In front of Zeref and a group of powerful demons, Silver knew that his life and death were no longer under his control, and instead, he relaxed.
He said with a smile, "My full name is Silver Fullbuster. I joined Tartaros for the sole purpose of eliminating demons."
As soon as these words were spoken, the demons' expressions changed instantly, and their killing intent boiled over.
"What did you say?"
"Were all those missing demons killed by you?"
"Eliminate demons? You want to eliminate us?"
The demons' faces grew twisted with rage. If Zeref hadn't been standing right there, they would have swarmed forward and killed this mole.
Silver said calmly, "That's right. My hometown was destroyed by demons. I have returned from the dead to seek revenge against them, and I won't let a single one go!"
Zeref asked, "I remember there's a Gray Fullbuster in Fairy Tail. What is your relation to him?"
He often used detection magic to observe the situation in the Fairy Tail Guild. Although he mainly focused on Natsu and Mavis, he was familiar with the names and appearances of the others.
Silver was silent for a moment before saying, "He is my son."
In truth, he had been resurrected as an undead. Fearing he could die at any moment, he didn't dare to reveal his identity to Gray.
Zeref was slightly taken aback and whispered softly, "Is that so..."
Natsu and Gray were partners. If Natsu found out that the demons he created had destroyed Gray's hometown, would Natsu still accept him?
He looked at Silver, lowered his head, and said, "I'm sorry. This was my fault. Once this is over, I will help resurrect you and your family, and then you can reunite with Gray."
As long as he could find the souls, he could perform a resurrection. Previously, because of the curse of the Ankhseram God, he hadn't wanted to touch resurrection magic. Now that Acnologia could break the curse, he no longer feared such things.
"My Lord?"
"Why are you doing this?"
The demons were in disbelief. To apologize to an undead—was this still their lord who disregarded all life?
"What did you say?"
Silver's heart also shook. He wondered if he had misheard. Was this guy really the most evil Mage in history?
Could there be some mistake?
Zeref said once more, "I am very sorry. When this is finished, I will make amends for my past mistakes."
His gaze swept over the demons as he commanded, "You are not allowed to give him trouble. Whether he stays or leaves, you must not interfere."
Plue Mard Geer and the Nine Demon Gates immediately said respectfully, "Yes, My Lord!"
"That's all for now."
Zeref nodded slightly. Looking around the dim room, he suggested, "It's a bit dark. You should make it a bit brighter when you have the chance."
Without staying any longer, his figure turned into a patch of darkness and vanished.
Plue Mard Geer was stunned for a moment. He looked at the dark walls and lighting, wondering to himself: Does My Lord prefer things to be brighter?
After seeing Zeref vanish, the demons stared intently at Silver, their eyes flashing with killing intent.
"What's wrong? Are you going to kill me just as your creator has left?"
Silver wasn't nervous at all. Sitting in his chair, he said with a smile, "Go ahead. I won't resist."
Seilah Marge was incredibly furious. She smashed the table to pieces with a single slap. "Silver, you bastard! Have you been deceiving us this whole time?"
To think she had considered Silver a comrade; she never expected he would betray her trust.
Plue Mard Geer looked at Silver's composed demeanor and said coldly, "What are you still doing here? Leave Tartaros!"
Silver shook his head. "Zeref said I could stay or leave as I please. I'll leave after the battle is over. I also want to see how far my son has come."
With Zeref's protection, what did he have to fear? Even if he killed all these demons right now, they wouldn't dare touch him.
However, he still had expectations for Zeref's promise, so it was best not to completely burn bridges for now.
Plue Mard Geer knew they couldn't do anything to Silver and didn't want to get tangled up with him. He said indifferently, "Just don't disrupt the plan. Everything else is up to you."
"No problem!"
...The next day arrived.
Makarov returned from the Council worriedly. He gathered everyone once again to announce the battle plan.
Seeing the Master so serious, Cana couldn't help but ask, "Master, did something happen?"
Everyone looked over as well. Sensing the tense atmosphere, they immediately had a slight sense of foreboding.
Erza said seriously, "Master, please speak plainly. We can face any difficulty."
Makarov nodded slightly. He always believed in his "children," so he spoke about his trip to the Magic Council.
"I found some information about Tartaros at the Magic Council, and combined with intelligence from the imprisoned Oración Seis, I have some conjectures about Tartaros."
His expression became solemn. "I'm afraid it's a guild made up of demons—specifically, demons from the Books of Zeref."
As soon as he said this, the entire place broke into an uproar.
Zeref's name was known to everyone. He was even more feared than Acnologia's title as the world-ending dragon king. The demons he created had brought countless slaughters and deaths to the world.
If Tartaros was composed entirely of demons, its level of terror would surely exceed all imagination.
Natsu didn't think that far ahead at all. Full of confidence, he laughed and said, "So what if they're demons? If they stand in the way of Fairy Tail, I'll burn them all to ashes."
Everyone smiled knowingly at his eager expression. That's right, they were Fairy Tail; it should be the enemy who was afraid!
Erza stepped forward and asked, "Master, have you found out where the enemy's lair is? We'll take the fight directly to them."
Makarov shook his head. "There's no news at all on that front. Even Oración Seis doesn't know. Tartaros is too mysterious; they come and go without a trace."
Last time, the Magic Council went to war with Tartaros. Their main forces were all deployed, but their home base was raided instead.
Fairy Tail absolutely could not make the same mistake.
Mavis said thoughtfully, "If you still don't agree with my previous plan, the only option now is to wait for them to show themselves."
"Makarov, did the Council say anything about sending troops to help?"
"That's still being discussed. Some feel that sending troops rashly would alert the enemy, so we should gather intelligence first. Others believe we should deploy immediately to destroy Tartaros and salvage the Magic Council's reputation."
Makarov had developed a headache from those people arguing yesterday, and they hadn't reached a conclusion at all.
"Most importantly, when Tartaros attacked the Magic Council last time, the Etherion were stolen. Everyone is worried that those demons will get desperate and activate that weapon."
This was his biggest concern. Tartaros, having obtained such a weapon, was like a powder keg. They were demons, after all; they might even destroy an entire nation.
Everyone panicked slightly. This wasn't good. Even Gildarts probably couldn't stop a weapon like that.
"The Etherion are terrifying, but we absolutely cannot let that frighten us."
Mavis nodded solemnly. "We won't worry about the Council for now. Next, I'll make some simple arrangements."
Everyone nodded. As the Fairy Tactician, the First Master's mind was certainly sharper than theirs.
"Fried, you can set up Jutsu Shiki around our guild in advance to prevent the enemy from using large-scale destruction magic."
Fried said solemnly, "Leave it to me!"
"Cana, you handle the divination. Your cards should have that effect."
"No problem!"
"Carla, you have precognition. Try to find a way to foresee something."
"Understood!"
"Warren, Zera, the two of you place marks on all members to track their locations at all times. If any member is captured, notify everyone immediately. Pay especially close attention to Natsu."
Natsu said confidently, "I don't need protection!"
Lucy said angrily, "Listen to the First! They're demons—what if they capture you?!"
She didn't want to see Natsu being tortured or killed by demons; just thinking about it was frightening.
Happy raised a paw. "I'm with Lucy!"
Gray said seriously, "Natsu, you're their target. You absolutely cannot be careless."
Makarov said, "Natsu, don't interrupt. From here on, we'll follow the First's arrangements."
Mavis continued, "From now on, we must be extremely vigilant. If you need to go out for any reason, you must be accompanied by an S-Class Mage. When going to war with such a powerful Dark Guild, there is absolutely no room for carelessness."
Standing on a table with a serious expression, she pointed forward, her voice incredibly stirring.
"Comrades, the upcoming battle is Fairy Tail's war!"
"Victory will surely be ours!"
"Yes!"
Everyone roared in unison, their battle-ready voices echoing throughout the guild.
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