It definitely couldn't be altered carelessly.
Common sense dictated that tampering with something like this would have consequences. Either something would happen to Natsu, or something would happen to the person making the changes.
So unless Rhodes thoroughly understood the price, obtained Natsu's consent, or was truly forced by circumstances, he would not touch it.
But where could he even research something like this?
Ask Zeref? Call out Igneel from inside Natsu's body?
Thinking about Zeref made Rhodes's stomach hurt.
This man was Natsu's biological older brother. The First Master's former lover. The magic teacher of Fairy Tail's founding generation. By all logic, he should be an ally.
But the mission Natsu carried upon his "rebirth" as E.N.D. was identical to every other Etherious: kill Zeref.
The First Master herself had said that the current Zeref was an enormous danger, and if there was ever a way to eliminate him, no mercy could be shown.
Meanwhile, Zeref's followers were constantly causing problems, and the Alvarez Empire to the west was steadily building up its military, clearly harboring intentions toward Fiore.
By that measure, Zeref was an enemy.
But the complication was this: every Etherious was created by Zeref. Their existence depended on his. In terms of magical principles, if Zeref were truly killed, every Etherious would die with him.
There was a very real possibility that Natsu would be no exception.
So even if the opportunity arose, killing Zeref wasn't simple. It might mean killing Natsu too.
Could the answer be to let Natsu kill Zeref himself? Fulfill his purpose as E.N.D. and break free from the chain in the process?
Rhodes turned it over in his mind for an entire night. He reached no conclusion.
He also noticed another discrepancy. The book never mentioned Natsu founding Tartaros. So why had the members of Tartaros claimed their guild was established by E.N.D.?
When Natsu's memories had been affected, he was only eight or nine years old. He couldn't have founded a dark guild while apprenticing under Igneel. And certainly not before that.
Something didn't add up.
The next morning, Mira noticed the dark circles under Rhodes's eyes.
"Is it really that difficult?" she asked, concern clear in her voice.
Rhodes shook his head. "Not difficult exactly. I just have no leads."
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"Actually, there might be. But not yet."
Rhodes kept the thought to himself. If Natsu ever faced the crisis of transforming into E.N.D. and losing control, Mira's Take Over magic might be a trump card. The strongest demon on one side. A woman whose magic was built to dominate demons on the other.
That was practically a natural counter. It would be strange if it didn't come in handy.
But he looked at Mira's growing belly and swallowed the thought.
Five months along now. And Natsu seemed perfectly stable at the moment. Nothing should happen in the near future.
"I need to talk to the Master." Rhodes threw on his clothes and moved toward the window.
Mira followed him. "You still haven't told me what I should do!"
Rhodes was already halfway out. He tossed the answer over his shoulder. "You should prepare to take maternity leave!"
Mira puffed out her cheeks. Who starts maternity leave at five months?
He was being deliberately mysterious. Hubby was going to get a lecture later.
Makarov had arrived at the guild early.
The moment he saw Rhodes walk in, he waved him over. "Come here. I was just about to find you."
"What's going on?"
Rhodes followed the Master to his office. Officially, it was the Master's Office. Unofficially, its primary function was giving Makarov a quiet place to write apology letters to the Council and various property owners.
Makarov got straight to the point. "You're aware of the Council's current situation regarding its strategic assets?"
"Which ones specifically?"
"Face and the Etherion."
"Of course." Rhodes nodded.
Face had been completely destroyed. The Etherion system still existed physically, but the ten senior officials who had held the activation codes were all killed during Tartaros's attack. The system was locked. Inaccessible.
The Council had been rebuilt, but nobody among the new members knew the unlock codes. Org had expressed concern about this, but Hyberion had waved it off. The combined strength of the Ten Wizard Saints, he argued, was not necessarily inferior to the Etherion.
For threats within the continent of Ishgar, that was probably true.
But Makarov was thinking about threats from outside.
"I've told you before that ten years ago, the Alvarez Empire on the western continent planned to invade Fiore."
Rhodes nodded. "To obtain Fairy Heart. Mest went undercover specifically to gather intelligence on the western continent."
Makarov's expression was heavy. "Ten years ago, the reason Alvarez abandoned its invasion plans was because they were wary of two things: the Etherion and Face."
He paused.
"Both are now gone. The Alvarez Empire has nothing left to fear."
"And to them, we Ten Wizard Saints are not much of a deterrent."
Rhodes knew why.
God Serena, formerly ranked first among the Ten Wizard Saints, had defected to the western continent several years ago. Recent intelligence indicated he had joined the Spriggan 12, the elite guard responsible for protecting Emperor Spriggan himself.
If God Serena was merely one of twelve, it could be loosely inferred that Alvarez had at least eleven other mages on his level.
Hyberion had personally admitted that in a one-on-one fight against God Serena, his chances of winning were roughly ten percent.
That was how far above them the western continent's top tier stood.
Rhodes asked the question directly. "You're worried that once Alvarez learns we've lost both Face and the Etherion, they'll resume their invasion plans."
"Yes." Makarov's voice was quiet. Tired. "That is a massive empire that has unified an entire continent. Even without considering the Spriggan 12 themselves, their conventional military numbers over a million soldiers."
"With just our guild alone, trying to stand against that..." He trailed off.
A million was his conservative estimate. The real number was likely higher. But even the conservative figure was enough to make hope feel like a luxury.
Makarov had already begun preparing for the worst. At a critical moment, he was willing to lay down his life and unleash Fairy Law.
But the Three Great Fairy Magics had a well-known reputation. The enemy wasn't stupid. They wouldn't conveniently gather their entire army in one place for a single spell to wipe out.
He couldn't find a winning strategy. So he had shifted his thinking to something darker: how to save the children's lives in a scenario where total defeat was inevitable.
But before committing to that path, he wanted to hear one more perspective.
"No wonder you've looked so gloomy lately." Rhodes leaned against the doorframe. "I thought it was because you'd been at the Council so long that your backlog of apology letters became unmanageable."
Makarov tried to smile. The corners of his mouth twitched, then gave up.
"In short," the old man said, "the guild's situation is extremely dangerous. Since this is ultimately about protecting the First Master and Fairy Heart, we can't involve other guilds. We need to start developing countermeasures now."
...
Read upto 30 chapters ahead @keepsmiling818 p2reon