When the Magic Council's guards spoke, everyone at the Fairy Tail Guild Headquarters was startled.
"Brewing a demon?"
"What... do you mean, the one from the previous battle?"
"Are you kidding?"
"Guild Master!"
"What are we going to do, are we really going to let them take Gaal away?"
Makarov immediately got up and said, "This can be explained. The demon in Gaal's hand wasn't brewed in the traditional sense. It was the corpse left behind by a demon from Tartaros that we killed during the battle outside Vichy City. We merely recycled those demon corpses. It doesn't really count as brewing. At best, it was just a war trophy."
However, the lead guard refused to listen. "This matter needs to be explained to the council members by him. Our mandate is to bring him back to the Magic Council. I have no authority over the rest."
Gaal then called back his Gengar and said, "It's fine. I'll go with them. After all, there isn't any secret that can't be explained."
At that moment, a voice came from behind the guards.
"That's right, Makarov. It's best to listen to them. If there's no issue with the demon in Gaal's hand, the Magic Council won't make things difficult. The Council is in a bind right now. Fairy Tail's reputation isn't very good at the moment."
Yajima stepped out from behind the guards and stood in front of the rebuilt Fairy Tail Guild.
Makarov frowned, and everyone inside looked confused.
Gray, sounding displeased, remarked, "Didn't we already win the fight? Why are we being treated as if we made a mistake?"
Yajima shook his head and sighed.
"Although we did win, the heavy losses—and the fact that the Grimoire's Heart can't bear another incident—mean that this war, which has dragged on so long and involved so many guilds and mages, has left many discontented with you. Add Ivan's defection and Gaal's brewing of the demon into the mix—even if everything can be explained, a proper procedure must still be followed."
Makarov's attempt to stop the proceedings was cut short.
Clang!
A pile of rebar fell to the ground with a loud crash.
Makarov turned toward Laxus and shouted, "Laxus!"
Laxus looked shocked and incredulous, "Defec...tion?! My father... defected?"
All the other guild members stood there, stunned—except for Gaal and Gildarts.
Laxus's entire world crumbled as he looked at Makarov, "Grandpa? What exactly is going on?"
Makarov's face darkened as he replied, "Ivan, in his pursuit of power, joined the Balam Alliance during our war with the Grimoire's Heart. There's nothing more to say. From now on, whenever any Fairy Tail member encounters him, show no mercy."
With that, he struggled to close his eyes.
Laxus roared in disbelief, "Impossible! How could he ever join the Balam Alliance! You're lying to me, aren't you!"
He rushed to Makarov, desperate for an answer.
Makarov opened his eyes and raised his hand to restrain Laxus, "Laxus! Now is not the time for discussion! Go back and calm down!"
But as soon as his hand landed on Laxus's shoulder, Laxus flung it away, "Impossible! How could he defect?!"
Laxus broke free of Makarov's grasp and rushed out.
For a moment, the scene went silent.
Everyone from Fairy Tail exchanged astonished glances, unable to believe what had just been revealed. Though they hadn't interacted much with him before, the fact that Ivan risked everything to bring Laxus a Magic Crystal to cure his condition didn't seem like the act of someone who would simply defect.
Yajima, realizing his mistake, said, "Sorry, Makarov."
Makarov shook his head, "It's alright. Sooner or later you'll know. It's better to accept the truth sooner. I'll go with you."
Gaal interjected, "No, Guild Master. You should watch over Laxus. If anything comes up, speak up—don't keep it bottled up. Laxus isn't unreasonable; he can make his own judgments."
Makarov hesitated, "This... all right, I understand."
In truth, he had intended to keep it hidden until it could no longer be concealed. His aim was to protect Laxus from harm, yet ironically, such overprotection only deepened their misunderstandings. Often, seemingly unsolvable knots are merely misunderstandings that were never cleared up.
Gaal turned, smiled at the guards, and said, "Let's go."
He bypassed the guards and headed straight for the Magic Council's airship.
Seeing his cooperation, the guards said nothing as Gaal boarded the airship.
Yajima briefly apologized and then also stepped aboard.
The Magic Council's airship slowly ascended.
Inside one of the ship's rooms, Gaal entered a prepared space—resembling a single dormitory—and cast a cleansing spell on himself. He then activated his Requip magic to change into a set of black pajamas before lying down on the pristine single bed.
Feeling long-awaited relaxation, Gaal closed his eyes and let his mind clear.
To be honest, the blows dealt by Hades recently had been significant, leaving Gaal quite rattled.
He had been numbing himself with various guild affairs to avoid dwelling on that battle, even though, eventually, he would have to confront it.
Perhaps it all went too smoothly over the past few years—rescuing people and handling enemies ahead of time, relying too heavily on his memories of events as if they were scenes from an anime.
Hades, a centenarian genius, had given Gaal a hard lesson.
The time Hades spent researching magic far exceeded Gaal's own age.
He had believed that constructing such a massive Magic Crystal would counter most foes, but enemies never act as you expect.
Hades was forced to retreat, only to return with vengeance.
His return was driven by his research into Fairy Law, his centuries of experience, and his unyielding belief in the fairness of time.
Thus, the colossal Magic Crystal made its debut only to suffer a crushing defeat.
It wasn't that the device was ineffective—it had merely met Hades.
Hades had given Gaal a resounding slap, awakening him.
Though later Gaal transformed into Gengar, fooling Hades and escaping—and even taunting him a bit—it was all just bravado.
Now, looking back, Gaal couldn't help but smile wryly.
Gaal stretched, climbed out of bed, and leaned against the wall. He entered his mental space and retrieved an old notebook of Hades's.
Previously, within the Grimoire Heart Guild, he had collected many books and research notes from Hades's personal collection. Never having found the time to read them, now in a state of calm, Gaal decided to study.
But as soon as he opened the book, the phrase on the title page left him stunned: "Within all things there exists a 'Magic Factor,' circulating among everything. Magic Power forms all that exists, and it is not Magic itself, but the strength of one's own Magic Power that determines a mage's ability."
- Hades