarion and even the entire Alvarez Empire.
Even Larcade Dragneel had arrived, yet Irene was still nowhere to be seen.
...
Zeref was somewhat puzzled.
Why had Irene suddenly disappeared at this exact moment?
Irene was still quite important to him.
Even if he did not care whether Irene lived or died, her strength and her Universe One Magic would be extremely useful for his invasion of Ishgar.
The Alvarez Empire's military strength far surpassed Ishgar's, but Ishgar still had Etherion and F.A.C.E.
Etherion had once been destroyed by Jellal, but it had since been repaired.
Etherion might not be very useful against August and the others, but against an army, it was absolutely a dimensional blow.
Do not assume that because the Council rarely used Etherion, it lacked Magic Power.
The Council had enough stored Magic Power to fire Etherion many times.
Furthermore, aside from detonating together and instantly emptying the continent of Magic Power, F.A.C.E. had another use.
It contained high-quality Ethernano in enormous quantities.
With F.A.C.E.'s Magic Power as a supplement, Etherion could be fired.
Zeref knew all of this.
Most importantly, there was Irene.
Without Irene's Universe One and Enchant: Separate Magic Power, even if Zeref invaded Fairy Tail, it would be difficult for him to obtain Fairy Heart.
He also had methods to separate the Magic Power from Mavis's body, but the time required would be far longer than if Irene did it.
And while standing on the enemy continent, time was the most precious thing.
Therefore, for the moment, Zeref's invasion plan, which did not match his original calculations, had been temporarily shelved.
...
Raizel had no intention of hiding his identity.
He brought the guild members and went straight to the palace to pay a visit.
No one had any objections to this.
"Lord Kurnugi supports this decision!!!"
Kurnugi and Gajeel, those two arrogant fools in particular, both expressed their praise for Raizel's choice.
"Ishgar Mages?!!"
When the palace guards heard Raizel introduce himself, they nearly dropped their spears.
What the hell?
Mages from Ishgar had actually come to the capital, and they even intended to meet Emperor Spriggan?
Ridiculous.
Beyond ridiculous!
The Winter General, Invel, received the news and reported it to Zeref, who was sitting on the throne.
When Zeref heard Raizel's name, his expression changed, and he instantly sat up straight.
He had watched Raizel join the battle against Acnologia, so he had a certain understanding of Raizel's strength.
At that time, Raizel could absolutely be considered the most useful fighter against Acnologia after Igneel.
The claws of the other four dragons had been unable to injure Acnologia, but Raizel's long sword could.
Zeref had watched the entire battle from the side.
He could tell that toward the end, it had basically become Igneel facing Acnologia head-on while Raizel launched sudden strikes from behind.
The other four dragons were mostly there to cheer and hold up the scene.
What he did not know was that the four dragons and Igneel had all handed their soul power to Raizel.
Zeref had left when only Igneel was fighting Acnologia, because he already knew the outcome was decided.
Recalling the time Raizel had used that move on him, Zeref remembered the promise Raizel had once made.
One day, he would help Zeref resolve the curse.
But Zeref could no longer wait for that day!
Recently, the hunts of death had become more and more frequent.
His head always felt as though it were splitting apart.
"Your Majesty, do you wish to meet them?"
Invel stood with one hand behind his back and asked again, seeing that Zeref had fallen into thought.
Zeref returned to his senses and smiled lightly at Invel.
"Let them in."