Hades' pupils constricted sharply.
Before the fist even reached him, the terrifying pressure made every bone in his body creak and groan.
He instinctively tried to open a Dark Barrier, only to find that his speed in mobilizing magic had become abnormally sluggish... No, it wasn't that he had slowed down, but that the opponent was too fast.
So fast that Hades, who had been immersed in the magical arts for decades, could not react with his body or magic. He could only watch helplessly as that peerless power, capable of destroying everything, bore down upon him.
He finally understood what kind of terrifying despair Bluenote Stinger had faced at the Tower of Paradise.
"This... is..."
Before the Voice could escape his mouth, the fist arrived.
There was no world-shaking explosion.
Only a soft sound, like thick cloth being torn.
The layers of dark magic in front of Hades, along with the embryonic demon he had just begun to materialize, vanished without a trace in an instant, like plankton swallowed by an invisible giant whale.
The sea surface behind him presented a perfectly regular, giant fan-shaped vacuum zone.
Then... with Tenrou Island as the center, the sea surface for several kilometers around suddenly sank, and even Tenrou Island suffered violent tremors like an earthquake.
And Hades, standing at the center and bearing the brunt of all the power... exploded. His upper body was physically crushed by this unreasonable level of force.
Hope slowly withdrew his fist, and the heart-palpitating invisible force field around him gradually settled. If he hadn't been worried about affecting Tenrou Island and intentionally controlled his power, how could even half a corpse remain?
Looking at the remains of Hades' body, Makarov opened his mouth, but no sound came from his throat; his heart was filled with indescribable, complex emotions.
But he understood that Precht, the kind old man who had entrusted the guild to him forty-eight years ago, was long gone.
The one who died was merely the master of Demon Heart, Hades.
Hope said nothing. Given Makarov's state of mind, there was no need for consolation. Just as he planned to head to the final battlefield, a powerful magic suddenly erupted behind him.
Hades, whose upper body had been blown apart, was actually recovering his lost body parts at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just a dozen breaths' time, that powerful old man had returned.
Makarov, who hadn't even had time to grieve, was immediately shocked by this incredible scene. Could one come back to life after being beaten like that? His mind could no longer keep up.
First, there was Hope's 'Cellular Reconstruction' restoring Gildarts' limbs.
And now, he personally witnessed Hades' mangled body being restored.
The world had ultimately become something he could no longer understand.
Hades' lean, powerful body, which defied his age, was completely restored. The web-like magic patterns on his skin gradually faded, but the 'Demon Eye' in his right eye remained crimson.
"Is this the power that transcends magic?"
The resurrected Hades continued his words from before he was blown apart, his gaze toward Hope full of inquiry. "Truly shocking, but unfortunately... you cannot kill someone like me who possesses an immortal body."
This piqued Hope's interest, and he immediately thought of the 'Curse of Contradiction' within Mavis's body.
Precht had once deeply researched this legendary curse from the gods in an attempt to resurrect Mavis, and by combining the curse with his resurrection magic research, 'fairy heart' was born.
Could this old guy have been infected by the 'Curse of Contradiction' during his research and become immortal?
As if seeing through Hope's thoughts, Hades gave a cold laugh. "You do know. Since Makarov intends for you to succeed him, how could he hide the existence of 'fairy heart' from you?"
Hope wanted to mention that Gildarts also knew, but worried that Makarov would jump up and kick his shins, so he looked at Hades. "So your 'immortality' comes from the 'Curse of Contradiction'?"
"Wrong answer."
Hades unleashed a volley of Black Bullets. After his body recovered, his magic showed no signs of weakening, and his body was full of vitality.
Hope raised his hand and made a grasping motion, and the dense magic bullets were firmly locked in mid-air by Magnetic Field Power, then completely destroyed with a snap of his fingers.
"I see. You aren't infected by the curse; you've made an imitation of 'fairy heart'—the 'Grimoire Heart'."
With his greatest secret exposed, Hades' eyes widened, and he couldn't even maintain his surface composure. "How could you know?!"
Hope smiled lightly. "Naturally, you told me yourself. 'Magnetic Field Power' allows me to read the inner thoughts of those whose power is lower than mine at any time."
Magnetic Field Power could be called a 'hexagonal warrior' ability; except for the time dimension, its various abilities were extremely diverse. Real-time mind reading was one of the most basic abilities, though Hope rarely used it.
He didn't have the habit of eavesdropping on his companions' thoughts, and when dealing with enemies, he could sometimes crush them with magic alone, so he didn't care what they were thinking.
Hades snapped back to his senses, becoming even more interested in 'Magnetic Field Power'.
Hope was equally interested in him.
After leaving Fairy Tail for so many years, Hades had spent immense effort to successfully create a replica of 'fairy heart' called 'Demon Heart'.
The 'Demon Heart' possessed the endless vitality and magic of the 'fairy heart', though in a much weakened form.
But even a weakened version was enough for Hades, who was over a hundred and ten years old, to maintain his power and possess a strong, healthy body.
The body that Hope had just smashed with a punch was restored by the massive amount of vitality transmitted by the 'Demon Heart'.
If the knock-off version is this powerful...
Then the original must be off the charts!
It made Hope a bit tempted to try out the 'fairy heart' deep beneath the guild, but at the thought that it was the body of an underage girl, Hope immediately extinguished that thought.
"Brat, the 'Demon Heart' is on my airship; you have no chance of destroying it." Hades said in a deep Voice, "Let us make peace. Join me in pursuing the Source of Magic and open the Great Magic World."
Looking at Hades, who was actually trying to persuade him, Hope was utterly disdainful. Had his brain gone bad?
"Reconciliation? At this moment?"
"Don't make your Brother Hope laugh."
Hope took a step forward. Hades' confidence came from nothing more than the massive vitality and magic provided by the 'Demon Heart', making him feel unkillable.
"Let me test the limits of the 'Demon Heart' and see if this knock-off really has endless energy that far exceeds everything else."
As soon as Hope spoke, Hades understood what he was going to do—he was going to use him as an experiment. For example... killing him a dozen times first to see to what extent the 'Demon Heart' could support him.
At this thought, Hades couldn't help but shiver.
Hearing the old man's inner thoughts, Hope curled his lip. Did he look like a homicidal maniac? Indeed, people with filthy minds only project their own thoughts onto others.
However, what he was about to do next was indeed a bit bloody.
His figure flashed, and before Hades could react, Hope's Magnetic Field hand-blade had already slashed down.
Hell Path death energy erupted.
"Ah—!"
Hades let out a miserable scream as his left arm was forcibly torn from his body by Hope.
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