For the people of Magnolia, Marco becoming one of the Ten Wizard Saints was naturally something very worth celebrating.
The better Marco did, the better Fairy Tail did, and the better Fairy Tail did, the better Magnolia became. Everyone benefited along with them.
After all these years of development, if nothing else, the local residents of Magnolia were all living good lives now.
Those who had made the decision early to move here had also enjoyed the dividends of the city's growth, and their lives had improved along with it.
In Magnolia, Marco's approval rating was absolutely beyond question.
The people practically wanted to place his portrait in their homes and worship it!
Previously, there had even been talk of building a statue of Marco in the city square, but Marco had rejected it.
He was only twenty this year, and he was still alive. Building a statue of himself in the center of the city he ruled made him seem a little too narcissistic.
If another city wanted to build a statue of him, then Marco would have nothing to say.
He could not control that anyway.
But Magnolia could not.
It was too embarrassing!
At least at this stage, he still could not accept it.
A few days later, the Magnolia Celebration was held as scheduled. The city government had put in a great deal of effort, so naturally the celebration was organized extremely well.
The only bad point was that Magnolia was once again packed to bursting.
If Marco had not been prepared and arranged a large number of security personnel to maintain order, who knew what kind of chaos might have broken out.
Too many people had come, and without order, crowds were terrifying.
Of course, it was not exactly Marco's foresight either.
Magnolia had been a famous tourist city for the past few years.
The city government had already gained a wealth of experience in dealing with these matters, such as during the Harvest Festival. Although there were even more people this time, it still did not trouble the city government.
They handled everything smoothly.
The celebration lasted for seven full days.
Whether they came from near or far, no one had made the trip for nothing. Everyone enjoyed themselves to the fullest.
After having fun, they also brought back piles of merchandise related to Marco, spreading Marco's reputation even farther.
Of course, there was also merchandise for the other Fairy Tail members.
This was also one of Fairy Tail's main products.
Powerful mages were like stars.
Wherever they went, they would be chased and admired. If they were handsome on top of that, even more so.
Marco had both, and both at the highest level.
Even without his other talents adding to it, Marco would still be a top-tier mage celebrity.
After the celebration ended, everyone returned to their normal lives and became busy again.
Searching for information about the Black Dragon was the most urgent matter.
Many forces were working hard on it, and even the Magic Council had placed it at extremely high priority.
However, no progress was made.
No one knew whether the Black Dragon was truly hiding somewhere and silently licking his wounds. In any case, no one discovered any trace of him.
The same was true for Zeref's whereabouts. Any information about him sank like stones into the sea.
Because of this, some people even began doubting whether those two truly existed.
Marco's response to that was very simple.
Tenrou Island was still sealed, and the members of Grimoire Heart were still inside.
Whether the matter was true or false would naturally be proven once the people of Grimoire Heart were released.
Surely they could not also help Fairy Tail deceive everyone, right?
Fairy Tail had defeated them, and yet they would still cooperate with Fairy Tail to lie?
That made no sense.
Marco's confidence gradually dispelled everyone's doubts.
Most importantly, no one dared truly treat this matter as fake.
If it was real, and they only regretted not preparing earlier when Zeref and the Black Dragon were about to destroy the world, then it would already be too late.
Because of that, the entire continent of Ishgar now had the atmosphere of a storm about to break.
Everyone was actively preparing for the battle that might come.
"Marco, since you have officially inherited the position of Guild Master, there are certain things I must take you to see."
Inside the Fairy Tail guildhall, when it was time to close for the night, Makarov kept Marco behind alone.
He looked at Marco with an unusually solemn expression as he spoke.
"Oh? What is it?"
Marco looked at Makarov with a surprised expression.
In truth, he had already guessed.
It had to be that "thing" in the basement.
Marco's eyes were not so easily fooled.
The entire Fairy Tail guildhall, and even the entire city of Magnolia, had already been thoroughly checked by Marco from top to bottom, inside and out.
Naturally, he had long since discovered the "thing" beneath the guild. He had simply never said anything about it.
"Come with me."
Makarov naturally did not know what Marco was thinking.
With a serious expression, he led Marco all the way to the basement that hid Fairy Tail's greatest secret.
This place could only be reached through a special passage.
The thing inside was the culprit that had caused the Second Guild Master to leave, caused two of the four founders to fall out, and caused the Third Guild Master to break with his son.
It was also a "treasure" that, if its existence were revealed, would attract countless people's greed.
Or rather, it was a "treasured corpse."
When the door opened and Marco followed old Makarov into the room, his gaze fell upon that "treasure."
"..."
"Now you see it, right? This is what Ivan saw."
Facing the silent Marco, Makarov spoke.
He watched Marco's expression, observing the changes in his emotions.
"Isn't this a little rude?"
Looking at Mavis, who was wrapped inside pale purple crystal, Marco finally gave that response after a period of silence.
There was no helping it.
The Mavis inside was completely naked!
Although she was already a corpse, and had been dead for many years, Mavis inside the pale purple crystal looked no different from someone alive.
This was really too impolite.
"Uh... That's not something I can decide. It was already like this when it was handed to me."
Makarov froze for a moment, then answered helplessly.
'This little brat—was that really the main point he should be focusing on right now?!'
"Why don't we find something to cover it?"
Marco smiled and made a suggestion.
It was not that Marco was being overly delicate.
If First Master Mavis were truly dead through and through, then it would not matter.
But although First Master Mavis's body was indeed dead, her soul was still around.
They had even met before, and she had almost saved them...
Under such circumstances, standing here and commenting on her body really did not feel right.
Marco felt extremely uncomfortable.
"...Fine. Do whatever you want."
Makarov's words were stuck in his throat. He waved helplessly, signaling that Marco could do as he pleased.
Buzz!
Marco's figure vanished.
When he appeared again a moment later, he was already holding a large piece of cloth.
Then he directly covered the crystal with it.
"There. That feels much better. Old man, go on. Tell me what this is."
After finishing that, Marco clapped his hands and signaled that the old man could continue.
He knew this thing was definitely not as simple as "a corpse." Otherwise, it would not have been preserved with such gravity.
"This is... a magical device. You can call her Fairy Heart, Lumen Histoire, the Myth of Light—whatever you like. You only need to know that this is a hidden grand magic that surpasses Fairy Law, Fairy Glitter, and Fairy Sphere. It is Fairy Tail's greatest trump card."
Makarov slowly spoke, introducing the "corpse" before them.
"That exaggerated?"
Although Marco had long known that such a thing existed, he really did not know what its specific use was.
Hearing the old man describe it so dramatically made him frown.
"As long as she is used, one can possess infinite magic power. This is a device that can automatically absorb the magic power of the Great Magic World and convert it for the user. To put it plainly, after using her, one can freely absorb the magic power of the entire world to use."
Makarov spoke with a complicated expression.
After hearing that, Marco immediately understood why this thing had been protected so strictly.
"Ivan... that bastard..."
After learning everything, the first thought that appeared in Marco's mind was that Ivan Dreyar absolutely could not be allowed to continue roaming freely outside!
At the same time, Marco also felt deeply shocked.
Ivan Dreyar had grasped this kind of secret.
How had the old man dared let that man leave?
Did he not understand what this thing meant to mages?
"..."
Makarov remained silent.
In truth, he also knew there had been a problem with what he had done. But in the end, Ivan had not spread this information.
That at least proved Ivan still had some feelings for Fairy Tail.
"Once the existence of this thing spreads, Fairy Tail will become everyone's target." Marco said in a low voice.
Honestly speaking, he really had not expected Fairy Tail to possess such a cheat.
For a mage, what did "infinite magic power" mean?
Was this not the equivalent of having an Unlimited Firepower buff during ranked play?
Even Faker would get beaten like a dog!
"That is why I have never used it. Unless we reach a truly desperate situation, it absolutely cannot be used."
Makarov naturally knew what Fairy Heart meant to mages.
If news of this thing spread, it might truly set off a storm of blood. It might genuinely cause Fairy Tail to become the target of everyone.
This worry was not baseless paranoia. It was based on a deep understanding of human nature.
The existence of this thing had already gone far beyond merely testing humanity.
For ambitious mages, its existence was like pinning their rationality to the ground and grinding it beneath a boot.
"I think the only situations where she might possibly be used are against the Black Dragon or Zeref. In all other cases, it would be better not to use her if possible." Makarov spoke with a serious expression.
The reason he had been so eager to tell Marco about Fairy Heart was because he was worried normal methods might not be enough to oppose the Black Dragon and Zeref.
If things truly reached that point, then no matter how many future problems it caused, they would have to use it.
That would still be better than sitting back and watching the world be destroyed.
"It won't come to that."
Marco answered immediately, his tone incomparably firm.
In fact, at this moment, Marco was even considering whether he should destroy Fairy Heart.
He always felt that keeping this thing brought more harm than benefit.
However, after calming down, Marco's thinking also shifted.
When one's strength was insufficient, hiding something like this was undoubtedly very dangerous.
But when one's strength was strong enough, this thing was no longer as dangerous. Anyone who wanted to scheme for it would first have to get past Marco.
Of course, if it could remain hidden, it was still best to keep it hidden.
Even if smart people knew that coming for this thing meant death, there would inevitably be some tactless people who insisted on trying, and there might even be people desperate enough to steal it.
As the saying went, it was not the thief stealing once that was frightening, but the thief constantly thinking about it.
Once this thing was exposed, they would have to guard against people coming for it at all times.
"Haa..."
Marco let out a long breath.
This thing really was a hot potato!
"All right. It's enough that you know this exists. At the most desperate moment, this can at least be used as a card."
After explaining everything clearly, Makarov relaxed.
From now on, whether to use this thing would be left for Marco to decide.
This was also a responsibility that the Guild Master of Fairy Tail had to bear.
"All right..."
Marco nodded and did not say anything more.
"Grandpa, you go out first. I'll set up some things here. From now on, even you shouldn't come here again. This place will be very dangerous."
After thinking for a moment, Marco decided to arrange some protections.
He had to protect this thing completely and ensure no one could discover it.
"Good. I definitely won't come back."
Makarov nodded, then swiftly left.
He left Marco alone to set up the defensive measures.
Makarov truly felt light now.
Everything that needed to be handed over to Marco had already been handed over.
From now on, Marco would worry about these matters, and he would no longer care about them.
He trusted Marco enough.
Buzz!
After the old man left, Marco changed into the Aries Gold Cloth and directly used Crystal Wall to seal Fairy Heart.
Then Marco prepared a large number of Royal Demon Roses and filled the entire room with them.
Even the passage leading here was filled with Royal Demon Roses.
"There. Now let's see who can still get down here."
After finishing everything, Marco clapped his hands in satisfaction.
Then he left the passage and sealed the door directly with Crystal Wall as well, just in case someone accidentally wandered inside.
Buzz!
After completing all of that, Marco immediately headed for Tenrou Island.
He was going to meet First Master Mavis herself.
Mavis was still stuck on Tenrou Island, bitterly working to undo Fairy Sphere.
After thinking it over, Marco felt that he still had to tell Mavis about this matter.
After all, Fairy Heart had been created using Mavis's body.
Whether or not they would use it, she had to know.
This idea had also received Makarov's support.
If the old man were still Guild Master now, he would also tell Mavis.
This was the most basic respect owed to the First Guild Master.
Although Mavis might be sad after learning everything, she had already seen the fallen Precht by now.
Knowing one more thing probably would not make much difference.
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